Tag Archives: football

Aug 06 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport

The magic of the Cup

Saturday 5th August 2017, 4.25pm (day 2,172)

Rain storm, Wellingborough, 5/8/17

The FA Cup — the world’s oldest and still one of its largest football competitions. 737 teams this season, these take a lot of winnowing down so things start early in the season, namely this weekend, with 185 games in the Extra Preliminary round including this one — Wellingborough Whitworth (in that salmon-pink gear) v. Desborough Town. Yes, I picked the game to go to because of the name of the club, but hey, surely all Whitworths should feel obliged to give them some support. They needed it today anyway — losing 4-0. Desborough win thirteen more Cup ties this season they will be at Wembley…

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Jul 16 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport, Urban scene

Catering facilities, Salford City FC

Saturday 15th July 2017, 1.50pm (day 2,151)

Silcocks cafe, 15/7/17

My 2017-18 football season opened at Salford City FC and a pre-season warm-up game against local rivals FC United of Manchester. The hosts won 2-1. You can read what I thought about the game, and see photographs of the day taken by someone much better at that kind of thing than me, if you purchase the next issue of When Saturday Comes (advt.). Salford City have big plans but their stadium, for all its recent renovations, is still pleasingly non-league in many ways. I like this catering van, its garish and gratuitously sexist decoration, and the worshipful posture of the customer.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Jun 11 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Interior

Scotland v England in the pub

Saturday 10th June 2017, 5.35pm (day 2,116)

Scotland v England, 10/6/17

Not an exciting day today I can assure you, but it was never going to be. Except at the end of the match at Hampden, which I guess was pretty exciting, although it’s been a while since I could really raise it for England F. C.

Tagged , , , , , ,
May 13 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport

Blue flare

Saturday 13th May 2017, 4.35pm (day 2,088)

Halifax flare, 13/5/17

After last weekend’s semi-final victory over Salford, Halifax Town duly beat Chorley 2-1 (after extra time) to get promoted back to the fifth tier of English professional football. 7,920 people were there to see it, an amazing crowd for the level of football (and a record for the National League North apparently). Sam Johnson, Halifax keeper, here clears a flare off the pitch. I’m telling you it was all happening at The Shay this afternoon….

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
May 08 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport

Pitch invasion

Sunday 7th May 2017, 5.55pm (day 2,082)

Pitch invasion, 7/5/17

A benign one I can assure you. FC Halifax Town fans express their feelings about the scoring of the winning penalty in the shoot out in the (take a deep breath) National League North Play-off Semi-Final 2nd leg at home to Salford City (whose players really should practice penalties more). Second trip to the Shay stadium this season, after New Year’s Day, and there’ll probably be another one next Saturday seeing as we might as well go to the play-off final now they’ve made it.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 23 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport

The non-league crowd

Saturday 22nd April 2017, 3.35pm (day 2,067)

King/s Lynn Town, 22/4/17

In my own way I am a collector, mainly of places, and this football season have made more of an effort to get around some of the nooks and crannies of the game around England and (once) Scotland. Today saw a visit to King’s Lynn Town FC of the Evo-Stik Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. The thirteenth game of my season sees its seventh different competition, which is a decent return, though one I can better next year with some effort. The thing worth noticing about English football is just how deep down it goes. 554 people came along today to this game: in almost any other country this level of the game would hardly exist. I like this shot of the home fans behind the goal their team were attacking in the first half — after half-time they go to the other end. The last game of their season ended well for King’s Lynn as they beat Chesham 3-1.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Apr 15 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport

Stewards’ corner, Molineux

Friday 14th April 2017, 4.45pm (day 2,059)

Stewards, Molineux, 14/4/17

Molineux is the stadium of Wolverhampton Wanderers who became the latest side that the mighty Brighton & Hove Albion batted aside on their way to the Championship title this season. Well, OK… promotion at least. We’re not there yet but we could be, as early as Monday. I have given up trying to take decent action shots of games, which is impossible a) from the crowd b) with an everyday camera and c) when you care about the result. So here is one taken just before things got started with the 5pm kick off (thank  you, Sky Sports). Of course it would be better if all the lines were straight, but as with other elements of sports photography — it really doesn’t help if you’re confined to one particular seat all evening.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
Feb 25 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Sport

We are top of the league

Saturday 25th February 2017, 6.45pm (day 2,011)

Jamie Murphy has just scored the second goal for Brighton & Hove Albion against Reading at the Amex stadium, and you could say we’re all rather happy about it. 3-0 final score — bring on Newcastle…

Tagged , , , , , ,
Feb 03 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

Applauding the teams out

Thursday 2nd February 2017, 7.45pm (day 1,988)

John Smith's stadium, 2/2/17

Evening game at the John Smith’s stadium, Huddersfield — but let’s not talk about it past this point. Suffice to say that only here, when the teams were coming out, did we Brighton fans feel particularly optimistic.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,
Jan 29 2017
Leave a comment
Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Urban cormorant

Sunday 29th January 2017, 11.40am (day 1,984)

London cormorant, 29/1/17

A lack of cheap hotel rooms in the centre of London led to us staying last night in Stratford, on the doorstep of Olympic Park, venue for the 2012 Games. We went on a walk round there this morning. This counts as East rather than Central London, but is more than urban enough and, as is obvious from this picture, sees the occasional football fan now and again (though not this weekend).

When I first saw this cormorant perched on a post beside the unseen River Lea below, I genuinely thought it was a fake, put there as some vaguely cute piece of urban design when all this was built a few years ago. Then it moved. I wish I could have got a better photo of it — I had another one, a close-up, which made the wings look amazing but the head was out of focus and it didn’t locate it in this bizarre geographical context. I guess if birds like this can turn up in central London we may occasionally be doing something right with the environment.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →