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As always, I try to visit a ground which I haven’t been to before, provided that it’s no more than 50 miles from Charing X and the home team produces a printed programme. No programme means no visit! EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND I experienced the Elizabeth Line for the first time, got off at Burnham, which is actually a mile from the village, for a decent walk . My friend Jake drove down from Sheffield (he makes podcasts), and we witnessed a quite remarkable match, which didn’t seem to be going anywhere, but finished in a 3:3 draw between Burnham and Corsham Town. [Ground Nº 317] PRELIMINARY ROUND A change at Waterloo for Feltham, where, with the next bus 40 minutes away, I had a long walk, including cutting across a large wild park, and then finding a narrow track which led to Hanworth Villa, where the home side ran out 4:1 winners over little Abbey Rangers. [Ground Nº 318] 1st QUALIFYING ROUND Just north of Maidstone is a station called New Hythe, a decent walk from which brought me to a wonderful big Tesco, whose café serves a really good scampi, chips, and peas, plus a fine coffee. From there, I negotiated a few residential roads, a hill, and discovered Larkfield & New Hythe, a rather basic ground with lovely people and a nice bar. It was the club’s first foray into the FA Cup, and, but for some bad luck, the team could have done better than draw 1:1 with Cray Wanderers. [Ground Nº 319] The replay had me drive up in my sparkling Vauxhall Corsa, which will be 12 years old in January 2025, yet has only 44,000 miles on the clock! Somewhere near South-East London, off a dual carriageway, was the brand new home of Cray Wanderers. A fine new stand was in place, yet the rest seemed very sparse, the pavilion an old brick structure dating from the days when the venue had hosted a leisure club called Flamingo Park. Unfortunately, Larkfield, who played gamely and never gave up, went down rather sadly 8:0, and must have reflected on those missed chances in the first game. [Ground Nº 320] 2nd QUALIFYING ROUND A pleasant wander along the Medway towpath to revisit Maidstone United, with my friend Jake driving down once again. At the back of the cavernous Genco Stand, we were as thrilled as the many supporters encamped there to see The Stones dismiss Hampton & Richmond Borough 2:1. 3rd QUALIFYING ROUND Another trip to that friendly ground, Tonbridge Angels, (on my 78th birthday) to meet and chat to Toby Steward, our pleasant Pompey youth goalkeeper, who played well in a 2:1 victory over Walton & Hersham. 4th QUALIFYING ROUND Back to Maidstone United, unaccompanied this time, to see The Stones at their brilliant best, sending Ebbsfleet United away 3:0 down without too much trouble. 1st ROUND PROPER I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of attending Tonbridge Angels against Harborough Town. Very few had heard of that little club, but by the end of the match, which Angels lost 1:4, before a record crowd of 3,132, they certainly knew who Harborough Town were. 2nd ROUND PROPER My 555th FA Cup-tie, and one of the best ever. Leyton Orient was tied 0:0 at the break, but Oldham Athletic backheeled an opener on 47 minutes. After 9 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match, Oldham fans were cheering loudly when Orient’s on-loan goalkeeper ran up and glanced a header into the net for 1:1 and extra time! As the first half of extra time was ending, a tired Oldham defender conceded a penalty, but the shuffling, stop-start run of the home forward merely sent the ball a yard wide of the post. However, in stoppage time at the end of extra time, with penalties looming, that same forward redeemed himself. His colleague on the far post headed the ball to him, and he, in turn, headed it into the net for a 2:1 win after extra time. 3rd ROUND PROPER A ticket has been secured for my first visit to the new stadium of Brentford. This is especially pleasing, as I was at Brentford from 1975 to 1981, as Chief Radio Commentator for the Bees’ Blind Scheme. [Ground Nº 321] Unfortunately, I’m old fashioned, and don’t possess a smartphone, so there aren’t any pictures to show. I saw my first football match in the 1961/62 Season (despite being at school six days a week), and achieved the 92 Football League grounds plus Berwick Rangers target in January 1978. Of my 320 grounds to date, 193 represent the so-called Non-League clubs, every one of those 193 having been visited in the FA Cup. I never thought that I’d go to an FA Cup Final, but my team, Pompey, allowed me that privilege in 2010, when we lost 0:1. That experience was the best in my life, even eclipsing my winning a bronze medal in athletics at Cape Town in both 1999 and 2004! So you see it’s all about the FA Cup for me, particularly the humbler grounds, the true football people, and the beautiful match programmes which those clubs are proud to produce. Stefan Gatward Portsmouth A big thank you to Stefan for sharing his journey following the FA Cup this season.

Waking up on a Saturday morning to minus temperatures and icy conditions with the intention to leave the warm confinements of a comfortable bed isn’t something that those not of a football background would relish, however whisper the sweet words of ‘away day’ in the ear of a football enthusiast and watch them bolt out of the stalls like a lurcher that hasn’t been around the track for a fortnight! Burton Here we come It was an early start for the travelling Shoe Army heading to Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium due to the ever considerate (insert sarcastic tone here) time constraints that a certain broadcaster feel is acceptable for TV coverage, and whilst far from the worst example in terms of distance travelled so early in the day, in my opinion only further demonstrates the dwindling importance to key decision makers of travelling fans. Whilst this is indeed no laughing matter, we football fans have a way of adapting and making the most of such circumstances, evidenced by the full breakfast and inebriant(s)that accompanied it we enjoyed – after all, it was 5 o’clock somewhere I’m sure! With full stomachs, the distinct aroma of bacon fat and a sense of ‘we could get a result today you know’ in the air, we set off for Northampton train station, a short Uber ride away. Boarding the 09:10 train along with a number of others within the Cobblers contingent, it was a rather buoyant journey for the time of day, fuelled by the aforementioned inebriants and optimism of most of the travelling Cobblers on board. Following two changes, encounters with other well-wishing travelling fans and conversations centred around methodical predictions of what the game ahead of us may hold, we arrived at our destination, Burton-Upon-Trent train station. First port of call (if you discount the toilet) was of course the closest pub to the ground, which after another short Uber journey of approx. 10-15 mins, we arrived at. Three pints of the black stuff was the order of choice, enjoyed within the characteristic and atmospheric walls of ‘The Beech Hotel,’ a well-renowned haven for away fans visiting the Pirelli Stadium. During our visit, I met the lovely Millie, a self-confessed away crowd reveller, who with her warm nature made us as a fan base feel very welcome and was even kind enough to pose for a photo or two with the Shoe Army. Offering a quality pint (or considerably more in our case), plenty of banter and a welcoming aura, The Beech Hotel is the perfect place for an away fan to enjoy their pre-match delights – we cannot thank Millie & her team enough for the fantastic treatment whilst there! It was then time to head to the ground in anticipation of kick off, and upon arrival, we were presented with a ‘newer’ sort of ground having been built in 2005, however there was still a feeling of tradition around the place. We were housed in the ‘Away Terrace,’ a safe standing area that provided a real old school feel resembling that of a much older ground and something I personally prefer to your more modern ‘sit down, be quiet and enjoy the game’ type approaches you see so much more frequently these days. For me, it provides a real sense of freedom to express yourself when on that 90 minute rollercoaster of emotions. With a total attendance of 2837 on the day, it’s fair to say us away fans made up a fair proportion of the attendance and with a close to sell out allocation, the shoe army could be heard making our contribution to the atmosphere. A far from classic game contested by one side rooted to the bottom of the table and the other not far above, it was fair to say the game lacked quality and definitely only served to showcase two teams low on confidence and in poor form for large parts. That said, what the game lacked in quality, it made up for in fighting spirit with both sides desperate for a result, which really added to the intensity of the game resulting in some full-blooded tackles flying in, which is as far as the action went in the first half with very little in the way of actual chances created. As the game progressed and we moved into the second half, both teams made changes and attempted to take a more attacking approach with Burton creating some decent chances and the Cobblers ‘keeper being called into action, making some top saves on a couple of occasions. It was however the mighty Cobblers who came away with the spoils, a hard fought 3 points and well-earned clean sheet to boot with impassioned chants of ‘we are staying up’ ringing out at full time further demonstrating the need for 3 points. A special mention must go to a man, who considered by many within the stands of Sixfields Stadium as a modern-day legend, has come to the aid of The Cobblers on many occasions with important goals and big performances when it matters the most – our very own ‘Super’ Sam Hoskins. A deflected winner when we needed it the most being the latest instalment in a catalogue of vital contributions produced whilst donning the famous claret & white, and all on his 400th appearance for the club, a feat rarely achieved at this level of football. This, for me, epitomises the model footballer and someone that should be showcased as a role model to the youth, rather than your £350k per week poster boys plying their overpaid trade in the glitz & glamour of the Premier League. With far too many examples of this nature for my liking, I for one salute players such as Sam for their dedication to their clubs, its fans, their wider communities and being able to provide fans with truly special moments time and time again. I’m sure we’ll be chanting ‘Hoskins again ole, ole’ a fair few more times before the season reaches it’s close. A big thank you to Tom Harvey the man behind this Awayday Blog! If you would like to send us an awayday blog contact us @ contact@properfootball.co.uk Or message us through our website www.properfootball.co.uk

The FA Vase is the non-league equivalent of the FA Cup for teams that play in steps 5 and 6, 596 teams entered the competition which started back in late August with the final to be played at Wembley on the same day as the FA trophy final which is the equivalent for steps 1 to 4, so with the 4th round being played on Saturday the 11th January we were fortunate enough to receive an invite to Sutton Utd (Birmingham) vs Bourne Town on a huge day for both clubs who have made it this far for the first time in their histories. On arrival at Sutton Utd, we were greeted by a very impressive setup, a fantastic large clubhouse, as well as the main 3G pitch (without which the game would not have gone ahead) there is also a 3G 7 aside pitch and a small mini 3G pitch, the stadium has an area with picnic benches overlooking the pitch with a seated stand along one side and a full-length open terrace behind one goal and a small cover terrace on the opposite side of the seated stand. The club had also provided an additional marquee and extra toilet facilities to accommodate the expected bumper crowd for the cup tie. Sutton United, based in Sutton Coldfield, currently sit 9th in the Midland League Division 1 at step 6, they were formed in 1947 just after the Second World War, with many of the founding players and management of the club making their way back into civilian life after serving their country. It was clear to see the club are so proud of its place in the community which was evident by the amount of families turning up for today’s game, and with almost 50 different teams being run by the club including, boys, girls, men’s and women’s football teams, they personify what grassroots football is all about! The president of the club, Mr John Potter, has been with the club for 60 years, which is remarkable, and he is a true custodian of the history of United. John gave us his time to have a chat with us on this historic day for the club. With this being Sutton's first season playing in the FA Vase, to make it to the 4th round is amazing and a landmark day for the club and despite it being an extremely cold day, approximately -2° the local community truly did turn out in their numbers to get behind their local side and with very little room left in the stadium I would say this was a sell-out! As the excitement grew with kick-off looming, we managed to catch up with a Sutton Supporter to have a chat. The opposition today, Bourne Town, currently riding high in the United Counties Premier Division North (step 5), sitting in second place four points behind the leaders, but with four games in hand, look to be very strong contenders for promotion to step 4 of the football pyramid, and were favourites to win the game. The club had been given 200 tickets for the match and sold them all! Full credit to them on the day as they created a great atmosphere with very noisy and vibrant support, adding to the buzz around the ground. We managed to catch up with the Bourne media man, Anthony, for a quick chat. From the game itself, from the start, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of football being played by both sides, the first half saw 4 goals with end-to-end action, and at the break, it was 2-2 and all to play for in the 2nd half. Bourne Town came out the stronger of the two sides after the interval and scored two more goals, which saw the game finish 4-2, and The Wakes were safely through to the next round and a step closer to Wembley. This game had everything: a full house, noisy fans, smoke bombs and some stunning goals and their was wonderful scenes at the end with the Bourne Town players celebrating with their fans. Sadly, I didn't manage to capture any quality highlights, unfortunately, partly due to the fog but mostly down to my bad workmanship, as the saying goes, 'I’m getting sacked in the morning'! It just leaves us to say a massive thank you to Sutton United who can be immensely proud of their debut in the FA Vase and a huge thank you to both sides for what was a fantastic game of football and a great advert for the FA Vase and, indeed, non-league football and we wish them both the best of luck for the rest of the season! Well done to all involved! Interested in us visiting your club contact us on contact@properfootball.co.uk Or message us through the website

The destination for our latest visit to a non-league club was the newly reformed Nuneaton Town for their game against Birstall United at step 6 in The Midland League Division 1. We reported the sad news on January 18th last year that the historical side had withdrawn from the Southern Premier League Central and was considering liquidation, meaning Warwickshire's largest town could be without a football club. We followed the situation closely over the ensuing months and we were very pleased to hear that a plan was in action to bring the club back to life. It's fair to say there was a sense of apprehension and suspicion from the wider football community with the stigma of years of poor ownership and mismanagement blighting the club, and when news was released about the new club, we saw comments on social media like... "Here we go again" and "How many times is this club going to be allowed to reform?" etc, but we also read many comments from other fans who had empathy for the Nuneaton supporters with all the trials and tribulations that they have been through for many years. The sole purpose of our visit today was to encourage the wider football community and even Nuneaton supporters who may have stopped going to let them understand and see that this newly formed fan-owned entity is the start of something special and to give those behind the new model a platform to dispel any concerns. This is a club where the fans have said they've had enough; they love their club and will not let poor ownership and bad management rip the heart and soul out of the club again, and that Town is the future, and Borough is the past! Today was not about us telling you what Nuneaton Town is now all about It was for the fans themselves to tell you, and they certainly did that! We hope you enjoy this article. After being contacted by Mark Lacrouts, one of the many Nuneaton fans behind the new club we gladly accepted the kind invitation and couldn't wait to meet everyone involved with bringing the football club back to life! On arrival, we received a very friendly welcome and could immediately sense the positivity and togetherness at the club. Our first port of call was to have a chat with Ian Cook, the new chairman of Nuneaton Town, and what must be emphasised is a man selected for the role fellow fans! Nuneaton Town's temporary home is in Bedworth at The Oval, the home of Bedworth United about 4 miles from Nuneaton, a ground that has a capacity of 3000 (300 seated) with a 3G pitch and very good facilities at the host club who play at step 4 in the Northern Premier League - Midlands Division currently two steps higher than Nuneaton. Before the game we ventured into the clubhouse/bar which was already buzzing, with many Nuneaton supporters mingling about and having a few beers before the game, served up by the very friendly and efficient bar staff who couldn't do enough for you, there was plenty of tables and chairs and a big TV screen with the early kick-off on, we then we spotted a gathering of people on one side of the room buying merchandise and old memorabilia from the top of a covered pool table, so we took the opportunity to have a quick chat with two club volunteers Andy and Lee. Not wanting to give Nuneaton Town the dreaded kiss of death despite them sitting top of the League, this ground is more than capable of accommodating football up to step 4 at least, with two covered areas, including a seated stand and two food and beverage areas in what is a tidy ground with good facilities. It was also nice to see an area reserved for a memorial for all those connected to The Green Backs who have passed away over the years. It's safe to say whilst Boro will look to ultimately locate back to their own town at some point, Bedworth United's ground will definitely suffice for now. With kick-off fast approaching, we caught up with another volunteer at the club called Phil, who told us about his matchday routine and the positive changes he has witnessed since the new club was formed. The game kicked off with a good crowd in full voice as we interviewed twin brothers Liam and Aaron, who are huge Nuneaton supporters and were instrumental in the steering group that was initially set up by the fans to lay out the plans for what the new club should entail. We split up during the game with Gary and Tom watching the match from the balcony above the stand whilst interviewing the chairman and others behind the scenes whilst Dan mingled with the supporters to get a real flavour of how they felt about the set-up of the new reborn Nuneaton Town and how it was being run and he was absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm and the feel-good factor that was radiated from every single one of them, and it was clear to understand why because they all felt like they were part of the clubs destiny! Boro supporter Russell was kind enough to give Dan his views on the club during the half-time interval. Today's visit was all about Nuneaton Town but what should also be highlighted is the part that Bedworth United have played in assisting Nuneaton in the process, whilst Bedworth will make some much-needed income from sharing their ground with a local rival it should be commended and Dan was lucky enough to catch up with a Bedworth fan of 60 years at today's game and a real character called Eric who was working as a steward. The full-time whistle blew and it was another win for Boro with the score finishing 2-0 and cementing their place at the top of the table, as I was about to walk back into the bar a fan said to me, "Hold up mate, you might want to see what happens at the end with the manager and the fans" and he was right! It was fantastic to see the togetherness between the joint manager Darren Acton and the supporters, yes, some may say you see this a lot in football nowadays but you could sense this was actually heartfelt and genuine and backed up by the fact that Darren has played 347 times in goal for the club between 2003-2010 and has witnessed the ups and downs and turmoil first hand and completely gets what this club means to the community. It must also be said the appointment of both Daren and Russell Dodd as joint managers, with their combined experience and having worked together before, has been an excellent decision by the fans; sorry, the club! After the game, we caught up with the treasurer at the club Lee Hayward who explained what a community interest company (or CIC) entails, which in short is a special form of non-charitable limited company that primarily benefits a community or pursues a social purpose, rather than to make a profit for shareholder s and he also emphasised the transparency of the club's finances which are documented for all the fans to see. Finally, we spoke to Mark Lacrouts, the man who invited us up for the day to wrap up what was a fantastic day and a wonderful insight into the rebirth of Nuneaton FC. To sum up, Nuneaton Town is a fantastic advert for a community-run football club and we wish them every success going forward in what is a very exciting time and we sincerely hope this article goes a long way in winning the doubters over and that the fans and volunteers who have worked tirelessly on this project get all the credit they deserve! We did film highlights of today's game but thought it was best to share the brilliant work done by 17-year-old videographer James Hayward who does this as a volunteer for the club and is doing a fantastic job along with Christian Obrey from 'Through The Turnstile of Non-League Football' who does the editing. Please make sure to subscribe to the Nuneaton Town YouTube channel to see all their great content. And last of all, best of luck to Nuneaton Town in The Midweek Floodlit Challenge Cup Final against Cradley Town on Wednesday 30th, April at the Poundland Bescot Stadium, home of Walsall FC and hopefully the first of many trophies for the newly formed community football club!

We have now raise £1000 for our chosen charity Team Mikayla. That means we have provided 2 treasure boxes for children battling Cancer. So from all of us at Proper Football a massive THANK YOU to all who have donated or had a team(s) on one of our football cards. More importantly Mikayla would like to THANK you herself. We will continue to support Team Mikayla and every £500 pounds we raise will go directly to a treasure box for a child with Cancer, link below for donations: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/proper-football?utm_term=yxMrP3xvd&fbclid=IwY2xjawF9xFdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHc7ZfFcYtEPJg3mxomiLoJ0D2mU23tzLt8yiXiFuhF6DE_QKQ_YaGiFD8g_aem_TlqvUI9sJmlwTGl12wAFUw

In this week's episode, the lads look back at the weekend's football and discuss the latest stories from Non-League and Welsh Football Inc... the proposed controversial merger of the two Bedford clubs, and touch on the Welsh FA and Merthyr FC, plus much much more!

For most of us, it is our life our place of worship a place to go to every week to meet like-minded friends and fellow supporters a place where you have stood or sat in the same seat for decades and created memories good and bad, somewhere that your forefathers and generations of family have gone before, it's a sense of being and pride in your community, it's part of you, somewhere you have invested thousands of pounds and countless hours of commitment, ultimately it's part of who you are. But sadly supporters of many teams feel like this is being stripped away from them with the influx of unscrupulous owners looking to cash in on our national game mainly due to the carrot being dangled by the money machine that is the Premier League. We see owners, greedy football agents and players, TV companies, big businesses and even far away countries ripping the heart out of our clubs who are completely disconnected as to what the clubs mean to the fans and taking billions out of the game, the old saying of football without fans is nothing doesn't really hold weight anymore as games are beamed around the world to viewers willing to pay for it who really couldn't care less about the local communities and businesses who are dependant on the clubs. So what's the answer? Yes, it should be said not all clubs are rotten eggs with Leicester City a case in point but they are few and far between, we are all guilty of being vociferous towards our owners after a bad run of results, a bad managerial appointment or the sale of our best players from time to time but that is just part of football but when you see clubs on the brink of liquidation, folding and being stripped bare and used to line peoples pockets or just completely mismanaged by egotistical clueless multi-millionaires it really breaks your heart that a historical club could be lost forever, the only answer is for legislation to be made to protect it from happening and giving historical clubs a listed graded status that gives them protection, and giving (the weak) football organisations more power to be stronger and have a fit and proper purpose test that is actually fit for purpose! But most of all we need to give fans and supporter groups a voice and be included in decision-making and the clear transparency of the running of OUR clubs. The German model of clubs having to be owned by 51% (the 50+1 rule) by fans states that, in order to obtain a license to compete in the Bundesliga, a club must hold a majority of its own voting rights. The rule is designed to ensure that the club's members retain overall control, by way of owning 50% of shares, +1 share, and protecting clubs from the influence of external investors. Yes, that is easier said than done but there are signs of some green shoots in that direction with some clubs including Preston North End who are the latest to create a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) in the EFL following on from Bristol City, Swindon Town and Bolton Wanderers who have also made similar agreements with their fans in recent seasons. An MOU is about the club committing to ongoing dialogue with their supporters by signing up to a Memorandum of Understanding and commits both parties to regular dialogue on substantial club matters. The details can be found here; https://thefsa.org.uk/news/preston-north-end-commit-to-dialogue-with-fans/ Another initiative recently set up by The ESSG which is a group of Everton stakeholder groups, associations and societies that came together in June 2021, to consider the views of Evertonians and to develop a proposal for effective and meaningful fan representation at Board level at Everton Football Club. The ESSG terms of Reference are; We are a group of Everton fans, representing a variety of supporters groups and organisations. Our goals are to create a Fan Advisory Board and have Fan Directors who have been elected through an open and transparent election. The fallout of Project Big Picture in October 2020, the European Super League proposals in April 2021 and the UK G overnment’s subsequent Fan Led Review into Football Governance, highlighted the need to strengthen the role football fans have in the decision-making processes within football clubs, to ensure that: the views of fans are embedded in the club’s strategic and commercial strategies; the interests of the local community are protected; and communication and engagement between the Board of the Football Club and its supporters is meaningful. It must be said as fans some of us get caught up in the hype of news of foreign investment from some super-rich billionaire with an open chequebook that will take us to the next level and get sold a dream but ultimately we lose our soul and forget what we were all once about and lose our soul and get blinkered by an impossible dream in most cases. In summary, on the surface football looks like it's thriving with the global brand of the shiny Premier League, Champions League and all singing and dancing hypocritical World Cups in Qatar, but in reality, it's all about money and lining the pockets of the corrupt organisations of FIFA, UEFA and the Rich. Football is so much more than that to us, just ask a fan of Bury, Derby, Birmingham and the many others who have been lost, on their last legs or saved from the brink. At the end of the day no matter who we support and rivalries aside we are all cut from the same cloth and without each other, the game we love wouldn't be the same. This is a fight we have to fight together. Give us our beautiful game back!

We all know football has the habit of conjuring up amazing stories, be it heart warming, emotional or freak results, just like Leicester City winning the Premier League, Wimbledon's Crazy Gang defeating the might of Liverpool to lift the FA Cup in 1988, 42-year-old Roger Milla coming out of retirement to score in the World Cup for Cameroon, David's beating Goliath's in the 3rd round of the Cup or Jamie Vardy getting an England call up just 4 years after playing non-league football for Halifax. But one such story happening right now which is at least on a par with those if not above and wouldn't look out of place in a Roy of the Rovers annual is that of Dorking Wanderers. Dorking with a population of around 20,000 is a Market Town in Surrey, South East England, situated by the River Mole, between the escarpment of the chalk hills of the North Downs and the wooded heights of Leith Hill and known for the beauty of its countryside and National Trust nature reserves of Holmwood Common and Box Hill. 'The Wanderers' were the brainchild of the current owner, chairman and manager, Marc White, who back in 1999 when he was 25 years young along with some friends had become completely disillusioned with the direction of Wimbledon FC who they followed home and away and were heading for relegation from the Premier League amidst loud whispers of relocation to another part of the country. So they decided to set up a Saturday football team to occupy their time, have fun and satisfy their football fix. Life began at the bottom in the 5th tier of the Crawley and District League with 14 mates paying five pounds each to play on a council-owned pitch costing £50 to play on a time. Now, that is nothing remarkable, but what is is that they now sit mid-table in the top tier of the National League, the fifth tier in the Football pyramid after racking up 12 promotions in 22 completed seasons! 'Timeline of events' After Switching to Division Four of the West Sussex League they rapidly moved up through the Leagues to the Premier Division and In 2006–07 the Wanderers won it by clinching the title with a victory on the last day of the season. As a result, the club was promoted to Division Three of the Sussex County League which they went on to win in 2010–11 and by the end of the 2014–15 season they won the First Division earning promotion to Division One South of the Isthmian League. 2015/16 saw them make the playoffs but sadly lose out but the following season they went one better by winning the playoffs to gain yet another promotion to reach the Isthmian Premier and finally In 2018–19 the club won the Premier Division by a margin of 22 points! earning promotion to the National League South for the first time in history! Nothing seemed like it could stop the promotion-eating machine that is 'The Wanderers' but It took a worldwide pandemic to stop them in their tracks, the curtailed Covid affected 2019/20 season saw them placed into a finishing position of 7th and into a playoff spot where they made the semi finals before losing out, and the following season brought more cruel heartbreak as the season was called null n void with Dorking sitting 5 points clear with a game in hand after 18 matches, but last season they finished runners up and navigated their way through the playoffs to gain promotion to the National League! Dorking Wanderers are most definitely a modern-day fairy tale and just like all the children's stories where there are ups and downs with difficult times and heart-wrenching moments, like having to leave their beloved picturesque Westhumble ground which was home to them from 2007-to 2018 where hard work, sweat, passion and undivided loyalty had seen it developed to fit the different league's criteria, to a twist of fate and good fortune when Dorking FC, the towns more established side hit hard times and had to fold which offered 'The Wanderers' a timely opportunity to take over their Meadowbank stadium that now holds 3,000 fans. Something that is lost on many big football clubs is the value of loyal fans, the sense of a community working together and a feeling of belonging that is priceless, Dorking Wanderers and the majority of Non-League clubs offer this in spades. We can only hope that this fairy tale continues and gives hope to many others, this quote from Cinderella, one of the most famous fairy tales of all sums it up perfectly. “They can’t order me to stop dreaming.”

Cray Wanderers London's oldest football club celebrated a landmark moment on Friday night in South East London when the floodlights were switched on for the first time at their new ground at Flamingo Park. Cray Wanderers FC  was formed in 1860 when migrant workers, building the Cray Valley railway viaduct, teamed up with villagers from St. Mary Cray for a “lunchtime kick about”. Little did these early footballing pioneers realise that what started out as a bit of fun would still be going strong over 163 years later. The Wands have never owned their own stadium and have been groundsharing Bromley’s Hayes Lane ground since 1999 after their former base at Oxford Road, Sidcup failed ground grading criteria as it didn’t have planning permission to install floodlighting – a situation that is still present to this day. The club who play in the Isthmian League Premier Division (level 7) have played outside the Crays area for just over 50 years and work began on building their new stadium on the A20 Sidcup bypass back in August this year after planning permission was granted for a 1,300-capacity stadium. The facility will have two new community 3G sports pitches, the reinstatement and relocation of three existing grass football pitches, as well as a bar, changing rooms, classrooms, a gym and a museum at the Flamingo Park site. To help fund this scheme, two four-storey blocks with 28 two-bedroom flats were also proposed as enabling development. The club hope to be playing at their new stadium at Flamingo Park at the start of the 2024-25 season. Welcome home Cray!

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Ramsgate Football Club are the lowest-ranked team left in this year's FA Cup. They are one step away from reaching the 3rd round for the first time in their history but in their way are one of the most famous giant killers in the history of the competition, AFC Wimbledon, who under their previous guise beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Cup final back in 1988 against all the odds. Ramsgate have sold out their allocation of 1500 tickets and 20 coach loads of Rams will be packing out the away end in South West London! The Rams play at level 8 of the football pyramid in the Isthmian League South East Division and currently sit a the the top of the division winning 10 of 12 games and with only one loss so far this season. They have won six games on their Cup journey, including an impressive 2-1 victory over Woking of the National League in the 1st round. Ramsgate FC is one of the largest non-League clubs in Kent, and last season fielded 78 senior and youth teams, and for 2023/24 again includes 3 for women and 10 for girls as well as 2 senior men’s teams comprising the 1st Team and Under 23s. The current club restarted in 1945 after the ban on football in east Kent during World War 2 was lifted, and originally called Ramsgate Athletic have played at the Southwood Stadium continuously ever since. The Southwood Stadium now has a capacity of 3,500 but the largest crowd registered at the ground was 5,038 for the visit of local rivals Margate in 1955. They made Club history when they reached the 1st Round Proper of the FA Cup for the first time in 1955, narrowly losing 5-3 at Watford (a record that stood for 50 years before reaching that round again).  This fantastic picture below (credited to Peter Griffiths) was of his 17-year-old Dad (front right) working on the 1955 Cup special steam train vs Watford! In tradition with the FA Cup Ramsgate FC have also had an FA Cup song made for them with the “Our Road to Wimbledon FA Cup song” performed by Luke J Dorman and the SuperMicks called “Ramsgate Are Massive” The album is now available to download here; https://ramsgatefc.bandcamp.com/album/road-to-wimbledon All money raised will go to the Brooklyn Bain fundraiser for Ramsgate youngster Brooklyn who was diagnosed with a brain tumour called Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma which is sadly a very aggressive type of incurable childhood cancer. Details can be found here; https://www.gofundme.com/f/brooklyn-and-family We wish Ramsgate FC and all their fans the best for the game and fingers crossed the magic of the greatest Cup competition in world football shines down on them tonight with a 3rd round home tie against Championship high flyers Ipswich Town waiting in the wings. Let's hope for a repeat of these scenes from the round before!

Many fans make long journeys up and down the country following their teams or on a ground hopping adventure to tick off another football stadium, well, one such football fan made a 1,000 mile + trek from the outreaches of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia Via Stockholm to watch Dial Square FC who play in Chertsey, Surrey at Step 8 of Non- League on a Tuesday night! The fans name is Harald Kristiansen and he has been following Dial Square FC for about 3 years and is part of their Scandinavian fan club. This was Harald's first ever time watching the club and he was rewarded with a 4-1 home win over Ripley Village in the Surrey County Intermediate League Premier Division match, in fact he enjoyed it so much he has decided to stay on for their Cup match this coming Saturday! Dial Square FC which is a fan owned football club were only formed just over 4 years ago by a group of Arsenal fans who had became disenchanted with elite football and the club they still love. ridiculous tickets prices, corporates taking president over real fans, ridiculous kick off times with games switched to suit the TV companies and a complete disconnect with the club and players. The name Dial Square goes back to 1886 when a group of workers from the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory decided to form a football team. They called themselves Dial Square as a reference to the sundial atop the entrance to the factory. On December 11, 1886, Dial Square romped to a 6-0 victory over Eastern Wanderers, the first game in their initial guise and shortly afterwards the name ‘Royal Arsenal’ was adopted. The current Dial Square FC was reborn on 7th January 2020, after a failed attempt to start life in the Combined Counties Football League One after it was vetoed by the League they began life in the Guilford and Woking Alliance League which is at Step 10 with home games played at Abbey Rangers in Addlestone, Surrey and adopted a burgundy coloured strip inline with the original Dial Square. Unfortunately in their inaugural season Covid hit which meant the League was suspended and was eventually registered as null and void. The following first full season in 21/22 saw Dial Square promoted as runners up and they also signed ex Gunner and European Cup Winners Cup winner for Arsenal, Ian Selley who made his debut for them aged of 47! Dial Square then announced they would be moving home to Chertsey Town FC for the 22/23 season at Step 9 in the Surrey County Intermediate League (West) Division One. Dial Square then went on to secure a second consecutive promotion in 22/23! and moved up to Step 8 in the Premier Division in the Surrey County intermediate Football League and without tempting fate it looks like a 3rd successive promotion could be well on the cards as they find themselves 7 points clear at the top with a game in hand with 10 games to play. We've had the pleasure to talk to some of the people behind the club on one of our podcasts last year and we'll definitely be paying a visit to one of their games just like Harald has albeit a much shorter journey! Harald is also an Arsenal fan but has the same views as the club on what the game has become but the people at Dial Square make it clear that you don't have to have an affinity with The Arsenal and that everyone is welcome and they do get fans from clubs like Chelsea and QPR to name a few who go to their games. Dial Squares vision and core values are To source a permanent home ground and develop Dial Square F.C. into a fan-owned National League club, ensuring that football is accessible and enjoyed by all. To grow the fan-ownership in the club. To deliver a commercially viable operating model. To provide an opportunity for supporters to be an integral part of the club. To nurture and provide a pathway for footballing talent. To embrace difference across the footballing spectrum. To ensure fans have a true voice We sincerely wish Dial Square FC all the best for this season and beyond, because what they stand for completely resonates with what we are all about at Proper Football. And finally we wish a safe journey back to the Scandinavian Arctic Circle for Harald a football fan who supports a club that 100% appreciates him! Make sure to follow Dial Square on all their socials and their website which is https://www.dialsquarefc.com/ Facebook - X/Twitter