Altrincham vs Boston United

I was supposed to go to watch Hereford United last Tuesday - due to the still prevalent bad weather that game was called off, but it turned out to be for the best. I headed to Altrincham to see them take on Boston United.

I had only previously been to Moss Lane to watch Manchester United U-21's, typically tepid affairs like most reserve games. Watching Altrincham proved to be more interesting, and believe it or not the quality of Conference North football was more entertaining and eye-catching than Premier League reserves! The home side won 7-1, the six Boston fans standing on the terrace must have wondered why they bothered coming all the way from Lincolnshire.

One thing that irked me about the game was the number of fans, and that the attendance for the Man Utd reserve games wasn't that far off that of the Altrincham game. You've gotta be pretty sad to want to watch reserve games for fun regularly, Man Utd don't need any more of your money, support a non-league side!

Carlisle United vs Coventry City

250 miles in a day is a hell of a commute, but one which I’d gladly do again. At least for the way there – I was amazed at how cheap the return ticket was - £21.75 – which for a journey of approximately 125 miles each way is great value, I’m not sure you’d be able to travel the same distance anywhere else in the UK. However, I soon realized why. The train left from Shipley, a town near Leeds, and I noticed on the platform that all the places it called at were small, the biggest being Skipton. The train pulled up, all of two carriages, there were no more than ten people on the train at any given point. The journey went through the gloriously bleak and austere countryside of the Yorkshire Dales, which was great to watch fly by for the 2 ¼ hours. The way back, in the dark and via Preston, was less impressive. 

I got to a snowy and chilly Carlisle just before 2, and went straight to the ground, Brunton Park, a mile walk from the station. The ground looked like it hadn't changed since they briefly topped the English football pyramid back in the mid-70's. There were wooden seats and more fans standing than sitting which can only be a good thing, but with the Coventry fans not braving the uncovered terraces behind the goal, instead electing to sit in the stand alongside the pitch. Carlisle scored in the second minute and spent the entire second half with their backs to the wall, holding on for a 1 – 0 win. 

Huddersfield Town vs Birmingham City

I've seen Huddersfield's stadium from a distance on the train countless times but have never had the pleasure of going there, until last Saturday afternoon. As a rule, I'm not a fan of 'new' stadiums. There are plenty of faceless, generic arenas out there, and you could argue that Huddersfield's John Smith's Stadium falls under this category (the stadium has no real name, simply adopting whatever sponsor they have at the time), but I enjoyed my time there.  Unlike for example, the Keepmoat, home of Doncaster Rovers, or the Reebok, home of Bolton Wanderers, which are on industrial estates far from the respective town centres and leaves you with the impression that you could be watching this game absolutely anywhere in the UK, Huddersfield's ground is close to the centre and, you don't feel so boxed in, with a forest to one side and views of the town the other.

So I saw them against Birmingham City. I was keen to see Ravel Morrison, once on Manchester United's books and dubbed "the new Scholes" in some quarters but whose disciplinary matters proved too hard to handle for even Fergie and co. One comparison that rang true was his ability to pass - the best on the pitch in this aspect, but other than that he was underwhelming. Jack Butland in the City goal, who was England's third keeper at last years European Championships was an impressive shot-stopper but needs to work on his goal kicks which were woeful. Huddersfield were fairly shoddy apart from their number 7, the ex-Premier League front pairing of Jermaine Beckford and James Vaughan were unimpressive. The game ended 1-1. Back there in two weeks for the FA cup – they’re slashing the ticket prices by at least half, in some cases a third, so hopefully there won’t be ten thousand empty seats next time round.

Stalybridge Celtic vs Bishop's Stortford

I've seen a few good games at Ashton United, but this time I was on the other side of the east Manchester area of Tameside for other perennial non-leaguers, Stalybridge Celtic. It's not often I'm the first in the ground, but at Stalybridge I was, at least until I realised that the fifty-odd people that arrived before me were in the social club behind the home goal. There was roughly 20 old men for every women or child, a ratio impressive even by non-league standards. As for the Bishop's Stortford faithful, due to the rather odd design of the league, which places this Hertfordshire side in the Northern section of the split lower conference division, there were roughly three fans present. 249 fans in total - their lowest turnout this season, but it didn't take away from what was a great evening out. Celtic's ground, Bower Fold, is located about twenty minutes walk from the train station. It is almost entirely surrounded by trees, that tower over parts of the ground in an ominous fashion. From the main stand I could just about catch the outline of the Pennines in the distance far, the faint glow of the sun still visible. A quirky feature of the stadium is that a large part of the main stand is taken up by a curry house, next time I'll have to get here a bit earlier.

What strikes you in games with small crowds is how clearly you can hear the players talking/yelling at each other on the pitch, who for the most part drowned out the sound of the spectators. It must make communication between playing/coaching staff a lot easier and more effective. You wonder to what extent does the loudness of bigger crowds inhibit this, and how does this affect the way the game is played. Anyway, the game itself was fantastic. Although it may seem like a gross generalisation, I notice at this level the players play with less fear - you see more wingers taking on full backs and forwards taking pop shots from outside the area, whereas in higher leagues players are often more cautious, to the detriment to the quality of entertainment. I'd take these part timers over Michael 'square ball' Carrick and Stewart Downing any day of the week. The home side came from 1-0 down to win 3-1.

Crewe Alexandra vs Stevenage F.C.

I made a concious decision to avoid F.A. Cup games this weekend, which was very much vindicated when I saw the poor attendances and drab performances in games that might have gone to. So a League One game it was instead. I didn't find Crewe to be the most inspiring of places, it's centre pretty much a carbon copy of every other in the UK, all the same chain shops etc. The historic Gresty Road is conveniently located less than five minutes from the train station, and is an odd stadium, with one stand dwarfing the three others by some distance, rendering the atmosphere a bit hollow and sparse. From my vantage point at the back of said stand I could see pretty much the whole of Crewe, for what it's worth. It appears that the sun blocking effects of the big stand rendered a portion of the pitch akin to that of a chicken pen, which hindered the potential for good football being played there. A decent game, Stevenage coming out 2-1 winners.

Alfreton Town vs Cambridge United

As soon as you get to Alfreton you know that you're in for a pretty low key affair. The train station has only two platforms and is empty. The walk from the station to the ground is short and takes you through tranquil middle class suburbs, one of the least threatening places you can imagine. The present name for Alfreton's stadium is the Impact Arena, which defies all notion of what constitutes an arena, the biggest stand has a whopping five rows. The bar was the size of a living room and there were five urinals for the entire home support. A pleasant atmosphere, and like most of the games I go to, particularly non-league, the majority of the crowd were old men sipping bovril, you wonder where the next 500-strong home crowd will come from. I have had issues with the choice/volume of a lot of the tannoy music at football games, but Alfreton score well in this - loud enough to be heard but not enough to drown out the atmosphere/mean that you have to shout at the person next to you like in a club (the case with many stadiums, particularly at the higher end of the spectrum). And I enjoyed the Slade and Manic Street Preachers, among others. I'd already been there back in October, and after asking for a ticket receipt at the gate (£18 entry by the way, I could go on a rant about how I watched Barcelona at the Nou Camp for only a fiver more last year...) I was told to go and speak to the chairman - that kind of level of down to earth is Alfreton. Was good entertainment - being that close to the pitch you can feel and hear the tackles, such are the benefits of being a football follower at this level, Cambridge got an equaliser in the last minute and that was that, a sprint to the station to catch the 21:46 to Chesterfield and home.

Leeds United vs Ipswich Town

After twenty seven games on the job, I finally get assigned one in the city I live in. I'd been to Elland Road a few years ago but had little memory of it, aside from the loss of innocence at paying £28 for a League One game on a rainy Tuesday night, vs Millwall. Not the best located stadium, getting the bus from the city centre you pass through uninspiring suburbs, industrial wasteland and over a motorway, but the ground itself I was impressed by. Despite the stadium being only half full, the home end looked packed, and the atmosphere was decent enough from my position in the East Stand on the halfway line. Leeds, a mixture of promising youngsters and journeymen (far more of the latter) won 2-0 despite a drab performance - the first fifteen minutes of the second half were full of frustration - one of the things I love as a neutral is watching fans getting wound up over their team, Leeds gave the ball away constantly, but then followed it with a goal - the contrast in emotion and the relief that follows is one of the great things about football.