2021/22 Review

So, here we are. For the first time since 2019, a season of non-league football has been completed. The full slate of promotion and relegation has happened and clubs will finally be able to progress after being stuck in place for a few years. From a personal perspective, I finally got properly back into groundhopping after doing basically none in the 2020/21 season between lockdowns. And so, with that being the case, I've decided to do a full season review to celebrate and to help tide me over until the new season starts again.

Regular readers of my blog will have noticed a running theme in my entries: train issues. I rely either on lifts or public transport to get to games, so I use trains for a lot of my groundhops and that has posed quite a few issues this season. At its worst, I missed out on Yaxley's game away at Spalding before Christmas due to staff shortages (thanks, omicron!) cancelling my train, but thankfully that was a one-off. Still, trains being late was a consistent trend this season, with it seeming to be the case that incremental delays are just normal now and more significant delays are no longer the rarity they used to be.

Even with those issues, I got a good amount of groundhopping done this season with 29 new ticks added to the list and 19 new programmes added to my collection. Not everything ended up going to plan, not least in terms of how few Yaxley away games I ended up going to (just 8 overall, and only 6 in the league), but I did a lot of interesting things along the way. Undoubtedly, my most notable trips were the two long trips up to County Durham to visit Crook Town and Horden Community Welfare, the latter being especially significant given how it is going to change over the summer.

Those ambitious trips were fairly reflective of my overall approach to groundhopping this season, in that I wanted to do some more northern ticks after three years of University and ticking loads of grounds in the south. My visit to Crook was also significant for being the first time I used a bus for part of my journey to a ground: prior to this season, it wasn't something I'd even thought to try, but now I've got the confidence to do it and open up a whole load of new options for me next season.

Another change I made to my groundhopping approach also came from one of those long trips up north: after doing so when I visited Horden, I've now started to write my match reports on my phone on the way back from most of my groundhops. This doesn't sound like a major change, but it's been a definite improvement as far as I'm concerned. It allows me to pass the time more effectively on the journey back while also ensuring I'm writing while the match is fresh in my mind. Most importantly, it means rushing around less when I do get back home, as I don't have to write the entire thing from scratch and sort my photos out while also trying to fit in dinner, a shower etc.

A few smaller, interesting things also happened here and there on my travels this season. For instance, I won a half-time raffle for the first time at Diss Town, recouping my matchday costs in the process. Sure, that meant I only won a tenner, but that's still something that takes a fair bit of luck. I was also used to mark where a throw-in should be taken at Radford back in January, which was a bit of a strange moment (not least because of the coincidence needed for the ball to just happen to go out directly in front of where I was standing).

There's a lot more I could go on about, but I don't want to turn this into too much of a ramble. Instead, I've come up with some awards to show appreciation to the best experiences I had this season: these awards will cover best ground visited, best backdrop, best match (as a neutral and with Yaxley as two separate awards), friendliest club (again, as a neutral and with Yaxley as two separate awards) and best food. I'm sure my regular readers can come up with good guesses for most of these, but without further ado let's get right into it:

Best Ground

No surprises here, The Sir Tom Cowie Millfield of Crook Town was by far the best ground I visited this season, absolutely oozing with history everywhere and more than worth the long trip up north to get there. The main stand is a thing of beauty and the covered terrace next to it is a very interesting structure too, but there are plenty of smaller touches too that make it special like the excellently-named "Only Food and Sauces" food hut next to the stand. Absolutely worth a visit and I'm so glad I got to tick it off this season.

Honourable mentions for this award go to Atherstone Town and Canvey Island: the former has been one I've wanted to get to for a long time and is undoubtedly deserving of higher than 10th tier football, while the latter was a pleasant surprise that I wasn't expecting to get to anytime soon (the standing terrace behind the near goal was a particular highlight).

Best Backdrop

As well as the facilities at a ground, I've started paying attention to the surroundings of the grounds I visit this season, thanks in part to reading Mike Bayly's excellent book British Football's Greatest Grounds after getting it for Christmas. Unsurprisingly, it is one of the grounds featured in that book which wins this award: Belper Town's Christchurch Meadow. Behind one goal you have the church which (presumably) gives the ground its name, as well as the town of Belper built into the hills. Behind the other goal, you have a much more rural view of the hills of the Derwent Valley. But the thing that well and truly sets this ground apart is the imposing East Mill building towering over the ground, and it all comes together for a special groundhopping experience.

Honorable mentions here go to Fisher and Belstone. In Fisher's case, an otherwise-bland ground is redeemed by the view of the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf that can be seen behind one of the goals. Meanwhile, Belstone was set in the nicest rural location I visited this season, surrounded by trees and also made more interesting by the presence of a massive pylon behind one of the goals on the second pitch directly next to the main one.

Best Match (Neutral)

This one was a little more difficult to decide on, as all I really have to go off is the match reports I have written on this blog and the little summaries I post at the end of each one. I'm sure some of the matches I attended as a neutral have highlights posted somewhere online, but I just decided to read through my reports and go off of gut feeling rather than going on a wild goose chase for highlights that likely don't exist.

Based on that gut feeling, the winner of this award is Horden Community Welfare 4-2 Jarrow. In my report and summary, I mention being very impressed by the quality of attacking play from both teams for a 10th tier match and I think that's enough to elevate it above other matches I attended as a neutral this season.

My honourable mentions here are Desborough Town 2-2 Rugby Town and Warboys Town 3-2 Wisbech Town Reserves, with both sounding like real topsy-turvy encounters with plenty of drama to take note of (including a last-minute equaliser for Desborough).

Best Match (Yaxley)

By contrast, I had a very easy time deciding which match to highlight here (not least because all that matters to me here is the result rather than actual entertainment value) as one stood well above the rest as not just the best Yaxley match I attended this season, but quite possibly one of my all-time favourites: Lowestoft Town 2-3 Yaxley. The first time I've seen us on the right side of a cupset and it was a fantastic experience. Nerve-wracking, but utterly fantastic and it will definitely live long in the memory (not least because there are highlights available online that I can rewatch whenever).

Honourable mentions here to the smash and grab that was our 1-2 win away at Stamford and to our impressive 3-1 win against Spalding United at the start of the season, the latter being quite possibly the best overall performance I've ever seen from a Yaxley team.

Friendliest Club (Neutral)

In my neutral groundhops, I don't try to make a huge fuss of myself to get special treatment from the clubs I visit. Usually, I just post on Twitter to confirm where I'm going and when I arrive, but I tend to stick to myself once I'm there rather than making a huge fuss about being a groundhopper. This approach means that cases where a club go above and beyond to welcome me/make me feel welcome really stand out.

And that was definitely the case with Belstone, who were quite possibly one of the friendliest clubs I have ever visited. While some special treatment did come into play (getting a lift from the station to the ground and getting free drinks and admission courtesy of Lee), it was also because multiple supporters, club officials and players were very friendly and eager to have a chat. It's not an experience I'm used to, but one I'm very glad I had and more than enough to wholeheartedly recommend paying them a visit next season.

For this award, I have three honourable mentions rather than the usual two, with one being a club I only encountered through their away fans. The first is Langford, as I remember their gateman being very friendly as I came into the ground. Blackstones were also friendly, but I think that's at least in part because there are quite a few people I know who are involved behind the scenes there.

As for that third honourable mention, even though I only encountered them as away fans, I was very impressed with Jarrow and a group of their supporters called the Hackle Hecklers: they were a vocal group who provided a great atmosphere throughout the match with their repertoire of good-natured songs in support of their team. That experience alone has made me want to pay Jarrow a visit soon and get the full experience.

Friendliest Club (Yaxley)

Whenever I go to an away game with Yaxley, I am able to get boardroom hospitality and this makes for a very different experience to visiting the club as a neutral. As every club I visit this way is friendly, deciding on one that stood out above the rest wasn't exactly easy. In the end, I decided to give this award to Lowestoft Town as I do remember them being especially welcoming as we arrived and also very gracious in defeat (even though it must have been a very difficult result for them to take).

Honourable mentions here go to Belper Town and Histon, both of whom I noted down as being especially friendly on our visits this season.

Best Food

And now for this year's final award, one that will no doubt make Footy Scran on Twitter happy. However, this was another difficult one as I haven't taken the best notes for a lot of the football food I've eaten this season (mostly just noting down what I ate, rather than any thoughts on it). However, there are a few exceptions to this, and it is one of those that takes this award: the steak pie and chips with gravy I had at Horden Community Welfare (£3). It was a sizable portion that was excellent value for money and very tasty to boot (so much so that I could forgive that a very small section of the pie crust was burned).

The first honourable mention here goes to the cheese toastie and chips I had at Stotfold (£3.20). The main reason I chose to mention this (beyond the fact that it was a good toastie, despite using very thin bread) is to highlight the fact that Stotfold offer a far more diverse range of food options - including mini pizzas, scampi, chicken nuggets and much more - than most non-league clubs do. Obviously, there's practical reasons why most clubs keep it simple on this front (i.e. cost), but it would be interesting to see more clubs experiment beyond the usual choices of pies and burgers.

My other honourable mention here goes to the cottage/shepherd's pie I had at Lowestoft Town (free) as part of the boardroom hospitality before kick-off. I feel bad for not remembering which of the two it was, but it was very nice either way.

Closing Thoughts

Other than a couple of minor negative experiences throughout the season, this was a thoroughly enjoyable season of groundhopping and I'd just like to thank every club I visited this season for their hospitality and entertainment, not just those I gave awards to above. I would also like to congratulate all the clubs I visited who have subsequently gone on to win promotion after having such ambitions stalled for the last two years.

Next weekend, I'll round off my blog for the season with an entry talking about some of my plans for the 2022/23 season and then that'll be it until July. Thank you to everyone who has read my blog this season, especially those who have propelled my Lowestoft Town and Crook Town entries up to being my two highest-read entries ever.