TLFG: 14-20 December 2020

Greetings readers and thanks for visiting and trying to keep up!

Writing this blog over the last week or so has been more time consuming than ever as Covid-19 has wreaked havoc with the match schedule.

Fortunately I've been on late shifts at work which has allowed me the mornings to trawl through all our local clubs' websites and social media feeds for the latest fixture info.

With each revision another change would come in, even up until around noon on Saturday when Tooting & Mitcham United had to cancel their friendly against Whyteleafe with around two hours notice because one of their squad tested positive.

The week ahead is arguably even more complicated with midweek FA Trophy games deciding who will face each other in the next round on Saturday, not to mention the government's review of the Tier system on Wednesday.

London's oldest ground needs your help

This could well impact on whether the Isthmian, Southern and Southern Counties East League decide to relaunch their respective competitions.  

Whatever happens, the match maps below are likely to change pretty significantly as the week progresses so keep checking back and I'll do my best to update them.

Once again I'm not going to bother with a daily digest as it's a lot of effort which could potentially be spent on games that never happen.

Although tickets for the top men's clubs are out of reach for most of us, Women's Super League games are beginning to open up with Sunday's derby between Chelsea and Spurs at Kingsmeadow currently on general sale. 

Tickets are also available for West Ham United v Aston Villa at Dagenham & Redbridge's ground.

If it has to be men's football then you won't be disappointed as there is still plenty to see at our local non-league clubs with numerous FA Trophy ties topping the bill. 

Last week quite a few of you went to watch Croydon enjoy a thrilling 4-3 win over Athletic Newham in the London Senior Trophy, so I'm pleased to report you can catch the next instalment of their cup 'run' on Saturday when they travel to reigning LST holders Peckham Town.

The match at the ominously titled Menace Arena kicks off at 1230pm to allow you to see another local game at 3pm - possibly at neighbours Dulwich Hamlet. Entry is only £3 and I'm told by the club that former Everton and Nigeria striker Yakubu could be in attendance!

After selling out, British Football's Greatest Grounds is back on sale this week

One other thing that might interest some of you is the chance to play your part in renovating the oldest football ground in London.

The fantastically named Old Spotted Dog sits on Upton Lane in Forest Gate on the east side of town, is well hidden, easy to miss and unknown by many locals - I have quite a few colleagues and friends from the area and they always look blankly at me when I ask about it.

Historically the home of Clapton, it's recently been taken over by the fan-owned Clapton CFC after a several years of neglect and they're doing a great job getting it back up to a condition where it can host matches.

They're currently trying to raise £15,000 for a new clubhouse roof and are well on their way to hitting the target but if you'd like to help them and play your part in getting such an historic venue back on its feet, you can donate here.

Talking of donations - many thanks this week to Hinn Li for donating to TLFG's coffee-drinking fund, it's really appreciated.

On the subject of appreciation, it was great to see vloggers/bloggers/photographers 'Two Men In Search of the Beautiful Game' pick up a top award at the Football Content Awards during the week. 

We regularly cross-promote each other so it was really pleasing to see them grab the recognition for all their hard work. Well done chaps!

Well I think that's about it from me - for now. Check back as the week progresses.

Good luck everyone!

THE WEEK AHEAD

The highlights of the next few days include games in the National League, FA Trophy, FA Vase, FA Youth Cup, Women's Super League and Women's FA Cup. There are also games at higher levels but none of them are open to non-season ticket holders.

As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs or youth matches. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (orange pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Donate to TLFG's coffee-drinking fund here

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common. However, capacity restrictions are currently in place at all grounds because of Covid-19 meaning only clubs from the seventh tier and below can currently admit spectators.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top.

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Monday fixtures - yellow pin

Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Wednesday fixtures - blue pin

Friday fixtures - black pin

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin

Sunday fixtures - orange pin

GET INVOLVED

If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground in the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

NEED HELP?

Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries. I do not charge for this advice like some other sites so don't hold back!

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.

Has this blog been helpful? Donate to TLFG's coffee-drinking fund here