Welcome one and all to the latest edition of TLFG.
The last week has been pretty quiet for me on the football front as I've worked late shifts from Tuesday through to today.
In other words, I've seen no football but hopefully that will change in a couple of days with a lunchtime trip to Loftus Road to watch QPR play Bristol City in an U21 match.
These games often closely resemble a trip to a county cricket match with mainly more senior people with time off in the week able to attend.
I'm lucky enough to have a couple of friends who do shifts or have more flexible schedules so we get to enjoy some good chat during the game, usually along the lines of what's going on at the club or we end up testing each other with some obscure football trivia.
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| One of the biggest games of the week takes place at Stamford Bridge |
This often springs from trying to figure out which club legend is coaching the opposition's team and often descends down a Wikipedia football rabbit hole from there.
All in all, the match itself is quite secondary and provides little more than a backdrop to the conversation - and rightly so as the outcome of the game really doesn't matter that much to anyone at this level.
Despite all that, I love going to these matches and take every opportunity to attend.
Sadly I'll be working next week when QPR's U21s travel to Earlsmead to play Harrow Borough in the London Senior Cup - something which should be far more competitive.
Looking ahead to this weekend, I plan to be at Rectory Park for Actonians' big Women's FA Cup tie against Dartford on Sunday.
The Darts are one of the best teams in the division below and are the sort of side who could pull off an upset - they beat the A's in pre-season and should fancy their chances.
Talking of Actonians, they finally lost their unbeaten league record at Dulwich Hamlet on Sunday, going down 2-0 - I guess it had to happen sometime.
THE WEEK AHEAD
It's the October international break so all of the big men's clubs have the week off.
Don't despair though as we've still got an England match at Wembley, some good options in the EFL, it's one of the most crucial rounds in the FA Cup and Women's FA Cup and there's an eye-catching fixture in the Women's Champions League.
What with all the other non-league and women's games, there are still over 100 matches to choose from in London over the next seven days.
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. 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.
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.
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 - turquoise pin
Thursday fixtures - purple pin
Friday fixtures - black pin
WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin
Sunday fixtures - orange pin
TLFG DAILY DIGEST
In the following section, I list what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.
Monday 7 October
U18 Development matches
Unusually, there doesn't appear to be any senior or U21 football in the London area on Monday so I've gone through the fixtures of a few local U18 leagues and discovered some games on the west side of town to keep you entertained. My search was last minute and not exhaustive so apologies if I've missed any. The host clubs are Bedfont Sports, Metropolitan Police, Uxbridge and Walton & Hersham
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Tuesday 8 October
UEFA Women's Champions League
Chelsea v Real Madrid @8pm - the biggest crowd of the night should be found at Stamford Bridge for this blockbuster European game. After winning the Super League again last season, the Blues go straight into the group stage so this is their opening game in the competition. Having made the final in 2021 and the semi-finals for the last two years, Chelsea are one of the continent's elite teams. Despite their illustrious name, Real Madrid are not a huge power in women's football yet. Whilst they often qualify for the Champions League, they rarely get out of the group stages. The two sides have met four times in recent years and Chelsea have won two and drawn two - they will start as favourites.
Tickets
EFL Trophy
Leyton Orient v Colchester United @7pm - the O's lost at Lincoln on Saturday to extend their winless run to four matches. We're still in the group stage of this competition at the moment and they lost the opening game against Arsenal U21s too. Colchester play a level below them so, on paper, they should start as favourites here.
Tickets are £10
Professional Development League
QPR v Bristol City @1pm - if you want to see two games on Tuesday then get yourself along to Loftus Road for this U21 match at lunchtime. Admission is via donation to the club's charitable trust on arrival - cash or card accepted. As it stands, I'm planning to go
Isthmian League South Central
Ashford Town (Middlesex) v Kingstonian @745pm - there's a game of some importance affecting teams at either end of the table in this eighth-tier division. With one win from seven, the hosts are second from bottom and really struggling. The K's, on the other hand, are third and have games in hand on all around them. With the Tangerines' pitch work imminent, this is being played at Cobham. Tickets available on the gate
CCL Premier South
AFC Whyteleafe v Fleet Town @745pm - the Leafe won the SCEFL Division 1 title last season and are firmly in contention for more honours in this ninth-tier division. Currently second, they trail leaders Redhill by five points. The visitors are seventh but have the games in hand to put them in the top four so this looks well worth a watch. Tickets will be available on the gate
CCL Division 1
Spartans Youth v Belstone @745pm - the hosts have their HQ in the shadow of Brentford's GTech Stadium but the facilities they have aren't good enough to host 10th-tier football. After time groundsharing miles away at Northwood, they're now a lot closer at Bedfont. On Tuesday they welcome Belstone who are new to the level after winning promotion from the Hertfordshire County League. They're doing really well and are currently second so it looks like being a challenging evening for Spartans. Tickets will be available on the gate
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Wednesday 9 October
London Senior Cup Second Round
Glebe v Hanwell Town @745pm - the Geordies travel to Chislehurst as strong favourites as they play two levels above the hosts. The west London club have won this cup twice but it's been over 30 years since the last time. Glebe have never made the final and they'll do well to make it this year. Tickets will be available on the gate
SCEFL Division 1
Forest Hill Park v FC Elmstead @745pm - the title race in this division is ridiculously close with only six points separating the top seven clubs. These two are in that leading group and both have games in hand on the clubs above them so this is a great opportunity to close the gap and make things even tighter. Tickets available on the gate
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Thursday 10 October
UEFA Nations League
England v Greece @745pm - the Three Lions have made a decent start to life under caretaker boss Lee Carsley, winning their first two group games against Ireland and Finland. Greece have also beaten both of those opponents too and arrive as group leaders having scored one goal more than England. This is being played at Wembley and
tickets are available
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Friday 11 October
Essex Senior League
Woodford Town v Athletic Newham @745pm - the pick of the games on Friday is this match at Ashtons in north-east London. Having both played nine matches, they have games in hand on most of the clubs around them. Woodford are second and they'll go top if they win here. However, Athletic are chasing a play-off place themselves so should be no pushovers. Tickets will be available on the gate
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Saturday 12 October
Women's Super League
Arsenal v Chelsea @145pm - with it being an international weekend, the biggest crowd of the day will be found at the Emirates where arguably the two biggest clubs in the WSL meet in this lunchtime kick-off. Having only drawn 0-0 with Everton last weekend, the Gunners were in Germany on Wednesday for their big Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and lost that 5-2. Now down to sixth in the WSL, the pressure must surely be building on boss Jonas Eidevall. The Blues, on the other hand, have won all three of their games, most recently a 3-2 triumph over Real Madrid on Tuesday, and will start as marginal favourites.
Tickets
League Two
AFC Wimbledon v Carlisle United @3pm - after seeing their pitch and large parts of Plough Lane damaged by flooding, the Dons have been give the all clear to return home for this match. Having had some time off, they've fallen into midtable but they have the games in hand to go top if they win them. Carlisle sit just above the relegation zone and present them with an excellent chance to pick up three points.
Tickets
Previews for 12 & 13 October to follow
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.
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!
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