Greetings one and all and welcome to this week's TLFG.
The highlight of my week was taking part in the 15th staging of QPR's Tiger Feet Walk.
Regular readers will know that I co-founded this event with Chris Charles back in 2010 to raise funds for the R's sports club for children with Down's syndrome.
Initially we always used to walk to away games around London but in more recent years, it now goes from the club's training ground to Loftus Road in time for a home game.
This year it was ahead of the big match with fellow strugglers Cardiff City.
After an early start I walked round to QPR's stadium where a minibus met a few of us at 7am and drove us to Heston.
Taking about half an hour, we were met and taken on a quick tour of the facilities.
Walkers gradually arrived over the next hour or so and then over 70 of us set off on our odyssey around London in glorious sunshine.
Over the course of the journey I had a chat with club legend and former England player Andy Sinton, rubbed shoulders with former CEO Lee Hoos who always takes part and chatted to a wide variety of fans, club officials and also some of the Tiger Cubs themselves who did superbly well to complete the near-19km course.
For the last mile or so, we were joined by fan favourite Koki Saito and several of the U21 team.
Finally arriving at the Fan Zone next to Hammersmith Park, we were given a hero's welcome by the assembled crowd.
My family joined for the final stretch too and even though I had a complimentary ticket for the match, I actually chose to spend the afternoon with them, slipping away unnoticed while the others made their way to the stadium for a pre-game photo on the pitch.
With a fundraising target of £25,000 about to be reached, it seems to have been a success once again.
In other news, German TLFG reader Christoph B, who has made several appearances here, got in touch and invited me to join him at the Women's Euros in Switzerland in July.
Converted to the joys of women's football after watching Chelsea play Arsenal on a trip to London last year, he's snapped up quite a few tickets for the tournament which is taking place just across the border from Freiburg where he lives.
I'm going to the hosts' opening game against Norway in Basel on day one of the tournament which should be a great experience.
As for live football this week - I managed to squeeze in a game today (Sunday).
Having finished work unexpectedly early, I popped down to the Griffin Sports Ground in the posh surrounds of Dulwich Village to watch Actonians 3rd XI play their final match of the season against Kenningwell United.
Being the only A's squad in action, they were able to draft in a few players from the 2nd XI to improve their chances.
One of them, Shadia Edwards-Dashti scored in the opening minutes but rather than run away with it, they had to scrap hard and didn't secure the win until the second half when Kirsty Bradley scored another to make it 2-1.
So with a win and another ground ticked off on Futbology, the week came to a very satisfactory end.
Lastly, kudos to TLFG reader Liam B who completed the Two Oceans ultra marathon in Cape Town on Saturday and then ran another half marathon there today - what a nutter!
Anyway, I think that's it from me - have a great week.
THE WEEK AHEAD
This week's highlights include games in the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, EFL, EFL Trophy, National League, Women's Super League and lots of other games featuring our local non-league and women's clubs.
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 April
Premier League 2
The week begins with a couple of games in this U21 competition. Arsenal host Derby County at Boreham Wood, whilst Fulham take on Manchester City in a top-two clash at Motspur Park. Both games start at 7pm. Admission prices vary but are never more than £5
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Tuesday 8 April
UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final first leg
Arsenal v Real Madrid @8pm - after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday, the Gunners face a big step up in class as 15-time European champions Real Madrid pay a visit to north London. Far and away the most successful team in this competition's history, the Spanish giants are on course to successfully defend their crown again. However, their La Liga title hopes suffered a blow this weekend when they suffered a surprise 2-1 loss at home to a struggling Valencia side. Interestingly, the sides have only met once before back in 2006. On that occasion, it was Arsenal who won 1-0 over two legs and eventually went on to make the final. It'll be hard to replicate that this year but not impossible. Tickets are only available by resale to members and
hospitality packages are well over £1,000 per person
Championship
Watford v Hull City @745pm - for those of you on a more normal budget, then this is the next best option. With only one win from six games, the Hornets' form has left them at the most inopportune time. Seven points adrift of the play-offs with six games to go, it's possible for them to get back into the top six but a lot has to go their way. For the Tigers, it's all about avoiding the drop. An injury-time goal saw them record a hugely important 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday to go three points clear of the bottom three.
Tickets
National League
Sutton United v Rochdale @3pm - despite having little to play for, the U's fought to the end against promotion hopefuls Southend and nicked a last-gasp equaliser. The result made sure the Essex club failed to break into the top seven. The main beneficiaries of this appear to be Rochdale who remain seventh after playing in the FA Trophy. Sadly, their hopes of reaching Wembley were dashed as they fell to lower league Spennymoor on penalties. Now their focus is solely on securing a play-off spot and they badly need to win here.
Tickets
Southern League Division 1 Central
Northwood v Thame United @745pm - there's a game affecting both ends of the table in this eighth-tier division on Tuesday. Having seen manager Gary Meakin resign, the relegation-threatened hosts appointed Jack Smith as interim boss. With seven points from four games, things have begun very positively but they're still in the bottom three on goal difference. Thame occupy the final play-off place and need to win to prevent Hadley catching them. Tickets are £10 on the gate
CCL Premier South
Spelthorne Sports v AFC Whyteleafe @745pm - after a very challenging season, I'm sad to say that The Spelly have already been relegated so have little to play for here. This match is more about celebrating the fantastic achievements of The Leafe who only began life in 2021 following the original Whyteleafe's demise. Since then, they've enjoyed two promotions and on Saturday they won their FA Vase semi-final to secure a trip to Wembley. Not only that, but they're also very much up for promotion again. Currently third, a win here will put them one point behind the leaders with two games to go. Tickets will be available on the gate for £8
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Wednesday 9 April
SCEFL Premier Division
Sutton Athletic v Lordswood @745pm - despite having several games in hand, the hosts' promotion hopes look to be over. In fact they're actually closer to the relegation zone so really need to focus on getting well clear of that before anything else. The visitors are bottom and six points adrift of safety but with two games in hand of their own, they're not dead and buried yet. Tickets will be available on the gate for £8
CCL Division 1
Westside v Brook House @730pm - it looked as if Windsor & Eton would finally be crowned champions on Saturday but they lost 1-0 at Brook House to keep Westside in the title race - just. The club with the smallest crowds in the division (average 23) have had an amazing campaign but trail the leaders by 11 points with four games to go. In other words, they have to win here or it's the play-offs. The Brook have had a great week, beating Windsor on Saturday and winning the Middlesex Premier Cup last Wednesday - mathematically they could still crash the top five too so there's plenty to play for. Tickets will be available on the gate, not sure of the price but it shouldn't exceed £8
L&SE Women's League Premier
Sutton United v Fulham @745pm - like the men's team, Sutton's women have had a pretty unremarkable campaign and will have to settle for a midtable finish. They can make a big impact on the title race here though as the Cottagers are looking to take another stride towards the title they have been favoured to win for most of the season. Currently seven points behind leaders Dartford in second, they have four games in hand.
Tickets are £5
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Thursday 10 April
UEFA Europa League Quarter-Final first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Eintracht Frankfurt @8pm - there was only a point between Spurs and their German opponents as they finished fourth and fifth in the group stage. However, although doing well in European competition, the sides have experienced very different league campaigns. Tottenham would have ended the weekend in 16th if they hadn't beaten and relegated Southampton whilst Frankfurt are third in the Bundesliga and fighting for a Champions League place. The visitors also won this competition in 2022 so know what it takes to get the job done. Tickets are only available to members but
hospitality packages are available from £249
FA Youth Cup Semi-Final
Watford v Manchester City @7pm - can't get into the game above? Do not fear, this big U18 game should be a fine alternative way to spend your evening. It's fair to say that the Hornets have created a bit of a stir by getting this far. Not in the elite U18 Premier League, the Hertfordshire club have beaten Oxford United, Crewe Alexandra, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton to get this far. Here they face the top youth side in the country and it will take a Herculean effort for them to prevail. The match is being played at Vicarage Road and the winners will play Aston Villa in the final.
Tickets
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Friday 11 April
Professional Development League
Four teams are in action in this U21 competition on Friday lunchtime with Watford playing Peterborough United at 1pm at Vicarage Road and QPR hosting Charlton Athletic at the club's training ground in Heston at 2pm. Check with the club on the day what the admission procedure is - it's often free entry but you have to register in advance
Essex Senior League
Romford v Barking @745pm - the early kick-offs above mean it's really easy to see two games on Friday and the next on my list would be this groundshare derby in the ninth tier. On this occasion it's tenants versus landlords at Mayesbrook Park. Romford's season is effectively over, with a seventh-place finish the best they can hope for. Barking, on the other hand, have already secured a play-off place so it's now all about creating some good momentum ahead of the post-season. Tickets are £8 on the gate
ECL Division 1 South
Barkingside v Hackney Wick @745pm - staying on the east side of town, there's a hugely important game in 10th tier. The 'Side are battling the drop with only goal difference keeping them in the bottom three. With four games to go, they've got a good chance. However, here they welcome a side who need every point they can get to win the title. Locked in a two-horse race with Harlow Town, who are two points behind with three games to go, a win here could be pivotal. Tickets are £7 on the gate
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Previews for 12-13 April 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.
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