Football recap of the month - May 2024

And so to what will probably be the final monthly recap of a season that started on 1st July last year. (I say probably final, I have no plans to go to any games in June, but I will be watching the European Championships on TV!)

It's been a long, yet very enjoyable season. A full season recap post will follow soon! But in the meantime, these are the games I went to in May.

Game 61: Coventry City 1-2 Queens Park Rangers

My friend Steve drove us to Coventry for this game, which was the last game of the season for both sides. It was my first QPR game since before the pandemic and a new ground for me. Before the match we met up with Kieran, who was in a youth group I used to help with several years ago. He's now chaplain at Coventry City and doing some tremendous work supporting young people through a charity focused on sport. All three goals were in the goal the away fans were standing behind so we got a good view of them all. 

Game 62: Blaenavon Blues 1-1 Caldicot Town

My friend Paul joined me on a sunny day up the valleys for a game in the "heritage town" of Blaenavon. This was Caldicot's last game of the season and the first time I had seen them playing an away game - my second new ground in a row and my 125th ground recorded on Futbology. 

My friend Ben was playing centre back - it was his 33rd game of the season and he scored! I hadn't seen him score before and it took him to a career high total of nine goals for the season. Although, I don't know how much he knew about it really, because the ball looked like it pinged off a couple of players in the box and hit him last. They all count, though!

Game 63: Penrhiwceiber Rangers 3-0 Seven Sisters Onllwyn

Penrhiwceiber needed to get at least a point to become Ardal South West Division champions (overtaking Cefn Cribwr, whose season had already finished). They won without ever really being pushed by Seven Sisters, who only conceded half the number of goals that I saw them concede against Cardiff Draconians last month. 

Steve came with me from Cardiff and we met Sara and Leanne and their twins there. Sara's dad, Nigel, also came to the match. They used to live in Penrhiwceiber, so it was a bit of a homecoming for them. There was pyro to celebrate at the end of the game and we also got to watch the trophy presentation. The twins were rapt watching grown ups spraying each other with prosecco. 

Game 64: Newport City 2-1 Cefn Cribwr

This was the play-off game to decide who would take the other promotion place from the Ardal Leagues. Newport had finished second in the Ardal South East, and Cefn Cribwr had been overtaken by Penrhiwceiber the previous week. The game was held in Penybont's stadium, and given the proximity to Cefn Cribwr, it felt like most of the crowd were supporting them. However Newport scored two good goals to take a commanding lead and despite a late rally it will be Newport in the Cymru South next season. 

It was very hard luck on Cefn Cribwr, who had lost a cup final the previous Saturday, while Penrhiwceiber were taking the championship and promotion spot off them. 

Game 65: Cymru 1-1 Ukraine

And so to my very final game of the 2023-24 season - a women's European Championship qualifying game at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli. This was a new ground for me and my third new ground of the month. Cymru conceded after two minutes due to a diabolical defensive lapse and then struggled to get back into the game. They seemed really out of sorts with wayward touches and misplaced passes aplenty. Overall, it was a very frustrating watch, which made it a bit like watching the men's team!

One nice note was a special presentation before the game to Jess Fishlock, marking her 150th cap for Cymru.

2019 - football review of the year

Calendar year football reviews are a bit odd, as they traverse the tail end of one season and the start of the next. But thanks to the Futbology App (formerly known as the Groundhopper App) I had a handy run down and summary of all the games I went to in 2019. I made it to 40 games, which is a record number in a year for me, and included a short summer stint of fun in the Europa League following Barry Town all the way to Belfast.

I'm not going to bore you with crap match action photos from 2019, because there are enough of those on my 2018-19 season review post, and my summaries of pre-season, and August, as well as my hilariously disastrous attempt to go to two games in two different countries in the same day!

Instead, here's a photo from the Art of the Wales Shirt exhibition that was hosted in The Museum of Welsh Life in Saint Fagans in November. It featured match-worn shirts from 1958 up to the present day.

The thing about the Futbology App is that it awards 'badges' for certain achievements like seeing a certain number of games. I didn't know that until I got one in one of my first games of 2019, when I 'checked in' at Newport County v Leicester City. Embarrassingly, this figure is wrong because I still hadn't entered every game recorded on my spreadsheet onto the App, but I'm including it for the sake of completeness.

But my first real badge was also at Rodney Parade a few months later, when I saw Newport County for the 10th time.

I then got a double when I went to Belfast - it was my 25th Barry game, and a new country!

October was a bumper badge month. I picked up a badge for seeing QPR for the 10th time, as they lost to Cardiff. I also got a badge for watching Wales and for my 350th game - a genuine achievement this time. It was for Barry v Airbus, an otherwise less than noteworthy game except that in a season where Barry seemed to only score screamers from 30 yards, their second goal was the closest of tap-ins ever.

I wrapped up the year with a badge for my 25th game at Jenner Park. I had actually got the badge for 50 games at Montgomery Waters Meadow (eyeroll at the sponsor name) when I saw Shrewsbury play Portsmouth back in March, but I didn't screenshot it at the time. Even I didn't anticipate I would be so sad as to stick them all on my blog.

I really like the Futbology App. It's nerdy enough to really scratch my data itch and the badges give you something to collect as well! The badges have all been rebranded with the name change now, so I'm glad I screenshot them when I did.

Finally, a big shout out to all the people I went to games with in 2019. That includes my Mum, Dave Matthias, Zac Matthias, Dan and Iona Warburton, Steve Hilsden, Tom Sargent, Sara Crowley, Callum Crowley, Nigel, Neil and Paul Crowley, Leanne Evans, Steve Hacker, Jon Davies, Stewart Smith, Paul "Podge" Davies, my fellow block 14 Salopians Jim and Jean Williams, and Brian Cooper, the friends I've made at Barry Town - Mark, Mike, Steve, Ian, Rhys, Leon, Daley, Joe, and all the other brilliant members of the Jenner Park faithful,

Most of all, I want to thank my Dad for the game at Telford, which turned out to be our last footballing adventure as just us, and for all the games, the tickets he never asked me to pay him for, the driving to random places in far-flung parts of the country, the phone call deconstructions of games and tactics, the enthusiasm, the infectious passion, and the love. I've taken to wearing his cap to football matches. He goes with me through every turnstile, jumps up for every goal. I miss him every game.

25 years of football - fun football mascot malarkey

I've been writing a series of posts about going to football matches over the past 25 years. Admittedly they are a bit self-indulgent. I wrote them for me, really. But this post is different. This post is for Cathy.

Cathy loves football mascots. When they show those scene-setting clips at the start of game highlights on Match of the Day, she always goes "Yay! Mascots!" if they get a half second of screen time.

I've seen a few football mascots and I try to take photos to show her later. Here are some of my favourites.

Got to start with Lenny the Lion. Lenny is the Shrewsbury mascot.

Dylan the Dolphin from Poole Town. I dig his strutting attitude. Impressive for a mammal with no legs...

Spark the Cat from Queen Spark Rangers. (Do you see what they did there?!?)

The mighty, famous Gunnersaurus Rex (Arsenal).

Rocky the Robin (Cheltenham Town) - one of the few mascots to bother talking to away fans.

But what do mascots do? They have lots of important duties on match days.

Making sure all the little kids are hopped up on sugar ready for the game by carrying around a copious bucket of sweets and occasionally hurling them at force into the crowd.

Geeing up the crowd, like Newport County's optimistic Spytty the Dog here.

Dancing on the halfway line to entertain everyone during the warm up, like Gilbert the Gull from Torquay United.

High-fiving the fans.

Posing for selfies.

Contemplating the inevitability of one's own eventual non-existence, like the Moping Giant from Yeovil.

Making sure the visiting team are welcomed, and possibly confused about whether you are actually the home side's goalkeeper.

Joining in a minute's applause. Or a minute's silence. Because nothing honours the greats of the game or our glorious war dead then someone in a giant grinning furry animal head, trying to look suitably sad.

Interesting side note. In that picture you can see Lenny the Lion's colleague, possibly partner, we aren't sure. 'She' is imaginatively called Mrs Lenny. (I am not making this up.)

The problem is that Mrs Lenny, while clearly identifying as female, hence the giant pink bow, first appeared with a full mane, not unlike Lenny himself. Given that Shrewsbury played at Gay Meadow at the time, it seemed like this was a very progressive stance towards coupledom for a fairly staid club.

Now though it appears Mrs Lenny has less of a mane, as seen in this photo, which makes me wonder if there is some kind of process being undergone here. I'm not sure whether it's as progressive to have a couple where one half is transgender as having an openly gay mascot partnership. But it's interesting, and a good model for the kids in terms of acceptance and tolerance.

And finally, mascots must always, always, always, keep their spirits up. Like Bartley Bluebird here, from Cardiff City, who is depicted waiting longingly for a goal that just wasn't going to come.

And then gave up.

Football watching - the first quarter decade

I've been logging the football games that I've been to since the 1992-93 season. It was my first year at VI Form College and I got into going to football in a big way. I was helped by my Dad being a keen fan of football and got the opportunity to visit a number of grounds near to where we lived in Shrewsbury. I saw 29 games that season, mainly Shrewsbury Town, but also games at Wrexham, Telford, Bridgnorth, Crewe, Walsall, and strangely, Cardiff City's Ninian Park. Little did I know that I would end up living barely a 20 minute walk away from that now-demolished stadium for a good chunk of my adult life.

Here's a graph of my game attendance from 1992-93 through to the 2016-17 season.

The blue line marks all the games I went to in a given season. The red line is the number of Shrewsbury games as a subset of that total. There are three seasons when I was a one club man, but most years I've been to a few more games. For most of the noughties the other games were Wales Internationals, but there have been others. Recently, thanks to my friend Steve, I've been to quite a few QPR games and some Poole Town games as well. And my friend Sara, a season ticket holder at Cardiff City has helped me catch several games at the new CCFC Stadium, built opposite where Ninian Park used to be.

My record high point of 37 in 1993-94 is probably going to stand for all time. I joke that year was BC - Before Cathy. But it was also a year when I possibly should have spent more time concentrating on my A-levels, rather than going to football matches. Ah, the freedom of youth! And I had my Dad seeking out more games for us to go to when Shrewsbury weren't at home. That's how I went to a Shifnal Town game.

I still like going to football matches with my Dad. Last week we froze in the permanent temporary marquee that is the away end at Bristol Rovers. Shrewsbury's late winner warmed us up a bit.

In this 25 year span, I saw Shrewsbury 149 times, and a total of 269 football matches. These are small beer compared to the numbers racked up by serious groundhoppers, but still a lot more than many people manage. The average is dragged down by seasons like 2009-2010 when I only went to two games. I have seen at least one Shrewsbury game every season, literally just the one in 2005-2006.

In the process I have visited 59 different football grounds, ranging from Elgin to Plymouth, Norwich to Newtown, and including a MLS game in Salt Lake City. Several of the grounds have disappeared. Ninian Park, obviously, the Gay Meadow, which I loved and can picture clearly in my mind's eye even after ten years in the new stadium, the frankly horrible Vetch Field, and even the original Wembley.

In total, I have seen 148 different club sides. I expected it to be higher given the number of games, but I have seen some clubs a surprising number of times, and I'm not counting International or Representative teams. Some of the teams I've seen no longer exist, disappearing through mergers or just going bust. A number have reformed lower down the league. I am counting Wimbledon prior to the move to Milton Keynes and AFC Wimbledon, founded by fans in protest, as the same club. It's my list; my rules.

Here's a table of the teams I have seen most often

As you'd expect, Shrewsbury lead the way. I'd been to more Cardiff matches than I thought when I totted them up. I haven't seen Bridgnorth play since 1994-95, but I did see them 9 times over three seasons in the 90s. Torquay place quite highly, thanks to the influence of Cathy's cousin, Adam, who supports them. Inter Cardiff won't be improving on their position. They disappeared in a merger with UWIC several years ago. UWIC then evolved into Cardiff Metropolitan. I have seen Cardiff Met play, but it's not the same club at all.

The top ten will change next year. I've already seen QPR lose narrowly at Cardiff this season, so they will move up to joint 5th. And I've mentioned how I've seen Bristol Rovers again, so they will be on their own in 10th.

In 2016-17 I went to the highest number of games for 20 years (14), but that was a precursor to a real renaissance in matchgoing this season. The game at Bristol's Memorial Stadium last Saturday was my 20th of the season so far. I have plans to see Shrewsbury again on my birthday and they are also one game away from another Wembley appearance in the football league trophy, which I will really want to go to. If they get to Wembley it will be the fourth time I have seen them play there. They've lost all three previous games, so they are due a win. I feel I am due a win too.

Football season review 2015-16

It's the end of the football season and here is my review of the games I went to. The asterisks indicate the football grounds I watched a game at for the very first time.

First, here are the overall stats:
Season: 2015-16
Total games: 11
Most goals in a game: 7
Fewest goals in a game: 0
Total goals seen: 23
Number of football grounds visited: 8 (4 of which I’d never visited before)

Newport County v Queen's Park Rangers (friendly)
Score: 0-0
This was memorable mainly for the utter torrent of rain that drenched the Londoners who had forgotten that it always rains in Wales and had turned up in shorts. One of those games that could have been played forever and still been goalless.

Welcoming sign; inclement weather

Action shot of Spytty the dog

Shrewsbury Town v Millwall (League 1)
Score: 1-2
First home game of the season. First defeat. Set a pattern for the season really. The deciding goal was a penalty that was more of a penalty won than a penalty conceded.

Yeovil Town* v QPR (League Cup 1st round)
Score: 0-3
My first trip to Huish Park. I was a Hoop for the night. QPR ran out fairly easy 3-0 winners in the end.

Borrowed shirt.

Shrewsbury Town v Crewe Alexandra (League 1)
Score: 0-1
Crewe were bottom of the league having not won a match by this point (we were about 8 games in). They finished bottom of the league at the end of the season. Of course they won this game as Shrewsbury's players seemed to have forgotten what sport they were playing.

Pink bibs in the warm up. It was downhill from here.

Reading* v QPR (Championship)
Score: 0-1
I'd not been to Reading's Madjeski Stadium before. It was pretty impressive. This was Neil Warnock's last game in charge at QPR before being replaced by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Reading boss Steve Clarke was sacked the following morning as well. I think this is the first time I've been at a game that was the last game for both managers. The game was pretty dire and QPR nicked it at the end with a bundled in goalmouth scramble.

It filled up a bit for the actual game

Bristol City* v QPR (Championship)
Score: 1-1
Another QPR game. Another new ground. For a long time it looked like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink would finally see his new side win. But Bristol City equalised. I was impressed with how he stood and shook the hands of all his players as they came off at the end. That's class.

Flags to greet the players as they enter the pitch

Shrewsbury Town v Fleetwood Town (League 1)
Score: 1-1
Shrewsbury struggled to make any headway against another struggling team. At this point I felt Shrewsbury were very likely relegation candidates.

Cardiff City v Shrewsbury Town (FA Cup 3rd round)
Score: 0-1
This was odd. The game was on a Sunday night. Most of the ground was empty as Cardiff fans were protesting something. It was also live on S4C. And yet, it's the first time I've seen Shrewsbury win in Cardiff.

Not many more arrived.

Seriously, this was about it.

Barry Town United v The New Saints (Welsh Cup 4th round)
Score: 2-5 (the most goals seen in a game all season)
Full write up here. Highly enjoyable game.

Shrewsbury Town v Manchester United (FA Cup 5th round)
Score: 0-3
Given everything that has happened at Manchester United since they went on to win the cup a few days ago, and the season they had, this was a real missed opportunity. Shrewsbury kind of choked. This was the third game in a row that I'd been to that was also live on telly. Full write up here.

Celtic* v Dundee (Scottish Premier League)
Score: 0-0
Full write up here. This turned out to be my final game of the season. It feels apt that my season began and ended with 0-0 draws. The essence of football, right there.

And now, bring on the Euros...

Previous seasons: 2014-15