What is Football Matchday Blogs?
Football Matchday Blogs is a series charting my matchday experiences watching Blackpool home and away. There’s also non league content, largely following Chasetown, where I was Match Secretary.
How did Football Matchday Blogs come about?
Football has been my muse since I first fell in love with the game during Italia 90. I still have the piece I wrote in my English class about the heartbreak of losing to West Germany on penalties. It features in this piece I wrote.
I began writing regularly about Blackpool FC in the late 1990s. I bulldozed my way onto the Blackpool Independent Supporters Association (BISA) committee purely because I wanted to write their columns in the Blackpool Gazette and match programme. I wrote so many pieces for the fanzine Another View From The Tower (AVFTT) that, in 2000, when the editor decided to move from paper to an online presence, it was me he asked to take over the editorial reins. I went on to edit 39 issues over ten years – and, later, 13 issues of a new fanzine, Now That’s What I Call Progress – standing outside Bloomfield Road in all weathers, selling a magazine I had put together. Meanwhile, to support my former editor in his online venture, I began my Travellers Tales series, writing about my adventures on my travels watching Blackpool home and away. The series later migrated to the match programme. Finally, it found a new home here on my blog, recommencing with the homecoming in 2019, after a spell away from football.
Football had come to mean so much to me and I’ve written about this in this piece:
Why Football is More Than Just a Game
Back in 2015, the owner of BFC was suing fans for things they had written about the club. At that time, I was writing a column for Shoot online. I felt I couldn’t be honest about how I was feeling about the club at that time; how much what was happening was hurting me and how I couldn’t enjoy going to football any more. I only continued going to matches because I needed material for my Shoot column; but I couldn’t say what I wanted to say in my column for fear of being sued. Every time I pressed send on my email to Shoot, I was gripped with anxiety. Had I written anything contentious? Despite reading and rereading it multiple times? Ultimately, I couldn’t continue. I stopped going to matches and stopped writing about football. The pleasure had gone from both; I had lost my muse.
Here are a couple of pieces I wrote about how that happened and how I found my way back to football:
Goodbye Blackpool, Hello Chasetown
This blog charts the return, after the boycott, celebrating the homecoming – when my muse came back with such force, I was compelled to start writing again.
It describes what the matchday experience was like for me. The joy of the homecoming, the reality of going to matches home and away again, COVID cruelly striking before we’d even had a full season to enjoy having our club back, watching matches online, the weirdness of Wembley under social distancing restrictions, the birth of the Football Tourist Guide and…falling out of love with football all over again. It could be a book (and will be). But you can read the story of how all of that panned out, match by match, in this Football Matchday Blogs section of my blog.
How to use Football Matchday Blogs
The blogs are listed in order, by season, below. You can read them sequentially, as a diary, or dip into matches you remember fondly or against your team. You can also use the search functionality within this blog to search by team or town.
The Football Matchday Blogs
2008/2009
Blackpool v Sheffield United & Southampton v Blackpool
2009/10
Blackpool Win Promotion to the Premier League: We Believed And So It Came To Pass
2017/18
Chasetown v Stamford – Snow? What Snow?
Oxford United v Blackpool & AFC Wimbledon v Blackpool – Moonlighting
Bedworth v Chasetown – A Warm Welcome
Cleethorpes Town v Chasetown – A Storm in a Gravy Boat
Colne v Chasetown – A Conga in Colne
Alvechurch v Chasetown – Awayday Horror
A Season to Remember: Chasetown FC 2017/18
2018/19
Wednesfield v Chasetown – Getting My Goat
Colwyn Bay v Chasetown – Do You Know The Way to Colwyn Bay?
Atherton Collieries v Chasetown – Pies & Colls
Clitheroe v Chasetown – Every Witch Way But Booze
Blackpool v Southend United – The Homecoming
Bradford City v Blackpool – A Rose By Any Other Name
Colne v Chasetown – A Rural Retreat
Glossop v Chasetown – Reaching the Peaks
Market Drayton Town v Chasetown – So Close Yet So Far Away
Scunthorpe United v Blackpool – Sunny Scunny
Blackpool v Fleetwood Town – Blackpool Rocks & World Snooker Championship Special
Blackpool v Gillingham – The Last Hurrah
Chertsey Town v Cray Valley Paper Mills & AFC Fylde v Leyton Orient – Come Flynde With Me – Non-League Finals Day
2019/20
Barrow v Blackpool – When Is A Lighthouse Not A Lighthouse
Blackpool v Blackburn Rovers & Longridge Town v Blackpool – Friendly Double-Header
Blackpool v Bristol Rovers – Back Home
Southend United v Blackpool – Vlogging, Blogging & Flogging Fanzines
Blackpool v Macclesfield Town – The Cara-Macc Cup
Blackpool v Oxford United – It Never Rains But It Pours
Gillingham v Blackpool – The Quest Continues
Rochdale v Blackpool – Bricks & Porter
Blackpool v Portsmouth – A Delight for the Tastebuds (and An Appeal for Earbuds)
Blackpool v Morecambe – The Long & Winding Road to Wembley
Coventry City v Blackpool – Chips with (Almost) Everything
Blackpool v MK Dons – Sometimes Beer Is Not Enough
Doncaster Rovers v Blackpool – A Home Away From Home
Accrington Stanley v Blackpool – Another Warm Welcome
Blackpool v Lincoln City – Friday Night Under The Lights
Bolton Wanderers v Blackpool & Chasetown v Carlton Town
Blackpool v Rotherham United – Ambushed by the Board
Carlisle United v Blackpool – Pubs in Penrith
Chasetown v Cleethorpes Town – Grassroots Gossip
Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers – The Orange Twirl
Burton Albion v Blackpool – The Beer Never Lets Us Down
Blackpool v Peterborough United – Seven Goal Thriller
Blackpool v Wolves U21s – leasing.com trophy
Blackpool v Morecambe – FA Cup First Round
Blackpool v AFC Wimbledon – Four Wins, Four Dogs and A Brand New Micropub
Ipswich Town v Blackpool – A Dear Do
Blackpool v Scunthorpe United – Players Q&A Night
Blackpool v Maidstone United & FC Brickstand v Brickpool Seasiders
Blackpool v Fleetwood Town – When Is A Derby Not A Derby?
Sunderland v Blackpool – Kicked Out Of The Chippy!
Blackpool v Shrewsbury Town – Northern Fail
Blackpool v Accrington Stanley – A Christmas Quest
Tranmere Rovers v Blackpool – Christmas is Cancelled
Rotherham United v Blackpool – New Year in New York
Reading v Blackpool – From Misery to Happiness
Blackpool v Reading – As If January Wasn’t Depressing Enough
Lincoln City v Blackpool – Why Did No-one Tell Me About Lincoln?
Wycombe Wanderers v Blackpool – The Ongoing Saga of Gravygate
Oxford United v Blackpool – A Better Defeat
Blackpool v Southend United – Can We Play You Every Week?
Blackpool v Gillingham – The Storm to End All Storms
Bristol Rovers v Blackpool – We’ll Win Again
AFC Wimbledon v Blackpool – Saturday Nights Are Not Alright
Blackpool v Bolton Wanderers – The Blackpool Way
Blackpool v Ipswich Town – The Tide Begins To Turn
Fleetwood Town v Blackpool – The Hen Do
Blackpool v Tranmere Rovers – When Is A Lucky Snickers Not A Lucky Snickers?
2020/21
This is the lockdown season, so the majority of the Blackpool matchday blogs are virtual trips. I planned my days as usual, but the visits to the (real) pubs and grounds are creatively imagined. The matches themselves are real and were watched from home.
Southport v Blackpool – 151 Days Later
Port Vale v Blackpool – The Pubs of Burslem & Hanley
Blackpool v Barrow – The Season Ticket Dilemma
Blackpool v Everton – 3-0 Up In Ten Minutes!
Blackpool v Blackburn Rovers – To The Pub!
Stoke City v Blackpool – The Fly
Trafford v Matlock Town – Non League Matters
Liverpool v Blackpool – Pub Crawl, Yeah?
Blackpool v Barrow – Part Deux – Armchair Football v Live Football
Plymouth Argyle v Blackpool – Plymouth Pubbage
Squires Gate v AFC Fylde & Blackpool v Swindon Town – Fylde Coast Football & Food
Chasetown v Basford United & Gillingham v Blackpool – Pubs of Rochester
Glossop, The Armfield Club & Blackpool v Lincoln City
Blackpool v Accrington Stanley & Blackpool v Ipswich Town – It’s Not Easy Being Tangerine
Colne v Pontefract Collieries – Cold Hands, Warm Hearts
Crewe Alexandra v Blackpool – Crewe Pub Crawl
Blackpool v Charlton Athletic & Blackpool v MK Dons – Life in Tier 3
AFC Wimbledon v Blackpool – Shepherds Bush Pub Crawl
Burton Albion v Blackpool – The Brewers
Welcome to AFC Blackpool (& Blackpool v Wigan Athletic)
Eastbourne Borough v Blackpool – Look What We Could Have Done
Peterborough United v Blackpool – Peterborough Pubs
Doncaster Rovers v Blackpool – Doncaster Pub Crawl
Harrogate Town v Blackpool – Harrogate Pubs
Blackpool v Portsmouth – Digital Fatigue
Fleetwood Town v Blackpool – Tram Pub Crawl
Blackpool v Oxford United – New Matchday Routine
Blackpool v Hull City – Come On You Mighty Tangerine Wizards!
Accrington Stanley v Blackpool – Accy Pubs
Shrewsbury Town v Blackpool – Shrewsbury Pubs
Bristol Rovers v Blackpool – Bristol Breweries
Blackpool v West Bromwich Albion – No Smirking Please
Hull City v Blackpool – Hull Pub Crawl
Brighton v Blackpool – Brighton Pub Crawl
Wigan Athletic v Blackpool – Wigan Pub Crawl
Blackpool v Northampton Town – Time Travelling
Ipswich Town v Blackpool – Ipswich Pub Crawl
Blackpool v Rochdale – Blackpool Breweries
Portsmouth v Blackpool – Portsmouth Pubs
Charlton Athletic v Blackpool – Greenwich Pubs
Blackpool v Crewe Alexandra – Lytham Pubs
Blackpool v AFC Wimbledon – St Annes Pubs
MK Dons v Blackpool – Milton Keynes Pubs
Blackpool v Fleetwood Town – Poulton Pubs
Blackpool v Burton Albion – Kirkham Pubs
Oxford United v Blackpool – Oxford Pubs
Blackpool v Peterborough United – Going Up?
Blackpool v Plymouth Argyle – England World Cup Qualifiers
Swindon Town v Blackpool – Swindon Pubs
Blackpool v Gillingham – Perfect Day
Lincoln City v Blackpool – Lincoln Pubs
Blackpool v Accrington Stanley – An Actual Pub!
Blackpool v Sunderland – The Embo Derby
Rochdale v Blackpool – Rochdale Pubs
Blackpool v Shrewsbury Town – O Be Joyful
Sunderland v Blackpool – Sunderland Pubs
Northampton Town v Blackpool – Northampton Pubs
Blackpool v Doncaster Rovers – Social Media Blackout
Blackpool v Bristol Rovers – Play-offs Here We Come!
Blackpool v Oxford United – Play Off (and Pub) Special
Blackpool v Lincoln City – #Impvasion
Blackpool v Lincoln City – Going Up?
2021/22
Squires Gate v Bury AFC – Blackpool Town Centre Pubs
Squires Gate v Blackpool U18s – A Warm Welcome Back
Southport v Blackpool – Vlogging With A Vengeance
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Carlisle
Blackpool v Burnley – Back Home
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Morecambe
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Bristol
Blackpool v Middlesbrough – Tangerine Wizards
Blackpool v Cardiff – How Does This Work Again?
Blackpool v Coventry City – The Hand of Cov
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Bournemouth
Blackpool v Sunderland – Concentrate on the FA Cup
Millwall v Blackpool – Capital Punishment
Blackpool v Fulham – Town Centre Pubs
Blackpool v Huddersfield Town – Shipwreck Brewhouse Cleveleys
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Middlesbrough – Part One: The Whitby Way
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Middlesbrough – Part Two: Whitby & Middlesbrough
Blackpool v Barnsley – No 10 Alehouse & Top Lytham Pubs
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Hull – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Hull – Part Two
Blackpool v Blackburn Rovers – The Warm Up Derby
Chasetown v Halesowen Town – FA Trophy
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Nottingham
Reading v Blackpool – The Lucky Orange Aero Strikes Again
Blackpool v Preston North End – Now That’s What I Call A Derby
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Sheffield – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Sheffield – Part Two
Blackpool v Stoke City – The Shovels & Cryptic Crossword
Blackpool v QPR – Tony Green’s 75th & Shickers Micropub
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Swansea – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Swansea – Part Two
Blackpool v West Bromwich Albion
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Birmingham – Part One: The Good
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Birmingham – Part Two: The Bad and The Ugly
Blackpool v Luton Town – A Day to Forget & A Night to Remember
Blackpool v Peterborough United
Blackpool v Middlesbrough – Merry F***ing Christmas
Blackpool v Hull City – GBG Pub Crawl
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Hartlepool – Part One: The Touristy Bit & The Golden Lion
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Hartlepool – Part Two: Five-Pub Crawl & FA Cup Drama
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Barnsley – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Barnsley – Part Two
Blackpool v Millwall – St Annes Pubs & The Gurkha
A Football Tourist’s Guide to London #1 – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To London #1 – Part Two
Blackpool v Bristol City – Beer in Blackpool
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Coventry
Blackpool v AFC Bournemouth – Blackpool Pubs
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Cardiff – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Cardiff – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Cardiff – Part Three
Blackpool v Reading – Freckleton Pubs
Stoke City v Blackpool – Cheshire Pubs
Blackpool v Swansea City – Tour Of Blackpool
Blackpool v Sheffield United – No 10 Ale House
Chasetown v Cambridge City – Hotpotting In Derby
Blackpool v Nottingham Forest – Micropub Crawl
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Preston AKA Blackpool East – Part One: The Good
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Preston AKA Blackpool East – Part Two: The Bad And The Ugly
A Football Tourist’s Guide To The Black Country – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To The Black Country – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Luton – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Luton – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Peterborough – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Peterborough – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Peterborough – Part Three
2022/23
A Football Tourist’s Guide To York (& Leeds United v Blackpool)
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Stoke
Blackpool v Barrow – Some Pubs!
A Football Tourist’s Guide To East Lancashire
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Huddersfield
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Sunderland
Sheffield United v Blackpool – Sheffield Pubs
WBA v Blackpool – Birmingham Pubs
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Wigan – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide To Wigan – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Southampton – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Southampton – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Middlesbrough – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Middlesbrough – Part Two
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Norwich – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Norwich – Part Two
2023/24
Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Exeter
Kidsgrove Athletic v Chasetown
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Portsmouth – Part One: Gosport Pubs
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Portsmouth – Part Two: Southsea
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Portsmouth – Part Three: Portsmouth v Blackpool
Chasetown v Kidsgrove Athletic
Stalybridge Celtic v Chasetown
Chasetown v Rushall Olympic – Walsall Senior Cup Final
2024/25
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Grimsby
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Stockport – Part One
A Football Tourist’s Guide to Stockport – Part Two
Lee Charles TV
In 2019 I began collaborating on matchday vlogs and other content with my partner, Lee, on his YouTube channel, Lee Charles TV. In addition to my matchday blogs, I began vlogging my awaydays, recording the experience on camera. During the COVID lockdown, we hosted live match watchalongs. Later, we co-hosted matchday vlogs and the video version of the Football Tourist Guide. You can watch this video content over on Lee Charles TV.
Start Here
Why not start at the beginning? Here’s my blog from the Homecoming match.
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