Vitesse FC

Vitesse 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Friendly Match

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It's the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Lower Rhine as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development.

In World War II, during Operation Market Garden (September 1944), the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were given the task of securing the bridge at Arnhem. The units were parachuted and glider-landed into the area on September 17 and later. The bulk of the force was dropped rather far from the bridge and never met their objective. A small force of British 1st Airborne managed to make their way as far as the bridge but was unable to secure both sides. The Allied troops encountered stiff resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer divisions, which had been stationed in and around the city.


The British forces at the bridge eventually surrendered on September 21, and a full withdrawal of the remaining forces was made on September 26. These events were dramatised in the 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far. As a tribute, the rebuilt bridge was renamed 'John Frost-bridge' after the commander of the paratroopers.


I had accumulated sufficient Eurostar points to qualify for a free return journey and was able to put these to good use for this jaunt. I caught an early morning service from Waterloo to Brussels, from where I purchased a cheap weekend return to Arnhem. The journey via Antwerp involved changing at onto a connecting service.at Roosendaal. There a regular buses to the stadium from the town and we took advantage of this option.


The Gelredome is the home stadium of Vitesse in the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands. It was built in 1998, featuring a retractable roof as well as a convertible pitch that can be retracted when unused during concerts or other events held at the stadium. Its capacity is 32,500 spectators, 39,000 for concerts and the stadium has a climate control system. It was also one of the venues for the Euro 2000 tournament held in the Netherlands and Belgium.


I am particularly grateful to Good Bobwin’s chauffeur (Steve Martin) for the excellent pre-match photographs. I understand that his party gatecrashed some Japanese tourists who were given a guided tour of the stadium (did they have to look the part to get away with this? - Andy Porter in a kimono? – Ed)


A good stadium though and a very good opportunity to visit one of the lesser known clubs from the Netherlands. We were grateful to be sitting along the side as the Spurs fans behind the goal were crammed into a rather odd looking enclosure.


This match was played early on a Saturday evening and was watched by a sparse 9,800 crowd. Spurs ran out comfortable winners courtesy of goals from Stefan Iverson and Darren Anderton. After the match we adjourned to the main square to enjoy some rather large glasses of local beer – again for research purposes. We walked it back to town in about 25 minutes.

Good Bobwin, his chauffeur and the official THFC historian inside the dressing room

Altrincham FC

Altrincham 0 Kidderminster Harriers 0 - Football Conference

Altrincham is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about 8 miles southwest of Manchester city centre, Historically a part of Cheshire, Altrincham was established as a market town in 1290, a time when most communities were based around agriculture rather than trade, and there is still a market in the town today. Further socio-economic development came with the extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Altrincham in 1765 and the arrival of the railway in 1849, stimulating industrial activity in the town. Altrincham today is an affluent commuter town, partly because of its transport links.

Altrincham F.C.'s name was Broadheath F.C. from their foundation in 1891 until it was changed to the present name in 1903. Playing in the Cheshire League for most their early history, Altrincham achieved little success until the 1960s when Altrincham director Noel White hired Freddie Pye as manager. Altrincham, uniquely for a non-League team, made the third round of the FA Cup on four consecutive occasions between 1979 and 1982. Altrincham's fine account in the FA Cup against top league opposition has seen them defeat Birmingham City in 1986 (away from home,the last non-league club to date to achieve this against a top league club),and also hold both Everton in 1975 and Tottenham Hotspur in 1979 to draws, although Altrincham lost the replays in both cases.

Moss Lane is only a short walk from Altrincham station. Having watched Manchester United host Spurs at Old Trafford in a noon kick off it was possible to get across to this match by tram afterwards. Kidderminster Harriers had already been promoted to the Football League. By contrast Altrincham were relegated at the end of the match.

Reading FC

Reading 2 Gillingham 2 - Football League Division Two

Reading is a large town, in the county of Berkshire and has served as the county town since 1867. Reading lies at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, midway between London and Swindon off the M4 motorway. Reading was an important national centre in the medieval period, as the site of an important monastery with strong royal connections, but suffered economic damage during the 17th century from which it took a long time to recover. Today it is again an important commercial centre, with strong links to information technology and insurance. It is also a university town, with two universities and a large student population.

The Pittsburgh Steeler lists Gillingham as one of the teams he supports and this gave us both an excuse to visit the Madejski Stadium for the first time. A Friday evening fixture was convenient and we knew that it was possible to get home to Cheshunt afterwards by train. We met at London Paddington, taking the train direct to Reading. We then adjourned to a pub in the town centre for a couple of beers prior to the match.

To reach the stadium we took advantage of the special bus service from Reading railway station. The buses in operation that day were authentic London Routemasters. An entertaining match ensued and a 2-2 draw was certainly a fair result for two evenly matched teams. On this occasion we were able to negotiate our way around the stadium at half time in order to sit near to the required exit facilitating a swift departure on the final whistle. Accordingly we managed to catch one of the first return buses after the match ensuring that we did not experience any delays in getting back to Paddington.

The Pieman's initial visit to Elm Park

Histon FC

Histon 3 Watton United 0 - Eastern Counties League, Premier Division

Histon and Impington are villages in Cambridgeshire. They are situated just north of Cambridge with the main bulk of the settlements being separated from the city by the A14. Over the years the two villages have grown and entwined together, to such an extent that many villagers today do not know where one ends and the other begins. The East of England Development Agency is based in Histon, and the village is also the location of the radio station Heart 103 (formerly Q103), which covers Cambridge, Ely, Newmarket, Huntingdon and Royston. Included on the Histon Village Sign is a man in a stove hat holding a large rock. This represents Moses Carter (1801–1860) a local strongman that lived in the village in the nineteenth century. Carter was alleged to be over seven feet tall, and famously carried a large stone from a building site to The Boot public house. The stone is still in the pub's garden. Carter is affectionately known locally as 'The Histon Giant'.

Histon FC is nicknamed "The Stutes", originating from the club's previous name Histon Institute, and they play their home matches at Bridge Road in Impington. The club was formed in 1904 as Histon Institute F.C. and played for many years in the Cambridgeshire Football League. John Chivers, the chairman of the major employer in Histon & Impington, the jam company Chivers, helped to found the Histon Institute in 1903, from where the football club has its origins. The company donated a field, then covered in roses, for the club to play on, which is commemorated in the rose on Histon's crest.

This Pieman visited on a Tuesday in March. I had worked out that it was possible to comfortably walk to a from Cambridge railway station. This involved walking through the centre of Cambridge and out the other side. All in all I would estimate an hour’s walk. Comfortable for catching the 22:50 Liverpool Street service post match.

Withdean FC

Withdean 0 Oving 1 - Sussex County League Division Two

Withdean is a district of Brighton & Hove. The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, with a mix of detached, semi-detached and mid-rise flats. The Withdean manor was originally the property of the great Cluniac Priory of St. Pancras at Lewes, until 1537. This was then given to Anne of Cleves in 1541 by Henry VIII. The manor was demolished in 1936.

Originally called Westdene, the club changed their name to Withdean in the late 1980s and added the "2000" after a reorganization in that year. However, circumstances promptly conspired against them. Since they had given up their home ground to Brighton & Hove Albion after the latter lost the Goldstone Ground, Withdean's playing facilities were not fit to qualify them for promotion from the Combined Counties League (CCL) to the Isthmian League and in the close season of 2003 their wealthy backer and many of the best players left for Isthmian League team Worthing. In the 2003-04 season Withdean 2000 struggled near the bottom of the table. In June 2004 they withdrew from the CCL for the following season.


Withdean Stadium is an athletics stadium in the Brighton suburb of Withdean. The nearest railway station is Preston Park (10 minutes walk) and having gone straight from work in London to Brighton where we had fish & chips washed down with a pint or two, it is only one stop back up the line.

On a chilly Friday evening, Oving took the points courtesy of the only goal. We sat in what was the main stand at the time and enjoyed a decent contest between two evenly matched sides.


A brisk walk back to the station afterwards enabled us to catch a train that arrived back in London before 11pm.