My first football days
My football days began with a regular diet of Division Two football, that’s the Championship for those born after 1990. As a child, Division One football was something that happened on television, Division Three and Division Four was substandard and non-League football didn’t exist.
Charlton or Charlton
I was conceived, born and raised in Charlton at a time when the football team was Division Two mid-table specialists (oh, for the great days!) with only occasional flirtations with promotion and the odd end of season panic at the bottom. Everybody at my school supported Charlton. My horizons in both life and football terms were frankly narrow.
Arsenal, Manchester United – no thanks
When I went to secondary school, I started to meet kids whose parents had taught their offspring to support Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham and the like. This didn’t make much sense to me, but I tolerated their preferences.
Bromerlee, Bromerlee
Later in life, I married and moved to Bromley, a move of under ten miles. I still supported Charlton, but I took an interest in Bromley, who played in the Isthmian League at the time. Rather like Charlton in my younger days, they were perennial mid-table specialists. I started following Bromley away from home, mostly on drives around the M25.
Non-League football
Without realising it, I had fallen in love with non-League football. Almost everywhere I went, I enjoyed the football, the atmosphere and the fans more than at the higher echelons of football. Later, I moved away from Bromley. I still support Charlton and Bromley, but I discovered enjoyment from watching any non-League game.
The FA Trophy trail
I eventually realised something else. When I watch Charlton and Bromley play, I care about little else except the result. However, when I see any two other sides play, I simply enjoy the occasion. This realisation led me to follow the FA Trophy for the 2021-22 season and the raison d’etre for this website with a book to follow.
From Tividale to Wembley
I have always liked cup draws, cup ties and replays and miss the prestige formerly associated with the FA Cup. In 1977, Brian James, a Mail journalist, who sadly died in 2017, wrote a book, From Tividale to Wembley. He picked Tividale from the Preliminary Qualifying Round draw of the FA Cup, following the winners of each tie to Wembley. I loved the idea. I liked the idea of balls coming out of a bag determining his destiny and the cut and thrust of cup football.
Where to start my trial?
Why Tividale? Well, Brian explained that he chose Tividale because he had never heard of it before. I don’t expect to match Brian’s level of journalistic skills, but I reused his idea, albeit nearly 50 years later, and will be applying it to the FA Trophy. With the FA Trophy culminating in a final at Wembley, I just needed to find a starting point.
Hashtag United, it is
With 38 teams in the hat for the First Round Qualifying of the 2021-22 FA Trophy, one tie leapt out at me. It was Hashtag United versus Chipstead. I knew a little, though not much, about Hashtag United. I knew that Hashtag United played in Essex with reasonable certainty, but I had no idea whereabouts in Essex. I was ready to embark on ‘From Hashtag United to Wembley’, not knowing where I would end up.
Join me!
I would admit that, as a resident of Kent, Essex was an attractive proposition, but I feel confident that I will be in the far north of England at some point in my FA Trophy trail. Join me on my journey. I have no idea where I will be going, but I will try to tell you everything I find on my way.