SEASON 23/24

My aim is to continue travelling around random grounds in the south of England during the 23/24 season, watching games from different levels and continuing to celebrate the joys of following non-league football!

PLAYER PORTRAITS

Following my new found love of all things women’s football over the course of 22/23, I sketched some of the wonderful players I had the privilege of watching and meeting. Take a look here!

FOOTBALL FODDER

More than happy to try out any burgers, hot dogs or whatever delicacy is available, along with a select brew or two in or around the grounds. It’s definitely all part of the matchday experience! Check out the new food feature here!

The Wandering Tractor

Follow my journey!

Join me as I continue my return to the

world of non-league football in 23/24,

visiting more random grounds & blogging

about my experiences and match reports

along the way.

This season I’ll be focusing on supporting

women’s football from Tier 4 to Tier 7,

including the regional lower leagues,

reporting on games and helping to give

teams a little extra coverage.

This doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing me

at men’s games this season, I’ll still be out

and about, watching games and testing

out the clubs burgers and hospitality!

Be seeing you all soon!

WELCOME! I’m delighted to confirm that, after a hugely enjoyable season in 22/23, I’ll be continuing on the wandering trail in 23/24 albeit with a later start due to an operation in early July. This season, after thoroughly enjoing my first experience of local women’s football, the emphasis will be to focus on visiting and reporting from local and not so local women’s football from Tier 4 to Tier 7 including the regional feeder leagues, throughout the south of England. I’m hoping to be working closely with some of the wonderful people I had the good fortune to meet last season, to provide a little extra coverage for many clubs in the women’s pyramid, including all of the clubs I visited last season, several new teams in the area making their debut in league football in 23/24, and those who unfortunately struggle with little or no coverage from their local media. If we can give your club a well deserved boost, even a just little, then it will all be worthwhile. As with men’s football. it’s not all about the upper reaches of the game, there are so many excellent clubs building fantastic communities with teams that include everyone from all age groups, and we’re excited about having the chance to give them a bit of a helping hand via social media. This doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing me at men’s games on a Saturday. I’ll still be out and about, picking random games to go to in different leagues, the only difference being they will be mostly Thames Valley based but still with a few longer distance trips thrown in for good measure. I’m planning on staying over when taking on a longer journey this season and these trips will more than likely involve a men’s/women’s double header over a weekend. The food reports will also return because, and I won’t lie, I’ve really enjoyed testing out all the burgers and anything else I could lay my hands on in 22/23 and it seems to be a very popular feature! I’ll also be continuing with the drawing of player portraits as they seem to have been received favourably too… so far! If you have any requests just give me a shout via my Twitter account. As long as I can get the hang of using my new camera, you’ll also be able to see photos from each day out on my new Instagram account. This whole project has always been about rekindling my love of grassroots football which now includes my new found love of following women’s football. I’m thinking about adding a few interviews with people throughout the men’s and women’s non-league set-up, from referees and players, to many of the hard working volunteers usually behind the scenes and without whom the game would not be what it is today. That is work in progress but I think it might be interesting to hear from a few of the remarkable unsung heroes who keep our clubs running smoothly. There is also the possibility I might pen a few more local footballing articles for the excellent Football in Berkshire website so keep an eye out for news on that. So all in all, it will be more of the same but with the slight shift in focus. It’s doubtful I’ll get anywhere near my total of games from 22/23 especially with the delayed start but hey, never say never! The site will continue to feature the blog reports from my travels (although hopefully with a few less public transport traumas to moan about!) and with the same enjoyment gained from visiting new grassroots clubs. I’m looking forward to making new friends and also catching up with some of the remarkable people I met during my journey last season. See you at a game soon!
Copyright: © The Wandering Tractor 2023

SEASON 23/24

My aim is to continue travelling around random grounds in the south of England during the 23/24 season, watching games from different levels and continuing to celebrate the joys of following non-league football!

PLAYER PORTRAITS

Following my new found love of all things women’s football over the course of 22/23, I sketched some of the wonderful players I had the privilege of watching and meeting. Take a look here!

FOOTBALL FODDER

More than happy to try out any burgers, hot dogs or whatever delicacy is available, along with a select brew or two in or around the grounds. It’s definitely all part of the matchday experience! Check out the new food feature here!

The Wandering Tractor

WELCOME! I’m delighted to confirm that, after a hugely enjoyable season in 22/23, I’ll be continuing on the wandering trail in 23/24 albeit with a later start due to an operation in early July. This season, after thoroughly enjoing my first experience of local women’s football, the emphasis will be to focus on visiting and reporting from local and not so local women’s football from Tier 4 to Tier 7 including the regional feeder leagues, throughout the south of England. I’m hoping to be working closely with some of the wonderful people I had the good fortune to meet last season, to provide a little extra coverage for many clubs in the women’s pyramid, including all of the clubs I visited last season, several new teams in the area making their debut in league football in 23/24, and those who unfortunately struggle with little or no coverage from their local media. If we can give your club a well deserved boost, even a just little, then it will all be worthwhile. As with men’s football. it’s not all about the upper reaches of the game, there are so many excellent clubs building fantastic communities with teams that include everyone from all age groups, and we’re excited about having the chance to give them a bit of a helping hand via social media. This doesn’t mean you won’t be seeing me at men’s games on a Saturday. I’ll still be out and about, picking random games to go to in different leagues, the only difference being they will be mostly Thames Valley based but still with a few longer distance trips thrown in for good measure. I’m planning on staying over when taking on a longer journey this season and these trips will more than likely involve a men’s/women’s double header over a weekend. The food reports will also return because, and I won’t lie, I’ve really enjoyed testing out all the burgers and anything else I could lay my hands on in 22/23 and it seems to be a very popular feature! I’ll also be continuing with the drawing of player portraits as they seem to have been received favourably too… so far! If you have any requests just give me a shout via my Twitter account. As long as I can get the hang of using my new camera, you’ll also be able to see photos from each day out on my new Instagram account. This whole project has always been about rekindling my love of grassroots football which now includes my new found love of following women’s football. I’m thinking about adding a few interviews with people throughout the men’s and women’s non-league set-up, from referees and players, to many of the hard working volunteers usually behind the scenes and without whom the game would not be what it is today. That is work in progress but I think it might be interesting to hear from a few of the remarkable unsung heroes who keep our clubs running smoothly. There is also the possibility I might pen a few more local footballing articles for the excellent Football in Berkshire website so keep an eye out for news on that. So all in all, it will be more of the same but with the slight shift in focus. It’s doubtful I’ll get anywhere near my total of games from 22/23 especially with the delayed start but hey, never say never! The site will continue to feature the blog reports from my travels (although hopefully with a few less public transport traumas to moan about!) and with the same enjoyment gained from visiting new grassroots clubs. I’m looking forward to making new friends and also catching up with some of the remarkable people I met during my journey last season. See you at a game soon!
Copyright: © The Wandering Tractor 2023