It may be that no-one can match my lifetime total but the seasonal one was passed several weeks ago by this chap from the BBC that I occasionally see lurking in the darkest recesses of Paddington Rec.
I believe he has seen at least one game every day since Christmas Day – and is aiming to reach 300 by the end of the campaign.
These were last week’s famous five for "The Barber":
Morley FM 0 MTV 1,
Alba 3 BNP Paribas 2,
Eastbourne United 1 Horsham YMCA 4,
Oxford University 0 Cambridge University 1
OMD UK 1 Morley FM 5.
"Alba" of the London Football League is the team run by the League’s Chairman and Organiser, and like Chelsea, they are the team that everyone wants to beat. As a consequence their games are invariably good entertainment.
Watched by approximately one spectator, last Thursday’s typically robust encounter was heading for 2-2 before an Alba player wearing a "MIDO" Egyptian shirt scrambled in a late winner.
Midway through the second half the Alba ‘keeper made a fabulous save from a firm downward header from close in that rivalled Banks’s from Pele during England v Brazil in Guadalajara in 1970, still my all-time favourite game seen on TV.
On Saturday afternoon, on my first visit to The Oval since Boxing Day, I saw Eastbourne United lose 4-1 at home to Sussex County League Division One Championship contenders Horsham YMCA. In difficult conditions, namely rock-hard pitch and blustery wind, "YM" certainly looked the part.
Two players I was particularly looking out for – one an FA colleague and recent quiz rival (Nick Levett) and one a pal of one of our website team (Matt Russell) – both had tidy games.
I saw about eight Varsity Matches on cold December afternoons at Wembley in the ‘70s and ‘80s and always looked forward to them. This year’s fixture, the 122nd in history, was played at Fulham’s ground on Sunday afternoon before the Boat Race and featured two very evenly-matched sides.
The weather veered from blue sky and sunshine to grey sky and driving rain – and back again, all inside five minutes.
Cambridge won for the first time since 2001, 1-0 with a goal by one of their substitutes in the 79th minute. It was a shame that one team had to finish on the losing side, all the players having put so much effort into the game. It was so end-to-end that it was like watching tennis.
Prior to kick-off I had the pleasure of meeting Jimmy Hill and Micky Stewart, amongst others.
I was also handed a brochure on the legendary "Corinthians" team of years ago and liked this quote by CB Fry, who played both football and cricket for England around 1900, on the topic of the newly-introduced penalty kick:-
"(It is) a standing insult to sportsmen to have to play under a rule which assumes that players intend to trip, hack and push opponents and to behave like cads of the first kidney".