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Just a few of Bjørn’s shirts on display – it takes two cranes to lift them!

Shirt Displays

Yesterday it was the excellent Retro Fair at Chelmsford which was as much as a success as I had expected. Congratulations, Greg. Nice to catch up with old friends like Les and Lee and a pleasure to meet Mike Groves for the first time. The Shirt project goes back to 2009 and Bjørn Heidenstrøm now has a hugely impressive collection proving to all football fans that there is more that unites us than divides us. One of the challenges of collecting shirts is deciding how to store them and/or display them. Mike has an innovative solution that impressed me and I thought you, my loyal readers, would be interested too.

Have you been thinking about framing one of your favourite football shirts?

Well, there’s more than one way to show off your shirt:

1. Get Your Shirt Framed Professionally:

You could take your shirt to be professionally framed, and if it’s a highly valuable shirt this might be a good option. However in many cases getting it framed will cost you more than you paid for the shirt.

2. Get A Shirt Framing Kit & Frame Your Shirt Yourself:

An alternative is to buy a shirt framing kit online and frame the shirt yourself. Whilst this will be cheaper than the professional framing option, you might not get the same professional result. Many kits provide a card for the shirt to be wrapped around, before fitting the card into a relatively small frame. This means you don’t get to see the whole shirt and often can only see the player’s name and number, or just the collar, badge and sponsor’s logo.

3. Try The Unique Shirt Hero Shirt Display Mount:

The unique Shirt Hero shirt display mount is a cheaper and easier alternative to framing a shirt. The simple clip and rail enable you to display your shirt on almost any wall in style. You can see the whole shirt and still touch and feel it as well. And there’s the added bonus that you can take the shirt down whenever you want to wear it.

Want to see it? Watch the video here

You can buy the Shirt Hero direct in their store for just £9.99

To all shirt collectors out there, I hope Mike’s product is of interest. Please remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for Prostate Cancer and an equal amount for my local club, FC Deportivo Galicia. As always, I hope that you are all enjoying this digital tour of the UK and that you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1, I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier at the club whilst the charity could continue its great work. A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can donate. If you can’t any shares of this site or even this post would be gratefully received. Thanks again.

I had intended to give an update from Morecambe FC today but the situation is still so unclear that I am not sure I can give a meaningful overview. “Maybe tomorrow,” as the song goes!

So, with the wonders of digital technology, it’s off to Essex where I have received the final details for this Sunday’s event.

The organiser, Greg Lansdowne says,

“With just a few days to go until the Essex Retro Football & Cricket Show, I wanted to confirm a few of the key details: 

Address: The Cloud County Ground (the pavilion), New Writtle St, Chelmsford CM2 0PG

Times: 10.30am-2.00pm, Sunday 9th June 2024

Visitors coming on foot: the River Gate entrance is no longer open on a non-matchday so entrance will be via the main gate on New Writtle Street.

Visitors coming by car: A steward will  be at the main gate on New Writtle Street until midday, so car parking is free up to then if you say you are attending the event and give your registration number.

Special guest Graham Gooch is due to arrive around 11.30am and will be signing cards for a new Futera multi-sport collection from approximately midday, as well as taking part in a Q & A.

There will be 19 stallholders and the Essex Cricket Museum is open on the day, featuring a special Nasser Hussain exhibition.

A licensed bar will be open throughout the event, providing drinks and snacks.

Please do spread the word and here’s to a fine day of sporting nostalgia.”

I shall be there and hope to see many of you there too.

In the meantime, kindly remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for Prostate Cancer and an equal amount for my local club, FC Deportivo Galicia. As always, I hope that you are all enjoying this digital tour of the UK and that you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1, I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier at the club whilst the charity could continue its great work. A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can donate. If you can’t any shares of this site or even this post would be gratefully received. Thanks again.

When I set out 129 days ago and after 60+ years of involvement in football in the UK, I was clear I still had a lot to learn. The 2010 cycle tour to the 92 grounds of England and Wales had taught me a lot, more than a thousand games at several hundred grounds and copious reading for more than half a century had also helped me to understand some of the reality of football in the UK. I am always happy to learn more.

I was delighted to see that “Twenty Football Towns” by Steve Leach was available again from Stanchion Books. I commend his thoughts on twenty towns that make up half the clubs of the UK. Stanchion say,

” In our world of global superstar footballers, it’s easy to forget the grassroots of a sport where loyalty to a hometown club is often rock solid – and counts for everything. Even as local communities come under threat, football fandom still pulls us together. But why is this? What is the special magic that connects towns and teams? For many of us, the local club offers it all: passion, hope, heartache, drama.

And a sense of belonging. The town where we grew up and all the places we’ve lived are the bedrock of our lives, and memories of seeing the local team play are inextricably intertwined with our sense of place and identity. Steve Leach spends a year visiting the twenty towns and clubs that are special to him.

He celebrates the distinctiveness of these places, the fascinating differences between Lincoln and Leyton, Barrow and Birmingham, Macclesfield and Morecambe – towns and teams that may not be glamorous, but they are unique and, more importantly, they are home.

The author:

Steve Leach grew up in Stockport and has lived in a number of towns and cities, mainly in the North of England, whilst pursuing a career in education. In all the places he’s lived and worked, football has provided a common thread. He’s spent many a windswept Saturday afternoon on terraces from Barrow to Birmingham, Liverpool to Leyton.”

This week I will be writing about Southend and Morecambe. I wonder whether Steve would agree!

In the meantime, kindly remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for Prostate Cancer and an equal amount for my local club, FC Deportivo Galicia. As always, I hope that you are all enjoying this tour of the UK and that you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1, I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier at the club whilst the charity could continue its great work. A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can donate. If you can’t any shares of this site or even this post would be gratefully received. Thanks again.

—

Football, Football, Football
It’s always a pleasure to hear from Clare at She Can Kick It. Here is her latest newsletter.

“Hi, how are you? Missing the football season yet? Don’t worry, it won’t be long before we have the women’s Euros qualifiers, and there’s the men’s Euros this summer too. And plenty of women’s history still to learn.Last newsletter, I whined on a bit about how much I had to do and stressing about my team’s first summer tournament with me as coach. Today you get to hear about what happened :)I was dreading the tournament but all my stressful preparation meant I could enjoy the day. We had two teams in the event and although we didn’t win any games, we kept some of the best teams in the region to really respectable score lines. Excellent fight from my teams: they really frustrated top opponents.
The Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley was fantastic, not least because my team, Man Utd, lifted the trophy for the first time in their history (history is literally being made every week in women’s football at the moment). Great experience to be there. And a friend was randomly two rows behind me at the stadium – which was fun (and statistically unlikely).I know what you’re thinking: she’s about to say she hasn’t had time to write any of the book. And you’d be right! I haven’t had time, but I’ve made time because I really want to get this out to you by the end of the year – the word count has gone up by about 4000 again, I think.


History: Coppa del Mondo, Italy 1970

Italy was the first nation to organise major international competitions for women’s football. In 1970, the Italian Women’s football federation, along with sponsors Martini & Rossi (the famous alcoholic drinks makers & James Bond favourite), organised the Coppa del Mondo (World Cup) – also known as the Martini and Rossi Cup.Women’s football was still banned in many countries and hugely inhibited virtually everywhere except Italy, at this time. The English Women’s Football Association had very recently got the ban overturned in England and were cautiously proceeding with organising a national team. Since they didn’t want to rock the boat, when asked if they wanted to send a team to the unsanctioned event in Italy, they declined.Up stepped Harry Batt and his unofficial Lionesses, who went to the event under the banner of the “British Independents”, although everyone called them “England”.England beat West Germany 5-1 in their opening game, but it was Denmark and Italy who played the final. Denmark won the title in front of 40,000 spectators. England came third. The Italians moved their next world cup to Mexico: the now famous Copa ’71 (the film is brilliant, btw).

My footballing story: The new stories

Little did I imagine when I was kicking a ball around the park as an 11-year-old that I would end up coaching a team of the same age several decades later. But that is what happened this season. It’s been a rollercoaster. Learning all the FA systems has been a challenge in itself! And all the admin of running a team. But I knew it would be a lot of extra work, I knew it would take time to plan training and arrange matches. I didn’t anticipate how much it would change me as a person though. I didn’t appreciate how rewarding it would be to see a team of players with little to no confidence in their abilities, begin to shine as individuals and build as a team. I still lose sleep worrying about how to help them improve, but over the past few weeks several parents have told me how much their child is enjoying their football, how their confidence is improving, and how it is the thing they most look forward to every week. And as I slotted through the perfect assist at training this week to demonstrate something to them, I still felt like that 11-year-old girl in the park! I stopped short of physically wheeling away in delight, but mentally I was celebrating that assist like it was the FA Cup Final 🙂

I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. How you can support me this week? Forward my newsletter to friends/family, post about it on social media, share the subscribe link https://bit.ly/she-can-kick-it

PS Number of book words written so far…45,065

PPS Don’t forget ….Sunday The West London Football Programme and Badge Fair. Sunday 2nd June 2024. Details above.

As you know, the purpose of this digital tour is to raise finds and awareness for the great work that Prostate Cancer UK do. So, as always, I am delighted to share their latest newsletter.

“We’re so pleased to let you know that The Prostate Cancer Memorial has arrived at Kings Cross, London.
You can now visit the memorial at Kings Cross station until 27 September 2024. The memorial can be found on the main concourse, next to Pret a Manger. 

Make sure to share your visit with us on social media and in The Prostate Cancer Remembrance Group on Facebook.

Thank you once again for supporting our work in this special way. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at inmemory@prostatecanceruk.org

Very best wishes

Will and Holly
In Memory Team
Prostate Cancer UK

PS: Join us at March for Men. Share stories, celebrate loved ones and walk towards a better future for men. There’s still time to sign up and take part in Battersea Park, London, on Sunday 2 June at 11am. 

Pre-registration closes on Friday 31 May at midday. But don’t worry, you can sign up on the day. We can’t wait to see you!”

Obviously my tuktuk digital tour pushes on and I still have Bristol and Birmingham in my sights but in the meantime, kindly remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for my Prostate Cancer and an equal amount for local club, FC Deportivo Galicia. As always, I hope that you are all enjoying this tour of the UK and that you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1, I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier at the club whilst the charity could continue its great work. A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can donate.

It’s all happening at Redruth United. You may remember I spotlighted the Cornish club yesterday
Later, I got a notification on Facebook about a lady, Ruth Major, who has decided on a unique type of fundraising for her club. The story deserves more eyeballs!

“Hi! My name is Rubbish Ruth& I’m 79 years old. Starting on the 29th April I plan to travel across England from Folkestone to Carlisle using my free bus pass & am appealing to the great British public to support my travels & donate generously to Redruth United Football Club. Currently there are 16 teams, including ladies, girls, youths, adults and veterans, all supported by amateur & volunteer coaches and trainers. They desperately need a new club house to accommodate their recent increase in the number of teams they support. Please donate to this very worthy cause…..Every little helps! Thank you!

Learn more of Ruth’s tour here

Sunday 2 June

Redruth United FC

Got to be honest, Redruth United FC is not one of the “92” and nor is it likely to be for a season or two. However a great story came out of the club this week that made me think a lot about the game. Regular readers will remember that I have done several articles on sponsorship and that I am not always clear that both parties benefit as much as they could …. or should!

Have a read of this, please , which I found on their Facebook Page.

“

Now that our season has finally reached its conclusion for 2023/24, we would like to take this opportunity to thank each, and every person connected with Redruth United Football Club for helping play their part in us having such an incredible and memorable campaign both on and off the park.

The performances this season are a reward for many years of doing the right things, working hard, sacrificing plenty, attracting the right people and the dedication given by all these people. Doing what everyone has done and in the way they have done has given so many amazing experiences to remember for a lifetime, and hopefully allow us to enjoy many more of these experiences in the future.

As a club it gives us an immense sense of pride to see so many people come together and be part of this special club and experience so many memorable moments with so many people. Togetherness and inclusivity have been the foundations on which our club and success has been built. From inside the dressing room, to the boardroom and on the sidelines together we have kicked every ball, celebrated every goal, and this season in particular, have picked each other up after a few tough results. That togetherness has been the difference and has been the special ingredient that has set us apart as a club, on and off the pitch.

We are so proud of the performances and commitment of all Redruth United players within the club, adults and youth section. Your efforts continue to go above and beyond and not unnoticed. We are very grateful for all that you give our club.

I also wish to give my heartfelt thanks to the business community ( Club Sponsor Omnia, supporting The Lily Foundation)

Garage Door and Automation CoGary Murphy Plumbing & Heating LimitedPlumbase RedruthABL Plastics LimitedLJ Laundry Services LtdHands on Gardening1000 Flags Healeys Cornish Cyder FarmKeltek BrewerySt Piran Garden and Home ServicesMcDonald’sEquest.CoachAbsolute Flooring (SW) Ltd Caw Cornwall Serco UKThe William IVMKM Building Supplies RedruthRedruth Charity Trust) and individuals who continue to support and partner us via sponsorship, advertising and hospitality which is invaluable in helping us deliver so much more than just football.

Finally, a massive thank you to our supporters and volunteers, we could not have had such a memorable season without your dedication behind the scenes which has not gone unnoticed. We cannot wait to start all over again in season 2024/25, where we can make new memories and dream big together.

Have a wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing you all at Clijah Park next season”


Logos of some of the sponsors.

I thought that this was a genuinely classy post by the people behind Redruth United. I too would like to offer my thanks to these worthy companies. I do not know any of you but I do know that football at this level absolutely DEPENDS on people like you supporting your local clubs. As a total outsider I give you thanks and hope you benefit from the association with the club and will continue to support them in the years to come. #RESPECT

Guys, I wish you all at Redruth United every success next season. With an attitude like yours, you deserve only the very best.

My own little club in London is equally dependent on external funds and have this week announced that Season Tickets will shortly be available and that the price has been frozen at just £25 for 2024/2025. (NOTE this is a full season ticket for approximately 20 games.) I hope you are enjoying this digital tour of the clubs and maybe you would consider taking a season ticket at this bargain price.

Please kindly remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for my local club, FC Deportivo Galicia and an equal amount for Prostate Cancer. I also hope you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1 I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier in West London whilst the charity could continue their great work. If everybody took a season ticket we’d be absolutely delighted. Just look through the website and you will see that you are GUARANTEED goals!

A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can help in any way. Thank you.

one of the great truths of a project like this is that it is often easier to rely on yourself than others. A couple of interviews for this week did not materialise, shall we say and to put it politely. It was fantastic then to deal with the boys at Beer Lanyard FC who came back to me within 0.000023 microseconds and say they were happy to help. Proud of them.

This looks like a great day out and for a great cause. Justin Edinburgh was a Spurs legend with over 200 league games before he moved into management and had a spell at my beloved Gillingham. The thing about Justin is that nobody, but nobody has a bad word to say about him. Everyone who has ever had dealings with him says he was consistently open and honest and behaved with credibility and integrity. Like me he had a SCA, fortunately I survived but tragically he did not. The JE3 Foundation was set up in his memory.

For three decades, Justin Edinburgh inspired the masses as a professional footballer and promotion-winning manager. Today, his impact reverberates as the Justin Edinburgh 3 Foundation campaigns for legislative change on the installation of Automated External Defibrillators within health and sports facilities, while raising awareness of cardiac arrest and delivering CPR training. More details here

So, a great day out at Sixfields in prospect. For more details check out the official Beer Lanyard website

Manchester City

There is only one place to be today – the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, home of Manchester City FC. They have done it AGAIN! Yes, for the fourth season on the row, they have taken the Premier League title. Congratulations. After university I lived literally 100 yards (if that!) from Maine Rd, their old stadium and I often used to watch them in the 80s. Remember those were the days when it was shillings to get in and I could afford to go to City one week and United the next. I have seen some great players there and some fantastic matches without ever becoming a City fan. I remember my first Manchester “derby” there, Glynn Pardoe’s testimonial in probably 1978.

A lot has been said about the financial irregularities at City and whilst I suppose there is no smoke without fire, I have no knowledge whatsoever about their guilt. What I cannot accept is that Nottingham Forest and Everton can be dealt with quickly but the cases against City seem to drag on and on and nobody has any idea if/when/how we will learn their fate. One the basis that English Law says innocent until proven guilty I suppose we just have to accept that they have won the title. Presumably they could equally be stripped of it…who knows?

What we do know is that from a footballing perspective they were the best team, won the most points and when Liverpool drifted away in the last ten games, I knew there was only one winner. It would be wrong of me not to send my best wishes to Jurgen Klopp as he leaves Anfield. In nine years he has turned the club around and left it in a fantastic position for his successor. Impressive!

My tuktuk digital tour pushes on and I still have Bristol City & Rovers and Birmingham in my sights but in the meantime, kindly remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for my local club, FC Deportivo Galicia and an equal amount for Prostate Cancer. As always, I hope that you are all enjoying the tour of the UK and that you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1 I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier in West London whilst the charity could continue their great work. A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can.

Glory, Glory, Man United …as the song goes!

I saw a story this week that jut SCREAMED the Shirt Project. SCREAMED and SCREAMED again. Regular readers will know that I first got involved when I heard of Bjørn Heidenstrøm’s cycle ride from Oslo, Norway to South Africa. That “encouraged me” to cycle to the 92 clubs. Well, this week I have heard of Ochirvaani “Ochiroo” Batbold (AKA Wazza) from Mongolia (yes, the one near China) to Old Trafford.
Let’s follow his story…

In May 2023, Ochirvaani “Ochiroo” Batbold left his home country of Mongolia to embark on a 14,000km cycling journey to Manchester United‘s stadium, Old Trafford. 

He has supported the Red Devils since 2010 and his first memory is the match versus Liverpool in September 2010 – a game famous for Dimitar Berbatov‘s hat-trick in a 3-2 win.

Batbold wrote a letter to the club, explaining: “I’m currently cycling from my home in Mongolia to Old Trafford because I love Manchester United. Wayne Rooney has always been my hero. I loved his relentless work ethic, versatility and ability to rise to the occasion in crucial moments. He was always an inspiration.

“When I was younger all I ever wanted to do was to be a professional footballer and to play for Manchester United, however I experienced a difficult situation. I lost a significant amount of money after being deceived by someone posing as a football agent. I felt like I was living a nightmare.”

When the club saw the letter and read his story, they decided to organise a very special surprise involving United legend Rooney.

Batbold thought he had been invited to a tour of Old Trafford, but Rooney appeared from the concourse to meet him in person.

Rooney said: “I really wanted to come and meet you and just say well done! I know you might think that we inspire you, or we inspire the fans, but what you’ve done is an incredible achievement and you should be really proud of what you’ve done.” 

See the full video here

To make Batbold’s trip even more memorable, he was invited back to the stadium to watch Man Utd against Arsenal, where he had the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere from the directors’ box and meet Sir Alex Ferguson and club captain Bruno Fernandes.

So, to put that trip from Mongolia into perspective, that is about five times what I did. I am hugely impressed and inspired. Congratulations, hero. My little (nay, tiny) tuktuk digital tour pushes on and I still have Manchester City, Bristol City & Rovers and Birmingham in my sights but in the meantime, kindly remember that the purpose of this 90 day challenge is to raise funds for my local club, FC Deportivo Galicia and an equal amount for Prostate Cancer. As always, I hope that you are all enjoying the tour of the UK and that you will consider a donation to support FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK 

If everybody chipped in with just £1 I would easily hit my target of £10,000 and life would be easier in West London whilst the charity could continue their great work. A HEARTFELT thanks, if you can.