I got a nice post from Ben at Old Pepys Veterans yesterday. He is very excited about their new 2nd kit. I got a sneak view of the design. Oh, what a beauty. An absolute beauty.

He said, “Our brand new away kit has been designed and is currently in the process of being produced ready for the return of football. We cannot wait to be out on the pitch in these beauties from EV2 Sportswear. Thank you to our club sponsor and partner The Dog & Bell in Deptford.” 

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London’s Fields: An Intimate History of London Football Fandom celebrates the turbulent rivalries, local antagonisms and even, on occasion, the fraternal harmonies held in common by the supporters of the capital’s many professional football teams.

The us and them dichotomy of a local derby is told here through the voices of us, the fans. In a one-club town or city your choice of team would appear to be simple. However, in a city with a dozen clubs the choice is less straightforward. London is a place of constant flux and change; it’s diasporic nature may have taken people far from their ancestral heartlands but the football clubs that remain there have, in a sense, travelled with them – local bragging rights and capital gains remain just as important.

The author’s upbringing was steeped in football, he has played and coached the game; written on it and worked in it. His less than conventional path to choosing his own team forms the foundation upon which the stories of other fans are richly rendered.

To contact the author or to purchase the book: pitchpublishing.co.uk or Twitter (@LondonsFields).
Order through Amazon, Waterstones, Hive and WH Smith’s

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East Kent School and Workwear Centre

I was talking to my friends at Old Pepys Veterans recently and they were very excited about their new sponsors. It’s easy for the Manchester Uniteds and Liverpools of this world to attract sponsors at millions of pounds a time but the further down the leagues you go, the more difficult it becomes. I said to Ben to put me in touch with the sponsors and I would be happy to give them a little love. A few days later, I got a nice tweet from Pete Morris at East Kent School and Workwear Centre and thanked him for his support.

I asked how the company got involved and why they decided to support the vets. He said, “Well, we are a school and workwear supplier in our 2nd quarter of trading. We are a family run business with myself, mother and sister. Due to shortages and obstacles in obtaining school uniform during the pandemic and realising I had a supply chain right under my nose we decided to start the business. We got involved in the club due to my personal involvement in it and I suggested from the off that a small investment in shirt space would infinitely improve our ability to find clients…so we did. I’ve know Ben for over 10 years now and we’ve always been involved I grassroots football and now the timing seemed perfect to align our thoughts again.”

So, here we have it a small new start business supporting a small new start club. It sounds a perfect mix. I wished Pete (a Charlton fan) every success and said I hoped to catch up for a coffee when this xxxxshow is over. I promised to add him to a new website I am building www.MegaExpo.co.uk
in appreciation for his efforts. It’s the least I can do.

If you are a club with a sponsor you would like to showcase or if you sponsor a club, drop me a line here and I will be happy to do what I can for you too. No cost, my way of thanking those who support The Beautiful Game in these difficult times.

Stay safe, everyone.

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Football Shirts For Charity 5k Virtual Fun Run

Looking for a weekend activity that combines fitness and fun in a virtual 5km run/walk? Join us in the Football Shirts For Charity free virtual event which hopes to encourage us all to get out and active and post a photo in our favourite football shirt. Run on your own to get a PB, go out for a family walk or do a relay 5k.

Share your photo on twitter with #FSFC5kDay and see details below.

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Well, it’s been quite a ride. Firstly let me apologise for the lack of new posts. Here’s a Readers’ Digest. On 14th November I had a cardiac arrest – full works. I was “dead” for 75 seconds and brought back to life by the ambulance staff. In all honesty, I felt nothing. I can’t say I had a chest pain or any pain. One moment I was OK. The next thing was coming round in Charing Cross Hospital. The next day, I was transferred to Hammersmith Hospital where I was successfully operated on. From there it was to Ealing Clayponds where I spent two weeks in a Covid isolation ward and now three months later, I am very fortunate to be alive.

I am out of care, off oxygen and in a hospital discharge unit. I also broke my tib/fib and unfortunately that has not mended well but that’s not life-threatening. No sweat. Hence my radio silence.

Before I do anything, I want to thank everybody who has been in contact to wish me well. Your kind thoughts were appreciated greatly. Thanks.

I’m still in bed 24 hours a day and one of the things that has kept me sane is a new passion for jigsaws. I don’t think I had done one in 50 years but I really enjoy them and have found and created hundreds. It will come as a surprise to nobody that many are football-related. I have added a few here and hope you enjoy doing them too!

Oops! I see that the hospital has a very strong firewall and it won’t let me upload the jigsaws, I will find a workround. Be right back!

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A very interesting press releases about Brentford FC came on my desk this morning. I thought it deserved to be shared. A dream role for somebody.

Brentford FC are looking for a new Board member to lead the way in community engagement

Unique opportunity to join the Brentford FC Board of Directors

Brentford FC are recruiting an Independent Non-Executive Director to sit on the Board of Directors. The Club is currently near the top of the Sky Bet Championship and has, in the past six months, moved in to a new stadium situated equidistant between London Heathrow airport and central London and at the heart of the West London community. Key Board objectives are based on our desire to become the most inclusive club in the country, growing and diversifying our supporter base, delivering outstanding fan and community engagement and increasing our revenues through purpose led commercial partnerships.

In order to realise our ambitions, we realise diversity must run through the entire organisation and must start from the top. We are looking for a new person to sit on our Board with the right mix of skills, knowledge and energy to help us do that. In order to complement the skills of our existing directors, we are looking for someone with demonstrable senior experience and skills in the areas of community, supporter or stakeholder engagement.

Whilst having proven strategic experience in a similar role would be advantageous, in line with our inclusive outlook and desire to increase diversity, we are willing to look more broadly at people with a different skill set, who may be able to effectively fulfil the same role. Our current board of eight contains gender and ethnic diversity but in line with our ambitions and clear evidence that more diverse boards make better decisions, we are casting our net more widely.

Whilst we are striving for diversity, we absolutely commit to selecting the best candidate for the job, who best performs throughout a fair and transparent selection process.

Brentford FC is a signatory to The FA’s Diversity Code, and as such commits to shortlisting at least one person of ethnic or gender diversity for this role, in addition to any shortlisted candidates who may already have been considered if necessary. This additional candidate will still need to fulfil all of the requirements listed in the Role Description.

For more details and to apply for this role, please click here.

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Well, it’s been quite a ride. Firstly let me apologise for the lack of new posts. Here’s a Readers’ Digest. On 14th November I had a cardiac arrest – full works. I was “dead” for 75 seconds and brought back to life by the ambulance staff. In all honesty, I felt nothing. I can’t say I had a chest pain or any pain. One moment I was OK. The next thing was coming round in Charing Cross Hospital. The next day, I was transferred to Hammersmith Hospital where I was successfully operated on. From there it was to Ealing Clayponds where I spent two weeks in a Covid isolation ward and now three months later, I am very fortunate to be alive.

I am out of care, off oxygen and in a hospital discharge unit. I also broke my tib/fib and unfortunately that has not mended well but that’s not life-threatening. No sweat. Hence my radio silence.

Before I do anything, I want to thank everybody who has been in contact to wish me well. Your kind thoughts were appreciated greatly. Thanks.

I’m still in bed 24 hours a day and one of the things that has kept me sane is a new passion for jigsaws. I don’t think I had done one in 50 years but I really enjoy them and have found and created hundreds. It will come as a surprise to nobody that many are football-related. I have added a few here and hope you enjoy doing them too!

Oops! I see that the hospital has a very strong firewall and it won’t let me upload the jigsaws, I will find a workround. Be right back!

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Old Pepys Veterans; a new club for old timers.

Ha-ha – O.K, 34 years old isn’t that old, but we’re not exactly spring chickens I suppose. First of all, we’d like to thank Steve for affording us the opportunity to introduce ourselves here on his website, I hope by the end of this you’ll all be hopping over to our socials to give us some much needed love and support, or even better, lacing up and joining us on the pitch as soon as lockdown is over!

Anyway, my name is Ben, and I am the chair and founder of brand-new Old Pepys veterans football club. I founded the team amidst a global pandemic last year, a strange time to start a new venture I hear you say. Well, yes, I suppose it was, but perhaps when you discover the ethos of our club you will realise why us, and why now. 

As the pandemic unfolded over 2020, I started to notice that the general mental wellbeing of the population seemed to be in decline. I noticed this on a personal level, in my friendship circles and on a wider societal level. The feelings of isolation and loneliness crept in for many of us. We started to notice that those little weekly meet ups with friends, or that trip to the gym, meant far more than we’d ever imagined before. I realised that coming out of lockdown, there would be need for a direct response to this, to ensure we repaired broken minds, and reconnected communities, and so, Old Pepys VFC was born. What started as a conversation with my partner about a pipe dream, quickly turned into a reality. With the help of an old friend Pete, and the rest of the Old Pepys committee, we quickly began the necessary work to get started. 

We became affiliated with the London FA and are striving to become a charter standard club in time for the 2021/2022 season start. We are entering the Southern Veterans league and our current home is former SE DONS home ground, ‘the jungle,’ in South East London. 

Our long-term vision is to not only run a veteran football club, but to become an outreach service for men battling mental health issues, in poverty and those coming from under-privileged backgrounds. We want to provide a sense of belonging, a community, for these men. A service we would like to be free at the point of contact for them. We are in talks with local mental health charities to forge working relationships that will enable us to work collaboratively to provide services such as; mental wellbeing football sessions, employability workshops and mental health drop-in services. 

So, how can you help us? Like I said before, feel free to follow our socials, as the club grows there will be fundraising opportunities, volunteering opportunities, and of course, to all you ‘oldies’ lace up ya boots opportunities too. You can find us on Twitter https://twitter.com/OldPepysVFC , Instagram https://www.instagram.com/oldpepys_vfc  and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OldPepysVFC   and our website, oldpepysvfc.co.uk  

In addition to this, we welcome any offers of sponsorship to enable us to purchase our away kit, charity kit, training kit and equipment. We are so grateful and lucky to have our first sponsor on board for the home kit, please also follow them on socials, Blue Mountain London https://www.instagram.com/bluemountainlondon

 So, if you’re a business owner, or work for a generous company passionate about mental health, then please do contact us on our email address ben@oldpepysvfc.co.uk for more information on sponsorship packages. 

Last but certainly not least, even if you don’t feel our club is something you align with personally, but you are reading this and are struggling with your mental health, then please reach out. There is no shame in feeling hopeless. You are not alone. Men have historically been told to ‘man up’ and get on with it, but let’s end that stigma. Let’s stop perpetuating the myth that men can only be tough and strong. If you need support we are only a message away, alternatively you can contact;

The Samaritans on 116 123

SANEline 0300 304 7000

CALM (Campaign against living miserably) 0800 58 58 58

I think I can speak for myself and my team when I say, we look forward to welcoming you into our community. 

Take care, stay safe. 

Benjamin Roy 

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I got an interesting newsletter from Fulham this week which I thought deserved sharing.

Your chance to get a matchworn and signed poppy shirt!

As in recent years, Fulham continue to show our support for The Royal British Legion and the Armed Forces community. All players will wear shirts bearing the poppy as a symbol of remembrance and hope. These shirts, worn in the upcoming game against West Ham United, will be personally signed by the players after the game and will be available to bid on straight from kick-off at https://matchwornshirt.co.uk/club/fulham. 

By getting involved you have the chance of winning the ultimate piece of fan memorabilia, a matchworn, player signed, poppy embroidered shirt of your favourite player. The proceeds will go to The Royal British Legion. This means that not only can you win a fan item like no other, you will also help improve the circumstances for some of the most vulnerable but deserving individuals within our communities.

The Royal British Legion is the country’s largest Armed Forces charity. It is the Legion’s aim to provide lifelong support for those who have been affected – both physically and mentally – as a result of their service. The Legion provides essential support to individuals and families in need, yet they are entirely dependent on the support from the public. This is where your contributions can really make a difference. You can find out more information on The Legion’s great work at https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are

Want to get involved? Simply head over to https://matchwornshirt.co.uk/poppy. The auction begins at kick-off for each game, so you can place your bids whilst watching the shirt being worn! Once the auction ends the shirts will be professionally disinfected using UV-C light before being shipped out to the winner.

So, I popped (sorry!) over to MatchWornShirt and entered an Aladdin’s Cave of delights for shirt fans. Not only do they support the Poppy Appeal but there are thousands of other genuine match worn shorts from literally dozens of clubs around the world. So whether you want a Sergio Ramos shirt or a Harry Kane shirt, I am sure that you will find something to tempt you. Enjoy!

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Tipperary footballers to wear commemorative Bloody Sunday jerseys in Munster final

By Shane O’Brien@shamob96




Orignal jersey worn by Tipperary (right) on Bloody Sunday, 1920. 
Photo Steve Burt @Flickr

Although not about (association) football, I came across this article today that I thought deserved sharing to a wider audience. It is a unique event with a unique shirt – interesting on many levels.

Tipperary’s Gaelic footballers will wear special commemorative jerseys marking the centenary of Bloody Sunday in their Munster final clash with Cork on November 22. 

The Tipperary County Board confirmed that Tipperary’s footballers will wear a special replica of the original green and white jersey worn on November 21, 1920, when British forces opened fire during an exhibition match between Dublin and Tipperary, fatally wounding Tipperary player Michael Hogan and 13 others. 

The Tipperary County Board had initially planned to use the jerseys in a special commemorative match between Dublin and Tipperary that would only last 48 minutes and start from the 12th minute; when the shooting started on that fateful day.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the GAA calendar, meaning that games that would normally take place over summer were rescheduled for winter and Tipperary will now instead mark the 100th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in a Munster football final.

In a statement, the Tipperary County Board said: “It is only fitting that the Tipperary team will wear the official replica green and white jersey as worn by Tipperary on that eventful day as a mark of respect to all of the fallen.”

The statement added: “The Tipperary players and management of 2020 are honoured to wear the official replica green and white jersey in this year’s Munster Final and play their part in marking this historic anniversary event.”

Teneo, the county’s shirt sponsors, has agreed to forego their name on the front of the commemorative jersey to add authenticity, while the replica jerseys will also feature an image of Michael Hogan along the sleeve. 

Teneo Chairman and CEO Declan Kelly said that he was honored that his company was associated with the Tipperary Senior Football team as it marks the centenary of one of the darkest days in Irish history. 

Kelly also said that he was proud of the Tipperary team for making their first Munster final since 2016. 

The complete article can be found at www.irishCentral.com

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