I lied. I do have a second team. However, as Rich alluded to - my second team is a non-league team.
Kingstonian FC play in the Isthmian Premier division. This is the 7th tier of the English football league structure.
The reason I don’t really class them as a ‘second team’ is that Kingstonian and MUFC are so far apart that the prospect of them ever meeting let alone competing for the same trophy is infinitesimal.
MUFC get crowds of 75,000 whereas Kingstonian get crowds of 250.
What I like about non league is:
- real life football
- ability to enjoy a pint while watching the game
- watch the coaches issuing (screaming) instructions
- no need to book or be a member. Just rock up.
- park for free close to ground.
- Originally I could walk when Kingstonian played at Kingsmeadow !
- Cheaper £10 versus £35-40
I’m an Arsenal supporter for my sins. Been so since a small child in the early seventies.
However, I used to live in South-West London back then, a few miles from Wimbledon. My mother wouldn’t let me go to Arsenal in the late seventies, as she was worried about the hooliganism problem back then. However, she allowed me to go and see Wimbledon FC when they were in the third and fourth divisions (they yo-yoed between the two back then). So I went to see them for a couple of seasons until my mother eventually relented and allowed me to make the trip up to North London to see Arsenal.
I still follow Wimbledon, now AFC Wimbledon, as a second team and look out for their results. Loved the Crazy Gang back in the '80s. Winning the FA Cup was great. The fans reclaiming their club from Franchise FC is a lesson for all fans.
Last season was a bit worrying for them. Hopefully the corner will be turned next season.
I used to go to Plough Lane quite often to watch Wimbledon vs United in the 80s. I really didn’t enjoy those games - partly because we drew or lost but mainly because it was like a rugby match, a 90 min niggly war of attrition with Fashanu and that irritating dwarf Dennis Wise up to all their antics.
Coincidentally, a friend lent me her ST for AFC Wimbleson and I saw their penultimate home game of the season. They lost 5-1 to Swindon.
Well, they were punching up rather than down. Vinny Jones quite literally. ;-) I suppose watching them getting thumped 5-1 was a bit cathartic.
BTW, I suppose it wouldn’t surprise you if I said that I really enjoyed Arsenal’s George Graham years.
Not really. Arsenal were pretty successful under George Graham if I remember correctly.
Yes, we certainly were. However, we were accused of negative tactics back then when we were successful (offside traps, rough tackles, boring football, etc). Some justified, a lot not.
I loved those days despite the critics, even if our footballing style has become more fluid over the years.
Did that period see the origin of the ‘One Nil to the Arsenal’ chant ?
Yes. We had a great, well organised defence - Adams, Dixon, Bold and Winterburn - which tended to stifle the opposition. So it was quite often that if Arsenal scored, they were quite likely to win. Obviously this didn’t happen all the time, but it was often enough for it to be noticed.
Indeed. Nostalgia just isn’t what it used to be :-)
