It's probably fair to say the stakes were far higher for Crawley as they welcomed Shrewsbury to the Broadfield Stadium for their penultimate home game of the League Two season, before hosting Salford City on the final day and probably needing all three points to beat the dreaded exit from the Football League (in the end a goalless draw was enough to avoid the drop).
Last December I had the most serious of ankle breaks, not only has it been a real inconvenience that means I am now 3% Robocop, but it also meant that I'd gone almost four months without embracing the unique experience of live football. However, last month I got back on the horse starting with a local visit to Bristol Rovers, to witness their resurgence under Steve Evans, and now I've got our latest football away day on the board.
Originally, the plan was to visit Luton Town and the unique setting of Kenilworth Road, but after they made the most of their reprieve in the Football League Trophy and reached the final (going on to win it under the guidance of Jack Wilshere), a new destination was needed for our agreed weekend. This led us to (south) east London and the historic home of Charlton Athletic at The Valley, as we knocked off another ground in our unlikely quest to join 'The 92 Club'.
The 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations originally ended with the hosts Morocco blowing the chance to go into co-hosting the 2030 World Cup, alongside near-ish neighbours Spain and Portugal, on a high. Instead, Senegal managed to rip up the script to become continental champions after an extra-time win in the final, against a backdrop of “hospitals not stadiums” protests. Now, the result of that final is mired in a controversial dispute, which is a whole other story! So, how successful has the drive to invest in the country's football infrastructure, at the behest of King Mohammed VI, actually proved to be thus far?
It’s all change in East Sussex, as the crypto bros of WAGMI United have made way for KB Sports and Leisure, as of August 1st 2025, and Scott Lindsay returned to the Broadfield Stadium dugout after his axing by MK Dons last March. This made it only too fitting that I was among the mostly unchanged, save for my brother in law Grant, travelling party for my first game back since last season's similar visit.
Back around the middle of October we set off for another football escapade, and our first new experience of the 2025/26 season. A democratic vote selected QPR as the recipients of our support for a day, with the opponents to be Millwall FC in a London derby between two Championship play-off hopefuls (at the time). As always, there were no issues with me securing tickets aside from the wait to be able to purchase them via general sale, and I got the five of us sat together in the lower end of the Stan Bowles stand, towards the corner of the stadium containing the safe standing area.