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.
Anyone tuning in for the start of the new Premier League season might have been left feeling a little out of sorts post- Gary Lineker now that what we're left with feels increasingly social media-ish. A shift perhaps heralded by BBC Sport's quest to find a new content creator in Last Pundit Standing. Yes, the way we watch television has undoubtedly changed with the advent of streaming services, but has it come at the cost of making what was for many a cornerstone of Saturday night a bit of a throwaway now you can simply scroll on your phone or the iplayer and skip to a shortened highlights package for your team. Reduced to not much more than the goals and reaction videos, which should you choose?
All football fans should remember the date of October 6th 2025, when UEFA made the most UEFA of decisions, by allowing La Liga and Serie A permission to hold one domestic game overseas during this 2025/26 season, whilst simultaneously making it known that they disapprove of such a move. To clarify, Villarreal will now be allowed to play their 'home' league game against Barcelona, in December, in Miami, a mere 4700 miles away from the Estadio de la Ceramica, where the game should be played. Meanwhile, AC Milan will 'host' Como in February, with the San Siro being replaced with a venue in Perth, Australia, and just 8500 miles separating the Rossoneri from their usual home.
Is there a case for saying that Switzerland's hosting of the recent Women's Euros, while not the sort of success La Nati might have hoped for on home soil given they made it as far as the quarter-finals before defeat to losing finalists Spain, actually marked a far bigger win for the environment and indeed the wider footballing community? If you looked beyond what was going on on the pitch, almost as much coverage was given to a commitment to make the tournament sustainable, a change deemed necessary by Doris Keller, tournament director, in an interview with the Travel Smart Campaign-