Support Your Local Team

Aston Villa are away at Birmingham City this weekend. I won't be attending, partly because of City's disgraceful, blatant and repeated ripping off of Villa supporters and partly because I cannot - despite my love of the Villa - be arsed to watch football's ugly side manifest itself before my very eyes.

Whether or not I were making the trip to Birmingham's run-down cowshed and paying fifty quid for the privilege, my Saturday is, thankfully, Villa free. So, I'll be heading to Imperial Fields, Mitcham, to get a nice big fix of another great football passion of mind, Tooting & Mitcham United.

Tooting are currently riding high in the Ryman Premier League, shrugging off pre-season concerns and romping to second with a string of superb results. But this week it's time to focus on the FA Cup with the visit of Horsham, with whom I have a personal but very friendly rivalry because my hetero-lifemate is a Lardy Boy.

And so I'll once again be sampling the many delights of non-league football, and if you have a local non-league team you should get involved. The clubs need your support, but in turn they can offer you a value-for-money, restorative afternoon at the very heart of the English game. For the disillusioned supporter, it's a welcome opportunity to support your community while getting back in touch with football.

Where else can you take a seat of your choice and mix with opposing supporters, providing a style of banter and a shared identity impossible higher up the ladder? Where else can you stand behind a different goal in each half, swapping at the break to ensure a good view of your team's winner? And above all, where else can you meet a supporter who attends matches barefoot for no apparent reason?

That's what non-league football is all about. But don't kid yourself that you're doing it a favour, because if anything it's better for you than you are in return. Just give it a chance.

And if you ever do, let me know.