Blog Posts I Haven't Hit Publish On

Alyssa has a fun link-up going now through November 11th and it's one of the most unique ones out there! She calls it a non-challenge challenge :) She gave 10 prompts and you can post about any of them anytime you want in that time frame. Less pressure to get them all in, or write them on certain days- but great blogging inspiration and great topic ideas. I'm snagging one off her list today... all the things I want to write a blog post about but haven't been able to hit publish on them yet.

A hair tutorial. I'll admit that I'm not that awesome at hair, but mainly due to a lack of trying to be awesome at hair. However, I did a really cute style months ago, took photos and everything but when I started writing about it everything seemed too hard to explain. Tutorials are apparently not my thing.

Detailed budget posts. If you've been reading for awhile you know about our alter egos Sallie & Perkins and I'd say we've been pretty open about how much debt we had and paid off. There is still more I'd like to share, but I struggle with where to draw the line with public finance stuff. Often I feel like people have gotten the wrong impression re: these posts so sometimes I just want to be completely transparent and put ALL the numbers out there. And then I quickly change my mind ;)

The Presidential election. Okay, I actually really don't want to give my opinion but sometimes I just wanna hammer away on a keyboard and let the world hear it. Because that would do a lot of good. (That's my sarcastic font in case you can't tell.) 

How I REALLY feel about my son's birth and the way it happened. Now, I know what you're thinking... Erin you wrote THREE posts about it how could you have more to say?! Trust me, I do. And it's in a messy, emotional post that will likely never see the light of day.

Pet peeves of mine. This post is 100% written and edited, but it feels too mean to actually post. I didn't intend for it to sound that mean so it needs some work, obviously. Maybe I can soften it up so as not to offend anyone. I mean, everyone has pet peeves, right?!

Adoption. My niece was adopted at birth and she is one of my favorite little people in the world :) She's almost 3 1/2 now, by the way. (!!) Adoption is such an incredible thing and I wish I had the words to share more about it. Recently, Jared's cousin and her husband became foster parents with hopes of fostering to adopt. They have already welcomed multiple kids into their home and it's so cool to know what an impact they're having on these children. My hope is that Jared and I could foster or adopt one day as well.

SAHM Life: Reality vs Perception. I'm still adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom. It was only a couple of months ago that I decided to leave my job and many days that is still difficult to grasp. Being at home is wonderful but definitely has it's challenges.

How amazing Jared is. Sometimes I really want to write all these mushy, gushy posts about him because he is seriously THE.BEST. But I know many things are best kept to ourselves and I always want to respect his privacy as well. Just know that I'm pretty fond of my husband ;)

I think I'll stop there. What have you always wanted to post about but haven't yet??

Why I Don't Go Shopping

You might have seen me mention it on Instagram over the weekend, but a very wonderful thing happened to me. A wonderful thing for me, potentially a very bad thing for Jared. Let me start by saying that I'm not a big shopper. When I go out to a store, I am on a specific mission. Perhaps my black flats finally fell apart and it's time to replace them. I set out in search of replacement shoes, find the shoes, purchase, leave the store. Or maybe I'm shopping for a gift for someone else. Nine times out of ten I shop online for that gift but if I go looking for a gift in person, I am pretty confident I already know exactly what I'm buying.

There were days long ago that I wasn't like this. Days where I loved a good session at the mall. In fact, I once wrote a paper in 4th grade about how the mall was my favorite place to go. I kid you not, that paper existed and it was multiple pages long about each of my favorite stores and which flavor of Dippin' Dots I usually purchase. But those were the days where I didn't have bills, I did have an allowance and my favorite shirts at American Eagle were probably like, $8.99 at the time.

But let's get back to why this weekend was so monumental. You see, I stumbled upon the Home Goods store that opened up in our area over the summer. I hadn't been out that way in awhile and I mentioned to Jared that I'd been meaning to check it out. Bless his heart he told me to go for it while he and T held down the fort so off I went!

And you guys... I FELL IN LOVE. Fell in love right then and there with that store. I had been in the store maybe 5 minutes before I texted Jared that I was ready to redecorate our whole house. I now understand the obsession. So many cute things at good prices... holy cow I was in trouble. My cart was filled up in no time at all. Of course, me still being the non-shopper shopper I'd add a few things to the cart, put a few back; add something else into the mix, decide to let one thing go. It was a very back and forth trip- thank goodness for the "back" because otherwise I might have drained our bank account.

I am now convinced that Home Goods has magical powers. I saw things like this giant acorn and suddenly I was racking my brain for where I could put it in our tiny tri-level. I grabbed every notebook that I remotely liked and had them in my cart before I let myself think of how many I already had at home. 

And don't get me started on the holiday stuff floating around... Of course I needed every Halloween candy dish, every Thanksgiving-related wooden sign and I'll for sure be back soon for the Christmas penguin salt and pepper shakers that will never be used. Sidenote- does anyone else think their shopping carts need to be larger or is that just me... ?

My friends... this is why I don't go shopping.

TLFG: 10-16 October 2016

For the second week running I managed to spend my Saturday afternoon at a real live football match.

After enjoying Harrow Borough's FA Cup win over Winchester last week, this time I found myself at Champion Hill for the Ryman League fixture between Dulwich Hamlet and Bognor Regis Town.

The south-east London club had decided to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street and the Spanish Civil War by holding a 'Trade Union Day' with the members of any union gaining entry for just £4 (a discount of 60%). 

I've never really been into the whole union thing but at my place of work it's the done thing to join and I signed up just over a year ago. So with membership card in hand, I went to claim my discount.

Having been to Dulwich several times over the last few years, I've become used to having to join a sizeable queue at the turnstiles (unlike at many other non-league grounds) as their various promotions have really captured the local community's attention.

A large crowd packed into Champion Hill on Saturday as Dulwich's Trade Union Day promotion paid off

Bognor, one of the better teams in the division, brought a sizeable following of their own and were in good voice throughout and they had reason to be as they gave an accomplished performance which saw them run out 3-1 winners. 

Despite defeat, the crowd of 2,217 and the funds they injected into the club's coffers probably softened the disappointment.

The Hamlet have had their detractors over the last two or three years for becoming too hipster, too middle class, too politically left wing or whatever but some might say so what? During that period they've gone from being just another club to the biggest one in the league with their average attendance of just under 1,000 almost double that of anyone else in the Ryman Premier. To be fair, you can't even accuse the new fans of being glory hunters as they haven't won anything during that time. 

When you also consider clubs like Crystal Palace and Millwall are on their doorstep and Chelsea aren't a million miles away, to get these crowds is even more of an achievement.

Maybe things were a little too political yesterday for many clubs and some fans but it worked because Dulwich seem to understand their audience and know how to use the tools that will help them reach them.

I believe that in the current footballing and economic climate, more clubs should be able to grow in a similar way but it does take vision, a strong connection with the local community, manpower, a willingness to do things differently and the commitment to see things through. As friends at Dulwich have told me, this success hasn't happened overnight.

Harrow Borough, my own favourites, have started to try and boost attendances too with some promotions of their own. On Saturday they decided to offer half-price entry to anyone going to England v Malta at nearby Wembley Stadium. To make sure this would work for all parties, they brought forward kick-off in their match against Billericay to 1pm. Although the crowd was nothing like that at Dulwich it was probably about 30-35% up on what they've been getting for most games this season which is significant.

If any other clubs want to do something, a great way to start is by trying to exploit an international break when there are football fans - stadium going and armchair - who will be without their normal clubs and a percentage of them will definitely want to watch something else instead. The next one is on Saturday 12 November so if your club are interested, you've got just over a month to pull something together. Please ask if you'd like any advice or suggestions.

That's it from me. Sadly I'm working this weekend otherwise I'd be at Earlsmead for Harrow's hugely important FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie against as yet to be decided opposition. Come on the Boro!

THE WEEK AHEAD

There are well over 90 matches in the London area over the next week as the Premier League and Championship make their return. The FA Cup is back, there are some FA Trophy replays as well as games in several county and minor league cups.

However, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or venue has been changed. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (white pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top (e.g. clubs in the Conference South).

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Magenta pin - Wednesday fixtures
Purple pin - Thursday fixtures
Black pin - Friday fixtures

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures

TLFG DAILY DIGEST

In the following section I list, by day, what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.

Monday 10 October

Professional Development League
Millwall v Leeds United @2pm - the U23 sides of these two former top-flight clubs meet at The Den in a lunchtime game with adult tickets priced at £5

Combined Counties League Premier Division
Sutton Common Rovers v Westfield @745pm - SCR have made a disappointing start to the season and face a tough challenge from Woking-based Westfield who will go top if they win their two games in hand

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Tuesday 11 October

Professional Development League
Crystal Palace v Huddersfield Town @1pm - there's more U23 action at Selhurst Park which means you can catch a game at a Premier League ground for £5

FA Trophy Preliminary Round Replay
Greenwich Borough v VCD Athletic @745pm - after fighting out a 1-1 draw on Saturday, these two clubs from south-east London have another go on Tuesday

Ryman League Division 1 North
Phoenix Sports v Haringey Borough @745pm - elsewhere on the south-east side of town Phoenix have made a superb start to the season and are already five points clear at the top, see if they can extend that lead here

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Wednesday 12 October

Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division
Hadley v Edgware Town @745pm - the hosts did superbly well to get to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup before bowing out to Eastbourne Borough after a replay. Consequently they've fallen behind with their league fixtures and are at the wrong end of the division but they are still above local rivals Edgware going into this derby

Essex Senior League

Sporting Bengal United v Clapton @745pm - there's another derby at Mile End Stadium but this time of the East End variety. The Tons usually take a strong and lively following with them which should generate a bit of atmosphere

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Thursday 13 October

FA Trophy Preliminary Round Replay
Carshalton Athletic v Cray Wanderers @745pm - after thrashing out an entertaining 3-3 draw in the original tie on Sunday, these two Ryman League rivals will hopefully provide another entertaining game on what is an otherwise quiet night UPDATE (12/10/16): MATCH POSTPONED

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Friday 14 October

Premier League 2
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City @7pm - the weekend gets underway with this very attractive looking game between the respective U23 sides of the top two teams in the Premier League. Tickets for the game, being played at White Hart Lane, are just £5 but it would seem they are only available until 5pm on Friday afternoon so buy in advance
Arsenal v Southampton @7pm - if Spurs aren't your bag, then you can catch their arch rivals' youngsters in action the same night up at Boreham Wood where the Saints' highly talented side pay a visit

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Saturday 15 October

Premier League
Chelsea v Leicester City @1230pm - the Blues have, by their high standards, made a disappointing start to the season and are already five points off title pace. On Saturday they welcome the reigning league champions who have so far struggled to replicate that form but will no doubt be well up for this one
Crystal Palace v West Ham United @530pm - these two London rivals have almost swapped the roles they played at the end of last season with Palace now pushing towards the Europa League places and the Hammers fighting the drop. It is of course early days but the visitors badly need a win
Arsenal v Swansea City @3pm - the Gunners could go top with a win against the struggling Swans who welcome new manager Bob Bradley into the dugout

Championship
Queens Park Rangers v Reading @3pm - QPR return from the international break with a tough derby game against the Royals who are fancied to be among the play-off contenders this year

League One
AFC Wimbledon v Swindon Town @3pm - after an iffy start to life in the third tier, the Dons have upped their game and are now only two points off the play-off places, the form guide suggests they should win here

League Two
Leyton Orient v Luton Town @3pm - the O's are a club in trouble and are going through managers like they're going out of fashion. They were a penalty shoot-out away from a place in the Championship a couple of years ago but now they look all set for a dramatic fall into non-league football if things don't pick up soon. The visiting Hatters know full well what that feels like after a very traumatic decade but they're on their way back up and start as firm favourites

FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round - this is the final round before the pro clubs from League One and League Two enter. It is therefore absolutely massive for the 64 non-league clubs who've made it this far - in some cases it could be the biggest game in their history. With £12,500 awarded to the winners of each tie, the gate receipts from a larger than normal attendance and the promise of a potentially even bigger pay day in the next round, the incentives to progress are huge

Sutton United v Forest Green Rovers @3pm - the U's have landed the toughest opposition they could've drawn with National League leaders FGR coming to Gander Green Lane. It will be tricky but Sutton should take confidence from the fact that they drew their away league game against the Gloucestershire outfit
Dagenham & Redbridge v Wealdstone @3pm - in many ways this tie appeals to me more than the one above as it pits two TLFG clubs from the far east and west of London against each other. The Daggers were a Football League club this time last year and look like strong contenders to bounce straight back up. The Stones play in the division below but cheered on by a sizeable and vocal following, should make life hard for their hosts
Boreham Wood v Hendon @3pm - these two are local rivals and used to meet regularly in the Ryman League but after a few truly great years, the Wood are now two divisions above the Greens in the National League. Given this and the fact they have home advantage it should be a foregone conclusion but with Hendon having already seen off the likes of Dulwich Hamlet and AFC Rushden & Diamonds it might not be
Welling United v Whitehawk @3pm - the FA Cup has provided the Wings with some relief from their otherwise disappointing season. Relegated into the National League South at the end of last season, they are in danger of going down again but have bagged nine goals in their two ties so far to raise spirits. Whitehawk are a much tougher proposition than Swindon Supermarine and Whyteleafe were but are also among the NLS strugglers so can be beaten
Harrow Borough v Margate @3pm - the draw has been kind to Boro so far, landing them lower division opposition in the three previous rounds. Given who they could've got, they've been pretty lucky again. Margate won the Ryman Premier play-offs a couple of years ago and, with some significant investment behind them, looked like a club who could be going places. That financing ended last season and they're no longer quite the side they were. However, as they play in the division above Harrow, they should still start as favourites here
Egham Town v St Albans City @3pm - hailing from the eighth tier, the Sarnies are one of the lowest ranked teams left in the competition and it's been 25 years since they last reached this stage so this is really big for them. The Saints play two divisions above and are among the promotion contenders so it will be quite an upset if Egham win

GET INVOLVED

If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground within the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries.

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.

And That's Life {Volume 2}

Last week I did a post in this format and a couple of you mentioned you liked it (thanks!) so I thought I'd do it again this week. It's a nice way to sum up my week, I think, and the categories don't always have to be the same of course. If you're looking for a way to write your Friday posts feel free to do the same. :)

Football Life: Since the Bengals had the Thursday night game last week, it feels like it's been a month since they've played! I read this article yesterday about how the NFL's ratings were dropping and found it fairly interesting. They mention a few possible explanations for the lower ratings but I feel like a lot of it might have to do with the over-saturated market; while I love football, it's true that three nights a week of NFL is a lot. Thoughts??

Home Life: I mentioned earlier this week that we are starting some home projects and I'm pretty excited about them. Updating our bathrooms is one of the top things on our list so I've been on Pinterest a LOT more lately looking for ideas and styles that we like. It made me realize 1) I missed Pinterest! 2) I need to reorganize/update those boards and 3) You should follow me on there!

Blog Life: I seem to be settling into a routine of 3 blog posts a week and I'm okay with that. When I was working full-time it was easy for me to type up a blog post or respond to comments over my lunch break but now that I'm home all day I find it harder to sit down at the computer. I really have a lot of posts in the works and things I'm excited about writing but I need to figure out how to manage my free time better!

Health/Fitness Life: Jared and I have been doing a DietBet for the past few weeks and it has definitely been the kick in the pants I needed. I'm eating healthier and eating more often, which is a good thing. Another thing about being home all day with a baby is that I realized I'd go half the day without eating anything or skipping lunch, etc. And then come dinner I'd be starving and just want to eat EVERYTHING. Having healthy foods I can snack on during the day has definitely helped; even if I don't feel like I can sit down and make a full meal I have lots of 'grab and go' options.

Momma Life: We've definitely got some teething going on in this house. No signs of teeth yet but the drool has amped up and T is always cramming his fingers into his mouth. We have a few teethers that I've offered him but they seem too big/awkward for him to actually hold and use. Suggestions?

Can you guys forgive me that most of my posts don't have photos these days? #bloggerprobz ;) I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend ahead of them!

Currently: October Edition

Another fabulous edition of the Currently link-up is happening today. This is always one of my favorites to participate in so you should check it out!  Anne and her cohost Jacqui would be happy to have you join in, so hop on over to their blogs already! ;)

Currently I'm...

Cheers-ing: That football season is almost over for Jared and his junior high team. I love that he coaches and he really enjoys it, but it's still a huge time commitment! I will look forward to having our evenings together again in just a couple of short weeks.

Organizing: My life. Ehh, it needs it anyway! Luckily the more things we declutter and donate, the easier it to organize the stuff we actually like! I've also been trying to keep up with alllll the digital photo organization. I wrote a post back in March about how I do it, so I need to stay on top of it to keep my system flowing. I couldn't even guess how many pictures I've taken of T in his 4 months of life already.

Dreaming: Of how much I'd like to be dreaming. Why is it that even though my kiddo sleeps relatively well overnight I'm still tired every single second of my life? Apparently babies are exhausting... who knew?! ;)

Buying: A few things for our house. Jared and I are finally trying to get some house projects rolling. Since living here we have always struggled with what we wanted to spend money on and what we could "make do" with for the time being. Originally we hadn't planned on living in this home for as long as we have, but while we're here we might as well make the best of it and spruce up the things that need sprucing. Looking forward to sharing our projects and progress soon!

Listening: To music all the time! I love having our radio/record/cd combination player in the main area of our house. I think the first couple of months after T was born I forgot what music was.  I forgot about the morning radio show I always listened to on my commute and it was like a lightbulb went off when I turned it on one morning and heard familiar voices. Hey! My radio friends! They are still doing their thing even though I stopped listening to them in my car- surprise, surprise! 

What are you currently up to??

Part of Society Again

This weekend made me feel like I was actually a functioning part of society again. It was pretty busy and for once it felt natural to just be doing things as a family of three. That might sound odd but up until now most functions, obligations and plans have felt stressful for me. It was the constant thoughts of how long we could be somewhere, what time T would need to eat/sleep/be changed, how far something was from the house, etc. And don't get me wrong, I still had those feelings over the weekend but with all the fun we had it just felt more "normal" and second-natured.

Friday we had a brutal doctor's appointment with a tired baby and LOTS of shots. I've done fine at all his previous appointments but this one was by far the worst. T was already getting fussy and starting to cry during the examination so by the time all those mean ol' needles came out it was OVER. He screamed and cried more than he ever has and I barely held it together myself. Okay, a tear or two might have come from me. He was such a little trooper afterwards even though he looked so pitiful. At least he got cool bandaids this time- last time they gave him girly ones ;)

After we all recovered and T was in bed extra early for the night our BIL/SIL came over again for dinner and games and randomness. Babies going to bed early can really make evenings with friends doable and fun. Waking up SUPER early isn't always ideal, but I'll take it.

Saturday was another test of our parenthood as we loaded up the car to drive an hour to my grandparents' house. T hadn't been in the car this long before but he did fantastic. Once we arrived he was the star of the party as the only baby there. It was so nice to see my grandparents and see how happy they were to love on their great-grandson. He's a lucky little boy! Typically he can only stay awake for 90 minutes at a time but he stretched that just a little bit and lasted almost 2 hours before he let us know it was time to go. I don't think we were even out of their neighborhood before he fell asleep... he partied hard! 

Since the Bengals didn't play Sunday we had a nice afternoon at home getting things done around the house. I officially swapped out all our summery candles/soaps for fall ones and I'm ready for the festivities. It was a perfect weather day so it was nice to have all the windows open as we cleaned and organized. Everything always feels cleaner when you have fresh air coming inside. I loaded up another batch of things to donate and get out of the house which is still one of my favorite things in the world. The more stuff T brings in, the more stuff I feel the need to immediately purge from the house.

FYI- Diaper boxes make great donation boxes. And yes, we've tried a LOT of brands of diapers.

Jared has a random extra day off work today so we are going to enjoy every second of it together before he leaves for football practice this evening. I hope everyone has a happy Monday!

TLFG: 3-9 October 2016

"Saturday, what a day" - as the theme tune to Happy Days used to tell us.

For me, it was one of the best Saturdays for a long time despite having to get up at 3.45am for work!

However, the good thing about that was that it got me out in time to actually watch a live game but more on that later.

As a QPR fan, one of the main events of the season is the derby with west London rivals Fulham. Yesterday we came up against them in a lunchtime game (meaning I couldn't go), with many Rangers fans expecting the worst.

Not only have the Cottagers completely dominated us in recent years with several wins by four goals or more, we were heading into the game on the back of yet another unwelcome scandal, still to be proven, this time surrounding our manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. 

The Dutchman's name has been dragged through the mud this week after corruption allegations were made about him in the Daily Telegraph (all vigorously denied by JFH). With recent results having also been iffy, many QPR fans had their knives sharpened and were ready and happy to give him the boot, especially if Fulham got one over on us again.

Harrow Borough (red) go close during their FA Cup match against Winchester

What transpired was quite remarkable. The hosts were awarded but then missed an early penalty. QPR took the lead through a striker who hasn't been able to score for toffee since signing in January. Fulham equalised through an even more ineffectual frontman before Rangers weathered some heavy pressure and then nicked a late goal to lead 2-1. But the drama didn't end there as the Cottagers won and then missed another penalty with the final kick of the game. Cue scenes of wild celebration in the away end!

While all this was going on, I was making my way out to the suburbs of north-west London where I grew up to go and watch Harrow Borough, my other football love, host Winchester City in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Things start to get serious at this stage of the competition with clubs well aware that only 180 minutes of football separate them from the First Round Proper and ties against the likes of former Premier League clubs like Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United. 

With £7,500 up for grabs just for winning Saturday's tie, the money on offer in the FA Cup is huge to sides who play further down the pyramid.

On paper Harrow were the stronger team, playing a level above their opponents who had made a not inconsiderable journey up from Hampshire.

However, it was the visitors who took an early lead from the penalty spot and then went on to have much the better of the first half to lead 1-0 at the interval.

Whether the conditions or the slope on Harrow's pitch played a part I don't know but the second half was almost one-way traffic with Boro pushing for an equaliser.

Member of a trade union? You'll get in for £4 at Dulwich on Saturday

Despite seeming to have most of the play, they didn't really create any great chances until the closing stages when Shaun Preddie equalised from a corner and then Ibrahim Meite won it deep into injury time with a composed finish from a cross.

When I used to watch Harrow regularly, they were always woeful in the FA Cup but they've done pretty well over recent years reaching the First Round in 2010 (losing to Chesterfield) and the Fourth Qualifying Round again two years ago.

With all the National League sides entering at the next stage, there are going to be some big names waiting to be picked in Monday's draw. With the competition still regionalised at this point, Harrow won't be able to draw Tranmere Rovers but former Football League clubs like Dagenham & Redbridge, Aldershot, Maidstone and Torquay are all a possibility as is a derby against local arch rivals Wealdstone which would be quite something!

Well that was my Saturday - I hope yours was good too.

Next weekend I'm intending to go to Dulwich Hamlet v Bognor Regis Town. There's another international break and the hosts are offering a special deal to get new people in. Harrow Borough have also got something planned too - see the Daily Digest towards the foot of the page for the details.

Talking of Dulwich, our friends at 'Two Men In Search Of The Beautiful Game' recently went to check out their game against Hendon - you can read about it here.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Despite there being an international break there are still 90 matches in the London area over the next week with a World Cup qualifier and games in the EFL, FA Cup, FA Trophy and several county and minor league cups.

However, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or venue has been changed. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (white pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top (e.g. clubs in the Conference South).

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Yellow pin - Monday fixtures
Green pin - Tuesday fixtures
Magenta pin - Wednesday fixtures
Black pin - Friday fixtures

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Blue pin - Saturday fixtures

Orange pin - Sunday fixtures

TLFG DAILY DIGEST

In the following section I list, by day, what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.

Monday 3 October

Essex Senior League
Tower Hamlets v Sporting Bengal United @745pm - there's only one game on but it's a bit of treat as the two inhabitants of Mile End Stadium meet for this local East End derby

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Tuesday 4 October

Checkatrade Trophy - this competition features League One, League Two and, controversially, U23 sides from 16 Premier League and Championship clubs. We're still at the group stage at the moment and tickets are very cheap with adult tickets at between £5-10 for most games.

AFC Wimbledon v Plymouth Argyle @745pm - the Dons have voiced very strong concerns about the introduction of U23 sides to this competition and even urged their fans to stay away from their last match. This one should be a bit better attended as it's against, in their view, a more bone fide opponent. They're also enjoying a decent unbeaten run at the moment but nothing like that of League Two leaders Argyle who have only lost once this season
Millwall v Gillingham @745pm - with the Gills located just outside south-east London this is effectively a derby. Last season these two were promotion rivals and you'd expect them to do well again this time but neither have really got going yet

National League
Bromley v Woking @745pm - this match already has the feel of a relegation 'six-pointer' about it as both have made disappointing starts. Given this is a national division, this can fairly be described as a derby too as the Cards are another club who live just outside TLFG's catchment area

FA Cup Third Qualifying Round Replay
Egham Town v Faversham Town @745pm - with the fourth qualifying round draw taking place on Monday, the winners of this should know who their opponent will be. With several former Football League clubs in the draw, it could mean a big payday for the victors

Combined Counties League Cup
Raynes Park Vale v Colliers Wood United @745pm - it's A3 derby time again and it's already the second meeting of the season for these two local rivals. The last match just over a month ago ended in a 2-2 draw

Essex Senior League
Barking v Barkingside @745pm - as the names would suggest these two don't play a million miles apart so it's a derby. It's also a good chance to take a look at Barking who have recently moved into top spot


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Wednesday 5 October

FA Cup Third Qualifying Round Replay
Hadley v Eastbourne Borough @745pm - the match of the night, for me, takes place up in Barnet where ninth tier Hadley have done amazingly well to get to this stage of the competition (a club record). Having drawn with their sixth-tier opponents away from home on Saturday, it would be quite a story if they made it through here

Ryman League Division 1 South

Walton Casuals v Dorking Wanderers @745pm - the Stags are spending this season groundsharing with Whyteleafe which is a whopping 16 miles (25km) from where they're from. Despite this upheaval, they've made a good start and welcome the current league leaders on Wednesday

Southern Counties East League Premier Division
Croydon v AFC Croydon Athletic @745pm - there seems to be loads of good derbies this week and this is no exception with the visitors already four points clear in the SCEFL

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Friday 7 October

U23 Professional Development League
Queens Park Rangers v Nottingham Forest @2pm - if it's a lunchtime bargain you're after, get along to Loftus Road for 2pm where it's free to get in

Southern Counties East League Division 1
Holmesdale v FC Elmstead @745pm - get your weekend underway with some Friday night football down near Bromley. It's a midtable clash but the clubs groundshare meaning there will be that little bit more at stake

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Saturday 8 October

World Cup Qualifier
England v Malta @5pm - the post-Sam Allardyce era begins in earnest this week with the Three Lions taking on one of Europe's smaller nations at Wembley. It should be a cakewalk even for this England side and tickets are still available

League Two
Leyton Orient v Portsmouth @3pm - with it being an international break, this is only EFL game taking place in the capital but it's a pretty decent one with Pompey likely to bring a large following

National League
Sutton United v Woking @3pm - newly promoted Sutton were up with the leaders a few weeks ago but have become a bit inconsistent and have dropped back into midtable. However, a win in this Surrey derby could put them back in contention for a play-off place

National League South
Hampton & Richmond Borough v Poole Town @3pm - I saw the Beavers in action on Non-League Day and was very impressed as they took St Albans apart. They've kept things going nicely and are second going into this match against another top-five side

Ryman League Premier Division
Dulwich Hamlet v Bognor Regis Town @3pm - these sides last met in last season's play-off semi-finals which Dulwich won. So far this season, Bognor have made the brighter start but it should be close. A big crowd is expected, especially as the hosts are holding a 'Trade Union Day' so if you're a member of a union and turn up with your membership card you'll get in for just £4.
Harrow Borough v Billericay Town @1pm - the other deal of the day is to be found at Earlsmead where kick-off has been brought forward to allow anyone with a ticket for England v Malta to pop down there first (it's a five-minute train ride from Wembley) and get in for £5.

FA Trophy Preliminary Round - this knock-out cup competition, with its final at Wembley in May, is contested by teams in the fifth to eighth tiers. This is the opening round and features sides from the eighth tier only. 

VCD Athletic v Greenwich Borough @3pm - the hosts had a great couple of seasons a few years back and climbed from the Kent League up to the Ryman Premier in quick time. They lost their manager and went back down to the Ryman North. Greenwich play in the parallel Ryman South and are the new team on the up, something made possible by some recent big investment from new owners. They are a club to watch but won the SCEFL title last season with virtually no-one watching - they must be careful to do things sustainably or they will almost certainly become another non-league boom/bust club
Chipstead v Kempston Rovers @3pm - like the FA Cup, the Trophy allows teams to come up against sides they would never normally play. On Saturday the Chips welcome last season's United Counties League champions who have made a flying start to life in the Southern League. With only one defeat in 10 league games so far, they are going to be tough to beat
Whyteleafe v Cheshunt @3pm - with the Leafe making a disappointing start, this game is again more about the visitors who are well placed to mount a play-off challenge in the Ryman North


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Sunday 9 October

FA Trophy Preliminary Round
Cray Wanderers v Carshalton Athletic @3pm - this tie between two sides from the Ryman South looks like a fine way to end the week. Not only are they from the same division but they're just two points apart in sixth and seventh so appear well matched too

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If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground within the London area for this blog then get in touch. You might also want to have a go at writing a 'Top Ten' one week. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

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