I chose Dagenham & Redbridge v Tranmere Rovers in League Two for my 6,750th football match on Saturday.
When I was a student in Liverpool in the 70s, Rovers played their home matches on Friday nights and I think I only missed one in my first season.
With Ronnie Moore knocking in the goals, they won promotion to the old Division Three.
I can hardly claim to be a Rovers fan now, having only been to Prenton Park once in the last 20 years or so, but it was great to see them get the three points on Saturday that took them out of the bottom two.
The goal that won the contest was a cracker, midfielder Max Power firing in a shot from way out on the right in the 74th minute. “Not from there!” I was thinking as he pulled the trigger.
I hadn’t been to the Daggers’ ground since they put that big stand up behind the far goal. It used to be just a few rows of uncovered terracing.
My first match at Victoria Road was probably a ‘Premier Midweek Floodlit League’ fixture against Redhill in the early ‘70s. I stood in more or less the same spot along the side on Saturday.
It was a 22-stop tube journey from Lancaster Gate but an enjoyable afternoon. The teams posed for their Christmas Truce photo before the kick-off, something has been replicated at grounds and park pitches up and down the country over the last two weekends.
Whether or not ‘proper’ football matches were played on the Western Front at that time isn’t as important as the fact that they stopped fighting.
My paternal grandfather was at Ypres in WW1 and one of his jobs was to go out at night and repair the wire fencing in front of the trenches that had been damaged during the day.
He said that he would often meet his German counterpart and have a smoke and a chat with him. “Here’s a picture of my wife” – that sort of stuff. I’m sure I would’ve done the same.
I don’t think it’s been really cold yet this winter and I didn’t even have my anorak done up in Regent’s Park on Sunday morning.
The match on the pitch nearest to the entrance featured Groucho FC and Harpo FC.
People of my age (and older) will recognise the names of two of the Marx Brothers, a comedy family who appeared in many riotous films. Groucho won 5-1.
I have an FA Trophy replay at Barnet on Tuesday and hope to see four or five matches over the Christmas and New Year period, weather permitting.
David Barber, aka ‘The Barber’, joined The FA as assistant to Sir Alf Ramsey after the Mexico World Cup in 1970 and has been its historian for the last 35 years. He has attended nearly 7,000 matches at all levels but has lost none of his enthusiasm!
Twitter: @thebarberfan
