Cup Football is the beautiful game.. only better!
Me :-Tony 1 Leg & my good pal Johnny the Rhino have decided to follow the ups & downs of various teams in different FA knockout competitions.
After last year’s success following the path of the FA Cup starting with Chadderton (nr Oldham) all the way to Wembley to see Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1. The challenge had us following the winners of each round until they were defeated. 16 games in total had us travelling over 2500 miles on the road to Wembley. you can read all about it (here)
So this year we’re going after all three! The FA Trophy, FA Vase & FA Cup, a 34 game season with 3 Wembley finals. 10 Trophy games – Final on Sun. 24th March 2013. 10 Vase games – Final on Sat. 4th May 2013 & 14 Cup games – Final on Sat. 11th May 2013. The question is can it be done? The even bigger question is what are the pies & Bovril like from the grounds we visit?
About us :– i’m too far into my 40’s that i want to shout about it & the Rhino is just a pup 10 years younger, we both live in Droylsden, Manchester and we are Reds! Droylsden FC Reds that is! and it was while we were following Droylsden that this idea came about; Leyton Orient just about beat us in the 2nd round FA Cup replay 2010, the Bloods were 2-0 up against a 10-man Orient & we was already looking forward to the trip to Norwich for round 3 but Orient got a lucky 8 goals to bust us out! We stayed over in that London to drown our sorrows & the ‘follow cup football’ idea was born in a pub in Ilford.
The Plan :- Each game we attend will go onto the home page of this blog as a “Step” and there is 34 steps to completing this blog. All steps MUST be attended by at least one of us to achieve this “3 Ways To Wembley” mission and i will keep readers of this nonsense informed of the games we are going to by updating the ‘Cup Fixtures’ page on a weekly basis, or as often as the FA update their fixtures anyway 
Unlike last season we won’t be following the path of the various cups, we will choose games that look interesting or between 2 teams we haven’t seen before. This will give us a better chance of seeing more teams & visit more grounds around the Country but a tie from each round of each competition MUST be achieved as well as using public transport for ALL games.
I will be blogging my usual unbiased, shite match reports as well as whatever me & the big fella get up to before & after the game (especially on over-night trips) a few days after the game and on match day i will tweet text & pics from @1LegOnTheCup throughout the day. Of course Johnny will once again enlist the help of a beautiful young lady to help him review, score & rate all the pies we encounter on the pie-ometer page.
1 Leg On The Cup promote sensible eating & eat-aware.pie.uk take the time to download the Rhino’s pie risk assessment and please eat responsibly………..
NEVER return to a pie once it’s gone cold!
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What a great blog and adventure. I wonder who you will see at Wembley
You had better find a way to revisit The Cup Kings in South West London. It has to be done
Enjoy your new adventure but don’t forget where the best fans are. X
Oops! Bet you wish you had done the Vase on Saturday 15th, leaving a choice of Trophy replays. Will you be able to get home from Winsford if it goes to extra-time? Good luck, anyway.
PS Coincidentally I was at Abbey Hey as well.
yeah we can get the 00.11 train out of Winsford! lol game – few beers – train. job done! well that’s the plan anyway
Noticed your request on the non league forum. For a speedier journey have you considered getting off the train at Crewe and getting the K37 from Crewe to Winsford? Goes within 100 m of ground via Kingsway end of ground. Similarly may get you back to crewe station eck of a l ot earlier that half 12 after the game
Cheers fella
It was good to have a chance at Droylsden today to thank you for the entertainment you provide. I wish you every success in your quest – long may you continue to post weekly. Meanwhile, I shall continue to post reports on “Rate the Ref” – but in my case it is “weakly,” with an “A!”
Regards,
JCFC
I noticed your FA Cup, Trophy and Vase travelling exploits as a result of watching the twitter feeds for Shepshed Dynamo against Rocester yesterday in the Vase. By linking to your blogs I also noted a predisposition to pies, a drink or two, good Bovril/tea and a need to minimise costs. Might I make a suggestion……….
Shepshed’s conquerors yesterday Rocester FC are not too far away from you. In the event that Rocester are drawn at home the following is possible on 08/12/12. A train from Picadilly to Stoke on Trent (11.35am), change to a train from Stoke on Trent to Uttoxeterwhich would arrive in Uttoxeter at 12.57pm, a bus from Uttoxeter to Rocester leaves at 1.5opm thus allowing for a cheap meal and a pint in the Old Swan in Uttoxeter (Wetherspoons) or The Old Vaults (traditional beer drinkers pub) prior to catching the bus. The bus gets you into Rocester at about 2.00pm and it’s a five minute walk to the ground. Admission £5.00 and according to Groundhopper’s blog, the best Cup of Tea in Non league Football, poured from a great height for extra mashing of the leaves!
Buses back leave Rocester for Uttoxeter at 5.39 (arrive 5.50pm) or 6.39 (arrive 6.50) allowing you to catch the Train to Stoke at 6.07pm or 7.07pm. so even extra time will not delay you too much. Total train time back to Picadilly 1 hour 21 minutes including the change at Stoke on Trent. Train costs £12.80 off peak return through Train Line.
Barry Smith is the Rocester Secretary and a huge fan of Non league, including travelling to watch various random matches. He can be contacted through the official website for Rocester and you will also find on that website under “Extras” a link to the Massive, Rocester fans that were dedicated to Slavery, cooking and Pie eating until the onset of diabetes, but who continue to over indulge to the point of near coma. Should we get a home tie, you could do far worse financially, travelwise and food and drink wise than come and visit us at Rocester. Good luck in your travels.