Doing The 92, my odyssey to all 92 Football League clubs in the same season, reached its halfway point just before Christmas.
With that in mind, I’ve chosen my top 10 memories from the journey so far. Clubs in each of the four tiers are included, with experiences ranging from live action on Saturday afternoons to community schemes on Friday mornings.
The best way to follow my journey is by subscribing here.
Sitting on the bench at Harrogate Town
Read about my day as Harrogate Town’s assistant manager here
The whisper in my ear and the eight little words that I’ve always longed to hear: “Do you want to sit on the bench?”. Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver was accommodating enough to let me shadow him for an entire matchday, but sitting with the substitutes to get the full experience was something else.
I heard the micro-management of players, the verbal scuffles between benches, the grief the fourth official got and high-fived players as they came off in the second half.
And Harrogate beat League Two leaders Doncaster Rovers 2-0, meaning that I have a 100 per cent record as a high-profile coach. Ish.
Singing a hymn at Port Vale
Read about my visit to Port Vale here
Carol Shanahan wants to run Port Vale in an alternative way. Lots of clubs talk about being community hubs and almost all stick to their word, but it still feels different when you walk through the doors here.
It started with making 375,000 hot meals for the vulnerable or disadvantaged during Covid-19 and has carried on since.
An hour before kick-off, Carol goes to a service at the church next door to pray for good people and good results. So that’s why I was standing in front of a pew belting out “To be a pilgrim” before Port Vale vs Crewe Alexandra on a Monday night.
Meeting cancer survivors at Notts County
Read about the most important 90 minutes of the week at Notts County here
When we started this project I was determined to not just tell stories of Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings but to offer the whole picture of what football clubs do for – and mean to – their local areas.
The first of those, and perhaps the most memorable, was at the Victoria Leisure Centre across the road from Notts County’s Meadow Lane. Twice a week there, a large group of locals at various stages of their cancer journey meet up for free exercise lessons put on by the club’s Community Trust.
To those who I met, it was a joyful release alongside people who understood them. To me, it was simply an incredibly humbling few hours.
Getting the guided tour at AFC Wimbledon
Read about my day at AFC Wimbledon vs MK Dons here
Marc Jones is one of the pillars of Wimbledon, something that becomes obvious after spending roughly ten seconds in his company at the Cherry Red Records Stadium. This is the magnificent stadium that a fan-owned club built and may just be my favourite of the tour so far.
On a glorious late summer day, I spent a couple of hours with Marc getting the guided tour before their game against MK Dons, sat with him and his family during the game and then immersed myself in the celebrations after a 3-0 home win.
No club in the country have greater reason to be proud of what they have built and where they call home.
Watching Louie Barry make the piece easy at Stockport
Read my interview with Louie Barry, Barcelona’s first English prodigy, here
When you arrange to interview a footballer immediately after a match, you tend to watch the game with a little trepidation. It’s entirely selfish, but you know that an injury, red card or even heavy defeat may kibosh your best-laid plans.
Sometimes those worries are entirely wasted. Louie Barry is a young man with a fascinating development path and a brilliant future if he keeps performing as he is.
He scored a magnificent winner against Wrexham and then beamed his way through our chat in the stands. There’s something about speaking to a footballer directly after he’s been superb in front of you that will never not be thrilling.
Immersing myself in the Reading crisis
Read about a tragic visit to a club on the brink here
Not every visit to every stadium can be pleasant. In October, I rearranged the schedule because it became necessary to speak to Reading supporters as a matter of urgency.
The attempted takeover by Rob Couhig had fallen through, leaving a fanbase at the end of its tether and deeply concerned about the future of their football club.
I met members of the Supporter’ Trust and Sell Before We Dai, a protest group formed to campaign for the sale of Reading by Dai Yongge following years of decline and now an apparent lack of funding. You end up rooting for certain clubs you visit and Reading are one. The club remains unsold.
Seeing two old friends meet in the tunnel at Watford
Read my interview with Tom Cleverley here
I had arranged to interview Tom Cleverley following Watford’s EFL Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle in August. Making my way to the front of the stand after a comfortable home win, I was directed down the tunnel to conduct the interview.
Several minutes into our chat, Plymouth’s manager walked up to see Cleverley. He and Wayne Rooney were teammates for Manchester United and England and remain very good friends.
For a while, I simply stood next to two former England internationals shooting the breeze and tried not to give the game away that I was dancing inside.
Standing on the Big Bank at Exeter City
From police raids to prosperity – read about my trip to Exeter here
I had visited Exeter City’s St James Park a year earlier and vowed to come back for a matchday at this fan-owned club.
The jewel in the crown in Exeter’s Big Bank, the largest standing terrace in English football, which has a large red heart painted onto it. Fans stand there to represent them being the heart of the football club.
Exeter’s supporters saved their club from extinction and they have vowed that they will never lose it again. In 21 years they have never sacked a manager, continuously develop and sell players and then improve the infrastructure with the proceeds.
In a climate of desperation and overspending, Exeter do it differently.
Witnessing Aston Villa complete the circle
Read about Aston Villa fans’ war on ticket prices here
It should have been the perfect evening for Aston Villa. The return of European Cup football to Villa Park coincided with Bayern Munich, their beaten opponents in their final victory in 1982, coming to town.
The scoreline was identical and Villa Park celebrated Jhon Duran’s winner in a thronging, mad mass of joy.
The downside? I was in Birmingham to meet supporters and discuss the manner in which they worried that their club was reacting to recent success by pricing out supporters with ticket price increases across the board.
It would not be the first time that the issue of exploiting loyal match-going supporters would demand investigation. Sadly, that is one of the defining features of elite football in 2024.
Hearing Charlie Adam discuss the things that really matter
Read Charlie Adam’s moving story here
We have got a lot better at remembering that there is a person behind every player and manager, but sometimes you get a punch in the face to remind you how little you see behind the scenes.
Charlie Adam was a Premier League staple for years and a man who took his first steps in first-team management at Fleetwood Town. He also lost his job before Christmas.
Adam told me the story of his family heartbreak, the suicide of his father – also a professional footballer – when he was a player and the struggle to process what happened. He is acutely aware of the need to look after his players as a result of his own experience, and desperate to succeed in honour of his Dad.
Daniel Storey has set himself the goal of visiting all 92 grounds across the Premier League and EFL this season. You can follow his progress via our interactive map and find every article (so far) here
