If You Could Not Suppot Torquay United

Good choice pal. My lad wanted a "2nd" team (tufc at heart though) I told him a tea would choose him. I hoped it would not be one of the big ones (I hate glory seekers) in the end it was Newcastle (a friend is from geordie land and gave him a signed shirt).

So since then I have followed them. We watched them last year as well (a great day for a 10year old who has only ever seen tufc!). Good lad though his heart is always tufc first and geordies second.

Personally I have always had a sneaky thing for the owls as well. My brother lives there and there is something very appealling about sleeping giants and cavernous grounds.

Being a "Lahndan Boy" for the past quarter of a century, this thought has crossed my mind and now that I have two young children who are growing up in the neighbourhood of Arsenal and with all the peer pressure that is involved with that; I am dreading the day my kids say to me "Dad, we don't want to come to Stevenage with you; we want to go to the Gooners".

They both have their Arsenal kits to go alongside their England and Torquay United (of course!) ones and my seven year old little boy lives for his Monday nights at the Gunners' Football in the Community Sessions (and yes, he's brave enough to turn up in his full Gulls' Wembley kit sometimes!) sessions where his ease of ball control with both feet, balance and awareness of teammates had led to their coaching team to ask me what I think of him going to their Under 9s Academy when he is a little older. Unusually for that age he does pay attention and listen to what they are being told and when I've been able to go and watch him I've made a point of standing away from the other parents (particularly the mums) and keeping schtumm..................as everywhere there are the dads leaning over the barriers telling their son just where to stand, when to pass when to shoot and the mums who all think their little one is nailed on to be the next Thierry Henry.

So maybe my "second team" will have to be the team that my lad plays for in the future, and most probably that will mean standing by him rather than going along to watch MY lifelong love.

The only other clubs that appeal to me in any shape or form in the capital are Fulham and Orient. Fulham for the sheer aesthetic pleasure of being down by the Thames in that lovely mellow old ground with the villagey feel of Fulham nearby full of nice little pubs and cafes. The O's for the genuine passion of the small band of fans, the unrivalled bonhomie of the Birkbeck Tavern and some long time acquaintances built up over the years with the "OrientEars" gang.

You see to me, going to football is a cultural experience, not glory chasing; and that is exactly what being a Torquay United supporter all my life has meant to me!

I think the answer to the thread's question is more to do with your background, where you come from and ,like Merse and Shaun, where you've lived.

As I've said on a previous thread I was born in Newton Abbot and raised in Abbotskerswell for the first 18 years or so of my life. My dad (from Sale in Cheshire and a big Man United fan) took me to Plainmoor at an early age and although there was a very brief period in the mid 1980's when he took me to a few Argyle games (as they were a very good side at the time) and saw a better quality of football then I was used to. I remember seeing Andy Goram (aka Two Andy Gorams ;D) play for Oldham for example. I even returned the favour later on in life and took the old man to an Exeter V Man City pre-season friendly just because I wanted to see Giorgi Kinkladze play.

I did watch an awful amount of Man United games growing up in the 1980s and although the players have changed and the stakes have raised you can sometimes see the system hasn't changed that much, the style of play though more technical and refined is still all about attacking from everywhere. Norman Whiteside, Bryan Robson and Remi Moses were heroes to me, the less said about Garry Birtles the better though! The difference know I suppose with Old Trafford that back then there would be 55,000 knowledgeable fans. Nowadays there are about 20,000 (maybe even less) in a crowd of 70,000. I think I lost interest in all things Man Utd just after they lifted the European Cup Winner's Cup in Rotterdam. They got a bit too popular after that for my liking!!

I have a soft spot for Nottingham Forest. I think it came to me in the mid 1980s when Jonny Metgod's every goal used to be a 30 yard rocket. I've only been to the City Ground once and they had a "dynamic" strike force of Jason Lee and Andrea Silenzi (he was truly awful, think Luca Toni in Euro 2008 but 100 times worse!). Having said that they managed to beat Man City 3-0 who apart from the great Kindkladze were woeful.

As for other sides I lived for a year in Birmingham but I watched West Brom quite often, then moved to Leicester so I was compelled to walk across the road to Filbert Street and watch them from time to time. Then I moved to Paris so I went quite often to the Parc des Princes to watch PSG (lovely stadium with terrific views) but my French team has always been Bordeaux because I went on a French Exchange trip there in 1988 with Coombeshead and I was lucky enough to watch Bordeaux beat Monaco 3-1.

Then I moved back to England and have been in London since 1999. I've been to most grounds in London now apart from Stamford Bridge, Selhurst Park (I can't stand Palace) and I've never been to see Millwall. Just passing it on the train sometimes is enough! The nearest ground to me is Griffin Park but I usually go in the away end if I do go, at least its got a roof now, but I haven't really found a club in London I want to watch that often. Craven Cottage is a lovely ground though I have to agree.

As for foreign excursions, like Merse, I really enjoy my trips to Germany and although I haven't taken in the full delights of the St Pauli I can recommend at least one visit to Borussia Park to watch Borussia Moenchengladbach. It's only a 3 and a bit hour drive from Calais! It only costs about 17 quid to get (8 quid to stand if you're brave) and you don't get ripped off in the slightest. I must try and plan to stop off along the way and see VVV Venlo, PSV Eindhoven, Royal Antwerpen, Gent, Club or Cercle Brugge play as well.

Merse

I was at the Milentor yesterday - and picked up the fixture list for the Barnet 1 who is intent on trying to get another trip off the ground.

They have a big new stand at the Reeperbahn end now, which looks like it will be open for the new season. Complete misfit with the rest of the ground.

A ground I hope to tick off this season - if B1 gets his act together .....