Paul’s Soccer Stories
Groundhopping at Blackpool FC
Let’s take a trip to Blackpool and see a game at Blackpool FC. Just understand, as we depart, that much around here seems to be about the past, some of which is to be celebrated and some, well, forgotten. Blackpool is a city many visitors to England might not think about, because they didn’t grow…
Groundhopping at Fleetwood Town FC
Going to a football game at Fleetwood Town is a chance to see a small club that got big quickly, step just off the tourist path for a truly local experience, and – lucky for me – witness the kind of magic that only live sports can produce. For many newcomers to English football, Fleetwood…
Groundhopping Weekend: FA Cup First Round 2021
A weekend in the FA Cup brings highs, lows, drama, dullness, rain, sun, joy, and grief -- plus all the stuff that happens on the pitch. The first three rounds of the Cup are some of my favorite weekends to be in England to watch football. The First and Second Rounds, generally the first weekends…
Seeing a Game at Dulwich Hamlet FC
I had the honor of seeing Dulwich Hamlet FC's Boxing Day (2018) return to their home ground of Champion Hill. Here's a report, and an introduction to this famous little community club in South London. (This post was originally written in 2019.) Out in South London, in a residential area next to a Sainsbury’s grocery…
Seeing a Game at Burton Albion FC
It seems to me the soul of English soccer is on the terraces. And it was in Burton-Upon-Trent that I was reminded not only of that fact, but also where the game has gone astray somehow. (Originally written February 2017 but updated for the 2024-25 season.) Stumbling around Birmingham New Street in the morning, waiting…
Seeing a Game at Barnsley FC
(This post was written in March 2017, when Barnsley and Huddersfield Town were both in the Championship. For the 2024-25 season, both clubs are in League One.) Going to a game at Barnsley FC is right around what I call the “sweet spot” of watching English soccer. Allow me to explain: For me, the big…
English Soccer Travels:
Visiting Swansea, South Wales
In my quest to see all the 92 soccer clubs in the Premier League and English Football League, in 2017 I made my way to see a game at Swansea City. Here is a report on the game I saw against Burnley, when both were in the Premier League. Burnley still are for the 2021-22…
Seeing a Game at Swansea City
Seeing a game at Swansea City would seem, without context, to be a pretty standard English Football League experience--except it's in Wales, of course! Not that it lacks interest or passion or drama -- certainly it was the exact opposite when I visited in March 2017, when they were in the Premier League. But if…
Seeing a Game at Charlton Athletic
American travel writer Rick Steves calls his business “Europe Through the Back Door,” and he always encourages people to be “a temporary local.” I have taken this philosophy to heart in my English soccer exploits, and it regularly sends me to places like Charlton Athletic in South East London. If you’re pretty new to English…
Groundhopper Paul Goes on Walkabout
I am always up for a journey. In fact, that's kind of how Groundhopper Guides started. I was sitting at The Emirates, watching Arsenal with a friend who had been showing me around the neighborhood and telling me stories, when I thought, "Hey, I should write a book about this." I kept skipping onto the…
