‘What the hell are you doing here watching this?’
I was asked that question by an assistant referee on a freezing late February afternoon at Holmesdale. I couldn’t answer it then. I’m still not sure I can. What possesses me to get on a bus and travel for the best part of an hour to the fringes of Bromley, the outskirts of the outskirts, to watch twenty-two men really test the boundaries of what can be defined as a game of football?
For five years now I’ve pulled together these photographic retrospectives of a season watching football; this one has undoubtedly been the hardest to endure. My hometown club have for the most part been an uninspiring beige (I haven’t seen them score an away goal since August), my country left themselves too much to do in World Cup qualification, and my local team are so bad that at one match their chairman sought me out to apologise for the fact they were 5-0 down… at half-time. But then these are hardly new or unfamiliar phenomenon. It’s not like I’m in for the glory.
No, it’s been hard because it’s been a bleak year personally. You don’t need the details, you only came here for some photos of football matches after all. But the upshot of this is that whereas football has always felt as though it offered me something of an escape, at too many times in the past six months or so its felt like all I’ve got. And so I’ve often found myself pondering, and stumped by, that same question asked of me by the assistant referee at Oakley Road. What am I doing here watching this?
This loss of direction and of purpose is probably why I attended more matches this season than in any of the last five I have documented. I went to football because it was there and it was familiar and that was both enough of a reason and nowhere near a good enough one in equal measure. There have been high points, don’t get me wrong – experiencing Moldova and Georgia, catching up with a much-missed friend as Doncaster swept aside Blackburn at Ewood Park, watching games in the company of my parents at Penmaenmawr and Ilkeston respectively – but truth be told, I’m just glad it’s over.
It’s time to pause and take stock before starting all over again, and you can’t do that mid-season can you?
by Glen Wilson
Match 1, August 2017
Doncaster Rovers 0-0 Gillingham
League One
Match 2, August 2017
Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Doncaster Rovers
League One
Match 3, August 2017
Cray Valley Paper Mills 2-1 Sevenoaks Town
Southern Counties East League Premier Division
Match 4, August 2017
Tower Hamlets 0-4 Takeley
FA Cup Preliminary Round
Match 5, August 2017
AC Wimbledon 2-0 Doncaster Rovers
League One
Match 6, August 2017
Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 Tooting & Mitcham United
Isthmian Premier League
Match 7, September 2017
Wales 1-0 Austria
FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Match 8, September 2017
Moldova 0-2 Wales
FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Match 9, September 2017
Bashley 2-1 Portland United
Wessex League Premier Division
Match 10, September 2017
Welling United 1-2 Haringey Borough
FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round
Match 11, September 2017
Arsenal 1-0 Doncaster Rovers
League Cup 3rd Round
Match 12, September 2017
Dulwich Hamlet 4-0 Leatherhead
Isthmian League Premier Division
Match 13, September 2017
Lewisham Borough 1-5 SC Thamesmead
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 14, September 2017
Haringey Borough 4-1 Bideford AFC
FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round
Match 15, October 2017
Georgia 0-1 Wales
FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Match 16, October 2017
Wales 0-1 Republic of Ireland
FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Match 17, October 2017
Charlton Athletic 1-0 Doncaster Rovers
League One
Match 18, October 2017
Doncaster Rovers 0-3 Walsall
League One
Match 19, November 2017
Waltham Forest 0-2 Basildon United
Essex Senior League
Match 20, November 2017
Birmingham City Ladies 3-2 Doncaster Rovers Belles
Continental Tyres Cup
Match 21, November 2017
Lewisham Borough 4-5 Stansfeld OB
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 22, November 2017
Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Super League 2
Match 23, November 2017
Buxton 0-3 Grantham Town
Northern Premier League Premier Division
Match 24, November 2017
Waltham Forest 1-1 Hullbridge Sports
Essex Senior League
Match 25, November 2017
Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Milton Keynes
League One
Match 26, December 2017
Wealdstone 3-1 Braintree Town
National League South
Match 27, December 2017
Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 Brightlingsea Regent
Isthmian Premier League
Match 28, December 2017
Lewisham Borough 4-0 Crockenhill
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 29, December 2017
Fisher 4-1 Lewisham Borough
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 30, December 2017
King’s Lynn Town 1-1 St Ives Town
Southern League Premier Division
Match 31, December 2017
Penmaenmawr Phoenix 0-2 Glan Conwy
Welsh Alliance League Division 2
Match 32, January 2018
Lewisham Borough 0-3 Kent Football United
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 33, January 2018
Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
League One
Match 34, January 2018
Dulwich Hamlet 1-2 Wingate & Finchley
Isthmian League Premier Division
Match 35, January 2018
Dagenham & Redbridge 1-3 Solihull Moors
National League
Match 36, February 2018
Lewisham Borough 0-5 Sutton Athletic
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 37, February 2018
Croydon 0-1 Glebe
Southern Counties East League Premier Division
Match 38, February 2018
Dulwich Hamlet 1-1 Enfield Town
Isthmian League Premier Division
Match 39, February 2018
Chelsea 6-0 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Cup 5th Round
Match 40, February 2018
Holmesdale 1-0 Gravesham Borough
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 41, March 2018
SK Sigma Olomouc 1-0 1.FC Slovacko
Czech First League
Match 42, March 2018
Southend United 0-0 Doncaster Rovers
League One
Match 43, March 2018
Welling United 1-3 Oxford City
National League South
Match 44, March 2018
Raynes Park Vale 7-1 Bagshot
Combined Counties League Division One
Match 45, March 2018
Lewisham Borough 1-8 Holmesdale
Southern Counties East League Division One
Match 46, March 2018
Ilkeston Town 4-0 Cadbury Athletic
Midland Football League Division One
Match 47, April 2018
England 0-0 Wales
FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier
Match 48, April 2018
Gillingham 0-0 Doncaster Rovers
League One
Match 49, April 2018
Carshalton Athletic 4-3 Whyteleafe
Isthmian League Division One South
Match 50, April 2018
Doncaster Rovers 3-3 Bury
League One
Match 51, April 2018
Falmouth Town 3-0 Newquay
West Peninsula League Premier Division
Match 52, April 2018
Oldham Athletic 0-0 Doncaster Rovers
League One
Match 53, May 2018
Dulwich Hamlet 1-0 Leiston
Isthmian League Premier Division Play-Off Semi-Final
Match 54, May 2018
Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Wigan Athletic
League One
Match 55, May 2018
Millwall Lionesses 0-1 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Super League 2
All photographs taken using an iPhone and the Instagram app.
popular STAND fanzine 
Magnificent.
Here’s hoping for better things for you and your teams in 2018/19.
A fantastic idea to capture a season of football in pictures.
Favourite game? Best moment?
Just nosey 😂
I apologise Glen, I have just read your overview above said pictures!! Onwards and upwards for all your teams (especially rovers) and I salute you for your fantastic overview and being a shear wordsmith with the fanzine.
Feel a bit uncomfortable leaving criticism having read the text but I was disapppointed the pics couldn’t be viewed in a larger format. Not sure if that was your choice or constrained by the WordPress theme but I’m sure last year’s could been seen full screen. Small pics in a sidebar format doesn’t do your work justice.
Cheers for the kind comments… yeah we’ve changed theme since last year so it’ll be that. As most of the content on here is predominantly text based it works better for most things we do, but yeah, perhaps not this. If you narrow your browser to a tablet-ish size then the images do display a bit bigger. Might be of help.
Yep, that worked thanks.