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Solitude is Bliss: A testimonial at Ireland's oldest club

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Solitude - home of Cliftonville  Some 145 years ago, football on the Emerald Isle became a reality on Cliftonville Street in Belfast. The first club on the island were formed in the shape of Cliftonville, whose storied history is well worth a deep dive into. That said, we may get into that a little more later on. For now, the 2025/26 season is well under way for me following trips to Drogheda United and Glenavon  and the next stop will be Belfast, where Cliftonville are based along with a host of other clubs. I'm sure the likes of Glentoran, Linfield and Crusaders will receive a visit from me somewhere along the way, but on this, the fifth day of my Irish adventure, I would be set to take in a third game in as many days. Spending all of yesterday pretending to be a journalist at Glenavon took a lot out of me, but thankfully I could take it a little easier after this match, with the next one set to be Larne's Europa Conference League qualifier against Auda in Ballymena. Much l...
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The Unofficial European Cup 1960-61 Preliminary Round Second Leg...

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The Cold War claimed many victims, none more so than Glenavon of Northern Ireland. Back in 1960, the Lurgan based side made the European Cup, with the preliminary round throwing up a tie against Wismut Karl Marx Stadt of East Germany. You can probably guess how it unfolded, in that it didn't unfold at all. The Lurgan Blues were unable to travel beyond the Iron Curtain, meaning Wismut Karl Marx Stadt (now known as Erzgebirge Aue) received a walkover into Round One without even kicking a ball. But why did the East German side go through? Well, it was a familiar tale of the side with more limited finances being punished. UEFA allowed both legs to be played in neutral venues, but Glenavon simply couldn't afford to travel, and so we were left with a game that never was.  End of story? Well, not quite. We may be 65 years beyond this miscarriage of justice, but believe it or not, this tie still isn't over. A year ago, Glenavon traveled to Aue to replay this first leg, where they w...
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Gone to the Drogs - A First Taste of Irish Football in Drogheda

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Having recently read Jon Savage's extensive history of punk, England's Dreaming , I finally read up on the question that I've often seen, but never looked into the wider context of. Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? It was posed by John Lydon of The Sex Pistols after a disastrous gig in which Sid Vicious was an absolute car crash on stage. Only now, as I write my first blog of the 2025/26 season (and my first since April following a lengthy kidney stone battle), it refers to Drogheda United. Many will have heard the dreadful predicament that fell on Drogheda in light of a cup win in 2024 which meant they'd qualified for the Europa Conference League, only to have that qualification revoked at the last minute by the powers that be. Similarly, Crystal Palace face disqualification, and DAC of Slovakia have already been disqualified pending appeal - and why? Multi-club ownership. Because of course it's the likes of Drogheda and DAC that are ruining the sport ...
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Hodonin Out For a Hero - Donkeys and Sunshine on the Border

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Hodonin - a town of oil apparently It's been a rough year health-wise to say the least. Instead of my planned groundhop at Uhersky Brod last week, I spent my entire weekend (and a bit of Monday morning) at Nemocnice u Svate Anny due to, thankfully, what was just a kidney stone. I was relieved to find, at least, that the game I'd planned to attend had finished goalless.  I was also relieved to essentially have the kidney stone problem sorted, barring some appointments in the not too distant future, and some (TMI) mild urinary discomfort for the foreseeable. Given the random illness that ruined my trip to Slovenia in December, and the pneuomonia that I picked up in Romania, I was hoping this would just be a case of things coming in threes, and this kidney stone being the third and final piece of medical nonsense. In all honesty though, it's the first time in my life I've actively considered at least trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle, so hopefully there are silver lini...
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The greenest club in world football? The rise and rise of Karvina

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I'd had Karvina's fixture with Mlada Boleslav pencilled in since the start of the season, given that I'd had to plan somewhat meticulously in order to complete the Czech First League this season. That probably won't be possible this  season following various scheduling issues and a brief illness, but barring any setbacks, I should only be left with two or three Czech First League grounds to visit next season. When the fixture was announced for the Sunday, I was a little annoyed initially, given that I tend to prefer attending games on Saturday before chilling on Sunday like a true Craig David. Then I realised there was an an opportunity to make a weekend of it with a tick in the Slovak League on the Saturday - you can check out my most recent blog on Ruzomberok here if you like. Given that I'd come back to Brno via Karvina on my way back from Zilina recently, it made sense to stop over on the way back and take in a club widlely (citation needed) known as the greenes...
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Roses are...Orange? Watching Slovakia's Strugglers Do Battle

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  Let's rewind to 1st May 2024, and not just because it was my last day as a 28 year old on God's sweet Earth. No, in fact we must head east to Kosice, where Ruzomberok and Spartak Trnava will fight for the 2024 Slovak Cup. For Ružomberok, it was the chance to end an eighteen year wait for a Cup, whereas for Trnava, it was a chance to hold onto the trophy they'd beaten fierce rivals Slovan Bratislava to in the final for the last two seasons. Ružomberok did come close in 2020, with an Alen Ozbolt penalty stopping them from getting their hands on the trophy, instead giving it to Slovan Bratislava. But perhaps in 2024, things would finally be different for Ružomberok, who were relative underdogs in terms of league position and standing, as well as other factors like town and club size. The only top flight side they'd seen off en route to the final was DAC Dunajska Streda, whereas Spartak needed to see of Košice, Michalovce, and Podbrezova.  That said, Ružombero...
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Ještěd jednou prosím: Slovan Liberec - Czech football's Mr Consistent

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 When taking a cursory glance at Slovan Liberec's Wikipedia page, one thing stands out in particular - since the formation of the Czech League as a result of Czechoslovakia's dissolution in 1993-94, Slovan Liberec have spent 31 seasons consistently in the top flight. Included within this timeframe are also three title wins and two cup successes, as well as many a European night since the turn of the millennium. Only Sparta and Slavia can boast similar top flight longevity as far as Czech football goes. But who exactly are Slovan Liberec, and why should anyone care at this point? After all, the team has been solidly mid-table since 2016, with only a 5th place finish in 2020 granting them their most recent European endeavour. Sadly it was the year of the pandemic, meaning fans couldn't enjoy their last foray into the Europa League, in which they saw off Riterai of Lithuania, FCSB of Romania and APOEL of Cyprus en route to the group stage.  They crashed out on seven points, wi...
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