Groundhopping24

Due to lack of funds and general necessity, the footballing calendar has gone a bit quiet for me. I’d planned to take a trip to the capital to watch Dukla Praha take on the might of Zbrojovka (and inevitably win 2-0), but my funds had other plans. As a result, I’ll be attending Líšeň, in all its I-need-to-copy-and-paste-that-from-somewhere-due-to-the-accents glory, as they take on a fellow side in that mould from Praha in the form of Viktoria Žižkov. Perhaps a blog on that game will follow if the interest is sufficient, but for now I decided to do a little experiment. And by a little experiment, it was something that essentially took two seconds. I asked ChatGPT for an all time Stevenage XI, and the results were…well, interesting. Let’s just jump straight in. Some disclaimers, this is, according to ChatGPT, up to January 2022 when the database was apparently last updated, so ignore the glaring omissions of Big Goal Reidy™, and Carl Piergianni. GK: Chris Day We’re off to a flyer here, a...

Last week, I received one of the more romantic email propositions I’d received from anyone, let alone a Czech football club. Picture the scene: your relationship is going down the pan, and you need to salvage something from it. What could be better than a stadium tour of the famous CFIG Arena of 4,200 seats? Though recently renovated, Pardubice’s current ground does have history dating back to the 1930s, even if the club itself has limited history of only 16 years. The arena has hosted all manner of sports, from speedway to athletics, as well as of course football. They moved back into the CFIG Arena at the start of last year, and enjoyed a surprise 2-0 victory over Slavia Praha. There probably aren’t too many better ways to return home, having spent many years in the wilderness, ground sharing with Bohemians since promotion to the First League in 2020. Not only was this another stadium, but it was some hour and a half away in the Czech capital.  They were only formed in 2008 as a ...

Before I start this blog, I should first add the disclaimer that this has nothing to do with Alex Trebek. Although the theme of ‘it’s good but it’s not quite right’ is perhaps accurate. Okay, I know that’s Catchphrase, but do hear me out in any case. I’ve never actually watched Jeopardy. Say the word Benfica, and a lot of thoughts probably spring to mind for avid fans of the game. The Estadio da Luz, which sits on every footballing bucket list, is probably the first thing that comes to the forefront, and it has to be said that it’s a magnificent place to watch a game. During a particularly and annoyingly early Spring Break, I opted to visit myself as the Portuguese giants took on Gil Vicente, based in Barcelos in the country’s far north. Having been playing as Casa Pia on Football Manager 24, I’ve gained a growing appreciation for the Portuguese game in recent months.           The visit was actually with the intention of seeing my beloved Geese , who also ...

For those unfamiliar with Czechoslovak history, the country was dissolved in 1993, meaning the two separate states we see today - Czech Republic and Slovakia - became sovereign states. With that separation came two new football leagues in both countries, and the 1993-94 Czech First League season is exactly what this blog will be examining. So just who is/are Boby Brno? What on earth is a Cheb, and why should you care? Why are Vitkovice so bad nowadays? Well, all of these questions and more will be answered as we take a look back at the Czech League in its maiden year, and where the 16 teams featured in the ‘Class of 94’ ended up thirty years on.  Given that it’s the midway point of the season, positions indicated will be based on their current position at the time of writing (late January), and will indicate First League unless otherwise stated in brackets. I should also thank Callum Blyth for the inspiration with his excellent video on Scottish football with a similar idea, which...