What is this all about then?
I'm writing a blog about my attempt to join "The 92 Club". I started in 2014 with 27 grounds left to do on my list and have been slowly ticking them off.
What is the 92 Club?
It is an exclusive 'club' that people who have attended a competitive game at every one of the current Premiership and Football League grounds can say they are members of. There are 92 grounds, hence the term 92 Club. There is even an "official" members club (link here), set up by some enterprising fans in the late 1970's, who accept applications for membership from those who have met all the criteria.
Do you get something special for joining it then?
No, not really. Except as something to say you've done and wear as a badge of honour. English football fans take enormous pride in having achieved it, considering the time, expense and dedication involved. Others think it's just a colossal waste of everyone's time, equally.
So why are you doing it?
See this post here to explain in full. But succinctly, I was falling out of love with football. So decided it was a good time to try and tick the list off, and maybe learn stuff about the places I visit along the way, and hopefully fall back in love with the game.
Are you going to do anything other than go to games and blog about it?
Yes! Well, I hope so. I hope to find something unique about each club and each town - even trying to indulge in a bit of culture pre-match if I have time. I'm also trying to speak to fans of each club before my visit to get a bit more of an idea of what the place is about. If you fancy getting in contact to talk about your club, or be a chaperone for the day on any of my upcoming games - email me here!
What counts as a completed 92?
That depends on how anal you want to be. Which is probably going to be "very". For me it is a visit to the current home league ground of all 92 Premiership and Football League Clubs to watch a competitive fixture featuring said home club.
I originally had a secondary list (or "Pedentary List") of current grounds I had visited but the ground had dropped out of the League since my last visit, before coming back as one of the 92 when the team was re-promoted.
As these previous ground visits now count 'officially' since the 92 Club's rules were amended in 2012, I've decided to not worry too much about re-visiting these before I can claim to have finished the 92. To a purist though they may not count until I've visited again!
Some grounds I'd also visited but to watch a friendly - not a competitive match. Which is not on according to the 92 Club's official rule number 2. So if I want my official 92 club tie I had to revist.
I've also got my own pedantry as well on whether a visit counts if you've not seen the ground's usual home team (i.e. if used as a neutral venue or for an International game, for example). Apparently it does count according to the official 92 Club rule 4. But as the whole point of this experiment is to visit the 'clubs' as well as the grounds - that sounds like a cop-out to me.
How come the blog posts sometimes appear out of sequence?
Although I've already visited a lot of the grounds - I only started blogging about them in 2014. So every time I re-visit a ground not already blogged about I will try and blog about the new visit.
Can I contact you if you are about to visit my club?
Yes, yes you can. email me here. If you have any ideas about themes I could be looking for, or questions I could be asking people - comments are all welcome.
When do you think you'll complete it?
I haven't set a timescale but I managed to tick off over 20 in the 2014-15 season. All being well I should complete the 92 before the 2015-16 season is over. I want that tie.
