Spread the love

In 1992 I wrote an article for Besotted called ‘Taking the Pith’ about women accompanying me to watch my beloved Brentford FC. The article was featured in The Sun and Independent newspapers.

I closed the article by asking if finding someone to share my love of Brentford FC was too much to ask? As Besotted reaches Issue 100, I thought it was about time for an update…

Part One – Completing the 92…..

Well, shortly after writing the article I met someone at work who loved football and cricket. It started really well with regular trips to Griffin Park, however deep down she really liked Chelsea FC and Glen Hoddle in particular – a great player to watch live (and also one who clean-bowled me when he played cricket for Egham CC). I would love to say he was a friendly lovely guy but he was an aloof man and not someone to mix in the bar afterwards.

Sadly the Ladies’ facilities at Griffin Park left a lot to be desired and days out in the Kings Rd appealed more to her. The shopping, Hoddle and the nicer toilets at Stamford Bridge, meant that our days together at Griffin Park were numbered. She did, however support me in my quest ‘to do and finish the 92’ – visiting the home ground of every football league club – preferably (but not always with) Brentford. She no doubt has wonderful memories of:

  • A good day out to old Wembley to watch our hopeless performance against Crewe
  • A mountainous drive to Carlisle via Scarborough for a night game
  • Bleak, closed, Hartlepool before it was spruced up and being amazed at a Bees fan taking an Alsatian dog with him the whole way on three trains
  • Freezing Port Vale, a big ground with little home support
  • Bristol Rovers playing in Bath. It was a summer evening fixture and we spent two hours looking for the floodlights to find the ground – thank god for Sat-Navs now.
  • Historic Aston Villa and being grateful to young entrepreneurs for ‘minding my car’
  • The attractive New Den at Millwall in the home end, where she heard swear words that she did know existed and admired the talent to put them all into one sentence
  • Intimidating Ninian Park, Cardiff, a really awful place and a long drive home
  • The grim Aysome Park, Middlesbrough, where I was grateful I was born in south-west London
  • Sad Bristol City where we were relegated from Div Two (now the Championship) after only one season and had an awful evening in Bath afterwards; she complained that I was not talking and miserable. Something died that day for me and arguably it has taken a long time to recover
  • And eventually a wonderful train journey to Goodison Park, Everton to complete the 92 and see a great player score in the flesh : Alan Shearer (I did also see him did play at Griffin Park for England U/21 against Eire, who had Roy Keane playing that night in 1990.)

Once she found out the cost of these days out she complained we could have gone to Paris for the weekend. Some people are so ungrateful!

Sadly she went to the pictures in Staines one night and never came home. In the divorce petition she cited that I never took her abroad, which was scandalous and untrue – she must have forgotten Wrexham away and charming Cardiff!

Martin Pither

Coming Soon – Part Two – Back in the Saddle….