After a fairly uneventful weekend's action from a refereeing perspective, I've been to see two football matches in the past two evenings. One was a League Two fixture played in front of 4,000 odd people on a cold Tuesday night. The other was a Premier League game played in front of 75,000 people. Which left me feeling happier afterwards? You may be surprised.
The Nightingale Hall 'League Two Fan Club' of me (Dagenham fan), Andy (Bradford) and Luke (Gillingham) set out for Lincoln last night to see their encounter with Gillingham. The game wasn't massively exciting but I still enjoyed watching it. I'm used to lower league football and so don't mind if the standard isn't quite what you see at the top level. Lincoln beat a poor Gillingham side 2-0, and there was a good feeling round the ground and a good atmosphere, particularly from the away contingent. Andy and I both had a good evening, with our respective clubs winning elsewhere, while Luke perhaps didn't enjoy it quite so much.
Tonight's game was a total contrast in so many ways. My friend Nathan offered me a ticket for Manchester United vs West Ham United at Old Trafford, and I thought this would be a great (and rare) opportunity to visit the Theatre of Dreams and see the English Champions in action. They beat West Ham comfortably, with the sense that they were always capable of scoring more goals if they needed to. The game wasn't exciting. Referee Peter Walton didn't completely convince me, but made no major howlers.
Yet the whole experience left me feeling a bit empty inside. I was in the away section, and the West Ham fans to their credit sung their hearts out for the whole 90 minutes. But in the breaks between their singing a deathly hush descended on the stadium - a stadium with a full house of 75,000 people inside it. I've seen it compared to a library before, and I can see why. The Theatre of Dreams simply lacked any atmosphere whatsoever. Maybe its just that I'm used to the passion and hurly-burly of the lower leagues, but for a top level football match there was just something missing.
I've seen matches across each of the top five divisions in the past few years, and in every other game there has been some kind of passion and atmosphere evident. When I go to see Nottingham Forest play, I always enjoy a good afternoon or evening out - the football is of a decent standard and the atmosphere good. Down in League Two, everyone gets behind their teams and enjoys themselves. The West Ham fans did this - but they were the only ones at Old Trafford tonight as far as I could tell. One of the BBC correspondents wrote in his blog about finding the 'soul of football' after a game at Dagenham earlier this month, and I now see exactly what he means.
Don't get me wrong - I'm glad I went to experience a game at Old Trafford tonight, and I'm delighted I had the opportunity to do so. But as for whether I'd do it again - not for a while. I can see a good match with two committed teams, a good atmosphere and get that feeling that I'm involved in the action down in the lower leagues, and for a third of the price.
Premier League football is good - the standard is excellent, it is possibly the best League in the world and games like tonight's North London derby prove as much. But if you want a good time and a bit of a laugh, then don't neglect the lower leagues - you might just find that you enjoy it more!
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