13 games to go...

...until I reach the landmark of having watched 1,000 competitive games in the United Kingdom.

It's a 'target' (albeit not a deliberate one) which I've had in mind for a while and though it's taken the best part of two decades to get this far, it now seems very much on the horizon.

I've visited over 200 different stadiums in my 'journey' - north and south of the border and in Wales/Northern Ireland too, plus multiple obscure foreign, non-league or training grounds for other random fixtures. Needless to say that I've packed in many memories - good and bad and, occasionally, seen some decent games. And yeah, I'm also sad enough to be able to recall the date/score from each game that I've seen - whether that's through boredom or some form of autism, who knows, but it can sometimes be useful.

In the Football League, Colchester United is the only ground which eludes me at present but if we're being pedantic, I haven't seen an EFL fixture at Stoke City or West Ham United (just League Cup games) or Forest Green Rovers (just a Conference Premier game on a boiling hot afternoon during an era when they were using horse manure as pitch fertiliser). In the predominantly-southern National League as it's officially known nowadays, I've got the complete set for now though there are a couple which I want to revisit (such as Aldershot Town and Eastleigh) and, up in Scotland, there's only Brechin City and 'new boys' Cove Rangers which are elusive - though with Kelty Hearts spending money like there's no tomorrow in an attempt to win an SPFL place and new grounds for Queens Park and Edinburgh City in the pipeline, the landscape of Scottish Fitba is likely to shift a bit over the next few years.

Given that it seems to be becoming more and more expensive to watch a first team game nowadays with stupid ticket prices and the cost of travel only ever increasing, not to mention that priorities in life have changed hugely over the years, then I'll undoubtedly watch more youth/reserve games in the seasons ahead. It's something I prefer anyway and, besides, watching 1,000 games is more than enough - anything above that is a bonus!

Here's my planned 'schedule' which is, naturally, subject to change as something somewhere will put a spanner in the works for even the best-made plans. If anyone has got any suggestions for games to see in the final few weeks of this season, get in touch as all suggestions are welcome.

Chesterfield vs Harrogate Town - Tuesday 3rd March (Possibility)
Doncaster Rovers vs AFC Wimbledon - Saturday 14th March
Portsmouth vs Doncaster Rovers - Tuesday 17th March
TBC - Saturday 21st March
TBC (Possibly Cove Rangers or Brechin City) - Saturday 28th March
Rotherham United vs Gillingham - Sunday 29th March (Possibility)
Doncaster Rovers vs Tranmere Rovers - Saturday 4th April
TBC - Friday 10th April
Macclesfield Town vs Stevenage - Monday 13th April
TBC - Saturday 18th April
Doncaster Rovers vs Ipswich Town - Saturday 25th April
TBC - Saturday/Sunday 2nd/3rd May
National League Play-Off Final - Sunday 10th May
League Two Play-Off Final - Saturday 16th May
League One Play-Off Final - Sunday 24th May
Championship Play-Off Final - Monday 25th May