Prior to Footy New England we were moving mad.....Peep.
- toddtinkham
- Dec 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 27, 2024
2 years ago, I came up with an idea to chronicle my Footy travels and experiences. Although I do not talk about all of them, you do get most of my Footy journeys and excursions. In this post I am going to share some of the best Footy experiences for me prior to Footy New England, dating back to 2018.......
Below is a pic of The Den in South London, home of Millwall Football Club. We were pitchside for Millwall vs Nottingham Forest.

We followed that up with a trip up to North London and a visit to Emirates Stadium. We took a Stadium tour and had a photo opportunity with the FA Cup. At the time Arsenal were the holders of the legendary trophy.

That Sunday we had the pleasure to watch Arsenal take on Stoke City who were in the Prem in 2018. Arsenal behind Pierre Emerick Aubameyang took down Stoke 3-0.

We loved London so much we went back in November 2018....Below is a photo of one of the stands still standing at Highbury, Arsenals beloved stadium, which was converted to apartments after the team moved to Emirates Stadium in 2006.

That night we took in the Europa League match between Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal.

Saturday we took in a West London Derby as Queens Park Rangers hosted Brentford. This match had tremendous crowd energy and was one of the most thrilling matches I have ever attended.

Post goals scenes as QPR defeated Brentford.........

2018 was massive......then came 2019.....In 2019 we picked up where we left off, below is a pic of Footy New England intern Graham Tinkham with Ruben Loftus Cheek. Loftus Cheek was in town for Chelsea's match vs New England (The Final Whistle on hate). That day we chilled with David Luiz, Emerson and Loftus Cheek at Fuller Middle School in Framingham.

That summer we traveled down to Washington DC, to see Arsenal vs Real Madrid. Pre game we had the pleasure of hanging with Don Robbie (founder of AFTV) and top AFTV at the time personality Troopz.


Real Madrid defeated Arsenal in penalties......

While we were in DC we also got to watch 2 Ligue 1 preseason matches.....St Etienne, Montpellier, Marseille, and Bordeaux were in town for the EA Ligue 1 Games. This was a tournament which came to DC and Audi Field looking to boost Ligue 1's global reach.

As the world paused in 2020 we sadly didn't get to many Footy Events....You best believe that when games at Gillette opened back up we were there!
That event took place on April 24, 2021. New England hosted DC United and were victorious 1-0. Below you will see the modified attendance as social distance seating was in place.

2021 will go down as my favorite Footy year ever. So many fantastic things took place. My son's club team won the National Cup out in Denver, Colorado.

The Revs took home the Supporters Shield!

We traveled back to London as my son was invited to train with QPR U14's

Prior to the QPR training at Power League Shepherd's Bush, he trained with Mahrez Bettache. Bettache is a current Arsenal Academy coach. At the time he was manager of YouTube faves Rising Ballers FC.

That Friday we were able to check out England vs Albania at Wembley Stadium in a World Cup Qualifier. England was dominant in their dismantling of Albania......

The ginormous Sir Bobby Moore statue outside of Wembley.

Some of the pregame pageantry which took place prior to kickoff.

Saturday the festivities continued. Many men's sides were on international break, so we took in Tottenham vs Arsenal women at the Hive, home of Barnet FC. It was a glorious time. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

(Photo Courtesy of Away Days), as you see us observing diligently.......
Sunday was getaway day, but before our trip home, we traveled to South East London to watch the world famous SE Dons.

The Dons defeated Keningwell and we had the opportunity to meet and greet many of the Dons players which include several former academy players. Among those talents was former Arsenal and Plymouth Argyle player Zak Ansah. Ansah was in the squad for a Champions League match vs Olympiakos for the Gunners in 2012. Below you can find the link where SE Dons founder Don Strapzy interviews myself.
2022 came and at the end of 2022, Footy New England was born. Prior to Footy New England's inception we traveled down to Baltimore to welcome Matt Turner as a member of Arsenal. Turner got his first start for the Gunners that day as they took on Everton at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Toffees were no match for Arsenal and Turner earned the clean sheet!

So despite what you hear it is highly unlikely that there is another independent local journalist that has seen the level of Footy and has traveled as much as Footy New England has the last 6+ years......You can hate if you want, but you are wasting your time as 2025 is going to be colossal.
Photos Courtesy of my Instagram and Away Days!
Photos Courtesy of my Instagram!!!!!
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