One of the advantages of Needham Market FC's rise to Non-League's Tier 3, is that there's none of this messing around with preliminary rounds. Oh no, it's straight into the First Qualifying Round, with only four ties to be negotiated before the potential of a glamour tie against the likes of Blackburn Rovers or Charlton Athletic.
And so, I've come down to East London, to see if the Marketmen can safely negotiate the first hurdle, away to Clapton. It's only a game of football, right? But life is seldom that simple...
Clapton were, once upon a time, a power in amateur football in the days when that mattered. Three times winners of the FA Amateur Cup, capable of drawing huge crowds - 12,000 saw them play Tottenham Hotspur in 1898-99 - and three of their team played for England in 1922-23. They were also the first club side to play in Continental Europe, beating a Belgian XI in 1890.
Now, they play in the Essex Senior League, in a ground under serious threat, and with an owner whose motives are, if critics are to be believed, suspicious at best. The home fans are boycotting home games, under the slogan, "Support The Team, Not The Regime!", and as they are evidently the good guys, one feels vaguely guilty about putting money in the pocket of the owner.
So, take a look at the Real Clapton FC website, and if you back them, make a donation. I'm sure that they'll appreciate it...
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