The M25 Challenge

For the 2012/2013 season, as a result of moving to London, I was no longer going to be able to attend the usual dross that is Scottish football every Saturday. Without a local football team to call my own, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with my time. The logical solution was therefore to spend a season completing the "M25 Challenge" along with my flatmate. Hopefully at the end of the season, a team will have won over my heart and be the one to follow in 2013/14.

THE M25 CHALLENGE

The M25 Challenge is an attempt to visit all 15 league teams that play within the M25. A list which we were quite surprised, and a little dismayed, to learn included Watford. The clubs are as follows:

Arsenal
Premier Division
Emirates Stadium
Capacity: 60,361

Before we even began this challenge my flatmate had already attended the Emirates, seeing Chelsea stroll to a 2-1 victory in September. Luckily as a big Arsenal fan he won't need any persuading to return. The main difficulty will be getting tickets at an affordable level, with tickets often costing about £60.

Chelsea
Premier Division
Stamford Bridge
Capacity: 42,449

Another ground where it might be difficult to get tickets, though with the season turning into a bit of a shambles and the European campaign going quite very badly this may not be as difficult to attend as first feared. It isn't likely that Chelsea will be the team that wins over my heart though regardless of what they produce when we attend.

Fulham
Premier Division
Craven Cottage
Capacity: 25,700

While ideally a lower league team will be the team of choice for 2013/14, Fulham have the best chance of the Premier League teams of winning out. A decent ground and good players, particularly Dimitar Berbatov, this is a ground I'm looking forward to visit. Cue 0-0 horror match against Stoke or something.

Queens Park Rangers
Premier Division
Loftus Road
Capacity: 18,360

I didn't have any idea Loftus Road was quite so small, with SPL grounds such as Pittodrie being bigger (though it seems plans are afoot to move to a bigger stadium). Nevertheless, as QPR don't look like ever winning a match again and are rooted firmly to the bottom, they probably won't be the toughest team to get tickets for.

Tottenham Hotspur
Premier Division
White Hart Lane
Capacity: 36,230

A ground I certainly look forward to visiting, particularly with my flatmate being such a big Arsenal fan. Another team with quite a small ground given their stature, and where tickets could be quite unpleasantly expensive.

West Ham United
Premier Division
Boleyn Ground (or Upton Park as everybody, everywhere, ever calls it)
Capacity: 35,303

A ground I have attended before when West Ham beat Wigan 3-1 in November 2010. That of course does not count towards the challenge so another visit will need to be planned. It was a good atmosphere last time and Sam Allardyces Barca-esque football will only add to the occasion this time.

Charlton Athletic
Championship
The Valley
Capacity: 27,111

Charlton are a club I'd lost track of since Alan Curbishleys leaving in 2006 led to a series of terrible decisions, each worse than the last, that resulted in relegation from the Premiership in 2007. Things seem to have improved recently as they managed to get 101 points in League One last season to secure a return to the Championship. 

Crystal Palace
Championship
Selhurst Park
Capacity: 26,309

Crystal Palace are the closest club to where we live. We discovered this fact when getting a train to Ikea and realising very shortly after leaving we could see Selhurst Park. A logical starting point for the challenge then.

Millwall
Championship
The New Den
Capacity: 20,146

Urgh. Millwall. Urgh. Nobody really wants to go to Millwall. 

Watford
Championship
Vicarage Road
Capacity: 17,477

A quick check of Google Maps confirms that Watford is in the M25. Its distance means it is unlikely to win the challenge but nevertheless we must attend anyway. With Zola in charge and half the Udinese team on loan there it should at least be interesting. 

Brentford
League One
Griffin Park
Capacity: 12,763

Griffin Park has a pub on each corner of the ground. That alone is as good a reason as any for them to be the frontrunners for the team to follow in 2013/14. In fact the original plan was to just support Brentford this season until the more intriguing "M25 Challenge" was decided upon.

Leyton Orient
League One
Matchroom Stadium (Brisbane Road to everybody else)
Capacity: 9,271

There isn't much I know about Leyton Orient aside from the fact they are owned by Barry Hearn. However, Brisbane Road the Matchroom Stadium does have flats on three corners which have balconies that overlook the pitch. I really wanted to move into one of those flats, as I was certain the novelty of that would never wear off, but it wasn't to be.

AFC Wimbledon
League Two
Kingsmeadow
Capacity: 4,850

Everybody loves AFC Wimbledon and its great to see them in the league. They don't play in Wimbledon which does make them slightly harder to get to than necessary. However, its still a fairly short trip and another strong candidate for overall winner of the challenge.

Barnet
League Two
Underhill
Capacity: 6,200

Barnet is where all the Northern Line trains end up. So it is both very easy to get to, and very far away. Egdar Davids plays for Barnet, which should at least make the trip worthwhile. It may also be the last season they play at Underhill, as a lease dispute means they may not be able to access their stadium from next season. 

Dagenham & Redbridge
League Two
Victoria Road
Capacity: 6,078

A team only known from Soccer AM complaining about how it was unfair that two teams played one whenever they appeared on the fixture list, and from nearly knocking somebody out of the FA Cup about a decade ago. Since getting into the league in 2007 they have reached League One, but were relegated back to League Two in 2011.

So first up, a trip to Selhurst Park...