Arthurlie 4 Drumchapel United 1
Walkies for Peanut was a bit of a trek. It normally is on a Saturday. The two-year-old Chihuahua has little legs but broad horizons.
‘He’s been coming on our travels since he was a pup,’ Christine Gibbon said of her canine companion. She sits in the snug hospitality area of Dunterlie Park, home of Arthurlie FC. Home, too, for a couple of dozen groundhoppers, at least for the day.
The Barrhead club came up with the excellent idea of having a groundhoppers’ day where the genially obsessed could visit the ground, hear the history, visit the dressing rooms, walk on to the pitch and have a pie and a drink.
They came from quite far and very near. There were local grandpas who had been given the groundhoppers pass as a birthday present. There were those who had travelled from Cambridgeshire. There were Christine and her husband Chris (and Peanut, of course) who had ventured from Durham, setting off at 7am. There was also your humble correspondent, not strictly a groundhopper more a ground limper.
There were tales of Arthurlie then and now, links with Stanley Matthews, and the routine recitation of thousands of grounds visited. In the words of the song, it was an afternoon of fitba’ crazy, fitba’ daft, all enjoyed by people who seemed curiously rational.
Christine was unabashed about her passion. ‘We love it,’ she said, her words encompassing her husband and Peanut, who seemed unaffected by hours on the road.
Christine and Chris Gibbon, and dog Peanut, take advantage of the Groundhoppers Day at Arthurlie FC
Fans enjoy their own vantage point on the terracing as they take in a 4-1 win for Arthurlie over Drumchapel United
Dunterlie Park was just the latest stop for fans who visit grounds all over the UK and beyond
‘We have been doing this for a couple of years so we are not as experienced as some of the groundhoppers here. We like to go to lower league teams because they don’t get big supports so we feel our presence is helping them.’
It was £25 for the groundhopper package at Dunterlie and it was the biggest bargain since the Dutch bought Manhattan from the Native Americans for the price of a decent fish supper.
The access all areas, access all pies and sandwiches deal was supplemented by a goody bag and, almost incidentally, a smashing match which Arthurlie won well, including two beautifully crafted goals.
It was ground 1,654 for Craig Dabbs, who had left his house in Northampton at 4.30am and collected fellow travellers en route to Barrhead.
‘It all started in the early nineties in a serious way,’ he said of his groundhopping odyssey. ‘But my fascination with small clubs began when my dad bought me a Bartholomew map of football grounds of England and Wales when I was a kid. I later bought a league directory. Then when I passed my driving test I set forth for Worcester City.’
He did concede: ‘It’s a little bit more serious now.’ He largely eschews the top leagues. ‘I do not want to spend a lot of money on a ticket just to be told where to sit,’ he said. ‘I like to walk around a ground and chat to fellow spectators.’
The doors open at Dunterlie Park for an exciting match in the West of Scotland League Premier Division
Former amateur player George Ormond enjoys his first visit to Arthurlie’s ground
It’s the third goal for Arthurlie as they chalk up a convincing 4-1 win over Drumchapel United
At 51, he has set himself a target for his 60th birthday. ‘I would like to complete all grounds in all the tiers of all lower league football in England and the four tiers in Wales. I am about 400 short in England and 17 in Wales.’
This will take him to more than 2,000 grounds visited. Almost all have been on the British mainland, though he speaks fondly of a foray to Glentoran in Northern Ireland and of a couple of visits to the Czech Republic.
Why does he do it?
‘It gives me a lot of pleasure because I know how hard these small clubs can find it and they don’t have much in the way of finances. I love football so this is my way of putting back into the game. I have also met some wonderful people. I have never had a bad welcome in Scotland.’
He will return next March for a further Caledonian trip. He helps Chris Berezai, managing director of GroundhopUK, and the company plan an expedition that will feature six matches in Fife over one weekend.
‘I call it a win, win, win situation,’ said Berezai. ‘It’s a win for me as I make money to keep the company going, it’s a win for the groundhoppers who will see half a dozen matches on one trip, and it’s a win for the clubs who see their attendances increase.
The hallowed turf yields gently under the feet of the groundhoppers. It has been a day of faith repaid as the sun shines on the righteous and they are allowed to tread on the Dunterlie pitch shortly before kick-off. Their guide is David Jack, a retired principal teacher of religious education, who has a wicked sense of humour.
When asked if faith, hope and charity existed in this patch of Barrhead, he replied: ‘This is proof there is no God. No God would do this to you.’
Even Peanut the dog seems to be thoroughly enjoying the match with owner Christine
Chris Berezai is the managing director of Groundhop UK, who organise excursions
David Jack was a witty guide for the groundhoppers on their trip to see Dunterlie Park
This, of course, is sheer mischief. His laugh is the clue that Jack may have an irreverent wit but a firm grasp of what Arthurlie means to him and the town. He first came to Dunterlie in 1967 as ‘’a 10 or 11-year-old’’. He is precise about the score that day: ‘2-2 v Benburb.’
Student life and then responsibilities as a father kept him away from Arthurlie for spells but he always returned and in retirement is a consistent attender who also compiles the excellent match programme.
His best moment as a supporter in Dunterlie was in the early nineties when 4,000 gathered for a Scottish Junior Cup quarter final tie against Auchinleck Talbot. ‘We lost,’ he added wryly.
But he was profoundly serious when he addressed the significance of his club. ‘I was born and bred in Barrhead and I love the history that this football club has. It has an important social history. It is part of my identity and that of the town.’
It is part of the personal history of George Ormond. ‘This is where it all started for my dad and uncle,’ he said, looking out on to the park.
He produced his phone and clicked to reveal a photograph. It showed the 1945-46 Arthurlie side that lost the junior cup final in front of more than 46,000 spectators at Hampden.
‘There is my dad, William, and my uncle, Hugh,’ he said. ‘My dad went on to play with Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen at Blackpool. My grandfather, also George, played for Rangers.’
A warm welcome is always assured for anyone visiting Arthurlie FC’s snug ground
This supporter has a close-up view of the action in the Arthurlie v Drumchapel showdown
Supporters soak up the unique atmosphere ahead of Arthurlie’s move to a new stadium
The present-day George was an amateur player who has just retired from the oil and gas industry. Saturday, almost incredibly, was his first visit to Dunterlie. ‘My sisters chanced on this photograph in a Paisley newspaper a few years ago,’ he said. ‘A pal suggested I should come today and I have travelled up from Greenock.’
It is best to visit Dunterlie soonest. The club, who play in the West of Scotland League Premier Division, will move to a new stadium just off Glasgow Road in 2027.
‘Not one of the committee wants to move,’ said president David Blakey. ‘But it makes sense. This land is going to be used as social housing and we get a ground that has artificial turf and modern facilities and we can increase the footfall.’
He looked out at the stadium in all its ramshackle beauty and said: ‘She’s starting to fall apart.’
But she can still lure admirers. The groundhoppers spoke of a wonderful trip. The local fans were warmed by victory. And Peanut seemed to find it a perfect dog day afternoon.
