A reconnaissance mission - Wembley in November. Also Charlton and MK Dons in League One action.

I am supposed to complete this project at Wembley on Saturday the 27^th May 2017 but on Friday night I arrived there 6 months early! My old mucker Anne Donkin and I managed to get tickets relatively late on for the World Cup qualifier between England and Scotland so on Friday morning the man who is writing ‘The Road to Wembley from Scotland’ set off for Wembley from Scotland!

Wembley on Friday night: A great view of the action from every seat

I have been to the ‘new’ Wembley once before to see Stockport County beat Rochdale in the 2008 League Two play off final. Prior to that I had been to the ‘old’ Wembley once. My brother Stephen and I went to see York City win on penalties against Crewe Alexandra in the 1993 Third Division play off final. God, how I love those big games at Wembley! In 2008 me and a pal, Roy Thorley, arrived at the famous stadium relatively close to the kick off and headed home soon after the game so the stadium’s iconic status did not really register with me. On Friday night it did.

Wembley Stadium is a very impressive football ground making even a football watching veteran of many decades wide eyed with amazement. Accommodating 90,000 fans it is of course vast. The problem with the old Wembley was the two semi-circles behind the goals meant that if you had a ticket for these areas then you needed binoculars to see the action. When the old ground was knocked down to be rebuilt the architects removed this blemish and every one of the 90000 seats has a great view of the action. The Wembley Arch is a fantastic addition. It can be seen from miles away and being lit up with different colours makes it look spectacular.

Arriving at Wembely mid afternoon - ready for some heavy pre match drinking

There is loads to do if you are early for the match. There are bars, food outlets and bookies everywhere and most preferences are catered for. If you want something better than the gassy pish that they usually serve at the big grounds you can go to the real ale bar. If you want something to eat you can choose between hot dogs, burgers, pizzas and pies or indeed something slightly more exotic. The only downside was the pricing. With the stadium generating so much income through ticket sales I did think that the pricing of the food and drink was way over the top. I paid £5.20 for a pint but despite my love of a match day pie I just could not bring myself to pay £4.70 for a steak and ale pie. Also £7.00 for a ‘pulled pork dog’ was outrageous. Who is pulling all this pork anyway and is it not about time they were arrested for that? Before the match Anne and I bumped in to the Penicuik Tartan Army and they were kind enough to lend us their flag for a photo opportunity. We may well enlist!

Me and my old mucker: Ready for National Service Cuiky style

An hour before the kick off of any match most football supporters feel confident no matter how improbable success for their team is. We were feeling good. Scotland were going to do this! Two things dampened our spirits. We found out that Scotland would be playing in pink. Jeez! I am in touch with my feminine side but for fucks sake – going in to battle with the Auld Enemy in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Wembley wearing pink! The other bit of news that filtered through was that Callum Paterson of Hearts would not be in the starting line up. My old mucker and I are both season ticket holders at Tynecastle. Jambo Callum is Anne’s favourite player mostly because he has no visible tattoos but also because he is Hearts best player by some distance. Scotland only had one right back in their 23 man squad and it was young Paterson. Despite being a defender he scores goals too and is Hearts top scorer this season. He had to be picked, maybe he would score the winning goal for Scotland at Wembley. He was not picked. Strachan selected Anya of Watford who is a winger to play at right back in this most vital of fixtures. Hmm, I still can’t work that one out yet.

Callum Paterson: No visible tattoos and no place in the starting line up

The singing during the first half was interesting - before the Scots went quiet when the match was lost. In the seventies I went to a couple of Scotland v England matches at Hampden (see my post dated the 24th June) and the atmosphere was vitriolic and hatred was in the air. The chanting in the seventies featured such classics as 'we hate Jimmy Hill, he's a poof, he's a poof' to the tune of the British Airways advert song 'we will take more care of you fly the flag fly the flag' and 'Bobby Moore Superstar he walks like a woman and he wears a bra' to the tune of Jesus Chris Superstar. Some forty years later the sons and grandsons of the seventies chanters sang 'he is one of your own, he is one of your own, Jimmy Savile he is one of your own' to the tune of the chorus of Sloop John B and 'Big Sam's a liar, Scotland's gaunnae  qualify' to the tune of the club anthem 'Freed by Desire'. The England supporters responded with 'Cheer up Gordon Strachan oh what can it mean to a sad Scottish bastard and a shit football team' to the tune of Daydream Believer. The difference between the seventies and now is that this was almost self parody of the past. It was more pantomime than hatred. The whole evening was very lightly policed and we saw no sign of trouble. The Scots and English fans headed for the same pubs in Wembley after the match. The English fans were happy but not gloating and the Scots fans were philosophical. Times have changed.

The match itself was disappointing from a Scotland point of view. Many pundits have said that Scotland played ok and competed well. The bald fact is that Scotland lost 3-0. England may have been matched by the Scots in most departments but they scored three goals and Scotland scored none. England were clinical in front of goal and deserved their win. Despite the result I enjoyed the Wembley experience and I look forward to going back there in April for the FA Cup semi finals and of course returning in late May for the culmination of this project.

Meanwhile back in League One yesterday the two protagonists in the next match on the Road to Wembley from Scotland were in League action. Charlton Athletic were away at Swindon in a lunchtime kick off and lost 3-0. Things are not right at The Valley and whilst the fans displeasure with how the club is being run should not affect the team there is no doubt that results have been poor and are showing no signs of improving. They are now only 3 points off the relegation zone. The real problem may be, with Tony Watt being on loan at Hearts, that they don’t have a single Scotsman in their playing squad. The MK Dons were playing at home but have not won a league match at Stadium MK all season. Trailing Walsall 1-0 as the game headed in to stoppage time Dean Bowditch scored an important equaliser. The point gained may prove to be vital come the end of the season. Dons fans on facebook have heralded this late strike as a possible turning point in the season. We shall see. The Dons man of the match yesterday in this Remembrance fixture was the young Scotsman Jack Hendry who fittingly received his award from a World War II veteran. Glaswegian Jack is clearly enjoying life on loan from Wigan in Milton Keynes and has now established himself as the lynchpin of the Dons back four.

Man of the Match Scot Jack Hendry receives his award from WWII veteran Arnold Hargreaves 

The MK Dons are still operating without a permanent manager and it is now three weeks since Karl Robinson left. From this distance it looks like an upturn in fortunes could be triggered by the appointment of a new boss. You obviously don’t want to rush these things but three weeks guys – come on.

No midweek matches for the two gladiators this week but come back here on Thursday to see if MK Dons have finally found a new boss and also to read of the links between Charlton Athletic and Scotland. Keep reading.