MM: How old are u now and how old were you when first went to see west ham?
Michael: I'm 53 now, I went to Upton Park when I was 11 years old. This was due to me living in North London, and West Ham plays in East London. I had no friends to go with me at that time as they didn't support the Hammers. Also that was the time of hooliganism in football, so had to wait. It was a Second Division match (Championship now) and a 1 - 1 draw with Wrexham.
MM: What does it mean to you being a west ham fan?
Michael: I always felt they were special, even though my local side was QPR, later Arsenal. Sometimes it's very frustrating but when we get a good victory it makes things worthwhile.
MM: What does it mean for you being a groundhopper?
Michael: As I put in the book being a 'groundhapper' wasn't something I set out to be. I was coming home from Forest Green, who had played Exeter City in a cup match doing my 92. In a bar I met an Exeter fan who saw me coming from the ground and when I told him what I was doing (he presumed I was an Exeter fan) he told me I was a groundhopper. I don't know how many grounds I've been to, definitely over 150. However I enjoy it, I usually go on my own but have met people from all over the place. You are never alone when groundhopping.
MM: How can you connect groundhopping, supporting west ham and family ?
Michael: I have no problem with this, my son has grown up now, occasionally has been away with me, but now prefers to go to rugby. When I went to Bala and did a mini tour of Wales I brought my wife for a short holiday. She didn't go to the games but as long as she has a book to read she'll have a coffee or drink and just chill out. Otherwise I work, go out with my wife and do the usual family activities.
MM: Do you travel also abroad to watch football?
Michael: Not often, just before lockdown I went to Barceona with my son and some of the readers of Football Weekends Magazine, had a great time. I've been to Borussia Dortmund and The Alliance Arena, to see 1860 Munich (I have German relatives in Munich who support 1860). I do plan to see more games in Europe and possibly further afield.
MM: What did you want to say with your book?
Michael: I just wanted it to be an outsider's view of something I knew nothing about. I didn't want to try and be an expert on something that was new to me, but at the same time i wanted to put some facts about the league and Welsh football, so a groundhopper who only went to English clubs read it they would get interested and would put it on their itinerary. Most of all, for me, it was my own discovery, you can get a different viewpoint of something by coming in as a neutral and not knowing anything. Maybe a fresh look.
MM: What connects you to welsh football?
Michael: I have no connection to Welsh football, which was partly the point of the book and the challenge. Again as I mention in the book, I was writing articles for the groundhopping magazine Football Weekends and was a bit stuck as what to write, so I asked the editor, Jim Stewart. He told me there was very little Welsh grounds in it. So wrote about Wrexham, who are in the English non-league, then decided, why not the Welsh PL. The first games I went to were 3 games over the first weekend of the season. I wrote about those for Football Weekends then decided to go to all of the 12 grounds. Thus the idea for the book.
MM: What connects you to welsh football?
Michael: I have no connection to Welsh football, which was partly the point of the book and the challenge. Again as I mention in the book, I was writing articles for the groundhopping magazine Football Weekends and was a bit stuck as what to write, so I asked the editor, Jim Stewart. He told me there was very little Welsh grounds in it. So wrote about Wrexham, who are in the English non-league, then decided, why not the Welsh PL. The first games I went to were 3 games over the first weekend of the season. I wrote about those for Football Weekends then decided to go to all of the 12 grounds. Thus the idea for the book.
MM: How many copies were printed?
Michael: Being self-published and my first book I have only printed 200 copies, this is currently only being sold on www.dognduck.net and ww.footballweekends.co.uk and my own efforts on Facebook. However if I want more I can get them printed off pretty easily as a lot of the expense is down to editing, proof reading, setting up the pages etc. So it's easy just to let the printer know to run off more copies.
MM: Are you planning to publish other books in the future?
Michael: I haven't any planned right now. Obviously with the current world situation it's tough to do any travelling or going to football. If I find anything interesting to tell I will write about it, so hopefully I will.
MM: What does it mean to you to be member of the famous 92 club?
Michael: Due to the promotion of Harrogate and Barrow and Brentford getting a new ground I now have 3 to complete now! I suppose that means there are very few if any who have done the 92 now. But it was a great feeling to achieve that honour. I had planned to finish on my birthday, and even brought my wife to Morecambe for a break, however freak weather left the game postponed, I did come back a few weeks later though to finish it. Like any ambition that's been achieved you then need a new goal, so the following season went into the non-leagues.
MM: What is your relationship with the English National Team?
Michael: I support England, I've been to the old and new Wembley to see them but haven't been for a while. I suppose I'm more of an armchair fan now.
MM: What are your plans for the future? What else would you like to achieve in groundhopping?
Michael: Right now I just want to get back to going to matches, I've no special plans but once I do this I will probably come up with some.I'd like to do some foreign clubs, not necessarily the big ones. Groundhopping is a great way to visit places you wouldn't normally go to, to broaden the horizons. Also I've met some great people on my travels. In writing the book I have had help and assistance from various club officials, from getting a tour at TNS, speaking to directors and former directors of the clubs and welcomes at clubs even though I never announced I was coming. The book was edited and checked for facts by Dave Collins, who publishes the Welsh Football magazine, so he put me right on a few things (some of the history of Welsh football can be complicated). So this was nice when a former press officer and director of Cardiff Met said it was one of the few books that got their history correct.My overall feeling about groundhopping is that it is about meeting people I would have never met if I hadn't done this. There is something special about being shown around a club where supporters have worked to get it going, of speaking to strangers in clubhouses explaining their club's histories. It is a peoples' thing, something Sky or TV will never get.
Thank you Michael!!!
