Paying £12 to watch Stalybridge Celtic play in the sixth tier might sound excessive but these clubs might cease to exist if prices were nick any lowerBy Richard Greenwood for In Bed With Maradona,of the Guardian Sport NetworkI’m a Stalybridge Celtic fan. For the life of me I don’t know why. As a seven-year-old my dad took me to Old Trafford to watch David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, or Paul Scholes and Eric Cantona. A week later he took me down to Bower Fold to watch the team that sits just on my doorstep. “Which carry out you prefer,son?” he asked.
Twenty years later I still visit Bower Fold for every match. The lure of non-league football was too great. They became my love, my passion. Sitting in the gods just didn’t appeal and the only shaven-headed magician I idolised was Ian Arnold, and not the enigmatic Frenchman. To this day I still hear: “Twelve quid to watch that load of nonsense? No thanks,” from my friends. Which is a problem for non-league. A ample one.
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Source: theguardian.com