Travelling across Britain
To find football's next Superstar

Or at least a decent
cup of bovril...

Welcome to my website The Journeyman diaries. Travelling across England, Wales & now Scotland in search of soccer talent, I want to provide a fly on the wall blog of my footballing journey across the grounds I visit.

I'm a PFSA Certified Football Scout & Freelance Data Scout with a background in playing & coaching, these days watching from World Cup to County Cup, WSL to NPL, Premier League to National League & beyond.

Based mostly in the Midlands I aim to bring you a light-hearted look into my life of watching football in the UK. So please ENJOY!

The Head Scout

We're In The Trent

Nottingham Forest 4-0 Burnley (Women’s Super League Cup Group Stages) It used to be Leicester City my go to ground on Sunday afternoons but since Forest have been promoted to the top two levels of women’s football in England, I’m often sent here, to the City Ground, just a short couple of miles commute which means my petrol gauge doesn’t get hit too hard. I’ve actually spent the morning in West Bridgford near the Forest stadium, a bright start to the day has seen me and the w

7 hours ago

Tom At The Double (Again)

Boston United 2-1 Scunthorpe United (National League) After a torrid run of results which ended most recently with a 4-1 thumping at Tamworth, Scunthorpe United Manager Andy Butler has been sacked with his side sitting in the relegation places a place behind Boston who occupy the fourth placed drop zone slot in the National League, but who are five points above their Lincolnshire rivals who they host today. Never would I have predicted Scunthorpe, who made last seasons playof

1 day ago

Bloody Brilliant

Worksop Town 5-0 King’s Lynn Town (National League North) So, Harry Kane has won the Balon d’Or. I remember sitting at Wembley around seven or eight years ago watching him play, thinking to myself ‘he’s the best striker I’ve ever seen in an England shirt’ and wondering why he gets little recognition despite his ridiculous goals returns? I suppose the longer he’s been doing his business, the harder it has been to ignore, a deserved award for a humble and elegant footballer tha

5 days ago

Working Sundays

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Newcastle United (Women’s Super League 2) I don’t get paid a lot for watching women’s football, but it pays better than working eight hours at McDonalds and when Forest are at home it only takes three hours out of my day. The agreement with the wife is I work a Sunday and that money goes towards shopping, I also get out of going to the shops, a no brainer? I watched Newcastle play for the first time on Wednesday at Everton and was impressed all be it in

Oct 26

Ladies Day

Boreham Wood 4-0 AFC Fylde (National League) It's Ladies Day today. Free entrance for all women who get a complimentary cocktail at the Glasshouse on arrival. Yet another inclusive modern marketing introduction from a small non league club who are trying their best to appeal to the wider audience. Boreham Wood are flying in their division, top of the table with already clear space beneath them but gates are often under 2,000 in these parts. Another relatively small club AFC F

Oct 25

Alfredo's Biscuit

Celtic 1-2 Celta Vigo (UEFA Europa League Group Stages) I've woken up in a hotel room in Liverpool preparing myself for a long day of travelling up to Glasgow for tonight's Europa League match. They often send me to Scotland as we've a lack of scouts north of the border. I don't mind chipping in and the fuel money is good, let's hope the football is something to enjoy too. Celtic have been hit and miss this season so far. After winning the title last season in dramatic last

Oct 23

The Grand Old Lady

Everton 2-0 Newcastle United (Women’s Super League Cup Group Stages) I’ll be honest, I was really sad when I heard that Everton Football Club were leaving Goodison Park, one of the great traditional homes of the English game. Granted, the Hill Dickinson is the real deal, stunning, modern and gorgeous looking set glowing on the banks of the Mersey and one day the new place will be as iconic as the old, and I get there comes a point in life where yes, you have to move on, but t

Oct 21

Mac Attack

Anstey Nomads 0-3 Macclesfield (FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round Replay) I keep saying I’m not coming back, but here I am. Returning sooner than expected due to these two teams drawing at the weekend. I was supposed to be at Quorn v Bury and was looking very much forward to it, but Bury drew their FA Cup game on Saturday with Harrogate and they are also replaying tonight, the closest alternative after re-arrangements to fixtures is little more than 6 miles south of my original

Oct 21

Gate 4

Buxton 2-2 Worksop Town (National League North) It’s been a while since I have been up here, I previously stated that it might even be the highest ground in England, although I have since found out ‘unofficially’ there are 34 football pitches even higher up the hills than Silverlands (which stands apparently 1,027ft above sea level), the Wearhead Ground in Durham at 1,594 feet is home of Wearhead United and said to be the highest of all, a good 567 feet above the hilltop home

Oct 18

Better Pew

Anstey Nomads 3-2 Rushall Olympic (Southern League Central Division) Whisper it quietly, but I’m back at Anstey. After saying I might not be that keen to come back here (in my last blog visit) anytime soon, I return less than 3 weeks from making my Cropston Road debut, this time in search of a better pew. It’s not that it’s a bad ground, it has lots of character and is very likeable on the eye, a bigger plus is that it’s easy for me to get to, but venues lacking side on seats

Oct 14

Lethal Left Feet

Boston United 1-2 Southend United (National League) I tried attending this very match in January 2025 (you can read my short blog about it here). It lasted all of seven minutes until the Referee on the night, abandoned proceedings due to thick fog. Prior to that, the last time I watched Southend United in action, Ricky Otto was in the side. It’s been a while. I’ve read on Twitter via Boston’s stats guru Christian James (who you can follow here) that the Pilgrims and the Shrim

Oct 11

£400

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Burnley (Women's Super League 2) I'm back at the City Ground for the third time this season, Forest are going well in WSL 2 unbeaten in their opening four games so far but with three draws including last time out on the road at Southampton. Burnley I last watched here a couple of seasons ago, promoted from the National League North in the summer they are still looking for a first league win in the second tier after two draws and two defeats so far. I was

Oct 5