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End of the season

The fact I'm at home writing this on a Saturday afternoon suggests that my 2011/12 season is over. I had planned a trip to southern Scotland for a final game tomorrow, but the heavy rain, and the prospect of a long drive with no certainty of games surviving the deluge, made me decide otherwise.

When I first thought about starting a groundhopping blog, last summer, my aim was to document all the new grounds I got to during the season. Eleven months on and I've managed that, with posts about 158 games, all but two of the matches I attended during the season. I didn't blog about revisits to Annan Athletic (4-2 v Peterhead in August) or Wembley Stadium (England 1 Belgium 0 last month). In fact it was my first visit to the "new" Wembley, having been to the old version countless times, but by my rules didn't count as a new ground.

Having reached the end of my season, I've been considering whether the blog should end with it, or whether to continue in 2012/13 and beyond. Encouraged by positive feedback I've had, both online and in person, I think I'll keep it going.

So far "Steve B the Groundhopper" has had over 12,000 page views, from a remarkable spread of countries. I'm occasionally baffled by the Google searches that lead some visitors to arrive, or what they might make of it. The most read post, by far, was about Liverpool's NextGen defeat to Ajax at Langtree Park.

For the new season, I doubt the blog's format will change much ... a brief match report and description of the venue (I tend to skip over very lengthy posts on some other blogs) and a few photos. The photos are there to illustrate the ground rather than the game, I don't have the equipment, ability or patience to concentrate on action shots. Where I get a programme I'll include the front cover.

There's not long to wait for 2012/13. I think the pre-season Stan Brewster Memorial Trophy begins next Sunday, and if it follows the previous format of two simultaneous matches at the Derbyshire Police HQ in Ripley then I'm guaranteed a new ground (well, a new pitch). Failing that, a few days later we'll be on holiday in Shetland, where football is a summer sport.

Wherever I end up, there'll be a brief report on here - although the Shetland games may have to wait a while until I've made it back home.

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