FEATURE | AMATEUR HOUR

New book out featuring some of our member clubs

There’s a new book on the market featuring a number of our member clubs.

Amateur Hour follows the story of the FA Vase during the pandemic-hit season of 2020/21. We let author, Johnnie Lowery, take up the story.

“I got the bug for writing when I was at university, essentially because I’d seen so much excitement at the football over the years that I felt compelled to write about it,” he told us. “With Amateur Hour, we were in the midst of a very strange time in the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ability to go and watch non-League (non-elite) matches was one of the only things that got me through.

“I felt like it would be nice to document this time, in part to remember how weird it was but also to show reflect how grateful I was to the football that was continuing as a form of escape.

“The book is a ‘Road to Wembley’ story with the FA Vase in the 2020/21 season. I set myself the goal at the start of the season of going to a game in every single round, from the qualifying rounds to the Wembley final. Obviously, things ended up being massively complicated by the varying lockdown restrictions that came and went. You’ll have to read it to see if I managed it or not!

“I wrote Amateur Hour almost like a lockdown diary, tackling each chapter a day or two after the match I’d attended. That meant it went fairly quickly and felt authentic as everything was still fresh in my mind. I’d finished it by June 2021, and then just had to wait until the right time to get it published – I think there was a little spell in which people couldn’t forget about lockdown quickly enough! But by 2025 I feel like it feels long enough ago that it’s interesting to look back on now.

“A number of current Southern League clubs feature in it – Hadley, Flackwell Heath and Malvern Town all feature. Malvern’s game was probably the highlight of those, an unbelievable 5-5 draw against Sporting Khalsa, which Malvern then won on penalties.

“It was the sort of game you just could not take your eyes off, despite the beautiful backdrop to the ground!

“Hadley had quite a good run that year and I saw them twice, firstly beating Sutton Common Rovers away from them, and then being on the end of a gutting defeat on penalties to eventual finalists Binfield. Flackwell Heath made it to the quarter-finals but were narrowly defeated by the surprise package of the competition, US Portsmouth.”

A Sutton United supporter, Lowery has been attending football matches at all levels for the past two decades.

“Having been to my first game in 2005, when I was just seven years old, as soon as I was old enough to leave the house on my own I got a season ticket, and started travelling regularly to away games soon after,” he recalled. “I love the fact that you feel a part of the action at non-League level – I have so many good friends that I’ve made through Sutton United.

“I also keep a close eye on what’s going on across the non-League game, and had a YouTube channel called FITBHighlights filming local games when I was a teenager before it became commonplace to have everything on camera. More recently, I’ve gotten into watching England home and away, combining a love with travel with my interest in football.

“I’ve seen some entertaining games in the Southern League over the years and always enjoy ticking off new stadiums to visit and clubs to see.

“I’m always intrigued to see what interesting stories pan out across the wider non-League game and can’t wait for the 2025/26 season to get underway.

“I don’t mind the break in May and June but by July I can’t wait for the action to get going again, so bring it on!”

You can purchase Amateur Hour, here. PURCHASE AMATEUR HOUR