TO THE M62 AND BEYOND!

Another Saturday and another round of the 2009/10 FA Cup. This week I'm off for my second visit to Unibond Premier League side Guiseley AFC.

The Yorkshire side take on Kendal Town, who lie three places above them in the league table, in the Third Qualifying Round.

After a 2-0 win over Bamber Bridge in the Second Qualifying Round, Guiseley will surely face a sterner test this time.

The game will be the fifth of the Runcorn2wembley campaign, raising money for Cancer Research UK.

To date the campaign has collated over £900, almost 20% of the £5,000 target figure.

This week I'll be joined again by Robert (my brother), while two new people will be coming along.

My girlfriend, Sarah, her sister Joanna join their brother Patrick (who was at Guiseley last time) as we hope to reach £1,000.

I'm looking forward to the game and meeting up with friends at Guiseley and making new ones from Kendal.

An update on the figure collated today will be tweeted later (richthemaster) so stay tuned or log on to www.twitter.com

A quick thank you to Lawrence Whiston for printing off the flyers at the last minute. A big help. Hopefully he'll be able to join up at future games as other commitments have meant he's been unable to come since the first two rounds.

Look forward to seeing you all at Nethermoor Park, kick off 3pm.

MORE COVERAGE

So as the donations for the FA Cup fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK tops £400 the media coverage continues to come flow.

National coverage has so far been limited to the Daily Sport, but I hope this will change as the campaign gains momentum.

The latest piece came in the Runcorn Herald & Post, which I thank Bucko for bringing with him to the game on Saturday.

Don't forget to tune in to the afternoon sports show on Halton Community Radio on Sunday 13th September when I'll be giving the latest on the campaign and where the journey will take me next.

The next game is at Maine Road as they take on Runcorn Linnets' conquerors Bamber Bridge.

I'm still waiting to hear back from Maine Road to confirm my attendance but hope to do so soon.

ROUND TWO - BAMBER BRIDGE V RUNCORN LINNETS

So the unofficial second round of the FA Cup 2009/10 took place over the weekend of 28-30th August with 334 teams battling for a place in the First Qualifying Round.

My fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK took me north to the Irongate stadium, home of Bamber Bridge FC.

Having met so many people at the previous game at Runcorn Linnets, it was pleasing to see many of the same faces again; and also hear the non-stop chanting and amusing songs.

I was joined for this game by my brother, Robert, and friend Lawrence, both of whom helped massively with the matchday collection. Lawrence has set up a facebook group to keep everyone up-to-date on that site, thank you for doing that.

Thank you also to everyone at Bamber Bridge FC for their hospitality and donations, it was very much appreciated.

The weather was better than forecast, though still disappointing for August. The sun did shine on the game with the only rain being the shots on Runcorn Linnets' goal.

Two hat-tricks from Ryan Zico-Black and Phil Eastwood led Bamber Bridge to a flattering but deserved 6-0 victory over the Linnets.

I was disappointed not to see Runcorn Linnets go through, due to the kind and generous nature of the club and all its supporters. A big thank you to everyone, I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the season in the Vodkat League and hope to see you at future games this season.

I special mention to chairman Derek Greenwood, who managed to find a programme from 1961, which included a mention of my dad, who played for Runcorn while on loan from Marine. It's amazing how 48 years later I've linked up with an old club of my dad's; Derek, I can't thank you enough for finding the programme.

So on to the next round and after a 2-1 win over Vodkat League rivals Ramsbottom United, it'll be Maine Road who entertain Bamber Bridge in the First Qualifying Round on the weekend of 11-13th September. I'll confirm the date and ko time once confirmed.

I'm looking forward to meeting new people at Maine Road and also hope to see friends from Bamber Bridge there too.

Yesterday raised a total of £121.42 taking the total to almost £400 of the target of £5,000.

As usual you can donate at www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles or join the facebook group at

www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=264962860242&ref=nf

Look forward to seeing you all at Maine Road.

FA CUP 'SECOND' ROUND PREVIEW

So the unofficial 'second' round of the 2009/10 FA Cup is upon us, just two weeks after the 'first' round.

Of course the round is actually called the Preliminary Round, but to those clubs, including the team I'm following Runcorn Linnets, this is the second round of the competition.

Already 203 teams have tasted defeat in the FA Cup, with a further 167 destined to fall at the Preliminary Round over the weekend.

Of course the Linnets will be hoping they can make it through to the next round and a trip to either Maine Road or Ramsbottom United, but standing in their way is tough opposition in the form of Bamber Bridge.

I'll be arriving at Irongate on Saturday at about 1.30pm with my brother Robert and friend Lawrence, to size up the atmosphere and hopefully collect as much money as possible on the way.

A big thank you to those who have already donated and a thank to those who are destined to donate as the campaign trundles on.

As always the money raised is going to a brilliant cause in Cancer Research UK, a charity close to my and many people's hearts.

Look forward to seeing you all tomorrow and hopefully the weather can football can be as good as the last round.

ALL GO FOR BAMBER BRIDGE

Many thanks to Danny at Bamber Bridge FC for approving my attendance and collections for Cancer Research UK this Saturday at the FA Cup Preliminary Round between Bamber Bridge and Runcorn Linnets.

Kick-off is at 3pm and it would be great to many of the people I met at Runcorn and also meet new friends at Bamber Bridge.

For directions click here.

With interest about this campaign continuing to gather pace I'm hoping the publicity will help life the money raised for Cancer Research UK.

Thank you to all those who've donated so far and to anyone intending to donate further in to the campaign.

I'm hoping to have two people helping me collect on Saturday, including my brother Robert, who helped come up with this idea of raising money.

If you can't make it on Saturday and would still like to donate please go to www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

Finally the next round will take the Runcorn2Wembley fundraising bandwagon to either Maine Road FC or Ramsbottom United FC, who play on Saturday.

If anyone from either of those clubs reads this could you contact me so I can arrange mt attendance at the game.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The excellent start to the FA Cup fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK is now starting to attract good levels of media coverage throughout the north west.

The current levels culminated in a ten minute interview on the 'Football Show' on BBC Radio Merseyside last night. Thank you to Alan Jackson for the opportunity to publicise this campaign.

Coverage has also appeared in the Liverpool Echo, Liverpool Daily Post and Daily Sport (with only one pair of boobs on!).
Online coverage is on the websites of Liverpool Echo, Liverpool Daily Post and Runcorn Linnets FC (see below for links)

While coverage publicising the event is great, it's nothing without helping to increase the amount of money donated for Cancer Research UK.

Luckily the online total has already trebled since yesterday and I'm hoping it'll increase further as more people take interest my journey. Here it is for anyone wanting to contribute further to the total www.justgiving.com/richard-knowles

I also hope the coverage highlights the excellent football that is played at the lower levels of the game and entices people to go and watch their local club - you might be surprised by how entertaining the experience is!

I'm in contact with Bamber Bridge FC for help when the campaign reaches their Irongate Ground on Saturday 29th August.

I'll publish more details of the match between Bamber Bridge and Runcorn Linnets when I have them.

Online coverage is listed below:

www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2009/08/17/long-road-to-wembley-for-cheshire-football-fanatic-92534-24455645/

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/08/17/football-fanatic-launches-fund-raising-mission-to-wembley-by-watching-runcorn-linnets-win-100252-24455041/

www.runcornlinnetsfc.co.uk/news.asp?item=18082009162000

WHAT A GREAT KICK OFF TO THE CAMPAIGN

Well my 'rocky road' to Wembley kicked off in style last weekend as I started the mammoth charity campaign to follow the FA Cup from the very first round right through to the final.

It started at Wincham Park, Northwich to watch my local side Runcorn Linnets face AFC Emley in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup.

I was joined by Lawrence Whiston and 196 supporters to watch a superb advert for the game of grass-roots football.

The Linnets triumphed 4-1 with both sides contributing greatly to a thoroughly absorbing FA Cup tie, with a number of excellent goals. For a match report click here.

I raised nearly £90 on the day for Cancer Research UK with further contributions promised as the campaign continues.

The journey now takes me north to Bamber Bridge near Preston for the Preliminary Round.

I can’t thank the people associated with Runcorn Linnets enough for their help with the start of this fundraising effort, in particular chairman Derek Greenwood, Steve Pritchard and Mark Buckley.

They, Linnets supporters and people associated with AFC Emley donated generously and helped make it a dream kick off.

I look forward to seeing them again at Bamber Bridge and making new friends along the way.

To donate simply go along to watch Runcorn Linnets play at Bamber Bridge on Saturday 29^th August or go online to www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

I'll also be tweeting my updates through twitter at http://twitter.com/richthemaster