It's one small step for this man, One giant leap into Junior Fitba

Life was good. I thought I had it all - a beautiful wife, home, a car - I even had a job. What else could I need? But there was something missing. I could feel it gnawing away at me from deep within. It wasn't something that I wanted. No, this I needed. For too long I had gone without. The time had come. I needed fitba.

Living in Glasgow with no affiliation to the old firm - thank you mum and dad - gave me a large spectrum of live football to choose from. But how do you choose? In normal circumstances you don't have to - you've been a fan of your club for as long as you can remember, right? However I was a boy hood fan of Leeds United for two reasons. 1. They had Gary McAllister and 2. My dad had Sky Sports. Nowadays neither my finances nor my wife will allow me to travel to Elland Road every two weeks.

So I have a choice.

I also have some criteria to help me choose a team to follow:

1. Cheap entry fee
2. Chance of a beer before, during or after game
3. Terracing (with optional shelter from the Scottish weather)
4. Decent crowd/banter
5. Accessible without a car (see 2 above)

So I rejected the SPL (Motherwell, St Mirren, Hamilton) on criteria 1. The country's premier game is far too expensive for what you get. Criteria 3 put paid to SFL teams Partick Thistle, Queens Park and Clyde as all play in seated arenas. And who wants to sit in a quarter full stand in those uncomfortable, wee, plastic seats with someone's knee in your back while your own knees are under your chin?

Struggling for choices I talked it over with a mate of mine who suggested trying the Juniors. My knowledge of the Scottish Junior game starts and ends with Carluke Rovers i.e. not much. Unsure I dipped into the Pie and Bovril forum (http://www.pieandbovri l.com/forum/index.php/forum/22-junior-football/). I was delighted to find a vibrancy and passion there without much of the dickishness that has seeped into many of the threads I've read on P&B and other football forums.

Another source of great information was the wonderful Non-League Scotland website from Jamie Wire (http://nonleaguescotland.co.uk/). I really couldn't believe the depth and range of Junior Clubs out there. As I took in the photographs of the grounds all the while reading more about the history, the nicknames, the fans of each club the more I became enchanted.

Soon I had a shortlist.

The obvious starting point was the West Region. Armed with my companions Scotrail, Firstbus and Google Maps I plotted out potential teams like a WWII Field-Marshall plotting the downfall of the third reich. Arguably the biggest Junior club in Glasgow, Pollok looked to have a great set up but i discarded them because they've got plenty of fans already. Besides I'd have to take two train or bus rides to get to Newlandsfield. The same reason KO'd Rutherglen Glencairn who's Clyde Gateway Stadium appeared close to me as the crow flies. However on further inspection it would require me to head into the city centre away from the ground before doubling back out to Rutherglen and if there's one thing I can't stand its doubling back.

Being ruthless with my shortlist I brought it down to three potentials : Clydebank, Petershill or Kirkintilloch Rob Roy.

When I was a boy Clydebank FC were a Senior league team (I remember them in the top league and being sponsored by Wet Wet Wet) until 2002 when following a period of decline in their fortunes and after the liquidation of Airdrieonians FC a consortium bought out Clydebank's assets and Airdrie United took over their place in the SFL.

The fans kept going though and a club was entered into the West Region's Central League Division Two in the 2003-04 season. It is a romantic notion for all football fans to have a club run by the fans for the fans so I was eager to see this for myself.

Clydebank FC currently play in the West Region Super First Division and are a team on the up. They attract some big crowds to Holm Park - the stadium they share with their landlords Yoker Athletic FC. Holm Park has terraced standing area all around the pitch with a sheltered stand along half of the pitch - ideal for when the hailstones start. Another welcome feature is a licensed social club which has a bar and windows looking onto the pitch from behind the goals.

Getting there couldn't be easier as there's a 20 minute train ride directly from the station across the street from me. So with a team on the way up and many of my criteria met Clydebank FC look a good choice.

Petershill FC are based in the Springburn area of Glasgow and are also a short train journey away. Currently in the West Region Super Premier League, they play in the newly built (2007) Petershill Park which has a covered seating area as well as standing areas. One possible problem is that the pitch is 4th Generation (4G) astroturf which might affect the way the teams play. I know how badly it affects my five-a-sides game - it seems like there's a bobble every time I go to shoot.

A big plus point is the social club which had the dubious distinction of hearing my father-in-law's singing during the 60s. He tells me he was a cracking goalie in his day and even had a trial with Kirky Rob Roy - their loss was Torrance's gain. My mother-in-law used to serve the pies at the Petershill club which is how she met the big man which I admit gives The Peasy a personal and emotional hook that the others maybe lack.

Talking of the in-laws leads me onto the final shortlisted team, Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. The Rabs are one of the oldest junior clubs in existence being established in 1878 and like the Peasy play in the West Region Super Premier League. It is also a town close to where my wife is from and in-laws still live.

The furthest away and most awkward of the grounds to get to, Adamslie Park does have a certain charm from the photographs I've seen. The Rabs used to have a social club but the council razed it to the ground in 2004. However I know Kirky has a few good pubs within walking distance of the ground. It's a nicer area than Yoker and Springburn so there's less chance of a beating going to and from the games.

All 3 teams have their pros and cons and I'd be a fool to dismiss any of them until I've experienced all three.

And that's what I'm going to do. First stop is Clydebank FC vs Yoker Athletic. Tenants vs landlords in a Central League Cup derby.

You can follow my experiences here as I plan to write about each game, the clubs, the fans, the bovril, the half time entertainment, the match day programme, the ned evasion techniques, the goals, the rain, the mud and everything I'm looking forward to from getting back to fitba.