NOT Eastbourne. That was the general reaction when news of the south-coast club’s promotion to the Blue Square Premier reached these quarters last May.

Another 560-mile round journey for York City’s travel-weary fans seemed as welcome as a visit from Barry Swallow to the KitKat Crescent boardroom.

Notably, only one club director made last Saturday’s trip to East Sussex but people who know finance chief Terry Doyle will not be surprised to learn that he made the pilgrimage to Priory Lane with a glint in his eye.

The reason – well, passionate ground hopper Terry can now claim to have visited every stadium in the Blue Square Premier again.

Despite having watched games at more than 1,300 different grounds in the UK, Eastbourne had somehow escaped the Doyle radar even though he counts close neighbours and fellow Conference new boys Lewes in his four-figure tally.

The game also meant Doyle has now watched City play at 173 different locations – a 20-year list that includes league and cup games, as well as friendlies and pre-season tours.

Combining his support for City and his passion for ground-hopping has proven time-consuming. It has regularly taken him to the League of Wales, for example, on a midweek night or three.

“Probably the worst week I had was when I did three games in mid-Wales in one week,” he recalled. “I travelled 1,000 miles and only saw one goal.”

He has also endured every ground hopper’s nightmare – the postponement – on a number of occasions.

One that stands out was a fruitless 260-mile trek to Middlesex for an Ashford Town home game. At the time, Doyle was doing the Isthmian League rounds but the fixture fell foul of the weather at 2.57pm, leaving him with no opportunity to travel to another match instead. Naturally, Doyle returned to Ashford shortly afterwards. “I checked the weather forecast three times before I left home though,” he laughed. “The determination to finish a league off can take you on a long journey which sees you get home in the early hours but that is tempered by the satisfaction you get.”

Doyle is also one of the few City fans who does not mind Setanta’s fixture meddling either and often takes advantage of a free Saturday to tick off another ground.

He particularly enjoys football in the local semi-professional leagues, having been to all but Hinckley in the Blue Square North and citing the Northern Counties East League and the Central Midlands League as favourites, adding: “I enjoy that level as it’s real grassroots stuff.

“The only criteria I have for visiting non-League grounds is that they produce a programme because that’s how I keep track of where I have been. I keep them all in a big cupboard with strong hinges!”

Perhaps surprisingly, Doyle is not a member of the “92 club” for hoppers who have watched a match at every stadium in the Premiership and Football League.

He has not yet travelled to Ipswich Town or Norwich City.

In Scotland, he used to boast the full complement but new grounds and the elevation of Annan Athletic mean he is now a handful short north of the border as well. Neath, meanwhile, are the only League of Wales outfit he has not visited.

For Doyle, though, football has never been all about the glory.

He actually watched his first match at Elland Road when his father took him to witness a 2-1 Leeds United victory over Burnley in 1966. Living in Harrogate, he alternated between watching Don Revie’s famous Leeds side and the struggling Minstermen before settling on his first love. He said: “The reality was I always preferred to watch York. At smaller clubs you feel a bigger part of things.”

Similarly, if you ask him to name his favourite ground, he will enthuse over the Tooting and Mitcham’s old wooden Sandy Lane arena rather than the corporate monoliths of Old Trafford or Anfield.

He said: “Some are fantastic because of their locations. In the Cymru Alliance – a North Wales feeder league – some of the scenery is unbelievable. Glantraeth, near Holyhead, is probably my favourite. It’s in the middle of nowhere and absolutely beautiful. On a sunny day, you can’t believe you are watching football in such surroundings. I also like the older grounds. They are not suited to modern day perhaps and are disappearing but they have great character.”

Goal hero Brodie bags Press award

YORK City top scorer Richard Brodie has won back-to-back Press Player of the Month awards.

Having claimed the December honours, Brodie, pictured, has an unassailable lead in the January standings going into this afternoon’s FA Trophy tie at Kidderminster.

The England ‘C’ international has netted five times in his five appearances since the turn of the year and lies seven points clear of nearest rival Michael Ingham in the contest.

Ingham collected six points as our man of the match during the trips to Eastbourne and Altrincham.

The efforts of Kyle Critchell (two points) and Adam Boyes (one) were also recognised as our second and third-highest rated players at Eastbourne.

Ben Purkiss (two) and Brodie (one) enjoyed the respective accolades at Altrincham.

The two bonus points on offer towards the monthly contest for the player with most man-of-the-match votes from visitors to our website went to Brodie at Eastbourne and were shared between the striker and Christian Smith following the Altrincham game. To be in with a chance of presenting the next Player of the Month award on the pitch before a home game, nominate your man of the match for any of City’s forthcoming fixtures by visiting our Man of the Match page>> Press Player of the Year, latest standings: McGurk 26, Parslow 23, Brodie 22, Purkiss 20, Robinson 16, Greaves 15, Ingham 15, McBreen 10, Rusk 10, Sodje 9, A Smith 7, Hogg 5, Holmes 5, Kelly 5, Russell 5, Farrell 4, McWilliams 4, Dyer 3, Critchell 2, Shepherd 2, Boyes 1, Brown 1.

Press Player of the Month for January, latest standings: Brodie 13, Ingham 6, McGurk 5, Robinson 5, Kelly 3, McBreen 3, Critchell 2, Purkiss 2, Russell 2, Shepherd 2, Boyes 1, Brown 1, Parslow 1, A Smith 1, C Smith 1.

Goals: Brodie 14, Sodje 6, McBreen 5, Farrell 3, Greaves 3, own goal 2, A Smith 2, C Smith 2, Wilkinson 2, Holmes 1, Purkiss 1, Robinson 1, Russell 1.

Assists: Purkiss 7, McBreen 5, Farrell 4, Rusk 4, Sodje 4, Brodie 3, Brown 2, Hogg 2, McGurk 2, McWilliams 2, Shepherd 2, Bore 1, Dyer 1, Greaves 1, Ingham 1, Parslow 1, A Smith 1.

Bad boys: Brodie 1 red card, 7 yellows; Rusk 5 yellows; Greaves, McBreen, Robinson all 4 yellows; Hogg, Holmes, Kelly, McGurk, C Smith all 2 yellows; Farrell, McWilliams, Parslow, Wilkinson all 1 yellow.