The big game at White Hart Lane this week ...

Don't be deceived by the headline. This Saturday 6th April, 3pm at Coles Park Stadium, White Hart Lane, London, N17 7JP,

Hashtag United v Braintree Town Reserves is going to be an intriguing fixture. Hashtag have been a bit of a social media sensation with an international following on YouTube roughly equal to that of neighbouring Tottenham. Quite remarkable when you consider that this is their first season in senior football following a transition from exhibition games.

What is more remarkable is that they are on the verge of clinching promotion from the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Division One South. Saturdays game could win the league for them. It's been quite a story.

By contrast it has been a difficult season for Braintree Town. The first team just this weekend were relegated from the Vanarama National league and the reserves have struggled with transitions of coaching staff, countless trialists in the team and have had around 80 players drift in and out of the squad which really doesn't make for good team building or being able to develop something cohesive. This is a typical story in non league football and particularly with reserve squads. That said, Braintree Reserves have begun to settle as a team and are showing signs of actually building something. Currently four games without defeat. All very encouraging.

Okay okay, I admit it I am a Braintree Town fan. My original interest in the club was in the early 1990's when I lived in the town and one of my part time staff Shane Bailey played for them. He was a talented player and I am happy to have even played on the same pitch with him as I came to the end of my own playing days in a works tournament.

My son Joel now proudly wears the orange shirt of Braintree, "The Iron" as they are affectionately known. Joel moved from Grays Athletic at the beginning of the season and has had an excellent season in the reserves as the player with the most appearances along with a consistency and discipline that has shown that his head has stayed in the game despite all of the uncertainty and comings and goings on and off the pitch. I have to say that I am proud of him, his drive, motivation and desire to play no matter what is happening. He's a very promising 19 year old left back still very much developing his game but with an attitude that is way beyond the norm at this level.

One of the challenges with non league football is that you get a lot of players that have impressive football CV's and have been at good clubs but have been released. Some of those players have a sobriety about what they need to do to learn, grow and develop their game whilst many really do not and come with a chip on their shoulder and some resentment that they have dropped down several divsions. Too often they have a sense of entitlement about not having to earn their shirt whilst enamouring coaches by "where they have been".

Now I am not a coach by any stretch of the imagination, I sometimes get drawn into conversations with opinionated supporters about the game or particular players. I really don't have much to bring to the table when it comes to being an armchair critic. I don't have the technical expertise of the coaches and I trust them completely but I am a leader of men, a manager of people and I can smell attitude good or bad from some distance.

I personally get very frustrated when I see an experienced player released from another club with a chip on his shoulder, who doesn't turn up for training but gets to play in Saturday's match on the strength of "where he has been". Meanwhile, a youngster who is at every training session, trains on his own day in day out, is incredibly disciplined but still working on his game get's overlooked. I know which one is more moldable and more responsive to coaching. I know which one I would pick.

Sometimes I wish football had a less short term immediate worldview and would be willing to build for the long term and create a legacy mindset. Leaders are generally judged on what they establish that outlives them.

Whilst Joel has brushed the fringes of the first team, he's been on the bench for a couple of games, trained with the first team squad and played in a reserves match which was made up of almost entirely first team squad players. He has yet to make his full debut despite what have felt like promises of possibility and then some turn of events, diminishing that promise to dust in the wind. A small injury around Christmas kept him out for almost a month and that was test of his metal.

As a spectator we take injuries for granted and assume players are going to come back and get back into the game as though they were never injured. I saw first hand the mental battle as well as the physical work that goes into a full recovery. I am convinced that injuries really can break a player mentally and spiritually. It's commendable if you can overcome as a part time player without the resources at your disposal that the professionals have.

Non league football is not for the faint hearted. It is under resourced and largely under appreciated even by the supporters. What coaches, players, paid staff and voluntary staff have to go through on a week to week basis with little room for manouevure is hard to fully grasp unless you are close enough to see it first hand as I have been. It's simply far too easy to stand on the sidelines and criticize the coach, the players, the club owners, the officials and whoever else.

Non league football is incredibly hard work and I am convinced that it is driven only by passion and love for the game at this level. They will not get every decision right but honestly I have not seen anything that causes me to question their hearts and their intent.

Football can be fickle, uncertain and even cruel. It calls young men to grow up and mature very quickly if they are serious in wanting to make it a career. There's nothing that will expose your ego, challenge your character and refine you quite as much as you learn to work as a team player, have to manage what goes on in your head and how you deal with disappointment, mistakes and the range of human emotions that come with it. I heard one football mentor say to Joel "How you are in one thing is how you are in everything"...brilliant advice and words of wisdom. It stuck with him and me! Words like discipline, focus, integrity, authenticity, work ethic and passion came to life.

We learned together that everything in life is about keeping your relationships in good shape whether it's at home, at work, in your areas of interest. When you turn up for training or walk out on that pitch your head needs to be 100% in the game.

Your job is to play football, not to involve yourself in club politics, bickering or having stuff going on in your head because you didn't manage your relationships well at home or with your team mates. If there's an incident on the pitch you don't get in the ring ... even if it's against you. You are there to play football as part of a team. Your ego has no place being there. If someone wants to ruffle you up ... that's their business and their problem. You are there to play football.

I have personally been inspired by Joel's tenacity, his remarkable maturity and his desire to give 100% in a season full of false starts, undelivered promises and disappointment. It has been a great season for his character. I am proud of everyone that he has worked with and everyone at Braintree Town from the owners to the reserves and the volunteer staff. Here is a club that is not merely licking it's wounds but taking serious inventory of it's shortcomings and nurturing a realistic vision of what it will be in the future.

Braintree Town for the record has the youngest squad in terms of average age in the top 5 divisions of English football. I believe it operates on a budget that is solvent and sustainable, and yet prevented Salford City (a team with a league one budget) from beating them this season (an away draw and a home win). They are attempting to build something worthwhile in a climate that is difficult. The board and coaching staff are aiming to improve connections with the local community, nurture local players and build a brand that brings the heartbeat of football back to where it belongs.

This week on White Hart Lane there's a new stadium opening which has reportedly cost in the region of ￡1 billion. Meanwhile down the road Hashtag United have somehow managed to fund and grow an amazing story ignited simply by their passion for the game. Their visitors Braintree Town Reserves are building something that is honest, sustainable and connecting with their local community.

I have nothing against the new stadium. I have nothing against the big spending clubs. Everyone plays their part in the world of football. I am just making a point to spare a thought for your local clubs.

Make a commitment to go to a local non league game next season, or better still by the end of this season. Take your kids, have a look beyond the football, try and see what's going on that makes the club what it is, understand the culture and what it is trying to create. Sure it's going to be full of flaws and imperfections but I promise that you will see commitment, passion, community and something very special if you look carefully.

I will be there on Saturday and know that Joel will give 100% from beginning to end. I hope that Braintree will come away with a shock win but honestly if I see them give their heart and play with passion and integrity that will inspire me just as much.

You know what...

I am not sure how much it is to get in. Usually it's about ￡5 or ￡6 in this league. Come along. You'll catch sight of Tottenham's new stadium just down the road but I'm pretty sure you will be struck by the heart and soul of English football at 3pm, Coles Park Stadium, White Hart Lane, London, N17 7JP. Hashtag United v Braintree Town Reserves.

If you are one of the scouts in my network you will see some talented players who don't have impressive football CV's but have a passion, a work ethic and the humility to learn. Now that's food for thought...