Persuading children of the joys of the Football League

Two passing conversational pieces really struck home as my daughter and I left Sixfields on Saturday following Port Vale's 0-0 draw with Northampton . As we climbed into the car and turned on Radio 5 Live, a presenter complained it was a day of "nil-nil-itis". "We're suffering from that," said my daughter. A wise head on young shoulders. Vale have had four 0-0s in our last five league games. We have the third best defence in the whole Football League. Sadly we currently have a strike-rate worthy of the drop-zone. The scoring production line that was the Richards boys - Marc and Justin - has dried up of late. The other conversation was being had by a Northampton supporter with his two young sons, also leaving early. One was complaining that the game had been "boring", while the other had wanted to leave at half-time. Now some folk have suggested that if I really want my daughter to like football I should take her to watch Arsenal, a mile away from where we live. And there's a little bit of me that thinks that if she suggested doing that then it would be a good excuse to watch top-quality football on the doorstep. But, what would be the fun in that? For a start, at glamour spots like Millwall, Brentford, Orient, Barnet, Yeovil, QPR, I can pay for an adult and a kids ticket, burger, chips and a packet of fruit pastilles at about the price of a single ticket at the Emirates . And of course there's Vale Park, although frankly, she thinks the confectionary selection is lacking at the Wembley of the North . And we sing the Wonder of You better than Wagner . She doesn't want to go every week; I still play 20-odd games a season, so away games in and around London are as often as she will be prepared to go. And it's good quality time. In a 50-mile car journey on Saturday we covered evolution, dinosaurs, religion, and listened to some top tunes on the way home (after the final score round-up). You even get used to leaving early because you don't want to test their patience with a car park jam. Just a pity we can't score at the moment. Please share your tips, anecdotes, favourite football foods below.