While you are there, eat at Due South restaurant - absolutely yummy. Just had a look to remind myself of it; their site recommends Drakes Hotel which looks rather swish.
Oh fie, LB, there are footballing heroes in every era. Just Google Stanley Matthews, Dennis Compton, Billy Wright, Neil Harris. All good men and true - not every footballer is a wag-man-wanker.
Start by supporting your local team. That would be Dulwich Hamlets or Millwall. Get warm underwear and big woolly scarf. Learn a few phrases to be shouted at apt times, eg, "Who is the elegant athelete in the black who seems a trifle myopic?". Go with friends and consume lots of hot bovril or beer. If you choose Millwall, the pies outside the ground are better than inside. Enjoy.