<p>As the days became shorter and the nights darker, Simon Hughes began a journey through the country's most successful football region during the winter of the 2016/17 English season.<br><br>Starting in Carlisle and heading south, Hughes went through Barrow, Morecambe and towards the Fylde coast. He trekked inland ? to Preston, to Burnley, to Accrington. From Southport, he moved into deepest Merseyside and then to Cheshire, Greater Manchester an...