Day 4 – Ground no. 21: Elland Road, Leeds United An old school ground with three of the stands very traditional 1950’ish to 1970’ish, dramatically upset by the huge cantilevered East Stand from the early 1990’ies. Almost brutal. It somehow…
Yearly Archives: 2018
Top 24 English Football Grounds Advent Countdown 2018: 3th December
Day 3 – Ground no. 22: The County Ground, Swindon Town A proper old school ground! The County Ground pub right in front of the ground is a must! The four stands are oh so different, adding character to the…
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Top 24 English Football Grounds Advent Countdown 2018: 2nd December
Day 2 – Ground no. 23: St. Andrew’s, Birmingham City It nestles on a hill top above the terraced streets, almost like a medieval castle – just a short walk from the city centre. Bathed in floodlights at night, the…
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Top 24 English Football Ground Advent Countdown 2018: 1st December
Day 1 – Ground no. 24: St. James’ Park, Exeter City Sadly, the old Stagecoach stand has been replaced by a modern stand this year. I loved it. It looked like a robber’s castle, irregularly shaped, only covering two thirds…
Top 24 English Football Grounds Advent Calendar 2018
From Saturday 1st December, I will start my countdown of my top 24 current English football grounds. Six photos, six lines of text. Grounds like Highbury, Boleyn Ground, White Hart Lane won’t feature, as they have been demolished. Old Trafford…
Tagged with: Lou Macari's Fish 'n chips, Manchester United, Old Trafford, Red Legends, Warwick Road
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Posted in Uncategorized
Top 24 English Football Ground Advent Calendar coming up!
From 1st December, I will run down my top 24 of current English football grounds as an advent calendar for all fans of English football and football grounds. And especially those who like to argue, which ground is the best!…
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Farewell to a football ground. Bootham Crescent in York
After watching the Yorkshire derby between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United on the Friday night, we head to York for another one derby – between York City and Guiseley in the Vanamara National League North. York City has been at…
The Historical Layers of Hillsborough
For a county with such proud football traditions as Yorkshire, it must be frustrating to be so poorly represented in the Premier League. A couple of seasons ago, Huddersfield Town took over from Hull as the only representative, and at…
Tagged with: Archibald Leitch, Hillsborough, Leeds United, Memorial, Memorial garden, scattering of ashes, Sheffield Wednesday, Stadium disaster, The Kop, World Cup 1966
Posted in Football grounds
Posted in Football grounds
Selhurst Park – searching for Crystal Palace’s memorial garden
Selhurst Park was high on my football ground wish list this season. For three reasons. Firstly, with Palace about to get the final seal of approval of their plans for a new main stand, the days of the original main…
Tagged with: Archibald Leitch, Arthur Wait Stand, Crystal Palace, Eagles, Harry Kane, Holmesdale Road, Karl Marx, Memorial garden, museum, Sainsbury's, Selhurst Park, Tottenham, Whitehorse Lane
Posted in Football grounds
Posted in Football grounds
“Not fit for modern-day football” – or “a magical monument for 119 years of footballing history”? – Blundell Park, Grimsby
Within the same week in September 1899, five new football grounds staged their first match. Highfield Road in Coventry, Tottenham’s White Hart Lane, Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough, Fratton Park in Portsmouth, and Grimsby Town’s Blundell Park. Having attended matches at the…
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Football and material culture 