Following the trip to Rochdale that ended in Bury, I am off to Edinburgh. From a financial point of view, one of the most important things about groundhopping is getting the train tickets right. You have to buy in advance…
Blog Archives
Broken Hearts at Tynecastle
Tagged with: Archibald Leitch, Heart of Midlothian, Hearts, Lou Macari, Ross County, Tynecastle, WW1
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Delights and perils of groundhopping
End of February means that I am off to my annual meeting up with the Sports and Leisure History network at Manchester Metropolitan University in Crewe. And, as usual, I throw in a handful of football matches before and after.…
Tagged with: Bury F.C., Coventry F.C., Gigg Lane, Groundhopping, Manchester United Museum, National Football Museum, Rochdale F.C., Spotland, Zlatan
Posted in Football grounds, Football museum, Football museums, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Football museum, Football museums, Uncategorized
Valley Parade, Bradford
Of all the horrible stadium disasters, the one that always has haunted me the most is the Bradford City fire in 1985. I remember watching the television news in horror, as they showed how the flames spread in seconds. 56…
Deepdale, Preston North End
Deepdale. The name has a romantic ring to it. Somehow reminiscent of Rivendell from Lord of the Rings. Home of Preston North End since 1875 (although admittedly the first years as a cricket and after that a rugby club), the…
Farewell Boleyn Ground
On Tuesday 10th May, West Ham United played their last ever league match at the Boleyn Ground by Upton Park. Next season they will move to the Olympic Stadium. I didn’t go to that match. But I went four weeks…
Tagged with: Arsenal, Boleyn Ground, Forever blowing bubbles, John Lyall Gates, Manchester United, Memorial, Upton Park, West Ham United
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
From “Pie and Pint” to “Palm trees and Paella” at Priestfield, Gillingham
I must admit that I didn’t really have any great expectations, when I made the trip to Kent’s only football league club, Gillingham. But being in London on work, I found out that there were two matches on this Tuesday…
Tagged with: EU referendum, Executive boxes, Gillingham, Gordon Road, matchday programme, paella, palmtrees, Priestfield, Rainham End, Rehman Chishti, Wallsall
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Ewood Park, Blackburn
I went to my first match at Ewood Park the day after visiting Carlisle United’s Brunton Park. Comparing the two grounds, you really get a sense of how dramatically English football was transformed around 1990 in the aftermath of Hillsborough.…
Tagged with: Alan Shearer, Away support, Carlisle United, Ewood Park, FA Cup, Jack Walker, Memorial garden, Michael Knighton, Payet, West Ham United
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion
When I started following English football, West Bromwich Albion were in the second division. Although they were promoted to the top-tier of English football in 1976, there have been a few ups and downs since then, and they have somehow…
Tagged with: autographs, Brendan Batson, Crystal Palace, Cyril Regis, Founding member, Jeff Astle, Lawrie Cunningham, Memorial garden, The Hawthorns, Tony Bomber Brown, West Bromwich Albion
Posted in Football grounds
Posted in Football grounds
Brunton Park, Carlisle
In his book on English football grounds, Simon Inglis describes Brunton Park in Carlisle as “A frontier post guarded only by sheep”. From the main stand, I can, indeed, to my left see sheep grassing on the other side of…
Tagged with: Brunton Park, Carlisle United, flooding, floodlight pylons, Michael Knighton, Standing terrace, wooden seats
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
St. James Park, Exeter
Having visited Bristol Rovers, a “homeless” team on the Tuesday, I moved on to something almost just as extraordinary. Exeter City, a club saved, owned and run by a supporters’ trust. The story of the supporters’ take-over is quite remarkable.…
Tagged with: ExEC club, Exeter City, George Best, Kiera Gould, Manchester United, Michael Jackson, Pele, St. James Park, Stagecoach Stand, Supporters Trust, Uri Geller
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
Posted in Football grounds, Uncategorized
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