VENUE #70 ABERDEEN Pittodrie

LADBROKES PREMIER

30th December 2015

@ Pittodrie Stadium

Ground Capacity:- 22,200 

Kick off:-  19:45

Entry Fee:-  £28

Programme:-  £3

                                                                     Ground #70

     What a time to travel to the Scottish highlands when the wind and rain is causing chaos with widespread flooding, landslides and power lines being blown down all of which we encountered on our journey up from the Midlands.  The first sign of trouble surfaced at Wolverhampton railway station when I noticed that our train the 06:37 to Edinburgh was only going as far as Preston on the electronic departures board.  My Wife, who was making the journey with me asked a Virgin train employee standing on platform 2 near us about the change of destination on the board but she told us that she hadn't noticed or been told about the situation at that time.  When she did find out what was going on she informed us that power cables had been blown down at Carstairs which is in between Glasgow and Edinburgh.  We were told to board the train to Preston and catch the 08:15 to Glasgow Central and walk to Queens St. station where we could catch a train direct to Aberdeen.
     While on the train from Preston to Glasgow there was an announcement on the tannoy that landslides were causing disruptions outside Glasgow and they were not sure whether the train would have to terminate at Carlisle or be able to proceed onto Glasgow.  After a five minute delay at Carlisle it was announced that we would be able to continue the journey but at a much reduced speed than normal.
   

 Further down the line at Lockerbie the train was held for another twenty minutes as conditions were worsening ahead and further speed restrictions had to be introduced if we were to continue on our way.  It did seem as though we weren't going to reach Glasgow never mind Aberdeen and even if we did reach our final destination would the game also fall victim of the severe weather conditions.
     As we slowly made our way through the district between Lockerbie and Glasgow the appalling scenes of landslides, buildings under water and stranded livestock became apparent and were shocking to the system, you see and hear about what's going on in the news but it really brings it home to you when you have to witness it first hand.
     We did manage to arrive in Glasgow and caught the 11:41 to Aberdeen and there were no further incidents on the third and final part of our journey to the Highlands but we did see more devastation caused by the weather as we entered Aberdeenshire and you felt for the poor people that had to endure such heartbreaking mayhem at what should be a happy time, a time for celebration filled with hope and expectation as the new year approaches.

     Getting back to the real reason for this trip, the visit to the Aberdeen's legendary football ground

and to see their team perform in the night game against Glaswegian rivals Partick Thistle.  Surprisingly the game was still due to go ahead and a fairly large passionate crowd was ascending upon Pittodrie stadium with expectancy for whoever they were supporting.  Aberdeen had made a good start to the season but have tapered off in recent months.  In their last game at Pittodrie they made a late come back against ICT being 2-0 down and managing to steal a point against the fellow highlanders at the death.
     Partick are just bellow half way in the table before the start of this game and are on a good unbeaten run toppling Ross County 1-0 last time out to take the winning tally to four consecutive matches, something they haven't done in the top flight for nearly forty years.

 

   The match started as expected with Aberdeen taking control and causing a robust and physical Thistle defence discomfort.  It was apparent from the start that Partick had come for a point or to maybe nick all three in a smash and grab raid if one should manifester at some stage.  Their block and stop tactics took all shapes and forms throughout the match with outrageous challenges, shirt pulling, time wasting and the most annoying strategy of taking out the Dons wingers and wing backs as their pace left them lacking and with the only option of stopping them by foul methods.  Seeing that the referee only booked three Partick Thistle players and no red card shown suggests correctly that the Glaswegian's got away with murder at times.
     Dons seemed nervous and  unconfident in the final third floating high balls into the Jags box

which their towering defence dealt with comfortably and the keeper will never earn his bread and butter as easily again as most the crosses were right down his throat.
     Aberdeen's best attempt at goal came around the twenty minute mark when full back/midfielder Graeme Shinnie was set up on the edge of the 18 yard box by Niall McGinn but his shot cannoned off the crossbar bringing a despairing scream of ooooohh from the home faithful.
     The second half continued in the same vein and it became apparent that I had travelled more than 400 miles, (not 500 miles that was the Proclaimers), to see my first 0-0 draw in four years and let's hope it's my last.  It had to happen sometime I suppose but it is strange that it coincides with me bringing my Wife to the game for the first time, not that I'm suggesting that she is some kind of a jinx in anyway especially as she will be reading this blog when published.

   

 Pittodrie as a capacity of just over 22 thousand and is all seated. it is also fully covered accept for the filled in corner between the South stand and the Merkland.  The railway station is about a twenty five minute walk away but there is a taxi rank at the back of the station by the toilets for people of which walking is not an option, It will cost you about £10 to the ground.







     I sat in the main stand to watch the game and if I knew what I know now when booking my tickets

I would have sat on the other side of the pitch in the South stand.  The main stand has got to be nearing a hundred years old with four supporting girders which restrict your view of the match especially if you're sitting at the back.  There is hardly any leg room between seats and the steps in between levels and down to the refreshment area are a danger, I haven't seen such dangerous steps since Hereford United's Edgar street away end in the mid 70's.  The toilets are some of the worst I've seen recently, they're so small you couldn't swing a pussy or the male part of the anatomy around in there, they are very dark,dingy and OLD.  The whole stand needs a facelift to bring into line with the rest of the stadium and the 21st century although I do hear that there are plans to build a new stadium at Loirston Loch in the near future.

     The South stand across the pitch from the main stand is a large single tiered cantilever which looks quite modern compared to the main stand.  The away supporters occupy the left hand side of the stand as you look from pitch side.











     Behind the goal to the left of the main stand as you look at the pitch is the Richard Donald stand named after a former chairman.  It is a very large stand in comparison with the others.  This is a two tiered stand with a large lower tier and a smaller upper tier with a row of executive boxes in the middle.

     At the other end of the pitch is the Merkland stand which is a small single tiered arrangement which seems older than the Richard Donald stand but more up to date than where I watched the game.  I've been told by people I've travelled with on this journey that Pittodrie is a wonderful stadium but in my personal point of view I must say that I hope that the new stadium is built soon to replace it.  From the outside it looks more like a disused factory building than a football ground and the main stand as I've said before has dangerous aspects that need attending PDQ.  Maybe you can say that I've got no romantic streak in me for old traditional football ground and that maybe so and Aberdeen fans will probably say I'm talking out my arse and that they love their home heritage but I can't help how I feel the ground is near the bottom of my list of good stadiums.

     On a brighter note people visiting Pittodrie from a distance as I did and need somewhere to stay then they can't go wrong by booking a room at the Aberdeen City Centre Premier Inn in Northwest Street.  The rooms are conventional Premier Inn which is good in my book and it's not dear just £39 a night for a double room for two.  The food in their restaurant is great and the staff are really friendly and helpful and I highly recommend the place to anyone.

                        MATCH DETAILS

                   

VENUE #69 COVENTRY The Ricoh Arena

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

19th December 2015

@ The Ricoh Arena

Ground Capacity:-  32,500 

Kick Off:-  15:00

Entry Fee:-  £10

Programme:-  £3

                                                                    Ground #69

COVENTRY CITY ... 1   OLDHAM ATHLETIC ... 1

    Not only was it a dull, wet and miserable day at the Ricoh but it was also a sad one for as I took

my seat in the East stand the news was announced that Jimmy Hill once manager and Chairman of Coventry City football club had passed away.  I'll never forget Jimmy, the unforgettable face of the BBC football programme  match of the day from the early 70's to the late 80's he caused much controversy in many a footballing household throughout the UK but love him or loath him you can't help feeling that football has lost one of it's great characters today.  There was a fitting minutes standing ovation before the kick off for the man and his name was chanted throughout the game for he will be missed the most here.  His statue stands proud outside the main stand at the Ricoh where tributes were laid in his memory before and after today's game.

   

Gael Bigirimana my home side man of the match

 The game started brightly with Coventry in the ascendancy and Oldham looking to defend and hopefully snatch a point in fact the latics made only one real attempt on the Sky Blues goal in the first half when Liam Kelly's effort flew over the bar.
     It was looking to be Coventry's game all the way in the first 25 minutes but then an injury to City defender Ben Turner forced Tony Mowbray to make a change and bring on Ryan Haynes which seemed to allow Oldham to gain confidence and come into the game a little more but saying that I feel the Latics were very lucky to go into the half time interval level.
     Four minutes into the second half and the Latics were behind a perfect through ball by my home player of the match Gael Bigirimana forced the Oldham defence to give away a corner.  Joe

Has the referee got his hand down his shorts?  What is  he doing?

Cole took the corner and curved an out-swinger to the far post which Romain Vincelot met with his head only to see the effort cleared off the line by Mark Jones and scrambled out for another corner.  Cole repeated his first effort but with a deeper ball which was inch perfect for the incoming Aaron Martin who had the easy task of heading home from close range.
     Coventry seemed as though they were going to hold out and claim a massive festive season three points until the third minute of injury time when a Mark Jones corner found the head of Danny Philliskirk who headed home from the centre of the box and snatched what could be vital point for the Latics at the death.
   
     

The Ricoh Arena is a fully enclosed stadium with all corners filled which holds around 32,500 spectators.  Coventry moved to the Ricoh when re-housed in 2005 leaving their former home, Highfield Road after just over a century of football there.  If travelling by train it's best to either take a bus to the stadium or taxi as the ground is 3.5 miles away from the train station and not even I would attempt to walk such a distance.  You can catch the number 8 service from outside the station to Coventry Pool Meadow bus station where you take the number 4 or 5 to the Arena Park which is adjacent to the Ricoh Stadium.  Otherwise, jump into a taxi which will cost you around around £15 to the Stadium.  A taxi is OK if you've got the money to do this, today was going to be a cheep day out for me my ticket, train fare, scarf and match programme cost me a total of £30 but my taxi to and from the stadium cost me a total of £30 also, stick to the buses if you've got sense not like me. 


     The main feature of the stadium is the West stand which runs along the side of the pitch and is two tiered with hospitality boxes running along the back of the lower tier.  There is also a exhibition centre attached to the stand which gives it an unique look and makes it a focal point as the other 3 stands are somewhat bland affairs for all are single tiered, fully covered conventional looking (boring), nothing much to right a blog about.


     
   

 The East stand is where I watched the game from right at the front with the rain coming down at times, not the best of position's in wet weather in fact it was the first time I suffered with a wet bum from the rain that settled on the light blue plastic seat, I can honestly say that I was not at all a happy bunny.
     There is a large concourse at the back of the stand with lots of food and drink outlets.  I tried the fish and chips outlet but had a chicken balti pie with my fries and they were very nice at a cost of £5.50 but the only gripe I have is that I wasn't offered a fork or serviette and of course the pie broke in the box it was presented in and things got rather hot and messy for my poor fingers.
     The toilets are a disgrace, as soon as you walk in you see several rusty "not so stainless steel" troughs scattered around a cramped area which have seen better days and are not a good hygienic sight at all. 


   
     Behind the goal to the left of the East stand is the South stand and is where the away supporters are housed or rather to right hand side of the stand as you look from the pitch.  Pete, an Oldham supporter says that the view of the game was unobstructed and excellent and all had a great day out.

      Pictured right is the North stand not really used for this particular game as the main stand and the East is where most of the fans were housed.

                     MATCH DETAILS

VENUE #68 CLYDE Broadwood Stadium

LADBROKES LEAGUE 2

14th November 2015

@ Broadwood Stadium

Ground Cap:  8,029 (All seated)

Kick Off: 15:00

Entry Fee:  £12

Programme:  £2.50

                                                                  Ground #68

CLYDE ... 4             ELGIN CITY ... 2



      A six goal thriller at Broadwood that had everything but the kitchen sink that made a cold November afternoon seem quite pleasant

for the neutrals like myself that came along to see what Clyde FC were all about and there were quite a few of us.
     The first goal came as soon as the second minute when a free kick from the left from Michael Bolochoweckyj had the Elgin defence and goalkeeper ball watching, John-Paul McGovern came charging into the Elgin six yard box for an easy tap in.
     In the twelfth minute Elgin were level when Craig Gunn received the ball in the Clyde six yard box and moving away from the goal was bizarrely brought down by John Gibson the Clyde keeper.  Referee Stephen Finney awarded a penalty which Gunn dispatched himself giving Gibson no chance.
    

Eleven minutes later and the referee went for the  Mr. popularity award giving Gunn another chance to convert from the spot judging that Chris Smith had deliberately handled the ball in the area.  With an irate home support baying for the officials blood a calm Gunn blasted the highlanders into the lead in almost an identical fashion to the first penalty.
     Clyde showed their resilience and in the 27th minute equalised their selves when the ball dropped for Scott Ferguson in the centre of the Elgin penalty area and he sent the home fans wild crashing the ball into the back of the net.
     Half time came and gave everybody chance to catch their breath and visit the footy

foods kiosk on ground level.  The Scotch pie was most excellent in fact so good I queued up to get myself another one before going back to my seat, I washed them down with a large cup of hot chocolate which was just the right temperature unlike most grounds who desire to take the roof of your mouth off with their hot drinks.  Gold star for the footy foods staff for a wonderful half time feast.
     The second half began and it didn't take long before the goals started to come along again just five minutes into the half and Clyde broke down an Elgin attack in the centre of the pitch and a long ball into the Black and Whites box found David Gormley who knocked the ball to the side of the Elgin keeper and turned sharply to lash the ball into the empty net.
    

Elgin didn't give up and came back at the Bully Wee looking to level the tie for a third time and in the 81st minute the home faithful became very jittery when Chris Mitchell committed his second bad challenge of the afternoon and received another yellow card followed by a red to reduce the home side to ten men.
     But the loyal home support needn't have worried as six minutes later Clyde broke from the left through David Gormley who found my home team man of the match Scott Linton who hit the sweetest volley from about twelve yards past a stranded Mark Hurst to make it 4-2 and game over.              

     Broadwood Stadium is only a 15 minute walk away from Croy railway station in Cumbernauld.

As you come out of the station onto the B802 road turn right and walk straight ahead past a set of traffic lights and a roundabout until you reach another roundabout and keeping to the right hand side follow the road round to the right onto Smithstone road.  You will see a housing estate ahead of you and take the first turning left into Craiglinn and follow the road all the way down to the bottom and take the walkway leading to a main road the B8048.  Turn left and then first right onto another walkway with green fields to the left and a small factory with car park to the right, this path leads to Ardgoil drive where you turn right and follow the road all the way down and the ground is right in front of you.

 

 The Broadwood has been open for twenty years now, Clyde moved here after leaving their previous home the Shawfield Stadium where they played their football for around 95 years.  Its another one of those three sided stadiums with the North side housing a leisure centre  which seems a little pointless to me OK they may never fill the stadium unless they play Celtic or Rangers in a cup semi-final there but it just feels as though the space is wasted.

     The Main stand runs along the East side of the pitch it's fully covered and slightly bigger on oneside than the other two stands.  Away supporters are allocated the right hand third of the stand as you look at it.  The toilets on the ground floor by the footy foods stall are looking old and tired but were heated and it almost made you want to stop in there away from the bitter cold in the stands.

 

   The West stand is obviously on the opposite side of the pitch to the East and is also fully covered and single tiered.  The ground is an all seated stadium.  The seats are red with some painted white to spell out the words CLYDE - OK.

     On the opposite end to the North side leisure centre is the South stand and as the other two standsit is fully covered, single tiered and all seated.  The West and North stands weren't used for this match which is a good thing really as the seats looked in an appalling state with many being broken and as a result a danger to the public.  Seeing that the ground is only twenty years old it seems to of had a lot of wear and tear and could do with a good facelift.





                                             MATCH DETAILS

VENUE #67 AFC WIMBLEDON Cherry Red Records Stadium

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO

17th October 2015

Cherry Red Records Stadium

Ground Cap.:- 4,850 (2,265 Seated)

Kick Off:-  14:00

Entry Fee:-  £20

Programme:-  £3

Ground:-  # 67

AFC WIMBLEDON ... 2   MORECAMBE ... 5

     Wimbledon lose their third league home match of the season in devastating style while

Morecambe extend their unbeaten away record to seven.

     It was the Wombles who took the lead in the third minute when Kyle Taylor linked well with Andy Barcham who curled the ball past Barry Roche in the Morecambe goal.

     Five minutes later and the scores were level as Semi Ajayi fouled Shaun Miller in the penalty area  and referee Trevor Kettle whistled to signal a penalty, (sorry), Miller took the spot kick himself and converted with ease.

     

Another five minutes passed and Morecambe had turned things around with another goal from Shaun Miller, Tom Barkuizen chested the ball into Miller's path and he blasted the it from 35 yards past a stranded James Shae shocking and surprising his own team mates as well as everybody else in the stadium.

     A lengthy injury to Andy Barcham saw the Wimbledon goal scorer stretchered off and the first half extended by ten minutes of which the ninth minute saw the visitors 3-1 to the good when Alan Goodall's header made the Morecambe dressing room a very happy one at the half time break.

     Four minutes into the second period and Wimbledon reduced the deficit with a headed goal from

Adebayo Akinfenwa which seamed to cause some controversy with the Morecambe defenders and the referee who consulted his linesman briefly before pointing to the centre circle signalling the goal.

     We had to wait till the eightieth minute for the next goal which was a lobbed shot from Tom Barkuizen and then ten minutes later the killer fifth goal from Paul Mullin made it a wonderful trip home for the shrimps and a down right miserable afternoon for the Wombles.  

 

 We all know the story about Wimbledon in 2002 being relocated in Milton Keynes some 56 miles from their original home of Plough Lane in London.  Wimbledon fans recognised this as the end of their club and decided to rebuild under the name of AFC Wimbledon in the Greater London area starting in the Combined counties league and being promoted five times in nine seasons worked their way up through the Isthmian league and the Conference to regain league status in 2011 in League Two.  The club now play their home games at Kingsmeadow otherwise known as the Cherry Red Records Stadium in a ground share scheme with Kingstonian FC who play in the Isthmian Premier League.

     On one side of the pitch is the Paul Strank Stand which is the main Stand and has one and a quarter thousand seats.  It is fully covered and quite modern with no supporting pillars which is good news for the viewing of the game.  T'is quite small and bijou but as league two main stands go perfectly adequate.  There are toilets at each end of the stand which are quite small and cramped not the best by a long chalk.  The food van situated at the Chemflow side of the stand sells burgers and pies but are quite expensive with a quarter pounder cheeseburger with bacon priced at £6.

     Across the pitch is the Your Golf Travel or East terrace which is covered at the back and has the dugouts situated at the front which means subs and managers have to cross the pitch to get to the dressing rooms at half and full time.  Away supporters are housed in one half of this stand toward the John Green Stand where seats are also made available for visiting fans.

     The Chemflow end or Athletics end so called because of the athletics stadium behind it is a fully covered terrace which sits close to the edge of the playing field and houses most of the home supporters.

     At the other end is the John Green Stand or Nong shim Stand named after the sponsors is a 1,000 capacity all seated and fully covered with a new TV gantry for capturing different angles of players for the website video archives.

                            MATCH DETAILS

   

VENUE #66 NOTTINGHAM FOREST The City Ground

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

19th September 2015

City Ground, Nottingham

Ground Capacity:- 30, 576 all Seated

Kick Off:- 12:30

Entry Fee:- £28

Programme:-  £3

Ground # 66

NOTTINGHAM FOREST ... 1    MIDDLESBROUGH ... 2

       

      Sloppy defending from today's hosts Forest resulted in the two goals that sealed their fate.  After only three minutes a short back pass from Kelvin Wilson was picked up by Albert Adomah but his shot was blocked by De Vries in the Forest goal.  Seconds later a low cross from the right by George Friend was poorly dealt with by the Forest rear guard and David Nugent made the most of the gift and poked the ball home from inside the six yard box.

      The home side were back level within four minutes when Nelson Oliveira's shot was deflected wide and Henri Lansbury took the resulting corner from the left picking out Matt Mills in the six yard box who side footed a volley into the roof of the Middlesbrough net.

      Big cries of joy came from the home stands as their side were back in the game but their relief was only to last another 25 minutes when Grant Leadbitter drove in a cross from the right which Kevin Wilson again made a grave error by trying to head the ball back to his own keeper with Daniel Ayala waiting to head the ball home from close range.  At half time the score remained 1 - 2 to Boro.

 

    After the interval Forest were kicking toward the Trent End and this seemed to inspire them and it wasn't long before they had their best chance so far when, this time, uncertainty in the Boro defence saw Ryan Mendes go clear and one on one with the keeper, if he had squared the ball across the box to Nelson Oliveira he would have had an open goal to tap into but the selfish Mendes tried to beat the keeper himself and the inspired keeper palmed the ball away to safety.

      In the 77th minute the home fans are roaring with delight once more as Ben Gibson Handles the ball in the penalty area and referee Lee Mason gives the penalty after consulting his linesman.  You could feel the tension around the ground as Henri Lansbury stepped up to take the kick, the home fans were willing the midfielder to

score and snatch a point out of the game but the number 10 hit a poor shot down the centre of the goal as Dimitrios Konstantopoulos dived to his left but still managed to block the attempt with his feet and winning the Boro keeper man of the match as well as the game for his team.

      This is the second week running that my host team has lost 2 -1 I hope this isn't the start of an unwelcome trend.  I would have to say that the better side won the game although they were a bit physical though I should imagine major contenders once more for out-right promotion were as Forest may have to settle for the lottery of the play-offs once more.

  

The view of the ground coming across the bridge over the river Trent is quite impressive the two
tiered Trent end stand that rests on the banks of the river being the main focal point.  This stand is the
newest part of the ground and has a good look about it, really sets off the whole feel of the place.  It has rows of seats in a glass container running across the centre and as the Brian Clough stand the top tier looks larger than the lower giving it a real towering appearance, mind sitting in the main single tiered stand the other three stands do look a lot bigger and spacious.

   Across the pitch at the other end is a quite odd looking stand, the Bridgeford starts off two tiered and then descends down to a single tier to the right side as you look at it, the only reason I can think of for this is that the people in the flats to the rear of this corner have an un-obstructed view of the game.  On the other side the lower tier corner to the near post of the goal is allocated to away supporters.

     Built in the 1980's the Brian Clough stand is another impressive two tiered Stand that runs the

touchline, which, on it's top tier has the word FOREST painted on it's seats in between two emblems of the club crest.  There are executive boxes between the two tiers which makes the top tier look larger than the lower or maybe it is anyway.

   On the other side of the pitch is the main stand, single tiered and so neatly adjoins the off set corner of the Bridgeford end.  This stand is the oldest part of the ground and seems a bit dated in comparison to the other stands.  There are a couple of supporting girders which can obstruct your view pending on where your sitting, I was OK for I was sat right on the centre line as the girders were just blocking the corner flags.  It does let down the stadium a bit for it needs updating, maybe if Forest get promotion then this could be on the agenda.  The toilets were adequate as were the other facilities, not the best by a long chalk but they did the job.  One thing I must mention if you intend on visiting the club shop please either go after the game or come

very early as I was queuing for three quarters of a hour to get served.  There are plenty of staff but they don't seem to be the quickest, they have a sign behind them on the tills that say's "Rome wasn't built in a day but I wasn't on that particular job", for if they were it might explain why they're so slow as it was built about 2000 years ago.   

                           MATCH DETAILS