VENUE #74 STRANRAER Stair Park

Airdrieonians Left Deflated 

LADBROKES LEAGUE ONE

2nd April 2016

@ Stair Park, Stranraer

Ground Capacity:- 5,600

Kick Off:- 15:00

Entry Fee:-  £13

Programme:-  £2

Venue #74

     Arrived in Stranraer on Friday afternoon with the sky nearly black, swirling winds and rain teaming from the sky and temperatures more fitting for the middle of winter.  I'm staying at the Neptune's Nest bedsit which overlooks the sea if you've got a front facing room which I haven't and although I'm on the top floor the room is nice, basic but clean with a great shower which warmed me up after my encounter with the Scottish weather.

     After finding a fish bar and filling my stomach things didn't seem so bad although I do fear for the game not going ahead if the bad weather continues, I hope to God it's does for the journey up here took seven hours with the return yet to come and I would hate it if it was all for nothing never mind the expense as well.

     I've seen Stranraer in the flesh twice now without seeing them win or draw and I've also witnessed some heavy defeats for the Blues on the TV against Celtic and Rangers.  They started this season in poor form but have picked up some encouraging results in recent months and now find themselves in fourth place in the table pushing to confirm a play off place which looked impossible before Christmas as they looked certain contenders for relegation.  Airdrieonians hold fifth spot and are also trying to maintain a play off place and so this game is finely poised to be a thriller with both teams needing to win, Stranraer will not be hoping for a repeat of this fixture in December when Airdrie ran out 3-1 winners.

     What a fantastic game of football the best witnessed by myself all season, some may say "a one sided", but no matter the Blues of Stranraer needed to win and they did so with aplomb.  Bit of a nervy start especially in defence a couple of dodgie back passes saw the Stranraer keeper Cameron Belford having to show his tackling and defensive ball play skills to deny Airdrie taking a early lead.  Defender Craig Pettigrew was showing poor form at times it looked as though he had been pulled out of the crowd to make the team up but to be fair he did improve a little later in the game.

  

     In the eleventh minute nerves were quelled a little when a cross from the left by the man of the match Andy Stirling was met by the head of Craig Malcolm at the near post to put Stranraer 1-0 in front.
     Twenty minutes later and it was 2-0 when a free kick twenty five yards out was struck by Willie Gibson and screamed into Airdrie keeper Neil Parry's top far side corner of the net.  Blues held this shoreline comfortably until the half time whistle.




    As predicted the black and red striped Airdrieonians came out fighting in the second half and looked like getting back into the game forcing a string of corners early on but never really troubled the Stranraer defence who looked comfortable and able to ride out the Airdrie onslaught.  Referee Gavin Duncan made a strange decision booking Stranraer goalkeeper Belford for time wasting when the keeper had only  received the ball seconds before hand.
     The game was finally sealed in the 78th minute when a right footed shot from Andy Stirling from the centre of the Airdrie penalty area went through a string of players and the keeper to find the right hand bottom corner of the net.

     The icing on the cake came just two minutes from the end of normal play when again an assist from Andy Stirling was struck left footed by substitute Kyle Turner and whistled into the top right hand corner of the Airdrie net.  And so 4-0 it finished and the team in blue were given a standing ovation as they left the field of play and quite rightly so.

   





     Stair park is about a 10-15 minute walk from the railway station and is situated inside a publicpark of the same name as the ground.  The Blues have been playing inside the park venue for a total of 109 years although there have been modifications since 1907 as you would expect.  In 1995 a new main stand was built at one side of the pitch called the south stand, this construction covers about half of the pitch side but straddles the half way line.  The South stand cost £500,000 to build and is a fully covered all seated area although there is standing areas to each side of the stand.  At the back of the stand are the most amazing views of area leading up to
the sea.  The only toilet I came across in this stand was a single disabled unit which is supposed to serve up to 2,000 people when full to the maximum?  Although there was an enclosed area at the back of the stand which may have contained urinals of a more efficient standard.  I queued for a drink and a bite to eat at the beginning of half time and got half way toward the counter when play resumed so I can't comment on the standard of fare provided but I will say they need to quicken things up a little I mean, there were only around 300 people in this area of the ground and only around 25 in the queue this has got to be the slowest                                                           service I've encountered yet.

     Across the pitch is the Cooshed-North-stand, I don't know if it once contained cows or pigeonsand that's how it got it's name but it's a slightly smaller stand than the main in width and a lot smaller in depth with open terracing to the sides and front.  This stand contains wooden benches to the rear and also has supporting roof pillars that can restrict viewing.  Although segregation is not usually required away fans tend to set up in the Cooshed stand so as to make their selves heard more clearly.

     The Town end situated to the left of the main stand as you look at the pitch is a covered terrace while at the other end of the ground is the approach end which is uncovered terracing with grass, trees and bushes at the rear also mainly used by away fans. 

                              MATCH DETAILS

VENUE #73 PRESTON NORTH END Deepdale

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP    

19th March 2016

@ Deepdale Stadium, Preston

Ground Capacity:-  23,408

Kick Off:-  15:00

Entry Fee:-  £30

Programme:-  £3

Venue #73

PRESTON NORTH END ...1   QUEENS PARK RANGERS ...1

     Didn't need to ride in a taxi to get to this venue although it was a 25 minute walk from the railway station, mind, half way there and I wished that I had of paid the expense of a black cab as I went flying over a broken pavement slab landing on my left side injuring my hip and upper arm.  My mobile phone was in my left trouser pocket and took the impact as my 16 stone carcass hit the pavement.  I noticed passers by starring at me and so I pretended that the pavement was in need of a hug and I was just obliging.  Seriously though if you decide to walk from the station to the ground and go the same rout as I did BEWARE for as you turn onto the A6063 from Ribbleton Lane the pavement on the right side of the road about two thirds of the way from the stadium is treacherous with broken and uneven slabs I'll be surprised if someone hasn't sued the life out of Preston council if they ended up the same way as me.

     This game had more of the yawn factor than the spectacular about it, I was desperately trying to load Facebook unsuccessfully on my mobile phone which wasn't responding too well after being crushed by myself during the fall earlier on, I got so engrossed in it that I almost missed the first goal of the game which came in the fifth minute after Rangers forced a corner on the right which was whipped in by Alejandro Faurlin high and in-swinging toward the centre of the goal about 8 yards out where it was met by an unmarked Sebsastian Polter who scored the most easiest header that he's ever likely to score and one has to really ask "where was the marking"?
     After the goal Preston did most of the attacking hoping that their efforts would be rewarded with the equalising goal but Rangers defended stoutly and tried hard to catch the lilywhites on the counter attack and finish the game off.
     Unfortunately, this game will be remembered not for the football but for the diabolical decisions made by the team of officials, goal kicks given as corners and visa versa, aggressive challenges on Preston players not penalised whilst a slightest touch on  a QPR player was deemed a free kick.  One incident in particular just before half time when a Preston player was wrestled to the ground in front of the referee and the man with the whistle just waved play on.  This incensed the home support that much that when the half time whistle finally blowed the ref and his colleagues were subjected to a barrage of boo's from the home faithful and had to be escorted off the field by stewards with "your not fit to referee" being screamed from the stands as they disappeared down the tunnel.
     The second half saw no improvement unfortunately in the football or the way that the game was reffed other than after the experience of half time the ref, Andy Woolmer changed his alliance to the home side instead of favouring QPR as he did in the first half which brought ironic and sarcastic cheers from the Preston fans.
   

    Phil Gibbs who was the fourth official wanted to get in on the act in the 78th minute when trying to introduce QPR substitute Massimo Luongo to the field whilst the player was receiving instruction from the coach the dug-out liaison referee was given a stern lecture from the Rangers manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and I bet it's still ringing in his ears at this time                                                                                 of writing.
     It looked as though both teams were happy with the 0-1 scoreline at times in this second period with Preston still hitting long and hopeful balls over the top of the Rangers defence which would be retrieved and given back to them by the opposition although Rangers did take the offensive a little toward the end of the normal time when Tjaronn Chery broke through the home defence and was one-on-one with Anders Lindegaard the Preston keeper but the big Dane saved with his legs and stopped the visitors going further in front.

     And as the first goal was early the last one was very late in fact 2 minutes into injury time when Gregg Cunninghan crossed from the left and sub Eion Doyle headed home from 12 yards into the keepers nearside corner of the net giving Preston a point in a game that looked like an away win for such a long time.    



       

   

 Deepdale is reputed to be the oldest footballing site in the world with other clubs selling up and moving to other areas this plot of land has been home to Preston North End for 141 years.

     Obviously the ground has been re-built since opening in 1875 starting with the Tom Finney stand which re-placed the old West stand 20 years ago and now is all seated fully covered stand which holds a capacity of 8,100 spectators at the cost of a mere 4 and a half million pounds.

     Two years later and the refurb continued with the construction of the Bill Shankly Kop end erected behind the goal to house 5,000 away supporters.  The theme of naming the stand after a past Preston North End legend continued as did the etching of the said Deepdale hero's face on the seats a welcome replacement of the relevant writing that appears at other venues around the country.

     At the other end of the stadium in 2001 the ground had a third stand re-built when the Alan Kelly stand was  erected in complete parity to the Bill Shankly Kop with the former goalkeeper's face also recreated as a design on the seating area as a lasting tribute to one of Preston's finest.  This stand holds a big part of North End's Vocal support.

     In 2008 the project was completed with the erection of the fourth and final stand to be re-built, the Invincible stand which is a tribute to the Preston North End team which went through the whole of the 1888/89 season unbeaten and were the first to achieve the league and FA cup double in a season.  The stand cost £9 million and is slightly different from the other three stands mainly due to the 22 executive boxes at the back which reduces the number of seats and replaces the picture etching with a plain old boring PNE FC.

     This is where I watched the game from and the view was uninterrupted and excellent it's just a shame that the football didn't come to the standards of the stand.  The food, drink and toilet area at the back of the stand looked as though it was still awaiting completion, there seemed to be no ceiling just an open view of lagged pipes and wiring and the toilets were roomy, open and adequate but with bare breeze-block walls, a lick of paint wouldn't have gone a miss.

     The food was good well, that which I tried was good, I was tempted with a meat and potato pie and it was exceptional in fact so good I had another one, (who ate all the pies?) I was undecided when I left the house whether or not to wear my jumper but I made the right decision in the end and wore it which was a good job for it was bloody freezing and so I kid myself that I had that second pie in a effort to keep me warm as my choice of drink, diet coke out of the cooler wasn't a good idea.  The pies were £2.80 a chuck and the diet coke was £2.20 a little expensive even for a football ground.  The entrance fee of £30 was a little high for a middle of the table Championship game, maybe they're still paying for all the alterations.

     And so now I'm back home it's off to the hospital for a hip replacement and Car Phone warehouse for a new phone, I hope I don't get the two confused. lol

                     MATCH DETAILS

  

VENUE #72 FOREST GREEN ROVERS The New Lawn Stadium

NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUE

20th February 2016

@ The New Lawn Stadium

Ground Capacity:- 5,140 (2,000 seated)

Kick Off:-  15:00

Entry Fee:-  £17

Programme:-  £3

Venue # 72

     OMG, never have I had a game marred so much by what was going on around me.  It all started though in the morning when I went on the FGR website to see if the game was still on to find that there wasn't many stand tickets left to watch the game and so I bought one on-line and collected it when I got to the ground.  There was only 4 seats available and all were on the front row near the centre circle, I thought that maybe they would have been elevated above pitch level slightly but no I was pitch level with just a set of stairs separating me from the dug out, I never got that close to the subs bench when I was playing Pub football over 20 years ago.  And so I was sitting with the subs, cameramen and the inbred fuckers and to top it all it never stopped raining and I was soaked.  One IBF was pacing along the touchline like the manager screaming and shouting at the Rovers team and blocking the view of people in the seats, mainly me, I'll still hear his voice as I'm trying to get to sleep tonight " COME ON PARKIN, MOOVE IT, YOUR STANDING STILL PARKIN GET IT UP FRONT.  MOOOVE IT, MOOOVE IT", and all this while the trainer was on the pitch tending an injured player.  The stewards never did a thing about it, mind you, they couldn't say a lot for they were blocking peoples view more than he was.
   

      I moved from the stand into the South terrace during half time in the hope of seeing something of the game and not having mad men screaming in my ear hole constantly and to be fare it was 50 per cent better as I did see more of what was happening on the pitch, (one out of two ain't bad), although it was at one end of the ground behind the goal.




     The first half, from what I saw of it was scrappy with neither side taking control of the game, chances were made but the attempts at goal more likely than not went over and out of the ground.  Matt Tubbs had a good shot saved by Rovers keeper Arnold on the half hour mark and a couple of minutes later Marsh-Brown had a shot saved by Ross Flitney in the Eastleigh goal.

     After the interval it seemed as though things were going to carry on in the same vein but then Eastleigh began to get a grip on the match and looked dangerous in the opposition penalty area and their persistence paid off in the 64th minute when James Constable got free just inside the Eastleigh 18 yard box and drove the ball into Arnold's left hand corner of the net.



     The Eastleigh joy only lasted 3 minutes though as a string of Rovers corners resulted in Jon Parkin getting on the end of a volley from around twelve yards which left Flitney with no chance, I think the home fans summed it up nicely when they chanted, "Not bad for a fat bastard".
     Both sides had chances to break the deadlock but it was that man again Jon Parkin in the 88th minute who broke the Eastleigh hearts all 3 and a half hundred of them when he netted the winner.
Ben Strevens of Eastleigh was given his marching orders in the 95th minute for spitting at an opponent.
   

    The New Lawn was opened at the beginning of the 2006/07 season replacing Forest Green's old
ground "The Lawn" which was situated a few hundred yards away from the new ground and has now been re-developed into a housing estate.
     Set in the Cotswold's in the beautiful town of Nailsworth on top of a hill which leaves it open to the elements and rather cold in the month of February.  The ground is situated over 3 miles away from the nearest railway station which is Stroud and another taxi journey for me there and back which is becoming a feature this                                                                   season.

     The Main stand is the main feature of the ground and is the only seated area for spectators.  It has a 2,000 fully seated capacity and looks rather splendid compared to the other 3 terraces, It also sports a cantilever roof and a set of executive boxes to the rear.  There is an area behind the stand to get food and drink and watch Sky sports during intervals.  The toilets are clean, modern and tidy a credit to the non league side.

     Across the other side of the pitch is the is the Barnfield terrace which is a small open affair with only seven steps high.  There are four floodlight pylons across the back and strangely the dug outs and changing rooms are situated on this side, it would have made more sense if they had been located on the side of the main stand.
    




     To the left of the Barnfield stand as you look at it is the South stand so called because it used to be a stand until the seats were removed to make it a behind the goal terrace for home supporters.  Apparently, the stand had been transported from the old Lawn ground and is of historical value.





   

 At the other end of the ground is the Nympsfield Road end and is the fully covered terrace for away supporters, this end also features part of the old Lawn ground in the form of the roof.  Away supporters are also allocated the corner of the main stand that joins onto the Nympsfield Road end.






     Overall, yes it is a modern ground and is sufficient for a National league side but if this team has desires on becoming a football league side which, given their position in the table could become a possibility next season then they must seriously think about relocating.  The ground is literally in the middle of no where miles away from the nearest railway station, it cost me £32 in taxi fares there and back today, I think I've spent more on taxi's this season than I have on actual train fare which is utterly ridiculous.
      Plus the fact that there are certain aspects to the layout of the ground that need attention if they do make the football league the stand is not segregated from the side of the pitch and it is possible to walk all round the perimeter which could be a safety issue if they are promoted.

     My verdict on what I've seen today is that if I had the chance to return to the New Lawn I would decline, I paid £17 for my ticket and what I was subjected to during the course of the first half was a disgrace.  The seats at the front of the pitch should not be allocated to paying customers as it's not possible to watch the game without interruption mainly from stewards and people who they let wonder the touch line.  I've never seen the likes of this before and I sincerely hope I never do again, POOR SHOW FGR.

                             MATCH DETAILS

VENUE #71 HIBERNIAN Easter Road

LADBROKES CHAMPIONSHIP

SATURDAY 23rd JANUARY 2016

@ EASTER ROAD, EDINBURGH

GROUND CAPACITY:-  20,451

KICK OFF:  15:00

ENTRY FEE:  £22

PROGRAMME:  £2  

VENUE # 71

     HIBERNIAN ... 3     St. MIRREN ... 1

      Once again a great day out in Scotland was marred by the journey or more specifically the mode of transport I use.  I told you in my last blog about the problems that the weather caused to the rail service, the persisting rain caused floods and landslides and closed the West coast passage to Glasgow central, well the repair work was in action on the Carlisle to Glasgow Central line today which meant that a bus service from Carlisle to Glasgow and Edinburgh was in operation.
      I must admit though the outward journey went quite smoothly catching the train at

Wolverhampton to Carlisle and the bus service was waiting at the front of Carlisle station to take us straight to Edinburgh.  On arrival at Waverley station I went to the rail information desk to ask about the journey back and was told that the coach service to Carlisle stopped at two o'clock and the East coast train to Birmingham passing through Newcastle and Doncaster had been cancelled.  Refusing to believe that I was going to be stuck in Edinburgh overnight I went back to the coach terminal and asked one of the stewards about the times of coaches back to Carlisle and he told me that they ran every two hours ending at 18:50
      That meant that there was a coach departing at 16:50 and if I caught it I would be able to make the last train to Wolverhampton which left at 20:00.  Needless to say I left the ground about 25 minutes early and ran the 20 mins walking distance to the coach terminal only to see as I got to the top of the street the Carlisle coach disappearing in the distance.

      Breathless, hot and tired I approached the coach stewards who told me to go and have a cup of coffee and return to them two hours later and they would see to it that I got back home that night and so I did to find two virgin train staff with the stewards discussing my predicament.  One of the Virgin staff saw the Hibernian programme in my hand and asked me if I had enjoyed the game and finding out that he was a Hibernian fan and had also been to the game earlier.  He said that because my ticket had advised me to catch the 18:50 coach back to Carlisle and there was no train there to connect with it he would arrange a taxi for me at Carlisle to take me back home at the expense of Virgin Trains and if I had gone to watch Hearts instead of Hibernian he would not have done this for me but I think he was only joking.
      And so my train journey back home consisted of a two hour mini bus ride from Edinburgh to Carlisle and a three hour taxi journey from Carlisle to Walsall and seeing that my return ticket to Edinburgh only cost me £30 for advanced booking I think that Virgin trains lost a good bit of money on my football trip.

      Hibernian as expected dominated most of this game and keep the pressure on league leaders

Rangers.  Hibees took the lead when Jack Baird brought down Liam Henderson about 4 yards outside the St. Mirren 18 yard box.  Henderson took the free kick himself bending it around the wall and keeper into the top far side corner of the net.
      The Saints keeper Jamie Langfield kept them in the game as Hibs got stronger and lay siege on the on the Buddies goal that was until the last minute of the first half when Jason Cummings set up John McGinn who stroked the ball home from 12 yards.

   The home sides cheers had barley died down when St. Mirren reduced the deficit when a free kick was awarded around the same distance as Henderson's but more central outside the Hibs penalty area.  Stevie Mallan struck the dead ball superbly finding Mark Oxley's bottom right hand corner.
      Play continued in the second as in the first with fine dominating work from the Hibernian side but it seemed as though the goals had dried up mainly due to some great goalkeeping from Langfield again who managed to keep the Easter road side out that is until the 90th minute when substitute Anthony Stokes on loan from Celtic tapped the ball home after some good work from fellow sub James Keatings.  

      Easter Road is a 20,451 all seated stadium built in 1893 where they've played their home football ever since.  Although the ground is a great age it has undergone vast improvement in the last two decades virtually being rebuilt to bring it up-to-date with modern health and safety measures. The name Hibernian was derived from the Roman name Hibernia which basically means Ireland and is a reason for the green and white kit colour.
    The ground is a 20 minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley railway station which is one of the better distances encountered by me this season.

   The East stand where I watched the game is the most recent to re-built with a 6,500 capacity, it is single tiered and is fully covered.  The stand is quite steep which means that even at the top you still feel quite close to the action on the pitch, although the steps up to the top would have even Rocky gasping for his breath.
      Behind the stand is a large area with lots of food and drink outlets and TV's to watch Scottish highlights on.  The entrances to the blocks are well sign posted so you can find your seat quite easily.
 The toilets are new, clean and quite big with lots of sinks to wash your hands in which is not high on the priority lists at most grounds.  The décor of the toilets could be a lot better though with just plain unpainted breeze blocks.

     On the opposite side of the pitch is the West stand which is the same size as the the east but is two tiered with a gap between to house corporate hospitality facilities.  The top tier is much larger than the bottom with a perspex strip under the roof to let in more natural light.
     This stand also houses the players tunnel, dugouts and also has wind-shields at each end of the stand as do the other three stands and although ten years older than the East stand is the more impressive to look at.

     The two ends of the ground known as the Famous five end and the south are two identical stands, being the oldest parts of the stadium both are two tiered and fully covered with a cantilevered roof  and have around a 4,000 seating capacity.   The famous five stand previously known as the North stand or Cowshed has function suites and lounges between the two tiers.





      The lower tier part of the South stand central behind the goal is dedicated to away support but if demand needs then the whole of the bottom tier is allocated.
      The South stand was known as the Dunbar before the modifications in the mid 90's solely because there was a lemonade factory of the same name behind it.

               MATCH DETAILS