VENUE #76 FULHAM Craven Cottage

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP  

Saturday 20th August 2016

@Craven Cottage, London

Ground Capacity:  25,678

Kick Off: 15:00

Entry Fee:  £40

Programme:  £3.50 

Venue #76

     Arrived in Putney around 13:30 using my usual mode of transport British Rail and of course the London underground.  The weather was sunny with a few clouds and a strong wind which could have effected the afternoon's football.  Just a 15 minute walk from the station to Craven Cottage and quite picturesque it was too crossing the Putney bridge that spans over the River Thames, couldn't but help taking a few pictures of the river which looked a bit manky as the cloud thickened above it.  Once across to the other side walked down the steps leading to the walkway that stretched along side the river and saw a couple of rowers paddling their vessels and I wondered if they were ball boys taking position and getting ready for some potential action.

     Moving further along I cut through Bishop's park and could see the new floodlights of Craven Cottage in the distance and getting closer could see the ground emerge obscured by trees which there were plenty as you would expect in an English park.  Finally came to the outside perimeter of the ground and couldn't believe how close it was to the river, there is no question why the stand that runs alongside the Thames is called the Riverside.  Keeping to the path that runs along the back of the Putney end and exit's the park onto Stevenage Road where I turned right on saw the bricked building that encases the Stenenage Road stand now called the Johnny Haynes stand named after the Fulham legend of the 50's and 60's who made just short of 600 appearances scoring 146 goals.

     The police presence was vast the biggest I've seen since starting this venture 4 seasons ago, they were everywhere on foot, horseback and in vehicle but there were a lot of Cardiff fans in and around Stevenage road although they seemed to be very well behaved.  I bought a programme and took loads more pictures before visiting the souvenir shop to purchase my usual host team scarf which now seem to be taking over my small computer room and then entered the ground via turnstile 20 of the Johnny Haynes stand

     Found my own way to my seat without the usual assistance of the stewards, everything was well labelled and easy to find for a change but was a bit taken aback when I saw where I'd be watching the match from.  I know it's a grade 2 listed building but should football fans still be subjected to sitting on wooden seats in a stand made of wood.  I know that the Bradford City incident at Valley parade was many years ago but I thought safety standards were greatly improved after this tragedy.  I must admit to feeling a little uncomfortable and not just because the seats were wooden and the leg space was very cramped, I was very fortunate for there was no-one sitting next to me either side and was able to stretch out to the sides.

     Toilet facilities were very basic and far too small for a side in the Sky Bet Championship it makes me wonder how they they managed when they were in the Premiership and what will happen if they ever get promoted again.  Food facilities were ample but far too expensive as they usually are at London grounds.  Lots of TV's to watch pre match football or Sky half time service during interlude but area which was situated at the back of the stand was also on the small side.

THE MATCH

     I watched a dull and boring game at the begging of the week featuring Cardiff City which they lost 1-0 to Bristol Rovers after extra time.  It was the most boring game of football that I've ever had the misfortune to watch and this game started in the same manner.  Things did improve though but it took 44 minutes for the opening goal to arrive.  Sone Aluko managed to turn Matthew Connolly and find substitute Ryan Sessegnon who had only been on the field 3 minutes after replacing injured Floyd Ayite, the 16 year old managed to scramble the ball into the back of David Marshall's net.

     After the break Cardiff seemed the more likely and after a dressing room dressing down by their manager levelled the game after an hour's play.  The goal came from nowhere when Joe Ralls found space and curled a fine shot into Button's top right hand corner of the net.

     Five minutes later and the Bluebirds had turned the match around with an almost carbon copy of the first goal.  Anthony Pilkington cut inside and struck another 20 yard plus curler this time into David Button's right hand bottom corner and sent the away support wild and the home support wild with anger and frustration.

     Peter Whittingham nearly made it 3-1 when his free kick from 25 yards hit the Fulham crossbar and bounced downwards toward the goal line but Button managed to gather the ball to safety.

     Cardiff couldn't send their travelling fans home totally happy though for with just four minutes left of normal time Kevin McDonald drilled a long ranged shot through a crowd of defenders leaving Marshall unsighted and unmoved as the ball struck the back of his net to level the game once more in favour of Fulham sending their fans home happier and relieved and maintaining their unbeaten run of the season thus far.

     The Johnny Haynes stand originally called the Stevenage Road stand is believed to be the oldest remaining stand in the football league dating back to 1905 and features original wooden seating to the rear.  At the front of the stand used to be terracing but now is filled with plastic seats to bring it up to modern day standards.  Another original feature are the roof support pillars of which there are a number that can impair your vision depending on where you are sitting.  The stand also houses the club shop and the ticket offices.  This stand is a grade II listed building.

     On the other side of the pitch running the touch line is the Riverside stand which, as the the name suggests sits on the banks of the river "Thames".  Opened in 1972 the Riverside was raised above pitch level until the mid naughties when extra seating was added to bring the stand to pitch side level.  It has windshields situated either side of the stand and a couple of supporting pillars.  There are executive boxes running across the back which houses the TV gantry.

     The two ends of the ground are quite similar to look at both were once terracing which was replaced by seats to bring them up to football legality.  The Hammersmith end has a large pillar situated to the front and middle of the structure which is a disappointing aspect to an otherwise fine looking stand.

     The Putney Road end also has supporting pillars but these one's stretch right across the stand just below half way down.  This stand hosts the away fans and has a plane tree situated in the corner by the river which makes it the only senior football ground still to have a tree inside it's perimeter. 

     The Pavilion is lies in the corner between the Johnny Haynes stand and the Putney end.  This small building is often mistaken for the cottage which was demolished many years ago.  In the other three corners of the ground are what has been described as large filing cabinets but they are actually executive boxes at three levels.

                      MATCH DETAILS

VENUE #75 CRYSTAL PALACE Selhurst Park

BARCLAYS PREMIERSHIP

7th May 2016


@ Selhurst Park, London

Ground Capacity:  26,309

Kick Off:  15:00

Entry Fee:  £35

Programme:  £3.50

Venue #75

     Today was the story of two number sixteen's one wiry old midfielder in Stoke colours named Charlie Adam who opened the scoring and a young striker from Crystal Palace name Dwight Gayle who notched a brace to equalise and win the game for the team in blue and red.

     The game started quite brightly and was quite open at times with both teams making scoring chances.  The home fans were buzzing with excitement mainly caused by their trip to Wembley in two weeks time in the FA cup final against Manchester United.  It wasn't long though before the mood change when in the 26th minute some fine play between Giannelli Inbula and Marko Arnautovic saw the latter play a well weighted ball through the Palace defence for Charlie Adam to curl a shot across Wayne Hennessey in the Eagles goal and into the bottom far side of the net.

     This brought the Stoke fans to life as well as quietening the home fans the Potters support always have a presence where ever they go and they got behind and lifted their side who were content with keeping eleven men behind the ball which frustrated Palace who just couldn't seem to find a way through.  I watched Stoke At the Britannia a couple of seasons ago against Norwich and they won that game 1-0 with a goal from Charlie Adam and I was wondering if that fete was to be repeated here.

     Two minutes after the break and my fears were dispelled when Yannick Bolasie wriggled is way through the Stoke defence and seemed to be tripped in the box but referee Kevin Friend waved play on as the ball fell to Gayle who stroked the ball past Jacob Haugaard into the bottom left hand corner of the net. 

     Twenty five minutes later and the home side were ahead when Connor Wickham was brought down by Ryan Shawcross 25 yards out from the goal line.  Up stepped the Crystal Gayle to the plate and struck a mighty fine free kick straight into the top left hand corner of the net leaving the home support in raptures and with cries of glad all over and we're going to Wembley they saw their team hold on to victory and secure another season in the top flight. 

     

     

     Selhurst Park is a mixture of new and old holding 26,309 spectators all seated at the max. with the oldest part, the Main stand dating back to 1924 when the ground opened.  Single tiered and fully covered this stand is in need of modification as there are roof supporting pillars that make viewing difficult if seated behind them and also, as you can imagine being 92 years old it is showing signs of decay in many parts not fitting for an English Premiership side although there has been some modification in the nineties toward the rear of the stand and there has been some new seats fitted quite recently although they are quite close together not much room for legs if you're 6 foot plus.  The stand can now seat  6,163 supporters.
     Underneath the stand which you have to pass through either coming in or going out is a bar which has a very tiny outlet which serves food and hot/cold drinks which is manned by two people the same as the bar, God knows how they manage to keep the customers satisfied if they ever get a rush on at half time people would be returning to their seats to find the match has ended.  The toilets in this bar are very small and not adequate. 

     Across the pitch is the Arthur Wait stand, capacity 9,754 and is another single tiered fully covered construction which is slightly newer than the main stand built in 1969.  This stand also has supporting pillars and is showing it's age and is where 2,600 away fans can view the game.

     The Holmesdale Road stand behind the goal is a big two tiered affair built in the mid 90's with a grand total of 8,147 seats lower tier holding 5,341 spectators and the upper 2,806 which overhangs the lower with wind shields either side.  This is the newest part of the stadium and the most impressive with most the home supporters taking advantage of this grand structure.

     At the other end of the pitch is the Whitehorse Lane end also known as the Croydon Advertiser family stand which has an unusual look as it's got 24 executive boxes added to the rear.  This stand used to be an open terrace until Sainsbury's purchased some of the land in the eighties and built a supermarket which is still there today.  Now it's a fully covered and seated stand that can hold 2,245 people.



     The club shop is across the road from the main stand on the outside of the ground and is just a small portacabin which has a guy allowing a small amount of people in from the queue at a time as people exit the shop.  I don't know how the staff manage in this place either for the heat was horrendous I was only in there for around 15 minutes and the sweat was running rivers out of me, I was glad to get out of there when I did as I don't think I could have lasted another minute.

                          MATCH DETAILS

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