Another visit to the North West

Another journey to the Manchester area, this time to see Forest play Wigan. They have started a bit uncertainly in the Championship, but, as a recently relegated Premier League club, they have class players and parachute payments making them a force in our league.

Let's get Wigan out of the way first, because the game was our first defeat. They played to their full potential in the first half, aided by a really pathetic referee, who just didn't improve throughout the game. We scored first from a fine free kick by Andy Reid, but they equalised with a penalty (no argument) and a tap-in after a great save by Darlow came back off the bar. Billy Davies changed the formation at half time and we dominated the second half, but never really came close. There were many chances, but all were squandered.

The stadium is on a piece of ground seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but actually quite close to the town. It may have seemed a bit remote to me because I approached it along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal; walking along the tow path, not on a boat. This was because, for want of anything else to do in Wigan in the hour or so I had free before the game, I had visited the famous Wigan Pier, immortalised by George Orwell. However, it is a bit of a disappointment.

The DW Stadium (named after Dave Whelan, the driving force and money behind Wigan FC) is a new build and consists of 4 stands, each looking similar to the others. Otherwise there is nothing of interest about the stadium at all. It has a bar, the Marquee, near the away supporters turnstiles which caters to home and away supporters and a fish and chip restaurant, Sharpy's, in it's own compound just a few yards away from the Marquee. The home support is quite small for such a stadium, but the stand next to the away supporters is packed at one end with a drummer who occasionally goes into a frenzy and the more vocal of the support. The away supporters totalled nearly 25% of the crowd.

The stewards at the end of the game obviously expected some crowd trouble, because they formed barriers to keep the home and away supporters apart for a few hundred yards, then the two groups merged. Seemed a pointless exercise, but on regaining my tow path for the walk back to the car, the whole of the home support going in that direction were walking down a narrow road and trying to cross a small footbridge over the canal, so perhaps the stewards were just acting as traffic wardens and not trying to prevent trouble.

I was planning to visit several other clubs on this weekend jaunt and my plans had been upset by Sky TV, who re-scheduled the Liverpool game from Saturday to the Sunday. As I had to pass through the heart of Liverpool to see both Liverpool and Everton and then cross the Mersey to visit Prenton Park, home of Tranmere Rovers, the thought of thousands of milling supporters and police traffic controls blocking my path, led to a re-think.

I decided to leave home a bit earlier and visit Anfield and Goodison on the Friday night before going to my hotel. This revised plan worked perfectly. It was a lovely evening as I parked up at Goodison Park, home of Everton FC. The ground was quiet, but I checked with a very nice lady on reception who explained that it would be possible to see inside the ground if I came back a bit later when the security man would be free to escort me. So I wandered round the outside of the ground. Like so many old and historic grounds, Goodison was built right in amongst the homes of the supporters. As the support increased outside the immediate neighbourhood, the need for more room inside obviously grew as well. Until, now, this ground is right up against the houses surrounding it and has nowhere else to go. Except for a small car park fronting Stanley Park and the church on Gwladys Street, the ground is within a few feet of every road running past it.

Despite the modernisation of it's ground, Everton feels and looks like a real, old-fashioned ground. Four stands of different character closely surround the pitch, which, in common with most grounds these days, is mounded up a few feet higher than it's surroundings. When I mentioned this, my guide explained that it was to accommodate the under soil heating. But I think it is just to aid drainage. Add in the close proximity of the stands and the cleverly placed kerb stones and it must be tricky to take a corner unless you are used to these impediments.

Anfield and Goodison are separated by Stanley Park, which looks pretty and well manicured in the satellite photos I studied before the visit, but in reality it is showing it's age. However, it is a welcome open space in the middle of the city. I left my car where it was and walked across the Park. I thought the first sight to greet me at Anfield would be the Hillsborough Memorial on Anfield Road, but because of extensive redevelopment going on in the area, I was guided to start my viewing at the other end of the ground. A rather undistinguished stand led me round to the famous Kop and the Paisley Gates. In contrast to the peaceful scene at Goodison, Anfield was abuzz with people, most of them seemingly from other parts of the world. Whereas I had been able to take a photo of Everton's Dixie Dean with no problem, trying to take a good photo of the statue of Bill Shankley was, well, trying.

Both grounds are in a deprived area of Liverpool and much of the area around Anfield is currently undergoing extensive redevelopment, particularly behind the Main Stand. Houses which haven't been knocked down yet are boarded up, waiting for the bulldozers. The Sky TV crews had made use of some of those areas to park their giant trucks, a full two days before the televised game. I suppose because of the crowds, the staff at Anfield get many requests such as mine, for a quick look inside the stadium and they were a bit dismissive of my pleas.

However, back at Everton, the friendly ground, my guide had turned up and was only too keen to show me inside the stadium. On these sneak visits, I try not to take advantage, so took a few photos, chatted for a couple of minutes and then left. I left with good vibes from Everton FC.

On Sunday, I left Wigan early. I drove back through Liverpool, past the two grounds, under the Mersey and on to Prenton Park, home of Tranmere Rovers.

This is another old ground, though, of course, considerably modernised, built in a residential neighbourhood. However, here there is no social deprivation; the ground is in leafy suburbs, but still shoehorned in among the houses and other buildings. I had arrived at about 6.45 on a Sunday morning expecting to find the ground shut up and the area quiet. Not a bit of it. A large car boot sale was in full swing and cars were pouring in through the entrance gates. Chatting to the nice man taking the entrance money, I discovered he was a steward at Rovers and would show me inside the ground! Result. However, I would have to wait for a few minutes for his mate to arrive and sub him on the gate. I took advantage of the time available to walk all around the outside of the ground. Like most grounds, Prenton Park is not particularly attractive viewed from the outside. Fans come to see their team play on the grass inside the stadium and money is always tight, so no point in spending it on fripperies on the outside. Just brick or concrete walls topped off by corrugated iron is good enough for those not lucky enough to have entry into the ground. I was tickled to see that the away support is housed in the 'Cowshed'.

I got back to the entry gate to the car park. My guide took me over and let me into the ground for a quick look and a couple of photos. Another nice man willing to show off his club to a visitor.

Then it was off to Wales. Wrexham was not initially on my list of clubs to visit because, sadly, they have dropped out of the League. On a side note, I was a bit confused to see that they play in the Skrill League. What? Skrill are the new sponsors of the Football Combination, a fact which had escaped me. However I was persuaded that the ground was on my route and is an international stadium, so I included it. On approach, I was very impressed by the scale and architecture of the main stand and frontage of the ground. Noting that, as with several of the stadiums I have visited so far, it is shared with a Rugby club. Much of the land around the stadium has been acquired by Glyndwr University and incorporated into their campus. I parked in a pub car park, not open that early, and circled the ground. three stands are all seater, but one still has terracing and looks rather tired and decrepit. I am becoming adept at poking my camera into unlikely holes in gates and fences and obtained several shots inside the ground.

Shrewsbury was the last ground on my list for this trip. It is a brand new ground, Town moving from their Gay Meadow ground in 2007, and for sponsorship purposes is known as Greenhous Meadow (not a spelling mistake).

The structure is similar to other new grounds and consists of four separate stands. However, because the linking walls are curved it gives, from a distance, the impression of a bowl. I liked it. I don't know why, but it gives the impression of space, being well-planned and friendly. Indeed, it has plaques on the wall of the main stand claiming it to be "Family Club of the Year", but the actual year escapes me. Again, no one was home, but I found a few chinks in the gates and was able to take pictures of the interior.

Couple of points I noted. There are five-a-side pitches to one side of the ground for the local Power League and cars were arriving all the time loaded with players ready to play a bit later (it was still quite early for a Sunday).  Also noted was the ticket office, which is on the outside of the main stand. Prospective spectators buying their tickets presumably have to stand outside in the prevailing weather protected only by a narrow perspex overhang. Alright in the kind of weather I was standing in, but a bit tough in a mid-December snowstorm.

It was time to take my leave and drive home. A full and very satisfying weekend. As a footnote, two days later, both Shrewsbury Town and Tranmere Rovers played home games in the Johnson's Paint Trophy and both lost. Am I a bad influence?