North to Doncaster

Yet another trip up the A1, this time to Doncaster Rovers. In addition, I visited Scunthorpe United and Hull City.

Rovers have a new build stadium, completed in 2007. It is a bowl type stadium with nothing of interest at all. The seating runs around the ground with corners in-filled and each stand looks like all the others. Like all newly built stadiums, it does what it needs to do and has all facilities, but it is just so bland. The ground is set in a parkland type setting to the front with beautifully manicured grassy areas and a more or less circular lake surrounded by hotels and walkways. Just across the main road is the famous Doncaster Racecourse.  The walkway running round the ground is named Alick Jeffery Way in tribute to the Donny player of some years ago. A bright young prospect, he broke his leg badly in a England U23 game (that was the age limit in those days). Medical science then was not what it is these days and it looked as if his career was over before it had properly begun. However, he fought back and played many times for Doncaster Rovers again.

At the rear of the stadium are an assortment of other pitches used for football (both soccer and American football) and a well equipped athletics stadium, all being enthusiastically used whilst we assembled for our match. Also close to the Keepmoat Stadium is an indoor sports and fitness facility. Altogether a pretty good sporting set up.

Also at the rear of the stadium is a brown field site ripe for redevelopment, but which at the moment is rather scruffy. Part of this area is covered in cinders and used as an away supporters car park. As Forest brought a large following (over 4000 of us) this was useful for parking many of the coaches used. I parked in a residential area close to this site and found parking easy . Some of the area is very run down, but efforts have been made to completely redevelop a few of the streets and houses and I have no doubt that there is an on-going plan to sort out the whole district.

Before the game the MC did the usual chat on the microphone for the benefit of the Doncaster fans then wandered over to chat to the assembled Forest supporters. Rather amusingly he gave us a potted history of our club (whilst looking rather sheepish [no reference to D***Y there!] thinking that, no doubt, we might know those facts well enough). I couldn't hear too much of what he said, because the PA , as usual, was garbled/muffled.

As to the game itself, let's just say Forest had the lion's share of possession, gave away two goals because of shocking defensive lapses and in the end managed to salvage a point. Two points lost at this game.

It was a beautiful late summer day and I drove, as planned, up to the hotel in Scunthorpe in order to be in position to visit my first stadium of the next day, Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park. I used to copy local maps off the computer to take with me (not being conversant with mobile devices), but the sat nav, although being rather old, has been operating very efficiently, so I have recently dispensed with many of the printed maps. Bit of a mistake! The address I had was simply Glanford Park, Doncaster Road with a postcode. My sat nav found this a bit difficult, but I thought, find the right area and there is bound to be a sign to Glanford Park. Wrong. I headed up the long Doncaster Road in the wrong direction. Stopped to ask a group of lads about to start work at the local Sainsbury's store. They very kindly gave clear directions and informed me that, in fact, the store was built on the site of the old Scunthorpe ground, the Old Show Ground. I thought they might be pulling my leg, but when I got home, I entered the Old Show Ground address in Google maps and, sure enough, they were right.

Glanford Park is set in it's own area of ground, but close to many other inhabitants of a retail park. In fact I had a job to take a photo of the entrance gate without including 'Frankie & Benny's' local outlet.

The ground apparently was the first new build league stadium since WWII, in 1988, and is now showing it's age. It is totally enclosed in a sort of bowl, breeze blocks up to head height and aluminium shuttering the rest. There is plenty of car parking area which allows the club extra revenue by holding regular car boot sales. There was one taking place at the time of my visit, which was a bit of luck, because members of the club were on hand to allow me into the ground to walk down the tunnel and out onto the pitch. Well, not actually the pitch, because clubs jealously guard the pitch itself and I never take liberties in this direction. The lovely young lady and steward who allowed me in (after checking with their boss) were helpful and proud of their club, like so many of the people I have encountered during the first few months of my quest.

Scunthorpe have honoured an ex-player by naming one of their lounges "The Sir Ian Botham Executive Lounge". Botham played for Scunthorpe during the late 70s/early 80s for a few games, but, of course, is better known as a great cricketing all-rounder.

I bade farewell to Scunthorpe and travelled the short distance, via the Humber Bridge, an imposing structure, to Hull City and their home, the KC Stadium. This is a new build in a pleasant parkland setting housing both Hull City FC and Hull FC, one of the local rugby league clubs. The club moved from their former ground Boothferry Park the short distance to the KC in 2002.

The ground is of the usual bowl appearance outside. Despite efforts by architects to force some individuality on these new grounds they all seem to be in one or two distinct styles and, quite frankly, to me appear a bit boring, if functional. There is the 'bowl' style favoured by the bigger clubs or wannabe bigger clubs (KC Stadium and Stadium MK) and the 'four stands' style ( Northampton and Colchester). Older grounds with their piecemeal additions are much more atmospheric and interesting, in my opinion. I was not able to get into the ground and found only the entrance area to the KC Stadium to be worth photographing and that is quite tricky because of all the mature trees surrounding it. Also because of the sun shining low in the sky on that magnificent autumnal day. Nevertheless, it is a fine ground and I'm sure every fan and player of Hull City is pleased to be associated with such a modern stadium.

The ground is a community stadium which is very clearly noted several times in and around the stadium. Notably by the granite obelisk outside the main entrance which lists the name of every council member who sat on any committee involved in the setting up of the stadium.

Then it was homeward bound to await the visit of Derby County for our home version of the East Midlands derby with the winner receiving the Brian Clough Trophy. Nice to win the trophy, but gaining three points against Derby is infinitely better.