Down Cold Blow Lane again

Our next game was on a Tuesday evening at The Den (no longer the New Den) to play Millwall. Owing to a mix up in appointments I had to change my original schedule for this game, going up to town on the Monday before and returning home immediately after the game.

I started the visit by going down to Cockfosters tube station and visiting Arsenal and Spurs on Monday. The idea of going to London fills me with dread and the idea of trying to drive from ground to ground makes me feel suicidal. So I decided to find a tube station within easy reach of the M25 and on the right line for at least one of the above clubs. Hence Cockfosters to Arsenal was easy so I chose that station. I bought a sort of 'rover' ticket and set off for Arsenal tube station. I first went there with our next door neighbour, a Gooner fan, to see our boys play the fourth match in the season Cloughie got us back up to the First Division, 3 September 1977. John used to come out of the station, walk over the road and go a few yards to his favourite position on the terrace of the West Stand, so I went with him. We got easily beaten 3-0 that day, one of only three defeats that season when we won the First Division title! I can pick 'em.

Anyway, I walked out of the tube station, up the road to see what is left of Highbury.
It is possible to walk through and round the blocks of flats which have been erected in the shell of the old ground (one comment made to me was "millionaires row" when referring to these flats) but not onto the garden which has been created on the old pitch. That is for residents only.
The East and West stands were Grade 2 listed so had to be retained, but the North and South Stands have been completely demolished. I have to say that the whole area has been immaculately developed and indeed said so to a passer by. This young lady was a resident and was only too eager to chat about the flats. Seeing that I posed no threat she very kindly let me into the garden area to have a different view on the place. I also got to see the memorial bench hidden away in one corner of the garden.
Sadly the famous gun logo on the old East Stand, on Avenell Road,  was covered in builders scaffolding.

After a good scout round the old Arsenal Stadium, I walked round the corner to the new Arsenal Stadium, the Emirates Stadium. Apparently more correctly called Ashburton Grove, presumably because they completely removed a road called Ashburton Grove in the building of the stadium. Like many of these new builds the whole plan was beset with problems, but these were overcome and the ground was opened officially (they had to have three test events before a certificate was granted) in October 2006. I think it is a very high quality stadium. Not your usual soulless bowl, but still lacking the real character which existed at Highbury. Despite my pleading and hang-dog look, the only way they were going to let me into the ground was to buy a tour ticket. These tours run all day on an ad hoc basis; no need to book, just turn up and pay and off you go. The staff issue you with a sort of "Walkman"-type player to dangle round your neck and magically Bob Wilson comes through your headphones to guide you around at your own speed. I could only take Bob for about five minutes and then turned him off, preferring to talk to the many 'hosts' who lined the route.

I enjoyed my tour, spending far longer in and around the ground than I had planned. Chatting to the host in the Director's Lounge, I discovered that the moveable lights used to assist the grass to grow (essential in the bowl-type stadiums, particularly, because of the lack of light within due to their construction) which now feature on most grounds here, were actually first used in the Dutch bulb fields and initially adopted by Dutch clubs such as Ajax. I also discovered that the famous clock featured on the South Stand at Highbury was made in Derby!! This clock has been moved to the Emirates and faces outside the stadium with a statue of Herbert Chapman looking up at it.

The clock visible inside the stadium is a copy.

At last I left the ground and set off for White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur.  I discovered my 'rover' ticket entitled me to use overground trains as well, so I travelled to White Hart Lane station and walked to the ground. Actually, I needn't have bothered. The chap guarding the main gates wouldn't let me inside the gates, let alone walk around taking photos. Security he said. I could have gone on a tour, but they only have two a day and the last one had gone. Plus, I had to book anyway. I stood chatting to him hoping he would see what a fine fellow I am and soften his stance. Not a bit of it, though he did regale me with stories about Des Walker, a former Forest and England player, (famous among Forest fans for the phrase "You'll never beat Des Walker") with whom he went to school. Des had a trial with Spurs, but was deemed not good enough.

So I left, deflated. As I headed back to the station I noted the great expanse of open land adjacent to the old stadium upon which much building work was taking place, the whole area surrounded by hoardings proclaiming a brand new stadium for the team and a brand new regeneration of the area.

I had booked into a hotel in Dagenham for the night so I headed there, ready to recharge the batteries for the busy day to follow. Dagenham is probably not the first place people think of when visiting London or football grounds. However, the hotel was within easy walk of Dagenham Heathway station and Dagenham and Redbridge FC ground. And this tube line gave me easy access to Upton Park for West Ham Utd and Leyton for Leyton Orient FC. Plus it was only just off the A13 which led me directly to the Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames, on to the A2 and a short hop to New Cross Gate, my first stop for Millwall. Parking in London always gives me a tremor because each Borough makes up it's own rules, so I try to make parking easy, and here it was very easy; I just left my car in the hotel car park for the day until ready to depart for Millwall.

Thus I proceeded to The Daggers ground on Victoria Road in Dagenham. The ground was the home of Dagenham FC from 1955 until the merger with Redbridge Forest in 1992. It is an old traditional ground with four separate stands. Three are low and look very neat and the fourth, the Traditional Builders stand is new and a size above the others.

This stand and the main stand are all-seater whilst the other two are still terraces. The Main Stand doesn't run quite the length of the pitch with the missing section in-filled by a small stand holding a couple of hundred people. The players tunnel used to exit the main stand between the dugouts, but now the dressing rooms are in the Traditional Builders stand, the tunnel comes out in the middle of this stand. Another interesting feature of this stand is that it boasts an away fans bar and is the only place in the ground you can get an alcoholic  drink at half time, a bonus for the away fans.

I wandered around the ground looking for photo opportunities dodging the many local people attending what looked like a collecting point for charitable clothing donations. I noticed a couple of people who appeared to belong in the area. It turned out the young lady was not only able to show me the ground, but willing to escort me to all areas, including the kit room, the changing rooms and other areas one never normally gets to see. It also turned out that, although she was a valued member of the staff at Dagenham, her heart was really elsewhere, because she admitted to being a West Ham season ticket holder! I was also able to have a long chat to the gentleman who lovingly tends the Programme Shop in the stadium. They had a fire about 12 months ago and much of his stock was lost. Even so he was able to show me programmes of Nottingham Forest v Dagenham and Redbridge 7 October 1998,
when they were all impressed by Jean-Claude Darcheville, and the European Cup semi-final at the CG against Cologne.

This was a very good start to my day. Such friendly people who went out of their way to show me their ground and talk about football. Then, sadly, I came up against the Premier League face of football again. I caught the tube to Upton Park and walked down to West Ham Utd at the Boleyn Ground.

The impressive main stand is linked to the equally impressive Bobby Moore stand and the Trevor Brooking stand giving an impression of a fine ground. The East Stand, opposite the main stand, is much smaller. There were plans to increase the size of this stand, but because of the impending move of the club to the refurbished Olympic Stadium at Stratford, these have now been shelved. The main stand is officially known as the Alpari Stand, a commercial arrangement. I realise selling commercial naming rights is considered an essential these days, but it does lead to stands changing name with great regularity and the average fan being confused over which stand is which. Naming a stand after an individual who has achieved great things with a club, individuals such as Bobby Moore and Trevor Brooking, is, to my mind,  a much better and more permanent solution.

Main reception was the closest I got to the inside of Upton Park, the popular name of the Boleyn Ground. The security man on duty point blank refused my request for a view inside the ground, citing the fact that the players were training on the pitch at that time. A fact I knew to be untrue as I had, as is my wont, wandered around the ground and peered into it round doors and through whatever cracks I could find. There was nothing on the pitch except the artificial daylight machines used to stimulate grass growth. I left feeling a bit underwhelmed. However, West Ham are not the first and won't be the last to refuse me entry; after all it's their ground and if they don't want me to see it, then that is their right. I went along to Barking Road to see the statue commemorating the part played by three West Ham players (the statue also includes Ray Wilson of Everton) in England's World Cup triumph of 1966.

My final visit before leaving for Millwall was to Leyton Orient FC and their ground, Brisbane Road. Now officially called the Matchroom Stadium because of commercial rights. Selling these rights is an important issue in modern football, particularly for the clubs lower down the league pecking order. Any increase in the revenue stream is welcomed.

Off the tube at Leyton station and a short walk along Leyton High Road to the ground. A lot of work has been done on the O's ground over the last few years. I suspect much of the finance has been released by the decision to make land available to property developers. On arrival at the Matchroom Stadium the eye is immediately taken by residential development behind the South Stand overlooking the unexpected and well-kept open area of Coronation Gardens.

Only when one sees more of the ground does it become apparent that flats have been built in the corners of the ground as well. It is the first time I have seen this form of development and it seems an excellent way of improving finances for smaller clubs, particularly in built up areas. The arrangement does have a slight drawback, though. I remember a game towards the end of the end the 2006/7 season. A chap came out onto his balcony in a flat adjacent to the away supporters, who were in high spirits. The poor chap had to retreat inside after a while due to the scorn poured on him by the fans!

The improvements to the club's financial fortunes is visible when one visits Brisbane Road itself to see the old entrance to the club (the club offices are now in the re-built West Stand on Oliver Road) and view the one remaining stand that has not been rebuilt.

As usual, I popped into the Reception area and asked if it was possible to see inside the ground. The young lady on duty tried to phone around, but was unable to raise anybody senior enough. Slightly deflated, I wandered off down the road and struck lucky. One of the gates was open to allow a van access. I slipped past the van, popped into the ground by the corner of the South and West Stands and took my photos and video. Feeling chuffed to have penetrated the defences once again, I made my way back to Leyton Station. Thence to Dagenham Heathway and my car.

Parking is always on my mind in London. Looking up Millwall's ground, I noticed that there is a Sainsbury's superstore adjacent to New Cross Gate tube station. Free parking, a loo and cheap petrol! Result. Plus it was in easy reach of The Den. My plan was to park up, relax for a bit then walk around the local area and find a parking space even closer to the ground. I eventually found a parking space right at the top of Brocklehurst  Street at its junction with Cold Blow Lane. In fact, looking over just to my right, 20 years ago I would have been looking at the Den, home of Millwall at that time. Now it is given over to residential properties, the stadium having moved a short distance North. At the time, the Den was a most intimidating stadium, particularly for away fans housed in a crumbling terrace in one corner of the ground; sharing their area with the legs of one of the floodlight pylons.

The ground is now made up of four separate stands, the ones at the end of the ground looking similar and those lining the pitch also looking alike. In fact the only difference I could see between the Dockers (East) Stand and the Barry Kitchener (West) Stand was that the West Stand has an open terrace running along it's middle section where the East Stand has a row of executive boxes. This open terrace has a few individual seats on it and which appeared to be used by stewards. In one corner between the East and North Stand is a slightly moth-eaten video screen.  The South Stand bears the name Cold Blow Lane on it's façade.

Millwall used to have a reputation for the toughness of their supporters and their chant of "No one likes us, we don't care". This is no longer quite true, but the club are aware that tensions may still simmer below the surface. Thus the away turnstiles are housed in a closed off area of the ground with it's own exit to, in one direction, the train station, and in the other direction, to the away fans coaches. The whole area being shut in by high metal fencing. Even the away team players coach is kept in this secure area.

The game itself was, as usual, marked by Forest's determination to give the opposition a head start. A poor headed clearance within the first ten minutes fell to a Millwall man and he made no mistake. After about half an hour a somewhat speculative shot by Andy Reid caught out their keeper to level the scores and from then until the interval there was only one team in it. However, this season, our opponents only seem to require a sniff of goal and they score whereas we need a hatful of chances to notch a goal. And so it proved again early in the second half. A mix up in the Forest area and another shot flashed into the Forest net, 2-1. Behind again, but again we drew level; Nate Chalobah, on loan from Chelsea, scoring with a header from an Andy Reid corner.

Another game which might have appeared exciting to the neutral, but nail biting to the fans, was over ending in another draw. A short walk to the car and I left for home after a busy couple of days.