I (Sort of) Like to be Beside the Seaside

The next game was against Preston North End at Deepdale in the FA Cup Third Round replay. We won 2-0 with a first half goal from Jamie Mackie and a very late goal, after much pressure from Preston, from Darius Henderson. I simply could not afford the cost of the travel up to Preston (mind you, I had to write off the cost of the ticket as away season ticket holders get sent tickets automatically, but the cost of the ticket was only £5, fortunately) so had to content myself with the TV coverage.

This winter, since about Christmas, the storms have been rolling in from the Atlantic. I've been pretty lucky (the fans at Preston were not so lucky, they got drenched) and missed the worst of the floods and the near-hurricane force winds, but at our next game, against Blackpool, the luck changed. Travelling up to the Lancashire coast wasn't too bad, a long journey, but the elements were with me. However, nearing Blackpool, the weather started to deteriorate. By the time I had arrived at my parking spot, only a few hundred yards from Bloomfield Road, the wind was really blowing and the rain was teeming down. As kick-off approached, the rain eased a bit and I was able to wander round the ground, taking my photos and video and chatting to some of the locals (though I have to admit that I knew more about the club and ground than a couple of car park stewards I met).

Bloomfield Road, home of the Seasiders, is only a few hundred yards from the sea front at Blackpool and has been the home of the club since 1901, when they merged with South Shore FC, who then owned it. Originally called Gamble's Field, the name was later changed to that of the road on which it stood. It has been almost completely rebuilt in the last 20 years. Plans were laid for a move to a new area and a brand new stadium was to be built, but the then owner and chairman was convicted of criminal charges and the move quietly shelved. Instead, the Bloomfield Road ground was developed. I say "almost completely rebuilt" because there is still one stand, the East Stand, which is of temporary construction, The other three stands are of single tier construction and with the corners filled in.
The Armfield (South) Stand is also in-filled round to the temporary East Stand, so the only open corner of the ground is at the end of this temporary stand, which is where the away supporters are housed. And on this day the wind howled through this gap in the stands, sweeping the rain into the faces of the away support.

There are two statues situated at either end of the ground. Up at the Armfield Stand end there is, appropriately, one of Jimmy Armfield, who played the whole of his career with the club, a total of 627 matches. He also played for and captained England and later turned his hand to management. Also built in to this stand is the Blackpool FC Hotel.
 At the other end of the stadium, behind the stand named after him, is a statue of Stan Mortensen, who played most of his career at Blackpool and was also an England international. He scored a hat-trick in the 1953 FA Cup Final, "The Matthews Final". The West Stand is named after the other great Blackpool Stanley, Matthews, in recognition of his contribution made to the club on the field.

The Forest side was considerably changed from the side that faced Preston. One notable change was the return of Jack Hobbs to central defence, resuming his partnership with Jamaal Lascelles. Danny Collins has proved to be a very able deputy in Hobbs' absence, but I feel we are more secure with Hobbs beside Lascelles. The Reds turned out in their new  '2014'  away kit (there are only 2014 of these kits going to be made available to fans and they will be used on five occasions during the remainder of this season) which is white with blue trim and blue shorts. Cynics would suggest this is a cheap money-grabbing endeavour, but I think it has more to do with players having trouble picking out other members of the team wearing that ghastly grey kit with which we started the season. I have a feeling we will not see it's like again.

The match was a classic "game of two halves", due mainly to the strength of the wind. Just before half time, Lascelles converted a floated free kick from Reid, to score his first goal for the club. Great joy. Then during a spell of second half pressure, Blackpool scored in the 86 minute with a header from a cross nearly identical to the Reid centre for our goal. It would have been great to hang on to our lead and record a win, but a draw away from home is always acceptable. It was a pleasure to retreat from the cold wind and slashing rain, though I was warm and dry in my rain-proof tracksuit which the London Marathon organisers gave me in 1990. (It's a long story). It is rather colourful and one of the Blackpool stewards complimented me on my sartorial elegance. (At least, I think it was a compliment!!)

I made my way to my hotel and prepared for my visit next day to Fleetwood Town and Morecambe. The clubs are in close proximity to each other, but to drive from one to the other takes some time because they are coastal towns in somewhat isolated positions.

Fleetwood was my first port of call. I found the ground with no trouble, situated beside a charming park, named Memorial Park which is entered through some fine, ornate gates. Sadly I couldn't find who exactly they were commemorating, but perhaps the fact that Fleetwood Town have a stand named the Memorial Stand, honouring those who lost their lives in the service of their country and trawlermen lost at sea from the port of Fleetwood gives the clue? I drove down beside the Park to the main entrance of Highbury Stadium. Yes, there still is a Highbury though slightly more modest than the one most of us used to know.

The club have been at their current home since 1934. They have only recently gained their first promotion to the football league after a rather chequered history, going through several incarnations, from Fleetwood FC in 1908, through Fleetwood Town FC to Fleetwood Wanderers, then, bizarrely, Fleetwood Freeport FC (sponsorship again) and finally back to Fleetwood Town FC.

In the last ten years or so they have made a meteoric rise through the football pyramid and were promoted from the Football Conference at the end of the 2011-12 season. During this leap up through the leagues, changes were forced on the club by the increasingly severe demands of each league regarding the standard of the ground. With the result that Fleetwood now have a smart, neat and tidy ground despite being newcomers to the FL. Sadly, because of my schedule I had to visit on a Sunday and the ground was locked. The only sign of life was the youth team coach disappearing into the distance as I arrived. So I wandered around the perimeter fence, but could find no chinks in their security.

I managed to take a few photographs hanging through the railings (mainly of the Parkside Stand), but was denied any meaningful photo opportunities.

It was still blowing quite a storm with the occasional spits of rain which cut right through me, but to the hardy trawlermen of Fleetwood I suppose it was just a gentle breeze. I now made my way up the coast to Morecambe. Not for me the pleasures of a drive by the sea with spectacular scenery, but a drive through flat countryside, inland, up to and through Lancaster before again heading to the coast.

Morecambe FC, the Shrimps (considering the location and important local occupation, an obvious nickname), are another club who have recently been promoted to the football league, in 2006/7 after a playoff win against Exeter City, and who have a very smart stadium. In Morecambe's case, a very new stadium indeed, The Globe Arena(named after the construction company, a novel idea). After playing at Christie Park for 89 years, they moved to the new stadium in time for the 2010/11 season.

Approaching the ground from the main road, one is impressed by the size and appearance of the main stand. This is a little deceptive however as the rest of the ground does not quite  match the scale of the Peter McGuigan stand, named after the chairman.

The rest of the ground consists of two covered terraces behind each goal and a curious terrace facing the imposing main stand, with just a couple of steps available for spectators on each side of what appears to be a storage building topped by a gantry for the use of the media, covered in the style used for dugouts at some grounds. At one end of this terracing is a large block which I later discovered holds the football development team and the police control room.

I wandered round the ground, seeking signs of life within. There was plenty of life outside, however, as there were pitches of differing sizes located behind the North Terrace and several games were taking place simultaneously. I noted an open door in the development block and popped my head in to see if there was a chance of looking inside the ground. I found a young man busily tending paperwork in between developing the football skills of the local youngsters. He was only too happy to show me what he could, as the keys to the actual ground were not in his possession. However, he was able to take me to the police control room from where I could view the ground. Sadly the windows don't open very wide so I had to take photographs through the glass which accounts for some ghosting on the pictures.We had a long chat as he was a very knowledgeable and agreeable companion. However, I was keeping him from his work, so reluctantly left the Globe Arena.

I then made my way down to Bury. This trip has been planned to cover two games, the Blackpool one and a re-arranged game (because of FA Cup fixtures) at Huddersfield. It is cheaper to stay at budget hotels than to drive up and down for the two games, the cost of travel being so high these days. So Bury was to be my base for more ground visits before I moved on to Huddersfield for the game against the Terriers.