Dear Santa; Give us a Goal

The weekend before Christmas. Fans out in Santa suits, Forest in traditional Santa red and white and Birmingham City fans in blue and white suits which must have come from some enterprising entrepreneur who made a load of them; I noticed Everton fans wearing them, too. City have played at St Andrews since 1906 on the site of a former brickworks. The parish church of St Andrew is close by, so I suppose the ground was originally named after the parish in which it is sited. It is situated on a hill and the site itself slopes so ground level at the Tilton Street End is quite a bit higher than the Gill Merrick Stand End (originally called the Railway End, since one of the many railways lines bisecting Birmingham runs behind this stand).

The Birmingham City badge states that City were founded in 1875, though as Small Heath Alliance FC at first, then, as a newly formed limited company, as Small Heath FC in 1888 and then, in 1905 on moving to St Andrews, they became Birmingham FC and still not Birmingham City, that name not adopted until 1943. They have always played in blue, mostly with ample splashes of white as well. Their nickname is The Blues and fans rejoice in being called Bluenoses. They have a fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, whose ground is almost within walking distance of St Andrews; I reckon about 4 miles as the crow flies. St Andrews stadium consists of four stands, two of them standing alone and two joined. The two stands which are joined and run half way around the pitch are the Tilton Road Stand and the Spion Kop which were built in the late 1990s, as was the Gil Merrick Stand.

The older Main Stand  is much smaller than the other three and it remains to be seen if the club redevelop this stand or move to a planned sports village a short distance away, leaving St Andrews altogether. As usual, moves like this are heartily resisted by many of the fans and take time to finalise.

The away fans sit in the Gil Merrick Stand, named after a goalkeeper born in Birmingham who made the record number of appearances for the Blues between 1939 and 1960 and who also managed the club for a short period. The large lower tier of this stand accommodates the away fans; there is a small upper tier used by home fans and also a short row of executive boxes.

The changing rooms for the players and officials are housed in the Gil Merrick Stand, which results in odd arrangements for the players. They come from the dressing rooms on to the pitch before the game for the warm up from the right hand side of this stand, then prior to the match, come through the tunnel to the left of the stand and line up opposite the dugouts which are in the middle of the main stand. There is a large screen situated above the tunnel entrance. Whilst coming out onto the pitch for the warm up, the players have to pass through the electronic advertising hoarding running around three sides of the pitch. Thus there has to be a steward acting as a doorman at this point opening and closing a hinged portion of the hoarding.

The match itself finished 0-0, though it was an exciting nil-nil rather than a turgid defensive game. City carried the main threat in the first half with Forest 'keeper Darlow in fine form. The second half was more even with Forest creating the better chances, I thought. Main talking point was the sending off of Forest forward Darius Henderson. I thought this a very harsh decision. I consider Henderson tackled Birmingham captain Robinson in a firm but fair manner, but the City player leapt to his feet in a threatening manner obviously thinking it a dangerous tackle. Henderson grabbed Robinson, in my opinion, in self-defence but not striking him. After a lengthy discussion the ref sent Henderson off, but only booked Robinson.

Another, more amusing incident also occurred in the second half. The City goalie was just about to launch a long kick downfield, balancing the ball on his hand prior to throwing it up, when Lansbury popped up beside him, headed the ball cleanly off his palm and pushed it into the net. I suppose these incidents epitomised just how it feels to be a Forest fan at the moment. We knew the ref (who has a bad name amongst Reds fans for sending Blackstock off in controversial circumstances during a local derby a couple years ago) would disallow the goal just as we knew he would send Henderson off.

The game over, I walked back to my hotel. Next morning, in fine, dry and cool weather, I set out to drive the short distance to Villa Park, home of Aston Villa FC. It was only a short journey, but I still managed to get lost, although I actually found my way to Villa Park by accident whilst trying to find the right road! It is an impressive ground. As usual, I parked the car in spaces normally reserved for the CEO and other ranking officials at the club. I mooched around looking for chinks in the defences, but here it was no problem getting into the ground. I drove into the car park past a small security building which appeared to be shut up tight. I approached a couple of chaps in track suits and asked them if a look inside the ground was possible. "No problem" was the reply" just have a word with security". It turned out that the hut was fully operational with a security system and array of technology which would put NASA to shame. The chaps told me how to get in to the stadium and said they would not need to come with me because every step I took would be in view of their cameras. So I set forth. I was really impressed with the ground, it looked as neat as a new pin, beautifully laid out and everything in it's place. I took my photos and video footage and reported back to the hut letting them know I was out.

I then walked around the ground making my way to the Holte End, where I stood for the FA Cup semi-final in 1991 against West Ham. It was a massive terracing, but has now, of course, been converted to an all-seated stand, though it is still impressive inside and out. The outside of the stand has been rebuilt in red brick and to me resembles the outside of a stately home, almost matching the lovely Aston Hall across the road.  Continuing round the ground one comes to the Trinity Road stand, very unusual in that it bridges Trinity Road itself. Many grounds find themselves confined to an island site, but not many find such a solution to the problem.


Outside the Trinity Road stand is a statue to William McGregor. McGregor was a Scot, but moved to the Birmingham area for business and later became associated with Aston Villa in the late 19th century. Apparently irritated by the many fixture cancellations of the time, he proposed the formation of a more professional system. In fact, he was the power behind the formation of the Football League in March 1888, which gives us the game as we know it today. The FA had been in existence since October 1863, but is the governing body for football in this country overseeing all amateur and professional football.

It is a mystery to some why a club of such distinction in those early days, Nottingham Forest, was not in the original batch of clubs joining the Football League. After all, Forest had competed in the FA Cup since 1878/9,  reaching the semi-final in that first year, and had fulfilled fixtures with many leading clubs. They did in fact apply to join the Football League that first season, but for logistical reasons only 12 of 15 clubs who applied were accepted, Forest being amongst those rejected. Possibly the stance of their committee regarding amateurism as the true essence of sport and thus disregarding  professionalism in football was one of the reasons for rejection. However, Forest's place in football was recognised when a Second Division was formed in 1892 by the absorption of the Football Alliance, because they were one of the clubs added to the First Division immediately.

From Villa Park it is just a short drive to the Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion FC, another of the founder members of the Football League. In fact three of the four clubs I visited this Sunday were founder members, a not so surprising statistic seeing as Mr McGregor was connected with the Birmingham area. Another fine ground, but, sadly one which I did not get to see inside. The very approachable gentleman on the reception desk informed me that had I visited at any other time he would gladly have taken me inside, but, as West Brom had played a game the day before, staff were inside the ground cleaning and tidying. Health and Safety again!! The ground itself has been greatly rebuilt and improved and is now a tight, all-enclosed ground making it impossible for me to peek in from the outside, as I am wont to do when entry is denied.

I then wandered around the ground, noting the small, but well-kept garden of remembrance in one corner. And also the Jeff Astle Gates, remembering a fine player for the club.  As the ground is very close to the M6 motorway, I shall endeavour to visit at another time. One thing which has puzzled me for some time is the nickname of West Bromwich Albion. When I was a youngster all the reference books noted the nickname as the Throstles and, indeed, the club badge has a Throstle on it. Throstle is dialect for Song Thrush. So where did the current nickname the Baggies come from? Apparently it is not so new and was used many years ago by fans, but the club itself was not keen on the name so stuck to Throstles as the nickname. (This is all a bit like Ipswich Town owners and directors not being keen on Tractor Boys initially, but finally coming to recognise the inevitability of the name as used by so many fans). The origin of Baggies is lost in the mists of time. So I was delighted to see that the WBA Supporters Club meet in the Throstle Club next to the ground keeping a link with one part of their history.

It was but a short hop to my next venue, Walsall FC at their home Banks's Stadium, which I thought was still called the Bescot Stadium. I was visiting these grounds on the Sunday before Christmas and had expected hordes of shoppers to be out and about. My visits to Villa Park and the Hawthorns had been unexpectedly free from traffic jams and shoppers, so I set off for Walsall in a relaxed state of mind. From which, I was rudely jolted. The Banks's Stadium is plainly visible from the M6 motorway. Indeed, the club have installed a giant advertising hoarding outside their ground facing the motorway. Also a new stand which dwarfs the rest of the ground, The Tile Choice Stand, is highly visible from the road. In fact, after my abortive visit, the best view I got of the ground was from the M6!

The traffic built up fairly quickly from the M6 into Walsall, so I popped into a residential area near the Morrison's supermarket which now occupies the former ground of Walsall, Fellowes Park, and parked the car. It was a bit of a walk to the stadium, but well worth doing because the traffic was heavy and crawling into the retail park beside the ground and into the ground itself, because every Sunday apparently, there is a car boot sale in the stadium car park. And on this Sunday before Christmas, the car boot sale was enormous with large crowds . It was impossible to get a decent view of the ground and I rapidly lost the will to carry on, so I took a couple of photos, promised myself that I would visit again at a later date and walked back to the car.

Then it was back on to the M6 heading for Wolverhampton Wanderers ground, Molineux. I was now paranoid about Christmas traffic and feared the worst, but, to my surprise, traffic was fairly light and I parked in a retail park just a few minutes walk from the ground. I'm glad I avoided the Asda supermarket which was built close to the ground as part of a deal with Wolverhampton City Council, in 1986, to avoid the club going bust. Their car park was packed and customers in their cars were queuing down the road.

I walked around the ground to the statue of Billy Wright outside the aptly named Billy Wright Stand, which also houses the club reception. Billy Wright was an iconic figure in my young days. The captain of England, he was first player to gain one hundred caps for his country and was indeed the Beckham of his day, because he married a singer in a well-known popular singing group. Joy Beverley of the Beverley Sisters. Wright played the whole of his career with Wolves, though he did spend a short time as Arsenal manager after his playing retirement.


I then went in to the reception area in the Billy Wright Stand and thought I had stumbled in to the reception area of a grand hotel. The marble fittings, the rows of trophy cabinets with their gleaming silverware and the glittering Christmas decorations were magnificent. With trepidation I asked the gentleman on duty if it was possible to view the pitch area and stands. To my surprise, he could not have been more welcoming or accommodating. Proudly he explained the history of the club, then took me to see the pitch, via the tunnel area. Molineux has been the home of Wolves since the 19th century, but has been thoroughly modernised. There are now four separate stands, the two alongside the pitch have a slight elliptical shape so creating a sort of bowl effect. The new Stan Cullis Stand, commemorating a great manager (he managed them for 16 years until sacked in 1964, years which were probably the finest in the club's history) who also played for them in a period which was interrupted by WWII, dominates the ground.

It was only finished in time for the 2012/13 season. The other stands were built between 1979 and 1993. There are plans to further modernise the stadium, but because of the club's recent relegation to League 1 these plans are not yet being actioned.

One interesting feature of the ground is the siting of the dugouts, which are placed well away from the Billy Wright Stand (because of the curve of the stand taking the tunnel area well back from the touch line) and dug several feet into the ground , making them one of the few 'real' dugouts.


There are several ways to complete the 92. One is to see your team play at each ground (a process which can take years and possibly will never be completed, too long for me), another is to see other teams play at each ground (which is probably only satisfactory to those who desperately want to complete the 92; imagine how boring some of these games could be when you have absolutely no interest in either of the teams) and finally, there is the method I have adopted of following my team, Nottingham Forest, home and away for a season and visiting all the other grounds as I go. I like this method because I see all my team's games and when I visit the other grounds, I usually meet interesting people who are proud to show me aspects of their ground that I would never see if I just went to a match. I have seen kit rooms and changing rooms, run out of countless tunnels and shared a love of football with young and old.

And so it was in the West Midland area. The people I met here were genuine, nice people who desperately wanted to help me if they could. A most enjoyable weekend.

CG Blues

This won't take long. 0-0 draws seldom do. Add in a series missed chances by your favourite team, a referee who seemed to be refereeing in a parallel universe and a MOTM performance by the visiting 'keeper and it's a game that won't stick long in the memory.

Ipswich brought three former Forest players, but only Luke Chambers and David McGoldrick played, Paul Anderson sat on the bench throughout. Of course, most of us had McGoldrick odds on to score, not only because of the curse of the returning player, but he's been scoring quite regularly for the Tractor Boys. That nickname is of quite recent origin, the more popular name up to that time for the team was The Blues. First used ten to fifteen years ago, Tractor Boys was at first despised by a segment of the Ipswich support, but has gradually been accepted by the majority, particularly by newspapermen.

Forest were again decimated by injuries. Chris Cohen, captain and inspiration, is out for the season, Danny Collins and Kelvin Wilson, both centre halves, are long-term injured, Gonzalo Jara, David Vaughan, Darius Henderson and Andy Reid have all had recent injuries or illness. One big problem of all these long-term and niggling injuries is a constant rotation of the team members resulting in Forest struggling to find any sort of form, particularly at home where they have not won since the win against Derby in September. The away form is sustaining the league position at the moment, because, despite all these problems, we are still just hanging on to a playoff position!

On the other hand, Ipswich have only lost one in seven to climb close to the playoffs.

The game started sloppily for Forest and carried on that way. However, Ipswich were not good enough to take advantage, in fact, over the course of the 90 minutes, we should have won quite comfortably. Gherkin, or something, got the faintest touch to a Simon Cox header in the first half to put it onto the bar and in the second half produced an even better stop when Cox was clean through.

So far this season, despite finding that we have our usual sprinkling of poor referees, I have refrained from criticising them too much. This referee was extra poor. He ran the usual diagonal, but only across the centre circle. When Simon Cox chased a through ball and went down under a challenge from the 'keeper, the ref was at least 40 yards away and, desperately trying to keep up with play and peering through a ruck of players, he decided not to do anything. One thinks he should either have awarded a penalty or booked our player for "simulation".

Other annoying traits, not confined to this ref alone, were to order our winger to move the ball back into the quadrant for a corner (a matter of 6 inches), when the ball was already legitimately placed, then to allow a player to steal 10 yards at a throw in. He gave a corner in the second half from which Ipswich nearly scored when at least 90% of the crowd and all the players knew it was a goal kick.

And worst of all for me, he allowed an Ipswich player to get away with a headbutt in the second half. This was a confused moment for, not only did the Ipswich player then fall down as if he was the injured party, but, probably again trying to confuse the issue, the Ipswich physio came onto the field to change the Ipswich goalies jersey! The ref used the jersey changing ploy to defuse the situation by running away from the melee surrounding the headbutt incident, going over to the goalie group, chatting to them for fully a minute then coming back over to the other incident and booking both players. Lansbury, for it was he who received the butt, had precipitated the incident by tackling Cresswell, the Ipswich player, from behind, so I can understand why he might have been booked. But, if the ref saw the incident, he must have sent Cresswell off; if he didn't see the incident then he had no reason to book Cresswell. All this was about 5 yards from the lino on the Brian Clough Stand side. At no time did the ref speak to him or the lino offer assistance. Which is why I refuse to call them assistant referees. They are, on the whole, pretty useless and ineffectual.

So the game petered out. We couldn't score, they couldn't score. McGoldrick who is scoring fairly regularly for Ipswich, kept shooting from 30 yards out and injuring spectators in row Z and Cresswell, who is apparently a top player in the making, kept trying to float one in to the top corner from way out on the left. He got one within about 10 yards of the goal, but I suppose all this kept Darlow awake. Nouble, on loan from West Ham, did sting Darlow's hands in the first half with a hard swerving shot, but that was about it.

One advantage of writing these diary entries is using them to recall my season in ten years time. Though why I should want to recall this match in ten years time beats me. It results in us sliding out of the playoff positions down to seventh, exactly ten points behind the league leaders, QPR.

The Mystery of Millmoor

Just a few days after my trip to London, I made another away trip to one of our great cities, this time in quite the opposite direction, to Sheffield to see Forest play Sheffield Wednesday FC at the famous Hillsborough Stadium. I was also planning to see the grounds of Sheffield United and Rotherham United.

Any visit to Hillsborough by a Nottingham Forest fan is tinged with sadness because we were the opponents of Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi-Final played on 15 April 1989 when 96 supporters in the Leppings Lane end of the ground, the Liverpool supporters end, died, trapped behind metal fences erected to keep fans off the pitch. The memorial to these supporters is outside the ground across a footbridge spanning the River Don, on Parkside Road. The memorial looks a little weather-worn these days, partly because it was inundated in the flood of 25 June 2007. There is a plaque marking the height of the flood on the wall under the South Stand.

Wednesday have been at the ground since 1899 when they were offered the opportunity to buy a plot of land at Owlerton after being removed from their previous ground by the Midland Railway Company. The Stadium was called Owlerton until 1914 when improvements were made and the name Hillsborough adopted. This original name gave rise to the club nickname, The Owls.

Hillsborough is a traditional ground, having grown up with the club over more than one hundred years. It consists of four stands, the North and South Stands run alongside the pitch and the mighty Spion Kop Stand is the East end of the stadium and the away fans are housed in the two tier West or Leppings Lane Stand. There have been half-hearted attempts to fill in the corners of the ground with seats, but only that between the Leppings Lane and the North Stand has been done properly. There is a small corner seating section by the North corner of the Spion Kop which also curves round a bit towards the South Stand. The South Stand boasts a triangular gable (similar to that on the roof of the Main Stand at Leyton Orient) which besides proclaiming the name of the club also holds a clock reputed to be 124 years old. All the Stands are of roughly similar height and an attempt has been made to link them into one coherent whole by joining each stand to the one adjacent to it by advertising hoardings running along the façade of the roof line.


Hillsborough is many fans favourite ground to visit, though I cannot understand why this might be. Facilities for away fans are not particularly good, the view from our stand is not exceptional and outside the ground there are not many decent pubs or eating/entertainment venues in the area around the ground.

A very wise man told me some years ago that soldiers and spies always plan their exit before starting any action. Thus I always plan my exit from the area when finding a parking spot. Arriving at grounds is easy because fans dribble in slowly for an hour or two before kick off, but when the game finishes tens of thousands of people exit at once, jamming up the roads around the stadium. Thus I parked close to the ground (I consider 15/20 minutes walk, close) but high up in a residential area which allowed me to move away with the least inconvenience.

I walked to the ground in time to see the Forest coach arrive and give myself time to nose around the local area. The game itself was largely undistinguished. It was scrappy and disjointed, enlivened only by the single goal of the match scored just after half time. We have a large number of first team players away at the moment with injuries. Greg Halford, a versatile player, was drafted in to play on the right hand side of defence. He broke away down the right wing, put the ball hard and low across the six yard box and Simon Cox tapped it in. That was it, really. Wednesday huffed and puffed, but to no avail. Scrappy it might have been, but a valuable three points gained.

I stayed the night opposite the vast Meadowhall Shopping Centre. We were approaching Christmas and I anticipated having to find my way through large crowds of shoppers, but somehow, more by luck than judgement, I avoided the crush and found my hotel easily and quickly.

Next morning dawned dry and not very bright, but at least it was quite mild. I drove through the empty streets to Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United FC, known as The Blades with obvious reference to the production of steel and cutlery for which Sheffield is famous. The badge does, however, feature crossed scimitars rather than crossed knives or scissors. This ground is another old, but grand, stadium. The car park, for a Sunday morning, was packed, but there was no sign of crowds of people so I have no idea where the car owners were.
This car park used to be the cricket ground as, in the days before the football club, the team were known as Sheffield United Cricket Club. Wandering round I took photos of the ground and the statues of Derek Dooley ( viewed left, a great favourite of both Sheffield clubs, he played for Wednesday, scoring many goals, for a season or two before breaking and then losing his leg to gangrene and then, after falling out with them, he moved over to an executive position with United) and Joe Shaw (above right, who played for the Blades after WWII and made the record number of appearances for the club).


I couldn't see any way I was going to get into the ground, it all seemed tightly closed up and no one was around to help me. As usual, I mooched around looking for photo opportunities. I walked down Bramall Lane itself behind the Jessica Ennis Stand ( apparently she is not a fan, which makes the naming of a stand after her seem a bit odd) to the other side of the ground on John Street. Here I noticed the fire alarms going off in the ground. This had, for me, the benefit of drawing the staff out from their place of work (remember, it was a Sunday so there were only three of them) on to the pavement. I asked if there was any way I could see in to the ground. It was not a problem. My guide took me straight in, chatting away about the ground and United.

It is a fine ground. Although not all corners are in-filled with seats, some of the stands have overlapping corners, so, when inside the ground, the impression is of a fully enclosed ground. With the steeply raked seats and the roof lines of all stands extending right out to pitch-side, the atmosphere is of a tight intimate ground, even though it holds 32,000 fans, all seated. Visiting these grounds on non-match days is a fascinating experience. The vast echoing concrete concourses have a totally different atmosphere to that found on match days when great throngs of fans pack them out.

I thanked my friendly escort and walked back to the car ready to make my way to Rotherham United, now located at the New York Stadium in Rotherham.

Rotherham have had a bit of a turbulent recent history, having been forced out of the ground they occupied for 100 years in Rotherham, Millmoor. Millmoor was built on the site of a former flour mill all of which presumably gives rise to the nickname of the club, the Millers. After leaving their ground in 2008, Rotherham played until 2012 in the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, an athletics stadium, hardly conducive to creating an atmosphere for football. Early in 2012, the Millers moved back to Rotherham, to the brand new New York Stadium, so-called because it is located in an area of Rotherham with that name.

I had intended to call in to the Don Valley stadium after visiting Bramall Lane, but took a wrong turning, missed the Don Valley Stadium and found my way to Rotherham by a different route. Whilst researching the weekend visits, I was intrigued by the Millmoor ground, which appeared perfectly preserved. Normally, when football teams leave their old ground for pastures new, developers cannot wait to move in and take over the old ground. So I made my way to Millmoor. On arrival the first thing I noted was a large sign proclaiming "A CF Booth Regeneration Project". Oh, I thought, they're demolishing the ground and getting ready to build housing or commercial premises. However, nothing appeared to be happening. On the site of the old railway station behind the ground, CF Booth were breaking up all manner of scrap, but the ground itself appeared frozen in time. The grass on the pitch was neatly mown and the half-built Main Stand, begun by the Millers a few years ago, was still half-built. Signs directing away fans to their entrance down Millmoor Lane were still in place, though the Millmoor pub at the head of the Lane is no longer open for business, all boarded up these days.

Going down Millmoor Lane was no help, it is an eerie spot, all hemmed in by high walls on either side, but with no obvious entry to the ground. I took my photos and went off to the New York Stadium down the road. In fact the new stadium is so new that I was told some sat navs don't know it's postcode. When they get enquiries of this nature the club just tell supporters to make for the old ground and they will come across the new ground!

 I actually found the New York Stadium quite easily, it dominates an island site, but couldn't find a way in! On two sides there is the River Don and on another is a railway line.  Eventually I came across a narrow road, New York Way, which led me into the spacious car park.

Then I had another piece of luck. Reception was open and the very man to escort me around was available. I introduced myself to him, inadvertently interrupting a business meeting in the process, and we went through the stadium. Naturally we chatted about Millmoor. My guide averred that the ground could not be used for anything other than football and has to be kept maintained. I'm sure a hint of a smile played about his lips when he was talking about this. I think he meant there is a restrictive covenant on the site. Thus plans to use it for other sports such as rugby league have not come to fruition. What must be somewhat galling for  CF Booth is that their HQ faces directly across Centenary Way to the New York Stadium so that the club that felt it had to leave Millmoor because of disagreements with the owner of that ground, Mr Ken Booth, now has a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium facing their opponent.

The new ground is of a bowl-type design, with the main stand, rather bizarrely named the Eric Twigg Foods (Pukka Pies) Stand, rather higher than the other stands which actually descend in a step pattern down to the Ben Bennett Family Stand on the opposite side of the ground.

The whole effect is quite light and airy. Two special boxes were built at either end of the Main Stand, one to house police control, which of course is used for every match, and the other to house Sky TV and other broadcasters. Sadly they don't come to the New York Stadium with any regularity so for the moment this box is used as a supplementary Executive Box.

In conversation I asked my escort if he was a long term Rotherham supporter. To my surprised he told me he had been a Sheffield United supporter for many years. When I started my travels, I naturally assumed that workers at football clubs supported those clubs, but actually I have found this not to be the case at all.

I learned that the New York stadium has foundations already in place to allow for increasing the capacity of the ground should events so demand.

 Above the players tunnel is a name plate from the LNER B17 locomotive named Rotherham United. Many of this class of loco bore the names of football teams and when the locomotives were withdrawn from service during the 1950s one of the name plates from each locomotive was presented to the relevant club. The club has many ideas going forward to enhance the ground and the area adjacent to the ground, but all these improvements take time and money and will only be accomplished as and when necessary.

I left the area impressed by the friendliness I encountered at all the clubs I visited on this latest trip. Particularly by the determination at Rotherham to put their recent troubles behind them and improve the club's position, both in the league and financially.

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.

Royally stuffed

Next game was at home again to Reading FC, nickname the Royals. This apparently is because Reading are located in the Royal County of Berkshire.  They were, I am reliably informed previously known as the Biscuitmen because of the biscuit makers Huntley and Palmers residence in the town. I have never heard anybody actually refer to Reading as the Royals except perhaps newspapermen looking for a pun.

Anyway, they were in the Premier League last season before being relegated. It was generally thought that they would bounce straight back up, having a talented squad and oodles of cash from the parachute payments made to relegated clubs. However, they have struggled a bit this season for some reason and were on a dismal run when they arrived at the CG.

The match was played on a Friday evening because this was one of the games on the fixture list which clashed with Notts County, also scheduled to play at home this weekend. Apparently, on police advice,  Notts re-scheduled one of their games earlier in the season, so we switched this time. I have to confess I was not quite with it when the game kicked off feeling something was not quite right coming to football on a Friday night.

We have dropped a considerable number of points recently. I think this is, partly, because we try to attack so vigorously using our full backs as wing backs that when our assault on the opposition goal breaks down, the defence is all up the field. As a result, speedy opposition players need only to bypass two or three players instead of the usual back four plus midfielders.

However, we did not accommodate Reading in this manner. We made it much easier for them. Our players were obviously as dozy as I was, because Reading went two up in 12 minutes. First, our ex-player Gareth McCleary dribbled to the goal line and squared across goal for the Russian Pog-something to prod into gaol, then a corner was headed in by Gorkss.

It took Forest some time to get going, but once they did, goals started coming. Just before half time, Mackie took advantage of a slip by a Reading defender to race away down the right wing, put over a low centre for Cox to rap the ball into the goal. Then on the hour mark, Henderson dribbled through the Reading defence and shot into the far corner of the net. Game on and, to me, there only seemed to be one winner.

Sadly, it was not to be. As we pummelled Reading searching for the winner, they broke down the right, a hopeful centre evaded everybody, attackers and defenders alike, and rolled out to a Reading player belatedly arriving at the far side of the penalty area. He fired at goal and, as Darlow spread himself to save, the ball hit him on the leg causing it to bounce high into the net, over our defenders on the line. Cue deflated players and fans.

Things were not quite over. Gunter, a former Forest favourite now playing for Reading, blatantly tripped Mackie as he headed for goal, was awarded a second yellow card and left for the early bath. However, there were only about ten minutes left to play; it was too late to affect the result. Reading put all ten men back and shut up shop.

A really disappointing result. Since the marvellous win at Brighton we have gone six games with only one further win, at Leicester, causing a slide down the table and fans becoming restless. Injuries have really hit the team, resulting in disruption to the back four and midfield. Plus the fact that our strikers just are not striking. The number of attempts on goal we have had should result in far more goals scored. Still, the football fans optimism is boundless, I shall keep going and hoping for success.