. . . and the Silver Lining

Our next game was away at Leicester City at their King Power stadium. I for one have always wondered about the value to the advertisers of sponsoring sporting stadiums or tournaments. The problem for me is that half the time I have no idea what the sponsor does during their working day. No peeking, but what do King Power do? After a while the name just becomes the name of the stadium and not that of the sponsor. Arsenal play at the Emirates just as they used to play at Highbury; does anyone stop to think that Emirates is an airline and not just the name of a football ground.

I had decided to visit the grounds of Coventry City and Peterborough United on this trip. Planning for my visits was completed before Coventry had a final falling out with whoever they were falling out with. Thus, when the season began, it was decided that City were going to play their 'home' games at Northampton's Sixfields Stadium which I had already visited. I stuck to my original plan, just in case Coventry move back to the Ricoh Arena in the near future.

Thus I arrived in Coventry on a gloomy Saturday morning, fortunately a bit drier than the forecasters had predicted. I had the idea that because City were not at the Ricoh that the arena would be like a ghost town. Indeed, it looked that way from the car park.

 Not so, though.  Much goes on at the Ricoh and Coventry City FC are (or were) just one part of those events. The whole place consists of one large stadium and a smaller, but still imposing, building connected by an atrium running the width of the arena. There is, as is the fashion these days, a hotel built in as well.

I put the car in the car park noting the imposing list of charges. Free for the first half an hour, I might get away with it. I wandered around the whole ground. Past the memorial garden and a very impressive Sky Blues Wall of Fame, with names of well known players of past times above more memorial plaques.

One such player is Ernie Hunt, a former England Under 23 international, who I had the pleasure of meeting in Bermuda whilst he playing for Coventry. He was in Bermuda to play in a three way tournament between Coventry City, Southampton and West Ham United. The games had actually been arranged in honour of West Ham's Clyde Best, a native Bermudan. Ernie Hunt scored one of the most well-known goals in English football whilst at Coventry. In 1970, during a game shown on Match of the Day, Willie Carr  flicked the ball up from a free kick and Ernie volleyed it in the net. The so-called donkey kick was outlawed very soon after.

As I completed my round of the arena, I noticed an open door and, ever one to explore, I entered, despite the warning about alarms and CCTV. A staircase was in front of me. Up and up I went, my old legs creaking. I got to the top and found all doors locked so had to retrace my steps. As I emerged into the fresh air some young ladies obviously connected to the stadium came out of another door. I asked if they could accompany me around inside the stadium. Sadly they had other duties, but directed me to a young man at reception who might be able to help. And help he did.

After a few minutes to organise reinforcements, he took me up and around the footballing stadium inside the Ricoh Arena. It was strange to see the stadium set out for football with the usual names and initials picked out on the sky blue seats and goal nets ready for use, but, in the middle of the season, no pitch markings.

It was an unexpected pleasure to get in to see the ground and I was truly grateful to my young guide.

On the way to the car, I passed the statue to "Mr Coventry" Jimmy Hill. As usual with these footballing statues, it looked only vaguely like the great man. The car parking system in place at the Ricoh is to collect a ticket on arrival and pay at a pay station before departure. I had run well over my free half an hour because of the visit inside the Ricoh and thought I had run well over the hour mark too, incurring an additional and much higher charge. Oh well, at least I had achieved more than I expected. To my delight, the pay station only charged me for the hour. The day was getting better and better.

To increase my feeling of well-being the sun now came out as I made my way up the M69 to Leicester. A quick stop for petrol and the loo and I set about finding my way to the planned parking spot so carefully selected from Google maps. My direction finding is usually pretty poor, but this day I knew I was heading in the right direction as I was right behind the Forest team bus! However, they soon lost me at a set of traffic lights and anyway, I had to turn off the main road to my parking spot. Then things started to get even better. The little plaques denoting parking restrictions had been taped over allowing free parking only 5 minutes walk from the ground. Obviously a move regularly used by the authorities on football days and a very welcome one for the traveller not used to local restrictions.

I made my way to the ground, noting on the way that some very enterprising individual had converted their canal boat into the "Barge Burger" and moored it close to a bridge almost next to the ground.

The King Power stadium, like the Cardiff City stadium being next to the old Ninian Park ground, is adjacent to the old Filbert Street ground which City moved out of in time for the 2002 season. It is a bowl type ground exactly like most others except for detail embellishments. In fact I might almost have been back in the Ricoh Arena when inside. As is my wont, I wandered about outside before the game. There was a great police presence outside the ground, with officers having their riot helmets attached to their belts!! I thought those days had gone, but this was a high profile East Midlands derby, so I suppose it was as well they were taking precautions. Though, it has to be said, present day Forest fans don't really see much rivalry with Leicester City. As the next day was Remembrance Sunday, it was fitting that I found the Garden of Remembrance in a quiet corner of the grounds next to the river bank. In contrast to the noisy and boisterous behaviour all around the ground as kick off grew nearer, there was an air of peace and contemplation in this quiet corner, commemorating not only our fallen in conflicts, but those of a more peaceable nature who just loved their football.

The seat rows of the King Power are sharply raked making for good viewing and there is only one tier of seating all around the ground. I found my seat in one corner of the ground, but high enough up to have a good view of the whole pitch. Not that I was to use that seat much as we spent the entire match standing. Leicester City pride themselves on being in the forefront of Remembrance celebrations and today was no different. The match ball was delivered by helicopter and there were many members of the military and other organisations taking part in a parade along side the pitch both before the game and at half time. The players wore T-shirts emblazoned with large poppies during their warm-up before the game and broke off from these exertions to pass their T-shirts to members of the crowd. There was a short ceremony on the pitch before the game when the Last Post was played, a moment when I always feel most emotional.

According to the form book, Leicester should have had the game sewn up. They were on a winning streak and were second in the League. Forest had suffered a dip in form and dropped to 6th in the table. Playing away to the form team seemed like an insurmountable hurdle. Sure enough,  City pressed hard during the opening half an hour, but, no matter how hard they tried, their efforts were thwarted, both by good defending or poor finishing. Then, on 32 minutes the Forest end went wild. An attack down our right involved some fine passing and resulted in young Paterson trying a shot on goal. This was blocked but in the resultant scrimmage,  Jamie Mackie prodded the ball out to Simon Cox who thumped it into the net.  Raucous celebrations ensued. More Leicester pressure came to nothing, then came the killer blow. More pressure down the Forest right wing, with the ball finally taken on by Lansbury whose shot brought out the best from the Leicester goalie. From the resultant corner Forest scored their second and deciding goal. Lascelles headed down, Lansbury had another shot blocked. The ball broke to Mackie who fired into the far top corner. This was  3 minutes before the interval and we kept our 2-0 advantage until the break.

After half time, Halford came on for Lascelles and it seemed certain that Billy would batten down the hatches and we would see it out. The fans were in fine voice and kept up a barrage of noise. This was silenced midway into the second half when David Vaughan challenged Drinkwater on the edge of the area and the Leicester man dropped like a stone to gain a debateable penalty. Nugent calmly stepped up and put the ball over the bar. Even greater hysteria from the Forest faithful. And that was that. A couple more efforts from Leicester, but it was really all over.

The weekend surely could not get better.

Sunday morning was a glorious, crisp and sunny,  morning. I was to drive to Peterborough United, due East straight into the low winter sun. I arrived in Peterborough with no alarums and found the ground easily enough, having visited for matches a couple of times.

London Road is an old stadium, having been built before the present incarnation of the football club which was formed in 1934. The Posh, their nickname, were in the Midland League up to 1960 when they were elected to the old Fourth Division. I remember seeing them several times at The Walks in the 50s, when they played King's Lynn.

Thus their ground is old and, quite frankly, looks it.

The two stands at either end of the ground are still terraced. The Main Stand is all-seated and houses the changing rooms and players tunnel. However, the South Stand is a grand affair with two tiers separated by executive boxes. I arrived at the ground to find the usual car boot sale going on. I also noted as I parked up, several minibuses in the car park and what appeared to be recruitment of casual labour going on. The car boot sale occupied most of the gravel area which is normally used as a car park on match days and stretched down the side of the ground entirely preventing access to the sides and end of the ground. I had a word with the chaps guarding the gate, but they insisted on charging me to enter despite my protestations that I was only photographing the ground and would be out in five minutes. Their attitude annoyed me intensely and after a few words I left them.

On previous visits to London Road I had walked around the ground and knew that there were gates down the residential roads running behind the ground. Perhaps I could peep in through those. I set off, past the hand car wash and pub and other commercial establishments shielding the ground from London Road itself. I wandered down Glebe Road and found a gate open behind the South Stand, which in turn led me right into the ground. Just the job; my perfect weekend was back on track.

A few moments spent wandering round was enough to satisfy my interest. Because the two terraced stands at each end of the pitch look almost identical, I had originally mistakenly identified the London Road terrace as the away end. I soon sorted that out, once inside the ground.

Photographs and video taken I melted quietly away after this lucky find, back through the gate to my car and home. For a keen Nottingham Forest supporter travelling around and combining visiting all 92 grounds with this season's away games, it is difficult to think how the weekend could have been bettered.

The cloud. . .

Our next game was at home to Blackpool. They had started the season really well, but after a dip in form, (winning only 1 game in 6) had returned to winning ways. So it wasn't going to be easy. Plus we were going to have to beat what I call one of our bogey teams. I don't bother with stats, so am probably completely wrong on this point, but games that stick in my mind seem to indicate that no matter how well we play, they usually manage to pull off the unlikely. The year they beat us in the playoffs, they wouldn't have got to those playoffs if they hadn't taken three points off us at the CG despite us battering them for 90 mins. 1-0 and even the irritating Holloway admitted they were lucky.

Anyway, I went to this game with a sense of foreboding. And so it came to pass.

I shall not dwell. Abdoun was defending inside our penalty box and decided, in a situation of seemingly little danger, to chest the ball down and do something other than clearing it away from the onrushing Bishop. He did not kill the ball sufficiently, it ran a little loose, Bishop rounded him and set off for goal. Abdoun seemed to impede him and the ref pointed to the spot.

This penalty seemed a correct decision, but was greeted with dismay because minutes earlier Henderson had been similarly impeded at the other end whilst going for goal and nothing was given.

Blackpool missed their spot kick, because Ince's shot was brilliantly saved by Darlow who also saved a follow-up attempt. This did not even things up however, because Abdoun had been dismissed and we were going to have to try to win or at least hold out for an hour with ten men.

After a brilliant disciplined performance, Forest reached added time at 0-0. Soon another cruel blow was to strike us. In one last despairing attack, young Ince lobbed the ball into our penalty area, the ball was nodded on and then, from a clear offside position, headed back to Dobbie who scored with a low shot. The linesman was in a poor position and missed the offside.

Once again we have had a game affected by the officials getting the big decisions wrong.

Go West, old man, go West

To shamelessly misquote Horace Greeley.

This weekend, I was going to Yeovil to see Forest play and then visit the western end of the M4 corridor.

Yeovil Town have just been promoted back to the Championship, having won the playoff final out of League 1 last season. They play at a modest ground, Huish Park, in a modest town in Somerset. However, any team which plays in the Championship has won a place on merit and simply because they are not giants of football doesn't mean they don't possess the ability to embarrass the so-called bigger teams. A fact which was well illustrated on this day.

I had planned to park in a cul de sac only a short walk from the ground. I got held up in traffic on the way to the game, was a bit later than planned and found my parking spot already filled. I ventured in to a small estate in order to reverse and retrace my steps, saw that there was plenty of room in there and so decided to stop and check it out. A resident appeared as if by magic, I asked if there was any objection to parking in their somewhat exclusive estate. He had no objection and directed me to a lovely spot amongst some trees. I ate my lunch and made my way to the ground.


Their ground is made up of three covered stands and one uncovered terrace which is reserved for the away spectators. On one level it is quite a novelty to visit a ground which still has terracing, on another level it can be an uncomfortable experience if the weather is at all inclement. On this day it was just this side of comfortable, with a strong wind blowing into our faces and one or two light rain showers. I said the ground is modest. To a Yeovil fan it is home and a castle, to an away fan of a "bigger" club, any ground that is packed to the rafters and does not exceed 8,000 spectators, I reckon, is modest.

To their credit, Yeovil were not over-awed by our presence. To be 3-1 up at half time is creditable by any measure. An early deflected goal set them on their way. Then Cox contrived to miss yet another penalty awarded to the mighty Reds. With our equaliser thrown away, Yeovil managed to score another, a speculative shot from outside the area on the right. Immediately Forest went onto the attack and just before half time forced a corner from which Chalobah, on loan from Chelsea, scored with a close in header. He has not had a particularly happy time since his arrival, which is surprising considering his very successful season with Watford last year. From the kick off, Yeovil went down to our terrace end, forced a corner of their own and scored with a straightforward header, about a minute before half time.

Cue deflated Forest fans. That was it, taking full advantage of the gale blowing down the pitch (a precursor for the storm promised for the next day), Forest pressed the entire second half, but no more goals were scored.

I was glad to leave the small town in Somerset and head to the major metropolis of Bristol, my base for the night. After another comfortable night in my Premier Inn I set out bright and early for Bristol Rovers ground. And it was very bright, contrary to what the weather forecasters had predicted. The worst storm for many years was due to hit us in a few hours. I lost no time in dashing off to the Memorial Ground. I'm pretty pathetic at navigating whilst driving, I can read a map for others, but for myself, I tend to be a bit non-directional. So it proved yet again. The address I had was Filton Avenue. So when I saw the road so named, I gleefully pulled into it. After driving for a mile or so with no sight of the ground, I stopped and asked an elderly dog walker for directions. It could not be too difficult, after all, I was actually on the right road.

Sadly I had stopped a deranged lunatic who had no idea of right and left and had, on closer questioning, never heard of Bristol Rovers. I pushed on and stopped an old guy with a newspaper who pointed me in the right direction. In fact, I was on a hill and, at his prompting, could actually see the floodlights of the Memorial Ground. It turns out, there was another section of Filton Avenue across the main road, which I had not noticed. I made my way there. Rovers have had a chequered recent history as regards their home ground. They used to play at Eastville Stadium, had a row with their landlords over the lease, and, in 1980, moved in with their hated rivals Bristol City! This was never going to work and legal settlements saw them move back to Eastville. However financial difficulties now saw them move again, this time to Bath, to Twerton Park, home of Bath City.

This was again a move beset with problems and they moved back to Bristol  to share the Memorial Ground with the owners, Bristol Rugby Union Club.

They in turn had financial problems and Rovers took over full ownership of the ground in 1998. The ground is still shared with the rugby club, a situation becoming increasingly common. Much has been done in the last dozen or so years to bring it up to a decent standard and it now looks quite smart, though of a somewhat odd construction. None of the stands is in any way similar to any other and only the South Stand extends across the full width of the pitch. I couldn't get into the ground, but there is sufficient chain link fencing and gaps in the stands for me to get a good look around.

I now made my way to the south of Bristol to  Ashton Gate. I had to go through the town, a maze of streets. By some fluke, I found Bristol City's ground with no problems!

In contrast to Bristol Rovers, City have been at their home for pretty much their entire history, well over a hundred years. Despite being at their home for so long, the ground looks not at all ramshackle and old. It is neat and well maintained. It also looked impregnable! I thought I was going to get nowhere near the inside.  As usual, I parked up in a near-empty car park (most of my visits are done on a Sunday morning) and commenced my walk around the ground. Past the main entrance I went, noticing cars passing me. Why, I thought?  Wandering behind the Atyeo Stand things soon became clear. There was an antiques fair on in the suite under the Dolman Stand, which also opened up the gate to the ground. These car boot sales etc are a very popular way for the clubs in the lower leagues to bolster their incomes.

So I got my wander round inside the ground after all, in the bright sunshine of a lovely Sunday morning. I was pleased, partly because a school friend of mine(we played together in the school first XI) had played a considerable number of games for City in the 60s and early seventies until his career was cut short by injury. Take a bow, Terry Bush.

I now set sail for Newport County ground. The weather had so far been blustery, but bright and sunny. It was to take a turn for the worst. As I approached the Severn Bridge, the clouds started to roll in and the wind increased in velocity,  making it pretty gusty on the bridge, in fact notices were up stating that the other Severn Crossing bridge had been closed to high-sided vehicles.

It rained heavily this morning from now on, but fortunately in showery bursts, so, by carefully timing my visits, I managed to accomplish all in the relatively dry moments.

Newport County have had a few problems in the recent past, but fought their way back up the football pyramid and gained promotion to League 2 last season. They presently play at Rodney Parade in Newport, a ground wholly owned by a subsidiary of Newport Rugby Club. In fact, besides the parent club and Newport County FC, the venue is also used for matches by Newport Gwent Dragons RFC.  The ground cannot be directly approached by Rodney Road, because the top part of this road is one way, leading out onto Clarence Place, so I went round and in via Grafton Road. At the junction of Rodney Road, I found the clubhouse and old ceremonial gates of Newport Rugby Club. I thought this would be a way in, but the gates wouldn't open. I went on down the road, past a great deal of building work, regenerating the riverside by the River Usk. Rodney Road is a narrow, unprepossessing approach to a major sporting venue and when I arrived at the main ground (there is an athletic/practice ground directly behind the Newport RFC main building) I thought I had arrived at Fort Rodney Parade. There was a high, black aluminium fence (which seemed about 10 foot high) running right down to the Hazell Stand which in turn had high blank walls facing the road. I parked up in the only free spot I could find amongst the clutter of new housing, blank aluminium and Wimpey chain link fencing promising all sorts of excruciating punishments if you so much a looked at their building work without a hard hat. My parking spot was surrounded by a puddle at least 6 inches deep, nevertheless, I was happy to have arrived in between rain storms. I walked around the ground. A pleasant walkway took me between Rodney Road and Corporation Road, a walkway which was signed at the Corporation Road end by two high blue poles, denoting the entrance to the ground for visiting supporters.

It was at this point that I gained my only real view into the stadium.
Otherwise, when not protected by high fencing the ground is shielded by houses and gardens.

I can't blame the club for protecting their property and for not being there on a damp Sunday morning to greet me!! I just have to take the rough with the smooth on these trips around the nation's football league grounds.

I left to travel on to Cardiff City, accompanied by torrential rain. City used to play at Ninian Park, their home for almost 100 years. Now they still play at Ninian Park, but in a brand new stadium called the Cardiff City Stadium! Driving in, I must say it looked impressive, with acres of car parks surrounding one of the new bowl-style stadiums. And, with building work going on behind the Ninian Stand they could be building a new tier to the stand or just tarting up the car park. As I arrived, the rain started again, but fortunately soon stopped.

Adjacent to this area are the gates of the old ground. They have been "modernised" to include the name Ninian Park on one gate and the dates 1910-2009 on the other. They have been matched with a new gateway which also serves as a memorial to some well-known figures around the club and leading through the gates is another of those memorial walkways that I like so much, "The City Walk" made up of bricks dedicated to lost loved ones. Also adjacent to the gates is a small memorial garden. The gates actually open out on to Sloper Road which was the address of Ninian Park for all those years. The address is now Leckwith Road, which is the dual carriageway which runs across the front of the stadium and intersects with Sloper road at one corner of the ground. I must also mention the memorial plaque attached to the gateway remembering Jock Stein who died at the ground immediately after a Scotland game on 10th September 1985.

In front of the stadium is a statue of Fred Keenor holding the FA Cup, he was captain of the club when they won the cup in 1927. This was a poor final by all accounts and is only remembered for Dan Lewis, the Arsenal goalie, fumbling then knocking the ball into his own net in the last few minutes. Still, a win's a win. I was unable to get into the ground, but was able to poke my camera lens through an open gateway.

The stadium is new, but still predates the arrival of the new owner. In a rare and controversial move, he changed the colour of the kit worn by the club, from blue to red. So now the club with the nickname "Bluebirds" play in red! The stadium was built with blue and white facings all round the outside of the bowl and blue seats inside and these blue touches still remain. The club badge has also been redesigned, the only concession to the past is a small blue bird at the bottom of the predominantly red crest.

It was time to move on to Swansea. The weather was closing in again and I had about 50 miles to go.

The Liberty Stadium in Swansea is another new bowl.

All these new grounds show some efforts at individuality, but all are depressingly similar and functional. Of course, the whole point of the new grounds is that everything should work, that there are plenty of function and hospitality rooms to increase the club revenue and the safety of fans is improved, but it is seems so sad, and I suppose inevitable, that grounds that grew organically and individually with the clubs and ooze history are being bulldozed almost without a second thought.

The Liberty Stadium is sited right in amongst a retail park, so I was able to park in Frankie & Benny's car park right in front of the stadium with no problem, even though West Ham United were due to visit later that afternoon. However, I was warned that on match days parking was limited to 90 minutes only. My journey was again punctuated by gusty winds and heavy rain which miraculously stopped as I arrived and parked the car.

I walked around the ground. At the far end I spied an open gate guarded by a uniformed steward. In the best "hopeless, but I might as well try anyway" manner,  I explained the purpose of my visit and asked if I might photograph the interior of the stadium, promising to stay within his eyesight. He was a nice man and acceded to my request.

That done I quickly carried on around the ground as the weather was closing in again. I had almost completed my circuit when I came upon the statue of Ivor Allchurch, a Swans legend, an inside forward of great poise who played over 400 times for Swansea, his home town.

I then made tracks for home, hoping to stop off in the Brecon Beacons for a quick ascent of Pen y Fan, a notable landmark in my military career. However the wind and rain increased in fury and I sadly carried on home via the Heads of the Valleys road. 710 miles completed.  Six grounds visited, three of those shared with Rugby clubs, a growing feature, and great variety amongst those stadiums, vividly illustrating the diversity of our sporting real estate.

Howe did they do that?

The International Break was preceded by a stunning win at Brighton. The first game afterwards was a home game to AFC Bournemouth. My father was born in Christchurch in Hampshire and supported Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic. The team has changed it's name and it's county, as it now resides in Dorset thanks some planner or other.

This was expected to be an easy win for Forest as the South coast team are just up from League 1 and taking time to adjust to life in the Championship. However, they were in mid-table when they visited the CG and possessed a couple of nippy forwards, one of whom, Grabban, was scoring freely. Their young manager, Eddie Howe, is also proving, once again, that he can motivate his team.

Now, I'm not a tactical sort of chap. Not only have tactics changed dramatically since I played football, but I've always just followed the game in front of me and enjoyed it for the cut and thrust, without trying to work out if it's 4-4-2 or 4-3-2-1-1 or whatever. In this game Bournemouth had two tricky and quite small (relatively speaking) forwards whilst we played one big, burly forward, so it was always going to be a contest of differing tactics, with one team predominantly playing it on the ground against the other playing it more in the air. And so it proved.

With the records of both clubs showing an ability to score goals and concede a few as well, an open and exciting game was in prospect. Forest had 21 goal attempts and Bournemouth 13. Overall, I think Forest had the better, clearer chances, but only managed the one goal, from Lansbury, who scored with a brilliant 30 yard shot which really couldn't even be rated as a chance. He was so far out and in an unpromising position, but took it very well indeed.

The first half was broken up firstly by the Bournemouth goalie Henderson falling awkwardly and dislocating his shoulder and secondly by the linesman on the Main Stand side pulling a muscle and having to hand his flag over to the 4th Official. This gentleman created a great deal of mirth, by insisting on going through a warming up routine similar to that practised by the substitutes, right in front of A Block. All for running up the touchline for 15 minutes until half time!! Seven minutes of added time in this half.

The second half was similar to the first. Chances to both sides, but nothing scored. Forest contrived to miss an open goal at one point (Henderson, after passing the goalie, pushed the ball wide of a post) and also had a goal disallowed for climbing on a defender before planting a powerful header in the net. Then, after a period of pressure by Bournemouth, right at the start of added time, the tricky forward pairing of Bournemouth teased our defence once more, the ball squirted out to Marc Pugh on the left angle of the penalty area and the seasiders had their equaliser. They had had their chances throughout the match, but Forest had more and paid for their slack finishing by dropping two points.

In those circumstances, it feels like a defeat to lose a goal in the last minute.

Hopefully next week at Yeovil we will see, but not notice, the referee and Forest will, at last, take a few of the chances created and score some goals.

Sussex by the Sea

On my way to the coast, I decided to visit Crystal Palace FC. They are situated deep in South London, a difficult ground to reach at the best of times, but through the Saturday morning traffic and road works, it is a nightmare. At least the Forest game at Brighton had been moved to a 1730 kick off because of a university open day, so I had time on my side. When I last visited Selhurst Park, the Holmesdale Road end was a giant terrace, now it is a giant stand.  And from the outside, that is really the only improvement made since that time. Of course, it isn't the only improvement to the ground; every aspect of the stadium has been improved, but these changes are only visible from the inside and, sadly, I could not get inside. From the outside it still looks run down and in need of a coat of paint, not Premier League at all. Even the player's entrance is protected by a chain-link fence.

The Holmesdale Road stand gives a clue to the improvements made. From the road, it does not look like a football stand at all, more like a block of flats. And, as it is in a predominantly residential area, that is probably what it is supposed to look like. After a brief tour of the exterior, it was onwards to the seaside.

The last game before the latest international break took Forest to the American Express Community Stadium (or the AMEX) at Falmer, home of Brighton and Hove Albion.
We expected a tough game here because Brighton had shown strong form last season, getting to the playoffs, though their form this season has been much more patchy. This may be due to injuries suffered by key players, most notably Ulloa, their influential free-scoring forward.

The AMEX is a new build, bowl-type ground completed in 2011, with various interior additions made during the intervening years. The design concept is based on the roll of the South Downs and the stadium is built into a hillside which necessitated removing vast quantities of chalk during the build. This design concept no doubt accounts for the slope of the roof of the stadium as the West Stand has one more tier than the facing East Stand. Anything would be an improvement on the Withdean Stadium (really just an athletics track) which Brighton used after leaving their old Goldstone Ground in the late 1990s and ground-sharing with Gillingham for a couple of seasons.

The AMEX is no doubt a fine stadium, but access for the visiting fan is difficult. Probably the best approach is to come by official club coach, because these are parked (nose to tail) in a car park just above the away fans South Stand. The problem of access comes because of the isolated site and the fact that the ground is plumb in the middle of the campuses of two Universities, those of Sussex and Brighton. There is nowhere adjacent to find parking space, so fans, both home and away, must use public transport. The club and town have gone to great lengths to provide a variety of links to the ground; park and ride, bus and/or trains being the main transport, with tickets to games marked "Free travel included". However, our game was attended by over 27,000 fans and getting that number away from the ground after the games is a problem.

I parked in Lewes and, as the game was late on Saturday, I parked for free, and travelled to the AMEX by train. Coming back to Lewes we waited for the train in a vast queue in the open air for about half an hour. It was a dry balmy evening. That wait on a cold winter's day or in driving rain would, I guess, take the edge off the enjoyment of any game, win or lose. I heard that the park and ride queues can take even longer to dissipate.

Prior to the game I was wandering around the ground taking my usual photos and videos and noticed a group of VIPs coming down the hill towards me. Didn't take much notice of the group as I was rather distracted by the young lady leading the party! Only as they passed me, did I realise that it was Fawaz al Hasawi, the Forest owner, and his family. No doubt more extrovert members of the travelling fans would have called out to him, but I am too shy for that and just allowed them to proceed unmolested.

The game itself was a classic "game of two halves".  We did not play well in the first half, but, even so, were unlucky to go one down on the half hour mark. Their right winger mishit a shot which went straight across the goal to Crofts and he dived forward and headed in from close range. In the second half we scored almost from the kick off. The ball was put out for a corner and Lansbury scored with a fine header. Shortly afterwards Cox pushed a ball back to Henderson and he scored with an instinctive left foot shot. Finally Cox again turned provider, only this time it was winning a penalty for a trip in the box. Lansbury got his second, with an unstoppable penalty which nearly bust the net. Cue hysteria from the visiting fans. We went down to ten men for the last 20 or so minutes, but saw  the game out quite comfortably.

Eventually I was on the road again and heading for Crawley in order to visit my third ground of the weekend. On a misty, but mild October morning I made my way to the Broadfield Stadium of Crawley Town FC. This is a relatively new stadium (built 1997) made up of 4 separate stands, with additional facilities, such as ticketing, away travel etc, in portacabins set about the site. The ground is difficult to miss as on the roundabout outside is a giant red and white football. 

The whole setup is  in a wooded area and seems spacious because there is a car park around two sides and a artificial turf five-a-side pitch to the rear, where there is also a bar "The Redz".

Whilst I was there one of the Crawley Town girls sides was gathering for a Sunday morning fixture. More evidence that clubs at all levels of football get themselves involved in the community.

On this trip I was really mixing the ancient and modern in stadium design. Because my next ground was Fratton Park, home to Portsmouth. From the ultra modern AMEX to Fratton Park is a journey in time. Pompey were founded in 1898 and have been at their present ground all that time. In my young days, just after WWII, they were a power in the land, twice winners of the Div 1 title. Recently, however, they have suffered severe financial troubles, are currently owned by a supporters trust and have been relegated in short order from the Premier League to League 2.

Their ground is old and, frankly, tatty, but shows the obvious love of the fans. For instance, the whole way down the outside of the North Stand is graffiti which is, to my eyes, artistic and suited to the ground.

During my walk around the ground, I started chatting to a bloke who obviously had knowledge of and affection for the club. It turned out that he is their CEO. He promised to give me a tour of the ground later as the players were, at that moment, training on it. Sadly I had to move on.

My trip now took me just a few miles along the coast, but miles up the football pyramid. For I travelled to St. Mary's  Stadium, home of Southampton FC currently in the Premier League and housed in a brand new stadium, opened in 2001. This is of the familiar bowl type plan and, I must admit, the in reception area at the front of the ground looks grand.

However, despite this effort to differentiate the ground from all other new 'bowls', it is rather bland, with it's rather plain exterior and spiky protruding metalwork, necessary for strength, but with attempts by the architect to make it something of a visual feature to offset the functionality.

Actually, I wasn't able to 'case the joint' as thoroughly as I had the other grounds because my planning had let me down. I had originally found that there was no game on the day I decided to visit, but because of the success in Europe of Swansea City, the visitors, the game had been put back a day. Thus I was rather surprised to arrive in the area along with hordes of fans and stewards and, worst of all, traffic wardens. I attempted to explain the purpose of my visit and pleaded for just five minutes  to take my photos and wander round the ground, then I would be off out of their hair. No go. As I passed the same couple of stewards on 'traffic management duties' for the fifth time, they took pity on me and allowed me to park in a small layby opposite the main entrance of the ground, whilst at the same time assuring me that if there was any official intervention, they knew nothing about anything.

This was good enough. I raced around the ground; well, not all around it, but the bits that looked interesting and took my pictures. Statues are becoming very popular outside grounds. St Mary's ( the stadium name derives from the fact that the club were originally named Southampton St Mary's because of the association with the local St Mary's church) has one of Ted Bates, who filled almost every position at the club from manager to president during his time at the club, from his 1937 transfer from Norwich City to his death in 2003.

Not wishing to outstay my welcome, I soon left and headed home.

South to Charlton

I'm a country boy and visits to the Capital are viewed with distaste. To some it is vibrant and alive, to me it's crowded, dirty and unfriendly. Plus, I'm never quite sure how to get to where I'm going. So it proved. My carefully planned route led me along the crowded roads almost to my destination then let me down, so that I went too far along the road, under the Thames and up on the wrong side of the river!! I promptly went back under the water and managed to find my destination, a parking spot within easy reach of The Valley, home to Charlton Athletic FC.

The last 30 years or so have been turbulent ones for the Addicks fans. In 1985 because of poor financial planning, Charlton had to leave their ground and share with other clubs, notably Crystal Palace and West Ham. After much work by all associated with the club, including political skirmishes with Greenwich  Council, the club moved back to their home in 1992. More work remained to be done, but this was the major step. More progress of note was the opening of the North Stand in 2002, a fact commemorated by a large plaque on the wall of that stand.

The Valley now has three sides of the ground enclosed, forming a giant U-shape, with the open end bottled up by the stand-alone, single tiered South Stand, which houses the away fans.

Probably Charlton's greatest ever player was Sam Bartram, a fine goalie, who played out his entire professional career with the club. He was certainly one of the first professional footballers of whom I have memories, though he was never selected for England. I still have my copy of the 1954 "FA Book for Boys" with an article by Sam Bartram on goalkeeping and a photo of him cutting the cake, with Jimmy Dickinson in close attendance, presented to him celebrating his 500th appearance for Charlton. There is a statue of the great man outside the club reception in the West Stand. I have to say it does not look remotely like the Sam Bartram I remember, but then memories can be deceptive.

Another feature around this area is a memorial walk of stones commemorating Addicks fans who are no longer with us. A nice touch, which I have noted at several grounds.


The game was nerve-wracking for Forest fans. Injuries and tactics meant that Billy Davies selected a team quite different from that which faced Derby. Once again Andy Reid was our saviour, scoring direct from a free kick way out on the right touchline in the first few minutes. However, this was not the signal for a complete demolition of a Charlton side which was short of recent form. In fact, the home side completely took over the game, playing delightful football. Half time could not come soon enough for the Forest fans or the team and, luckily, it was still 1-0 to us at the interval.

Second half was more of the same, desperate defending by us with Charlton continuing to play pretty well.  They soon scored and played for the winner. As is our wont, we came into it strongly towards the end, but neither side could find a winner. Forest being far the more relieved to claim one point than Charlton.

Derby Day

This was a Derby with a difference, the change from the usual razzamatazz coming after the game had finished.

The game was pretty much a sell-out, with the away fans, as is usual now, being limited to about 2,000 fans in one corner of the Lower Bridgford stand. I think this new arrangement for the fans in this part of the ground is beginning to work well. Normally 'our' section of the Lower Bridgford is quite sparsely populated, but I hear from those who have moved there that they like it and so it is to be hoped that the idea catches on and more folk are tempted move. The proximity to the away fans is the attraction for some and for others it is chance to gather many of our more vocal fans in one area to add to the noise of A Block.

The game itself was the usual high-tension affair. Not because there were lots of bad fouls and cards of all colours, but because these games are so important to the fans of both clubs. In fact the game was fairly insipid. Forest dominated the first 15 minutes or so, then Derby started to come into it with some pleasant midfield moves which, however, hardly threatened Darlow's goal. Then we scored with a goal straight off the training ground. Reidy hit a hard, low corner to the near post and Jack Hobbs raced in, unmarked, to score with a powerful header. After that we played out the remaining 10 minutes to half time with no problem.

Second half was much of the same. Derby trying to play passing football,  but not making any real impression on the Forest rearguard. Their only effort of note was a shot on the turn by Sammon coming just a few minutes from the end. This was, probably, during Derby's best spell of the game, which was surprising as they were down to 10 men, Keogh having been sent off for a second yellow card gained after a tackle in the box on Chris Cohen. The resultant penalty was saved by Grant, who went the correct way to palm Henderson's shot out for a corner. Reid also had a shot during a breakaway, but that was also saved. I think he just ran out of puff for that one.

Not one of the most memorable derbies, but the result is far more important than the style of victory.

The big event of the day came some hours after the game, Nigel Clough, son of Brian and the Derby manager, was sacked. A fine player for us during the time his father managed the club, Nigel had a spell of ten years at Burton and then moved to Derby County five years ago. With little money to spend, many considered him to have done a good job, trimming the wage bill and building a pretty useful team. However, sentiment has little place in football today and the board obviously considered he had done as much as he could for the club.

The new man, with strong links to Derby, is Steve McClaren. He was not a great success during a short spell as Forest manager, but has been welcomed with open arms at our rivals.