Preston North End 4-3 Crystal Palace
Football League Championship
23.10.10
Ground: Deepdale
Admission: Adults: from £25 Children: £5.00
Programme: £3
Attendance: 10,116
Capacity: 23,408
Seated: 23,408
Covered: 23,408
Town: Preston, Lancashire
Club shop: Yes
Floodlights: Yes
Step: 2
Preston is a large town sitting in the heart of Lancashire. In 2008 the town had a population of 114,300 which doesn't really reflect the support of the football team. The town has historic evidence of the Romans, with roads running to camps through the settlement. Preston also played its role in the Industrial Revolution with Textile manufacturing bringing in a large income. If you're visiting Preston for the day then a good place to start would be the Harris Museum and Art Gallery (free) in the Market square. This contains a wide range of decorative art and explores the story of Preston. Winckley square was once the home of the richest Cotton magnates. Beyond here there is Avenham Park a beautifully landscaped Victorian park.
Trains run directly to Preston from: Manchester Airport, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Blackpool, Colne, York, London and Ormskirk.
Preston North End were founded in 1880. They finished unbeaten in both the league and FA Cup in 1888-1889. The last trophy they won was the FA Cup way back in 1938. However over time Preston slipped down the football league system ending up in the 4th division in 1985.
In 1995 they were promoted from division 3 and David Moyes became manager. In 2000 they were promoted from division 2. In the 2000s Preston reached the play offs on two occasions, losing out in the semis and final once. Since then Preston have been yo-yoing between the top and bottom of the Championship, currently in relegation danger.
Deepdale is a very old stadium with Preston North End playing their first game there in 1878. The side were founded from North End Sports club in the 1870s.
The West Paddock was built in the 1890s as a way of raising spectators. Into the 1900s, Preston received attendances of over 10,000 so it was obvious the ground had to be made bigger. The Spion Kop was built behind one goal in 1921. The Town End was then built behind the oppositew goal. This was destroyed in a fire 5 years after completion. In 1938 a record attendance of 42,684 saw the game against Arsenal. Between the 1960s and 1980s, roofs were put over the stands and seating was installed in some of the stands. In 1995 the West Stand was demolished and replaced by the 8,000 capacity Tom Finney Stand. Both ends were then redeveloped over the next decade. The East terrace closed in 2006 (not the upper seating) and was demolished a year later. The Invincibles Pavilion opened in 2008 to give Deepdale its new improved capacity.
As usual we were late arriving at the game, dashing to the ticket office to purchase our tickets. As we bought them we overhead police telling one of the ticket staff not to sell a nearby drunk a ticket. We entered the stadium and soon founbd our seats. Preston took an early lead before Palace equalised. However the home side soon regained their lead before half time. During the interval we observed the group in front of us do a coin trick, however I eventually lost interest and turned my attention to the ground. We were located in the North East section of the stadium. This contains a couple of thousand navy blue plastic seats for away supporters. The other half of the stand is the same. The side to the left contains a few thousand seats. The opposite end has about 4,500 seats. The stand to the right has 7,000 seats and formerly contained the National Football Museum. All stands have cantelivier roofs. Preston went 3-1 up in the second half before adding a fourth not long afterwards. Palace then scored a penalty before putting one in off the post to set up a nervy finish. Certainly a good ground to visit in the football league, especially with its interesting history.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Holiday snaps
These are the pictures I took whilst on holiday in Norway, Sweden and Denmark in the Summer. I literally just popped in too take some pictures so there is nothing written here about the grounds however I have put captions in where I do know information.
Holiday pictures
Holiday pictures
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
18. Darlington Road-West Auckland Town
West Auckland Town 2-1 Billingham Synthonia
Northern League Division 1
9.10.10
Ground: Darlington Road
League: Northern League Division 1
Admission: Adults: £5 Children: £2.50
Programme: £1
Attendance: 141
Capacity: 1,500
Seated: 190
Covered: 270
Town: West Auckland
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 9
West Auckland is a village in County Durham. It is mainly known for its coal mining in the past at West Auckland colliery. The Colliery closed in 1967. Of course though the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy is what West Auckland is known for. This was one of the first international competitions, it was won by West Auckland twice. They were allowed to keep the trophy when they won it for the second time.
The serial killer Mary Ann Cotton lived in West Auckland. Ex-Prime Minister Anthony Eden was born in the village. The Manor House Hotel was apparently one of Henry VIII's hunting lodges and 7 trees were planted behind the house to commemorate one of his visits. 2 have been cut down though.
Buses run regularly from Bishop Auckland station to the village green for about £3.00 return.
West Auckland are 117 years old, being founded in 1893. Before 1908 they played in the Wear Valley League, South Durham League and the Mid Durham League. They joined the Northern League in 1908.
As mentioned before, West Auckland played in the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1909 and 1911, winning it both times. No one actually knows how they managed to get into the competition, seeming as the FA rejected the offer to put a time in the competition. The West Auckland players had to pawn their possessions in order to get to Turin where the competition took place. It paid off though and they returned home with the trophy won. They then managed to repeat the feat 2 years later and were allowed to keep the trophy.
The trophy was sold to pay off the clubs debts, but was bought back to the club after a village appeal. However the trophy was stolen in 1994 and was never found. A replica is now in the West Auckland WMC. The club folded in 1912 due to debts but reformed in 1914. They won the Northern League in 1960 and 1961. They were runners up to Walthamstow Avenue in the 1961 FA Amateur Cup. In 2009 to commemorate the centenary of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, West Auckland played a friendly against Juventus. Juventus won 7-1.
Darlington Road is found on the A68 South of the village green. Going down Chapel Street the ground is down the driveway on the second right. You go through the commemerative gates to the Trophy and then through a set of more grim ones. You come to the turnstile where you pay your admission. Once through there is a stall selling programmes and raffle tickets. going down the side to your left there is sloping hard standing all the way down. Going behind the goal there is more hard standing. On the opposite side is the main stand which has about 190 plastic yellow seats without the backs. In the middle is the players tunnel leading to the changing rooms underneath. In front of the stand are two dugouts. Adjacent to the stand is a small covered terrace with 4 steps holding about 80 people. In the corner is the clubhouse, containing the club shop, hospitality room and the refreshments hatch selling hot food and drinks. Along the near goal is 3 steps of raised terracing. The pitch has a wall all the way around it while the ground is surrounded by a metal fence.
West Auckland went 1-0 up in this game thanks to a penalty from Steven Brown due to a hand ball after 5 minutes. However Synners equalised when Colin Iley fired home a pass from Nathan Jameson. The sides went off at 1-1. The second half didn't produce many chances until late in the game when Mattie Moffat went round two defenders to put the ball home. West Auckland got a crucial win in their bid to reach the top of the table as they beat Synthonia 2-1.
The programme produced sells for £1 at a table in front of the turnstiles. It is a bit of a newsy publication but includes a match report from the last game and player profiles. It also had a quirky 'On this day...' feature that had nothing to do with football, but oh well. All the clubs latest news was featured and the league's. The cover features a picture of a player in action while the back has team lists.
Overall I think this is a superb ground to visit with real character. The slope and main stand give it that flavour of a real non league ground. The club seemed friendly overall and replied almost instantly to my e-mail I sent ahead of the match.
West Auckland Town matchday pictures
Northern League Division 1
9.10.10
Ground: Darlington Road
League: Northern League Division 1
Admission: Adults: £5 Children: £2.50
Programme: £1
Attendance: 141
Capacity: 1,500
Seated: 190
Covered: 270
Town: West Auckland
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 9
West Auckland is a village in County Durham. It is mainly known for its coal mining in the past at West Auckland colliery. The Colliery closed in 1967. Of course though the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy is what West Auckland is known for. This was one of the first international competitions, it was won by West Auckland twice. They were allowed to keep the trophy when they won it for the second time.
The serial killer Mary Ann Cotton lived in West Auckland. Ex-Prime Minister Anthony Eden was born in the village. The Manor House Hotel was apparently one of Henry VIII's hunting lodges and 7 trees were planted behind the house to commemorate one of his visits. 2 have been cut down though.
Buses run regularly from Bishop Auckland station to the village green for about £3.00 return.
West Auckland are 117 years old, being founded in 1893. Before 1908 they played in the Wear Valley League, South Durham League and the Mid Durham League. They joined the Northern League in 1908.
As mentioned before, West Auckland played in the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1909 and 1911, winning it both times. No one actually knows how they managed to get into the competition, seeming as the FA rejected the offer to put a time in the competition. The West Auckland players had to pawn their possessions in order to get to Turin where the competition took place. It paid off though and they returned home with the trophy won. They then managed to repeat the feat 2 years later and were allowed to keep the trophy.
The trophy was sold to pay off the clubs debts, but was bought back to the club after a village appeal. However the trophy was stolen in 1994 and was never found. A replica is now in the West Auckland WMC. The club folded in 1912 due to debts but reformed in 1914. They won the Northern League in 1960 and 1961. They were runners up to Walthamstow Avenue in the 1961 FA Amateur Cup. In 2009 to commemorate the centenary of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, West Auckland played a friendly against Juventus. Juventus won 7-1.
Darlington Road is found on the A68 South of the village green. Going down Chapel Street the ground is down the driveway on the second right. You go through the commemerative gates to the Trophy and then through a set of more grim ones. You come to the turnstile where you pay your admission. Once through there is a stall selling programmes and raffle tickets. going down the side to your left there is sloping hard standing all the way down. Going behind the goal there is more hard standing. On the opposite side is the main stand which has about 190 plastic yellow seats without the backs. In the middle is the players tunnel leading to the changing rooms underneath. In front of the stand are two dugouts. Adjacent to the stand is a small covered terrace with 4 steps holding about 80 people. In the corner is the clubhouse, containing the club shop, hospitality room and the refreshments hatch selling hot food and drinks. Along the near goal is 3 steps of raised terracing. The pitch has a wall all the way around it while the ground is surrounded by a metal fence.
West Auckland went 1-0 up in this game thanks to a penalty from Steven Brown due to a hand ball after 5 minutes. However Synners equalised when Colin Iley fired home a pass from Nathan Jameson. The sides went off at 1-1. The second half didn't produce many chances until late in the game when Mattie Moffat went round two defenders to put the ball home. West Auckland got a crucial win in their bid to reach the top of the table as they beat Synthonia 2-1.
The programme produced sells for £1 at a table in front of the turnstiles. It is a bit of a newsy publication but includes a match report from the last game and player profiles. It also had a quirky 'On this day...' feature that had nothing to do with football, but oh well. All the clubs latest news was featured and the league's. The cover features a picture of a player in action while the back has team lists.
Overall I think this is a superb ground to visit with real character. The slope and main stand give it that flavour of a real non league ground. The club seemed friendly overall and replied almost instantly to my e-mail I sent ahead of the match.
West Auckland Town matchday pictures
17. Leyburn Road-Bedale
Bedale 3-2 Harold Stynas
Harrogate & District League Premier Division
11.9.10
Ground: Leyburn Road
League: Harrogate & District League Premier Division
Admission: None
Programme: None
Attendance: 22
Capacity: 860
Seated: 20
Covered: 50
Town: Just outside Bedale
Club shop: No
Floodlights: No
Step: 14
Bedale is a small town in Hambleton, North Yorkshire. It attracts visitors mainly because of the fact it is a simple market town in the heartland of the County. At last check the town had a population of 4,530.
The main highlight being the station from which you have acces to Leyburn and Redmire. There is also Thorpe Perrow Arboretum and Big Sheep Little Cow Farm to keep youngsters entertained.
Bedale used to be part of Hangshire. It got this name due to the fact Scots were hung in Finghall in the distant past for attempting to tresspass into the country. However later it split and Bedale went into East Hang. There are still hamlet names in the area that show this grim past (Hutton Hang).
The town is set by the River Swale which runs by Bedale Beck. This certaintly helps the local agriculture.
To get to the ground from Northallerton station, get the 73 Dales & District bus on the opposite side to the station on Boroughbridge Road (this costs £3.70 return). Get off in Bedale market place and walk out West along the A684 past the Golf Club. After about 300 yards you will see the ground on the right.
Because of Bedale's low down position it is very hard to find out about their history. This is mainly because a) there is nothing on the Football Club History Database. b)The website is small, and c) there was no programme issued. Hopefully a rise in status may trigger a programme production or an upgrade to the website.
Bedale Athletics club is located outside of Bedale to the West on the A684. Enter through the drive and turn right past the pavilion. You will then see the football pitch to the right of the Cricket pitch. Behind the near goal is just grass standing as is the right hand side which contains one lone crush barrier. Who knows why it's there. The opposite goal is pinned right up against the bushes behind meaning there is no access. The left hand side is the one of interest. The half closest to the entrance is fenced off with ad boards (although this may be for the Cricket pitch). Located either side of the half way line are two dugouts, brickbuilt with 'Home' and 'Away' painted in blue on the back of each. Between the two dugouts is the small stand that gives the ground its interest. It has a blue wooden shell with Bedale Town FC on the front. Inside there are 3 wooden steps, the top one is higher so it can be used for seating. The others are used for standing. The stand has a low roof providing cover that is the envy of all clubs in the league (it's something very, very rare at this level).
There were no refreshments on offer on matchday, neither is the pitch railed off apart from the forementioned section.
This was a match Bedale had to win if they were going to have any chance of pushing for the title. They started well hitting the bar 3 times in the opening 20 minutes. This was before they got a penalty which was easily converted. Bedale began to rue those early chances as Stynas equalised before going ahead in the second half. Bedale had lots of work to do and it took some quality passing and finishing to get the equaliser and then the winner. A close call for Bedale, but they got the crucial 3 points in the end.
Overall, if you're a fan of small stands and little clubs in the English countryside then I definitely recommend a visit. This is a club with so much potential and every bit of help can help them achieve that.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
16. Griffin Park-Brentford
Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace
Pre Season Friendly
30.7.10
Ground: Griffin Park
League: NPower League One (match was pre season friendly)
Admission: Adults: £10 Children: £1 (Different on league match days)
Programme: £3
Attendance: 2,166
Capacity: 12,763
Seated: 7,800
Covered: 12,763
Town/City: Brentford
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 3
First off I would like to apologise to followers of the website for my tardiness of updating it. I went on holiday to West Scandinavia (see possible grounds soon and next post) and returned to find the internet had gone down. BT had come to raise a low wire and turned the internet and telephone lines off. When they turned it back on they had connected the phone line to an old wire that wasn't in use anymore. Thankfully they came to fix it (properly) a few days later.
Brentford's small claim for importance is the fact that it is home to Syon House, the place of residence in London for the Duke of Northumberland. Griffin Park is also the home of Chelsea Reserves who play home games here. They may get higher attendances, I'm not sure.
London Broncos also used to play here, however they became Harlequins and moved to the Twickenham Stoop.
Brentford FC were founded in 1898, as a winter sport for the local rowing club, in the Southern League Division 2. In 1901 they won the league and joined the Western League. In 1920 they were founder members of the third division south. In the 1920/1930 season the club won all 21 of their home matches yet they still missed out on promotion. They are the last of 6 teams in England to have a 100% home record in a season. In 1933 they were finally promoted to the Second Division. Two years later Brentford were in the First Division and finished 5th. During the war Brentford played in the London War Cup. They lost in the 1941 final to Reading at Wembley but beat Portsmouth in the final the following year. The club were relegated one season after the war finished. In 1954 they were relegated to the third division and the fourth division in 1962. In the late 1960s QPR threatened to take over the club as money problems set in. However before they could take over Brentford received a £104,000 emergency loan to keep them afloat. In 1978 Brentford FC finally got a permanent promotion to the third division. In 1985 the club reached the final of the Freight Rover Trophy where they lost to Wigan at friendly. Brentford were promoted to the new 1st division 1992 but were relegated one year later. David Webb became manager in 1993. The club missed out on promotion several times with a series of differnt managers. In January 2006 the club beat Sunderland to reach the 5th round of the FA Cup where they were beaten by Charlton. In 2007 Brentford were relegated to League Two. Terry Butcher was appointed manager and Brentford were promoted to League One in 2008 under Andy Scott after Butcher's departure.
Although this match was regarded as a friendly, the Palace fans certaintly didn't seem to be thinking of it that way. I was positioned in the away terrace the bottom of a double decker stand. The Brentford fans seemed to see the match as a nights entertainment. With mainly families there. However the die hard Palace fans were in their droves and singing songs right through the match. Palace pushed forward but it was Brentford who took the lead with Nicky Forster hitting home a third rebound. In the second half though, Palace were back in control and when an Ambrose corner was hit in Moore in the Brentford goal dealt with it poorly and Cadagon headed it in before he could catch it. Both sides attacked from there on but neither side looked to threatening and the sides finished with the match all square.
Griffin Park is based next to the M4 and has cover on all 4 sides. The New Road Stand has approximately 2,000 red plastic tip up seats. The opposite Braemer Road Stand has about 3,000 red plastic tip up seats. The Brook Road Stand has a capacity of about 3,300, 1,300 of which is Red plastic tip up seating with Brentford picked out in White. The Ealing Road end has a capacity of about 3,000 standing.
I didn't get there in time to collect a match day programme, but if you look around on the internet you'll probably find a picture.
A great night overall and the first time I've stood on a terrace to watch the Eagles play.
Pre Season Friendly
30.7.10
Ground: Griffin Park
League: NPower League One (match was pre season friendly)
Admission: Adults: £10 Children: £1 (Different on league match days)
Programme: £3
Attendance: 2,166
Capacity: 12,763
Seated: 7,800
Covered: 12,763
Town/City: Brentford
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 3
First off I would like to apologise to followers of the website for my tardiness of updating it. I went on holiday to West Scandinavia (see possible grounds soon and next post) and returned to find the internet had gone down. BT had come to raise a low wire and turned the internet and telephone lines off. When they turned it back on they had connected the phone line to an old wire that wasn't in use anymore. Thankfully they came to fix it (properly) a few days later.
Brentford's small claim for importance is the fact that it is home to Syon House, the place of residence in London for the Duke of Northumberland. Griffin Park is also the home of Chelsea Reserves who play home games here. They may get higher attendances, I'm not sure.
London Broncos also used to play here, however they became Harlequins and moved to the Twickenham Stoop.
Brentford FC were founded in 1898, as a winter sport for the local rowing club, in the Southern League Division 2. In 1901 they won the league and joined the Western League. In 1920 they were founder members of the third division south. In the 1920/1930 season the club won all 21 of their home matches yet they still missed out on promotion. They are the last of 6 teams in England to have a 100% home record in a season. In 1933 they were finally promoted to the Second Division. Two years later Brentford were in the First Division and finished 5th. During the war Brentford played in the London War Cup. They lost in the 1941 final to Reading at Wembley but beat Portsmouth in the final the following year. The club were relegated one season after the war finished. In 1954 they were relegated to the third division and the fourth division in 1962. In the late 1960s QPR threatened to take over the club as money problems set in. However before they could take over Brentford received a £104,000 emergency loan to keep them afloat. In 1978 Brentford FC finally got a permanent promotion to the third division. In 1985 the club reached the final of the Freight Rover Trophy where they lost to Wigan at friendly. Brentford were promoted to the new 1st division 1992 but were relegated one year later. David Webb became manager in 1993. The club missed out on promotion several times with a series of differnt managers. In January 2006 the club beat Sunderland to reach the 5th round of the FA Cup where they were beaten by Charlton. In 2007 Brentford were relegated to League Two. Terry Butcher was appointed manager and Brentford were promoted to League One in 2008 under Andy Scott after Butcher's departure.
Although this match was regarded as a friendly, the Palace fans certaintly didn't seem to be thinking of it that way. I was positioned in the away terrace the bottom of a double decker stand. The Brentford fans seemed to see the match as a nights entertainment. With mainly families there. However the die hard Palace fans were in their droves and singing songs right through the match. Palace pushed forward but it was Brentford who took the lead with Nicky Forster hitting home a third rebound. In the second half though, Palace were back in control and when an Ambrose corner was hit in Moore in the Brentford goal dealt with it poorly and Cadagon headed it in before he could catch it. Both sides attacked from there on but neither side looked to threatening and the sides finished with the match all square.
Griffin Park is based next to the M4 and has cover on all 4 sides. The New Road Stand has approximately 2,000 red plastic tip up seats. The opposite Braemer Road Stand has about 3,000 red plastic tip up seats. The Brook Road Stand has a capacity of about 3,300, 1,300 of which is Red plastic tip up seating with Brentford picked out in White. The Ealing Road end has a capacity of about 3,000 standing.
I didn't get there in time to collect a match day programme, but if you look around on the internet you'll probably find a picture.
A great night overall and the first time I've stood on a terrace to watch the Eagles play.
Monday, 26 July 2010
15. Bootham Crescent-York City
York City 0-1 Hull City
Pre season friendly
Saturday 17th July 2010
Ground: Bootham Crescent
League: Conference National (match was a pre season friendly)
Admission: Adults: £10 Children: £5 (On league matchday, Adults: £14-£17 Children: £6-£11)
Programme: £2
Attendance: 2,550
Capacity: 7,900
Seated: 2,400
Covered: 5,200
Town/City: York
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 5
York as I have already covered before is a large city with a population of 195,400. The number one thing to do in York is obviously visit the minster. Which towers above everything in the City center. This is open on matchdays between 9:15 and 17:00. It costs between £5.50 and £9 to get in. Nearby to York is Castle Howard. By many said to be England's grandest stately home this will certaintly take a few hours to explore. The house is open March-October and late November to mid December every day from 11:00-17:00. The grounds are open all year from 10:00-17:00. It costs £10 but £7.50 for just the grounds. Jorvik is the other site that provides interest. It provides a simulation ride through a Viking York with sounds and smells to go with it. It is open daily from 10:00-16:30 and costs £7.95. Also associated is Dig! which lets you dig artifacts up for yourselves. This costs £5.50 or £11.20 with Jorvik. You must pre book for this.
York holds every sport with City being its main one. York Knights RLFC play in the Co-Operative Championship 1 and play at Huntingdon Stadium in Northeast York. York RUFC play at Shipton Road Northwest of York centre. They play in the Yorkshire Division One. York CC (who I have already visited) also play at Shipton Road. They play in and are holders of the Yorkshire ECB Premier Division.
York City were founded in 1922 and joined the Midlands league. They spent 7 seasons here before being elected to the Football League Division 3 North. In 1955 they were FA cup semi finalists after beating Notts County in the Quater final. They lost to Newcastle United on a replay at Sunderland. In 1959 they were placed in Division four. They were promoted to Division 3. This was followed by relegation in 1960. They were promoted twice more the first was followed by relegation again. In 1984 they won the Football League Division 4. in 1993 they were promoted to Division 2 after winning the play offs. In 2004 they were relegated to the Conference. Here they have waited since. They lost last seasons play off final 3-1 to Oxford United. In 1962 they reached the Quater finals of the Football League cup where they lost to Rochdale. The club lost the 2008-2009 FA trophy final against Stevenage Borough.
York first played at Fulfordgate, this was demolished in 1932. The highest attendance was 12,721 when York played Sheffield United in an FA cup match. York then moved to their current ground Bootham Crescent. In 1938 28,123 fans squeezed in to see York play Huddersfield in the FA cup sixth round.
When we arrived in York we saw police milling about everywhere. First thoughts were football hooligans, but I soon dismissed this as it was only a pre season and instead presumed that it had been a bomb scare. I arrived at the ground in time for kick off and sat in the main stand. I paid my £5 admission and picked up the thin 8 page programme for a miserable £2. The match started slowly with neither side looking to make the break through the fans were looking for. Hull hit the underside of the bar with 10 minutes remaining of the half to the annoyance of the 900 Hull fans. The break through was made on 80 minutes when a free kick was guided into the box for Daniel Cousin to head home. The full time whistle went and both sets of fans applauded their teams. I left through the narrow exit and made my way back to Marygate car park.
That night I checked the news and found out that 50 Hull fans had started a riot in York centre just before I got there. That would explain all the commotion. Some people say pre season is a waste of time and isn't worth seeing, and then there's these fans who take it to the other extreme and are risking being arrested and fined just at a friendly match. What would they be like at the Champions League?
Bootham Crescent is located in the Centre of York. There is no parking at the ground so your best bet is to either park at Marygate about 3/4 of a mile away, or park and ride. There are turnstilesat the main stand and the corner of the North Stand. Away fans can enter through the turnstile at the South stand. Fans wanting to access the Popular stand have to pay at the North stand turnstile, walk through the North stand and pay £1 at the other side to get into the Popular stand. You'll need to collect a ticket if you want to leave the Popular stand and get something to eat from the snack stand in the North stand. However on days like this when it isn't a league game. It may be there is no extra fare to enter the Popular stand and no ticket needed to go in and out. Its the same for away fans. They pay at the South stand turnstile and then pay £1 extra to get into their section of the Popular stand.
The main stand is on the East and holds 1,800 seats and covers 2/3 of the pitch length. Half the seats are wooden tip up and half are red plastic tip ups. The stand has windshields at both sides.
In front of the stand are two Perspex dugouts. Opposite the main stand is the Popular Stand which contains 1,700 seats all red plastic tip ups. One block is designated to away supporters.
The North Stand is completely terracing and is covered and holds 2,200. The opposite end is also terracing but is uncovered, it also holds 2,200. There are 4 floodlight pylons, one on each corner.
The programe for the match was awful. It was 8 pages long and most of it was welcomes for the new season from lots of different people. We only need one or two. There is also news on the youth academy, full season fixtures and team lineups (with no Hull squad numbers). All this was £2, rip off.
York City matchday pictures
Pre season friendly
Saturday 17th July 2010
Ground: Bootham Crescent
League: Conference National (match was a pre season friendly)
Admission: Adults: £10 Children: £5 (On league matchday, Adults: £14-£17 Children: £6-£11)
Programme: £2
Attendance: 2,550
Capacity: 7,900
Seated: 2,400
Covered: 5,200
Town/City: York
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 5
York as I have already covered before is a large city with a population of 195,400. The number one thing to do in York is obviously visit the minster. Which towers above everything in the City center. This is open on matchdays between 9:15 and 17:00. It costs between £5.50 and £9 to get in. Nearby to York is Castle Howard. By many said to be England's grandest stately home this will certaintly take a few hours to explore. The house is open March-October and late November to mid December every day from 11:00-17:00. The grounds are open all year from 10:00-17:00. It costs £10 but £7.50 for just the grounds. Jorvik is the other site that provides interest. It provides a simulation ride through a Viking York with sounds and smells to go with it. It is open daily from 10:00-16:30 and costs £7.95. Also associated is Dig! which lets you dig artifacts up for yourselves. This costs £5.50 or £11.20 with Jorvik. You must pre book for this.
York holds every sport with City being its main one. York Knights RLFC play in the Co-Operative Championship 1 and play at Huntingdon Stadium in Northeast York. York RUFC play at Shipton Road Northwest of York centre. They play in the Yorkshire Division One. York CC (who I have already visited) also play at Shipton Road. They play in and are holders of the Yorkshire ECB Premier Division.
York City were founded in 1922 and joined the Midlands league. They spent 7 seasons here before being elected to the Football League Division 3 North. In 1955 they were FA cup semi finalists after beating Notts County in the Quater final. They lost to Newcastle United on a replay at Sunderland. In 1959 they were placed in Division four. They were promoted to Division 3. This was followed by relegation in 1960. They were promoted twice more the first was followed by relegation again. In 1984 they won the Football League Division 4. in 1993 they were promoted to Division 2 after winning the play offs. In 2004 they were relegated to the Conference. Here they have waited since. They lost last seasons play off final 3-1 to Oxford United. In 1962 they reached the Quater finals of the Football League cup where they lost to Rochdale. The club lost the 2008-2009 FA trophy final against Stevenage Borough.
York first played at Fulfordgate, this was demolished in 1932. The highest attendance was 12,721 when York played Sheffield United in an FA cup match. York then moved to their current ground Bootham Crescent. In 1938 28,123 fans squeezed in to see York play Huddersfield in the FA cup sixth round.
When we arrived in York we saw police milling about everywhere. First thoughts were football hooligans, but I soon dismissed this as it was only a pre season and instead presumed that it had been a bomb scare. I arrived at the ground in time for kick off and sat in the main stand. I paid my £5 admission and picked up the thin 8 page programme for a miserable £2. The match started slowly with neither side looking to make the break through the fans were looking for. Hull hit the underside of the bar with 10 minutes remaining of the half to the annoyance of the 900 Hull fans. The break through was made on 80 minutes when a free kick was guided into the box for Daniel Cousin to head home. The full time whistle went and both sets of fans applauded their teams. I left through the narrow exit and made my way back to Marygate car park.
That night I checked the news and found out that 50 Hull fans had started a riot in York centre just before I got there. That would explain all the commotion. Some people say pre season is a waste of time and isn't worth seeing, and then there's these fans who take it to the other extreme and are risking being arrested and fined just at a friendly match. What would they be like at the Champions League?
Bootham Crescent is located in the Centre of York. There is no parking at the ground so your best bet is to either park at Marygate about 3/4 of a mile away, or park and ride. There are turnstilesat the main stand and the corner of the North Stand. Away fans can enter through the turnstile at the South stand. Fans wanting to access the Popular stand have to pay at the North stand turnstile, walk through the North stand and pay £1 at the other side to get into the Popular stand. You'll need to collect a ticket if you want to leave the Popular stand and get something to eat from the snack stand in the North stand. However on days like this when it isn't a league game. It may be there is no extra fare to enter the Popular stand and no ticket needed to go in and out. Its the same for away fans. They pay at the South stand turnstile and then pay £1 extra to get into their section of the Popular stand.
The main stand is on the East and holds 1,800 seats and covers 2/3 of the pitch length. Half the seats are wooden tip up and half are red plastic tip ups. The stand has windshields at both sides.
In front of the stand are two Perspex dugouts. Opposite the main stand is the Popular Stand which contains 1,700 seats all red plastic tip ups. One block is designated to away supporters.
The North Stand is completely terracing and is covered and holds 2,200. The opposite end is also terracing but is uncovered, it also holds 2,200. There are 4 floodlight pylons, one on each corner.
The programe for the match was awful. It was 8 pages long and most of it was welcomes for the new season from lots of different people. We only need one or two. There is also news on the youth academy, full season fixtures and team lineups (with no Hull squad numbers). All this was £2, rip off.
York City matchday pictures
Friday, 16 July 2010
14. Moore Lane Park-Newton Aycliffe FC
Newton Aycliffe 2-3 Bishop Auckland
Pre Season Friendly
Saturday 10th July 2010
Ground: Moore Lane Park
League/Competition: Pre season friendly (Newton Aycliffe are in the Northern league division two)
Admission: Adults: £4 Children: £2
Programme: £1 (brilliant)
Attendance: 180
Capacity: 1,200
Seated: 120
Covered: 120
Town: Great Aycliffe
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 10
Newton Aycliffe is a medium sized town in County Durham. It has a population of 26,000 with the nearest large town being Darlington.
Newton Aycliffe RUFC and CC both play on Moore Lane Park's premises. The Rugby club are in the Durham/Northumberland Division 3. This is at step 9 of the Rugby Union pyramid. The Cricket club play in the North East Durham League Division 1.
Newton Aycliffe started out life in the Wearside League in 1984. Their first season ended up with them finishing near the bottom in 17th out of 20. In 1988 they managed to finish the season in 13th out of 20 with 45 points. In 1988 the league become the Wearside league Division 1. In 1990 they managed to finish 3rd out of 15. The clubs record was destroyed before the 1993/1994 season when they resigned from the league. Until 2008 the club went around playing in local leagues. The last of which was the Durham Alliance, before they finally applied to join the Wearside League again for the 2008/2009 season. This was followed by instant success as the side were promoted to the Northern league Division 2. They played in this in 2009/2010 under the condition they had to install seating by March 2010. They did this in late winter. The clun got a ninth place finish out of 20.
This match was set to be a local derby with Bishop Auckland about 10 miles away.
Bishop Auckland are 1 division above Newton Aycliffe.
I set off on Saturday morning to get the 12:20 train from Northallerton to Darlington. Here I switched to a train which took me to Newton Aycliffe station. I didn't quite know what to do with the couple of hours I had, so I wandered round the town. At 15:00 the match kicked off and I positioned myself by the corner flag so I could get a good view of the action.
Newton Aycliffe opened the scring on 6 minutes with Hawkins curling a shot home. Bishop Auckland equalised on 27 minutes through an Emson header. John Close sliced a free kick from Jake Richardson into his own net just two minutes later. Into the second half Garner chested a cross and volleyed home. With 6 minutes left Salvin headed home a long free kick to win the match for Bishop Auckland.
I made the 35 minute walk back to the station where I did exactly the journey I did before. I managed to get home by 20:15.
Moore Lane Park is situated in the East of Newton Aycliffe, in the Great Aycliffe area.
It shares the premises with the Rugby club and the Cricket club so it needs a lot of space. The ground is enclosed by a wooden fence. There is a small wooden turnstile when you go into the ground. The changing rooms are on your left as you go in. Thses are portakabins.There is also a food van selling hot dogs and pies on the right. The ground is fully railed off and has hard standing all the way round. There are two perspex dugouts on the North side. The South side contains the seater stand. This holds about 120. It is an Audience System stand (groan!) and is decked with blue seats. There is an empty concrete space next to it exactly the same to that underneath the stand. Could they be planning on putting another one in?
The programme at Newton Aycliffe is excellent. It is 32 pages long and is all in colour. An example of what it contains is: a message from the manager, posters of the players, profiles on the away players and details of what's available from the club shop. It is totally worth the amazing £1 you pay for it and is almost worth visiting the ground just for it.
Newton Aycliffe matchday pictures
Pre Season Friendly
Saturday 10th July 2010
Ground: Moore Lane Park
League/Competition: Pre season friendly (Newton Aycliffe are in the Northern league division two)
Admission: Adults: £4 Children: £2
Programme: £1 (brilliant)
Attendance: 180
Capacity: 1,200
Seated: 120
Covered: 120
Town: Great Aycliffe
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 10
Newton Aycliffe is a medium sized town in County Durham. It has a population of 26,000 with the nearest large town being Darlington.
Newton Aycliffe RUFC and CC both play on Moore Lane Park's premises. The Rugby club are in the Durham/Northumberland Division 3. This is at step 9 of the Rugby Union pyramid. The Cricket club play in the North East Durham League Division 1.
Newton Aycliffe started out life in the Wearside League in 1984. Their first season ended up with them finishing near the bottom in 17th out of 20. In 1988 they managed to finish the season in 13th out of 20 with 45 points. In 1988 the league become the Wearside league Division 1. In 1990 they managed to finish 3rd out of 15. The clubs record was destroyed before the 1993/1994 season when they resigned from the league. Until 2008 the club went around playing in local leagues. The last of which was the Durham Alliance, before they finally applied to join the Wearside League again for the 2008/2009 season. This was followed by instant success as the side were promoted to the Northern league Division 2. They played in this in 2009/2010 under the condition they had to install seating by March 2010. They did this in late winter. The clun got a ninth place finish out of 20.
This match was set to be a local derby with Bishop Auckland about 10 miles away.
Bishop Auckland are 1 division above Newton Aycliffe.
I set off on Saturday morning to get the 12:20 train from Northallerton to Darlington. Here I switched to a train which took me to Newton Aycliffe station. I didn't quite know what to do with the couple of hours I had, so I wandered round the town. At 15:00 the match kicked off and I positioned myself by the corner flag so I could get a good view of the action.
Newton Aycliffe opened the scring on 6 minutes with Hawkins curling a shot home. Bishop Auckland equalised on 27 minutes through an Emson header. John Close sliced a free kick from Jake Richardson into his own net just two minutes later. Into the second half Garner chested a cross and volleyed home. With 6 minutes left Salvin headed home a long free kick to win the match for Bishop Auckland.
I made the 35 minute walk back to the station where I did exactly the journey I did before. I managed to get home by 20:15.
Moore Lane Park is situated in the East of Newton Aycliffe, in the Great Aycliffe area.
It shares the premises with the Rugby club and the Cricket club so it needs a lot of space. The ground is enclosed by a wooden fence. There is a small wooden turnstile when you go into the ground. The changing rooms are on your left as you go in. Thses are portakabins.There is also a food van selling hot dogs and pies on the right. The ground is fully railed off and has hard standing all the way round. There are two perspex dugouts on the North side. The South side contains the seater stand. This holds about 120. It is an Audience System stand (groan!) and is decked with blue seats. There is an empty concrete space next to it exactly the same to that underneath the stand. Could they be planning on putting another one in?
The programme at Newton Aycliffe is excellent. It is 32 pages long and is all in colour. An example of what it contains is: a message from the manager, posters of the players, profiles on the away players and details of what's available from the club shop. It is totally worth the amazing £1 you pay for it and is almost worth visiting the ground just for it.
Newton Aycliffe matchday pictures
Sunday, 11 July 2010
New Season
I am already excited about the new season even with it still one month away.
There's so much to look forward to, World Cup Final, The FA cup, giantkillers, The Championship, relegation battles, the chase to go to the football league, new grounds, Farewells (Church Lane of Hayes & Yeading), local football, the Northern league, Teeside League, Harrogate & District League and so much more, so much that I thought I'd create a list of what I'm liking and what I'm not liking in the new season.
What I'm liking:
Another season in the Northern league for Northallerton Town
The FA cup
Newton Aycliffe's programme and ground
A trip to Norway and Sweden to see some foreign grounds
Train trips to get me further round the country
Northern Rail trains
A trip to Griffin Park
Northallerton v Middlesbrough
Visiting the peculiar stand at Bedale
Pre season
Darlington v Newport County
The new Evo Stick League
Leigh Genesis have finally got their own ground
Trip to Elland Road
Turf Moor
Accrington Stanley's tiny Crown Ground
Goals!
My new digital camera
Don't have to climb all the steps to get to the away end at Newcastle United
Transfer fare to get to the main stand scrapped at Harrogate Town
Wensleydale RUFC in the Rugby Union pyramid at the Yorkshire Division 5
More children watching non league football
What I'm not liking:
Audience System stands (I'm looking at you Newton Aycliffe, Haverfordwest County and Histon)
Still a fortune to get into York City
Trips to see Northallerton at Whitehaven and Morpeth
Lack of stands in the Teeside League
Lack of football in my home County North Yorkshire
Neither Scarborough side has got a ground in Scarborough yet
Bowl stadiums
Teams groundsharing at Athletic tracks
St Helens Town will be relying on the Rugby League side for a home at the next ground as well rather than finding their own
Lack of teams from step 7 in the FA vase
The stands have all gone at Feethams
Darlington Arena
Prospect of a new stadium for York City
Lack of interesting grounds in lower Rugby League
The death of Saltergate
There's so much to look forward to, World Cup Final, The FA cup, giantkillers, The Championship, relegation battles, the chase to go to the football league, new grounds, Farewells (Church Lane of Hayes & Yeading), local football, the Northern league, Teeside League, Harrogate & District League and so much more, so much that I thought I'd create a list of what I'm liking and what I'm not liking in the new season.
What I'm liking:
Another season in the Northern league for Northallerton Town
The FA cup
Newton Aycliffe's programme and ground
A trip to Norway and Sweden to see some foreign grounds
Train trips to get me further round the country
Northern Rail trains
A trip to Griffin Park
Northallerton v Middlesbrough
Visiting the peculiar stand at Bedale
Pre season
Darlington v Newport County
The new Evo Stick League
Leigh Genesis have finally got their own ground
Trip to Elland Road
Turf Moor
Accrington Stanley's tiny Crown Ground
Goals!
My new digital camera
Don't have to climb all the steps to get to the away end at Newcastle United
Transfer fare to get to the main stand scrapped at Harrogate Town
Wensleydale RUFC in the Rugby Union pyramid at the Yorkshire Division 5
More children watching non league football
What I'm not liking:
Audience System stands (I'm looking at you Newton Aycliffe, Haverfordwest County and Histon)
Still a fortune to get into York City
Trips to see Northallerton at Whitehaven and Morpeth
Lack of stands in the Teeside League
Lack of football in my home County North Yorkshire
Neither Scarborough side has got a ground in Scarborough yet
Bowl stadiums
Teams groundsharing at Athletic tracks
St Helens Town will be relying on the Rugby League side for a home at the next ground as well rather than finding their own
Lack of teams from step 7 in the FA vase
The stands have all gone at Feethams
Darlington Arena
Prospect of a new stadium for York City
Lack of interesting grounds in lower Rugby League
The death of Saltergate
Sunday, 20 June 2010
North West London tour
Includes:
- Edgware Town (lost ground
- Kentish Town
- Kingsbury London Tigers
- Hendon (lost ground)
Firstly I'd like to apologise as I didn't get round as many grounds as I thought. I missed out Oxhey Jets and Northwood's grounds. However I am going back at the end of July and will hopefully be able to visit them then, plus I've planned a pre season friendly at Brentford.
My first ground was The White Lion ground, formerly home to Edgware Town of the Isthmian One South. The demolition date of the main stand was end of May 2010, so I hoped I might just get to it. However when I went past a couple of days before my visit there had been diggers, so I knew that I had only just missed it. The ground still has its covered terrace though, the 600 capacity metal structure is now coated in graffiti rather than the green paint iot was originally. The pitch is now overgrown so there was no chance of a reformed Edgware team playing there. Looking at pictures the main stand used to have about 150-200 green seats in it. It was one of those high up stands where you have to climb a staircase to reach the seating, like at Consett, Crook Town and the main stand at Chesterfield's late Saltergate. Behind both goals there is a couple of rows of open concrete terracing. The ground is bordered up and the turnstiles have been scattered, barricading the way in.
The run down cover at Edgware.
My second ground was a quick visit to the Barnet Copthall Stadium, a temporary home for Kentish Town. It is mainly an athletics stadium but does have some interesting stands.
The entrance to the ground is on the West side. I didn't try breaking in as there were a few people there and I would be noticed. On the West side is the main stand which contains about 72 benches giving an overall capacity of about 500. Opposite this is a peculiar stand that kind of doesn't look like it should be there. It looks like it should be some sort of balcony running along the pitch hyowever it holds 2 or 3 rows of blue plastic tip up seats like you'd find at a league football ground. There are also a few dozen more of these on the south side of the ground. However I think on matchdays fans are kept in the main stand. Kentish town currently play in the Spartan South Midlands League Division 1.
The main stand at Kentish Town.
Ground 3 was another snappy visit to Silver Jubilee Park, home to Kingsbury London Tigers of the Spartans South Midlands League Division 1. The ground is on the West side of the Brent Resevoir near Brent cross. The ground is simple with a post and rail fencing around the pitch. Between the changing rooms and the pitch there is a cage tunnel to protect the players as they go onto the pitch (this is Kingsbury of course). On the East end there is main stand that holds about 120 seated fans. It has yellow plastic tip up sits.
The main stand at Kingsbury.
My last ground was Claremont road, former home of Hendon until recently. The club now groundshare at Vale Farm, home of Wembley (another ground I plan on visiting next time).
Hendon play in the current Isthian League Premier Division. The ground still has its covered terrace on the East side of the ground which is almost exactly the same size as Edgware's. On the West side is the former main stand which did hold around 350 red bucket seats (these are normal plastic football ground seats but without the back rest part on. The stand is now demolished but the seats are still in the rubble of the stand. I debated trying to pull a couple out to take back to my home team, Northallerton Town, as we have a couple of seats missing as hooligans have ripped them out, also the seats in our stand are red so it would fit in fine. There are several rows of uncovered terracing all the way around the ground bringing the overall capacity too around 3000 at least.
The covered terrace at Hendon.
Friday, 28 May 2010
3. Farndale Avenue-Northallerton
Northallerton 194-8 Guisborough 195-4
North Yorkshire & South Durham League Premier Division
Saturday 22nd May 2010
Ground: Farndale Avenue
League: North Yorkshire & South Durham League Premier Division
Admission: Free
Programme: No
Attendance: 38
Capacity: 1100
Seated: 87 (Park benches & Picnic tables)
Covered: 19
Town/City: Northallerton
Date: 28.5.10
Club shop: No
Floodlights: No
This match was between two very unknown sides. Northallerton in the middle of empty North Yorkshire and Guisborough in a little corner of the North East coast.
The two sides met in front of a crowd of 38. Northallerton were batting first and managed to get 194 runs. This would be simple for Guisborough to beat which they did by claiming the 195 runs they needed. The result meant Northallerton were 13th (second bottom) with 56 points, 5 points clear of Thornaby at the bottom. Guisborough meanwhile went to the top now with 126 points and 18 points clear of Middlesbrough in 2nd.
Farndale Avenue is just off Boroughbridge road in the south of Northallerton. The ground has parking for about 75 and there is space along the roads outside.
The North end of the ground holds the pavillion which is two storeys, the top balcony holds the batting team. Below, the overhanging balcony provides small cover for about 19 with park benches. The East end is grass standing with a couple of benches. The South end consists of several benches and in the bottom West corner there is a wooden score box. In the West end there are a dozen benches plus grass standing.
Northallerton matchday pictures
North Yorkshire & South Durham League Premier Division
Saturday 22nd May 2010
Ground: Farndale Avenue
League: North Yorkshire & South Durham League Premier Division
Admission: Free
Programme: No
Attendance: 38
Capacity: 1100
Seated: 87 (Park benches & Picnic tables)
Covered: 19
Town/City: Northallerton
Date: 28.5.10
Club shop: No
Floodlights: No
This match was between two very unknown sides. Northallerton in the middle of empty North Yorkshire and Guisborough in a little corner of the North East coast.
The two sides met in front of a crowd of 38. Northallerton were batting first and managed to get 194 runs. This would be simple for Guisborough to beat which they did by claiming the 195 runs they needed. The result meant Northallerton were 13th (second bottom) with 56 points, 5 points clear of Thornaby at the bottom. Guisborough meanwhile went to the top now with 126 points and 18 points clear of Middlesbrough in 2nd.
Farndale Avenue is just off Boroughbridge road in the south of Northallerton. The ground has parking for about 75 and there is space along the roads outside.
The North end of the ground holds the pavillion which is two storeys, the top balcony holds the batting team. Below, the overhanging balcony provides small cover for about 19 with park benches. The East end is grass standing with a couple of benches. The South end consists of several benches and in the bottom West corner there is a wooden score box. In the West end there are a dozen benches plus grass standing.
Northallerton matchday pictures
Sunday, 23 May 2010
2. Shipton Road - York
York 320-6 Sheffield Collegiate 144
Yorkshire ECB County Premier league
Saturday 15th May 2010
Ground: Shipton Road
League: Yorkshire ECB County Premier league
Admission: Free
Programme: No
Attendance: 50
Capacity: 1100
Seated: 50 (Park benches)
Covered: None
Town/City: Clifton York
Opposition: Sheffield Collegiate
Date: 15.5.10
Club shop: No
Floodlights: No
York is a large City in the City of York. It has a population of 200,000.
The main highlight of the City is York Minster which is right in the center. It is also only 25 minutes walk from the Cricket ground which is very useful.
You are able to like round the Minster itself, the Crypt, the Treasury and the Central Tower.
You can also explore the City walls which line the City's perimeter. These date back to the Norman times.
There is also Jorvik viking museum which is definitely worth a visit, however you must be prepared for long queues as it is very popular. The Railway museum is on the West side of the City and contains some very interesting exhibits on trains old and new.
York is a centre for sport, even if its teams aren't too well known.
York City fc play in the Blue Square Premier and play their home matches at Bootham Crescent. This is a 9,000 capacity ground including about 5,000 seats.
There are also a number of sides that compete in the York football league. Some notable ones include Bishopthorpe United, Nestle Rowntrees and York Railway Institute, plus the Tadcaster Albion reserve team.
York RUFC share the facilities with York Cricket club and play in the Yorkshire division one. They have a covered standing terrace which holds about 70.
York City Knights RLFC play in the Co-Operative Championship 1 and host games at Huntingdon Stadium on the North West outskirts of the City. Thise includes about 1,500 seats and 3,000 in total covered. Heworth, York Acorn and York Lokomotive also play in the City.
York are currently the Yorkshire Premier title holders and were looking to retain it this season.
Their opponents today were Sheffield Collegiate who finished 10th out of 14 last season.
York won the toss and decided to bat first. They had an extremely successful inning with 320 runs including 43 4's and one 6.
It was then Collegiate's turn to bat and they only managed to get 144 runs with everyone out, giving York an easy win. Collegiate's batting included 26 4's.
The result meant York were top while Sheffield Collegiate sat in 8th.
Meanwhile Hull & YPI sat at the bottom with 0 points.
The ground is accessed by the A19 in the North West of the city. If you come down from the north the ground will come after about 3 minutes on your right hand side. There is parking for about 100 at the ground but that isn' too much of a worry if you look at the attendance. If you do think you will have trouble parking you can park at one the carparks in York centre and walk up. Or you can go to the park and ride and take the bus in. You enter the ground at the North East corner at the pavillion end. This consists of some hard standing, picnic tables and the benches the batting team sit on.
On the East hand side there are some park benches and the electronic scorebox. The south end consists of grass standing, as does the West end.
York matchday pictures
Yorkshire ECB County Premier league
Saturday 15th May 2010
Ground: Shipton Road
League: Yorkshire ECB County Premier league
Admission: Free
Programme: No
Attendance: 50
Capacity: 1100
Seated: 50 (Park benches)
Covered: None
Town/City: Clifton York
Opposition: Sheffield Collegiate
Date: 15.5.10
Club shop: No
Floodlights: No
York is a large City in the City of York. It has a population of 200,000.
The main highlight of the City is York Minster which is right in the center. It is also only 25 minutes walk from the Cricket ground which is very useful.
You are able to like round the Minster itself, the Crypt, the Treasury and the Central Tower.
You can also explore the City walls which line the City's perimeter. These date back to the Norman times.
There is also Jorvik viking museum which is definitely worth a visit, however you must be prepared for long queues as it is very popular. The Railway museum is on the West side of the City and contains some very interesting exhibits on trains old and new.
York is a centre for sport, even if its teams aren't too well known.
York City fc play in the Blue Square Premier and play their home matches at Bootham Crescent. This is a 9,000 capacity ground including about 5,000 seats.
There are also a number of sides that compete in the York football league. Some notable ones include Bishopthorpe United, Nestle Rowntrees and York Railway Institute, plus the Tadcaster Albion reserve team.
York RUFC share the facilities with York Cricket club and play in the Yorkshire division one. They have a covered standing terrace which holds about 70.
York City Knights RLFC play in the Co-Operative Championship 1 and host games at Huntingdon Stadium on the North West outskirts of the City. Thise includes about 1,500 seats and 3,000 in total covered. Heworth, York Acorn and York Lokomotive also play in the City.
York are currently the Yorkshire Premier title holders and were looking to retain it this season.
Their opponents today were Sheffield Collegiate who finished 10th out of 14 last season.
York won the toss and decided to bat first. They had an extremely successful inning with 320 runs including 43 4's and one 6.
It was then Collegiate's turn to bat and they only managed to get 144 runs with everyone out, giving York an easy win. Collegiate's batting included 26 4's.
The result meant York were top while Sheffield Collegiate sat in 8th.
Meanwhile Hull & YPI sat at the bottom with 0 points.
The ground is accessed by the A19 in the North West of the city. If you come down from the north the ground will come after about 3 minutes on your right hand side. There is parking for about 100 at the ground but that isn' too much of a worry if you look at the attendance. If you do think you will have trouble parking you can park at one the carparks in York centre and walk up. Or you can go to the park and ride and take the bus in. You enter the ground at the North East corner at the pavillion end. This consists of some hard standing, picnic tables and the benches the batting team sit on.
On the East hand side there are some park benches and the electronic scorebox. The south end consists of grass standing, as does the West end.
York matchday pictures
Sunday, 9 May 2010
1. Bedale Athletic & Sport Association-Bedale
Bedale-178-7 Whitby-179-2
North Yorkshire & South Durham league division 2
Saturday 8th May 2010
Ground: Bedale Athletic & Sports Association
League: North Yorkshire & South Durham league division 2
League: North Yorkshire & South Durham league division 2
Admission: Free
Score: Bedale-178-7 Whitby-179-2
Programme: no
Attendance: 5
Capacity: 1000
Seated: 17
Covered: 0
Town/City: Bedale
Opposition: Whitby
Date: 8.5.10
Club shop: no
Floodlights: no
Bedale is a small town in Hambleton in North Yorkshire. It has a population of 4,500.
The town is of no significance and has little sporting names. Apart from the Cricket club there is only the football club to represent the town. Bedale Town fc play in the Harrogate & District league Premier Division. They share the premises with Bedale CC and you'll see the back of their 50 seat stand in some of the pictures.
With the cricket season only recently getting underway, I was excited to see what sort of grounds Northern England could bring up. My first stop this season was Bedale who play in the North Yorkshire & South Durham league division 2. Their opposition were to be Whitby from the North East coast. I took the 157 bus from Leyburn towards Bedale and got off at the Market place. It was then a 10 minute walk back the way the bus had come to get to the ground about 1/2 mile out of town. I arrived at the match quite late but thankfully there was a scorebox to tell me Bedale were 40-2. The match dragged along with Bedale slowly getting points, but finally their 50 overs were up and Whitby were able to show them how it's done. The first two batters, Paul Harrison and Matthew Cooper, batted extreely well clocking up 163 runs between them before Cooper was finally bowled out by Edward Wick. Mark Harrison came on, and with 16 runs needed the end was very near for the home side. But on his first bowl Mark Harrison was caught out by Oliver Ward without getting a single run. However Ron Lyth came on as the 4th batter, and him and Paul Harisson got the runs Whitby needed to win the match. A walkover for Whitby, and a nightmare for Bedale. Bedale are currently 8th with 47 points while Whitby are 5th and 9 points off top spot. Darlington RA are at the top with 80 points while Billingham Synthonia 2nds are rock bottom with 16.
The Bedale ground has nothing significant about it. There is a side screen at the North End and fencing to stop the ball going into other fields, but that's about it. There are 7 benches, 6 at the South end and 1 at the North end. There is a tractor shed in the North West corner and the changing rooms at the South end. All the focus is on the football pitch of course but many forget there is a cricket ground there at all. It would be great to see more people watching lower league cricket, as you'll see from the attendance (above) it didn't prove that popular.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
13. Hillsborough-Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Crystal Palace
Coca Cola Championship
Sunday 2nd May 2010
Ground: Hillsborough
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: Adults: £24 Children: £12
Score: Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Crystal Palace
Programme: £3
Attendance: 37,121
Capacity: 40,000
Seated: 40,000
Covered: 37,500
Town/City: Sheffield
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 2.5.10
Club Shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
Sheffield is a large City with a population of about 530,000.
The instant attraction of the place is the Millenium galleries. If you've got to see one thing in Sheffield, it's these. They include the Metalworks gallery and the Ruskin Gallery. What really tops it off is the fact it's free (or £4 for visiting exhibitions.
Nearby the town hall are the Peace gardens and the Winter Gardens. Also there is Sheffield Cathedral, Kelham Island museum and the Botanical gardens, all are within the cities boundaries.
The town has a big history in sport.
It holds the world's oldest football club, the world's oldest ground and the world's oldest major football ground. There are two derbies in the town. These are Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United, the better known one, and the world's oldest derby Hallam v Sheffield.
There are 6 football teams in Sheffield and the surrounding area. These are: Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Sheffield, Hallam and nearby Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The town is also home to several cricket teams. Sheffield United, Shiregreen, Hallam and Sheffield Collegiate play in the South Yorkshire league.
Sheffield RUFC are in the Yorkshire division 1, while Sheffield Eagles RLFC play in the Co-Operative Championship and are based at Bramall lane.
Between their foundation date (1881) and 1990. Sheffield Wednesday only played in 4 different leagues. These were The Football League's 1, 2 and 3 and the Football Alliance.
They won 9 titles during that time. They were founder members of the FA Premiership in 1992, and they played in this division for 8 years before finally being relegated to the Football league 1. In 2004 they were relegate to the Football league 2 which the season after was renamed League 1. Next season they were promoted to the Championship after winning the League 1 play offs. This is where they have remained since.
The club has tasted European football as well. In 1961/1962 the club reached the Quater finals of the European Inter Cities Fairs Cup where they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Barcelona. They beat Roma and Lyon to reach it.
The club has won the FA cup 3 times in their history. In 1896 they beat Wolves 2-1 at Crystal Palace. In 1907 they beat Everton by the same score at the same venue. In 1935 they beat West Brom 4-2 at Wembley.
In 1991 the club won the Football league cup. They beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley.
In the Johnstone's Paint Trophy the club managed to reach the Northern final in 2004 before losing 3-0 on aggregate to Blackpool.
This was probably going to be the match of the season. It was a complete sell out, over 5,000 away fans and only one winner at the end of it. I had found it really difficult to get tickets for the away end. On the Monday Palace drew with West Brom, I managed to get what was probably the last two tickets as there were none when I checked a few minutes later.
The noise was deafining inside the ground and could probably be heard for miles.
On reaching Sheffield, we had to pick about a mile away from the ground and walk in.
We reached the ground and had our tickets checked by the police before handing them over to the man at the turnstile. By that point they had probably become priceless.
We were very close to the front so wewere able to see what unfolded well.
Alan Lee gave Palace the lead on 24 minutes with a good close range shot.
A Leon Clarke goal with 2 minutes left of the half left the game in the balance at half time after he went one on one with the keeper.
With 27 minutes remaining Darren Ambrose hit a shot home to send the visiting fans into hysterics.
However it was to be a tense finish when Darren Purse scored a goalmouth scramble.
But Palace held on and will play in the Championship next season while Wednesday will play in League 1.
The riot police arrived with about 20 minutes left to separate the fans at full time, or during the match if needed. For some reason the Wednesday fans were allowed to invade the pitch but the Palace fans weren't. But as you'll see from my pictures I was more than happy to leave the ground than get hit by Water bottles and coins.
Plymouth and Peterborough also went down with Sheffield Wednesday while at the top West Brom and Newcastle were promoted to the Premier league with Nottingham Forest, Blackpool, Cardiff City and Leicester City still fighting for a chance in the play offs.
Hillsborough is a very old ground but amazingly it still looks slightly new. New rooves will be put on the stands behind the goals in the future and 2,000 seats will be added.
All the stands have blue plastic seats. The main stand and the North Stand are both two tiers.
The main stand holds about 15,000 with it's huge size. The North stand holds 10,800 fans (usually away). The East Stand holds 8,100 and the South stand holds 5,400. There are also several hundred seats around the corners of the ground. There is a big clock (that works) above the main stand, which has become a symbol for the ground.
The match programme is £3. It is about 80 pages long and is quite high quality.
Sheffield Wednesday matchday pictures
Coca Cola Championship
Sunday 2nd May 2010
Ground: Hillsborough
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: Adults: £24 Children: £12
Score: Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Crystal Palace
Programme: £3
Attendance: 37,121
Capacity: 40,000
Seated: 40,000
Covered: 37,500
Town/City: Sheffield
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 2.5.10
Club Shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
Sheffield is a large City with a population of about 530,000.
The instant attraction of the place is the Millenium galleries. If you've got to see one thing in Sheffield, it's these. They include the Metalworks gallery and the Ruskin Gallery. What really tops it off is the fact it's free (or £4 for visiting exhibitions.
Nearby the town hall are the Peace gardens and the Winter Gardens. Also there is Sheffield Cathedral, Kelham Island museum and the Botanical gardens, all are within the cities boundaries.
The town has a big history in sport.
It holds the world's oldest football club, the world's oldest ground and the world's oldest major football ground. There are two derbies in the town. These are Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United, the better known one, and the world's oldest derby Hallam v Sheffield.
There are 6 football teams in Sheffield and the surrounding area. These are: Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Sheffield, Hallam and nearby Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The town is also home to several cricket teams. Sheffield United, Shiregreen, Hallam and Sheffield Collegiate play in the South Yorkshire league.
Sheffield RUFC are in the Yorkshire division 1, while Sheffield Eagles RLFC play in the Co-Operative Championship and are based at Bramall lane.
Between their foundation date (1881) and 1990. Sheffield Wednesday only played in 4 different leagues. These were The Football League's 1, 2 and 3 and the Football Alliance.
They won 9 titles during that time. They were founder members of the FA Premiership in 1992, and they played in this division for 8 years before finally being relegated to the Football league 1. In 2004 they were relegate to the Football league 2 which the season after was renamed League 1. Next season they were promoted to the Championship after winning the League 1 play offs. This is where they have remained since.
The club has tasted European football as well. In 1961/1962 the club reached the Quater finals of the European Inter Cities Fairs Cup where they lost 4-3 on aggregate to Barcelona. They beat Roma and Lyon to reach it.
The club has won the FA cup 3 times in their history. In 1896 they beat Wolves 2-1 at Crystal Palace. In 1907 they beat Everton by the same score at the same venue. In 1935 they beat West Brom 4-2 at Wembley.
In 1991 the club won the Football league cup. They beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley.
In the Johnstone's Paint Trophy the club managed to reach the Northern final in 2004 before losing 3-0 on aggregate to Blackpool.
This was probably going to be the match of the season. It was a complete sell out, over 5,000 away fans and only one winner at the end of it. I had found it really difficult to get tickets for the away end. On the Monday Palace drew with West Brom, I managed to get what was probably the last two tickets as there were none when I checked a few minutes later.
The noise was deafining inside the ground and could probably be heard for miles.
On reaching Sheffield, we had to pick about a mile away from the ground and walk in.
We reached the ground and had our tickets checked by the police before handing them over to the man at the turnstile. By that point they had probably become priceless.
We were very close to the front so wewere able to see what unfolded well.
Alan Lee gave Palace the lead on 24 minutes with a good close range shot.
A Leon Clarke goal with 2 minutes left of the half left the game in the balance at half time after he went one on one with the keeper.
With 27 minutes remaining Darren Ambrose hit a shot home to send the visiting fans into hysterics.
However it was to be a tense finish when Darren Purse scored a goalmouth scramble.
But Palace held on and will play in the Championship next season while Wednesday will play in League 1.
The riot police arrived with about 20 minutes left to separate the fans at full time, or during the match if needed. For some reason the Wednesday fans were allowed to invade the pitch but the Palace fans weren't. But as you'll see from my pictures I was more than happy to leave the ground than get hit by Water bottles and coins.
Plymouth and Peterborough also went down with Sheffield Wednesday while at the top West Brom and Newcastle were promoted to the Premier league with Nottingham Forest, Blackpool, Cardiff City and Leicester City still fighting for a chance in the play offs.
Hillsborough is a very old ground but amazingly it still looks slightly new. New rooves will be put on the stands behind the goals in the future and 2,000 seats will be added.
All the stands have blue plastic seats. The main stand and the North Stand are both two tiers.
The main stand holds about 15,000 with it's huge size. The North stand holds 10,800 fans (usually away). The East Stand holds 8,100 and the South stand holds 5,400. There are also several hundred seats around the corners of the ground. There is a big clock (that works) above the main stand, which has become a symbol for the ground.
The match programme is £3. It is about 80 pages long and is quite high quality.
Sheffield Wednesday matchday pictures
Sunday, 25 April 2010
12. Darlington Arena-Darlington
Darlington 0-2 Grimsby Town
Coca Cola League two
Saturday 24th April 2010
Ground: Darlington Arena
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: Adults: £16 Children: £8
Score: Darlington 0-2 Grimsby Town
Programme: £3
Attendance: 1,900
Capacity: 25,000 (Match day=10,000)
Seated: 25,000
Covered: 25,000
Town/City: Darlington
Opposition: Grimsby Town
Date: 24.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 4
Darlington is a large town in what is really County Durham, but Darlington is its own county anyway. The town has a population of just under 100,000.
In 1825 the Locomotion train went along the line between Darlington station and Stockton-On-Tees at a record 15mph (this was fast in those days). This caused it to grow into a cenre for trains and railways.
The main feature is then obviously The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum in the North Road station. This actually contains the original Locomotion.
By the riverside is St Cuthbert's Church. It got the name as monks carrying the Saints body from Ripon to Durham stopped here on the way. There is a huge Victorian covered market just next to the clock tower. The centre is a market place with plenty of Cafe's and Pubs.
Darlington were founded in 1889 when they joined the Northern league. The first 10 years brought two titles in this division. In 1908 they joined the North East league. In 1913 they were crowned champions of the league and had a bright future ahead of them. They joined the Football league division 3 north and got promoted to division 2 not long after but relegation followed this. The league was halted in 1939 due to the war. They were placed in division 4 in 1958 for the season ahead. In 1966 the team was promoted to division 3. A series of promotons and relegations meant in 1989 they found themselves in the Conference. By the new century the club had been put in the new Division 3 and had lost out in 2 sets of play offs. In 2005 the league was renamed League 2. In 1958 Darlington reached the 5th round of the FA cup, knocking out Chelsea 4-1 at home in a 4th round replay. The success was halted when they lost 6-1 at Wolves. In 1968 the side reached the Quater finals of what is now the Carling cup. They beat Millwall, Portsmouth, Southend and York to get there before losing 5-4 at Derby. The club reached the Semi Final of the FA Amateur cup twice, losing out to Bishop Auckland both times. The club only ever played in one FA trophy in 1990. They lost in the Quater finals 1-0 at Leek Town.
This was a game that mattered more to the away side than the home side. Darlington knew they would be playing Blue Square Premier football next season, and Grimsby would follow if they lost today. Therefore, spurred on by the fact they had something to play for, Grimsby took the game to clinch the 3 points they desperately needed. Some 300 Grimsby fans were in the East Stand, singing for the whole match while the Darlington fans sat in silence (obviously the chant 'Shall we sing a song for you?' came up quite often).
Lancashire put the visitors ahead by heading in a corner from 6 yards out. Akpa Akpro latched onto a cross to volley home from close range. That was Game, set, match and point before the first half could even finish. I'll tell you now Darlington didn't even look like they could score a goal in the second half and probably deserve to be where they are, at the foot of the table.
The result meant Grimsby were 4 points from safety with 2 games remaining. Darlington were 18 points adrift. Meanwhile Notts County, Rochdale and Bournemouth were already promoted. Rotherham, Aldershot, Bury and Port Vale had the play off spots at the time.
The Darlington Arena is one of the most wasted grounds in England. The capacity is 25,000, but the club is only allowed to use 10,000. One side is never filled and one end has rarely got people in it. All the home fans were kept in the South stand while the away fans were kept in two blocks in the East stand. The ground is one tier all the way round with red plastic seats. The words 'Darlo, DFC, Darlington and Quakers are picked out in black with a thin white background. Seeming as it is already the biggest ground in League 2, it will be very unusual for sides like Newport County and Salisbury City to come to the ground next season.
The ground's floodlights are contained in the roof of the stands.
Darlington matchday pictures
Coca Cola League two
Saturday 24th April 2010
Ground: Darlington Arena
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: Adults: £16 Children: £8
Score: Darlington 0-2 Grimsby Town
Programme: £3
Attendance: 1,900
Capacity: 25,000 (Match day=10,000)
Seated: 25,000
Covered: 25,000
Town/City: Darlington
Opposition: Grimsby Town
Date: 24.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 4
Darlington is a large town in what is really County Durham, but Darlington is its own county anyway. The town has a population of just under 100,000.
In 1825 the Locomotion train went along the line between Darlington station and Stockton-On-Tees at a record 15mph (this was fast in those days). This caused it to grow into a cenre for trains and railways.
The main feature is then obviously The Darlington Railway Centre and Museum in the North Road station. This actually contains the original Locomotion.
By the riverside is St Cuthbert's Church. It got the name as monks carrying the Saints body from Ripon to Durham stopped here on the way. There is a huge Victorian covered market just next to the clock tower. The centre is a market place with plenty of Cafe's and Pubs.
Darlington were founded in 1889 when they joined the Northern league. The first 10 years brought two titles in this division. In 1908 they joined the North East league. In 1913 they were crowned champions of the league and had a bright future ahead of them. They joined the Football league division 3 north and got promoted to division 2 not long after but relegation followed this. The league was halted in 1939 due to the war. They were placed in division 4 in 1958 for the season ahead. In 1966 the team was promoted to division 3. A series of promotons and relegations meant in 1989 they found themselves in the Conference. By the new century the club had been put in the new Division 3 and had lost out in 2 sets of play offs. In 2005 the league was renamed League 2. In 1958 Darlington reached the 5th round of the FA cup, knocking out Chelsea 4-1 at home in a 4th round replay. The success was halted when they lost 6-1 at Wolves. In 1968 the side reached the Quater finals of what is now the Carling cup. They beat Millwall, Portsmouth, Southend and York to get there before losing 5-4 at Derby. The club reached the Semi Final of the FA Amateur cup twice, losing out to Bishop Auckland both times. The club only ever played in one FA trophy in 1990. They lost in the Quater finals 1-0 at Leek Town.
This was a game that mattered more to the away side than the home side. Darlington knew they would be playing Blue Square Premier football next season, and Grimsby would follow if they lost today. Therefore, spurred on by the fact they had something to play for, Grimsby took the game to clinch the 3 points they desperately needed. Some 300 Grimsby fans were in the East Stand, singing for the whole match while the Darlington fans sat in silence (obviously the chant 'Shall we sing a song for you?' came up quite often).
Lancashire put the visitors ahead by heading in a corner from 6 yards out. Akpa Akpro latched onto a cross to volley home from close range. That was Game, set, match and point before the first half could even finish. I'll tell you now Darlington didn't even look like they could score a goal in the second half and probably deserve to be where they are, at the foot of the table.
The result meant Grimsby were 4 points from safety with 2 games remaining. Darlington were 18 points adrift. Meanwhile Notts County, Rochdale and Bournemouth were already promoted. Rotherham, Aldershot, Bury and Port Vale had the play off spots at the time.
The Darlington Arena is one of the most wasted grounds in England. The capacity is 25,000, but the club is only allowed to use 10,000. One side is never filled and one end has rarely got people in it. All the home fans were kept in the South stand while the away fans were kept in two blocks in the East stand. The ground is one tier all the way round with red plastic seats. The words 'Darlo, DFC, Darlington and Quakers are picked out in black with a thin white background. Seeming as it is already the biggest ground in League 2, it will be very unusual for sides like Newport County and Salisbury City to come to the ground next season.
The ground's floodlights are contained in the roof of the stands.
Darlington matchday pictures
Sunday, 18 April 2010
11. RGPS Stadium-Northallerton Town
Northallerton Town 0-4 Stokesley
Northern league division 2
Saturday 17th April 2010
Ground: The RGPS Stadium
League: Northern league division 2
Admission: Adults: £4 Children: £2
Score: Northallerton Town 0-4 Stokesley
Programme: £1
Attendance: 103
Capacity: 1200
Seated: 143
Covered: 243
Town/City: Romanby Northallerton
Opposition: Stokesley
Date: 17.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 10
Northallerton is a medium sized town in the centre of North Yorkshire.
The club were formed in 1982. In 1990 they got their first promotion from the Northern league division 2 to Division 1. In 1994 the club decided to change their name to plain Northallerton. In 1997 they got promotion back to the Northern league division 1. This was followed by relegation next season when they changed their name back to Northallerton Town. In 2006 the club were promoted back to division 1. In 2009 the club were relegated back to division 2, this is where they remain now.
Todays away team, Stokesley, had already been promoted to the Northern league division 1. Northallerton would be stuck with a mid table position. The home side managed to hold their nearby neighbours to 0-0 until half time. However the away side completely had the upper side of the second half scoring 4. The result would lead to them being champions. By the end of the season Jarrow Roofing and Sunderland RCa would join them in the 1st division while Darlington RA and Birtley Town were relegated to step 11.
The RGPS stadium is in the bottom left corner of Northallerton. The turnstile is in the South East corner of the ground. The south end consists of some covered terracing with crash barriers. In the centre is the clubhouse which consists of a club shop, bar and TVs showing football scores. At the end is a 143 seater grandstand with red plastic seats and the players tunnel. The West end has 3 steps of concrete terracing. The North end isn't accessible to spectators. It contains simple hard standing for about 200. The East end is identical to the West end with 3 steps of concrete terracing. The pitch is fully railed, 3 sides have walls round them and the other has a white rail.
The programme is about 30 pages long with about 10 pages of ads.
Northallerton Town matchday pictures
Northern league division 2
Saturday 17th April 2010
Ground: The RGPS Stadium
League: Northern league division 2
Admission: Adults: £4 Children: £2
Score: Northallerton Town 0-4 Stokesley
Programme: £1
Attendance: 103
Capacity: 1200
Seated: 143
Covered: 243
Town/City: Romanby Northallerton
Opposition: Stokesley
Date: 17.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 10
Northallerton is a medium sized town in the centre of North Yorkshire.
The club were formed in 1982. In 1990 they got their first promotion from the Northern league division 2 to Division 1. In 1994 the club decided to change their name to plain Northallerton. In 1997 they got promotion back to the Northern league division 1. This was followed by relegation next season when they changed their name back to Northallerton Town. In 2006 the club were promoted back to division 1. In 2009 the club were relegated back to division 2, this is where they remain now.
Todays away team, Stokesley, had already been promoted to the Northern league division 1. Northallerton would be stuck with a mid table position. The home side managed to hold their nearby neighbours to 0-0 until half time. However the away side completely had the upper side of the second half scoring 4. The result would lead to them being champions. By the end of the season Jarrow Roofing and Sunderland RCa would join them in the 1st division while Darlington RA and Birtley Town were relegated to step 11.
The RGPS stadium is in the bottom left corner of Northallerton. The turnstile is in the South East corner of the ground. The south end consists of some covered terracing with crash barriers. In the centre is the clubhouse which consists of a club shop, bar and TVs showing football scores. At the end is a 143 seater grandstand with red plastic seats and the players tunnel. The West end has 3 steps of concrete terracing. The North end isn't accessible to spectators. It contains simple hard standing for about 200. The East end is identical to the West end with 3 steps of concrete terracing. The pitch is fully railed, 3 sides have walls round them and the other has a white rail.
The programme is about 30 pages long with about 10 pages of ads.
Northallerton Town matchday pictures
Friday, 16 April 2010
10. Bridge Meadow Stadium-Haverfordwest County
Haverfordwest County 2-4 Rhyl
Welsh Premier League
Saturday 10th April 2010
Ground: Bridge Meadow Stadium
League: Welsh Premier League
Admission: Adults: £6 Children: Free
Score: Haverfordwest County 2-4 Rhyl
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 200
Capacity: 1, 600
Seated: 750
Covered: 750
Town: Haverfordwest
Opposition: Rhyl
Date: 10.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 1
Haverfordwest is a large town in Pembrokeshire in South West Wales.
Not exactly an exciting place, but there is history behind it.
Where Bridge street and the High street meet there is the remains of Woolworths. To the right of it there is a small alleyway that goes up to the castle. However don't get to excited as the castle is very empty and you shouldn't need to go for more than 45 minutes. Right next door is the town museum which contains some art pieces and local history exhibits. And that's basically it for Haverfordwest. Not greatly exciting... if you're not a groundhopper that is. Pembrokeshire league division 1 side Prendergast Villa play at Sir Thomas Picton school which can be accessed by a side path on Stokes Avenue.
Haverfordwest Cricket club fc play at, guess what? The cricket club. This is accessible from Dale Road North. However there are pitches on the left and right hand side of the road, so you may have to try both.
Suprisingly the cricket club also play on the facilities and they are in fact the oldest in Wales. They currently play in the Pembrokeshire county cricket league.
Haverfordwest County's history goes back as far as 1956 when they were Welsh league division 2 west champions. The following year they were Welsh league champions.
In 1980 they were Welsh league division one champions, therefore earning promotion to the Premier Division. Next season they were Welsh league champions again. Another 7 years brought them two more Welsh league titles. In 2005 they managed to reach the Welsh cup semi finals before losing 1-0 to Carmarthen Town at Llanelli. The club has competed in Europe as well. This happened in 2004 when they met Icelandic side F H Hafnarfjordur. They lost 4-1 on aggregate, playing their home leg at Ninian Park.
The club has had an unsuccessful season so far in the Welsh Premier league. Every year they try and get in the title race, but always find it tougher than they think. Todays opposition were Rhyl from North Wales. They were still chasing a chance to get into Europe. I wrote this post a bit late so I can tell you now, by the end of the season Rhyl did not make the European place.
Lee Hudgell opened the scoring for the home side on 6 minutes. This was followed 16 minutes later by a good header by Jack Christopher to give them a 2-0 lead at the break. Tyrone Kirk was brought on not long after the restart. Mark Connolly hit one home with 35 minutes to go and Kirk got the equaliser 2 minutes later. Connolly put them in front with 21 minutes to go and Matthew Williams sealed the win with 6 minutes left.
By the end of the season TNS qualified for a Champions league 2nd qualifying round match. Llanelli AFC and Port Talbot Town got Europa League first round qualifiers. Meanwhile due to the clubs deciding the league would be reduced to 12 clubs next season, Cefn Druids, Caersws, Welshpool, Porthmadog, Connah's Quay, Newtown, Haverfordwest and Bala were all relegated to either the Cymru Alliance or Welsh league division one.
The ground is called the Bridge Meadow Stadium and is located behind Morissons in the town centre.
You enter through the turnstiles at the South end and come out into hard standing area. There is a programme stall on your left as you enter. Programme's are £1.50.
There is a tiny club shop in the South West corner of the ground.. On the West side is the main stand which contains about 325 blue plastic seats. It has Haverfordwest County painted on the back in blue and readers will be happy to know it's not a modern day kit stand. There are two brick dugouts in front of the stand. On either side there are two steps of concrete terracing holding about 150 people overall.
The North End is plain hard standing that holds about 130.
The East end is another seated stand with about 425 blue plastic seats. This however is a kit stand.
The south end has standing for 175. The ground is completed with 8 floodlight pylons.
Haverfordwest County matchday pictures
Welsh Premier League
Saturday 10th April 2010
Ground: Bridge Meadow Stadium
League: Welsh Premier League
Admission: Adults: £6 Children: Free
Score: Haverfordwest County 2-4 Rhyl
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 200
Capacity: 1, 600
Seated: 750
Covered: 750
Town: Haverfordwest
Opposition: Rhyl
Date: 10.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 1
Haverfordwest is a large town in Pembrokeshire in South West Wales.
Not exactly an exciting place, but there is history behind it.
Where Bridge street and the High street meet there is the remains of Woolworths. To the right of it there is a small alleyway that goes up to the castle. However don't get to excited as the castle is very empty and you shouldn't need to go for more than 45 minutes. Right next door is the town museum which contains some art pieces and local history exhibits. And that's basically it for Haverfordwest. Not greatly exciting... if you're not a groundhopper that is. Pembrokeshire league division 1 side Prendergast Villa play at Sir Thomas Picton school which can be accessed by a side path on Stokes Avenue.
Haverfordwest Cricket club fc play at, guess what? The cricket club. This is accessible from Dale Road North. However there are pitches on the left and right hand side of the road, so you may have to try both.
Suprisingly the cricket club also play on the facilities and they are in fact the oldest in Wales. They currently play in the Pembrokeshire county cricket league.
Haverfordwest County's history goes back as far as 1956 when they were Welsh league division 2 west champions. The following year they were Welsh league champions.
In 1980 they were Welsh league division one champions, therefore earning promotion to the Premier Division. Next season they were Welsh league champions again. Another 7 years brought them two more Welsh league titles. In 2005 they managed to reach the Welsh cup semi finals before losing 1-0 to Carmarthen Town at Llanelli. The club has competed in Europe as well. This happened in 2004 when they met Icelandic side F H Hafnarfjordur. They lost 4-1 on aggregate, playing their home leg at Ninian Park.
The club has had an unsuccessful season so far in the Welsh Premier league. Every year they try and get in the title race, but always find it tougher than they think. Todays opposition were Rhyl from North Wales. They were still chasing a chance to get into Europe. I wrote this post a bit late so I can tell you now, by the end of the season Rhyl did not make the European place.
Lee Hudgell opened the scoring for the home side on 6 minutes. This was followed 16 minutes later by a good header by Jack Christopher to give them a 2-0 lead at the break. Tyrone Kirk was brought on not long after the restart. Mark Connolly hit one home with 35 minutes to go and Kirk got the equaliser 2 minutes later. Connolly put them in front with 21 minutes to go and Matthew Williams sealed the win with 6 minutes left.
By the end of the season TNS qualified for a Champions league 2nd qualifying round match. Llanelli AFC and Port Talbot Town got Europa League first round qualifiers. Meanwhile due to the clubs deciding the league would be reduced to 12 clubs next season, Cefn Druids, Caersws, Welshpool, Porthmadog, Connah's Quay, Newtown, Haverfordwest and Bala were all relegated to either the Cymru Alliance or Welsh league division one.
The ground is called the Bridge Meadow Stadium and is located behind Morissons in the town centre.
You enter through the turnstiles at the South end and come out into hard standing area. There is a programme stall on your left as you enter. Programme's are £1.50.
There is a tiny club shop in the South West corner of the ground.. On the West side is the main stand which contains about 325 blue plastic seats. It has Haverfordwest County painted on the back in blue and readers will be happy to know it's not a modern day kit stand. There are two brick dugouts in front of the stand. On either side there are two steps of concrete terracing holding about 150 people overall.
The North End is plain hard standing that holds about 130.
The East end is another seated stand with about 425 blue plastic seats. This however is a kit stand.
The south end has standing for 175. The ground is completed with 8 floodlight pylons.
Haverfordwest County matchday pictures
Saturday, 3 April 2010
9. Riverside Stadium-Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough 1-1 Crystal Palace
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday 3rd April 2010
Ground: Riverside Stadium
League: Coca Cola Championship
Score: Middlesbrough 1-1 Crystal Palace
Admission: Adults: £26 Children: £13
Programme: £3
Attendance: 18, 428
Capacity: 35, 049
Seated: 35, 049
Covered: 35, 049
Town/City: Middlesbrough
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 3.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
Middlesbrough is a largely populated formerly industrial town in North East England.
Between 1800 and 1950 the town made huge amounts of money through Steel and Iron. These were used to make ships which were kept in the docks.
Things have changed since then though. Middlesbrough now survives on the map by it's population, the ships that are here and it's football team.
However the Middlesbrough institute of modern art in centre square is rather popular with tourists and contains some very good pieces.
A lot of people going from the North to the south of the country, or in reverse, will go via Middlesbrough on purpose so they can have their car carried across the river by the Transporter Bridge. Down the river is also the Newport Bridge The vertical lifting one in England, being 76 years old.
Middlesbrough football club has a long history. They were founded way back in 1889 when they joined the Northern league. In their 1st three seasons they were runners up twice. In 1894 they went one better and won the Northern league title. Pleasant Deja Vu next season as they strolled to a second title. They also beat Old Carthusians 2-1 at Leeds in the FA Amateur Cup Final.
Two seasons later they won their 3rd Northern league title.
The season after that they won the FA Amateur Cup again, this time 2-0 against Uxbridge at Crystal Palace.
In the 1899/1900 season they joined the Football League Division 2. Two seasons later they were promoted. 21 years later they were relegated back to division 2. It took 3 years for them to get back up again. This time it took just one season for them to go back down to division 2. Next season they were back up to division 2.
Although memorable for most, 1966 was a season to forget for Middlesbrough as they were relegated down to division 3. Next season they were back up again.
In 1974 they were promoted to division one. Two seasons later they were the Anglo Scottish cup winners, beating Fulham 1-0 in the final.
In 1982 they were relegated to division 2. 4 years later they went down to division 3. One year was all it took to get them back to division 2. Next season they were promoted to division 1 via the play offs. Next season they were relegated back into division 2.
In the 1990/1991 season they were promoted to division 1 which became the Premiership. One season later they were back in the Football league division 1 through relegation. In 1995 they were promoted back to the Premiership. In 1997 they were relegate to the Football league division 1. One season later they were back in the Premiership. In 2004 they won the Football league cup to qualify for the Uefa cup in which they finished runners up.
Todays opposition Crystal Palace were desperately trying to drag themselves away from relegation as they faced a Middlesbrough side that were still fighting for the play offs.
A win for Boro could see them being 4 points off the play offs if other results went their way.
Meanwhile Palace could get out of the dropzone with a win, if Sheffield Wednesday and Watford both failed to win.
There were a lot of empty seats at the ground with only about half being filled. Middlesbrough started well getting a few shots on goal but Scott McDonald made the breakthrough neatly putting the ball past Speroni in the Palace goal.
Palace fought back though and a wonderful header from Alassance N'Diaye found the top corner, so they could go off at half time with a crucial goal.
The teams came out for the second half with a different attitude. It was poor football with sloppy passing, awful tackling and terrible shots.
The match finished 1-1 and bizzarely the Middlesbrough team and fans seemed happy with a point. But the Crystal Palace fans were more than happy. Their loud singing lasted until nearly ten minutes after full time. Pretty good as there were only about 200 fans.
The Riverside Stadium is very similair to the one at Darlington. It has seating all the way round with no gaps. The seats are red and have things like MFC spelt out in white around the ground.
The ground is all one tier except the main stand at the west which is two tiers. There are 35,000 seats in total. This however is rarely filled past half way as you'll see by the attendance.
The away fans are kept in one block at the top of the South Stand (well they were for this match).
Down the stairways are food and drink canteens, and a TV with score shows on. I was surprised how loudly the Palace fans cheered when they saw the N'Diaye goal replay, then they cheered even louder when they saw it in slow motion.
The match programme is like what you'll find at most clubs. It's a glossy product filled with player interviews, news and information on the visitors. A bit poor for a league production.
Overall quite a loud and exciting day out. The Crystal Palace fans volume was turned much higher, even though they were against 17, 800 home fans.
Middlesbrough matchday pictures
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday 3rd April 2010
Ground: Riverside Stadium
League: Coca Cola Championship
Score: Middlesbrough 1-1 Crystal Palace
Admission: Adults: £26 Children: £13
Programme: £3
Attendance: 18, 428
Capacity: 35, 049
Seated: 35, 049
Covered: 35, 049
Town/City: Middlesbrough
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 3.4.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
Middlesbrough is a largely populated formerly industrial town in North East England.
Between 1800 and 1950 the town made huge amounts of money through Steel and Iron. These were used to make ships which were kept in the docks.
Things have changed since then though. Middlesbrough now survives on the map by it's population, the ships that are here and it's football team.
However the Middlesbrough institute of modern art in centre square is rather popular with tourists and contains some very good pieces.
A lot of people going from the North to the south of the country, or in reverse, will go via Middlesbrough on purpose so they can have their car carried across the river by the Transporter Bridge. Down the river is also the Newport Bridge The vertical lifting one in England, being 76 years old.
Middlesbrough football club has a long history. They were founded way back in 1889 when they joined the Northern league. In their 1st three seasons they were runners up twice. In 1894 they went one better and won the Northern league title. Pleasant Deja Vu next season as they strolled to a second title. They also beat Old Carthusians 2-1 at Leeds in the FA Amateur Cup Final.
Two seasons later they won their 3rd Northern league title.
The season after that they won the FA Amateur Cup again, this time 2-0 against Uxbridge at Crystal Palace.
In the 1899/1900 season they joined the Football League Division 2. Two seasons later they were promoted. 21 years later they were relegated back to division 2. It took 3 years for them to get back up again. This time it took just one season for them to go back down to division 2. Next season they were back up to division 2.
Although memorable for most, 1966 was a season to forget for Middlesbrough as they were relegated down to division 3. Next season they were back up again.
In 1974 they were promoted to division one. Two seasons later they were the Anglo Scottish cup winners, beating Fulham 1-0 in the final.
In 1982 they were relegated to division 2. 4 years later they went down to division 3. One year was all it took to get them back to division 2. Next season they were promoted to division 1 via the play offs. Next season they were relegated back into division 2.
In the 1990/1991 season they were promoted to division 1 which became the Premiership. One season later they were back in the Football league division 1 through relegation. In 1995 they were promoted back to the Premiership. In 1997 they were relegate to the Football league division 1. One season later they were back in the Premiership. In 2004 they won the Football league cup to qualify for the Uefa cup in which they finished runners up.
Todays opposition Crystal Palace were desperately trying to drag themselves away from relegation as they faced a Middlesbrough side that were still fighting for the play offs.
A win for Boro could see them being 4 points off the play offs if other results went their way.
Meanwhile Palace could get out of the dropzone with a win, if Sheffield Wednesday and Watford both failed to win.
There were a lot of empty seats at the ground with only about half being filled. Middlesbrough started well getting a few shots on goal but Scott McDonald made the breakthrough neatly putting the ball past Speroni in the Palace goal.
Palace fought back though and a wonderful header from Alassance N'Diaye found the top corner, so they could go off at half time with a crucial goal.
The teams came out for the second half with a different attitude. It was poor football with sloppy passing, awful tackling and terrible shots.
The match finished 1-1 and bizzarely the Middlesbrough team and fans seemed happy with a point. But the Crystal Palace fans were more than happy. Their loud singing lasted until nearly ten minutes after full time. Pretty good as there were only about 200 fans.
The Riverside Stadium is very similair to the one at Darlington. It has seating all the way round with no gaps. The seats are red and have things like MFC spelt out in white around the ground.
The ground is all one tier except the main stand at the west which is two tiers. There are 35,000 seats in total. This however is rarely filled past half way as you'll see by the attendance.
The away fans are kept in one block at the top of the South Stand (well they were for this match).
Down the stairways are food and drink canteens, and a TV with score shows on. I was surprised how loudly the Palace fans cheered when they saw the N'Diaye goal replay, then they cheered even louder when they saw it in slow motion.
The match programme is like what you'll find at most clubs. It's a glossy product filled with player interviews, news and information on the visitors. A bit poor for a league production.
Overall quite a loud and exciting day out. The Crystal Palace fans volume was turned much higher, even though they were against 17, 800 home fans.
Middlesbrough matchday pictures
Friday, 2 April 2010
8. Station View-Harrogate Railway Athletic fc
League: Unibond Division One north
Admission: Children: £3 Adults:£6
Admission: Children: £3 Adults:£6
Score: Harrogate Railway Athletic 1-0 Ossett Albion
Programme: £1.50
Attendance: 146
Capacity: 1, 338
Seated: 288
Covered: 388
Town/City: Forest Lane Head Harrogate
Opposition: Ossett Albion
Date: 2.4.10
Club Shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 8
Harrogate is a large town in Southern North Yorkshire.
The highlight of course is the Turkish Baths. These are significant as through decades Harrogate had been a spa town.
These days though the waters of the town have been less than popular and the town focuses on holding conferences and meetings.
Alongside the Turkish baths on the same subject are the Royal Baths the Royal Pump room and Mercer art gallery which used to be the town's earliest surviving spa building.
Something else of interest in the town is the Stray which has a good football history as well.
The large grass space now holds Pannal Sports' A team matches.
The area is mainly used by hikers and dog walkers to walk across.
Nearby is also the Valley Gardens containing dozens of different plants. About 2 miles out of the town is the Botanical gardens which some say are even better.
Harrogate Railway Athletic were founded just after the second world war by some workers at what is now Starbeck station. The club have made sure they've kept with the roots as the ground is right next to the railway line and up the road from the station.
However they didn't come onto the football map until 1955 when they joined Yorkshire League division 2. They made an instant impact and after three seasons they were promoted to Division 1. This was short lived though as they were relegated back on go 1.
Despite getting promotion in the 1963/1964 season Railway missed out on runners up spot on goal difference. However once more they were relegated back to Yorkshire division 2 after 1 season. In the 1969/1970 season they were relegated to the newly formed Yorkshire division 3.
This was followed 3 years later by them leaving the Yorkshire league.
After a 7 year absence they rejoined the Yorkshire league at division 3 once more.
In 1982 they were among the teams that founded the North Eastern Counties League. They started at the bottom in division 2 north. Bizzarely in the 1st season they finished bottom with 7 points, then the next season they were champions and gained promotion to the North Eastern counties league division 1 north.
A repeat of the 1963/1964 season happened in the 1986/1987 season as Railway missed out on runners up spot on goal difference but were still promoted to the premier division.
6 years later they were relegated back to division 1. This was followed by 4 frustrating seasons in this league before finally, in their 5th consecutive season there they were champions and got promotion back to the premier division. In the 2002/2003 season Harrogate Railway reached the 2nd round of the FA cup where they were knocked out by Bristol City.
In 2005/2006 the side finally managed to break through and clinched promotion to Unibond division one north.
Since then they have played in the Unibond division 1 north since then and just avoided relegation last season.
Today Harrogate Railway were playing in a fierce relegation match. Before the match there was 8 points between them and Ossett Albion and another 3 points for The Rail would surely secure their step 8 status. The players walked out onto the field in front of a poor crowd of 146. I've seen higher attendances at my home club Northallerton Town.
Harrogate Railway went one goal up after 10 minutes and it looked like the ball had come off the outside post at first. Then I realised that the net was pinned onto the backboard so the ball bounced right out again. So much for learning from the referee's mistakes at the Bristol City-Palace game.
The match was then based around the middle of the pitch. I noticed both sides were very badly disciplined as foul after foul came in, yet no one was sent off. The didn't seem to be many die hard Railway fans at the match as there wasn't much cheering. But I did notice that there were a few Ossett fans with Ossett scarfs. A huge wave of relief went round the ground as the final whistle went to insure Harrogate picked up 3 points. They are now surely safe and have put Ossett Albion and Rossendale United down.
Meanwhile at the top of the table Lancaster City and FC Halifax Town have both secured play off places. They will now be contesting for the promotion and title spot. Currently Lancaster City are in 1st spot with FC Halifax Town breathing down their necks in 2nd, the top play-off spot.
Colwyn Bay in 3rd have surely given up hope of a promotion spot, they are on 67 points, 13 behind Halifax. Curzon Ashton are 4 points behind them in 4th as are Skelmersdale United who are behind them on goal difference. Leigh Genesis are the only team outside the play off places with any hope of still securing one.
Station View is located in Forest Lane Head. This is an area in the East of Harrogate.
If you travel South West on the A 59 after you enter Harrogate you'll see the road Station view on your right just after Starbeck station. Go up here and you'll reach the ground at the end. There is a club flag and a Unibond League flag flying above the entrance. The turnstile is on the corner and is painted in the club colours, green and red.
The turnstile is a block with a window with a slot underneath to pass money under. On display is the day's match programme. You pay your admission and go through the football league style turnstile. You'll come out at the South east corner of the ground.
Ahead of you is hard standing that holds about 130 fans. On the far touchline on the left is hard terracing that's 3 steps high, it holds what I guess to be about 200 spectators. In the centre of the touchline is what I make to be the smallest main stands I've ever seen. The stand is modern with just 38 green plastic seats contained inside. The writing above labels it as The Shaun Glennon Stand and the club name Harrogate Railway Athletic AFC. On the right hand side of the stand is normal hard standing. Aside from the extra terracing and seated stand this side of the ground holds 195 fans. The north side of the ground on the left has capacity for 265 standing fans, 200 of which are covered. On the right is seating. In the centre is 40 red plastic seats for away fans. it is very unusual these days for teams at this level to have a section for away fans. On the right of this is more red plastic seating for 210 fans. On the near touchline is hard standing for 195 fans. On this side there is the clubhouse, the changing rooms and a tiny club shop with surprisingly a lot of merchandise and souveniers. There are toilets in one corner of the ground. There are 6 floodlight pylons with 3 on each side.
This isn't the most exciting ground but can be of interest for its tiny main stand.
7. Earls Orchard Playing fields-Richmond Town fc
Ground: Earls Orchard Playing fields
League: Teeside football league division 1
Admission: free
Score: Richmond Town 6-1 Darlington Grammar School Railway Athletic.
Programme: no
Attendance: 40
Capacity: 650
Seated: 0
Covered: 0
Town/City: Richmond
Opposition: Darlington Grammar School Railway Athletic
Date: 27.3.10
Club shop: no
Floodlights: no
Step: 12
Richmond Town play in the Teeside football league.
They are from North Yorkshire and are just south of Darlington.
Obviously you’d expect it at this level of football but the pitch has so many lumps and bumps in it and one of the goals has to have the back of it on top of a pile of mud otherwise it would slip down the hilly bit.
I took the 159 bus to get to this match and walked from Richmond Market place.
I walked in through the gate but no one asked for an admission so I knew it was free admission.
The pitch is fully railed and has a black coat of paint on the metal rails. But that’s it at the ground really, just a pitch with a rail going round it. There are some changing rooms that you pass on the way in but there is no clubhouse and these only have a few pictures from the past mounted inside.
I’m not entirely certain whether it’s possible to get promoted from the Teeside league to the Wearside league.
On the Wikipedia English football structure it says you can but on the pyramid structure website it says you can’t. However Scarborough Town went from the Teeside league division 2 to the Wearside league last season so I guess anything’s possible.
Darlington Grammar School were wearing Darlington shirts for their match while Richmond Town were in blue. They completely thrashed the bottom club by 6 goals to 1.
Another ground that I’ve ticked off that I’ll hopefully never have to visit again because of how uninteresting it is. Nice view of the castle though.
Richmond Town matchday pictures
League: Teeside football league division 1
Admission: free
Score: Richmond Town 6-1 Darlington Grammar School Railway Athletic.
Programme: no
Attendance: 40
Capacity: 650
Seated: 0
Covered: 0
Town/City: Richmond
Opposition: Darlington Grammar School Railway Athletic
Date: 27.3.10
Club shop: no
Floodlights: no
Step: 12
Richmond Town play in the Teeside football league.
They are from North Yorkshire and are just south of Darlington.
Obviously you’d expect it at this level of football but the pitch has so many lumps and bumps in it and one of the goals has to have the back of it on top of a pile of mud otherwise it would slip down the hilly bit.
I took the 159 bus to get to this match and walked from Richmond Market place.
I walked in through the gate but no one asked for an admission so I knew it was free admission.
The pitch is fully railed and has a black coat of paint on the metal rails. But that’s it at the ground really, just a pitch with a rail going round it. There are some changing rooms that you pass on the way in but there is no clubhouse and these only have a few pictures from the past mounted inside.
I’m not entirely certain whether it’s possible to get promoted from the Teeside league to the Wearside league.
On the Wikipedia English football structure it says you can but on the pyramid structure website it says you can’t. However Scarborough Town went from the Teeside league division 2 to the Wearside league last season so I guess anything’s possible.
Darlington Grammar School were wearing Darlington shirts for their match while Richmond Town were in blue. They completely thrashed the bottom club by 6 goals to 1.
Another ground that I’ve ticked off that I’ll hopefully never have to visit again because of how uninteresting it is. Nice view of the castle though.
Richmond Town matchday pictures
6. Bloomfield Road-Blackpool
Ground: Bloomfield Road
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: £14.50
Score: Blackpool 2-2 Crystal Palace
Programme: yes £3
Attendance: 9, 702
Capacity: 12, 500
Seated: 12, 500
Covered: 10, 500
Town/City: Blackpool
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 20.3.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
This was a very important day for Blackpool fc as they were officially opening the new Jimmy Arnfield Stand. The stand was opened by the Blackpool legend himself just before the match.
This meant that there was a seating plan change.
Away fans are now sharing the North stand with Blackpool fans while the home fans move into the new stand. The uncovered stand was unused for the match and I’m unsure whether it will be used in future matches
The ground now has an increased capacity of 12, 500.
The main stand is the West Stand this holds what looks like about 4, 500 fans.
The east stand I think shouldn’t be allowed at this level of football. It would be surprising if it was even allowed to be used at Blue Square premier level.
The stand is basically just a metal rack with orange plastic seats in the gaps. The lighting for the stand is just a lamp tied onto a stick which is tied onto the back of the stand. I’m not even sure if the stand’s secured in properly. The club has said it is too dangerous too add a roof onto the stand and I can see why. A metal rack like that would just collapse under the weight of a tin roof. The stand has about 2, 000 seats in it.
The north stand is half for away fans, half for home fans. The stand is made exactly like the West Stand and holds about 3, 000.
The Jimmy Arnfield stand/South Stand holds another 3, 000 fans. A match programme is available for £3. It looks like most of the other ones you’ll find in the football league.
The ground is very close to the pier so after the match you can walk down to the town centre to go to the arcades or theme parks.
The match was disappointing for the away Palace fans as Blackpool came from 2 goals down to get a draw in the 2nd half after a last minute equaliser.
Blackpool fc matchday pictures
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: £14.50
Score: Blackpool 2-2 Crystal Palace
Programme: yes £3
Attendance: 9, 702
Capacity: 12, 500
Seated: 12, 500
Covered: 10, 500
Town/City: Blackpool
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 20.3.10
Club shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
This was a very important day for Blackpool fc as they were officially opening the new Jimmy Arnfield Stand. The stand was opened by the Blackpool legend himself just before the match.
This meant that there was a seating plan change.
Away fans are now sharing the North stand with Blackpool fans while the home fans move into the new stand. The uncovered stand was unused for the match and I’m unsure whether it will be used in future matches
The ground now has an increased capacity of 12, 500.
The main stand is the West Stand this holds what looks like about 4, 500 fans.
The east stand I think shouldn’t be allowed at this level of football. It would be surprising if it was even allowed to be used at Blue Square premier level.
The stand is basically just a metal rack with orange plastic seats in the gaps. The lighting for the stand is just a lamp tied onto a stick which is tied onto the back of the stand. I’m not even sure if the stand’s secured in properly. The club has said it is too dangerous too add a roof onto the stand and I can see why. A metal rack like that would just collapse under the weight of a tin roof. The stand has about 2, 000 seats in it.
The north stand is half for away fans, half for home fans. The stand is made exactly like the West Stand and holds about 3, 000.
The Jimmy Arnfield stand/South Stand holds another 3, 000 fans. A match programme is available for £3. It looks like most of the other ones you’ll find in the football league.
The ground is very close to the pier so after the match you can walk down to the town centre to go to the arcades or theme parks.
The match was disappointing for the away Palace fans as Blackpool came from 2 goals down to get a draw in the 2nd half after a last minute equaliser.
Blackpool fc matchday pictures
5.The Keepmoat Stadium-Doncaster Rovers
Ground: The Keepmoat Stadium
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: £13
Score: Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Crystal Palace
Programme: yes £3
Attendance: 9, 779
Capacity: 15, 231
Seated: 15, 231
Covered: 15, 231
Town/City: Doncaster
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 27.2.10
Club Shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
Being at quite a high level Doncaster have a ground with a healthy capacity.
Sharing with Doncaster RLFC the ground has a capacity of over 15, 000.
Todays opposition were Crystal Palace. No one knew it for definite at the time but it would be Neil Warnock’s last game in charge of the Eagles.
The ground has a hefty admission of £13 to get into the away end.
This only takes up about half of the South West End. The other half was completely empty.
The ground is modern in a smooth bowl shape.
The ground is 1 tier all the way round.
It has 3, 000 seats at both the away end and the North East end.
The two sides both have 4, 500 seats
The whole ground is covered seating.
A programme is available for £3 on matchdays.
9, 779 turned up for the match which finished 1-1. This included about 600 away fans.
The ground has decent floodlight pylons and there is a club shop around the West stand of the ground.
Doncaster Rovers matchday pictures
League: Coca-Cola Championship
Admission: £13
Score: Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Crystal Palace
Programme: yes £3
Attendance: 9, 779
Capacity: 15, 231
Seated: 15, 231
Covered: 15, 231
Town/City: Doncaster
Opposition: Crystal Palace
Date: 27.2.10
Club Shop: yes
Floodlights: yes
Step: 2
Being at quite a high level Doncaster have a ground with a healthy capacity.
Sharing with Doncaster RLFC the ground has a capacity of over 15, 000.
Todays opposition were Crystal Palace. No one knew it for definite at the time but it would be Neil Warnock’s last game in charge of the Eagles.
The ground has a hefty admission of £13 to get into the away end.
This only takes up about half of the South West End. The other half was completely empty.
The ground is modern in a smooth bowl shape.
The ground is 1 tier all the way round.
It has 3, 000 seats at both the away end and the North East end.
The two sides both have 4, 500 seats
The whole ground is covered seating.
A programme is available for £3 on matchdays.
9, 779 turned up for the match which finished 1-1. This included about 600 away fans.
The ground has decent floodlight pylons and there is a club shop around the West stand of the ground.
Doncaster Rovers matchday pictures
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