Author Archives: laurencereade

Mackin’s Folly

26 Monday May 2014

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Saturday 24th May 2014

Firs Park, Falkirk. Former home of East Stirlingshire FC

This is very much the “After,”  of my 2006 visit to the, The Shire. If you haven’t read the “Before,” bit here’s the the link to that article. What follows doesn’t make much sense without it.

Not that, in all honesty, much makes sense about East Stirlingshire. The club left here in 2008, the two stands were demolished in 2012, and despite this being in a less than salubrious part of Falkirk, a massive retail park next door should have meant the ground should be either flats or a parade of shops by now. Continue reading →

The Tug O’ War

23 Friday May 2014

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Sunday 5th October 2008 ko 15.00

Allsvenskan

DJURGÅRDENS I.F. 3 (Komac 20 Rajalakso 43 Quirino 90)

G.I.F. SUNDSVALL 1 (Patricksson 85)

Att 5,012 at Stockholms Stadion

Entry Comp

Programme FREE

Pennant 69 sek (approx. £6.90)

Badge FREE (“Because you are a guest”)

There aren’t many hard and fast rules in groundhopping, but the unpopularity of football grounds with running tracks is more or less universal. However, every rule should have an exception, and the Stockholms Stadion is definitely one. It was built from 1910-1912 for Stockholm’s hosting of the Olympic games in 1912, and was the first Olympic Stadium in the modern era to be permanent, architect Torben Grut actually changing the design away from a temporary wooden structure during construction. Even now the stadium seems unaltered by time, the floodlights are anchored outside of the stadium’s fabric, the 1990 facelift freshening up the place without altering its innate nature. Continue reading →

The Climax

22 Thursday May 2014

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Tuesday 20th May 2014 ko 18.30

Coventry Alliance Premier Division

WOODLANDS W.M.C. 0

THE BELL (AEI) RUGBY 7 (Smith 29 34p 59 Charlton 64 67 Vince 67p Linton 86)

Att 81 at Shilton FC

Entry FREE

No Programme

Quite honestly I’d watch a lot more of this league if fixtures were easier to come by. There’s the excellent Football Traveller, but the league’s website hasn’t been updated in years, and there’s no Mitoo, or Fulltime fixtures site that I could make work. For the casual supporter you rely on internet forums, word of mouth, and the local press. Hopefully no one turned up at Woodlands’ home in Bedworth, long since surrendered to the cricket for the summer.

This game was switched to the other side of the M6, to Shilton playing fields. The side playing here may well have been relegated from Division One of this competition but the pitch was immaculate. Shilton is another in the line of pretty villages I seem to frequent with St Andrew’s Church casting a benevolent eye on proceedings, even if the West Coast Mainline cuts the village in half with a roar, blasting through a station sacrificed to Dr Beeching. Continue reading →

Led Zep

21 Wednesday May 2014

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Monday 19th May 2014 ko 18.30

Hertfordshire Senior County League, Senior Premier Division

CUFFLEY 0

STANDON & PUCKERIDGE 4 (Endacott 3 Stephen 16 James 47 Miller 51)

Att 41

Entry FREE

Programme NO

Tea 80p

I thought I knew North London and its suburbs, the villages with their war memorials and their church spires. God knows I spent 3 years living there, but every so often I visit somewhere that throws me.

At first Cuffley fitted my expectations, its a place of wealth, a popular place for Premier League footballers to buy property with easy access to the capital, and former Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy lives here. That said there is resistance locally to a Tesco Local opening here, and I do wonder if it did open, would Sir Terry shop there? But there’s more to the village than meets the eye, and it all starts with the football club…. Continue reading →

Foam

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in E

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Saturday 5th August 2006 ko 15.00

Scottish League Division 3

EAST STIRLINGSHIRE 2 (Dymock 75 Tweedie 78)

ELGIN CITY 1 (Mackay 6) Nelson sent off 41 (dangerous play)

Att 227

At Firs Park, Falkirk

Entry £9

Programme £1

With my football watching winding down for summer, I thought I’d use the time to cover some of the places I’ve visited before I started the blog. There are plenty I could write about, so I’m going to filter these quite carefully down to grounds you can’t see anymore, or those you really should visit. You could say this is my “Greatest Hits” tour!!

If you know me well, you’ll be well aware I need no excuse to go and find a game, however back in the dim and distant past this flight of fancy took me on one of the longest drives I’d ever attempted, Banbury to Falkirk and back in a day! Continue reading →

Crossing The Line

16 Friday May 2014

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Tuesday 13th May 2014 ko 18.30

Northants Combination Division 3

IRTHLINGBOROUGH RANGERS 1 (Potts 17)

Potts sent off (violent conduct) 72,

J Martin sent off (violent conduct) 86

KETTERING PL UNITED 7 (Ablewski 26secs Chojak 26 62 83 89 Leskowski 60 Augusciak 77)

Putyrski sent off (violent conduct) 72

Att 12

Entry FREE

No Programme

It must be odd playing for an Irthlingborough side at the moment, knowing that the most well-appointed ground in the town is the mothballed Nene Park, the former home of Rushden & Diamonds and Kettering Town. The advantage of visiting another team here is that unlike trips to the large ground you do actually see the town! For my southern eyes, it has elements of both north and south, I do like a border town, and the Church of St Peter, with its lantern tower is a wonderfully evocative landmark. The football ground, the Rec’ is found at the end of Scarborough Street. Be forewarned the street is narrow, and there’s no parking so a bright move is to park in town and take the 5-minute walk up the hill. I did and was surprised at the obvious tension for an end of season game with absolutely nothing riding on it. Continue reading →

You Are Only Coming Through In Waves

14 Wednesday May 2014

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Saturday 10th May 2014 ko 15.00

FA Vase Final

SHOLING 1 (McLean 71)

WEST AUCKLAND TOWN 0

Att 5,341 at Wembley Stadium

Entry to Bobby Moore Lounge, Programme, and Team Sheet – Complementary (Thanks to the EMCL and the NCEL)

 

So, a third visit to the Vase final in three years, for last year’s final click here, and the method is more or less set in stone. You park at Hillingdon Tube station for £2, then buy a six-zone travelcard for £8.90 for the Metropolitan Line trip to Wembley Park. I could park at Bicester North and take the train to Wembley Stadium, but that’s £22, or drive but it’s £30 (£15 for Blue Badge holders) to park at Wembley. I’ve yet to find a cheaper way of doing it, and yes I did try an unofficial car park for a rock concert here once. I  drove home with no driver’s window or sat nav! Yes, Wembley is an expensive place to visit, and I get the feeling that’s part of the reason why the stadium has been close to empty each of the 8 Vase Finals held at the rebuilt stadium. Continue reading →

Cow Roast

12 Monday May 2014

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Thursday 8th May 2014 ko 18.45

Aylesbury & District League Premier Division

BERKHAMSTED SPORTS 5 (Alexander 4 Whittaker 47 64 Shode 66 Gower 85)

AYLESBURY DYNAMOS 5 (Ashell 14 Woolard 17 31 45 Shennan 29)

Att 13

Entry FREE

No Programme

I wonder how many travellers have visited either Berkhamsted or Tring and travelled along the A4251 to get there. Chances are you’ll fly through the little hamlet of Cow Roast, glance across at the pub of the same name and carry along your way, thinking no more about the place. I’m oft heard to comment that every settlement has a story to tell, and little Cow Roast has more to say than most….

Continue reading →

I Know Where It’s At

11 Sunday May 2014

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Wednesday 7th May 2014 ko 18.30

Northants Combination Premier Division

BRIXWORTH ALL SAINTS 1 (Ling 52) Dufty sent off 90 (2nd booking)

MILTON 0

Att 27

Entry FREE

No Programme

Brixworth lies to the north of Northampton, a stone’s throw from the M1/M6 interchange at Catthorpe immortalised in a million traffic reports. The team takes its slightly unusual name from the huge parish church of All Saints. Its one of the oldest, largest and most complete Anglo-Saxon churches in the country. It was founded circa 680 AD and was called  “The finest Saxon church north of the Alps.”

The village church is mentioned in the Peterborough Chronicles, being a monastery founded when Sexwulf became Bishop of Lichfield before the death of King Wulfhere in 675AD. Many elements from the original building remain visible, although there are later additions, notably the tower. The club is to be found on Froxhill Crescent, the mid-point of a modern estate and in the middle of it all is the wide expanse of the St David’s Playing Fields. Continue reading →

Outpost

11 Sunday May 2014

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Tuesday 11th May 2014 ko 18.45

North Berkshire League Division 3

BURGHCLERE 2 (Franklin 55 Kirkham 90)

KINTBURY RANGERS RESERVES 3 (Ramos 34 Allsop 40p 80p)

Att 28

Entry FREE

No Programme

I had a choice of two games that would give me somewhere new to visit, but when Radley switched their game to Sutton Courtenay (the team is becoming Sutton Courtenay for next season), I blasted down the A34 to the pretty Hampshire village through a downpour. I remember attending the North Berks AGM when Burghclere were elected. One side, no longer in the league, objected that the club were too far away to travel to, despite being within the league’s famous stipulation of being within 20 miles of Steventon Green. And let’s be honest, the trip is straightforward, a blast down the A34, turn left then follow the road for half a mile. And what’s at the end of your journey is well worth the effort of getting here.

Continue reading →