That was a great night. Sandwiched between tonking Southampton and then winning at Leicester it was when promotion really started to look like a possibility. It almost made up for losing at Layer Road 1-5 the previous year. Fraizer Campbell. Now there is an unfulfilled talent if there ever was one. I wonder if he ever looks back to the decision he made to reject a club where he was idolised in favour of some quick bucks and a series of failures. I see he hasn't played yet this season. Injured again, or just out of the reckoning? Back on subject (stadia) I really used to enjoy away trips to small grounds with atmosphere. Many of my favourites have been mentioned. I would add Feethams, Bootham Crescent and Blundell Park to the list. More recently Walkers / King Power has been up there, along with the City Ground.
Many great grounds where ya could hear nearly every word the players said. Deano and Ash that night giving it loads **** this **** that .. fantastic.
I remember that game at Doncaster. Cold and wet on an open terrace, went to get some food at half time and all they had was crisps.
Is this the game when they were comfortably the worst team in the country - I think they'd only won a couple of games all season at best, their owner had just tried to set fire to the ground and then we went there with more fans than they had yet we put in one of the worst performances I've ever seen and we lost 1-0? My memory tells me Gregor Rioch in particular ran around aimlessly like a bloated, sex criminal pig-farmer and at the end I think all the City fans sang in unison "you're not fit to wear the shirt". Or was that a different game?
That's the game, I think it was the last game of the season and their fans had a sit in on the pitch for a few minutes. They may have won only one game all season before beating us.
i enjoy older type grounds so Turf Moor/Banks's stadium are two I've visited. BP will always be my favourite
Was there that night, that was our game in hand and ColU were struggling. But we controlled the game from minute 1. We looked ruthless, fit and skillful. Way too much for them, and that night showed we were PL in waiting. We played them off the park. Ground was **** though.
Favourite old English grounds: the Den, Burnden Park and Bloomfield Rd Best ground now: Man City just shading Arsenal. Both proper attempts at building world class football grounds Other classic English grounds: Goodison, Pompey, Forest and Villa Park Worst: Riverside, Rovrum and Donny
Quick dishonourable mention - The Etihad. Yes it looks mightily impressive, but sat in that upper tier last season was actually quite frightening at first, I felt as if I could fall off with one wrong step.
Goodison with the wooden seats. Like a 60's throwback. How they've got away with that is anyone's business. Favourite old ground...Maine Road. Right in the middle of cosmopolitan Mosside!! Scary..... Fulham....Like a return to the past...Fratton Park and Baseball Ground.. Traditional Newbie: Cardiff isn't bad...Arsenal. St Marys
There are, and have been, a lot steeper and higher stands than that. One that you felt as if you fell over you would end up on the white line at the side of the pitch was the old Cardiff' Arms Park.
Gay Meadow, the toilets in the away end were just a brick wall with a gutter that went straight into the river. Roots Hall also gets a mention, one of the first away games I went to as an adult season ticket holder, just remember seeing signs that said 'WARNING, ASBESTOS'. We won 3-2. The Bank's Stadium is a favourite, my uni mate was a Walsall fan and we used to go when they played and I visited. Apparently Glanford Park nicked the blueprints for it or something to that effect, which is why the grounds are pretty much identical. Special mention to York Street (Boston), even though I hate BUFC, the ground is decent, despite it's terrible away end and to Kirkby Road, where I played in the Extra Preliminary round of the FA Cup against Stone Dominoes.
Were you there for the Olympics when the stadium had a capacity of 110,000 or at the downsized capacity today of 84,000 I worked as a volunteer there during the Sydney 2000 games.
Fratton Park is always good. Not been to too many football grounds abroad. Stadiums in general I would say the Adelaide Oval is a lovely ground. please log in to view this image
Speaking of the Argies, surely La Bombanera deserves a mention. I've never seen another stadium that looks like it, truly unique.
I was there in 1999 and saw two games of egg chasing back to back...Canterbury vs somebody else....and Brisbane Broncos vs someone else... Recall getting the train from the main station in centre of Sydney out to the stadium and back...
The Olympic Stadium in Berlin is pretty special. The sense of history around the place is incredible, where else can you walk around some 1930's Nazi swimming pools at half time. Its like a museum and football stadium in one.
