A comment I made on another thread got me thinking about this. Growing up, I used to visit a mate who lived on Hector St in Plumstead. For those that don't know this road was built on the site of one of Arsenal's old grounds, the Invicta ground. In his back garden were the remains of several steps of terracing from the old ground. This was the beginning of my love affair with Arsenal, although those old steps are nothing remarkable to look at and most of them were either covered up with brambles, smashed up to extend the gardens or hidden under concrete, it was a magical experience to stand on them and imagine a whole football ground in front of you. Another ground which I had a great fondness for was Plough lane in Wimbledon. It was a really nice little compact ground in a pleasant part of London. (I always thought taking the circle or district line overground was a bit more interesting) I remember being there in either 88 or 89 for the first game of the season on a balmy hot day in August, with 5000 gooners singing 'If you've all got sweaty bollocks, clap your hands' One other ground which has now gone is the Den at Millwall, that place had a hostile feel to it and it wasn't just because of the reputation of Millwall fans, there was something about the area around Cold blow lane and the ground itself that just felt really unfriendly. Also growing up, the Valley in Charlton was almost derelict and Charlton used to share Selhurst park with Palace. anyway, I found this site which lists some of the old grounds which have now gone and mostly been replaced with flats or shopping centres. http://www.derelictlondon.com/londons-long-lost-sports-grounds.html
Upton Park is soon going to be one these lost grounds, which is kinda of sad I guess,it's also where I saw my first ever live football game (school trip).
I think I mentioned it to you before, but I did my Art foundation at Newham College (top floor of the tower block) and used to bunk off to go and watch West Ham reserves for £1. You could see the ground from the college and in the winter the floodlights used to come on early afternoon before the games ... cue time to bunk off
Haha, we also only went to watch a reserve game. I guess the School could not afford tickets for a proper game.
They were good then, to be fair. Had the likes of Joe Cole, Lampard,Rio,Carrick and Defoe. Damn, that side could won the league if they all stayed.
When you look back at the players West Ham developed it's a real shame that they didn't all stay and make the Hammers a top club, because they had the talent there and they've always had good support too. I guess they were never going to be able to compete with the likes of Utd and Chelsea though. Although Defoe probably would have had a better career staying at West Ham instead of sitting on the subs bench at Spurs.
Found that website really interesting - good shout. Quite sad in a way, but also really interesting. I do think part of Arsenal's sole is trapped in that old stadium, and I hope to god we never move.
I dunno. I know, I'm a Liverpool fan who likes history, but Highbury had something that the Emirates will likely never have. From traditional London club in an old stadium, to money orientated and far less character.
What a lot of bollocks. I loved Highbury but these grounds build memories and atmosphere over time. Give the Emirates another 20+ years and we'll grow into it. These things just take time and our first couple of years there have been spent with us coping with the financial implications for moving. It doesn't help the feel of the place when there's as much tension as there is there at the moment too.
That's what I'm getting at really. That's what you've lost by leaving Highbury. Maybe me saying the Emirates will never have it is untrue, but I'm not convinced that modern stadiums have the same charm and feeling as old ones. Only my opinion!
Highbury was a absolute gem of a ground and it held many great memories for me as much of my youth was spent on the North Bank and Clock End terraces, but times move on and we outgrew the old girl. I don't know if you've been to Emirates, but it is a magnificent stadium and is a worthy successor to Highbury. It has a great atmosphere for the big games. I think most of the grounds, even Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge suffer a bit against 'lower' teams, but a lot of that is also to do with the corporate fan base. Personally I would bring back safe standing and introduce areas where like minded fans can stand/sit and sing together. The problem with the new stadiums is that all the people who used to get the songs going got split up and scattered around the stadium, so that nowdays you're just as likely to be sitting with a couple of Japanese tourists or a family with young children as you are somebody who wants to sing and shout. As I said, it's okay for the big games as mostly everybody is up for it, but the attitude of part of the fan base has changed, they want to be 'entertained' and will only start getting behind the team when they start playing well, instead of being the '12th man' and urging them on from the off. I think ticket prices have impacted on this too, some people are like: 'I've paid £60 for my ticket, I expect to be entertained and if the team play poorly then I will let them know that I am unhappy'
