Just seen this on the Generral forum, Which grounds have you been to? but I would like to know best/worst. Mine :- Priestfield Wembley Not much of a treveller im afraid too say Money?work always gets in the way
Crikey the list would be a big one but the worse ground by far was Bloomfield Road. The wind used to whip off the Irish Sea and in the old terraces there many away fans froze to near death. The new Darlo ground (used to be the Reynold's before he got banged up) the ground was ok but when you have a 7k puls stadium with less than 2k in the place seemed souless, even quieter than the Emerites
So much has changed over the years, with so many grounds replaced by new stadia, and others rebuilt (like Priestfield). Some of the old ones really weren't a great loss, and some of the new ones are just a bit sterile, although part of that is down to all seater grounds, and of course allocated seats when you get to the Premiership. I reckon that in general the best ones all round at the moment, a combination of atmosphere and facilities, tend to be the rebuilt ones. The old Wembley really was a crumbling wreck even before the bulldozers moved in, and no great loss. I am impressed with the new version, although access hasn't really been improved a great deal. The Baseball Ground (Derby) had a great atmosphere in the 1970's, partly because terracing meant that as an away fan you could be with your selected group and partly because it was in amongst the houses, like so many older grounds. But I reckon they got out just before health and safety condemned it, and the pitch was s***e anytime after September. Made Chelski's 'beach' look like the greens at Augusta National. Had to laugh at Accy Stanley's ground when I went there for the first time last season, but there was terracing for the away fans, not seats. Quaint, I think, would be the best word to describe it.
Lets see, best grounds.....There have been a few so bare with me! I will give you my top 3. 1: Newcastle's St James Park. I have been twice now and the ground, facilities, location and atmosphere were immense. The local geordies we a fab laugh. 2. Nowich City, Carrow Road. Very nice ground and atmosphere but the food was some of the best i have had. Thank you delia! 3. Accrington Stanley, Crown Ground. Don't laugh! I love the place. Just has so much character and they make you always feel welcome. Worst 3 Grounds: 1. Aldershot, Recreation Ground. Rubbish view, bad food and the huge walk through a park to get to the away turnstile was a big downer. Plus the fans aren't that friendly. 2. Swindon Town. Less i say the better really. Been once, never going back! 3. Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium. Nice looking ground, but miles away from train stations and town centres. Atmosphere was a huge lack aswell.
my best ones have to be: 1. anfield, liverpool. i only saw a preseason friendly, but even so, the atmosphere - especially youll never walk alone before kickoff - sent a shiver down my spine 2. st marys, southampton. not what youd call close to the city centre, but its walkable and the atmosphere was good 3. britannia, stoke. even before they made it into the prem and were stuck in division 2 playing the likes of us, it was always lively and generally a nice ground worst: 1. kenilworth rd, luton. walking through someones back garden wasnt a promising start, and it looked like it was about to fall down 2. millmoor, rotherham. same applies here. except that you had to go through a scrapyard not a garden. no prizes for guessing where they found all the corrugated iron for the away end.
My favourite is probably still The Reebok (great memories of a cracking 3-3 draw in our first season in division 1/championship). Plenty of contenders for the worst, but three that still haunt the memory: - Springfield Park, Wigan (grass bank for a terrace anyone?); Somerton Park, Newport County; and Layer Rd, Colchester - although to be fair I suppose wooden terracing is a step up from a grass bank.
