My Matchday Pics - 120 Belle Vue

Doncaster Rovers 1v0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Football League One
November 25th 2006
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At last, a trip down to Donny and a last opportunity to visit Belle Vue,or should that be the Earth Stadium'(which i doubt any self acclaimed Rovers fan would call it unless you worked for Earth Mortgages) their home for the last 84 years before their move to pastures new in the new year.
Doncaster Rovers have played at 'The Belle' since 1922 and the old ground has survived fire,mining subsidance,conspiracy and arson and on the field been graced by the likes of amongst others the Keetley Brothers,Alick Jeffery,Sydney Bycroft,Harry Gregg(at the time the worlds most expensive player) and lest not forget "me old flower" Charlie Williams.
Anyone whose visited Belle Vue will know that the old stadium is on it's last legs but it has a certain character and an historic feel to it.It was great to stand on the terraces for a league game again with the ground being made up of two open ended terraces behind each goal,I stood on the 'Town End' terrace facing towards the Brighton fans or should i say a 'flock of seagulls' ( "well I took a photograph of you,for something to remind me") facing towards us in the 'Rossington End'.
The Main Stand has a seating capacity of just over 1500 and has a paddock standing area in front with which looks like an extended roof,adjacent is the popular side which is a covered terrace where most of the home fans vocal support comes from.

I travelled down on the train,in first clarss,thanks to my old mucker and companion for the day Jimmy,who has one of those train-season-ticket-thingys,so I had a free trip to the match(well so I thought)after a couple of pints in Central Station we boarded the 12.32 and arrived at Doncaster Station just before two o'clock.

We decided to jump a taxi to the ground to give us a bit more time in the beerbar,while travelling to the ground the taxi driver asked why we were here and Jimmy jokingly replied "We're sick of watching Newcastle so we've come to watch Doncaster instead" our taxi-driver was straight on to his radio to notify head office that unbelievably,he had two Geordies in his cab coming to watch Rovers instead of Newcastle,the lass in the taxi office then proceeded in telling all the other taxi drivers about us,so our arrival in the town of Doncaster was announced with disbelief even though Jimmy's remark was with his tongue firmly in his cheek,and of course they mustn't have known that the Toon were at home the following day and I would be at that game as well.

The taxi dropped us off at a pub next to the Dome complex,and after a few pints of Tetley Bitter(funny,it always tastes nicer when drinking it in Yorkshire)we walked along to the ground.This involved trying to walk through what can only be described as' puddle city' or maybe 'Mini-Venice' but not as picturesque.

The match wasn't a classic but was still enjoyable to watch,a tight encounter settled by a first half header scored by former Seagulls striker Mark McCammon.Overall Doncaster deserved the the victory,while having the best of the opening period Brighton pushed for an equaliser in the second half,but the home defence held firm and didn't look like letting the three points slip.

match report -

http://www.doncasterroversfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/Reports/0,,10329~34397,00.html

After the game we walked around to the taxi rank at the nearby ASDA store,there were no taxis there,so we went into the store and the young girl on the customer services desk was very helpfull in ordering us transport back to the train station.But the taxi didn't show up,because the traffic outside the Dome Complex was chocka-block and the taxi had no chance in reaching us,after trying to order another taxi from the nearby pub we gave up on any chance of us boarding the 17.35 to Edinburgh.

So there we were Smid and Jimmy stuck in Donny having missed our train,trekking back on foot in 'pissed off mode' back to the station and on arriving having to cough up £69 between us(so much for the free trip) we then toured the train stations of Yorkshire and finally treked back on to the East coast line back to the Toon.

My only previous recollection of Doncaster train Station was on TV,and the first ever episode of 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads' when Bob and Terry were reunited after five years, having bumping into each other on a Newcastle Bound Train.Terry had just came out of the army and after speaking to Bob on the way North decided that he didn't want to go home to Tyneside and decided that he was going to alight at Doncaster and return to London,to cut a long story short Bob got left behind in Doncaster having missed the last train,so this station has a bad history for Geordies,as another couple of likely lads would have been left there,if it wasn't for the fact Jimmy was carrying his little plastic friend.

Apart from the missed train incident,I had a very enjoyable trip to Doncaster and was pleased to finally get to view Belle Vue in there third last game at the old ground.I'll return again but next time it will be in better surroundings at the impressive looking Keepmoat Stadium,about a half a mile away from the current site and next time I'll make sure we'll get a later train home,so for now Doncaster "Ahl Sithee"

A Brighton fans view of the game @-http://thegroundhog.wordpress.com/2006/11/29/doncaster-rovers-part-2/

A New Era For Donny

Doncaster Rovers new stadium the Keepmoat Stadium will be officially opened by the Mayor on 17th December and their first match in their new home will be the derby with Huddersfield Town on New Years Day.
The stadium has a 15,000 capacity and at a cost of £32m,the development includes The Lakeside suite and supporters bar,restaurant,a health and fitness club,eleven all weather floodlit five and seven-a-side pitches,two external full-size floodlit grass pitches,car parks,outdoor amphitheatre and a 500 seater mini stand(better than the main stand that's currently at Belle Vue)with six lane running track.

The Keepmoat Stadium and the Lakeside Sports Complex will be a great addition to the Doncaster community and will also be the home of Doncaster Lakers Rugby League Club,Doncaster Belles FC,Doncaster Athletics Club and of course 'The Vikings' Donny Rovers.

My Matchday Pics - 119 Emirates Stadium

Arsenal 1 v 1 Newcastle United
FA Premiership
18th November 2006
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After residing at Highbury in the London Borough of Islington for the last 93 years The Gunners have shifted home just around the corner(well,they're settled in the area) to their new home at Ashburton Grove, or to give it it's current title for at least the next 15 years, The Emirates Stadium', thanks to a £100m sponsorship deal with the Dubai based airline.

This 17 acre site was build at a cost of £390m, and is a four-tier bowl type stadium decked out in comfy red seats with lots of leg room (I only discovered this in the half-time interval,due to the usual standing up at away matches stance amongst the Toon Army) The bowl shape is very stylish and I especially like to use of giant windows at the back of the top tier which lets in lots of natural light. Instead of advertisements the stadium is surrounded by a gallery of honours which runs inbetween two of the tiers, listing the clubs achievements from their first FA Cup win in 1930 through to their latest trophy win in 2005.

A refreshing change when attending an away game in the Premiership is meeting a friendly bunch of ground stewards. The lads employed at the Emirates spent a lot of time laughing and carrying on with the Newcastle fans, and didn't have the 'power-mad-jobsworth-type-attitude' which I've come across in the past. The men in orange coats in the section of the ground where we were standing(not sitting)were always smiling and seemed to actually enjoy their job, or were they Spurs fans in disguise? Happy to see that the Gooners were getting beat 1-0!

I hatched a very cunning plan in locating my way to the match, my mate Big Ian(100FGC squad no.2) drove myself and his son Lee to Cockfosters Tube Station, the most Northenly point on the Piccadilly Line, we then hopped on the tube and within half an hour arrived at Arsenal Station, this meant missing out on the chaos of the London traffic and saved a lot of drinking time. I then arranged to meet up with Wanstead based Geordie exile Decka T, we arranged to meet up at a pub called the 'Drayton Arms', but after asking several locals on the whereabouts of this drinking establishment, no-one seemed to know where it was or weren't interested in helping, I eventually got told how to find the pub by a helpfull hotdog seller. This reminded me of the words of the legend Paul Weller on The Jam's hit 'StrangeTown' the line being "when you ask in a strange town, they say I don't care and I've got to go mate" I know it's sterotypical to suppose that our friends in the South are unfriendly and not helpfull towards strangers, but when I found out the pub in question is opposite the ARSENAL entrance(see above pic)and surely everyone who supports Arsenal must know where it is, so maybe there's some truth in the fact some(not all)Southerners are pig ignorant. It can be compared to an away fan arriving at St James Park and asking where 'The Strawberry Pub' is and me saying "ah divvent knaa"

This was 'The Gunners' 10th game at their new home, winning five and drawing the other four, but in the Premiership they've played six, winning 3-0 three times and drawing 1-1 three times, so what was it to be for Newcastle's visit, any betting man would suggest the 3-0 scoreline and I would categorically agree, but Newcastle being as unpredictable as ever came away with a welcome and well earned 1-1 draw.

After all those glorious years spent at Highbury and only being residence in their new home for four months the Emirates Stadium probably still doesn't feel like 'home' yet to both players and supporters. The old ground was often criticized for lacking atmosphere and with a new 60,000+ stadium you would think this would be resolved, but I'm afraid it's the same as Highbury, with only a pocket of 200 odd fans in the opposite corner of the ground trying to stir the fellow Gooners into vocal action and a 5 minute spell after Henry's equaliser awakining the fans tonsils.

The club could have taking advantage in moving into a new development by asking fans when purchasing their season tickets if they would maybe like to sit in a specially designated 'singing end' of the ground, this would benefit both supporters and most of all be a great lift to the team, but sadly this mustn't have happened because it appears that the mighty Arsenal have moved from the quiet library to the quiet art gallery.

match report@-http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6138794.stm

'Simple Piemans' view @-http://pieandmushypeas.blogspot.com/2006/11/arsenal-fc.html

(click for larger pics)

Arsenal Stadium,Highbury 1913-2006 RIP

Before hitting the boozer,I had a some spare time to take a look at the current state of Highbury,which is in the process of being turned into a major residential area called The Stadium-Highbury Square.
The progress that has been made since Arsenal's final game at Highbury last May is the South Stand is now demolished,with the North Bank on it's last legs with half the stand and the last corner section remaining.With the East Stand being a Grade 2 listed building the facade along with the famous Marble Halls will remain,along with the West Stand facade thus becoming part of the Highbury Square project.
A nice touch about the new developement,is the area occupying The Gunners hallowed turf is to become a garden square,following the exact dimensions of the former pitch,the 711 apartments and flats will face inwards and become the vocal point of Highbury Square.

My Matchday Pics -118 Nissan Sports Complex

Nissan Sunderland 1v2 Dunston Federation Brewery
Arngrove Northern League First Division
11th November 2006



This was the second time in a week that I've seen Nissan in action,following the disapointment of seeing them knock Gateshead out of the Durham Challenge Cup, at the International Stadium on Monday night,I ventured into the outskirts of Makemland to check out one of the most progressive clubs in the ANL.

Nissan Motor Manufacturers UK formed their own football club in 1988 and played their first season in the newly formed Wearside League 2nd Division as Nissan FC.They made there first of two name changes in 1994 adding Washington to their title and won promotion into the Northern League 2nd Division in 2000/01, they then progressed with 6th,5th and then a 2nd place finish and promotion into the 1st Division.

At the beginning of last season came yet another name change,this time adding sunderland to the team name,This was the first time that the town of sunderland's name been used in the last 99 years of the Northern League,so they became Sunderland Nissan or is it Nissan Sunderland? On the cover of the matchday programme it announces "A Warm Welcome to Nissan Sunderland Football Club",but thumbing through the pages they are mentioned as Sunderland Nissan(7 times)Nissan Sunderland(5 times) and Nissan FC(5 times)so what is it? I think I'll just nickname them "Makem Japs" or should that be "Jap Makems"!!! The club nickname is naturally 'The Motormen' so that will have to do.

When I visit a new grounds for these games,I usually spectate it as a neutral and hope to see an entertaining game and of course get some good matchday pics,but this afternoon is different.If you tied me down and tortured me by sticking matches under my fingernails and blasting out a James Blunt CD in my ears I would then confess that my Northern League allegence lies with Dunston Federaton Breweries FC.This is because the club is based in Gateshead and therefore is my local ANL club,as the crow flies about 2-3 miles away from my fortress in Sheriff Hill.

The Nissan Sports Complex has one main stand,with two sides of the ground exposed to the elements with the Sports Complex and changing rooms behind the goal.The best thing about the ground is the Penshaw Lounge,which stays open during matchdays which means on a cold Autumn day like today there's the luxury of staying in the upstairs bar and watching the game from the window,with beer on tap and Sky Sports Soccer Saturday on in the background,i'd describe it as a communal executive box,not bad for £4. So after standing around in the cold for the 1st half I made the wise move of watching the 2nd half with the 'Fed Lads' in the luxury and warmth(my view of the game is the bottom pic on left)

The game was a typical ANL game which involves 'taking no prisoners tackles' and constant abuse towards the referee coming from both tug-outs and both sets of fans.The match seemed to have swung towards the Motormens favour after the dismissal of Leon Scott for a profesional foul around the hour mark,Nissan took advantage of the extra man with a goal from Stephen Halliday and looked to have secured the 3 points.But a late rally from 10 man Fed produced a goal from Graeme Armstrong capitalising on a football howler from the Nissan keeper(which wouldn't look out of place on one of those football funny DVDs which usually come out at Xmas)and an injury time winner from Stephen Preen,or was that Dennis Bergkamp? It looked like him from the bar window and that's without a good drink!

(click on thumbnails for larger images,sorry about the quality of some of the pictures,but my camera was in a funny mood)

Updates

May 2007- In a season where Nissan looked the team most likely to, having been league leaders for a large majority of the season, they were piped to the title by Whitley Bay.
The season went to the wire with the Motormen needing to win their last game of the season at home to Billingham Synthonia to guarantee the title. Billy Town had finished their season the previous evening and were hoping that their two rivals would slip up, Nissan did, beaten 2-1 by the Synners while Bay took the title on goal difference with a 3-1 win at Durham City, so in the end Nissan finished a dissapointing 3rd.
Final ANL Division One table

Ground Image Of The Month

November's 'Ground Image Of The Month' features a picture from the 'High Road Ground' home of former Northern League Club Stanley United.
United were founded in 1890 and played in the Northern League between 1910 and 1974,where they were League Champions on three occasions including two titles in the early sixties.
The club later became founder members of the Wearside 2nd Division until the league was disbanded and became a single division in 1996, they played out there time there until the club was disbanded in 2003.
The ground was then taken by Crook Wanderers of the Crook & District League,who changed their name in honour of their former tennants,so the name of Stanley United lives on.

You can find some similar pictures in the Former Club Photos section at the Northern League website athttp://www.northernleague.org/photos/view_photo_former_club_ground.php

October Ground Image -the sequel
Last month's ground image in the Faroe Islands was a popular one,so I scanned through the worldwideweb and found another picture from another angle,via Football Grounds In Focus.