'Season 2006-07 Compendious'

A season that personally started way back on a hot July afternoon,with an Intertoto Cup tie at St. James Park finally came to a close last Saturday in Fife.
I have thoroughly enjoyed writing and capturing images of my groundbagging exploits of 2006-07,I may not have the word skills of Stuart Hall,the journalistic scribblings of Brian Woolnough or indeed the photographic skills of an employee of Getty Images but in the words of an old 1970’s impressionist “this is me” and the good feedback I’ve received during this past season has made the whole experience gratifying.

I managed to attend 71 games throughout the season and bagged 29 new grounds,so my first “thank you” goes to my fantastic ‘breadknife’ Debra for letting me off the leash,even though she would prefer to see me at home (no I don’t mean St.James Park) on a Saturday.
Among those 29 grounds were many throughout the non-league,a stadium which is now dead,a home that has now dropped from ‘The 92’,a big shiny red one with 60,000 seats,a trip to Jormani,Scotland and even an appearance in deepest Darlington,so after all this I’ve lost contact with my old Saturday afternoon mucker from ‘Gillette Soccer Saturday’ Jeff Stelling,I hope he’s keeping well and if you see him tell him I’m asking after him.

Included amongst those 71 games is of course supporting the two clubs closest to my heart,that big club north of the Tyne “treated” myself and the fellow Geordie Nation to a season to forget,being one of the worst in recent times,thankfully action was taking at the end of the season to hopefully rectify the mess the club currently finds itself in, a new man at the helm,with a fresh approach and new ideas will at least give the Toon Army fresh optimism for next season.(wonder if there’ll be an end of season DVD,would anyone purchase it?)

As far as the club at the south of the Tyne,things are looking much brighter,with an ambitious Chairman who is willing to give the club his full backing,a new manager who since his appointment in early March,saw his side go 12 games unbeaten through to the end of the campaign,just running short of making the play-offs,all this and the promise of a new football ground as well,things are definitely on the up for the Heed Army.

Finally I would like to thank everyone who sent there grounds lists and helped make this little website take off,I’ve made a lot of friends throughout the ‘Groundhoppers Union’ both at home and abroad and hopefully our paths will cross sometime during next season,I’m grateful for an comments left on the blog and always look forward to hearing from you fellow bloggers as well as the personal emails I receive, so thank you very much,it’s all been worthwhile.

Throughout the summer the site will be regularly updated including the world famous ‘Ground Image Of The Month’ the continuing series of ‘The Football Bog Blog’ as well as ‘My Back Pages’ which features stories from my first visit to various grounds (similar to the Leeds Road post) so have a good summer and I hope the stadiumitis bug can ease off until July/August.
Cheers! SS

P.S. ‘The 100 Football Grounds Club Groundhoppers Union Meeting 2007’ destination – Morecambe ? ;-) anyone interested or any suggestion let me know.

My Matchday - 139 East End Park

Dunfermline Athletic 0v3 Falkirk
Scottish Premier League
May 19th 2007
att.5087


I’ve been meaning to cross some ticks off my Scottish grounds total,but opportunities have been limited this season,so bearing this in mind I sacrificed sitting in front of the TV watching the country’s two biggest clubs battling it out for the oldest cup competition in the world,with the added attraction of the first historic final at the finest football arena on the planet. (too many red seats for me) I haven’t missed an English cup final either in front of the box or in the flesh since 1973,but I would rather attend a live game and visit a new ground than watch a game where I would happily like to see both teams lose,so it wasn’t a hard decision to head north into the ‘Kingdom of Fife’ for the SPL meeting at Dunfermline’s East End Park against local rivals Falkirk.
The Pars were born in 1875 when members of Dunfermline Cricket Club formed a football club to keep them occupied and retain there fitness during the long winter months,their home during this period was just west of the present ground and it wasn’t until the clubs Board of Directors purchasing new land for £3,500 from the North British Railway in 1920 that the club moved to the present East End Park.
The ground has had an eventful life during the past 87 years,in the 1930’s for example the ground staged greyhound racing and the extra income during the Depression years helped save the club from going bust at a time when things weren’t going well on the park,during the Second World War,East End Park was used by the Army as a base as well as a Polish transport unit,the ground also hosted a boxing match during the war to raise funds to help the Russian war effort.
East End Park first appearance under floodlights was in October 1959 when the Pars played Sheffield United in a friendly,this was on the eve of the clubs most successful period in their history all thanks to the arrival of one man – Jock Stein,his arrival at Dunfermline in 1960 saw the club win their first ever trophy,when they lifted the 1961 Scottish FA Cup,beating Celtic after a replay,this success funded the completion of the Main Stand at a cost of £60,000.
The cup success catapulting the lads from Fife into Europe, amassing 42 European ties between 1961 and 1970, Jock Stein left the Pars in 1964 but he laid the foundations as the club progressed under managers Willie Cunningham and later George Farm, they reaching an additional two Scottish Cup finals,as runners up in 1965 and winners in 1968,the year which witnesses the East Enders biggest attendance when a crowd of 27,816 saw a clash with cup winners against champions Celtic,this successful decade witnessed their highest league position of third place in 1965 and 1969 (I wonder who finished first and second?),they also achieved a semi-final spot in the European Cup-Winners-Cup.
The grounds progression continued through this era with the North Stand roof being extended as well as cover for the West Stand which linked the two stands together,the ground stagnated with only new terracing added in the mid 1980’s until the ground was rebuilt and made all seating in the nineties.
East End Park has been described as a mini-Ibrox (before the corners were filled) the East and West Stand’s were built in the Summer of 1998,both have a capacity of 3000 and are steep single tier stands with sharp edges and Perspex sides,the East Stand is the away end while the West has been named after Pars legend Norrie McCathie.I went in the North Stand which has a smaller single tier of seats,installed in 1997,it has a capacity of 2400,it houses the TV gantry and there’s a brilliant mural at the top of the stand in between the toilets (see Football Bog Blog no.5)the stand is split in two with only the North West side open.
You can see how the Main Stand has been modernised after it’s original construction in 1962,there’s a small corporative area behind the dugouts with ‘Welcome To East End Park’ printed above as well as a crowd control building to the west,the rest of the bottom tier has been filled in with bench type seats in dark red,the same colour as the rest of the stadium.

There are continental type floodlights which were installed in November 1997,making the stadium easy to spot from a distance and until recently the pitch had the artificial XL-Turf after receiving a grant from UEFA.The turf was laid in September 2003,but after becoming unpopular with the fellow members of the SPL the club returned to playing on grass last season,but if you look closely you can see evidence of the old turf running along the touch line
The tunnel is in the corner of the stadium in-between the Main Stand and the McCathie Stand,the first face to appear pre-match is a hairy one,club mascot Sammy the Hammy appeared and took great delight in an attempt to wind up the rival Falkirk fans,he ran towards the away end with a cardboard placard with the words ‘Whey Aye,we’re off to Europe’ there was a party atmosphere amongst the Pars fans,the fact their team were relegated the previous week didn’t seem a setback,they have a cup final next week as well as trips to distant shores to look forward to,therefore a season in Division One isn’t a crisis,as the attitude seems to be a ‘back in one season’ one.The club and supporters have a strong believe they’ll bounce straight back,just like the pre match beach balls that littered the pitch when the teams came on to the pitch,along with rubber rings and water wings as well as the sound of ‘Viva Espania’ the fans feel it’ll be destination Spain or Greece in the UEFA Cup,so let’s hope it’s not Iceland or Latvia.
I was pleased to hear the sound of Dunfermline’s finest when the players emerged from the tunnel,the distinctive sound of Stuart Adamson on guitar with the Skids and the classic ‘Into The Valley’ (I still have my copy on 7’ white vinyl,pic cover) as for the match,it wasn’t a classic,but a disappointment for the home supporters with a shocking performance against their bitter enemies from over the Kincardine Bridge,the team seem to be saving themselves for the cup final next week,so there’ll need a huge improvement or it’ll be an embarrassment against Celtic,the Pars fans made their displeasure know with chants of “You don’t deserve the jersey” as Falkirk won the game at a canter with three second half goals after a scrappy first half.
My companion today was again Alan Price and we enjoyed a cheap day out,thanks to my mate 'Jimmy Jimmy' fixing us up with free return train travel to Edinburgh,the fare to Dunfermline Town was only £4.80 return and the match admission was half price at only £12.00,on top of this Alan gave me a history lesson on the former capital of Scotland.We visited to resting place of Robert The Bruce in Dunfermline Abbey as well as St.Margaret’s Cave,like Alan says,you come to these places,so you may as well see it while you’re here.
I have no doubt that getting up at 6.30am and heading off to Scotland and so missing the FA Cup Final was the right decision, I saw the match highlights (or is it lowlights) on Saturday night and I apparently missed nowt,but I intend to spend next Saturday afternoon in front of the tele with an 8-pack of John Smith’s and a few packets of pork scrachings and watch the cup final,the Scottish Cup Final,Dunfermline v Celtic “Come On Ye Pars”
LINKS -
Match Report
Recommended listening

The Football Bog Blog

Great Stadia Toilets No.5 in a series of....

The ones at Dunfermline with the outside mural

The toilets in the North Stand at Dunfermlines East End Park are by far the most picturesque I've seen,there's a mural with paintings of Dunfermiline's managers from the past,as well as the club crest and the words 'Come On Ye Pars' written in tall black letters,there are black and white painted walls inside and this long white wall connects both Gents and Ladies bogs.

My Matchday - 138 Green Lane

Teeside Athletic 1v6 Whitehaven Amateurs
Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Final
May 12th 2007
att.approx 200 (+3 dogs)

It’s that time of the year when the football season draws nearer to closure,when the titles have all been decided and all that’s left are play-offs and cup finals,so the options become rather limited as far as watching live fitba are concerned,however I not about to let my wee band of loyal readers down,so I took a 100 mile round trip down to North Yorkshire to not only view a new ground,but also see a cup final clash with two sides playing for one of the oldest football trophies in the world.
Based in the coastal town of Redcar in Cleveland,Teesside Athletic are a club on the rise with a bright future ahead,they became one of the first clubs to receive FA Charter Standard Community Club Status,as well as having their senior side playing in the Wearside League and a reserve team,the club also run sixteen junior sides from ages 6-18 as well as a Ladies team and three junior girl teams making up over 250 playing staff.
Formed in 1993 playing in the Teesside League,the club took the step up into the Wearside League (level 7) as recently as 2005-06 season, finishing a respectable 5th (of 18) in their first season,they currently lie in 9th position this season but have progressed by reaching two cup finals,they face recently crowned Wearside League champions Birtley Town in the League Cup Final later this month and today they host Whitehaven Amateurs in the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Final.
The Green Lane ground lies just off Redcar sea front with views of the cliffs at Marske in the distance,at the moment the ground is pretty basic but there’s plans for major improvements, the ground is surrounded by a green panel fence and the club has recently launched a ‘sponsor a panel’scheme to raise finances,there’s also plans afoot to equip the ground with floodlights and spectator facilities,so currently there is no covered stand,not unless you count the unused dugout at the far site of the ground which would actually give the ground a seating capacity of four (see picture) On arriving at the ground there’s a car park and club house which sells a range of club souvenirs including pin badges and scarfs,quite impressive for a club at this level,the building also houses the changing rooms and the players enter the pitch via the same entrance as the supporters.
Today I had the pleasure of being accompanied by a couple fellow ground baggers with fellow 100FGC member Alan Price (squad no.26) as well as another Alan who I was meeting for the first time,both take in as many matches as possible throughout the season,I know that Mr.Price usually hits the 100 mark a season while the other Alan has had a busy time having attended an impressive nine matches in the space of this week.
The Monkwearmouth Charity Cup is a competition played amongst the Wearside League clubs and the current holders Teesside Athletic were hosting the final against their rivals from Cumbria,Whitehaven Amateurs,the final isn’t played at a neutral venue but home advantage wasn’t a telling factor today as it was the most one sided game I’ve seen this season,with the game being over as a contest by half time.
Whitehaven started the game brightly in the opening period,and it was no surprise when they took the lead on 27 minutes with Craig Robson’s clever lob over the keepers head from 18 yards,this opened the floodgates and the visitors added to their lead with a penalty from Jonathon Wight on 36 minutes and then a spectacular left footed volley from the edge of the box by Steven Hewitt five minutes before the break gave Whitehaven an unassailable lead at the end of the first 45 minutes.
Teesside improved after the break, but for all there possession they never seriously threatened in front of goal and Whitehaven added to their total with Craig Robson grabbing two goals to complete his hat trick in a five minute spell midway through the second half,the first on 65 minutes with a first time shot from a left wing cross and then he escaped his marker again to put his side 5 -0 up with a cool finish.To add more misery to Athletic’s afternoon they missed a penalty on 83 minutes with a fine save from keeper Jack Fryer and from their next attack forward Wight grabbed his second of the afternoon and Whitehaven’s sixth with a bullet header from a right wing corner,there was just enough time left for a late consolation goal from the hosts through a scrabbled goal by Steve Thompson.
So it finished 6-1 with Whitehaven dominated throughout and worthy winners of the Monkwearmouth Cup but a hugely disappointing performance from Teesside, although there’ll be better days ahead from a club that has a good infrastructure in place and an ambition to progress further.

LINKS –
What’s the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup

Matchday pictures courtesy of Mark Fletcher

(no.6008 is a good one)

Update - May 2007

Teesside got over their disappointment of losing out on the Monkwearmouth Cup by winning the Wearside League Cup with a cracking result against league champions Birtley Town in their own backyard, they came away with a 2-1 win with goals from James Smuk and Ian Mudd.

Well Done!

My Matchday - Federation Park

Newcastle Benfield Bay Plastics 1v0 Sunderland Nissan

Arngrove Northern League Cup Final

May 7th 2007

att. 304

(Revisiting Ground no.88 -1st visit Dunston Fed 1v3 Newcastle United XI,9th September 2002,Friendly)

I’ve been meaning to revisit Federation Park and do a feature on the home of ‘The Fed’ all season, so with the club playing hosts to this seasons Northern League Cup Final it was the ideal opportunity to see how the ground has developed since my last visit,and to see the battle for silverware in a classic Tyne v Wear clash as Newcastle Benfield Bay Plastics faced Sunderland Nissan.
Dunston Federation Brewery Football Club have played at Federation Park since 1986 after the club acquired the land from Gateshead Council and approaching the neighbouring local brewery to back the club with sponsorship and help with the clubs growth,they willingly agreed and renaming the club and ground after the brewery that gave us such beverage delights as LCL Pils Lager and the hangover phenomenon which is ‘Fed Special’
The clubs humble beginnings began back in 1975 when a group of workers at a factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate formed a football team and played in the Newcastle City Amateur League,after a good start the club set up base at the Bay Horse pub in Whickham under the title of Whickham Sports FC playing in the Northern Amateur League on a public park in Dunston,the club then decided to move closer to their pitch and set up new headquarters at the Mechanics Club in Dunston,so changing their name to Dunston Mechanics FC,joining the Northern Combination League in 1982.
With the new ground and the backing of the brewery behind them the club made rapid progress,winning the league and cup double in their first season and taking the step up into the Wearside League,where they enjoyed four successful seasons becoming champions twice along with winning the League Cup.
In the 1991-92 season the club took the next step up the football pyramid when they joined the Northern League Second Division,winning promotion in only their second season along with a quarter final appearance in the FA Vase.The Fed established themselves as one of the top clubs in the ANL and this came to a pinnacle in the 2003-04 season when the club won it’s first League title and cup double,and better still the same feat was also achieved by the Fed the following season.
Dunston is in the west end of Gateshead next to the world famous Metrocentre,Federation Park lies in between the residential and industrial parts of Dunston,access is gained via two entrances in the corners behind both goals,the main entrance has the clubhouse,changing rooms and ‘The Kabin’snack bar,where there is also a picnic type seating area,behind the opposite goal is an open standing area which has a lawn which spectators can use to have a lie down and watch the game at their leisure.
When I last visited the Fed the ‘Paul Gascoigne Stand’wasn’t built.this is a neat little stand which has a mixture of 120 brown bench and flip red seats,it also houses the PA System,Gazza is of course a famous son of Dunston and the club was proud to name their main stand after him,I always thought that the Geordie football genius had put his hand in his pocket and financed this stand,but when I enquired if this was the case I was surprised to find out he didn’t put a penny towards it,so Gazza still owes the club big time.
Adjacent to the main stand is ‘The Shed’ which mirrors in it’s appearance,but this is a standing terrace which has the dugouts in front of it and is a popular viewing area for Fed fans.
The pitch was in immaculate condition and worthy to host a cup final,Benfield were appearing in the League Cup final for the first time and the majority of the crowd (about 99.95%) were either supporters or lending their support to the team in all Blue,their opponents Nissan were coming off the back of the dissapointment of losing out on the league title on the last day of the season,they only needed a home win over Billingham Synners but lost 2-1,hence handing the title to Whitley Bay,so a win in the League Cup would be some consolation to what’s been a very good season for them.
The match was a tense encounter with Benfield showing the initiative early on with a couple of good chances,but as the game went on it was the defences that came out on top and the possibility of a stalemate and extra time loomed (which was no good to me as I had a date with Spiderman3 at the Metrocentre Odeon with the breadknife and kids at 3.15) it took the one piece of class in the game to clinch it as Benfield captain Alu Bangura struck a sweet free kick from the edge of the box to clinch the cup for the Tyneside club,on the final whistle the Benfield players celebrated as if they won the FA Cup,many congratulations to them on winning their first piece of silverware.

LINKS-

Nissan Report?
Previous Winners