My Matchday - 223 Spotland

Rochdale 3v0 Bury

League Two

Saturday 29th August 2009

Rochdale is a large market and former mill town in Greater Manchester. The town lies in the valley of the River Roch, amongst the foothills of the Pennines to the east and Rossendale Hills to the north.

Rochdale came to prominence as a centre of the north’s woollen trade. Then in the late 19th century became one of the first industrialised towns, a major textile manufacturer during the industrial revolution. The Rochdale Canal was one of the country’s major broad canals, used to haulage the importing and exporting of coal, wool and cotton.

The town has a few influential musicians in its time. Gracie Fields to Lisa Stansfield, The Chameleons to The Mock Turtles. However the greatest musical link must surely be comedian Mike Harding with his Top 30 hit the ‘Rochdale Cowboy’

It's hard being a cowboy in Rochdale,

Spurs don't fit right on me clogs,

Yee-haa

It's hard being a cowboy in Rochdale,

'Cause people laugh when I ride past on our Alsatian dog.

[lyrics - M Harding -peaked at #22 in the Hit Parade in August 1975]

The ground was originally named St.Clements playing fields after the nearby church, initially used for cricket and then from 1878 by the local rugby club.

Football was first played at the ground in 1900. The original Rochdale AFC and Rochdale Town both played there for one season, but with little success until Rochdale’s current football club were especially formed to take over St. Clements in 1907.

Once established Rochdale AFC were accepted into the Manchester League, then the Lancashire League the following year. In 1910 they became a limited company, which enabled the club to purchase the ground’s tenure for £1,700 in 1914.

The ground was known as Spotland by the time Rochdale became members of the Football League in 1921. A wooden main stand was then erected at the south side, followed by terraces on Willbutts Lane and the Pearl Street end.

An early feature of the ground was the infamous five foot slope which ran down towards Sandy Lane. This was finally levelled in 1948, with the surplus earth pushed towards the Pearl Street End to make a miniature ‘Spion Kop’. Crash barriers were added to the terrace and the following year the ground witnessed its record attendance of 24,231 for an FA Cup tie against Notts. County.

The original Main Stand took a bit of a hiding in its time. In 1921 gale force winds blew the roof down, in 1953 it was partly destroyed by fire, then in 1966 the roof caved in again after a heavy snow storm.

Spotland was lit up for the first time in February 1954 for a friendly against St. Mirren. This was the grounds first set of floodlights, being replaced in 1971 and then again in 1992.

Rochdale Hornets (one of the original 22 Rugby League clubs formed in 1895) returned to there previous home after an 88 year absence to ground share with The Dale, after selling the Athletics Ground to developers for £2.6 million. Both clubs linked up with the local council in a joint ownership, which helped finance much needed work after the Taylor Report.

After the joint co-operative the ground was re-branded as Denehurst Park Stadium, named after the public park which is found on Sandy Lane, the new name never caught the locals imagination and so the Spotland name remained.

The first major work which gives us the Spotland stadium that we know today, was replacing the tattered and torn old Main stand. It was replaced in 1992 at a total cost of £1.2 million. The stand has a capacity of 1774, made up of alternated sections of red and blue seats. There’s 12 executive boxes situated in the centre and a small press area.

The only standing section is on Sandy Lane. The terrace has a capacity of 1900 and is now known as the Thwaites Stand. Apart from the odd supporting pillar the view is excellent and great value for money, priced at only £14.

The T.D.S. Stand on Pearl Street was officially opened in September 1997 by Sir Nat Lofthouse. It has a capacity of 2,584 blue seats with Dale picked out in white. It also has the Studds Bar in the stand where you can get a drink at half time and during the game.

Wilbutt Lane Stand completed the new look Spotland Stadium in 2001. It’s now known as the Westrose Leisure Stand and is similar in appearance to the Pearl Street end, it holds 3,560 blue seats with Rochdale picked in white. The stand is set aside for away supporters and also houses the TV gantry .

I arrived into town at 12.15pm, calling for a few pints in the Regal Moon and the Cemetery Hotel before reaching Spotland at 2.15pm. After walking the perimeter of the ground, securing a programme and pin badge, I had time for another pint in the Radcliffe Arms which is located in the car park at the stadium’s main entrance.

I stood on the Sandy Lane terrace with Dan(100FGC#93) and Sam(100FGC#139) who unfortunately arrived late, getting to Rochdale just prior to kick-off due to heavy bank holiday traffic.

The PA sound system in the stand was at full blast, turned right up to the maximum 11. They only played music from Manchester bands, like Oasis and in particular Happy Mondays and Stone Roses, it was like being transported back to 1990 with the sound of Madchester.

Matches against Bury are ‘a bit of a do’ around these parts. Local hostilities were prominent throughout, especially in the first half with both sets of fans swapping the usual insults, then the police had the intervene after 25 minutes when things got a little bit out of hand.

We had the misfortune to be standing next to the local headcase. When I saw him standing in front of us, I thought he was about 18-19 years old, judging by his size, physique and the charva clobber he was wearing. When he eventually stopped hurling abuse and flicking the v’s towards the Bury fans and turned around, I couldn’t believe he was actually a 50 year old (at least) gadgey!

The first half of this derby was a non event. No clear cut chance carved out by either side, the match dominated by fouls. It was like a playground schoolboy game, everyone running around like headless chickens wanting the ball ,then doing nowt once they received it.

Rochdale took a foothold on the game in the second half, taking the game to their opponents and finally applying some pressure on the Bury defence.

The breakthrough arrived just before the hour mark. A decent cross from the left by Buckley found the unmarked Thompson, his shot taking a slight deflection on its way to goal.

Man of the Match Chris Dagnall had missed a great chance early in the second half to open the scoring when one-on -one with the goalkeeper. In the 72nd minute a similar opportunity arose and this time he took his chance well with a confident finish.

The victory was rubber stamped with ten minutes remaining, when Buckley was barged over by Sodje in the penalty area. Kennedy despatched the spot kick then proceeded to ‘milk it’ in front of the away end which really winded up the Bury fans. One irate supporter then ran on the pitch, looking like he wanted to lynch him, the goalscorer ending up having to leg it from the incensed fan.

The traditional main rivals for these two sides are respectively Oldham and Bolton, but with both clubs not playing their most hated over recent years, then this fixture has taking over as their local derby. In the end it was a convincing win for The Dale, their first over Bury at Spotland for 16 years, so the local bragging rights well earned until the clubs meet again in the new year.

After the game I did my own version of penalty taker Tom Kennedy, legging it back to the train station to catch the 1720 to Leeds. Catching the earlier train gave me a good half an hour before my connection train to Newcastle, thus giving me time for my first visit to the Wetherspoons situated inside Leeds Station.

It was 2030 as my train crossed the King Edward bridge, arriving back home after a pleasant day out in Lancashire where I saw and met some interesting people, but unfortunately I failed to witness anyone in a cowboy hat riding around on an Alsatian dog!

Matchday facts

RAFC 3(Thompson 59 Dagnall 73 Kennedy 81p) BFC 0

att.4534

Admission £14

Programme £3

Ground no.223 Spotland - Matchday Webalbum

(17 pictures)

My Matchday - 222 Station View

Harrogate Railway Athletic 2v1 AFC Fylde

Unibond 1st Division North

Saturday 22nd August 2009

Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, originating in the 17th century from two small villages; High Harrogate and Low Harrogate in the Nidd Valley.

The towns first mineral spring was discovered in 1571 by William Slingsby, water from the Tewitt well containing iron, sulphur and common salt.

The chalybeate properties in the water were a popular health remedy, encouraging wealthy ailing visitors to the town, a major contribution towards the town‘s wealth.

Harrogate hosts the Great Yorkshire Show every year and once hosted the not so great show. In 1982 the town’s conference centre staged the Eurovision Song Contest, which was won, as you may expect when England are at home, by the Germans!

(That’s ‘A Little Piece’ by Nicole…Eddy)

As the name suggests, Harrogate Railway Athletics were formed in 1935 by rail workers from the Starbeck LNER depot.

After winning the British Railways National Cup in 1946, the club borrowed £1,500 from the LNER to buy their Station View home. A weekly payment of 1d a week from 300 rail workers was more than enough to secure the loan.

Competitive league football began in 1955, joining the Second Division of the Yorkshire League. They won promotion in their third season but yo-yo’d between the two leagues during the fifties and sixties.

Athletic struggled through the 1970’s. Relegation to the newly formed Yorkshire League 3rd Division was followed by dropping into the Harrogate League in 1973.

In 1980 with the club financially stable they returned to the Yorkshire League, then became founder members of the Northern East Counties League two years later.

By 1987 they reached its Premier league for the first time, playing for six seasons before relegation, but they returned as Division One champions in 1998-99.

Station View hosted its biggest match in 2002, Sky TV screened their second round FA Cup tie with Bristol City, as they became the lowest ranked side to ever reach this stage of the competition.

Three temporary stands were erected with the club determined to host the biggest game in their history. A sell out crowd of 3,500 witnessed a brave effort from Railway, eventually losing out 3-1 to the League One side.

A third place finish in the 2005-06 season was enough to clinch promotion to the Unibond, The club adapted well to life at a highest level, which coincided with another fine FA cup run. They overcame local rivals Harrogate Town on the way to again battling their way to the second round proper.

The home tie with League Two side Mansfield Town was broadcast live, this time on the Beeb. Unfortunately the Railway narrowly missing out on a place in the third round, going down 3-2 on a very clarty Station View pitch.

I travelled down the A1 to North Yorkshire with Alan Price(100FGCsquad#26) the 75 mile journey taking around an hour and twenty minutes.

Station View is found 2 miles west of Harrogate in Starbeck, on the main Knaresborough Road which leads into the town.

The village has an array of shops and takeaways, amongst them is a Butcher - who must be the greatest sausage maker on the planet! He’s won more honours than Ryan Giggs, with his list of titles shown on the shop window and walls. Alan gave into temptation, purchasing some of his casings of spicy meat goods, so he’ll be able to judge for himself.(Good bangers Alan?…Eddy)

That old phrase ‘red and green should never be seen except upon an Irish queen’ is disregarded at Harrogate Railway. Not only is it the club colours but the ground is decorated throughout with a clash of these two primary shades.

Once you’ve entered the turnstile and gave the young lass a quid for a golden goal ticket, you’ll find all the amenities at the station end of the ground.

Pitch side there’s portakabins used for club shop and media room with the changing rooms and ‘The Railway Buffet’ canteen set further back across the staff car park. There’s also a separate cabin used as offices for directors and club officials and in the far corner of the car park, amongst the weeds and debris are male and female toilets.

The main stand is behind the far goal, which is split between seats and standing. There’s approximately 300 red flip seats which includes a separate section for club directors. The terrace has five steps which tapers off to a point at its edge with conregated iron roof and back walls in those loud club colours.

There’s a small stand at the far side, parallel with the half way line in between the dugouts. This stand is in named in honour of ex player, junior coach and committee man Shaun Glennon. The stand has dark green flip seats and matching facia, adorning the stand and club name.

The rest of the ground is open half standing which includes a raised section of terracing next to the Shaun Glennon Stand.

Floodlights were installed in 1991, four pylons with twin lamps on either side of the pitch. They were first switched on for a friendly with Sheffield United in March of that year.

After being treated to the pre-match sound of Beaver FM on the PA, it was time for the main attraction; The Rail taking on Vodak Premier Division Champions AFC Fylde for the very first time in the Unibond 1st Division North.

The game started scrappy, with the match unable to flow. There were too many cheap free kicks conceded, with the players more concerned with winding each other up and questioning every decision made by the referee.

The match was desperately in need of a goal and when it came what a cracker it was.

Liam Richardson received the ball on the left, then from the edge of the box unleashed a fierce shot which swerved around the keepers left hand and crept into the far corner of the net.

This gave the Rail a lift and they doubled their advantage just before half time. The ball falling kindly to Ben Jones in the penalty area, then with his back to goal turned and volleyed past the helpless keeper. He smacked the ball so hard that the ball bounced back off the advertising board behind the goal, then back into play, so maybe if this was Crystal Palace it mightn’t have counted.

Fylde improved in the second half, getting back into the game on 54 minutes after a clear cut penalty was converted confidently by Joe Booth.

The match was finely balanced in the last half hour, with the visitors looking more likely to go back over the Pennines with a draw, with the Rail trying to secure the three points by catching them on the break.
In the 67th minute Fylde substitute Walwyn beat the offside trap before running to the edge of the box and squaring the ball to Watt, who agonisingly saw his shot bounce off the foot of the post before being cleared.

Harrogate added to the away sides frustrations by defending well and time wasting at every opportunity. Then in stoppage time a great chance to equalise. Walwyn was clear through on goal with only the keeper to beat, but the big goalie made himself even bigger, blocking the strikers attempted lob, which proved to be the moment which gave the hosts all three points.

Overall an enjoyable day in sunny Harrogate, the match was competitive and quite entertaining. Station View is well worth a visit, handly placed in between Harrogate town centre and picturesque Knaresborough. Plus if your planning to travel by train then you can't get a much closer ground to the station.

I mustn't forget to mention the score updates I received via text message throughout the day, which also contributed to a great football afternoon. (two away wins 4-1 and 2-0)

Matchday Facts

HRAFC 2(Richardson 29, Ben Jones 43)AFCF 1(Booth 54pen)

Att.128

Admission £6

Programme £1.50

Ground no.222 Station View - Matchday Webalbum(15 pictures)

My Matchday - 221 Moorland Sports Ground

Lincoln Moorlands Railway 2v3 St. Andrews
FA Cup Extra Prelim Round
Saturday 15th August 2009

Lincoln Moorlands FC were formed in 1989, beginning in the Central Midland League Premier Division followed by a season in the North section when the league was regionalised in 1991.

The following year the club were forced to leave the league when minimum ground grading was brought into the CML. The Moors received financial backing of £1,500 to complete the required work and submitted plans to the league, but the club were still booted out and left without a league to play in.

Thankfully they were accepted into the Lincoln & District Football League, where they played for one season before joining the Lincolnshire League in 1993.

The 1998-99 season was a successful one, they rejoined the CML Premier Division and won the title at the first attempt, winning 26 and drawing 2 out of the 28 games.

Success continued the following season winning the CML Supreme Division, then after missing out on the title on goal difference the following year, the club were still able to gain acceptance into the Northern Counties East League.

The merger with Lincoln Railway coincided with their first season in the NECL Premier Division in 2007, where they’ve remained since, although they have flirted with relegation over the last two seasons.

Over the last 30 years the Moors have won honours in county cup competitions. Having the distinction of playing in six consecutive finals between 1996-97 and 2001-02.

Moorland Sports Ground is located on Newark Road, one of the main roads which leads into Lincoln city centre, just over 2 miles from the High Street.

The welcome sign is easy to spot, at the top of a narrow lane off the busy road. The impressive social club is found at the bottom of a spacious car park and the ground entrance is gained through a single turnstile block on the left hand side.

The ground is quite roomy, with lawns on all sides behind the stands and goals. You enter the ground behind the left corner of the goal. There is three separate buildings to your right, changing rooms, toilets and Carol’s cabin; which serves a good selection of hot drinks and sandwiches.

On the nearside is a small wooden stand with green and white frames and supports, it houses 50 seats and accommodates a disabled area.

The far side has two stands to each side of the dugouts. There’s one of those Meccano ready kit stands, which has 100 blue seats and at the other side is a standing shelter with ‘Welcome to Lincoln Moorlands Railway FC’ across its fascia.

There’s hard standing behind each goal and the ground is fully enclosed with a line of trees in between the neighbouring houses.

Moorland Railway could have had this FA Cup tie with Eastern Counties League outfit St Andrews put to bed within the first 20 minutes. Good opportunities were wasted, players looking to go for glory themselves, wasting good chances instead of using the option of an unmarked team mate.

They did eventually take the lead after half an hour through Ben Garrick, but were pegged bag almost immediately when a cross was touched home by Aaron Preston.

Moors looked a good bet to progress into the next round, regained their advantage on the stroke of half time. Garrick adding his second goal of the afternoon, shooting past the keeper from close range as St. Andrews appealed in vain for offside.

The second half was a different tale altogether. St Andrews dominated proceedings. Equalising in the 56th minutes with a brutal left foot shot from Preston. Ten minutes later he completing his hat trick, St Andrews broke up a Moors attack, catching them on the break before Preston made room for himself to shoot inside the penalty area with a good finish.

As the game progressed Moors looked more unlikely to force a replay with St Andrews seeing the game out comfortably to book a place in the Preliminary Round away to Winterton Rangers in a fortnights time.

I called into Lincoln on my way to a very enjoyable weekend in Skegness. The Smudgers having a well earned break on the Lincolnshire coast. I watched the game with Lincoln based Man Citeh fan Jim Morris (100FGC squad#86) who last week attended the first competitive match at the new Cardiff City Stadium and he had kindly purchasing a programme for me from that day.

We were both impressed with The Moors cosy set up and pleasant surroundings. I was surprised to learn that Jim hadn’t visited Moors before, even though it’s the closest ground to his home, although he’s vowed to return in the future. As for myself I was pleased to tick off Moorland Sports Ground, as previous visits to the city at both United and The Imps meant The Moors have now completed a Lincoln hat-trick.

Matchday stats.

LMRFC 2(Garrick 31,45) St.AFC 3(Preston 33,56,65)

Att. 72

Admission £4

Programme £1.

Ground no.221 Moorland Sports Centre - Matchday Webalbum(17 pictures)

My Matchday - 218 Dens Park

Dundee 5v0 Stranraer

CIS CUP 1st Round

Saturday 1st August 2009

Dundee is the fourth largest city in Scotland, situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay by the North Sea.

Dundee isn’t just renowned for giving its name to an almond covered fruit cake, it was giving the nickname of the city of “jam, jute and journalism”

Dundee’s major industry was in the wool trade, the city port thrived as weavers turned there hand to weaving imported jute with many of the city’s workers employed in the jute mills and associated industries.

The city is also the home of the publishing firm DC Thompson, who produce a selection of newspapers including the home of Oor Wullie and The Broons - The Sunday Post as well as more serious publications; The Beano and Dandy.

The jam link is in recognition of Janet Keiller’s first commercial brand of marmalade. Her 1797 recipe was mass produced and exported worldwide, with jars of Keillers marmalade still widely available today.

However a more important fact for my reader is the city is one of only three in Britain to have two clubs reach the Semi Final of the European Cup.

Dundee FC formed in 1893 with the marriage of two clubs; Dundee Our Boys and Dundee East End, joining the Scottish Football League in the same year.

They originally playing at Carolina Park for five years until moving into the neighbourhood of the city’s other football club Dundee Wanderers, who played at nearby Clepington Park.

The ground was redeveloped when in 1919 when the club purchased the site for £5,000. A two-tier main stand with terracing on three sides was completed in two years, at a cost of £60,000.

In 1959 a roof was erected on the south side with floodlights added the following year. More cover was added on the west side after the club enjoyed their first venture into Europe in the early 1960’s.

The Safety of Sports Ground Act in 1975 saw the ground capacity halved to 22,000 by 1980. Replacing the terracing with bench seats installed on the south and west terraces.

The South Stand still has blue bench seats with DFC picked out in white. There is also old terracing still visible on the open sections on either side of the cover.

The ground stagnated over the years until 1994 when the Main Stand was refurbished as Dens Park began staging greyhound racing, for the first time since the 1930’s.

To a football ground connoisseur like myself, this stand is a classic. The interior roof with it’s metal beams and supports has the look of a Victorian train station The shiny red beams with a mixture of red and blue seats make it pleasing on the eye. After the game I photographed the stand from the Bobby Cox stand where the stand looks even better with its blue roof and red frames. At the front are sections of paddock seating with a paved area where the oval track would have once encroached the stand.

The press area was at the back row with the middle of the stand giving the furthest viewpoint due to its oval shape.

The ground was redeveloped as part of the SPL all seated ground criteria after promotion in 1999. The East and West Stand’s were constructed by Barr Stadium Construction in only 82 days. Both single tier stands hold 3,000 customers, named after Dens legends Bobby Cox and Bob Shankly, the latter is the away end both have Dundee picked out in white amongst dark blue seats. The players enter the pitch via the Main Stand/Bob Shankly corner.

Throughout the years there’s been talk of ground sharing with United, a new purpose built stadium has been proposed on a few occasions with both clubs non plussed on leaving their individual homes. The last drawn up plan was part of Scotland’s failed bid to host Euro 2008 with construction of a new site at Caird Park.

The record attendance at Dens Park is 42,024 when Dundee played Rangers in a Scottish League Cup in 1943. The current capacity is 12,085 all seated.

This visit to Dens Park was part of our Dundee double weekend, my companions for a weekend of fitba and bevvy was my bessy mate Zippy and Mr. Michael Brass.

We left Newcastle at 9.36, catching our connection at Edinburgh for the scenic journey through the Kingdom of Fife before crossing the Tay into Dundee.

We stayed at the Travelodge (those swipe keys are useless…Eddy) in the city centre. After dropping off our bags we headed to the nearby Wetherspoons - The Counting House for our first of many, many pints over the next two days.

There was a gentleman standing at the bar, a Dundee supporter who advised me on which pint to select. He introduced himself as Gearaidh and we conversed on my specialist subjects of football and real ale.

When we left to head to the bookies I told him I was backing Dundee to win 4-0. His reply was “Nah, 6-0, Stranraer are rubbish” so I told him I’d compromise and go down the middle - 5-0 to the Dark Blues.

So between the two of us we got the score correct. Stranraer got off lightly only conceding five and as my Dundonian friend so rightly said; Stranraer were rubbish, they didn’t produce a single shot on target or win a corner kick, although in their defence they’ve signed eleven new players this summer, so maybe this new team needs time to gel.

Dundee produced some good openings in the early stages with new £100,000 signing from Partick Thistle Gary Harkins looking impressive on the left flank.

A quarter of the game had passed before Dundee finally took the lead. A corner kick was nodded back into the path of Sean Higgins, who’s shot went through the keepers body before staggering over the line.

Harkins added a second after half an hour before the goal of the day. A long range effort from Higgins was superbly tipped onto the bar by Mitchell ,the keeper quickly got up and caught the rebound before dropping the ball into the path of McMenamin, who graciously knocked the ball into an empty net.

McMenamin headed in his second goal early in the second half before the cross bar denied the striker of a hat-trick. He was replaced on 54 minutes by another new signing Leigh Griffiths, who marked his competitive debut by converting a spot kick, the penalty rewarded rather harshly for a soft challenge on Harkins.

Stranraer were reduced to ten men on 78 minutes when keeper Mitchell hacked down Harkins outside the area. Outfield player Danny Mitchell (meaning D. Mitchell was still in goal) was the replacement between the sticks and he managed to keep a clean sheet for the last ten minutes, the home sides late efforts going each side of the post .

An easy but convincing passage into the 2nd Round of the League Cup for Dundee. They look a good bet for promotion this season, they’ve added some quality signings and their supporters are confident they’ll be celebrating a return to the SPL come May.

We backed Dundee to win 4,5 and 6-0. The latter score produced odds of 50-1. The fact Dundee didn’t test the stand in keeper denied us some valuable beer tokens, although our little win did pay for our mixed grills at Wetherspoons after the match.

Saturday night was, as you would expect, spent on the lash! Special thanks to Dundee based Toon supporter Ross Magoo (user name) on the Newcastleonline forum, who gave me some excellent advice on the city’s best pubs.

We opted for the Perth Road pub crawl, starting in the GBG listed ‘Speedwell’ and working our way back towards the city centre. We managed to clock up nine bars on our crawl before staggering to the nearest take away for a much needed ‘kebab compass’ to find our way back to our digs.

We crashed out in the hotel at around 2am, a long and enjoyable day one in our Dundee double weekend, with another match on the other side of Sanderman Street to look forward to the following day.

Matchday facts

DFC 5(Higgins 23, McMenamin 37,47 Harkins 29, Griffiths 67p) SFC 0

Att. 2345

Admission £12

Programme £1.50

Ground no.218 Dens Park - Matchday webalbum(16 pictures)

My Matchday - 219 Tannadice Park

Dundee United 1v1 Newcastle United
Pre-season friendly
Sunday 2nd August 2009

Dundee United mark their 100th anniversary this year. Part of the Tangerines birthday celebrations is a match against the once mighty Newcastle United, the second part of my Dundee double weekend.

Dundee Hibernian formed in 1909 by the city’s Irish catholic community, taking over the lease at Clepington Park, which at the time was held by current tenants Dundee Wanderers.

You could say that Dundee Wanderers weren’t too happy at being evicted by the ground’s landlord in favour of a more generous offer from the Hibs club. The angry former occupiers stripped the ground bare, taking down the grandstand, fences, changing rooms and the goalposts, leaving an empty field instead of a ready made football ground to play in.

The ground was then renamed Tannadice Park after the street where the ground’s main entrance is situated. £3,000 was spent on new facilities which included a pavilion with a 1200 seat stand.

A crowd of 7,000 witnessed the first match at the rebuilt and renamed ground, against their Hibernian counterparts from Edinburgh on 18th August 1909.

Major changes during the 1920’s saw the club renamed Dundee United after the club were saved from going out of business by a consortium of businessmen. The club then bought the ground for £2,500, raising finances through a share issue to make necessary ground improvements. Terraces were built, turnstiles and the Grandstand was enhanced, but the main renovation was to the pitch. Dynamite was needed to blast the solid rock under the surface to rid the steep slope and level the pitch.

It was 1957 before Tannadice saw any new major changes. The Shed end was built when a roof was erected over the West End and concreting at the opposite side on Arklay Street.

The record attendance was set in on 23rd February 1952 for a Scottish Cup tie against Aberdeen and floodlights were first switched on in November 1962 for a League fixture against Rangers.

The new main stand; The Jerry Kerr Stand was built in 1961 and took over a year to complete, the first in Scotland to have a cantilever roof and later in 1971, the first to have a glass fronted lounge for sponsors. The stand was extended in 1997, the newer part can be identified by the extended roof and the dark coloured seats.

The large terrace on the North side was first covered in 1979 and replaced in 1992. The stand is now named after former chairman George Fox. The stand has two tiers, a smaller tier of about half a dozen rows with a larger section below.

The Shed was installed with seats in 1994, there are still sections of the original terrace at either side. The Shed seats along with the rest of the stadium are decked out in tangerine which certainly gives Tannadice a vibrant vibe.

It’s a well known fact that the two senior Dundee clubs are the nearest neighbours in Britain and the second closest in Europe.(there’s two closer in Budapest) It’s not till you actually see it for yourself that you realise the proximity of the grounds, approximately 100 yards on either side of Tannadice Street.

When I booked trains and accommodation for this weekend back in early June, little did I know what a significant match this would become. The game was to mark the Tangerines 100th birthday, but the passing away of a true football legend this week overshadowed their special day, although I suppose that fact wouldn’t have been an inconvenience to the hosts.

I was glad to be at the first Newcastle United game since Sir Bobby Robson’s death. Around 2,500 Toon supporters travelled north just to be here, to sing the great man’s name and be part of a celebration of his life. The Dundee folk I spoke to over the weekend all mentioned Sir Bobby, saying how they liked him and relaying famous comedy quotes from his life.

The previous 24 hours I witnessed Dens Park honour his memory by holding a minutes silence, but the players and supporters decided that a minutes applause would be more fitting tribute. This was greatly acknowledged around Tannadice, with a rendition of “Robson Wonderland” ringing out from the Toon Army contingent.

With the current state of affairs at NUFC, the Bobby Robson era seem a lifetime ago. My everlasting memory of the Robson years is that I couldn’t wait for the next game to come around. I hated things like International breaks or blank Saturdays. Going to the match at the weekend was like it was when I was a kid, exciting and guaranteed entertainment, win lose or draw. I’ve never had that feeling since, over the last few years going to the match has been with a feeling of apathy, with last season’s campaign being one of dread.

Of course we didn’t win anything, but we came close and enjoyed matching ourselves against the cream of Europe. There was consecutive finishes of 4th, 3rd and 5th with the last of those positions looked upon as failure.

That just shows how the mighty have fallen. 5th top in the Premier League not good enough? At the moment I’d settle for 5th top in the Championship next season and a crack at the play-offs.

RIP Sir Bobby Robson - I thank you for giving us such treasured memories and making us smile.

This weekend was great. Bagged a couple of new grounds, cracking night out, canny drink, good crack and a laugh, then it gets spoilt by having to watch Newcastle United for 90 minutes!

It may be a new football season but nothing’s changed both on and off the pitch. With this being a match day I’ll comment on what I witnessed on the park, which wasn’t too pretty. The only pleasant sight being Newcastle’s new attractive looking new away strip, similar in style to Inter Milan, however the team were more Matalan than Milan.

The only positive was the team defended well, with youngster Tamas Kadar having a steady game at the back. However it’s in the last third where it all goes wrong, there’s not much of a threat going forward. During the game I made a few brief notes about some of our ‘star’ players; Gutierrez - ponytail on legs and not much else, Smith - A passenger with a nice haircut, Duff - unproductive loves running into cul-de-sacs, Barton - Thug Sunday pub player, Nolan - (got a)Big Fat arse!

There wasn’t much action during the first forty-five minutes. A Swanson shot was easily dealt with by Harper, likewise Banks had no problems gathering a weak header by Carroll.

The game improved as a spectacle in the second half. Newcastle took the lead on the hour when a Duff cross was parried by Banks, Carroll taking advantage with a good finish.

Five minutes later referee Chris Boyle awarded a penalty after a handball from Nolan. Swanson’s spot kick was brilliantly saved by Harper diving to his left, with the rebound going wide of the post.

Barton missed a good opportunity on 70 minutes, when running through on goal, Banks’ save fell to Carroll, who was unable to find the target which would have clinched the game.

Then on 84 minutes Dundee United were rewarded a second penalty when Ryan Taylor pulled back Ryan Conway by his shirt. This time David Goodwillie (sounds like a porn star...Eddy) made no mistake from the spot sending Harper the wrong way.

Overall a fair result, but both teams were unconvincing, especially the ‘stars’ in stripes who’s Championship campaign gets underway in less than a week, still manager less, clueless and with no sense of direction.

The morning after the night before, myself, Zippy and Mickey felt a bit rough, A couple of paracetamols, coffee and a bit fresh air did the trick, meaning we were ready for a pre-match drink before heading back up to Hilltown.

After a Sunday Club dinner at Wetherspoons and having to wait until 12.30pm for a drink (Scottish Law) we jumped a taxi to the Frews pub, which was a 5-10 minute walk from the stadium.

The Frews is a Dundee United bar which is adorned with Arabs memorabilia. There was also a wee shrine on the wall to Sir Bobby, with a Newcastle shirt and press cuttings from the last week.

The only problems we encountered over the weekend was what to do with our travel bags through Sunday afternoon. The Travelodge wouldn’t keep them and the Train station doesn’t have a luggage hold, this meant having to lump our bags around with us at the match. Luckily when the landlord of the Frews bar saw we had luggage, he kindly offered to let us leave them behind the bar when we went to the match.

The landlord looked familiar to me and Zippy. I thought he was an ex-footballer, he was strong in stature and had the respect of his customers. A big local laddy said the f-word a bit too loud and was abruptly told to button it, which he immediately did without argument.

After the game we went back for a drink and to collect our bags. As we said our farewells Zippy asked his breadknife who her husband played for, apparently he wasn’t who we thought he was, but she said we weren’t the first to mistake her hubby for an ex-fitballa.

We then hitched a taxi back to the train station, stopping off for one last drink before catching the 1819 back home. The trains again ran like clockwork, we arriving back on Tyneside at 2130.

As my reader may have gathered, I had a great weekend. I found Dundee a quite charming city with the Dundonian public very hospitable.

Apart from the big two clubs in the city there are seven Junior clubs knocking about close by, so maybe Dundee hasn’t seen the last of me, so a return to the former city of “jam, jude and journalism” may be a possibility sometime in the future.

Matchday facts

DUFC 1(Goodwillie 85p) NUFC 1(Carroll 60)

Att. 8876

Admission £12

Programme: sold out by 2.15pm (£2.50)

Ground no.219 - Tannadice Park Matchday Webalbum
(20 pictures)