Best old stadium you've been to.

[georgebernardshaw]

Filbert Street - who couldn't enjoy going there?!

Went to Filbert Street several times, mostly in the pre-segregation days, never a problem in the ground - biggest problem was finding it again off that bloody ring road.

 

[RammyBlade]

I think the best grounds are those that have a good away end that fans can be heard and certaiinly my memories are along those lines so places like Bloomfield road before they knocked down the stand - remember in the eighties we won 3-2 and the away end was packed with the atmosphere electric
Conversely I remember us playing at the Valley when it was an 80,000 capacity and about 15 000 inside so although the atmosphere was crap I was in awe of the size of it.
Like many on here I also remember Maine road for the danger but the atmosphere was great as well.

 

[TBW57]

The Gay Meadow was a lovely, picturesque ground, sitting in a loop of the River Severn and almost next door to Shrewsbury railway station. It was football's equivalent of Worcester's cricket ground, right down to the regular apocalyptic flooding.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Maine Road - good atmosphere but dangerous outside

Ayresome Park - good ground, tight in the corner

Highbury - One for vorpal blade and the other architects. Just beautiful

The Old Den - The hottest of away days!

Filbert Street - great memories.

The Old Show Ground - Funny memories of Scunthorpe. It was a typical example of lower league neglect.

 

[vorpal blade]

I liked the old version of Meadow Lane in Nottinghamshire ....... it really felt like it had been left behind by progress in the 1980s -



I think by the 1980s the old roof at t'other end had gone. Sad to relate, the old stand at Bradford City was a ridiculously old-fashioned looking structure during the early 1980s and of course it proved far too old fashioned when it burnt down at cost of 56 lives

 

[northsomersetblade]

Ninian Park - savour the hate

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Here is The Old Showground. There's a strange appeal to that rot and squalor

 

[vorpal blade]

Ah yes, Highbury was the only time they managed to build a football ground in which everything matched until recently, it's style was art-deco it showed up the North?South divide back in the 1930s, where they had 'marble' (allegedly) we had corrugated iron, which is perhaps why I don't hanker after it

- I'd like to put in a good word for Goodison Park for its squeezed in-ness although by now its so old-fashioned I'm not sure it safe and they haven't just been "getting-away with it"..... last time I sat down there, there was an awful lot of wood in the structure, even the terrace at the Gwladys Street End was timber. (in Liverpool there has long been the suspicion that the council was pro-Everton until recently and therefore got away with planning permissions etc.) I think its a great shame that they have now blocked off the view of the church in the corner from inside the ground.



I visited the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam where Ajax used to play in the 1970s while on holiday and I loved that though I didn't see a game I had a bit of a run on the track......



and two stadia I haven't visited but always thought looked superb, both were Football Grounds, the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium and the 1972 Munich Stadium.

 

[Geordie Blade]

Roker Park. Always a fantastic atmosphere. Bloody cold though.

I also liked standing on the grass bank 'upper tier' on the away end at Springfield Park.

 

[vorpal blade]

Another one that a few of us will have visited on holiday is the Barcelona Olympic Stadium 1992 which was a re-hash of an old fascist era thing. A beautiful stadium where Espanyol used to play, but they relocated to a pure football stadium in the end didn't they - I'm sure Wet Sham will have to do the same thing pretty soon too!

 

[vorpal blade]

Ninian Park - savour the hate

and feel the concrete rain.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

A big fan of Maine Road.

Never went with us when the old Kippax was open, but lived on Platt Lane in 1992 so it was less than 2 minutes walk down the back alleys to the turnstiles. Living in a shared house with a Birmingham City fan we used to switch off teletext just after half time and wander onto the Kippax to watch the last 15-20 mins of City's game before coming back for the final scores.

Nearest atmosphere to the old Shoreham kop for noise and intensity. There was a Spurs game where City were getting stuffed where they got properly pissed off with Spurs and just all piled over the fences and weighed in.

I can also vouch for the back streets around the ground being unsafe - strangely enough you were safer on match days !!!!

It was crap when they put the big all seater in and a lot of City supporting mates say it's just not the same going to Eastlands.

 

[JJ Sefton]

I used to go and see Enfield at their old Southbury Road ground.

Got sold and turned into a cinema (which I've boycotted since day one), the club got moved around for years, split, then the remnants of the original club went bust.

 

[Robby Blade]

Hampden Park
Celtic End. Roofless.

When it rained, a Glaswegian monsoon.
In the sunshine, an Oklahoman dustbowl.

Many Scottish grounds, many that are still the same today as they were back in the day.

St James' Park - Newcastle United
Bloomfield Road - Blackpool
Filbert Street - for the 2-5 day.

On a whim, me and my mate decided to go to Hampden Park for Scotland v England in 1970. Set off at 5am and arrived about 1pm.to find all pubs, bars and offies closed. Asked around for tickets and got two on the Celtic End. Never seen such a large crowd, unfortunately I think we were the only two English there. Fuckin hell it was scary. Surrounded by pissed up Jocks screaming for blood. It had railway sleepers for terracing. The big plus was the cinder type floor as it negated having to go for a piss.

Our luck was in, the game was rubbish and ended 0-0. Escaped back to England somehow unscathed.

 

[JohnDenver]

I remember Deepdale in the late 1980s. The Main Stand was wooden and people used to stamp their feet to create atmosphere so the place literally bounced. It didn't stop them smoking either so I'm sure it was a death trap. Under the stand it was so cramped and dark that when my dad sent me through the "Juveniles" turnstile alone I'd be scared until he emerged from the gloom a minute or two later.

On the other side of the ground the bogs were unbelievable. An unlit brick room where you just wazzed up one wall which had a gully at its base. If you were unfamiliar you had to let your eyes adjust to the darkness before you figured out where to go. And the stench was unreal...

All of which was a bit disappointing because if you waltzed up on a sunny day, the stand looked look Wimbledon Tennis Club.

 

[Paisley Blade]

Roker Park ,Loftus Road and Craven Cottage always been my favourites.

C
Pretty darn spooky - I'd say they were my three favourite away grounds as well. Been to each of them twice and have a very handy personal record of Played 6 Won 5 Drawn 1.

Memries

Fulham '89 . Drew 2-2 . Sat behind Graham Benstead and some bloke from The Bill in their main stand. John Gannon floated about a dozen corners straight in to their keeper's hands, one after the predictable other.

Fulham '14 . Won 1-0 in 120th minute. Celebrating like a loon restored some circulation on a freezing Putney End.

QPR '91 . Won 2-1. Sir Bob. Say no more.

QPR '10. FA Cup match I think . Won 3-2 on a freezing night , about 500 hardy Blades there. Kyle Walker played for us back on loan.

Roker '87. Short trip from my digs at Newcastle Uni. Won 2-1. Think Andy Kennedy scored. About 8,000 there, locals too interested in vandalising Lawrie McMenemy's car and getting him sacked to bother with chasing us afterwards.

Roker '89 . Won a crucial match 1-0. Ian Bryson. Went on Kaz's coach , a double decker no less. Police intercepted it outbound at the Parkway junction and it was touch and go whether we'd go any further due to alcohol infractions, but Kaz's effortless diplomatic skills held sway.
When we got off the coach at Roker beach the coppers warned us that opposition fans were often fired at with crossbows on the short walk to the ground. Salt of the earth up there y'naa...

On the way back the coach came in via Grenoside to allow me to get dropped off at the front door of The Norfolk Arms (my local), with Dad and Grandad sat there waiting to hear me regale them wit the day's events.

Good times.

 

[Silent Blade]

On a whim, me and my mate decided to go to Hampden Park for Scotland v England in 1970. Set off at 5am and arrived about 1pm.to find all pubs, bars and offies closed. Asked around for tickets and got two on the Celtic End. Never seen such a large crowd, unfortunately I think we were the only two English there. Fuckin hell it was scary. Surrounded by pissed up Jocks screaming for blood. It had railway sleepers for terracing. The big plus was the cinder type floor as it negated having to go for a piss.

Our luck was in, the game was rubbish and ended 0-0. Escaped back to England somehow unscathed.

 

[Deaneandagana]

Ah yes, Highbury was the only time they managed to build a football ground in which everything matched until recently, it's style was art-deco it showed up the North?South divide back in the 1930s, where they had 'marble' (allegedly) we had corrugated iron, which is perhaps why I don't hanker after it

- I'd like to put in a good word for Goodison Park for its squeezed in-ness although by now its so old-fashioned I'm not sure it safe and they haven't just been "getting-away with it"..... last time I sat down there, there was an awful lot of wood in the structure, even the terrace at the Gwladys Street End was timber. (in Liverpool there has long been the suspicion that the council was pro-Everton until recently and therefore got away with planning permissions etc.) I think its a great shame that they have now blocked off the view of the church in the corner from inside the ground.

View attachment 21029

I visited the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam where Ajax used to play in the 1970s while on holiday and I loved that though I didn't see a game I had a bit of a run on the track......

View attachment 21030 View attachment 21031

and two stadia I haven't visited but always thought looked superb, both were Football Grounds, the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium and the 1972 Munich Stadium.

The Olympiastadion in Berlin is a magnificent example of Nazi architecture - designed by Hitler's chief architect Albert Speer, been twice hugely impressive.

 

[The Crab]

Bert and his gang had a snooker ball (white) chucked at them once at Ayresome Park.
Grimsby is another good old fashioned ground. Freezing cold, usually with a gale blowing off the North Sea.

On trips to Cleethorpes, once you drive past Grimsby's ground you never quite lose that 1970's feel until you bugger off back home.

 

[Bert]

It's interesting and pleasing that nobody votes for Old Trafford, the err Theatre of Dreams or Anfield

 

[Cruyff Turn]

The old open away end at Boundary Park...the wind roared in straight from Siberia!

 

[alpine blade]

For Bert, the Baseball Ground was always a favourite, an old fashioned cramped cockpit with the crowd right next to the pitch.

And a terrible surface as well

 

[Houston_Blade]

Maine Road, Saltergate

 

[JJ Sefton]

Ninian Park - savour the hate

I went to see Swansea away there sometime in about 2000-2002. A terrifying experience, especially for an English uni student.

 

[BushBlade]

I went to see Swansea away there sometime in about 2000-2002. A terrifying experience, especially for an English uni student.

Couple of my mates went to a game in Argentina and had to pretend they were Australian.

 

[Edinblade]

Anfield in Bill Shankley's day was awesome.

The noise from the all standing kop, especially after a f--ing home goal was deafening. Probably the loudest noise I've ever heard at a football ground.

Sadly only ever saw us lose there :-(

 

[BigBed]

BRAMALL LANE and Wembley again for me.

 

[Boxer Blade]

The happiest memory from an away ground so making it one of my favourites (amongst many olthers) is the famous old rust bucket in s6. Sorry if this upsets some but every now and then I think back to that night and the 1-3 win, took my young lad, his first away game, looking around the ground seeing blades all over the place, banging the old wooden seats when we had a corner, singing we beat the scum 2-0 before kick off making radio hallam cut short a presentation to Derek dooley, singing we beat the sum 5-1 at the end,seeing all the piggies going home after and looking up at the leppings Lane stand on our way out, what a fuckin memory, favourite ground? Got to be the shitty old rust bucket, the same today as it was back then.

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

Favourites are:

Griffin Park
Edgeley Park
Loftus Road
Brisbane Road

Baseball Ground, Highbury and Highfield Road when they existed too.

Anything that is tight to the pitch.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Highbury by far

Goodison

Rooker Park