Highfield Rd was crap as an away fan on a par with The Dell which was quirky to say the least. Travel wise Hull and Grimsby for some reason feel like they are twice as far as they are in reality. Booth ferry Park was a proper old school stadium though.
AFC Wimbledon at that tin-pot little ground in the middle of nowhere between Norbiton and New Malden. Just a load of tyre warehouses and dodgy council estates. When the wind was from the south you got a revolting stench wafting over from the sewage works next to the Hogsmill River. AND we always lost there. Shyte.
Agree with much of that! We did win there in 1984-85....3-1 Hales Flanagan Moore (I think)
@Simonsen - Are you sure Wimbledon weren't still at Plough Lane in 84-85? I'm talking about Kingstonian's old ground, at Kingsmeadow.
Sorry....I was talking about Plough Lane. Similar nondescript area. All electric pylons, industrial units and barely a pub to be seen.
AFC Wimbledon at that tin-pot little ground in the middle of nowhere between Norbiton and New Malden. Just a load of tyre warehouses and dodgy council estates. When the wind was from the south you got a revolting stench wafting over from the sewage works next to the Hogsmill River. AND we always lost there. Shyte.
Agree with much of that! We did win there in 1984-85....3-1 Hales Flanagan Moore (I think)
@Simonsen - Are you sure Wimbledon weren't still at Plough Lane in 84-85? I'm talking about Kingstonian's old ground, at Kingsmeadow.
Sorry....I was talking about Plough Lane. Similar nondescript area. All electric pylons, industrial units and barely a pub to be seen.
Prince of Wales, Youngs pub wasn’t too far from there, Nosher Powell former heavyweight boxer and stunt man used to be the governor and son Greg carried on in his Dads footsteps as a stunt man.
Luton have been trying to get a new ground for years. Each time it falls through. Last attempt was for spare land in the middle of town. But it has stalled again. So they are stuck in their ground.
AFC Wimbledon at that tin-pot little ground in the middle of nowhere between Norbiton and New Malden. Just a load of tyre warehouses and dodgy council estates. When the wind was from the south you got a revolting stench wafting over from the sewage works next to the Hogsmill River. AND we always lost there. Shyte.
Agree with much of that! We did win there in 1984-85....3-1 Hales Flanagan Moore (I think)
@Simonsen - Are you sure Wimbledon weren't still at Plough Lane in 84-85? I'm talking about Kingstonian's old ground, at Kingsmeadow.
Sorry....I was talking about Plough Lane. Similar nondescript area. All electric pylons, industrial units and barely a pub to be seen.
@Simonsen - Spot-on. Went there by train in mid-80s, when the rail company had a fad for fixing huge signs on the platforms: 'Welcome to...' In the case of Plough Lane, it was Haydons Road. You are indeed welcome to it.
Highfield Rd was crap as an away fan on a par with The Dell which was quirky to say the least. Travel wise Hull and Grimsby for some reason feel like they are twice as far as they are in reality. Booth ferry Park was a proper old school stadium though.
Yes, copped Boothferry Park in Hull, 1980-81 (won 2-0); goods trains on embankment at side, and special station open match-days only. Old-school northern ground.
Colchester is shyte......no facilities outside the ground (other than one stall) as its built on a trading estate about a mile out of town I think.....no pubs or eateries anywhere in sight, so you are left with buying any refreshments inside the stadium. Top dollar and pretty ‘meh’ nothing to write home about products as I remember.😤😤😤
Layer road was a dump, but it had character. Only ground I've been to which had bats in it. The new ground is an obscenity. All the charm of a motorway service station
Got a particular fondness for Luton, even though it's a crap hole, as it's the earliest away game that I can remember my dad taking me to in 1971. A 2-1 win on my birthday, with two Keith Peacock goals, helped it to be a memorable day. Barnsley away in 1999, I think, sticks in the memory due to being so bloody cold. We stayed in the pub longer than most and when we got into the ground the only seats available were single seats next to the webbing that covers the seats between home and away fans. It felt so high, looking above the opposite stand into icy Yorkshire. I've never felt so cold at a match.
QPR isn't that bad, it just depends upon where exactly you are. I was quite happy where I was to see the Phil Chappel header in the 4-2 win.
Loftus Road is at least a great location, so many places to go
And yes I was at the 4-2 though can't remember anything about it!
Lots of pubs to choose from. We must have been directly behind the goal, in the 4-2 win, as I remember the seas opening and Phil Chappel powering through to score the header.
QPR isn't that bad, it just depends upon where exactly you are. I was quite happy where I was to see the Phil Chappel header in the 4-2 win.
Loftus Road is at least a great location, so many places to go
And yes I was at the 4-2 though can't remember anything about it!
Lots of pubs to choose from. We must have been directly behind the goal, in the 4-2 win, as I remember the seas opening and Phil Chappel powering through to score the header.
I sat in the Ellerslie Rd Stand for that one. A few Sunday's earlier I'd top-edged a cricket ball into my eye. This was my first game since the patch was removed and everything looked a bit yellow....pitch, ball, Mark Bowen ..everything! (vision corrected itself after a few months).
Most away fans rate us as an away day. ... closest club to central London, one stop from London Bridge, walking distance from The Bermondsey Mile, numerous old traditional pubs nearby on the river, Tower Bridge just up the road, plenty of history. Ok, certain parts of the surrounding areas are a bit of a shithole but away fans don’t have any reason to wander around those.
I’d say it has a lot more going for it than Charlton, which is set in a pretty soulless area, like a big industrial/trading estate. Not the greatest to get to either.
Greenwich is nice though, I’ll give you that. Love it there.
QPR - absolutely shyte hole. I’ve been in both away tiers and in the home area along the sides. Shit view in cramped seating.
Only time it was okay was when we shared the terraces behind the goal.
And selhurst. kharsi
Modelled on the Subbuteo table football game stadium. Their fans don’t like that quoted at them, well the one I regularly mention it to certainly doesn’t 😈.
Had an away day, late 70s can't remember either Bury or Rochdale, came out went get a bag of chips and was asked "Does thou want gravy on thous chips?" Told the chippy did i look like a savage, then had a frank exchange of views concerning the north south cultural differences. Do remember the ground being in absolute disrepair.
Most away fans rate us as an away day. ... closest club to central London, one stop from London Bridge, walking distance from The Bermondsey Mile, numerous old traditional pubs nearby on the river, Tower Bridge just up the road, plenty of history. Ok, certain parts of the surrounding areas are a bit of a shithole but away fans don’t have any reason to wander around those.
Sounds great, you forgot a couple of things. Having to dodge spanners and being kept in after the game.
Most away fans rate us as an away day. ... closest club to central London, one stop from London Bridge, walking distance from The Bermondsey Mile, numerous old traditional pubs nearby on the river, Tower Bridge just up the road, plenty of history. Ok, certain parts of the surrounding areas are a bit of a shithole but away fans don’t have any reason to wander around those.
I’d say it has a lot more going for it than Charlton, which is set in a pretty soulless area, like a big industrial/trading estate. Not the greatest to get to either.
Greenwich is nice though, I’ll give you that. Love it there.
You wouldn't expect an anorak to let that go unchallenged....
From the statue of Charles I in Trafalgar Square (the point at which all distances to London are measured) the centre spot of the The Toolbox is 3.63 miles, behind both Stamford Bridge (3.26 miles) and The Emirates (3.41 miles).
Most away fans rate us as an away day. ... closest club to central London, one stop from London Bridge, walking distance from The Bermondsey Mile, numerous old traditional pubs nearby on the river, Tower Bridge just up the road, plenty of history. Ok, certain parts of the surrounding areas are a bit of a shithole but away fans don’t have any reason to wander around those.
Sounds great, you forgot a couple of things. Having to dodge spanners and being kept in after the game.
Dodge spammers? You have your own walkway in to the away end these days!
Most away fans rate us as an away day. ... closest club to central London, one stop from London Bridge, walking distance from The Bermondsey Mile, numerous old traditional pubs nearby on the river, Tower Bridge just up the road, plenty of history. Ok, certain parts of the surrounding areas are a bit of a shithole but away fans don’t have any reason to wander around those.
I’d say it has a lot more going for it than Charlton, which is set in a pretty soulless area, like a big industrial/trading estate. Not the greatest to get to either.
Greenwich is nice though, I’ll give you that. Love it there.
You wouldn't expect an anorak to let that go unchallenged....
From the statue of Charles I in Trafalgar Square (the point at which all distances to London are measured) the centre spot of the The Toolbox is 3.63 miles, behind both Stamford Bridge (3.26 miles) and The Emirates (3.41 miles).
But the centre of London is classed as Charing Cross, which makes us the closest.
AFC Wimbledon at that tin-pot little ground in the middle of nowhere between Norbiton and New Malden. Just a load of tyre warehouses and dodgy council estates. When the wind was from the south you got a revolting stench wafting over from the sewage works next to the Hogsmill River. AND we always lost there. Shyte.
Agree with much of that! We did win there in 1984-85....3-1 Hales Flanagan Moore (I think)
One of my fave things about the Valley is its a modern(ish) stadium in a traditional football ground location. You walk down a row of terraced houses and real places people live in to get to the ground.
Its sad to me that a lot of kids who support teams with new stadiums will only ever know a matchday "experience" of going to a bland industrial estrate with a stadium attached.
Most away fans rate us as an away day. ... closest club to central London, one stop from London Bridge, walking distance from The Bermondsey Mile, numerous old traditional pubs nearby on the river, Tower Bridge just up the road, plenty of history. Ok, certain parts of the surrounding areas are a bit of a shithole but away fans don’t have any reason to wander around those.
I’d say it has a lot more going for it than Charlton, which is set in a pretty soulless area, like a big industrial/trading estate. Not the greatest to get to either.
Greenwich is nice though, I’ll give you that. Love it there.
You wouldn't expect an anorak to let that go unchallenged....
From the statue of Charles I in Trafalgar Square (the point at which all distances to London are measured) the centre spot of the The Toolbox is 3.63 miles, behind both Stamford Bridge (3.26 miles) and The Emirates (3.41 miles).
But the centre of London is classed as Charing Cross, which makes us the closest.
It's not, but even if it were, the centre spot at The Toolbox is 3.59 miles from the cross outside Charing Cross Station, The Emirates is 3.31 miles and Stamford Bridge is 3.39 miles.
Comments
Shithurst
Loftus Road
Top dollar and pretty ‘meh’ nothing to write home about products as I remember.😤😤😤
Barnsley away in 1999, I think, sticks in the memory due to being so bloody cold. We stayed in the pub longer than most and when we got into the ground the only seats available were single seats next to the webbing that covers the seats between home and away fans. It felt so high, looking above the opposite stand into icy Yorkshire. I've never felt so cold at a match.
Stoke, Reading, Colchester and Coventry (if they ever go back) are all kings of the soulless dull out of town experience
I was quite happy where I was to see the Phil Chappel header in the 4-2 win.
And yes I was at the 4-2 though can't remember anything about it!
We must have been directly behind the goal, in the 4-2 win, as I remember the seas opening and Phil Chappel powering through to score the header.
Great game though!
as the song used to go....
Having to dodge spanners and being kept in after the game.
From the statue of Charles I in Trafalgar Square (the point at which all distances to London are measured) the centre spot of the The Toolbox is 3.63 miles, behind both Stamford Bridge (3.26 miles) and The Emirates (3.41 miles).
One of my fave things about the Valley is its a modern(ish) stadium in a traditional football ground location. You walk down a row of terraced houses and real places people live in to get to the ground.
Its sad to me that a lot of kids who support teams with new stadiums will only ever know a matchday "experience" of going to a bland industrial estrate with a stadium attached.