20: London – Wembley Stadium, Panini England European Football Championship ’96

Welcome to our 250th post. Quite how we’ve managed to churn out so much nonsense about football old and new is testament to the level of obsession that we share for the beautiful game but also is entirely reliant on the unbelievable number of people who have read, shared, liked and commented on it since March 2020. Thank you all for your support and patience. We hope you enjoy today’s collaborative effort.

Back in March 2013 Wealdstone fan Gordon Hill was not happy. As he saw his beloved Stones struggle against eventual champions Whitehawk at The Enclosed Ground in their Isthmian League Premier Division clash he chose to voice his displeasure. “WHAT A SHITHOLE!” Considering that the Hawks’ home ground can hold over 3,000 spectators this seemed a little harsh. “YOU’VE GOT NO FANS!” Again the fact that a side which had not played above county level since 2010 required provision for so many supporters suggested misplaced criticism. “YOU’VE GOT NO GROUND!” Even Hill sounded like he doubted himself by this stage seeing as he was clearly at Whitehawk’s ground. Within a few months Hill had become a viral video sensation as the Wealdstone Raider and went on to earn a living hiring himself out for stag dos and even released a charity single which reached no.5 in the charts. He also raised important questions about football stadia which, through looking at our best and worst ground experiences, we hope to answer today. If you want some, we’ll give it ya. Over to Rich to kick us off.

My favourite ground? The old Wembley sprung to mind initially. My fondest memories of it were a trip to watch England schoolboys; the Spurs v Forest 1991 FA Cup Final complete with Stuart Pearce’s thunderbolt free kick, Gazza’s knee crumbling tackle, Mark Crossley’s penalty save, and Des Walker’s own goal; and Grimsby Town’s Auto Windscreen final victory (courtesy of that most curious of things - a Golden Goal) in 1998. Then they knocked it down, rebuilt it without any of the good bits, and I haven’t stopped moaning about it since. My next thought was York City’s Bootham Crescent. I saw my first ever live game there in 1989 and so it will forever hold a place in my heart. However, I do have harrowing memories of a 0-0 draw on Boxing Day 1997 where I’m pretty sure that I experienced a rather punchy level of hypothermia, combined with a tinsy-winsy bit of a coma brought on by the football on offer. 

My favourite ground though, almost by default, has to be Grimsby Town’s Blundell Park. It is, as away fans like to call it, a “proper ground”. There is the Main Stand which was built in 1901. This would make it the oldest stand in the Football League if we were still a league club. But we’re not. So it isn’t. We have the Pontoon, where I have never sat, but “kicking towards the Pontoon” is always considered a good thing such is the nature of the support that emanates from there. Then we have the Findus Stand (which isn’t actually called the Findus anymore, but never mind) which is the ‘big’ stand: Great view of the pitch, better view of the trawlers bobbing on the sea if the game gets dull. If the club ever leave BP for pastures new, then I will miss the old place. I have so many memories there it is impossible to list them here. Except one… the time I scored a penalty past Dave Beasant in front of the Pontoon. 

When it comes to worst grounds, I can’t really pick one out that I absolutely despise, and even those that made the shortlist have redeeming features. For example, I don't like Wycombe Wanderers’ Adams Park because it is an inconvenient trek from the train station, but it has nice views of the Buckinghamshire countryside. Norwich City’s Carrow Road is terrible for leg room if, like me, you’re a lanky sod, but it is in Norwich which is a fine city. I failed a few law exams in a function room at the Emirates, but it seems to have a good pitch. The Don Valley stadium was absolutely grim during Rotherham United’s brief residency there, but it was an exceptional little place when it first opened for the World Student Games in 1991. More generally, I’m not a fan of the flat pack stadiums that have been popping up all over the place for the last twenty years, quite often for clubs that don’t need them and can’t afford them. There is no amount of free flags, ‘fan’ banners written by the club’s marketing department, and pre-match fireworks that can generate an atmosphere at these grounds like their predecessors did. Gun to my head time though: my choice for worst ground has to be the new Wembley. Purely because it isn’t the old one. Over to Emlyn.

One of the many criticisms of modern football – "the game's gone", "too politicised", "VAR has ruined football", "more teams should play a back four of actual alcoholics again" (the last one mainly by me), is that modern football stadia can be a bit soulless. The identikit bowl shaped ground, frequently built outside the actual town or city bearing the club's logo, often with decent motorway access for the park and ride services, and regularly rebranded to coin in the sponsorship dime comes in for its fair share of criticism for the part it's played in affecting the community feel around some clubs.

Situated with excellent access to the M4, thus alleviating traffic congestion on the outskirts of Reading on matchdays, the newly rebranded Select Car Leasing Stadium (formerly the Madejski Stadium) has a fantastic park and ride service that allows the bowl shaped ground to appear over the horizon on approach. It's a frequent criticism of away fans that the ground doesn't really have any pubs nearby, and fairly shoddy parking, but it's been a part of my life for better or worse since opening in 1998 and I love the big soulless bastard.

The ground was planned on the basis that Elm Park, the previous ground of Reading FC, could not be converted to comply with the requirements of the Taylor Report. Personally, I've always harboured a suspicion that they simply couldn't engineer a way to stop the moat of piss that always formed around the toilets, but regardless, the site of the present ground was purchased for £1 in 1994. A former rubbish tip, the sale was conditional on the club helping fund the development of the A33 relief road, and cost over £50m to build, requiring huge vents to release the methane formed by the remnants of landfill that belied it's former purpose.

My first game there wasn't actually a Reading fixture, instead seeing a rampant England Under-21 side put five past a Luxembourg outfit, with goals from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Francis Jeffers, Carl Cort and Lee Hendrie. Differing careers for those names from there on out. Since then I've managed to see some phenomenal performances, and some absolute dross, as Reading have bounced between the third tier and the Premier League over the intervening near-quarter of a century. I also worked at the ground in between university terms, doling out pints of Courage and chicken balti pies while trying to peek through the concourse to follow the action.

The ground was also notable for an appearance of When Saturday Comes legend Sean Bean during a rematch of the 1966 World Cup Final, though the match is probably better remembered for Boris Johnson trying to rugby tackle Maurizio Gaudino. It's also hosted major concerts and rugby matches, and is the start and finish line for the Reading Half Marathon, as completed by most of the authors of this blog (with varying performance levels – the last time I ran it I had to incorporate a pit stop after eight miles to be sick behind a bus stop). It may be an identikit soulless bowl just off junction 11 of the M4, but it's been the scene for plenty of memorable moments in my life and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

To briefly touch upon the intended theme of this blog, I'll also state that my least favourite ground to visit has been Anfield. Concrete, concrete, concrete, grim area, and the main reason I grumbled throughout, awful leg room. It helped greatly watching Shane Long score his first goal of the season (in January) to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup, but being in the home end meant I couldn't really celebrate as desired (I'd already got a couple of sideways glances for how often I'd enjoyed 34-year old Brynjar Gunnarsson frequently nutmegging the opposition). Obviously, the ground is steeped in history, and the famous Kop End atmosphere was impressive even during a snowy midweek cup game, but bugger me did my legs hurt by the end of 120 minutes of football. Over to Mat.

Best and worst stadiums I’ve been to? On a straightforward level, that’s easy. Worst: Sittingbourne FC’s Central Park – the temporary stadium, not the one used for the greyhound races. Best: Wembley. It’s the biggest and newest stadium I’ve been to. Simple. And that’s me done.

BUT as we football fans know, it isn’t that simple. There is a lot more to it than just the stadium architecture. The games, the fans and the circumstances all come into play. As a Manchester United fan, I could very easily say Old Trafford. The Theatre of Dreams. However, the games I’ve been to were in the David Moyes era. And we lost. To Newcastle United (before all their money) and West Bromwich Albion. I’ve now banned myself from going as a bad luck charm. Not that it seems to be working.

Then there is the New Wembley. The National Stadium and the UK’s largest football venue. But yet again, the games I’ve been to have shaped my views on it. A Conference play-off final in 2007, one of the first games in the newly opened stadium, where Exeter City lost to Morecambe, and it was not even half full. Then there was the 2011 England v Sweden friendly. I witnessed England’s 2,000th international goal, an own goal by Daniel Majstorovic, Phil Jones in Midfield and a sub 50,000 attendance. This was made worse by the fact my dad and I shared the worst sandwich known to man. The bread, which unknown to us at the time of purchase was gluten free, failed to hold together and disintegrated.

Then there is Ibrox. A classic stadium. On a European night against former European champions. Great stadium, great atmosphere. But yet again I was in the home end, supporting the away team, Man United, when the English team won 1-0. I had to hide my joy under fear of being brutally beaten and most likely killed. (I’m sure the Rangers fans are all lovely, but they were more than a little intimidating!).

So the best stadium? Old Wembley. 2000. Division 2 Play-Off Final. Gillingham v Wigan Athletic. A mate’s dad had managed to get a handful of Gillingham tickets so a group of us went up. Faces painted, scarves bought, Gillingham Fan TV, or pre-YouTube equivalent, interview done. A great game, some good goals, extra time, and the Gills won to get promotion to the First Division. The atmosphere before during and after the game was amazing, and the image of the twin towers remains embedded in my memory.

New Wembley doesn’t get close. So much so that it was a consideration for the worst stadium I’ve been to. But I’m going to give the giant arch the benefit of the doubt. Two half full games didn’t show it in its best light. Another option was the old Upton Park. Not so much for the ground, not the game, West Ham United v Gillingham since you ask, but the way in for the away fans. I remember it being a narrow, chain-link fenced alleyway, flanked by a brick wall and Hammers’ fans baiting the hardcore travelling Gills fans. Again, as a young teenager, it was intimidating.

Sittingbourne’s old temporary ground before they moved to their new home in Woodstock should be the worst. But the guys making the programme helped me cut my journalism teeth by giving me a page to put down some ramblings. Plus, my old Sunday league team won our only trophy playing on that ground. I was an unused sub, something that angered me at the time and something that genuinely rankled for years, but we won a trophy. So I can’t put it down as the worst.

However, there is a clear winner. Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium. Firstly, it is in Medway. Not a great start to life. Secondly, the football has never been great. Even the high-flying Gillingham teams have never had free flowing, sexy football. And thirdly, what is now the away end but used to be a shared terrace with a fence separating the home and away fans. Cold, windy and exposed to the elements. It’s still there but covered by a ‘temporary’ stand for away supporters. Still open to the elements, and one I swear you can see visibly move in strong winds or under the ecstasy of away fans celebrating.

Hillsborough gets a mention as a good old-fashioned stadium, and one that always had a good atmosphere. But it tends to flood every now and then, just for fun. Over to Manny.

Perhaps my expectations of a football stadium have been tempered by my experiences at Selhurst Park over the years. Having completed our traditional two-mile walk to the ground my Dad and I found ourselves in a lengthy queue for the one functioning turnstile in the Holmesdale for an evening game against Nottingham Forest. By the time we got in we’d missed both of the game’s goals and witnessed bugger all happen for the rest of the cold, wet December night. A couple of seasons earlier my uncles and I were stopped in our approach to the ground to be told that the light breeze circulating had caused the game against Wimbledon to be delayed by an hour due to fears for the roof of the main stand. Despite being the newest of the ground’s stands the Holmesdale also boasts some of the dankest gentleman’s toilets I’ve ever used.

Nevertheless I love Selhurst and not just for the range of emotions I’ve experienced or the heroes I’ve seen grace its hallowed turf. What I like most about the ground is the fact its sat smack bang in the middle of residential streets and truly feels like part of the local area. There was a part of me that longed to move to one the houses on the Holmesdale Road and I remember terrifying a girl at university when I found out she lived in one such house and waxed lyrical about how jealous I was of her. What I did learn from this somewhat one-sided conversation was that there wasn’t a legal requirement for local residents to be obsessed with Dougie Freedman.

Speaking of university I have a lot of time for Exeter City’s St James Park for similar reasons although this particular ground wins some extra points for its dedicated train station and low stands which afforded the local populace with excellent views of the pitch. Emlyn and I wasted many a Saturday afternoon of our third year watching snippets of League Two action from the Velux windows of our attic bedrooms and throwing moss at each other. Inside the ground the fact that you could get change out of a pound for two cups of industrial strength tea also scores highly in my ranking of a top football ground. I’d also like to give some credit to Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road which has, in recent years, managed to build in flats to the fabric of the stands to add to the surrounding residential streets.

My first job after qualifying as a teacher was spitting distance to West Ham United’s Boleyn Ground which similarly served as an integral part of its local community until the Hammers moved away in 2016. The entirety of Green Street came to life on a matchday, and not because of Frodo Baggins and Danny from Hustle causing bother, and the imaginatively named ‘The Boleyn’ was the perfect pre-match location for a pint. The club’s move to London Stadium in the Olympic Park in Stratford, and questionable rebranding to sell themselves as THE London club, saw the famous old ground converted into overpriced apartments and an excellent pub be slowly but surely turned into a wine bar. As for the old Olympic Stadium it was a great location for athletics and national pride ten years ago but, despite recent improvements, doesn’t work as a football ground. Despite the best effort of the Hammers’ faithful it has never been able to recreate the febrile atmosphere of Upton Park. Saddest of all is that this doesn’t seem to bother the club’s owners especially with results going well for David Moyes’ side. On my first football related visit to the London Stadium, to see a Simone Zaza inspired West Ham lose 3-0 to Southampton, my friend Stu pointed to two enthusiastic young tourists posing for a selfie in their brand new Hammers’ home shirts and wryly described it as “Karren Brady’s wet dream”. At least a less harrowing image than her co-owners’ midnight musings but a valid point nonetheless.

Undoubtedly many of you will disagree with us and hopefully this hasn’t come across as too much of an excuse to espouse our partisan love for some fairly questionable stadia. Once again thanks for all the support for the last 250 posts and we hope you enjoy what we’ve got coming up in the coming weeks and months too.