by Ian Herring »
20 Feb 2010 10:00
Shrewsbury's beautiful old Gay Meadow. Picturesque, in a beautiful old English town next to a river with views of buildings and trees.
Griffin Park - a great place shoe-horned in to its community as if it had always been there. Hard, harsh, a bit gritty like Elm Park. Beautiful views of cranes, anonymous commercial buildings from the sixties and planes coming in and out of Heathrow. Pub on each corner? No argument. WIn or lose, have always loved trips to Brenters to see the Royals.
Barnet - before it was 'redeveloped'. The non-league experience, in the league. Loved their little 'taxi driver' firm on the side terrace like a load of fat Danny Dyers.
Craven Cottage. Dunno what it is about London grounds. Like the way they 'fizz' a bit on match days, and how you can disappear into another non-football world afterwards. Loved the away terrace there, always laughed at the psycopathic Met boys who seemed to be on a mission to nick you for even daring to turn the page of a programme. Great park nearby, to walk towards a nice London boozer after the game.
The old version of Brisbane Road.
The Manor Ground. What a shithoyle. Purely because it made Elm Park look like Wembley in comparison.
Ditto, Aldershot.
A big 'no' to all soul-less bowls and cantilevered, out of balance remakes.