Old Timey Football Thread

[Ark Royal]

I was going to say Brighton but probably doesn't fit geographically because they ground shared with Gillingham for a few seasons

Way off.

[Ark Royal]

The club's eventual home was planned to be developed into an 80,000 capacity stadium.

[Sutekh]

The club's eventual home was planned to be developed into an 80,000 capacity stadium.

Port Vale

[NathStPaul]

Genuinely forgot Port Vale existed until you just mentioned them.

[Ark Royal]

The club's eventual home was planned to be developed into an 80,000 capacity stadium.

Port Vale

Correct!

Vale moved from home in Burslem to Hanley, another one of the six Pottery towns. The ground was the Old Recreation Ground. They then moved back to Burslem in 1950 to Vale Park - the 'Wembley of the North'.

[Ark Royal]

No more, but I think this aerial photo of Arsenal Stadium/Highbury is my favourite. Hosting the 1929 FA Cup semi-final between Villa and Portsmouth. Everything looks so neat and tidy! Notable Archibald Leitch-designed East Stand later to be replaced by the art-deco classic. Multi-span gable roofs - also seen at Molineux and the Valley - went out of fashion as they were too expensive to build and maintain.

[fartdad]

I didn't realize I posted in the old timey football thread so my answer was quite daft

what was the last team to groundshare in the football league and with whom did they groundshare

[Ark Royal]

I didn't realize I posted in the old timey football thread so my answer was quite daft

what was the last team to groundshare in the football league and with whom did they groundshare

Coventry have spent the last two seasons groundsharing St Andrews with Birmingham.

[fartdad]

I didn't realize I posted in the old timey football thread so my answer was quite daft

what was the last team to groundshare in the football league and with whom did they groundshare

Coventry have spent the last two seasons groundsharing St Andrews with Birmingham.

correct

[From Despair To Where?]

Always thought Norwich's original ground The Nest looked completely bonkers

[Ark Royal]

Always thought Norwich's original ground The Nest looked completely bonkers

Mad. What a mess of a ground!

[LUX]

A member of the home guard on the look out for enemy aircraft during a match.

Definitely The Valley including the vast east terrace, which could hold 44,000 . The Valley had the largest capacity stadium (66,000) in England for decades.

There’s no hills like that around the, er, Valley. Oh, hang on.

[Sutekh]

Always thought Norwich's original ground The Nest looked completely bonkers

You see, now that is a proper ground. I would rather stand in the terracing of place like that than have to sit down in any modern day plastic spakkerdome and I bet the footie would be better as well .....

[Winston Biscuit]

My granddad went to loads of England games and FA Cup finals in the 1950's and 1960's as he lived way down in west Cornwall and his local team was allowed to apply for tickets and no one else ever wanted them as it was too far to travel. He would take them and meet up with a relative up towards London and go to the match together (probs throwing plastic garden chairs around and singing ICH)

Here is his ticket and programme from tonight's fixture from 68 years ago

[bakerlou]

This is the 1930 FA Cup final (Arse / Hudds) being photobombed by the Graf Zeppelin, it took approx 15 minutes to pass over the stadium.



And a colourised alternative from the opposite corner

.

There's some youtube filmage of the flight over Wembley available, it works best if you have something by Black Sabbath on in the background.

If any of you belmonts get off on this sort of thing, and I think you all do, the Football Stadia & Grounds FB group is full of pics like this (it's where I took the colourised photo from) and is blissfully free of lad banter.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Nice pics Bakerlou!

I wonder from what aircraft they were taken from?....no drones obvs

[Brogue]

[AthleticoSpizz]

‘Nobbers v burbs?

[From Despair To Where?]

Pinched from elsewhere.

The pigeon loft at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground. This was lifted lock, stock from a cinema and bunged on some stilts at one end.



Incredible to think this was still hosting internationals in the 1980's.

This is what it looked like from the air





And what it looks like now (from the other side). The row of trees have come on quite nicely.

[Sanguine]

Bit of googling on the back of that Ron Atkinson photo - hadn't realised that the only club he ever played for was Oxford United. For whatever reason alongside his managerial stints at United and Villa, I'd always thought him a playing legend for them too.