Game 33 - Swansea City v Leicester City 16th January 2010 Coca Cola Championship

A long old haul this one. However my daughter had booked us into a hotel for Friday and Saturday in Neath, only 8 miles form the Liberty Stadium. On Saturday morning I took the opportunity to wander down to the home of Neath FC, The Gnoll. I should point out that this is also the home of Neath RUFC and you will see some strange looking posts in the pictures. When I arrive I see the best sight for any groundhopper - an open gate! I go in and immediately bump into someone, ask him if it is ok to look round, only to be told he is the hot dog man. He tells me to carry on and he will ring someone to tell them I'm here. I'm in the corner of the ground with a large covered terrace in front of me.


I go to the left and there is a large covered seating stand running along the length of the pitch. There are extensions in front of each stand which are increasing the number of seats but I don't think you would remain dry in them on a wet day.


I carry on to the opposite corner where the Social Club is situated. The end of the ground has a small open terraced area but I do not go onto this as it means crossing over the barriers, so I head back to where I came in. Opposite the stand I am in is another covered seated stand, lower than the stand I am in, but this also runs the whole length of the ground.


I return to the corner I came in and go onto the impressive terrace and take some more snaps. The remainder of these can be seen here: The Gnoll.
I return to the hotel and we set off for the game, but first we take a quick diversion to Llarndarcy Park, home of Neath FC until 2008.

Just the one stand, and those strange looking posts again! It looks like the ground is used by the Swansea Ospreys RUFC for their development programme. Neat ground but I can see why Neath FC moved to The Gnoll as future expansion for the team onfield would be hampered by the facilities here.
More photos of Llandarcy Park here.

Then, to the relief of my passengers, we carry onto The Liberty Stadium, home of Swansea City since their move from The Vetch in 2005.

It's hard to appreciate what the Stadium is like outside as the weather is atrocious and we make our way around to the away turnstiles and after a few minutes wait they open to allow us in. Just a word about the most over the top steward I've seen for a long time. Not content with patting down a City fan he also makes him open his coat to see if he is concealing anything. Well if you cannot feel anything from the pat down you gave you are not doing it right mate. While he spends a full three minutes doing this several hundred other City fans have got in with no search at all and even one of his fellow stewards takes the mickey out of him with some of our fans. The concourse seems very small with only one block of toilets for each sex and one teabar for everyone.
Into the stand and the sightlines are very good. The bottom section of seats in not in use and so we are in the upper tier of the stand. The stewards are very laid back inside and I have no problems taking photos.


The ground is ok but very similar to many of the new builds and does not have the character of The Vetch. Our seats have good legroom and the view is good. Unfortunately the performance from City in the first half is not as good and we are losing 1-0 at half time after Pintado scores his first goal of the season after 32 minutes. Swansea have played some good football but do not create many chances in the whole game which means we always have a chance of pulling the game back and on 74 minutes Dany N'Guessan has the chance to slot the ball into the empty net. Instead his shot goes straight to de Vries who is laying on the ground on the other side of the goal. This is our last chance and despite pressing hard at the end of the game there is no further score.
We get back to the car and after only a few minutes wait we are on our way back to our hotel, nice not to have to drive straight back. A nice curry and a few beers waits us in Neath.

Swansea City 1-0 Leicester City
Att: 15,037
Ticket: £25

More photos of The Liberty Stadium here.

Game 31 - Spalding United v Grantham Town 1st January 2010 Unibond Northern Premier Division One South

Having been thwarted again on Bank Holiday Monday by the weather, my next opportunity for a game was New Years Day. A top of the table game at North Ferriby United was my first choice, but come the day the phrase PP appeared against the game on the Unibond site. Goole was my next choice but a pitch inspection soon put an end to that. My alternatives were also falling foul of the conditions but eventually I had confirmation of the Spalding-Grantham game being on from the Grantham message board. So I set off on the 65 mile trip to the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Fields, home of Spalding United.


On arrival, I had a small scare as the Ground looked shut, but I then saw a ball in the air and heard players warming up. As you enter the ground the social club and tea hut are in the left corner and the ground is to your right. I make my way to the shop to the right and buy my programme and badge. There seem to be a number of different Club badges on various hats and coats and it becomes obvious I'm not the only one to have ended up here after most games in the area have been called off.
The ground has two stands to my right, but I make my way behind the goal that was in front of me as I entered the ground.

There are large areas behind each of the three sides of the ground without stands, and there is hard standing all round. As usual I make my way round the ground taking my photos, eventually reaching the side of the ground with the two stands. The first stand is a covered standing area, very smart it is too.



Further along is the impressive main stand where all the seats are. Underneath the stand are the changing rooms and the toilets.

The large building in the background is a converted water tower. The pitch looked ok and the only frost was behind the goal to the right of the ground. I got myself a coffee to help with the cold and went and took a seat in the stand. There was a good following from Grantham and they had taken over one side of the stand. The game kicked off and was very scrappy with both teams making mistakes, not helped by the very bobbly pitch, and there were not many chances being created by either side. Grantham were unlucky not to take the lead on the half hour as Saunders lobbed the keeper only to see it disallowed for a foul on the defender, who I felt was just muscled off the ball. No score at half time.
Grantham came out very strongly for the second half and a tactical change snuffed out the Spalding attack and allowed Grantham to take control of the game. The winning goal came on 56 minutes from a free kick. The ball was played to the far post where Grantham won the header for sub Carchedi to shoot only for goalkeeper Roberts to make a good save but Robinson reacted first to the rebound and put his shot high into the top corner. Grantham dominated the rest of the half and deservedly ran out 1-0 winners.
The temperature had dropped and I was grateful to get back in the car. An enjoyable visit although the game will not linger long in the memory.

Spalding United 0-1 Grantham Town
Att: 219
Admission: £7
Programme: £1.50
Badge: £2

More photos of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Fields here.

Game 9 - Burton Albion v Northampton Town 29th August 2009 Coca Cola League One

As I have been thwarted by the weather over the last couple of weeks it is time to catch up with some visits made earlier in the season. A free Saturday due to Sky scheduling gave me the opportunity to visit the League's new boys, Burton Albion.



We park up opposite the ground, less then a couple of minutes walk away, chatting to a Northampton fan as we do so, who tells us how they are doing so far this season, which apparently is not very well. We leave him at the away turnstiles to go and buy our tickets for the seated South Stand. Once these have been secured we go into the Club Shop to buy the obligatory badge. This must be one of the smallest shops I've been into and it is a surprise considering the Pirelli was only finished in 2005. We make our way around the outside of the ground as usual and you are able to walk round the whole ground. I know they are the new boys but you would think they would be able to pay the players more money to be able to afford better transport!


We go into the ground and first impressions are favourable. Opposite us is a long terraced stand and both ends are also standing. The corners are all open, so each stand is separate from each other. The seated stand we are in is not segregated and so home and away fans use the same facilities and on the day we were here there were no problems which was great to see, lets hope this continues for the rest of the season.

North Stand:

West Stand terracing:

South Stand:

East Stand (Away):

The game kicks off and the Brewers have a fantastic start to the game and are 3-0 up in 11 minutes as the Cobblers make several mistakes and cannot cope with the free flowing football from the hosts. The rest of the half saw the Cobblers just keeping the score from being extended. They are so bad that there are two substitutions before halftime with the visiting fans venting their anger at manager Suart Gray.
The second half sees a more resilient Northampton side and they pull a goal back from Steve Guinan after 50 minutes. The pressure was now on Burton and Northampton continued to make chances and pulled another goal back from the penalty spot on 71 minutes. The game now ebbed and flowed from one end to the other with both teams having opportunities to score again. The bookings tally was added to as both teams got more desperate. With no further scoring Burton ran out 3-2 winners in an enthralling game for the neutral.
We made our way back to the car having thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Pirelli Stadium, very friendly staff, excellent facilities and a cracking game.

Burton Albion 3-2 Northampton Town
Att: 3,321
Admission: £15
Programme: £2.50
Badge: £3

More photos of the Pirelli Stadium here.

Game 27 - Liversedge v Long Eaton United 5th December 2009 NCEL Premier

A fine sunny day and not many games are going to be off up here although Tadcaster Albion suffer from flooding again and Eccleshill United is off after a floodlight fell onto the pitch! So the car is pointed to Yorkshire and the trip to the Clayborn Ground, home of Liversedge is soon completed. You have to go down a very narrow Quaker Lane to find the ground and I did wonder if I had gone wrong for a moment or so, but the ground appears after the houses and the car park is straight in front of you. After having it confirmed that the Foxes are being thumped I make my way into the ground.


Everyone I meet is very friendly and I'm greeted by several officials of the Club with a friendly hello from them all, very nice, although I could have done without the reminders of the score at forest thank you very much. The actual pitch is lower than the end of the ground I enter and the seated stand to my left. The Clubhouse and other facilities are all reached by a set of steps.


The opposite end and the open hard standing area on the right touchline are at the pitch level with no cover. The official capacity is 2,000 with 250 seats with a nice Clubhouse with bar and a very large TV with Sky Sports News on, (oh god its 5-1 now). I have a good chat with the gentleman who sells me my badge and he informs me that they have signed several new players since I saw Liversedge lose at Armthorpe Welfare at the start of the season. I wander off to take my stroll round the ground and take my pictures. I eventually take a seat in the covered stand just before kick off and strike up conversation with a very nice gentleman from Liversedge.
Liversedge started the game well and the right back Haigh and winger Walker kept combining well tot trouble the Long Eaton defence. Liversedge took the lead on 11 minutes when a goal kick went straight to Haigh who initiated a neat passing move which resulted in scoring header from Wasley. Both team continued to play some good football and both had opportunities to score. It was to be Long Eaton who scored next. A free kick was given on 39 minutes and it looked like the Sedge defender would easily clear it but he totally miskicked the ball and it ended up in the net, 1-1. A controversial moment followed when Long Eaton's Mabon latched onto a through ball and as he went past the centre half he was brought down. The assistant referee put his flag but the referee signalled no foul and he quickly put it back down again. Had the foul been given there would have been a red card and the game would have been very different. The half ended 1-1 with some frank exchanges of views between the Long Eaton players and the officials being made.


Long Eaton came out in the second half and took control of the game, stopping Sedge's controlled passing game and in particular Walker who was closely marshalled to stop him having as much of the ball as he did in the first half. It was not long before they took the lead with a smart shot from Newton on 53 minutes. For a long time it looked like Long Eaton were going to add to their goal tally, but Liversedge really went for it in the last 10 minutes but could not get past the strong Long Eaton defence. The game ended with Long Eaton having a couple of more chances to extend their lead, but without success.
An excellent day out, a really friendly Club and would recommend a visit to everyone.

Liversedge 1-2 Long Eaton United
Att: 73
Admission: £5
Programme: £1.20
Badge: £3

More photos of the Clayborn Ground here.

Game 26 - Scunthorpe United v Leicester City 28th November 2009 Coca Cola Championship

Ok, so what happened to Liversedge I hear you cry. Well due to my daughters ill advised argument with a HGV on the M1 this was a game I missed. The weather also put paid to a couple of other planned visits so my latest report is on the visit of the Foxes to Glanford Park, home to Scunthorpe United since 1988 after leaving the Old Show Ground.


For me personally, this is the least attractive looking ground from the outside in the Football League. I've been to Glanford Park on numerous occasions but I've only ever sat in the away end, lived in Grimsby too long to be sitting with the home fans! Inside the ground is ok, but the major problem with the away end are the facilities, not because they are poor, indeed the food and drink has always been pretty good when I've had it, but because with a large following the corner positioning of the facilities is inadequate. Not a problem when I'm here on a freezing night in December with the small following from Shrewsbury though.
I wander off to take some photos before kick off. The two side stands are both seated but the North Stand opposite the away stand is standing.


Back to my seat and I have a post in the way that is blocking my view of the penalty area of the goal at this end. The game kicks off and City are quickly into their stride and after 3 minutes are 1-0 up courtesy of Martin Waghorn whose pace is troubling Scunny early on. City spurn several chances due in the main to a great performance by Murphy in the Scunthorpe goal. City go in 1-0 up at half time, thoroughly deserved. Scunthorpe come out and play better in the second half but do not really trouble Chris Weale. City continue to make chances but cannot extend their lead and this comes back to haunt them as Scunthorpe equalise with virtually the last kick of the game through sub Martin Woolford. Disappointing but not the end of the world.
Although it takes about 25 minutes to get out of the car park we are home for 6pm. I wish we got home from home games as quick.

Scunthorpe United 1-1 Leicester City
Att: 6,884
Admission: £18

More photos of Glanford Park here.

Game 24 - Leicester City v West Bromwich Albion 7th November 2009 Coca Cola Championship

Todays game sees the Remembrance Day Fixture at Leicester. As usual, the players shirts are adorned with the Poppy and the shirts will be auctioned on the Official Site later in the week. I'm proud to say that it was Leicester City who first came up with this idea several years ago, with the opponents that day, Blackburn Rovers, also having the Poppy on their shirts. We have travelled down on Friday to stop with relatives in Leicester so our journey to the car park only takes 10 minutes today, where Keith is already waiting for us. After a quick drink in the Club we head to the ground to take in the atmosphere of the day. One of the other traditions of the day is for the match ball to be delivered by helicopter and this duly arrives just before kick off.


Something different today is the playing of the Last Post and the minutes silence which follows. It is especially poignant as the family of Marcin Wojtak, a Foxes fan, who was killed in Afghanistan on 1st October 2009 are attending the game today. The relevance of the Poppy Appeal brought home to everyone present.
At half time we have the parade of the veterans together with Cadets and a couple of currently serving soldiers.


The game, well we lose to the best team I've seen this season, but the 2-0 scoreline at half time was a travesty. We played fairly well but were unable to take advantage of any of the chances we created. Just one other point though. Starting to waste time from 51 minutes is disgraceful, but not the first time I've seen this before from a Di Matteo team, but this time we are unable to snatch a late late equaliser. I'll stick with my pre-season prediction that Albion will win promotion this season, let's hope we follow them.

Leicester City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion
Att: 28,748
Admission: £14 (with my Season Ticket)
Programme: £3

Game 23 - Brighouse Town v Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 31st October 2009 NCEL Division One

Brighouse Town is situated near Halifax about 8 miles off the M62 where I am delayed by an accident for about 20 minutes but I'm still pulling up in the car park of the Dual Seal Stadium just after 2pm. It's fairly full but I am able to park just near to the exit/entrance.

You enter the ground in the left hand corner of the car park.


All the facilities are to your right as you enter the ground in the corner, toilets, tea room, hospitality room and dressing rooms are all at this end of the ground. There is a covered seated stand in front of you down the near touchline with the dugouts opposite this stand, which is the only cover in the ground. The rest of the ground has hard standing and behind the dugouts there is another pitch lower than the main pitch which has it's own floodlights and I can see both teams using this to warm up on.
Brighouse were formed in 1963 as a works team and have progressed through the local leagues to join the NCEL at the start of the 2008-09 season. Their opponents were formed in 1923 and were original founders of the newly formed NCEL in 1982. They are having contrasting fortunes this season with Brighouse in 6th just behind the leaders while Worsbrough are second from bottom and are on a run of six defeats.
I go into "Dave's Tea Bar" buy a badge and a coffee and sit down at a table. There are pictures on the walls of past teams and another nice touch is a montage of Brighouse's first ever game in the NCEL at Teversal which they won 2-1. After a minute or so a gentleman sits on the table next to mine. We start talking and it turns out he is the Referee's Assessor for the afternoon. It's an interesting conversation about the offside law, technology and fans banter at games and before we know it, it's time to go and outside for the game.
Brighouse started the game very well and were creating most of the chances in the game and it seemed only a matter of time before they opened the scoring. However the Worsbrough defence proved to be resilient and the half ended goaless. The TV in Dave's had Sky Sports on and were showing Cov losing. Happy days.
The Worsbrough defence had obviously enjoyed their half time orange too much as Dave Watson put the hosts ahead with a well taken goal. Now I must admit that I thought I was in store for a goal feast from Brighouse, but credit to Worsbrough, their heads did not go down and they then had their best spell in the game, constantly attacking their hosts goal without a breakthrough. Brighouse were still creating chances themselves but could not extend their lead with a combination of poor finishing and good defensive play thwarting them. On 78 minutes Worsbrough got their reward for a determined 2nd half performance. Danny Thompson won the ball out on the right wing and put in a good cross which was firmly met by Dean Shirt who headed the ball into the corner for the equaliser. Both teams felt they could still win the game and there were two or three more chances for each side but there was to be no further score. A very enjoyable game and in the end I was pleased that Worsbrough got the point with a good battling display.
An easy exit and fairly light traffic on the M62 meant I was home for 6.30pm, an enjoyable day at a very friendly Club, somewhere I would recommend to anyone.

Brighouse Town 1-1 Worsbrough Bridge Athletic
Att: 64
Admission: £4
Programme: £1
Badge: £3

More photos of The Dual Seal Stadium here.