My Matchday - 285 Withdean Stadium

Brighton & Hove Albion 2v3 Huddersfield Town

League One

Saturday 30th April 2011

When a club play their final match at a home stadium, the occasion is usually met with a touch of sadness, retracing memories of matches past can bring a tear to even the most hardened of supporters. There is however one exception to the rule, as Brighton & Hove Albion aren’t just celebration winning League One, but also leaving one of the most unpopular grounds to have ever graced the Football League.

Brighton & Hove Albion left 95 years of history behind at the Goldstone Ground in 1997. The ground was sold by a bunch of former wanksplat board members in an attempt to clear the club's mounting debts and avoid bankruptcy, without any thought or dialogue with the club’s supporters .

My only ever visit to the Goldstone Ground was in 1983 when Second Division Newcastle United faced The Seagulls in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup.

At the time Albion were at the foot of the First Division, so there wasn’t too much between the sides, so we travelled to the south coast in optimistic mood.

I remember that trip well, we left at midnight, stopped off in London early doors, then headed down to Brighton at 11am. On the day United played well but fell behind to an Andy Ritchie goal on 56 minutes. The Magpies rallied for an equaliser and it finally came on 72 minutes with a right foot drive from Terry Mac, earning a replay which we all arrogantly thought would be a formality at St James Park the following Wednesday

Brighton’s FA Cup exploits of 1983 are well remembered for Jimmy Melia’s shoes, the team travelling to Wembley by helicopter and of course the immortal commentary quote of “And Smith must score” however none of this would have becoming part of FA Cup folklore if it wasn’t for the incompetence of one man, step forward - Mr Telford Mills(Rotherham, South Yorkshire)

Referee Mr Mills became the Geordie public enemy No.1 (one of several throughout the decades) after disallowing not one, but two legitimate looking goals from Varadi and Keegan in the last five minutes of the replay denying United a place in the 4th round of the ‘83 cup.

Brighton won the game courtesy of a goal on 62 minutes by Peter Ward, his final goal for the club which set up a home tie with Manchester City on route to the twin towers of Wembley. Keegan was quoted afterwards, saying “I’m as sick as a Skegness donkey” Well we know how he felt, as we’ve had that nauseous feeling annually for the last 28 years.

(Video evidence HERE)

Peter Ward Soccer Star picture courtesy of Nigel’s Webspace http://cards.littleoak.com.au/

Brighton ended up at the Withdean after a failed attempt to lodge at Fratton Park with Pompey before arranging a ground-share 71 miles away in Gillingham.

Albion played at the Preistfield Stadium for two seasons and after another unsuccessful ground-share bid at Worthing they returning “home” to the only available option in Brighton at the home of the local athletics club.

The Withdean Stadium is named after its location in the Brighton suburbs, built in 1936 on the site of Marshall’s Playing Fields and originally used for lawn tennis.

The stadium currently has a capacity of 8,850 and during the club’s 12 year stay the record attendance was 8729 for a League Cup tie with Manchester City in September 2008.

The North Stand is the only permanent fixture, originally at the stadium before the club took residence and will be the only stand left when they leave, The stand provides the only cover, running pitch length and decked out with light blue seats. The stand is open at the back, apart from advertising hoardings so you can clearly see The Sportsman pub which sits behind it.

The other three sides are made up of temporary stands with green seats, The largest is on the South Side which runs pitch length and in a previous life appeared as temp seating at The Open golf tournament with a capacity of 4,500.

The East End has two large stands one of which is a Family Stand and there’s also a small section of seats and disabled section below the cabin which has the digital clock on top.

Away supporters are designated the West Stand which, due to the surrounding running track, look so far away from the action they could be in a different postcode! Changing rooms and hospitality facilities are provided by portacabins in the north west corner

In October 2005 Deputy Prime Minister at the time John Prescott, gave permission for Albion to build Falmer Stadium The project was delayed due to opposition from Lewes Council and local residents in Falmer, until permission was once again granted in July 2007 by Hazel Blears, the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Preliminary work finally got underway in November 2008 and the new stadium will open in July in readiness for The Seagulls 2011/12 campaign in The Championship.

As you may expect another canny-hike meant an early start, leaving Newcastle on the 0635 to Kings Cross, then catching the tube to London Bridge for my connection south, eventually arrived at my destination just before 11.30.

The city is the major part of Brighton and Hove on the south coast of East Sussex. The ancient settlement of Brighthelmstone dates before the Domesday Book,developed during the 18th century as a health resort for sea bathing and a popular destination for day-trippers from London.

Brighton experienced rapid population growth at the turn of the sixties, but its biggest claim to fame in the 20th century came in 1974; the Brighton Dome the venue when ABBA triumphed with Waterloo in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Brighton always reminds me of the 1979 movie Quadrophenia, based on The Who’s Rock opera of the same name which formed the backdrop to some of the pictures main scenes

I recently seen the film on ITV4 and was astounded by the number of times the line “Uwe going darn to Bry-tin at the weekend?” was used in the first half of the film and watching it now compared with over 30 years ago, except for a few redeeming features its basically not that good.(It’s bobbins!…Eddy)

On arrival I was greeted by Squad#77 Danny Last from the multi-award winning European Football Weekends blog. Our meeting was a bit of a Frost/Nixon moment and I would describe Danny as the James Brown of internet football journalism ie; “The hardest working man in blog business” I’ve knew Danny for a few years, but only via cyberspace, through text message, email, Facebook and Twitter but we’ve never communicated the old fashioned way via the art of chat, so it was great to finally but a voice to the face.

We called into the Brighton club shop then had a quick bevvy in 'The Evening Star' before heading to ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’ to meet up with the rest of Danny’s mates, or as I like to call them - “The Fred Perry Appreciation Society“ (I fitted right in with the correct attire)

The pub has a suntrap beer garden at the rear, so we stayed for a few pints until catching the 1407 train to the ground.

Prior to kick-off I confessed that I wanted Huddersfield to win, mainly due to the Geordie connection of ex-Mags Lee Clark and the aforementioned Terry Mac as well as ex-Heed striker Lee Novak. I also would love to see the Terriers clinch the second automatic promotion spot ahead of Southampton, as I’m not too chewed on The Saints after an unpleasant visit to St Mary’s a few years ago. Daniel Ward scored a late winner in a thrilling 3-2 win which meant I did get the result I wanted but maybe not the eventual outcome.

Benik Afobe fired Town ahead early on with a neat finish before Liam Bridcutt went close for the Seagulls with a header which smacked the crossbar.

Ashley Barnes levelled early in the second half, scoring the rebound with a diving header when his penalty was saved after a foul on Elliott Bennett.

Afobe capitalising on a defensive mix up to regain the lead but it was short lived as Matt Sparrow levelled with a great finish with a low right foot drive, before Ward fired in deep into injury time to win it for the Terriers.

Only goal difference separates the two sides battling for second spot but Southampton have a better goal difference as well as a game in hand.

Post match the Brighton team were presented with the League One trophy, with manager Gus Poyet leading the chorus of “We Are The Champions” The Seagulls supporters trooped out of the Withdean for the very last time, without any guilt or regret about leaving behind a stadium, that even through its unpopularity, it has witnessed four trophies of sorts in 12 years.

I also trudged away from the ground for the long journey home delighted to have picked the perfect occasion to visit the stadium, being the last Seagulls game, seeing the trophy presented and being a lovely sunny day, the perfect conditions for such an open stadium.

I would like to thank Danny for making it possible by “calling in a favour” regarding the match ticket and being a perfect host and I look forward to returning to Brighton early next season at their sexy new Amex Stadium in Falmer.

Matchday stats

B&HA 2(Barnes 47,Sparrow 69)HTFC 3(Afobe 8,61 Ward 90)

att.8,416

Admission £25

Programme £3

Ground no.285 Withdean Stadium - Matchday Web album (31 pictures)

Imagine noua din 2x12 "The Descent" [UHQ]

Imagine noua din 2x12 "The Descent" [UHQ]

Chuck BTS

Chuck BTS

Love Letter to Megamind

No, I’m not having relations with another man… I’m talking about a certain big-headed blue alien of recent movie fame! Why doesn’t anyone seem to care about Megamind? I’m going to say it right now, loud and clear: Megamind is the best animated film I’ve seen in a long time! Rango? Meh. Despicable Me? Saw that yesterday. Eh. Toy Story 3? Cute, made me cry… But no. How to Train Your Dragon? Good, but it just can’t hold its own when compared to Megamind. Granted, I have yet to see Tangled, which everyone is raving about, but somehow I doubt I will be able to say I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed Megamind.

(source)

 So what’s so good about Megamind, you ask? First and foremost, beyond anything else, Megamind is hilarious. My husband and I went to see it in theaters for my birthday back in December and were oh-so-pleasantly surprised by what a funny film it was. Just the other day we popped a rental copy in the DVD player and found, to our glee, that it was just as funny, if not more so, than the first time we watched it.

After much thought and deliberation about what makes the humor in Megamind stand out from other similar films (Despicable Me, I’m looking at you), I’ve come to the realization that Megamind is a lot more adult, and I dare say, sophisticated, than many other recent animated films. There’s very little slapstick comedy–instead, the humor is largely dialogue-based, and the script is brilliantly written. The comedic voice actors such as Will Ferrell and Tina Fey really went wild with it, and it shows.

This brings me to my next point: Megamind has great characters. I think almost everyone who likes Megamind would agree that you don’t watch it so much for the story, you watch it for the characters. Will Ferrell is a genius as Megamind, and I don’t even like Will Ferrell. He and his minion, referred to as, well, Minion, have some great interactions that are just hilarious to watch. Brad Pit does a perfect satire of the classic superhero as Metro Man, the hero Megamind is always at odds with. And let’s not forget Titan–the true villain of the story, whose awkward, stalker-like behavior towards the Lois Lane-inspired female lead is at times both gut-wrenchingly funny and cringe worthy. His character is the first to make me feel genuinely creeped-out by an animated villain in a long, long time. 

Doesn't look creepy now, huh? Wait till you see the movie! (source)

If there’s so much going for Megamind, why don't we see more people raving about it? This is a question that plagues myself, my husband, and many other fans of the film. Granted, the film did pretty well in the box office and for its DVD release, but it still feels under-appreciated. The first reason could be chalked up to poor marketing. I, perhaps fortunately, only ever saw the teaser trailer, and not the full trailer, for the film. From what I’ve heard in cyberspace, subsequent trailers basically give away a main plot point of the film, leaving little up to the viewer’s imagination before they actually go see the movie. Megamind seems to be plagued from start to finish with bad advertising decisions, as even with the DVD release we can see major discrepancies in the representation of the film from just the DVD cover alone. First and most notably, Megamind doesn’t have a goatee anywhere on the cover. Come to think of it, in almost all of the promotional material he appears sans goatee. In the film, he clearly has one. This may seem like a cosmetic mishap, but I think it appropriately illustrates the lack of attention that was spent on advertising the film. Not only that, the Minion on the back cover of the DVD is shown carrying a bazooka, something that also never appears in the film. What gives? 

Shot of Megamind from a movie stil

l

Perhaps Megamind just wasn’t released at the right time. At first glance, it appears to have many similarities with Despicable Me, which seems to have done much better in the box office. Maybe it was too smart for its own good. While advertised as a relatively average kids’ film, Megamind has a sensibility that I’m sure many adults would appreciate, but perhaps alienates some of the younger viewers.   

If anything, I urge anyone who enjoys a good superhero film to rush to your video store and rent Megamind as soon as you can. It puts a great spin on the traditional superhero flick, in more ways than one. And to anyone else who enjoys a good laugh–I can’t guarantee you’ll love the sense of humor Megamind brings to the table, but if you like Will Ferrell, I see no reason why you won’t be charmed by Megamind’s character, even if he is an animated blue alien.

Have you seen Megamind? Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments!

And if, after reading this, you’ve been inspired to check it out for yourself, please let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading!

My Matchday - 284 Gillford Park Stadium

Gillford Park 0v2 Marske United
Northern League Division Tw0
Wednesday 27th April 2011
I took a leisurely midweek drive along the A69 to one of the two Cumbrian based Northern League grounds that I still needed to tick off.
Gillford Park FC are based in the southern part of Carlisle, formed in 2004 by Mike Linden and Geoff Andrews, managers of a local amateur team, along with former League player Steven Skinner.
The club were accepted into the Northern Alliance Division Two for the 2005/06 season, playing on a shared pitch with Sunday League team Carlisle Spartans. The club won promotion in their first season, finishing runner-up to Whitley Bay ’A’ with a side comprising of locally based players from the Carlisle area.

The following season the team moved across from the second pitch to the main stadium at Gillford Park. The ground is found before reaching the railway bridge on Pettersill Bank Road, access is via a long concrete track off the main road which leads to the Railway Club and stadium.
The ground has a capacity of 4,000 made up of two seated stands. The Railway End Stand is behind the goal next to the turnstiles and has a cantilever roof with a mixture of red, white and blue flip seats. The stand also has a refreshment bar, changing rooms and a window view at the top which houses the PA system and offices.
The stand behind the team dugouts sits on the half way line, having a block of red seats with a light blue con-iron frame and 6 white supporting pillars. The terrace at the opposite side is fully covered and behind the far goal there's no hardstanding with insuficent room for spectators, so isn't used.
The club made rapid progress, winning the Northern Alliance Combination Cup in 2007 and two further promotions in three seasons brought Northern League football to the city of Carlisle for the first time. Floodlights were erected in the summer of 2009, bringing the ground up to Northern League standard.

Gillford Park have had a difficult season to say the least, locked out of their home for the majority of the season by landlords the Carlisle & District Railway Club after signing a 25 year lease just a few years ago. Thanks to the co-operation of their fellow Northern League clubs they had to reverse all their fixtures, playing all matches away until finding refuge in Whitehaven, at the Copeland Stadium in January.
The Carlisle County Court granted an interim injunction to allow the club the use the ground and facilities, so they finally played their first “home” fixture of the season on March 5th against Crook Town. Since then they’ve had to squeeze in 15 of their remaining 17 sNL Division Two fixtures at home, this game against Marske United being their penultimate match of a hectic finale to the season.
The disagreement with the proprietor seems to have extended into the car park. I arrived at the ground at 7pm where two ladies standing outside the Railway Club politely asked me to park further down away from the social club. I drove a bit further before being stopped by a volunteer from the football club who ushered me inside the stadium itself asking me to park behind the stand, before he cursed the annoying neighbours.

Gillford Park’s opponents Marske United went into this game knowing a win would clinch the third promotion slot along with Newton Aycliffe and Guisborough Town.
The first half produced very little, Marske United played like a team in a hurry, trying to get the required victory as quickly as possible and came close to breaking the deadlock through Karl Charlton, but his effort agonisingly hit the foot of the post.
The Seasiders were more patient in the second half, taking the lead on 55 minutes when Charlton pounced on a loose ball to sweep home from the edge of the box and with a quarter of an hour remaining Chris McGill got on the end of a right wing cross, to produce a sweet volley that clinched victory and sNL Division One football next season.

So after originally finishing the Northern League clubs 3 years ago, due to promotion and relocations I still have one ground left to again complete the set - much further west through Cumbria to Whitehaven. However I may have to do Gillford Park again if the dispute with the stadium landlords isn’t resolved. The football club are “very confident” that Gillford will be at the Railway Club next season, but after that who knows, I wish “Carlisle’s Non-League Team” the best of luck in their efforts in finding stability, be it at their current home or elsewhere in the town.

Matchday stats
GPFC 0 MUFC 2(Charlton 55,McGill 76)
att.TBC

Admission £4

Programme £1



Ground no.284 Gillford Park Stadium - Matchday Webalbum (24 pictures)

My Matchday - 283 Dean Court

AFC Bournemouth 2v1 Bristol Rovers
League One
Monday 25th April 2011
The third and final leg of my Easter treble finishes at Deans Court with a day spent in blazing hot Bournemouth.
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort in Dorset, founded in 1810 by Lewis Tregonwell, The town’s growth coincided with the arrival of the railway, becoming a recognised town in 1870. Originally part of Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974.
Bournemouth's location on the glorious south coast has made it a popular destination for tourists and was once surveyed as being the happiest place in Britain to live.

AFC Bournemouth originated out of the remains of the Boscombe St. John's Lads’ Institute F.C. in 1890, playing matches at King’s Park. The club became Boscombe F.C in 1889, competing in the Bournemouth and District Junior League on a pitch in Castlemain Road, Pokestown, before a return to King’s Park.
In 1910 the club was granted a long lease for a new ground on wasteland next to King’s Park by their president Mr. J.E. Cooper-Dean. The ground opened in December 1910, named Dean Court after the club benefactor who was instrumental in the club’s relocation.

The Cooper-Dean estate contained numerous cherry orchards, this as well as the team’s red jerseys gave the club the nickname of “The Cherries”
In 1923 the club changed their name to Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club and were elected to the Football League. Around this time the ground had only a small wooden stand, then in 1927 the club purchased turnstiles and a steel framework from the Wembley Empire Exhibition. The frame was used towards the building of the Main Stand. The stand held 3,700 seats with dressing rooms and offices and a standing paddock, all at a total cost of £12,000.
The South End covered terrace opened in 1936 followed by the extension of the west terrace, known as the “New Stand” in 1957, financed by a record attendance of 28,799 against Manchester United in the FA Cup.
In 1971 the club moved to the top of Football League, but only alphabetically, changing their name to AFC Bournemouth, but ground wise nothing changed until the club purchased land from the Cooper Dean estate to built a new stand on the north terrace. The project came to a standstill due to rising costs, so by 1984 the club abandoned the idea, demolishing the structure and building 27 houses instead. The properties were sold at a profit of £500,000 which helped eased the clubs financial worries.

The ground was completely rebuilt in 2001, with the pitch rotated ninety degrees from its original position, moving away from the aforementioned north end houses. The Cherries ground shared at Dorchester Town for eight games until the stadium was complete. Originally it was rebuilt as a three sided stadium with open corners. Each stand is of a similar size and style decked out in red seats, with the East and Main Stands having AFCB picked out in white. The Main Stand is located on the west side and differs slightly having a row of executive boxes at the rear.
Temporary seats were placed on the undeveloped south end of the ground in autumn 2005, which are rarely used.

Cherries’ legend Steve Fletcher came off the bench to grab a late winner and keep Bournemouth in the League One play-off picture against struggling Bristol Rovers.
Wayne Brown latched on to a long ball before slotting the ball under Jalal to give the visitors an early lead, but they were soon down to 10 men after David McCracken needlessly elbowed Adam Smith as they prepared for a corner kick.
It was soon 10-a-side as Danny Hollands saw red for two bookings just before half time as Bournemouth struggled to make any impression on the game.
Rovers looked likely to hold on until substitute Mathieu Baudry headed the equaliser on 84 minutes then four minutes later Ings capitalised on a mistake by keeper Conrad Logan to tee up Fletcher to score and send the bumper Bank Holiday crowd at Dean Court wild.
AFC Bournemouth remain in sixth place in the table with a three point cushion over seventh-placed Leyton Orient with two games left to play.

The weather on the south coast this Easter weekend has apparently been warmer than Spain. Since we left Tyneside on Thursday morning the weather has been glorious especially on the Dorset coast in Poole on Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday in Bournemouth. We arrived in Bournemouth around mid morning and the beach was already beginning to get packed with lazy sunbathers, it was hard to believe that we were actually still in England.

This has probably been one of the Smudgers best weekend breaks. We’ve had a fantastic time, everything has gone to plan and I’d say the only trouble we’ve had over the five days is getting people to understand our accents. This happened on several occasions, but the best example of our far far away southern hosts having trouble with the Geordie lingo was at Yeovil, when I asked for a cup of coffee and was handed a hot dog!
As was the case at Torquay on Friday, yet again I need to mention another warm welcome and say a big thanks to the staff at Dean Court for a great afternoon.
To finish the holiday all that was left was another mammoth road trip back home. The busy Bank Holiday traffic meant we finally arrived home at 1230am, “Wor Al” having clocked up at total of 985 miles over the weekend,however the laborious road travel has been well worth it having ticked off the three furthest grounds left in ‘The 92’ in one go!

Matchday stats

AFCB 2(Baudry 84, Fletcher 84)BRFC 1(Brown 4)
att.7,869
Admission PP(£18-£25)
Programme £3

Ground no.283 Dean Court - Matchday Web album (23 pictures)

My Matchday - 282 Huish Park

Yeovil Town 2v2 AFC Bournemouth
League One
Saturday 23rd April 2011

The second leg of my Easter treble was a day trip to the vibrant market town of Yeovil situated on the southern tip of Somerset.
The town was first recorded in the Domesday Book as Givle, a thriving market community with a population of around 1,000. In 1205 the town was granted a charter by King John and by the 14th century had gained the right to elect a portreeve.
From the nineteen century Yeovil became a centre for the glove making industry as the town’s population rose, achieved borough status in 1854 and electing its first mayor.
In recent years the town has achieved a few firsts, being the pioneers in launching biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs and the first Council to ban Heeleys roller shoes, as well making skateboards, roller blades and skates illegal. (spoil sports!)

Yeovil Football Club formed in 1890, sharing their original home with the local rugby club before relocating to Pen Mill Athletic Ground, however the present club originated from Yeovil Casuals who formed in 1895.
The club became Yeovil and Petters United when amalgamation with Petters United before finally adopting the Yeovil Town name from 1907.
The club played at The Huish between 1928 and 1990, which was famous for its 8 foot side-to-side slope and the scene for the biggest FA Cup giant killing of all time, when the Southern League side beat First Division Sunderland in the FA Cup 4th Round in 1948/49 in front of a 16,318 record crowd.

The Glovers won the Southern League title on three occasions and in 1979 became founder members of the Alliance (Conference) League. The club had spells in the Isthmian Premier after suffering relegation, but after winning promotion in 1996-97 the club made rapid progress culminating in a place in the Football League after clinching the 2002-03 Conference title.

Built in 1990, at the time Huish Park was the country’s largest new non-league ground in decades, set in the Yeovil suburbs with the old slopping pitch at The Huish covered by another Tesco superstore.
The Cowden and Agusta Westland Community stands are similar in design, both cantilever single tiered stands decked out with green seats with white lettering. The differences are the former has a control box, press area and disabled sections while the later has executive boxes along the back, players tunnel and dugouts.
Away fans are housed in the Copse Road Terrace which is an open terrace and opposite is the Blackthorn Terrace which is fully covered. I stood on this terrace for the game and must mention the in house band that generates a good atmosphere in the ground, amongst their ranks is a very impressive trumpet player, who does a great rendition of the ‘Rocky’ theme.
There’s electric scoreboards on three sides of the ground with the largest behind the away terrace and in each corner there is a set of tall floodlight pylons.
The current capacity is 9,665 (Seating 5,212) and the record attendance is 9,527 v Leeds United for a League One clash on 25 April, 2008.

Yeovil came back from a man down and a two goal deficit to clinch a point with an injury time equaliser from Shaun MacDonald.
The Glovers faced an uphill battle after ex-Toon defender Paul Huntington was sent off for two bookings early in the second half
Bournemouth took command, going in front through a Danny Ings' penalty after Nathan Smith fouled Adam Smith, then Ings looked to have clinched the win when he swept home a Liam Feeney's cross on 68 minutes.
With ten minutes remaining the visitors confidently made three substitutions in readiness for the pending home fixture with Bristol Rovers in 48 hours, but somehow collapsed in the final five minutes
Yeovil's Adam Virgo converted a penalty after Harry Arter's handball, then sub Fletcher could have restored the two goal cushion at the other end. before conceding a corner a minute later. From Craig Alcock's corner kick MacDonald rose highest to head the ball home and earn The Glovers an unexpected draw.

The drive up from Dorset took around an hour. I dropped the breadknife and the kids off in Yeovil town centre then headed straight to the ground to secure a decent parking spot, giving plenty of time for a pint of ‘Green and White Ale’ and a deliciously filling Cornish pasty in the marquee beer tent at the stadium.
I also met another member of the 100FgC for the first time before kick off - Squad#151 Jon Blake. Jon is a Bournemouth support who now resides in South Shields but was down visiting family in Christchurch, and like me, was also going to Dean Court on Monday.
Debra(aka the bread knife)thought that Yeovil was a smashing little town and apart from a mini riot involving Bournemouth fans outside Wetherspoons, they had a pleasant afternoon(..and not a skater boy to be seen…Eddy) It’s a pity I didn’t get the chance to see the town for myself but I still had a smashing afternoon in Yeovil, where I saw an entertaining game of football at Huish Park.

Matchday stats

YTFC 2(Virgo 86pen MacDonald 90+3) AFCB 2(Ings 55pen 68)

att.6,150

Admission £18(terrace)

Programme £3



Ground no.282 Huish Park - Matchday Web album (23 pictures)

My Matchday - 281 Plainmoor

Torquay United 0v0 Wycombe Wanderers
League Two
Friday 22nd April 2011
This year’s Smudgers Easter break was to a land far far away, reet doon into the south-west of England to tick off the three furthest grounds left to complete the current 92.
The first leg of the treble was a 380 mile drive to Torquay in the Torbay area of Devon. The Torquay name originates from the quay of the ancient village of Torre, which takes its name from the tor rock, which can be seen by the town's Tor Hill Road.
The town's economy was initially based upon fishing and agriculture then in the early 19th century it developed into a fashionable seaside resort, originally frequented by members of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later by Victorian society. The town's warm and healthful climate earned the town the nickname of the English Riviera.
Torquay was the home of “my bread knife’s” favourite writer Agatha Christie, who lived most of her life in the town and as a tribute there’s an "Agatha Christie Mile" tour with plaques, dedicated to her life and work.

Torquay United were formed by a group of school-leavers under the guidance of Sergeant-Major Edward Tomney in 1899. The club originally played friendly matches on Farm fields at the top of Penny's Hill on Teignmouth Road, before joining the East Devon League in 1900.
The club played the next four years at the Recreation Ground, while Plainmoor was being used by Torquay Athletic Rugby Football Club. In 1904 the rugby club secured the lease of the Recreation Ground and United's League rivals Ellacombe moved into the vacated site at Plainmoor, which left United homeless.
The club returned to the farmers field until being forced into another move after the site was sold for development, taking refuge with Torquay Cricket Club in nearby Cricketfield Road for the next four years,
In 1910 United merged with Ellacombe to become Torquay Town, the new club sharing the ground the with local rivals Babbacombe.
After the First World War Devon rivals Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City were both elected to the Football League as founder members of Football League Division Three South, which encouraged both Torquay Town and Babbacombe to merge, restoring the Torquay United name in 1921 and elected into the new league in 1927.

The first wooden grandstand costing £150 transferred from Buckfastleigh Racecourse was built on the east side of the ground in time for United’s debut season in the Football League. Cover was added to the south side terrace in 1933, but little changed at Plainmoor until the 1950’s. The Popular side was partly covered and floodlights were added. The decade also witnessed a record attendance of 21,908 for an FA Cup tie against Huddersfield Town.
The Main Stand was extended in the 1960’s which increased the capacity to 22,000 but just six days after the fire at Valley Parade in 1985 a fire destroyed a third of the stand which saw the capacity fall to under 5,000 due to health and safety matters.

From 1992 Plainmoor finally began to seen some major changes with the mini stand at the Ellacombe Road end replaced with an all-seated Family Stand. The stand is fully covered with a blue cantilever roof holding 1,275 yellow seats and six executive boxes. The stand also has club offices, club shop, as well as the Boots and Laces pub and the 200 Club bar. The directors seats are situated in the middle of the stand below the clock modelled around the club crest.
Away supporters are housed in the Warbro Road End. Cover was added to the terrace in 2000, the roof having a similar style to the opposite goal and has control room at one side.
The Main Stand has a single tier of seats and the extension is made up of yellow wooden seats with a con-iron peaked roof with wooden support beams. Access into both stands are via staircases the sides, where there’s a section of terracing at the front. The stands only run to one side so there’s more terracing towards the Warbro Road End.
The Popular Terrace was rebuilt in 1994, made narrower and fully covered to hold 2,300 fans, with a TV gantry perched on the roof.
The ground is completed by a set of traditional floodlights and the current capacity is 6,000.

The Gulls will look back at this match and wonder how on earth they failed to convert at least one of the numerous chances that would have earned them a well deserved victory and strengthen their position in the League Two play-offs.
Torquay twice hit the wood work, with a Guy Branston header hitting the post and a Ronan Murray effort coming back off the crossbar.
Branston had another header for the hosts and Chris Zebroski forced an excellent save from Wanderers keeper Nikki Bull, but The Gulls biggest culprit was substitute Billy Kee who wasted two glorious chances with just the goalkeeper to beat.
The draw means that Chesterfield are now officially promoted and if Wycombe are to join them in League One next season, then this “lucky draw” could turn out to be a very valuable point.

The Easter holidays started on the Thursday morning with our long haul drive to Devon which took exactly 7 hours including a 30 minute rest stop. Apart from slow moving traffic on the M42 and a busy section on the M5 around Bristol the journey went without a hitch, so we arrived safely at our hotel at 5.45pm
The long hours on the road was made much easier with a good selection of in car CD’s, for example the whole of The Beatles White Album took up a large chunk of time, taking up a good section of the A1 into South Yorkshire.

This was the first time we’ve visited Torquay and I must say we were very impressed with the town and thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the English Riviera , having a pleasant night out on Thursday and a good Good Friday.
Special thanks to Tim Herbert and the staff at Torquay United for making my visit to Plainmoor a pleasant one and I wish the club the best of luck in securing a place in the play-offs.
After the match I hotfooted it back to the car for the next leg of the “Far Far away trilogy” leaving Devon and driving through the hills of Dorset to our base camp in Poole for the next chapter of the Smudgers Easter weekend break.

Update

Torquay made the play-offs after a 7th place finish. The Gulls beat Shrewsury Town in the semi-finals before a narrow defeat to Stevenage in the League Two play-off final at Old Trafford.

Matchday stats

TUFC 0 WWFC 0

att.4,009

Admission:PP (£18)

Programme £2.50

Ground no.281 Plainmoor - Matchday Web album (23 pictures)

...Sin Concachampions, Sin Liguilla...

* Jugando así, no merecían liguilla.
* Volvieron los vicios de querer ganar con el "jersey"
* Becerra, le quizo hacer a la Lucchetti...y ¡FAIL!
* Aguirre, Verdugo de Figueroa
* ¿Que necesita Santos para calificar?

En un verdadero potrero como está convertida la cancha del Estadio Corona, Santos Laguna le dió las ....gracias a la afición y se despidió del torneo dejándose vencer fácilmente por un humilde cuadro San Luisino que tuvo en la figura de Aguirre a un verdadero verdugo de la defensa lagunera que nunca supo como marcar y mucho menos anular al hábil jugador.

LEER MAS...

La Afición hizo su trabajo...el equipo no.

La afición hizo lo suyo, y casi llenó a un TSM para ver pelear a los Guerreros su pase a la liguilla pero nunca contó con que los locales, volvieron a sus viejos vicios que lo vienen aquejando desde hace algunos torneos, que son los de la confianza desmedida y la de minimizar en forma exagerada al rival, creyendo que con su sola presencia en la cancha y poniéndose su lindo Jersey Puma, ganarán casi casi por default.
Todo estaba servido para una fiesta, las chivas habían empatado vs Cruz azul y Monterrey estaba empatando en su propia casa, sólo faltaba que Santos hiciera lo suyo ante su afición para demostrarle que verdaderamente había el deseo de entrar...pero la actitud que se mostraba en el potrero del Corona distaba mucho a lo que la afición quería ver.
Había displicencia, tibieza en la marca, cero aplicación y mucho menos actitud para demostrar que querían llegar a la fiesta grande para convertirse en el caballo negro, desperdiciando las oportunidades y bondades que el torneo mexicano le había dado para "maquillar" aunque sea un poco el fracaso de Concachampions y las 8 derrotas ( contando Conca) que traían en la espalda.

El primero de los 3 que encajaría Wilmer.

Nada de eso importó y Santos desperdició mas de 45 minutos para luego "darse cuenta" que era un partido clave y que "no debían perder" desgraciadamente para ese tiempo, San Luis ya estaba arriba en el marcador por más de 2 goles gracias a Wilmer Aguirre.
Santos, durante la primera mitad, se dedicó a tumbar lonches, cheves y refrescos a los aficionados en las tribunas, y es que no hubo NI UN SOLO PINCHE TIRO AL PORTERO en más de 40 minutos, todos los balones iban con saludos "al satélite Moreleeees" diría mamonamente el Perro Bermúdez.
Mientras, que los potosinos, y bajo la batuta del Lagunero Medina, filtraba un pase a las espaldas de un Figueroa que nunca supo como marcar a Wilmer, éste mide el pase y sin dejar botar el balón , prende de bolea ante la salida de Becerra, para un bonito gol al minuto 30...y empezaba la agonía verde y la desesperación de la gente que veía como aparecían los fantasmas de la indiferencia santista.
La marca era a mas de metro y medio, no se veía "que jugaran una final", balones perdidos por doquier, y todo eso San Luis lo supo ver, no había rival enfrente.

El segundo, aqui con un viejo conocido de la afición.

No pasaron ni 5 minutos, y a gran pase de Isaías --nuevamente a las espaldas de Figueroa-- y Wilmer Aguirre tira cruzado y...Becerra ¡hay Becerra!, le intenta hacer a la Christian Lucchetti, aquel portero santista que las sacaba con la vista ( y abusaba de eso ) desgraciadamente para la causa de Becerra, su vista no ha de estar del todo bien, porque el balón se fue derechiiiiito al fondo de las redes ante el desánimo y enojo de la afición que le reclamaba al portero santista su falta de compromiso para tan siquiera aventarse y ensuciar el uniforme --al menos--, en un balón que no iba con tanta fuerza, al menos como para haber dejado parado a un portero.
La palabra "displicente" era la palabra del día, Santos literalmente le regaló al San Luis, 45 minutos para que hiciera lo que quisiera y éstos lo aprovecharon muy bien.

Para la segunda mitad, ni siquiera habíamos llegado al 15 y en un pase largo de Ponce, Aguirre nuevamente se levanta a las espaldas de Figueroa y cabecea a palo contrario para el gol que daba la puntilla y el último clavo al ataúd verde. Todo estaba finiquitado, San Luis venía al TSM y le metía 3 goles al "poderoso" equipo guerrero que lo supera tal vez en un 3 a 1 en nómina y "nombres".
Con el orgullo herido, y "dandose cuenta" que estaban siendo goleados por un humilde equipo, Santos empieza a ahora si a atacar, y se vuelca al frente en busca de goles que le permitan acercarse, pero no contaban con que el portero haría lo que ellos NO HICIERON DURANTE EL PRIMER TIEMPO, o sea, SU TRABAJO.

Sin comentarios.

Entonces empiezan a caer cual soldaditos en el area rival en busca de que Arredondo tuviera algo de piedad y les marcara un penal, el árbitro como que se le enternece el alma y accede a regalarles un penal y aparte le saca la roja a Sánchez para todavía darles "mas chance", sin embargo ya nada moviería los cartones para un contundente 1-3 con lo cual Santos sumaba su OCTAVA DERROTA en el torneo, y su QUINTA DERROTA COMO LOCAL ( algo que era inaudito en otros torneos ) y desaprovechaba de forma patética la oportunidad que el mediocre torneo mexicano brinda para permitir que equipos con 8 derrotas entren a "La fiesta grande".
Sin embargo, ¡no todo esta perdido! si, ¡aunque Ud. No lo crea! Santos aún tiene posibilidades de calificar, entonces, prendamos las veladoras porque a continuación, les dejo la lista de lo que se requiere para que nuestros Guerreros pasen a la siguiente fase y maquillen un poco la pésima temporada que tuvieron:

QUE NECESITA SANTOS LAGUNA PARA CALIFICAR:
1.- Vergüenza deportiva y que le gane a UAG por más de 3 goles ( obvio sin recibir alguno)
2.- Que Atlas pierda VS "Tigueres" en el Circo universitario
3.- Que MTY pierda VS Chivas en el Teletubbie stadium
4.- Que America pierda VS Pumas en la caja de arena
5.- Que Toluca no gane VS  Atlante en Cancún
6.- Que San Luis no gane VS Cruz Azul en el Lastras.
7.- Que se reúnan los Beatles
8.- Que revivan a Michael Jackson
9.- Que México sea de primer mundo
10-Que Estados Unidos deje de consumir mota

Como pueden notar, todo es posible ( las ultimas 4 tal vez, no tanto aunque con la tecnología quien quite) es cierto, la esperanza muere al ultimo, pero si somos congruentes y sobre todo SINCEROS CON NOSOTROS MISMOS, Santos Laguna no merece calificar a la liguilla debido al pésimo torneo que han tenido nuestros guerreros y a la pésima actitud mostrada en el campo de juego. Hace falta una autoevaluacion en el equipo y calificar, solamente cubriría con arena vicios ocultos que están dando pie a que este equipo intente resolver todo a base de billetazos como en su momento América y Tigres lo han hecho, en lugar de tener en el terreno de juego, hombres que se la partan por la camiseta y que sientan verdaderamente los colores.
Algunos se rescatan, la afición sabe muy bien cuales, y si se logra la calificación, creo que sería mas perjudicial para el mismo Santos.
La moneda aún está en el aire, matemáticamente se puede, no dudo ni tantito que se logre en este devaluado  y bizarro futbol mexicano ( por aquello que si sucede van a venir a querer echar en cara) pero la verdad es, que para todos, Santos está eliminado y debe ir trabajando ya, primero en la autocrítica y luego EN EL FUTBOL DE ESTUFA que buena falta le hace.

Si no se logra la calificación, será la cereza de un pastel de malas decisiones que envolvieron al equipo desde esa final perdida ante Monterrey, desde dejar a Romano en la banca, hasta no reforzar al equipo, negarle a un ídolo la oportunidad de retirarse con el equipo de sus amores, correr el técnico a inicios de Torneo, meter con calzador a otro con nula experiencia y solapar a jugadores que no rinden ni siquiera lo mínimo y que aún le siguen llorando "por la que se fue".

Yo soy guerrero, pero no por eso, 

voy a cegarme ante la realidad de las cosas.

Sale!

Capturi din Chuck 4x20 "Chuck vs the Family Volkoff