Topic: The Good Old Days - Wonderful wonky stadiums and fans

[Redsnappa]

Nice one. I've been there yet didn't remember that. (I do remember the laborious zig-zag walk from the station along narrow ginnels with barbed wire overhead. No possibility of breaking out and getting to a pub. Ha, the 80s!)

They shut the track down in I think 1979 because the GRA said the bends were too tight for the dogs (almost 90 degrees.) The walk from Watford Junction to the ground is a schlepp all right, but vastly improved by plonking a massive shopping centre in the middle of the town so at least you can stop for a pint or two nowadays. My lad lives on Vicarage Road, 100 metres or so from the ground. Reckons you can always hear the Away fans, hardly a peep from the Home supporters. 

[Iska]

I visited the other side of Watford once for something-or-other, somewhere near the tube station.  It was quite nice and leafy over that way, but I remember seeing a strip club set up on just a normal suburban street - not even in a commercial building or around businesses, as I recall it it was just a normal detached house with massive signs over it for GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS and the like.  Imagine something like that setting up across the road from you.

[Redsnappa]

I visited the other side of Watford once for something-or-other, somewhere near the tube station.  It was quite nice and leafy over that way, but I remember seeing a strip club set up on just a normal suburban street - not even in a commercial building or around businesses, as I recall it it was just a normal detached house with massive signs over it for GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS and the like.  Imagine something like that setting up across the road from you.

There was/is some weird by-law in that area of Watford (Three Rivers Council) which meant stripper pubs/clubs were allowed. I lived in Northwood (near HMS Warrior the NATO HQ) for a few years and there were two Stripper pubs within half a mile. Another one in Rickmansworth right opposite a very posh Golf Club. No idea if they are still going as I moved away from there in 2007.

Complete anomaly you'd have thought in this day and age, but of course bent Councillors loving a backhander will never go out of fashion 

[Iska]

Bloody hell. Even as I was typing that I was thinking ‘no, surely I must’ve imagined it’. Great to know that eccentric local cultures can still exist, even if you’d hope they could do a bit better with them.

[Terry de Niro]

Somebody earlier expressed surprise at seeing floodlights placed on the terraces rather than outside the ground. Yet that was the norm.

Still have them like that at Prenton Park, Tranmere.

[Nitramdorf]

There was/is some weird by-law in that area of Watford (Three Rivers Council) which meant stripper pubs/clubs were allowed. I lived in Northwood (near HMS Warrior the NATO HQ) for a few years and there were two Stripper pubs within half a mile. Another one in Rickmansworth right opposite a very posh Golf Club. No idea if they are still going as I moved away from there in 2007.

Complete anomaly you'd have thought in this day and age, but of course bent Councillors loving a backhander will never go out of fashion 

Commiserations

[Crosby Nick]

Commiserations

He was asked to leave.

[Redsnappa]

He was asked to leave.

Commiserations

 

Spoiler

I was in the one at the bottom of Northwood High St for a stag do donkey's years ago & someone got two of the girls to do us a lezzer show, which the girls were quite happy to do as long as the pint glass collection went round again. Was going fine, the girls giving it large on a table till some lad chucked a massive sausage from his pub lunch at them and it landed on one girl's belly. We were asked to leave and not very politely either. 

[close]

[Terry de Niro]

Spoiler

I was in the one at the bottom of Northwood High St for a stag do donkey's years ago & someone got two of the girls to do us a lezzer show, which the girls were quite happy to do as long as the pint glass collection went round again. Was going fine, the girls giving it large on a table till some lad chucked a massive sausage from his pub lunch at them and it landed on one girl's belly. We were asked to leave and not very politely either. 

[close]

[Crosby Nick]

[afc tukrish]

Knew Capon would appear in the story at some point...

[Redsnappa]

 

... and dragging the thread reluctantly back on topic, I recall a greasy spoon called 'The Giggling Sausage' in Northampton, the other side of town from their old ground which they shared with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club before they moved to Sixfields in 1994.

[rob1966]

... and dragging the thread reluctantly back on topic, I recall a greasy spoon called 'The Giggling Sausage' in Northampton, the other side of town from their old ground which they shared with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club before they moved to Sixfields in 1994.

Late in a game, hanging on, clear the ball across the cricket pitch

[Redsnappa]

Late in a game, hanging on, clear the ball across the cricket pitch

Eddie Howe would have loved that ground, ball would have been in play for about 15 mins 

[Yorkykopite]

Late in a game, hanging on, clear the ball across the cricket pitch

Odd to think that Shankly's team might have wrapped up the league title on that ground in April 1966 (Northamton's solitary season in the top flight). Anyone go?

[rob1966]

Odd to think that Shankly's team might have wrapped up the league title on that ground in April 1966 (Northamton's solitary season in the top flight). Anyone go?

I was an embryo, so I deffo didn't

[Redsnappa]

Odd to think that Shankly's team might have wrapped up the league title on that ground in April 1966 (Northamton's solitary season in the top flight). Anyone go?

Not me, still in Merseyside then. Phil Neal would have known it well, played for them for six years till he moved to LFC in 1974. My only memory of the Cobblers from that period was George Best's six goals in the Cup in 1970. Just checked YouTube, you'd never guess it only had 3 sides from the video.

[Yorkykopite]

I was an embryo, so I deffo didn't

The Reds actually wrapped it up in their next home game v Chelsea (should have known that). But I just looked at a match report for the Northampton game (Echo April 11 1966). It was 0-0 in front of 20,000. St John got kicked in the face inside the first minute and had to go off for stitches to his jaw. No subs in those days. He came back on 20 minutes later! So we played with 10 men for almost a quarter of the game.

[Redsnappa]

Found this from 1993.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/arderlesEEE&amp;ab_channel=GaryMabee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/arderlesEEE&amp;ab_channel=GaryMabee</a>

[TheMissionary]

They played at the Withdean Stadium for a while. After the Goldstone Ground, before the AMEX. And maybe they played at Gillingham for a bit too? The Withdean was some council owned athletics stadium I think.

The stadium car park is used for Brighton park and ride nowadays.

[Lad]

Found this from 1993.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/arderlesEEE&amp;ab_channel=GaryMabee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/arderlesEEE&amp;ab_channel=GaryMabee</a>

Shite commentary. Partridgesque.

[Redsnappa]

Shite commentary. Partridgesque.

Doing his best with what he's got to work with 

[Statto Red]

They played at the Withdean Stadium for a while. After the Goldstone Ground, before the AMEX. And maybe they played at Gillingham for a bit too? The Withdean was some council owned athletics stadium I think.

Quite turbulent period of Brighton's history, then owner controversially sold the Goldstone Ground with no other ground to play at in Brighton in place [the plans had Brighton fans invading the pitch in protest, some Brighton fans even traveled to the Lancashire town where the owner lived to protest at the move], so Brighton ended up playing at Gillingham for a couple of years, before moving to Withdean stadium which is an athletics stadium not suitable for a football club.

[CornerFlag]

Doesn't work without all the Facebook bollocks, but New Brighton's old Sandheys Park ground in Wallasey: https://scontent-lcy1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/301516280_2107777146059842_8152726477478543241_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=aTJCU8oBMqkAX-57sS3&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-1.xx&oh=00_AfA4nCAiMtZGXtrEZfMCHHQ3mZe8huG-snfqDTIGtEPPJQ&oe=6470B430

My sister-in law's front door is about 10 metres from where the centre spot probably was.

[Terry de Niro]

Doesn't work without all the Facebook bollocks, but New Brighton's old Sandheys Park ground in Wallasey: https://scontent-lcy1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/301516280_2107777146059842_8152726477478543241_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=aTJCU8oBMqkAX-57sS3&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-1.xx&oh=00_AfA4nCAiMtZGXtrEZfMCHHQ3mZe8huG-snfqDTIGtEPPJQ&oe=6470B430

My sister-in law's front door is about 10 metres from where the centre spot probably was.