Ground #233 - Llanelian Road

Date: 1st August 2017
Ground: Llanelian Road
Location: Old Colwyn, Conwy, Wales

My seventeenth new ground of 2017 was on Tuesday 1st August at Llanelian Road in Old Colwyn, Conwy, Wales. The match was Colwyn Bay vs. Airbus UK Broughton in a friendly.

Llanelian Road is in the south of Old Colwyn close to the coastal settlement of Colwyn Bay. The ground is adjacent to housing on its southern and eastern sides with fields to the north and west. The venue is 1.5 miles south-east of Colwyn Bay railway station and has been home to the club between 1984-1992 and from 1994 to the present day.

The main stand runs the length of the eastern side of the ground and was completed in 2012. Originally a large terrace the 500-seater structure was built to enable the club to play at National League level. In addition to the seating this has three directors boxes at the back and a floodlight sat directly in front of the middle of the stand. There remains a small amount of uncovered original terracing at either end of the stand. On the opposite side of the field are two stands - the Glynne Owens Stand and Margaret Jones Stand. These were recently all-seater ones as well but the seating has since been removed so now consists of two levels of concrete terracing. The two stands run most of the length of the field with a gap in the middle for a gantry and the two dugouts which are part of the stands.

The north terrace sits directly behind the goal at this end of Llanelian Road. The two levels of concrete terracing are covered by a roof with the rest of the northern end uncovered standing. The southern end is uncovered standing on a large concrete area. Behind the viewing zone is a club building with a sizeable lounge and a snack bar. There is a demountable containing the club shop in the south-east corner and in the south-west corner a tiny disabled viewing stand. This has one bench with 8 seats attached to it. There is a little more room on the bench next to the seating meaning around 12 people may be able to fit in there.

The game was between Northern Premier League Division One North side Colwyn Bay and Cymru Alliance League side Airbus UK Broughton. The visitors edged the early going at took the lead in the 12th minute when a superb 25-yard free-kick from Leo Riley found the top corner. Airbus UK stayed on top until a very costly 11 minute spell in the second-quarter which saw them concede three times. The first of these came in the 25th minute when a ball over the top found Jamie Rainford. All the Airbus players thought he was offside and stopped giving Rainford time to control the ball before striking at goal. The home keeper was able to save the first effort on the edge of the box but the ball bounced back to Rainford allowing him to stroke into an empty net. In the 32nd minute Colwyn went 2-1 up with a goal which came about in near-identical circumstances - a failed offside trap saw a ball over the top find Jack Hindle in acres of space and he calmly sidefooted past the keeper from 12 yards. The lead was further extended in the 36th minute when the ball was chipped to Astley Mulholland who controlled well in the box before slotting low past the keeper. Colwyn should have killed the game off just before the break after excellent work by Mulholland down the left wing resulted in him curling the ball out to the right wing for an unattended Hindle who with only the keeper to beat blazed it over bar. Airbus were more competitive in the opening of second half but the best chance in the third-quarter fell to the hosts in the 64th minute when Jack Kelleher outmuscled a defender in order to go one-on-one with the visiting keeper who was up to the task of stopping the scoreline getting worse. The away team then grabbed a goal out of nowhere in the 72nd minute. With the home side half-asleep a quick Airbus free-kick found Obi Anorou unmarked in area. Anorou got a shot away from a tight angle and the home goalkeeper was only able to deflect the effort into roof of the net. Both teams were going for it in the final ten minutes with this friendly being played in a real competitive spirit. However there were no more goals allowing Colwyn to record a 3-2 victory.

Result: Colwyn Bay 3-2 Airbus UK Broughton
Friendly
Attendance: N/A

Ground #186 - Old Trafford

Date: 28th October 2015
Ground: Old Trafford
Location: Old Trafford, Greater Manchester

My twenty-first new ground of 2015 was on Wednesday 28th October at Old Trafford in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The match was Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough in the Football League Cup 4th Round.

The Old Trafford complex sits in an industrial part of the city adjacent to a freight rail terminal. It is bordered by its own railway station to the south and the River Irwell to the north. The closest tram stop at Old Trafford is half a mile south but there are several other stations within a mile in other directions. The stadium has been Manchester United's home since 1910 except for a few years during the 1940s when bomb damage forced them to play at Manchester City's Maine Road ground.

I visited Old Trafford for a couple of tours during the 1990s but the venue has changed dramatically since. The 'front' of the ground is the East Stand which has a massive glass facade showing club offices behind. The base level contains the club reception and a vast megastore. The area in front of the stand has been converted to a plaza with a football mosaic on the floor. As you work your way round the outer ring of the stadium you go through a number of tunnels. The South Stand tunnel contains the Munich Air Disaster memorial and well as entrances to the press area and several directors boxes and suites. The West Stand includes a suite for international fans while the North Stand includes a number of suites as well as the ticket office, a cafe and the club museum.

Inside the ground the largest stand is the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand on the north side of the venue. Completed in 1996 this is the only three-tier stand in the venue and can hold 25,500 fans - around a third of the overall capacity. The two stands behind the goals had second tiers added during the early 2000s. The Stretford End behind the western goal houses 12,000 people across two tiers. At the other end of the pitch the East Stand is similar but has a large disabled section carved into the southern side of the lower tier therefore giving it a slightly lower capacity of 11,500. The South Stand is the only single-tier structure in the ground and seats 11,500. It includes the TV gantry and at the back of the stand corporate boxes which then extend in a bowl around the other sides of the stadium. As the only single-tier stand any potential future expansion of the venue would centre around this area. The most recent work was the addition of seats to the quadrants linking the stands giving the ground a current capacity of just under 76,000 making it the largest club ground in England.

There was very little action in the first half - the closest the tie came to a goal was when Sergio Romero palmed away Stewart Downing's 25-yard effort. The visitors gave it a good go in the second period and at one point had the ball in the net only to see it ruled out for offside. Romero was forced into making several saves but then blotted his copybook by almost gifting Boro an embarrassing goal when he misjudged a backpass and saw the ball bounce inches wide of the post. The home side very nearly won the tie late on when Ashley Young's crossed to the backpost found Jesse Lingard who half-volleyed the ball back off the woodwork. With no goals the game headed into extra-time - the hosts had several chances but when Anthony Martial headed wide from six yards out it was clear this one was going to be resolved by penalties. In the shoot-out Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young all missed sending the Championship side through 3-1.

Result: Manchester United 0-0 Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough win 3-1 on penalties)
Competition: Football League Cup
Attendance: 67,258

Ground #5 - Wembley Stadium

First Visited: 20th April 1997
Ground: Wembley Stadium
Location: Wembley, London

The original Wembley Stadium was located in Wembley Park in north-west London. Built in 1923, it was the home of the England football team for most of that period as well as hosting every F.A. Cup final from the year it opened until the stadium was closed in 2000 to make way for the new Wembley Stadium.

I visited the original Wembley Stadium on three occasions. The first of these was on 20th April 1997 for the Football League Trophy Final (at the time known as the Auto Windscreens Shield Final) between Carlisle United and Colchester United, which culminated in a penalty shoot-out win for Carlisle after a goalless 120 minutes. The other two visits were for international games, seeing England draw 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in a friendly match on 23rd May 1998 and England beat Luxembourg 6-0 in a European Championship Qualifying match on 4th September 1999. The photograph in this post comes from the Football League Trophy Final game.

The oval-shaped stadium had a capacity of 82,000 when it was closed in 2000. The venue was finally demolished in 2003 and a new 90,000 Wembley Stadium was built in its place over the next four years, opening its doors in 2007, taking over the mantle as the home of the England team and F.A. Cup Final as well as various other events.

Old Trafford

First visited: 19th August 1996
Ground: Old Trafford
Location: Old Trafford, Greater Manchester

Old Trafford is located close to the banks of the River Irwell, just to the south west of central Manchester. The ground has been home to Manchester United since 1910 when the club moved from their previous Bank Street stadium.

I visited Old Trafford on two occasions during the 1990s - on 19th August 1996 and 27th December 1999. Both of these trips were for stadium tours of the venue with my first visit to a game coming on 28th October 2015 (see here for more up to date report). The venue has been changed greatly since my initial visits with frequent expansion to increase capacity as the club's popularity increased. When I visited in 1996, Manchester United had just finished the building of the new North Stand, a three-tiered structure with a capacity of around 25,500. During my next visit in 1999 the club were in the process of adding a second tier to the East Stand, giving it an increased capacity of just under 12,000. Soon after a second tier was also added to the West Stand giving it a 12,000 capacity as well.

The most recent developments to Old Trafford, finished in 2006, consisted of adding second tiers to the north-west and north-east quadrants. This raised capacity to 76,212 although seating reorganisations carried out afterwards have since reduced this to slightly under the 76,000 mark. The only stand not to have been radically altered in recent years is the South Stand. This remains the only single-tiered structure in the venue and can hold about 11,500 fans.

Developing the South Stand to bring it up to the size of the other stands in the ground has been touted recent years. This could potentially increase capacity to around 95,000 although the existence of a railway line directly behind this stand could affect any decision.

Ground #1 - Layer Road

First Visited: 12th February 1994
Ground: Layer Road
Location: Colchester, Essex

Layer Road was a stadium located in a residential area just over a mile south of Colchester town centre. It was built in 1910, originally for use by Colchester Town FC. When Colchester United FC were formed in 1937 they took over the ground and played there until 2008 when the club moved to a new 10,000 all-seater stadium on the outskirts of town.

My first visit to Layer Road was on 12th February 1994 to see Colchester United lose 2-0 to Chesterfield in a Football League Division Three match. Over the years I attended dozens of games at the stadium with my final visit there coming on 26th December 2007, witnessing Colchester United draw 1-1 with Southampton in a Football League Championship match. The photographs in this post are from 16th December 2006 when I saw Colchester United beat Stoke City 3-0 in a Football League Championship match.

By the time the stadium closed in 2008 its capacity was just 6,320 and it was accepted that this was far too small for a team which at that point was playing in the second tier of English football. The ground was mainly standing terraces with three seating areas. The Clock End, behind the goal on the north-west side of the ground, was the most modern end in the venue. This all-seater stand was used as the family enclosure and had room for just under 800 fans. Adjacent to this on the south-west side was the Main Stand, a rather dilapidated structure with terraced standing split by an all-seater section in the middle. The seating was mostly wooden with some more modern plastic seating added towards the end of the venue's life in front of the main seating and standing areas as the club struggled to cope with greatly increased attendances upon promotion to the second tier of English football.

Behind the goal on the south-east side of the ground was the Layer Road End, a cramped standing terraced section which could fit less than 1,000. When away clubs brought small followings they were allocated the right-half of this with the left-half open to home fans but if the away clubs brought large followings they were given the whole stand. Just before the closure of the venue a tiny 143-seat temporary structure was built in the corner of the Barside Stand to allow more away fans into the ground. The Barside Stand ran the length of the pitch on the north-east side of the ground and housed much of the more vocal support. This standing terrace was mostly covered by roofing which had a large number of support beams which meant views were restricted. However, there was a section of the Barside Stand towards the Clock End which was uncovered and this was where I watched almost all the games from. Any fans in this section were usually able to retreat under the covered section of the stand if the weather became too bad but there were not too many occasions where this was an issue.

Colchester United played their final match at Layer Road against Stoke City on 26th April 2008 and moved into the Colchester Community Stadium during that summer. Layer Road was left derelict after this and became rather rundown with the place quickly falling apart. In June 2012 the stadium was finally demolished to make way for new houses.