Monthly Archives: July 2009

It was 29 years ago today…almost

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Think back to March 1981?  Were you actually born?  If not then let me give you a feel for what life was like.  We were in the middle of a recession (so what’s new!) and chancellor Geoffrey Howe had decided to raise Income Tax.  The London Marathon had just been run for the first time and Shakin’ Stevens was at number one with This Ol’House.  Heady times indeed.  But there was a little story playing out down the M4 that today seems as unbelievable as Joe Dolce keeping Ultravox from number one with their classic song Vienna.

Approximately 200 miles from Chez Fuller in south east London sits the third largest conurbation in Wales, just a short journey over the Severn Bridge.  Newport Wales, not Newport Isle of Wight, Cornwall, Gloucestershire or Essex.  A town that grew up as the Steel and Coal flowed down the valley along the  River Usk to the docks.  A town that prided itself on its local community.  And it was here, in a 18,000 capacity stadium that a small Welsh team playing in Black and Gold almost created the European Football story of the decade.

On the 18th March 1981 Newport County played host to East German cup winners, and champions elect, Carls Zeiss Jena.  At that time the club were still languishing in the old Football League Division 3, having at last made it out of the basement the previous season thanks to the goals of a very young John Aldridge and the veteran Tommy Tynan.  The club had also captured the Welsh cup in the previous May, which at the time was a serious competition, beating Shrewsbury Town (yes at the time certain other clubs who werent exactly in Wales were allowed to compete in it!) and gave them entry into the now defunct European Cup Winners Cup.

This competition was a real hit or miss affair.  As with today, the domestic cup winners in most of the European leagues tend to be one of the big clubs, but of course as they tended to finish in the upper reaches of the league they either went into the European Cup or chose to play in the UEFA Cup which was deemed more of a challenge.  And so some seasons the quality of teams could be good, and sometimes it could be bad.

Take 1980-81 as an example.  The Spanish entrants were Castilla, who had lost 6-1 in the Copa del Rey to their 1st team, otherwise known as Real Madrid as well as defending ECWC champions Valencia.  From Italy there was AS Roma, and from Germany you had Fortuna Dusseldorf.  Other teams of note included Benfica, Feyenoord, Celtic and Sparta Prague.  Hardly a shoddy line up.  As the competition was limited to just 34 teams (a preliminary round of 4 got them down to 32), you only had to win four ties to be in the semi-finals.  And that is what nearly happened to this 3rd division team from Wales.

They brushed aside Northern Irish champions Crusaders in round one with a 4-0 home win, following it up with a 6-0 win in Wales in round two to the Norwegians of Haugesund, seeing them into the quarter finals along with such rubbish teams as Feyenoord, Benfica, Fortuna Dusseldorf, eventual Champions Dinamo Tiblisi and London’s finest West Ham United.  Whilst the draw against East German champions Carls Zeiss Jena could have been worse, their 2-2 draw in East Germany was probably the best result in the club’s history, taking two away goals home to South Wales.

On that night in the old Somerton Park the team threw everything at the Germans but nothing went right for them.  John Aldridge was missing through injury and the team missed him dearly, eventually losing 1-0 and lost out on a chance to meet Benfica in the semi-finals.

Just seven years later the club amassed only twenty five points in the old Fourth Division and were relegated from the Football League for the first (and final) time.  Worse was to follow and in February the following year the club went out of business, their points being removed from the records and the padlocks put on Somerton Park.  At this point history and many of the fans today have one story, whilst others will tell you a different tale as to what happened to the club.

In June 1989 a new club was formed, taking a place in the Hellenic league and playing their games in Moreton-in-Marsh some 70 miles away in England so that they would not be forced to join the Welsh leagues.  The new owners dreamt of a return to the English league structure and thus had to work their way back up the English non-league Pyramid.  The club, using the name Newport County AFC won the right to stay in the English leagues and return to their home town in 1995 when they also took their place in the Southern League Premier division.  They subsequently had a top half position in 2004 when the league restructured and have since been in the Blue Square South league, the only ex-league team to be playing at this level.  Whatever the ifs and buts of the origins of the club, they are still alive and most fans still appear to be united behind the club and the direction they are going in.

They are no longer playing at Somerton Park, having been demolished in 1993, instead calling Newport International Sports Village as home which is a 4,300 all seater multi-purpose (i.e an athletics ground with a footie pitch in the middle!) stadium.  When Swansea City played here in the FA Cup in November 2006 a record 4,600 were present.  But for tonight with the visit of Premier League Stoke City the crowd was expected to be less than 500.

I really do not like Stoke City.  The simple reason is because of one “fan” who is also a member of the EnglandFan groups.  This “loyal fan” criticises everyone else, including fellow Stoke fans for not supporting their team and for daring to moan about their negative tactics, their one dimensional manager or their poor away form.  And would he be here tonight?  Of course not.  So sorry Stoke fans if I am negative but one bad apple and all that….In fact I counted just 7 Stoke fans in total in a pretty decent crowd of just over 600, not far off their average attendance. Pulis , who seems to have become an overnight genius with his one dimensional approach to the game (just ask Gillingham or Bristol City fans about his style of play) used to play for Newport but had deemed a game versus Forest more important and sent a second XI.

It was quite amazing that so many came based on the appalling weather that the whole region suffered during the day.  Still it was an easy drive from our Gower Dacha once the clouds cleared and myself, Fuller senior and junior pulled up at 7.15, after a brief detour to see the magnificent Transporter bridge and for less than £20 we took our seat in the main stand.

Newport County 2 Stoke City 0 -Newport International Sports Village – Wednesday 29th July 7.30pm

The clouds clear at last

The clouds clear at last

OK – it was only a friendly, and OK  Stoke didn’t have a first team out but they are “supposed” to be a Premier League team and that means having a squad not an XI.  They were poor.  They displayed some tendencies of a Premier League team including the abuse aimed at a linesman at the end of the first half by Andrew Davies and Louis Moult after a throw in went against Stoke which was unwarranted and quite frankly showed what is all wrong about would-be professional footballers in the world today.

Dean Holdsworth had built a decent team at Newport and had managed to pick up some good young players in the summer including the skillful Takumi Ake who beat Stoke players time and time again on the wing.  Some of their neat passing was very pleasant to watch and Stoke were simply not at the races, although they did have the first chance in the 20th minute when Moult headed wide from 6 yards when unmarked.

Newport should have taken the lead on 25 minutes when Craig Reid was played in behind the defence by Aki and he squared for Foley but his contact was poor and the ball trickled past the post, although Reid tried to get on the end of it but was offside.  A few minuted later a fantastic Danny Rose free-kick from 30 yards beat Simonsen in the Stoke goal (apparently he was once the most expensive goalkeeper in the world!) but the ball hit the inside of the post.

After the break Holdsworth made a number of changes but it didn’t really affect their style of play and it was again Simonsen who was the busier keeper, called in to play to save from Rose and Aki before Newport at last took a deserved lead.  After some neat build up play the ball fell to the impressive Danny Rose on the edge of the penalty area and his shot left the Stoke keeper rooted to the spot.  One became two in the final minutes when Rose’s corner was headed home by Paul Cochlin to give a fair reflection on the final score.

Optimism should be high in this area of South Wales for the forthcoming season.  The bookies favourites seem to be big spending Dover Athletic but Newport’s style of play under Holdsworth will certainly win some admirers.  It is not the best ground to watch games at with the Athletics track around the outside but what you can see is worth the journey.

About Newport International Sports Village
The Stadium, which is owned and managed by Newport City Council, has been upgraded to Nationwide Conference standard in recent years and has a crowd capacity of 4,300. The Stadium is part of the developing City of Newport International Sports Village, which includes the Wales National Velodrome. The grandstand seats 1,100 spectators and there is large covered terrace on the opposite side of the pitch and a small-uncovered terrace behind the one goal.The grandstand side also includes a licensed bar, that also serves hot food and features and large-screen projection TV, the club shop, a toilet block and a refreshments stall.

With the Newport RFC building a new stadium scheduled for 2010, in line with the Ryder Cup coming to the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport Stadium is expected to be used by the rugby union teams that currently play at Rodney Parade.

In 2004, Newport Stadium was upgraded to Football Conference National standard. The upgrading included a new main terrace built on the old one at the Traston Road side of the ground, commonly referred to within the club as ‘The Shed’. A new terrace was also built at the Spytty Road End. When Newport County played Swansea City in the 2006 FA Cup, a temporary stand was erected behind the goal at the Cricket Ground End to give the stadium its record capacity of 4,600.

How to get to Newport International Sports Village
From the Severn Bridge on the M4 take the exit signed Newport (East) – Junction 24. From the North/Midlands the A449 joins the same roundabout. Take the exit at roundabout signposted Newport International Sports Village, A48 and then then straight on at next 5 roundabouts. Take the first turning left and left again into the Stadium car park.

If you are coming by rail then the nearest station is Newport which is on the Swansea / Cardiff / London Paddington line. Either take taxi from railway station or the 5 mins walk to bus station – walk straight into the city centre from railway station (via underpass), left at end of street, keep straight and pass between the Principality Building Society and Vodaphone (Skinner Street) and then turn into Upper Dock St, the bus station is off to left. Stand 23 for either No 9 or No 16 bus (approx 15 minute bus ride).

How to get a ticket for Newport International Sports Village
Apart from a rare FA Cup game or a big team visiting in a pre-season friendly, tickets are available on the day of the game.  Ticket prices for the main (only ) stand are £11 for adults, £8 for concessions and £4 for under 16′s.

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A few months ago I made myself very unpopular with a large section of fans from AFC Wimbledon in writing my blog post about their game against Hampton & Richmond.  The vast majority of the abuse (and that is the only word for most of it) related to the fact that I was biased towards the home team.  Despite the fact that all my blog posts focus on the home side, and that the whole point of the article was to profile the Hampton & Richmond manager Alan Devonshire, many fans took exception to the way I reported the game, and the behaviour at the end of the game of certain sections of their crowd (invading the pitch whilst the game was still on and launching abuse at a home player being carried off with a serious injury).

For the record I have no issue with AFC as a club, nor their fans in general.  Their rise from nothing to the Blue Square Premier League, just one step off the Football League ladder, has been nothing short of miraculous and an inspiration to other clubs who have similar values, but based on my one experience of watching them so far I found it hard to try and prepare to write something positive this time around.

But what the heck.  New season, new attitudes and all that.  This season will be a huge test for the club.  The Blue Square Premier is no pushover.  There are nine clubs in the division who have played in the Football League in the past 5 years.  I would say that three – Luton Town, Oxford United and Wrexham – have more cash and facilities than most of League Division Two teams.  In the case of Luton they weren’t even one of the worst two teams in the league but were relegated because of anarchaic laws governing club ownership.  No team had successfully made the immediate jump from Blue Square South to the Football League in one go.  Last season South champions Lewes got it all wrong off the pitch (see story here) and were relegated by Easter.  Eastbourne Borough had a better season, finishing in a credible mid table spot but it is not an easy transition.

Not many fans, judging by my straw poll at the Market Porter on Friday lunchtime, knew about the Co-Operative SD Cup.  In fact until I looked it up with a search on Google (results under the location for my nearest clinic btw), I had no clue.  It is in fact the Supporters Direct Cup.  A cup for those teams set up and run by fans.  In the current football world where fan ownership, participation or even actual consideration is all but gone in the upper reaches of the professional game, there are two examples of clubs that have got it right.  AFC and FC United.  And as luck would have it both had qualified for this prestigious final.  Well, not strictly true.  Being the two biggest such clubs it made sense that they simply played each other and the winners got a cup and bragging rights.  A bit like the now defunct Outperformance Display Trophy that West Ham competed for each year against random foreign teams but never seemed to win.  This was to be the fourth such cup final played between the two.

In London and the South, the rise of AFC Wimbledon has been well documented from their inception and their historic first season in the Combined Counties league in 2002, playing in front of home gates of over 3,000 at Kingsmeadow in a groundshare arrangement with Kingstonians (more than Wimbledon FC were getting at the National Hockey stadium in Milton Keynes).  However, less is known of FC United of Manchester.  Most football fans will recall they were set up by Manchester United fans in protest at the club’s take over by the Glazer family.  They have risen quickly up the non-league pyramid and will this year try to move out of the Northern Premier League, making the step up to the Blue Square North.  They also have attracted some very impressive gates, using Bury’s Gigg Lane as their home, and in fact on numerous occasions actually getting more fans than their landlords.  The club have set themselves some ambitious targets including owning their own stadium by 2012 and having an average home gate of 5,000 by the end of this season.  They have also invested alot of time and trouble in the local community, funding coaching programmes for fans (so that they can scout for players for the club ultimately) and have a profile of younger fans than most other clubs.

So the meeting of two ambitious clubs was going to be very interesting, and meant there was more than a bit of silverware at stake.  The clubs had met three times before in this competition, with AFC winning twice so FC United were certainly out for some revenge.  As luck would have it Littlest Fuller had demanded her monthly visit to Chessington World of predictable rides, and being just a few miles up the road it would have been rude not to have attended this game.  What surprised me was that Lolly fancied the football as well as opposed to queueing an hour for the only decent ride in the park.

AFC Wimbledon 2 FC United of Manchester 0 – Kingsmeadow – Saturday 25th July

Grass roots football

Grass roots football

Fuller taxi’s dropped us off opposite the stadium and we joined in the relaxed atmosphere outside the ground in the car park with fans from both teams enjoying some rare sunshine in a very friendly environment.  Tickets for the game were very reasonably priced at £10 and £3, less than half the price of the friendly at Grays two weeks ago.  The club had really made an effort to put a number of activities on for the fans, including a cricket memorabilia auction and a pre match cross bar challenge.  Four players from each team (well, substitutes and coaches) tried to hit the bar from the halfway line.  One of the Wimbledon players managed to hit the top of the post and he won the competition by getting the closest.  as the players trooped off the pitch one of the other players casually took one step and placed the ball right on top of the bar from the same distance with a shrug of the shoulders as if to say “why didn’t you ask me”.

The teams came out, preceeded by Haydon the Womble who was certainly one of the most active mascots I had seen for a while.  at one point he appeared with a wheelie bin which he used to try and generate an atmosphere in the main stand.  The FC United fans had taken up residence in the newly expanded (well they had built an extra terrace step) east end and were generating a fair noise.  In fact there seemed to be very few moments in the first half when they actually stopped singing.  AFC looked the more composed team, and the two FC United centre backs never looked comfortable, or even fit at times, trying to mark last seasons top scorer Jon Main.  But it was the visitors who had the first chance, when they were awarded a penalty for a clear trip on the FC United forward.  The spot kick from Adam Carden was weak and the AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper got down well and saved the penalty with his legs.

That was the highlight of a first half high on effort but low on chances.  In fact the closest AFC came to breaking the deadlock was a sliced clearance from the FC United centre back that had the Sam Ashton scrambling for cover.  The second half saw mass changes by Wimbledon, which was obviously going to affect the pace of the game.  It was also obvious that some of the FC United fans had disappeared from behind the goal, perhaps to the bar?  Lolly and I had a wander around the ground and met up with Jonno (one of the England passengers for last year’s trip to Paris) who was also on daughter duty, although his was suffering with teething and he was having a much harder afternoon than me with Lolly!  He gave me a quick run through of the goings on at the club over the summer, being a season ticket holder who was still talking to me!

Just as the PA announcer read out a crowd of 1,772 (down on the corresponding game 2 years ago but still way above average for most Blue Square teams) Wimbledon took the lead.  A freekick from the left hand side was drilled across the area and at the far post completely unmarked was Ben Judge to tap home.  FC United tried to get themselves back in the game and Marsh hit the post with a spectulative drive.

But it was always going to be AFC’s day and a second came in the final minutes as a well timed run down the right by one of the Dons substitutes allowed him time to pick his man, and triallist Peter Rapson slotted home, unmarked to win the game (Highlights of the game can be seen on YouTube by clicking here). All formalities over and the trophy back in the hands of the Dons, Lolly and I headed off to meet Fuller Taxis for our long drive down to our Dacha in the Gower and a week of relaxation, rain and maybe a couple of new games.

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About the Cherry Red Records Fans Stadium (aka Kingsmeadow)
Kingsmeadow has been the home of the club since their formation in 2002 when they entered into a ground share deal with Kingstonians, who at the time were playing in the Conference.  Financial problems saw them sell the ground to individuals who seemed more intent on acquiring the land, and so AFC’s fans raised over £1m to buy the lease of the stadium.  The long term aim is to return to the London Borough of Merton but for now Kingsmeadow is a suitable home with a capacity of 4,700.

It is a typical non-league modern ground with one single tier main stand, and covered terracing around the three other sides. The away fans are now allocated in the shallow east end, although they can generate a fair noise.  On three of the four corners there is a tea bar, and beer is available outside the stadium in the main stand bars.

How to get to Kingsmeadow
The ground is located just outside Kingston in south west London.  It can be easily reached by car, train or bus.  If you are coming by car then the easiest approach is from the A3, leaving at the junction for New Maldon/Worcester Park and following the A2043 northwards towards Kingston.  Take 1st exit at the roundabout into Kingston Road and the ground is a mile up the road on your left hand side.  There is a small car park at the ground, otherwise it is street parking.  By bus you can get the 131 from Kingston station that runs to Tooting Broadway and stops right outside the ground.  The nearest station is actually Norbiton, which is a ten minute walk away.  For a more detailed plan of attack click here.

How to get a ticket for Kingsmeadow
Expect demand to be very high for places to watch AFC Wimbledon this season.  With some well supported teams in the Blue Square Premier there will be a number of sell outs so getting tickets in advance is almost essential.  The club will be selling match by match tickets on their website which can then be picked up on the day of the game.  Ticket prices are very reasonable and cost £16 for a seat or £12 for a place on the Terrace for adults and £4 and £2 respectively for children.

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‘Er indoors

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Football indoors?  Been there, done that.  The Veltins Arena, Parken, The Amsterdam ArenA and the Millennium Stadium are probably the biggest and best known owners of retractable roofs allowing games to be played indoors but can you name Europe’s first (and only) indoor stadium?  Go on, give up you wont get it but sometime soon it is possible that you may be tuning in to see one of the big English four play in it. Built at a cost of over €60million in 2008, the Telenor Arena just outside Oslo is home to current Norwegian champions Stabæk IF, and consequently hosting their qualifying games for this seasons Champions League.  Their first tie, and consequently the first Champions League game played in an indoor arena was to be played in late July against Albania champions KF Tirana.

Stabæk have been a regular fixture in the top division for most of the past decade.  However it has been in the past five seasons that they have really made their mark on the domestic game.  Promoted as champions in 2005 they finished the following season in 5th place thanks in part of the prolific Daniel Nannskog who was scoring goals for fun.  In 2007 they exceeded all expectations and finished runners up in the league as well as reaching the Norwegian Cup semi-finals, losing out to Brann and Lillestrom respectively.

The club came back stronger last season and won the league with a few games to spare from another surprise package Fredrikstad, recording a record 14-0 away win to Vestfossen in the process  They also went one stage further in the cup, reaching the final but eventually lost in the final to Valerenga 4-1.  But the championship in their last season in the Nadderud stadion did mean that the club would have a shot at making the Group Stages of the newly revamped Champions League.  And that first game would be against KF Tirana, champions of Albania.  A one all draw in the Albania capital set this one up nicely for a big atmosphere and a place in the 3rd round against the winner of the tie “back home” between FCK and Mogren.

Stabæk IF 4 KF Tirana 0 – Champions League 2nd Round 2nd Leg – Telenor Arena – Tuesday 21st July

1-0

1-0

No surprises to say that public transport ran better in Oslo than Sweden, and so when the bus said it was due at 6.55pm and it would take 14 minutes it was true to word and I was deposited by the side of a big grey slug on the old Oslo airport site, now home to the impressive Telenor Arena.  After a few handshakes from the officials including a long standing reader of this blog I was ushered to the press gallery and my first view of the stadium.

Weird was the first word that came to mind.  Then surreal, fake and finally blooming hell.  It took a bit of getting used to, but with the music pumping out as clear as day it was impressive.  The crowd slowly came in to the stadium as they were watering the plastic grass (why??), and because of the acoustics only a handful could make a decent noise.

A very nice chap called Lars had sorted out my accreditation and whilst I was searching for him to say hello I bumped into an elderly English chap.  He seemed familiar but I could not place him.  Curiosity got the better of me and so I waited until he exited the Gents (never a good time to ask someone if you recognise them whilst standing at a urinal) and it turned out it was none other than ex-referee George Courtney who was the official UEFA match delegate .  George was one of my favourite referees apart from one decision that every West Ham fan remembers.  In the 1980 FA Cup Final with minutes to go, 17 year old Paul Allen nutmegs Pat Rice and charges through the Arsenal defence, with just Pat Jennings to beat.  In one of the most cynical moments in the final’s history Willie Young tripped him up, denying him a clear scoring opportunity and a challenge that essentially created the Professional Foul law.  George sympathised with me and said that the letter of the law then stated he could only book him.  Boo hiss I said, but wished him well.

And then it was time….the Champions League anthem started and the teams emerged.  The stadium was about a third full, which was disappointing but the noise was incredible.  I would say that when (if?) the stadium is ever full the noise would require the fans to wear earplugs.  The home fans co-ordinated bouncing in the first few minutes was a joy to watch.

After a quiet first ten minutes where neither side made any clear openings, the home team took the lead when a free kick was not cleared and centre back Pontus Segerstrom pounced on a loose ball and it was in the back of the net before you could say Trippenligean.  One became two 90 seconds later as a hopeful shot on the edge of the box from Hauger hits the lucky Segerstrom on the heal and spins into the net.  With this luck the defender needed to subtitute himself straight away and go and buy a Euromillions ticket!  For the rest of the half it was all Stabæk and they were unlucky not to add a third when Nannskog was ruled offside after he had put the ball in the net.  The home fans continued their vocal support as the half wound down and it seemed odds on that Stabæk would be making the hour flight south next week to Copenhagen (with FCK being 6-0 up from the first leg).

The third came after a number of false dawns in the 44th minute as Nannskog broke down the right, crossed low and Fredrik Berglund slotted the ball home.  So job done at half time, with the Albanians who had threatened so little now requiring three goals to go through.  And what a way to get the second period underway with a rousing Norwegian version of Land of Hope and Glory pumped out at maximum volume.  It really should have been four soon after halftime as Berglund went clean through but pulled his shot wide.  They only had to wait a few more minutes though as from a corner Pontus (you never see a Pontus and then like a bus two come along at once) Farnerud smashed in a volley from the edge of the box.

With fifteen minutes to go it was game over as in a fit of madness Tirana’s Laurent Mohellebi, on as a substitute for just ten minutes was dismissed for lashing out at Keller who himself was booked for giving him a nasty stare back.  The last few minutes were played at a leisurely pace and a four nil win in the end was a fair reflection on the quality gap of the teams.  So with one tie to go the Norwegians could start to dream of one or two of the big boys coming to visit them in their indoor paradise.  It will certainly take some getting used to!


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About the Telenor Arena
Telenor Arena is a multi-use indoor stadium located at Fornebu in the municipality of Bærum, a few miles outside Oslo in Norway. It is the home stadium of current Norwegian champions Stabæk IF.

In June 2008, the telecommunications company Telenor acquired the naming rights to the stadium in a deal lasting until 2018. Prior to this, the stadium was known informally as Fornebu Arena, and while still in the concept stages as Blue Dream Arena. It is also referred to by supporters as Hangar’n (the hangar in English), as the stadium resembles a hangar and is located on the premises of the former main airport of Oslo.

It is a single-tiered bowl attached to a seven-storey building on one side containing retail space, restaurants and bars for the premium-priced seats, executive boxes, and offices. As originally planned, the stadium was to have a retractable roof, but due to the high costs involved it was decided that there would instead be a fixed roof covering both the stands and the pitch. For football matches and other sporting events the total capacity is approximately 15,600, whereas for concerts it will be up to 23,000.

The first match played at the stadium was a pre-season friendly between Stabæk and IFK Göteborg on 24 January 2009, which ended in a goalless draw. This was followed by a sold-out AC/DC concert on 18 February, the first concert on the European leg of the their Black Ice World Tour. Trond Olsen of Rosenborg became the first player to score a goal at Telenor Arena as Rosenborg defeated Stabæk 1–0 in another pre-season friendly, on 27 February.  The stadium was officially opened on 8 March 2009 with a “Charity Shield”-style match between league champions Stabæk and cup champions Vålerenga, which ended in a 3–1 win for Stabæk.The arena will be the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2010.

How to get to the Telenor Arena
The easiest public transport option is to catch one of the “Blue Buses” that run from oustide the National Theatre in the city centre every 10 minutes or so on line 31 or 31E if you like to do it in an express way!.  Tickets cost 40NKR and buses run on the 4 (04,14 etc).  Journey time is 21 minutes for the 31 and 14 minutes for the 31E.  You can get a train to Lyskar station from Oslo and then a local bus but it is easier with the buis journey all the way.  Buses wait on the far side of the stadium after the game.

How to get a ticket for the Telenor Arena
Attendances haven’t exactly been high at the new stadium so it is still possible to buy tickets on the gate.  Ticket prices range from 170NOK to 325NOK depending on where you sit.  the lower price will get you a seat in the end with the home supporters.  Tickets can be purchased online, and printed out as pdf’s from http://www.billettservice.no.

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A local team supported by local people…

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Hands up who really goes to watch their local team?  Genuinely local, not just “close” by.  I would say less than 1% of football fans actually regularly watch a game at their local stadium.  Look at West Ham for instance.  A core of their support comes from Dagenham, where of course their local team would be Dagenham & Redbridge.  Yet they head over to Upton Park rather than walking down Victoria Road.  Liverpool and Everton, on the other hand draw most of their regular support from the local community despite the fact that they are global brands.  However, it does take a special type of fan to become a regular at non-league level.  A fan who can see through the crap football, crap stadium, crap food and drink and crap people in charge of their clubs deserves a medal.  But there is a growing trend in support for these clubs and almost all of it is fuelled by local fans.

I live in SE9, almost on the border of London and Kent.  If I draw a line at the Blue Square level of the football pyramid my local teams (as the car drives) are Bromley FC – 5.2 miles (although as the crow flies this is only 3 miles), Charlton Athletic 3.7 miles, Millwall 5.9 miles and Welling United 2.7 miles.  So my local team is Welling United.  Well you may be surprised to know that I was a regular at Park View Road for two seasons a few years ago, with West Ham playing away on the days when they were at home.  I grew to appreciate my Saturday afternoons at PVR, watching the likes of Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford (They did try to get Tony Banks down so that they could do a photo of the alternative Genesis) under the management of ex-Manchester United full back Paul Parker.

Facilities were basic, but the crowd were loyal.  I even had the pleasure on a couple of occasions of writing the official match report for the programme, such was my influence on club affairs.  And then it all stopped.  Primarily because West Ham’s games were always on the same day. but also because GiMP had decided to give the programme editing a kick into touch.  Our desertion co-incided with the club’s wilderness years, as the club fell down the newly formed Blue Square South league, flirting with relegation to the Rymans league.  Whilst the club are relatively young (only formed in 1963) they had actually played at the Conference level for a number of years and this would have been a reversal in fortunes for them.

The club were actually formed essentially by a Sugar Daddy.  Syd Hobbins, ex-Charlton Athletic goalkeeper formed a club for his son’s Graham and Barrie who have gone on to form a true one family dynasty.  Barrie Hobbins is still at the club today, fulfilling the role of  Kit Manager, Head Groundsman and Club Secretary as well as being a general miserable chap, wandering around the ground as if he had all of the cares in the world.  The club played in number local youth leagues before they progressed through the non-leagues, gaining promotion to the Southern League in 1981.  Five years later they were promoted to the Football Conference, the highest level they have played at.  Whilst they never set the Conference alight they did keep a position in the league for nearly fifteen years.  In 2000 they were relegated for the only time in their forty five year history, and eventually finishing in the top half of the Southern Premier League to gain a place in the Conference South when the leagues were restructured in 2004.

Last season under Andy Ford the club looked for some time if they would make the final play off shake up but a final position of 7th was just two spots off a chance at the Conference again.  They did inflict a rare home defeat on AFC Wimbledon late in the season, and this was a high point along with the goals of Charlie Sheringham (son of Teddy) who scored 19 goals.

So why was I coming back?  Well faced with the choice of Ice Age 3 or cutting the grass I chose neither.  Danny and Cynical Dave (see the EFW team website) also faced a similar dilemma judging by their keenest to come down to the London Borough of Bexley on a dreary July day.  Our plan was a few beers along the cultural hub of Park View Road, following the Route Of Wings (Wings is the nickname of the club) as they marched to this pre-season friendly.  Not one to frequent Welling ( I have been there twice actually – once when I was cracking on to a lovely young lady I worked with in Lloyds Bank back in 1990, and once for Lolly’s birthday party three years – neither of which got me the apple pie I wanted) I tried to find a decent pub to start our session in.  I went onto mecca for drinkers – Beer In The Evening website. Thirteen pubs were listed – good start, but the average score was just 4 out of 10 and didn’t exactly fill me with anticipation.  The reviews of The Guy, the pub next to the ground included such platitudes as “place is shocking…..i too recommend you avoid………” and “Without the worst pub in the world not safe bad people etc etc a definite to avoid at all cost also big drug problem and locals looking for a fight at anytime of day or night – stay clear”.

Gillingham were the visitors for the second pre-season friendly at Park View Road (called as such because it forms the north border of the lovely Danson Park).  Every year the club welcome Charlton Athletic in early July.  As a sign of the times this fixture had moved from a all ticket capacity affair to become a pay on the gate with room for plenty inside as the Addicks had slipped down the league.  The club still stuck to sensible ticket prices, charging Adults just a tenner for entry for this one, and on a very pleasant Saturday afternoon, Danny, cynical Dave and myself wandered along the centre of South East London culture in Welling looking for some fans we could chat to.  And we found none.  We did find pints of Ruddles County in the Nags Head at just £1.90 a pint which was a nice surprise and stayed there until near kick off, enjoying the England batsmen’s humiliation of the aussie attack at Lords.

In the ground the club bar was where the Gills fans who had travelled had taken up camp.  A few hundred of them had driven up the A2, brimming with confidence for their forthcoming season in League One, and a chance to play some decent local games this season.  League One has turned into a bit of the southern with two thirds of the teams playing south of Milton Keynes and the Gills were looking forward to Charlton Athletic amongst others.

Welling United 2 Gillingham 0 – Park View Road – Saturday 18th July 2009

Park View Road 2

Park View Road 2

If truth be told (and it always is on TBIR) it was a classic pre-season game.  Very little skill, players a bit wary to try something different for fear of the wrath of the managers and a few surprise performances.  Welling decided to play in white, which was a bit of a surprise considering their normal Red didn’t clash with either Gillingham’s normal blue or the yellow they wore here.  In an obvious commercial/marketing ploy they switched to a new blue shirt at half time.  It would have been a good idea if they were trying to promote their new kit(s) if they actually opened the club shop to sell them!

Welling deserved their win.  Charlie Mitten in goal made some excellent saves, looking a very confident keeper and in midfield Sanchez Ming (brilliant name – should be half Mexican/half Chinese but wasn’t!) was busy and scored the opening goal, taking his chance with confidence after ex-Southend keeper Simon Royce could only parry a shot into his path.  Their second, with five minutes to go came from an excellent run by Jake Hobbs who outpaced the defence and slotted home from a tight angle.

It was hard to see what either manager could take from the game.  Welling must be confident going into the Blue Square South season but with big spending Dover coming up, and Woking and Lewes sure to be focused on bouncing back to the Premier it may be that they need to aim for the Playoffs again.  Gillingham on the other had will need to start the season strongly.  Division One this season will be tough with the three teams who dropped down from the Championship in Norwich, Charlton and Southampton sure to be pushing hard as well as Leeds United desperate to end their two year exile from the Championship (and five from the Premier League!).

The three of us wandered off, trying to find a pub with Sky in.  The Nags Head was closed for a private function, “Infernos” was closed (permanently by the look of it – shame as I wanted to revisit the seat where I had so much luck all those years ago) so we ended up having one opposite in the Plough, with its 1970′s TV showing the golf – a very retro pub indeed.  But full of local people doing local things.  Shame they didn’t realise they had a local club down the road to support.