All About This Blog

Welcome to my blog covering clubs and stadiums in the English League System along with the wonderful people responsible for keeping them going and their maintenance.

Since I was a little lad, I've been fascinated in football and more so where games are played. With my love of travel and curiosity of the game I wanted to visit as many grounds as possible and see games wherever I could.

I was fortunate that my dad also loved the game and spent so much of his spare time taking me to matches. As I got older the boundaries widened owing to my location and increased wages to Europe and indeed the world. The sight of a stand or a floodlight pylon in the distance immediately heightens my senses and eagerness for a closer look.

I hope this site gives you the chance to share in my pleasure and experiences and set you on the road to adventure. If you get half as much out of the hobby as I've done, I can guarantee some great memories, good friends, and stories to pass on to future generations. Give your local club a try today. They'll be delighted to see you!

Everlasting thanks primarily to my late and very much missed and dearly loved parents; my dad, Bob Bernard, and my mum; Ann, who put up with endless years of football chat and my brothers Nick and Paul. Thanks to all my friends who offer encouragement along with my wonderful wife, Taew.

Please feel free to post any comments (please use sensible language - I want everyone to be able to enjoy reading) or ask any questions relating to visiting grounds or events. Make sure you keep having a look as the site is continually updated.

If you click on a lot of the pictures, you will get a larger version on your screen. I have also added links to video clips on YouTube where appropriate for those of you who are bored of reading or are filling in time at work. I haven't always gone for the most obvious choices, but items that will be in some cases unusual but always historically interesting.

I also have blogs covering clubs outside England and one dedicated to Thai Football. Please feel free to take a look.

Rob Bernard Sisaket, Thailand

Wembley Stadium History 1

An account of my visits to the old stadium can be read about here and here.

Wembley Stadium was built by Sir Robert McAlpine in North West London in exactly three hundred days and opened to the public on 28th April 1923 for the FA Cup Final. The stadium was originally called the British Empire Exhibition Stadium as the whole area was to stage the British Empire Exhibition of 1924.

Its opening day became one of the most famous in British sporting history. The game was not all ticket as the FA didn't think the crowd would necessitate it. Up to 300,000 gained access as chaos reigned. The official crowd as listed was 126,047. The game was in danger of being postponed as fans were on the pitch until PC George Scorey on his white horse Billy, cleared the playing area.

The stadium before the roof was added

The stadium was built on a site where a tower once stood which became known as Watkin's Folly. The original idea was to demolish the stadium after the exhibition but it was saved at the suggestion of the chairman of the organising committee.

After the exhibition, an entrepreneur, Arthur Elvin started to buy the disused buildings and demolish them and cashing in on scrap value. The stadium had gone into liquidation so Elvin purchased it. He eventually sold it back to the Wembley Company which paid him shares to give him the largest stake and the role of Chairman.

The final game. October 2000

In 1934 the nearby Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena) was built and it became a venue with the stadium for the 1948 Olympic Games. The stadium was basically a bowl with an upper and lower section. Behind the goals was open terracing with covered seats down the sides and open benches at the front. The crowning glory was the trademark Twin Towers behind the North Stand.

In 1963, a new translucent roof was erected over the whole of the stadium as well as the installation of an electric scoreboard. The stadium also held many other major sporting events as well as football. From 1936 to 1960 it held the first fifteen World Speedway Finals. 

The greatest day

It staged a further eight, with the last in 1981, as well as hosting the Wembley Lions at various times between 1929 and 1971. It held every Rugby League Challenge Cup Final from 1929 as well as the 1992 World Cup Final. Wales used the venue to play International Rugby Union whilst their own Millenium Stadium was being constructed.

Greyhound racing was also a prominent feature, ever since a dog called Spin won the first race at the track in 1927 in front of 50,000 punters until the stadium closed. Wembley's owner's refusal to cancel the regular greyhound racing meant that the match between Uruguay and France in the 1966 World Cup was played at White City.

Evel Knievel in 1975

It also staged Gaelic Sports, American Football, Equestrian Events (including the Horse of the Year Show in 1970 which ruined the pitch before the FA Cup Final), WWF Wrestling, an incredible motorbike stunt by daredevil Evel Knievel as well as many music concerts, including the staggering Live Aid Gig on Saturday 13th July 1985.

Of course, it is with football that Wembley will be forever remembered. Apart from the greatest of days on Saturday 30th July 1966 when England became World Champions and our other games during the tournament, it staged every FA Cup Final, as well as each League Cup Final from 1967, and each Charity Shield from 1974.

For the first twenty-seven years, the only England fixture played there was the game against Scotland until every game was staged there. In European club football, Wembley staged the European Cup Finals in 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, and 1992 as well the Cup Winners Cup Finals of 1965 and 1993. The stadium also staged the final of Euro 96 as well as all of England's games in the tournament.

It gave amateur and semi-professional players their greatest ever days, staging many Amateur Cup Finals as well as the FA trophy from 1970 and the FA Vase from 1975. It was the ambition of every footballer in the world to play there. Pele described it as thus: "Wembley is the cathedral of football. It is the capital of football and it is the heart of football."

The final FA Cup Final at the stadium saw Chelsea beat Aston Villa, while the final game saw Germany defeat England on Saturday 7th October 2000. It took three years before the stadium was eventually demolished. The new stadium was going to be realigned and it was said the Towers could not be saved. This was extremely sad and it upset many members of the public.

The new stadium has better access, views, scoreboards, seats, catering, and general facilities but not the same buzz of the old place as the white towers came into view and fans walked up the steps to the turnstiles and saw the pitch through the gates for the first time.

I wrote this piece exactly ten years to the day of the final game. I didn't realise I'd miss it as much as I do.

Thanks for the memories.

My personal memories

It's hard to write something relatively brief on a place that gave me so many memories so I'll use an article I wrote for the Scarborough Athletic fanzine, Abandon Chip. Hopefully, this will give you some idea about the place. Please check out the two sections on my visits to the stadium for more details, pictures, tickets, and programmes.

Some of my happiest football memories were spent at the old Wembley Stadium. I was fortunate to see my beloved there four times, including three victories. I was actually a bit disappointed when I got inside for the first time in April 1973. It looked nothing like it did on TV, although Mally Thompson’s winner more than made up for my initial impressions.

I was lucky to make my second visit by the time I was only 8 years old. I had an incredible experience at the 1974 League Cup Final between Wolves and Manchester City, which was played out in front of 100,000 fans.

A teacher and driving instructor Mr Smith ran a bus from Scarborough. I’m not sure where he got the tickets from, but my dad took my brother Paul and me. I was filled with eager anticipation on the way down the motorway. What would such an enormous crowd be like? I was soon to find out.

When we got to our terracing entrance on the concourse it was soon apparent that there was no room to get in. This was a major design fault with the old place in the days of terracing in the lower tier. People congregated around the entrance to gain a better view thus restricting people from getting into the free space further down. 

Mr. Smith played hell with the authorities. Amazingly we were taken through a room and down some steps. We emerged in the player's tunnel and I stood next to the players who were lined up waiting for their cue to walk out. We were then placed at the front of the terracing amongst the Manchester City fans to enjoy an excellent game.

I attended the first ever Merseyside final when Everton and Liverpool battled out a goalless draw for the 1983 Milk (league) Cup. I was at college in Borehamwood at the time. My housemate, Aberdeen fan Andy, suggested we go down to take in the atmosphere, get a programme, and then go home to watch the game. As soon as I got there I was determined to get in.

Andy gave up and left me to my fate. I was about to pay £10 to a Liverpool fan before a decent bloke stopped me, explaining that he was trying to sell me one that had already been used and was then passed back. I wandered about before a local approached me. We negotiated on a tenner to get in. 

He had gathered up a few others who wanted to go in but didn’t have tickets. He gave us all hats to wear (some blue and some red) and ushered us towards a turnstile. There was no sign of any tickets. As soon as we got in he took back his hats and went back outside for more custom. He’d been on the fiddle with the turnstile operators! I remember asking him how I’d pass through the gate inside to reach the terracing without a ticket. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s up to you, mate”.

I now drink in a bar with some blokes of a similar age to me who said they never missed a game at Wembley and often would never pay. They either gave the gateman a few quid and kept going or would sneak in below someone going through. The best tale is of one of them giving a steward a few quid for his fluorescent bib. 

Scarborough. FA Trophy winners 1973

He would then use it to go up to the gate pretending to be a steward with some fans who’d been directed round to that particular entrance (the fans either been his mates or punters willing to pay a backhander to get in). The cheeky sod even used it to get through the crowds to get home quicker (allegedly!). Apparently, there were a lot of lads using similar ruses. I dread to think just how many people really got in.

I also saw some memorable England games at the Venue of Legends. Without a doubt, the most memorable few weeks were based around Euro 96. I was lucky enough to attend all the England matches. The atmosphere against Scotland and Spain only matched the performance against the totally distraught Dutch. 

The final game. October 2000

I was lucky enough to see Brazil, Holland, and Germany three times, as well as Argentina and Italy plus many other teams of varying quality (a freezing cold January night going all the way to see Cameroon being the low point).

A memory that will always stick in my mind apart from the many memorable matches that took place before a World Cup qualifier against Poland in 1989. The England players were warming up. The Geordie trio of Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, and Peter Beardsley were practicing together. They pinged perfect passes to each other before each in turn would carry out a cameo in ball juggling. 

It went on for 10 minutes and the ball didn’t touch the floor. I was at the anti-climax of the last-ever game against Germany, which was overshadowed to a certain extent by Kevin Keegan’s resignation at the end of the game. We were in a club behind the stadium when the news flashed up on the TV. It brought the biggest cheer all day.

By now I was living within three miles of the stadium. I watched for the best part of a year while it stood dormant, surrounded by political and financial arguments. Members of the local community and corporate hospitality played lots of matches on the sacred turf. Sadly I couldn’t find a way of getting a game.

A bit of the old place still lives on. East Tower Flagpole Base at Brent River Park

Eventually, demolition began, without a lot of publicity. I went to the snooker at the Conference Centre one Sunday in March 2001 and took my camera to try and take some snaps. I was astonished at the sight as I approached. All that was left was the South Stand (where the TV cameras went) and the magnificent towers. 

Within a few weeks, the lot had gone. I felt extremely sad as so many memories disappeared for good while future generations would have to rely on stories, videos, and pictures.

Wokingham Town

 

Wokingham Town FC is a non-league football club from the town of the same name, that was originally formed in 1875. They moved into their home ground at Finchamstead Road in 1906 playing in local competition prior to joining the Metropolitan League in 1954.

A move to the Delphian League followed in 1957-58, where they remained for two seasons before becoming members of the Corinthian League. When that competition folded, a place was provided in Division One of the Athenian League, where Town remained until becoming a Division Two side in the Isthmian League of 1973-74.

The second tier later became Division One, which Wokingham were crowned champions of in 1981-82. The following season saw the side take Cardiff City to a replay in the first round of the FA Cup, while the 1987-88 campaign saw an appearance in the semifinal of the FA Trophy. 

Telford United won the tie on aggregate to reach Wembley in what were halcyon days for the ‘Satsumas’ as Darren Barnard and Paul Bence were among the leading performers. In 1989-90 Wokingham were Isthmian League runners-up narrowly missing out on a place in the Conference.

Finchampstead Road. Image taken from Twitter/X

However, the cash begin to dry up which caused financial issues, before the team was relegated to Division One in 1994-95 and then Division Two in 1997-98. The Finchampstead Road ground was sold and demolished in 1999 to raise cash, with the club becoming tenants at Stag Meadow in Windsor.

A further relegation to Division Three followed in 2000-01, which was retitled Division Two after restructuring a couple of years later. In 2004 the club merged with Emmbrook Sports to become Wokingham & Emmbrook FC and being placed in the Premier Division of the Hellenic League under manager Glenn Duggleby.

Finchampstead Road. Image taken from Twitter/X

The club relocated to Emmbrook’s base at Lowther Road in Wokingham, which failed the ground grading requirements and saw the Satsumas demoted to Division One East of the competition. The club decamped to Larges Lane in Bracknell in 2009-10, winning promotion to the Premier Division under Wayne Wanklyn. 

Back at Lowther Road with Roger Herridge appointed as manager, the club was again fell foul of the ground requirements and were sent back down to Division One East at the end of the 2012-13 campaign. After a runners-up place twelve months later, W&E secured the title in 2014-15 under joint bosses Dan Bateman and Matt Eggleston.

The side was relegated in 2015-16 after a spell as tenants of Henley Town FC leading to the appointment of new manager, Clive McNelly. Matt Eggleston later replaced him as the club put its future in its youth set up. Lowther Road was upgraded with new floodlights and a stand in 2019.

Matt Cronan became manager in September 2022 taking over from Eliot Whitehouse shortly after the club began life as a member of Premier Division North of the Combined Counties League after restructuring on the non-league set up. The side finished towards the bottom end of the table for three successive seasons. 

Darren Purbrick was given the managers job in April 2024, with the club changing its title to Wokingham Town FC a couple of months later.

Wokingham Town FC will play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Stag Meadow, Windsor

Wokingham Town 0 Tring Town 0 (Friday 28th September 2001) Isthmian League Division Three (att: c80)

Wokingham Town were a club who were really struggling after losing their much-loved Finchampstead Road ground in the town and were victims of an overspending owner who promised plenty. Just eleven years previously they had finished as runners up in the Isthmian League but were now in the bottom division and without a home ground and having to play at Stag Meadow.

I went by train on a pleasant late summers evening after work and enjoyed sitting at a riverside pub reading the London Standard before setting off for the ground. I managed to get lost on the way, before a local put me right. The clubhouse was good, as was the ground which looked to have had a recent makeover.

I had a chat with a Town fan who was quite jolly to say what his club had been through when I asked about their chances of getting a new ground back in Wokingham.

Stag Meadow had an old-fashioned Main Stand on the halfway line with new tip up seats and open terracing either side. A new terracotta track divided this side from the lush pitch. There were a few rows of open terracing either side with the clubhouse, offices and changing rooms standing towards the Park End.

Both the Park and Town Ends behind the goals had open terracing. The far Enclosure had a low roof running virtually the full length of the pitch with shallow terracing. The game was unremarkable, but at least the Main Stand offered me a good view. I walked back to the station, which took a lot less time than the way there!

 

 

Rossendale

Rossendale FC is a non-league football club that represents the district of the same name in East Lancashire. The Rossendale Valley is a former industrial heartland now transformed into an extremely attractive area consisting of several towns and villages, with Rawtenstall being the largest of them.

The current Rossendale FC was founded in 1937 as Old Rossendalians, by former pupils of the Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, becoming members of the Lancashire Amateur League in 1947. They form just part of an interesting local football history.

The original Rossendale FC

Another club called Myrtle Grove FC, was formed in 1877, playing in Cloughfold. For the 1881–82 season, the club moved to Dark Lane in Newchurch and renamed themselves Rossendale FC, soon becoming regular entrants in the FA Cup, with their debut an 11-0 thumping by Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

The Lancashire League was formed in 1889-90 and Rossendale became founder members. Life was tough against semi-pro and professional clubs. After finishing bottom of the table in 1896-97 the club was wound up.

Rossendale United

In 1898 a new club was formed wearing the same colours as their predecessors, also playing at Dark Lane. Their first honours came when becoming Lancashire Combination champions in 1926-27, where the also lifted the Division Two crown in 1956-57. 

‘The Stags’ joined the Cheshire League in 1970-71, winning the title in their first season. The team had a magnificent FA Cup run in 1971-72 getting through the qualifying stages and then defeating Altrincham before bowing out to Bolton Wanderers in the second round tie moved to Gigg Lane, Bury.

Two runners-up places quickly ensued prior another FA Cup first round appearance in 1975-76 which ended in defeat to Shrewsbury Town prior to becoming founder members of North West Counties League in 1982-83.

The main stand at Dark Lane
image taken from X

After finishing runners-up in the competition, the league title was secured in 1988-89 leading to a short spell in the Northern Premier League. A further championship was collected in 2000-01, which saw a return to Division One of the NPL.

The team was relegated in 2009-10 before finishing second from bottom in the NWCL Premier Division in 2010-11. The club was put up for sale, with no buyer being found. The club folded and on the 15th January 2012, firefighters were called to deal with a fire in the main stand at Dark Lane. 

Covered terracing at Dark Lane
image taken from X

There had been an attempt by the supporters’ trust to form a new club which would be owned by fans and governed as a community or co-operative society. Rossendale FC was chosen as the preferred name and all plans were in place until they were abandoned because of no suitable ground being available, with the fire putting pay to hopes.

It may have been a coincidence, but the derelict Dark Lane site received outline planning permission for 100 new family homes.

The current Rossendale FC

Meanwhile, while history was being played out at Dark Lane, Old Rossendalians continued along in the Lancashire Amateur League before joining the Bacup Amateur League in 1954, owing to the cost of previous travelling issues. 

A couple of Bury Amateur League in 1964, before returning to the Lancashire Amateur League in 1967. The club used Marl Pits as their home ground, sharing the facility with Rossendale Rugby Club, as a clubhouse was added.

The football club changed their title to Rossendale Amateurs, who went on to become champions of the Lancashire Amateur League in 1981-82, adding a second triumph in 1983-84. A brief spell in the second tier of the competition followed before a third league title was secured in 2007-08. 

In 2010 the club became Rossendale FC, ending as league runners-up in 2011-12 before dropping down a level at the end of the 2013-14 campaign. In 2016-17 the team regained their higher playing status, where continued good form saw the club progress to Division Two of the West Lancashire League in 2019-20.

After a couple of abandoned seasons owing to Covid-19, Rossendale gained promotion to Division One after winning the Division Two title in 2021-22. Further promotion was achieved in 2022-23 as the side ended up league runners-up under manager Ray Davis. 

He resigned in the summer of 2023 to be replaced by the trio of Jonathan Heap, Simon Nangle and Scott Wylie.

Rossendale FC will play in the West Lancashire League Premier Division in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Sunday 29^th August 2021

It was a pleasant Bank Holiday morning when I awoke at the home of my friends Keith and Julie Roscoe in Rawtenstall. We’d enjoyed a lovely evening after I’d earlier managed a wonderful double of seeing England complete a Test win against India at Headingley and then seen Scarborough Athletic win away at Radcliffe.

I was visiting the area to watch the Lancashire League local derby cricket between Rawtenstall and Haslingden, which would be followed up on the Monday by watching my pal play in his band, the Riflemen of War, at the Bury Glastonburybury Festival.

With time to kill before the first ball at the splendid Worswick Memorial Ground, I decided to go for a walk and build a thirst and appetite. The small atmospheric town centre was just coming to life as I headed along Bank Street before my walk along Newchurch Road. 

It was good to see plenty of junior football action taking place at Marls Pit, the home of the Stags on an artificial surface up on the banking above the main pitch, which had a shale running track running around it for local athletes along with training lights.

It was all part of Marls Pit leisure Centre, which also had some smaller sized 3G pitches, a gym, swimming pool, and a clubhouse for the football and rugby clubs. Spectators would be limited to a view by the buildings if they wanted shelter. 

While it was a relatively basic venue, I'm sure the views from inside the clubhouse and in front of it would be enough for the crowds the team attracted and keep them warm on what looked like it could be an exposed location in winter.

Once I’d taken my snaps, I continued my recreation as far as the village of Waterfoots where I went down the hill and started making my way back to Rawtenstall along Bacup Road. I passed the turning to Dark Lane, former home of football in the area, which is remembered as a road where the housing is located on the old ground is called Stag Lane. 

Cricket at the magnificent Rawtenstall CC

The weekend continued in fine style. There was a steam railway festival on the East Lancashire Line, so I went to film a loco arriving into Rawtenstall, and on my return to the cricket I got to meet comedian and actor Ted Robbins.

He starred as the evil Den Perry, in Phoenix Nights, one of my favourite comedies, and he was a lovely man to boot who took time put for a chat. Apparantly he used to play rugby at Marls Pit with my pal Kes, whose team came out second best in their encounter out in the middle.

Fun with Den Perry

A wonderful time was had in an area I had grown to like a lot. Maybe, a match at Marl Pits or nearby Bacup Borough might be arranged on a future visit.