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.

Rob Bernard Sisaket, Thailand, May 2024

Sunday 18 July 2010

Cheadle Town




Cheadle Town FC, were formed as Grasmere Rovers FC in 1961, and are based near to Stockport in Greater Manchester. The club was originally formed by youngsters Barrie Dean asked his neighbour, Chris Davies to play in the Manchester Junior League. Both lads lived on Grasmere Road, hence their original name.

















By 1972 they were competing in Saturday afternoon football in the Manchester League, sharing the Surrey Street ground with Glossop. In 1982 the club moved into their Park Road home, before entering the North Counties West League in 1983 as Cheadle Town, where they’ve enjoyed a steady but undistinguished time.

In season 2012-13 Cheadle Town FC will be playing in the North Counties West League Division One.

















My visit

I was on annual leave from work, so I decided I would have three days in the Manchester area clocking up some new grounds. On Monday 19th July 2010 I had arrived from London and already visited nearby Edgeley Park, home of near neighbours Stockport County. A bus out on the main road soon deposited me in Stockport Road, Cheadle. A signpost directed me down Park Road and within a few minutes I was walking past the cemetery and into the open gates if the stadium.

A groundsman was at work replacing turf on the far side of the pitch, so I went across and asked permission to take some photos, which he was fine about. Most of the ground was a mixture of open flat concrete and grass standing with a concrete wall enclosing the ground. The far end had a practice pitch. The side nearest the entrance had all the facilities, with the impressive main stand being the centrepiece.
















I was leaving when a club official arrived. He shouted for his mate to assist him to secure the gates into the stadium. They had been broken open for a car to get out a couple of days previously and he was extremely concerned that an open ground would lead to vandalism. He lamented that the walls weren’t high enough to secure everything. I said it was a shame the youths didn’t get involved playing at the club, to which he replied that there was little chance as that required effort.

I bid farewell and went in search of a return bus back into Stockport so I could catch a train on to Altrincham.














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