I have been to all 92 Soccer League grounds – that is the definitive record from worst to finest and the place YOUR membership ranks, writes OLIVER HOLT

We’re republishing the very best of DailyMail+ Sport from 2025 – the unique, in-depth tales that our subscribers love. Right here, we glance again at our chief sports activities author finishing a lifelong odyssey – doing the 92. Oliver Holt ranked all 92 grounds (as they have been then, although the Hill Dickinson Stadium continues to be to return…) and that is the place your group ranks. 

Some grounds are lovely. Some grounds are usually not so lovely. Some grounds take you to the guts of the English recreation. And a few go away you feeling such as you’re on the periphery.

However every of them holds the soul of their neighborhood and the hopes and desires of the 1000’s of people that make the pilgrimage there each weekend. 

I’ve accomplished the journey of a lifetime and I’m rating all 92 English Soccer League grounds for Day by day Mail Sport. It is one thing I’ve needed to do for so long as I can keep in mind and on April 1, 2025, I did it. I accomplished the 92. 

I gained’t give an excessive amount of away simply but, however why are grounds like AFC Wimbledon and Barrow in my high 20? What about Anfield, Outdated Trafford and Stamford Bridge?

The place is the very best grub within the Premier League and the place did Tyson Fury as soon as threaten to have my jaw damaged?

That is my love letter to English soccer. Learn on to search out out who comes out on high, the place your group ranks and every thing else in between – then let me know what you consider my information to the 92 grounds of England. 

92. The Den, Millwall

Division: Championship Opened: 1993 Capability: 19,369

I’m banned from The Den in the meanwhile, in an expert capability anyway. I may nonetheless go in a private capability however, on stability, I feel I’d reasonably not.

The Day by day Mail has been informed our reporters are usually not welcome on the membership as a result of we had the temerity to report on the horrendous problem by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts on Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta through the FA Cup tie at Selhurst Park just a few weeks in the past.

Let’s be trustworthy about this: there are worse locations to be banned from. Being banned from The Den is the soccer equal of being banned out of your native abattoir.

You don’t need to be a racist, misogynistic, homophobic bloke with anger points and a penchant for tragedy-chanting to really feel at residence at The Den. Nevertheless it helps.

And, sure, I do know Millwall try to rebrand themselves a ‘household membership’ now and the odd Tarquin and Tabitha stray throughout the county strains from Blackheath and Clapham to maintain it actual however that simply makes The Den expertise even worse.

The final time I went as a supporter was 15 years in the past to look at Stockport County play there and the stroll from South Bermondsey station to the away turnstiles was an eye-opener.

Not that there have been any issues: even at Millwall, soccer has moved on for the reason that 70s. However this nonetheless felt deeply dystopian: for their very own security, away followers stroll to the bottom via a protracted wire mesh cage that appears to haven’t any finish.

It felt like embarking on a tour of Jurassic Park: you realize that if the fences fail, the dinosaurs are going to take a run at you.

Inside the bottom, which is trendy and neat and comparatively characterless, the extent of hatred for visiting supporters feels unusually visceral.

It’s loud. I’ll give it that. It’s primeval. It’s unreconstructed, which is usually a good factor, too, and it breeds a way of togetherness.

If medievalism is your factor, you’re in for a deal with. If not, give it a miss.

91. Stadium MK, MK Dons

Division: League Two Opened: 2007 Capability: 30,303

I do know it’s a smooth goal however I actually don’t care a lot for Stadium MK. Or for MK Dons themselves for that matter, even when they’re inviting supporters to revamp their membership crest and rethink their identify.

The membership was born underneath a foul signal when it was jemmied out of Wimbledon and moved to Milton Keynes in 2003 and it has by no means been in a position to shake the stigma since. The stadium matches the membership.

It’s a soulless, faceless, gloomy place. Greater than that, there’s something reasonably forbidding about it.

Its 30,000 capability is simply too large for the membership it hosts and, other than the thrill of the native KFC and McDonald’s, there’s little to advocate in its fast surrounds.

Its black seats lend it a sinister air, too. It’s the form of stadium solely its mom may love. And it doesn’t have a mom.

Until you need to do the 92, give it a miss.

90. Kassam Stadium, Oxford United

Division: Championship Opened: 2001 Capability: 12,537 

I really feel ashamed to say it, on condition that it’s my native membership, however the very best expertise I’ve had on the Kassam Stadium was getting my Covid jab there through the pandemic.

Once they moved, across the flip of the century, abandoning the chaotic appeal of the Manor Floor in Headington and swapping it for an remoted plateau exterior town, they solely accomplished three sides, abandoning the fourth due to rising prices. 

A very bitter wind blows in off the automotive park behind one of many targets and, from the primary stand – actually, from each stand – there’s a magnificent and uninterrupted view of the Frankie and Benny’s within the mini retail park that abuts the bottom.

The empty finish kills a number of the ambiance, too, though the Oxford followers are to be recommended for the noise they do generate given they’ve endured a era of being caught right here.

Firoz Kassam nonetheless owns the stadium however not the membership. That form of separation at all times spells hassle.

Oxford are hoping to maneuver to a brand new stadium to the north of town in a few years’ time. It could possibly’t come quickly sufficient.

89. London Stadium, West Ham United

Division: Premier League Opened: 2012 Capability: 62,500

I don’t even like calling it the London Stadium. It’s the Olympic Stadium, nevertheless it fits the David Sullivan-Karren Brady rebrand of the membership to present it the capital’s identify.

It was an ideal athletics area and residential to an entire host of golden reminiscences at London 2012 nevertheless it’s a canine’s dinner of a soccer floor.

It’s additionally a monument to a lot that’s mistaken with the highest flight of the English recreation: a give up of identification and custom as collateral harm within the house owners’ pursuit of revenue.

Strolling to it, sadly, feels a bit like strolling via a wasteland and its odd configuration inside harms the ambiance although the followers are proper up there with the very best within the nation.

The previous stadium at Upton Park was intimate and raucous and intimidating. The London Stadium is nothing like that.

The house owners spent a number of time congratulating themselves on the deal they did to maneuver to the brand new floor: they’re the archetypes of soccer house owners who know the worth of every thing and the worth of nothing.

88. Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday

Division: Championship Opened: 1899 Capability: 34,945

I used to think about Hillsborough as one of many cathedrals of the English recreation however since the catastrophe that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool followers in 1989, it’s arduous to get previous its affiliation with a lot loss of life and despair and heartbreak and betrayal of supporters.

I do know, clearly, that this could punish Wednesday followers who don’t need to be punished for one thing that had nothing to do with them however Hillsborough, and its Leppings Lane Finish particularly, has such a cursed legacy that a part of me thinks it ought to have been demolished and that the membership ought to have moved elsewhere.

Even within the final couple of years, followers of Newcastle United and Leeds United have reported critical security issues within the Leppings Lane Finish.

I recognise the issues in my argument about demolishing the stadium, or a part of it, and the feelings it provokes on all sides so maybe it’s simply sufficient to say I’ll by no means really feel the identical concerning the stadium as I as soon as did.

Visiting it now appears like an intrusion.

87. Sixfields, Northampton City

Division: League One Opened: 1994 Capability: 8,203

Sixfields is a blighted stadium.

It’s a soulless floor anyway however its points have been compounded by redevelopment delays and questions on lacking cash.

It has the identical form of deracinated really feel as so most of the new-build stadia pushed to the peripheries of cities. Its supporters deserve quite a bit higher.

86. Broadfield Stadium, Crawley City

Division: League Two Opened: 1997 Capability: 6,134

Not an terrible lot to relish concerning the Broadfield Stadium, to be trustworthy.

Respectable followers, in fact, identical to at each membership, however Crawley City’s house is a little bit of a contemporary monstrosity, subsequent to a roundabout exterior city on the A23.

The place has had a foul vibe because it was acquired by Wagmi United LLC, a gaggle of US cryptocurrency traders. Wagmi, by the way in which, stands for ‘We’re All Gonna Make It’.

Should you go to the Broadfield Stadium, I feel you would possibly doubt even when they’re in League Two.

I had enjoyable after I visited as a result of I used to be within the away finish with Stockport followers however I’m not in any hurry to return.

85. Coventry Constructing Society Enviornment, Coventry Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 2005 Capability: 32,609 

When it was known as the Ricoh Enviornment, I had no real interest in visiting what’s now the Coventry Constructing Society Enviornment as a result of it felt like an emblem of the callous means wherein followers of the membership have been being handled by SISU, the hedge fund that owned it on the time.

However SISU offered up in the long run and I went alongside final season and noticed Coventry dismantle Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham Metropolis after which, within the press room beneath the stadium, watched as my colleague Neil Moxley acquired into an honest old style row with Rooney about his stewardship of the Blues.

The ambiance inside the bottom was full of life sufficient, partly as a result of the sport was a derby of types, however it’s a soulless, deracinated form of stadium abutting the M6.

It’s soccer in an city wasteland however it’s soccer, nonetheless, and Doug King, the brand new proprietor has introduced with him the promise of higher occasions forward.

84. JobServe Neighborhood Stadium, Colchester United

Division: League Two Opened: 2008 Capability: 10,105 

The employees on the membership are nice, the stewards are pleasant, there’s loads of parking, there’s a Wendy’s subsequent door and the house followers, largely ranged in a stand behind one of many targets, make an outstanding fist of making an environment.

However this stadium on a roundabout on the A12 in the course of a retail park continues to be reasonably a bleak place to look at soccer.

It in all probability didn’t assist that I went on a dank March night time just a few weeks in the past when a wispy fog lingered within the dim floodlight glare however there was one thing ethereally gloomy concerning the JobServe Neighborhood Stadium.

The empty corridors and the cavernous suites lent it a slight really feel of the Overlook Resort on the within. On the surface, the 4 corners of the stadium are open, which makes for particularly bitter nights within the winter.

House is residence and there was nonetheless loads of drama and fervour in Colchester’s 1-0 victory over Chesterfield – the match I noticed – nevertheless it got here regardless of the stadium, not due to it.

83. Poundland Bescot Stadium, Walsall

Division: League Two Opened: 1990 Capability: 10,863

The Bescot Stadium was the primary of the era of identikit new-build arenas I went to and there’s not, frankly, a lot to advocate it other than the loyalty of the followers.

It’s near the M6 and it’s a seven-minute stroll to Walsall station, so you may get away from it rapidly, which some would say is a bonus.

82. Brick Neighborhood Stadium, Wigan Athletic

Division: League One Opened: 1999 Capability: 25,133

I stood on the terraces at Springfield Park as a Stockport fan.

As soon as once more, it is not going to come as a shock to study I most popular it to its successor, the JJB Stadium, which later turned the DW Stadium and is now the Brick Neighborhood Stadium.

The identify adjustments are irrelevant to some however they betray a scarcity of look after the identification of a soccer membership.

There have been some nice days and nights there when Wigan have been promoted to the Premier League and I keep in mind, particularly, the heady feeling of watching Wigan’s first residence recreation within the high flight, towards Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2005.

The limelight has moved away once more now and Wigan are left with a stadium that’s completely satisfactory and likewise completely unremarkable.

81. The Croud Meadow, Shrewsbury City

Division: League Two Opened: 2007 Capability: 9,875 

Homosexual Meadow, the previous residence of Shrewsbury City, was the most effective grounds in our high 4 divisions.

It might need flooded every now and then due to its place on the banks of the River Severn nevertheless it was a wonderful previous floor and the custom of a boatman taking to a coracle to fish wayward photographs that cleared the roof of the stand out of the river was probably the most cherished peculiarities in our recreation.

The Croud Meadow is altogether extra prosaic. Abutted by a McDonald’s and a TK Maxx on the outer fringes of the city, it appears like a disembodied place, separated from its neighborhood, purposeful however uninspired.

80. Choose Automotive Leasing Stadium, Studying

Division: League One Opened: 1998 Capability: 24,376 

I used to be persona non grata for some time on the Choose Automotive Leasing Stadium after I took exception to Studying taking out two Chelsea goalkeepers in a single match again in 2006, when Steve Coppell and Wally Downes have been in cost on the Madejski Stadium. 

Folks known as it the Mad Stad again then and I keep in mind Neil Warnock telling me about being chased to his automotive exterior the primary entrance when he was supervisor of Sheffield United.

And Wally took a swing at me at a Soccer Writers’ Affiliation dinner a few years later. 

Anyway, I’ve made up with Stephen Hunt, who was one of many gamers concerned within the tumult towards Chelsea, and with Downes since then.

Even when the Mad Stad doesn’t have an terrible lot of persona, I’ve solely respect for the Studying followers who’ve endured a lot underneath the possession of Dai Yongge and are combating for his or her membership.

79. Pleasure Park Stadium, Derby County

Division: Championship Opened: 1997 Capability: 32,956

Pleasure Park is the standard-bearer, sadly, for what’s missing in most of the new era of English soccer stadia.

English soccer grounds ought to be concerning the North Financial institution and the Stretford Finish and the Kop and the Gallowgate Finish and the Shelf.

They’re alleged to be about outlined areas that give a stadium character and persona and even rivalry amongst residence followers about who sings loudest.

Too most of the trendy bowls have misplaced that character as a result of the followers simply merge into one.

This isn’t a criticism of Derby County followers in any means. They nonetheless make loads of noise inside their stadium however the place will not be a patch on the Baseball Floor, which witnessed so many momentous days and nights.

Pleasure Park is bland and featureless, an emblem of its group’s present wrestle for identification because it languishes close to the foot of the Championship.

78. Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 2003 Capability: 20,996 

My in-laws used to dwell in Swansea and after I wasn’t out strolling to Worm’s Head at Rhossili or having fun with the delights of Mumbles and the Wales Coast Path, I’d make the occasional pilgrimage to what was left of the Vetch Subject.

I stood within the away finish there with Manchester United followers within the early 80s however after I visited later in my life, the Vetch was locked up and derelict. Should you peered via the gates, you possibly can see small timber and shrubs rising on the pitch.

The Swansea.com Stadium lacks the identical character, clearly, however it’s a tight stadium the place the followers can nonetheless generate a rousing ambiance if their group’s shows permit it.

In the intervening time, sadly, that isn’t fairly often however they’ve had some wonderful groups and wonderful managers within the post-Vetch period.

I did a cellphone interview with Mike Tyson from the press field right here a few hours earlier than a recreation. I couldn’t hear him very effectively due to varied bulletins being remodeled the loud-speaker system and shortly, his tone turned reasonably impatient however nonetheless, a dialog with Mike Tyson within the press field at Swansea will not be simply forgotten.

77. Pirelli Stadium, Burton Albion

Division: League One Opened: 2005 Capability: 7,088

The principle entrance of the Pirelli Stadium seems a bit like a automotive showroom. The remainder of it struggles for character, too.

Burton’s a wonderful membership with a distinguished non-League historical past that may boast Neil Warnock and Nigel Clough as former managers and which has nailed down its place within the Soccer League.

It has been a membership to be admired for a very long time, notably underneath the previous stewardship of Ben Robinson, who not too long ago offered his majority stake to the Nordic Soccer Group.

They’ve punched above its weight for a lot of that point and their stadium is constructed for practicality, not for inventive advantage.

76. Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth

Division: Premier League Opened: 1910 Capability: 11,307

The membership is among the success tales of contemporary English soccer and the Vitality Stadium displays its enthusiasm and, sure, vitality.

It’s a little bit of a Lego area, positive, nevertheless it’s constructed for its viewers and its catchment space. It’s a League Two stadium that acquired overtaken by the success of its aspect.

Its character comes from its small measurement and the ambiance it generates due to it. 

Abutting King’s Park and never removed from the ocean entrance, it’s a floor that just about manages to really feel quaint. However not fairly.

75. Eco-Energy Stadium, Doncaster Rovers

Division: League One Opened: 2007 Capability: 15,148

It’s, at the least, a nice stroll to the Eco-Energy Stadium on the outskirts of Doncaster. 

I parked on the property grouped round Lakeside Lake and strolled round its shores till I got here to the stadium. Issues go barely downhill from there.

It’s a superbly presentable stadium however there’s little to tell apart it. It’s a uniform trendy bowl caught on the surface of city that’s rescued by the membership’s glorious help.

74. St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton

Division: Championship Opened: 2001 Capability: 32,384

Southampton’s former floor, The Dell, was a splendidly quirky stadium, full of wierd tiers and cabinets.

It doesn’t really feel as if St Mary’s Stadium has any quirks, sadly.

Squatting on the fringe of a barely murky industrial property, it falls squarely into the class of recent builds largely devoid of character.

That doesn’t imply that the house followers are incapable of making ambiance there and the renditions of When the Saints Go Marching In are part of the cultural material of soccer on this nation.

Sight strains are good and it could possibly get loud however its design has little to advocate it.

73. King Energy Stadium, Leicester Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 2002 Capability: 32,259

One of many few occasions I used to be genuinely scared at a soccer stadium after I was a supporter was throughout a go to to Leicester Metropolis’s former stadium at Filbert Road.

Within the crush to get out of the away finish on the remaining whistle, I used to be lifted off my toes within the surge.

So I’m conscious that there are limits to how a lot one ought to mourn the passing of that era of stadia however I nonetheless discover it arduous to heat to arenas just like the King Energy Stadium.

It’s snug and it’s purposeful and the Leicester followers could make loads of noise nevertheless it’s a bland, featureless bowl that has little to tell apart it from most of the new era of stadia.

Even then, it offered me with one of many nice reminiscences of the final decade when Andrea Bocelli stood subsequent to Claudio Ranieri and sang Nessun Dorma the sport after Leicester had pulled off the shock of the century by profitable the Premier League in 2016.

72. Lamex Stadium, Stevenage

Division: League One Opened: 1961 Capability: 7,426

Broadhall Manner, now formally the Lamex Stadium, is an honest little floor with a great ambiance.

It’s a wonderful membership, too, that has persistently achieved greater than most anticipated of it and has held down its place within the Soccer League.

The followers create greater than their share of noise nevertheless it’s a pleasant membership with nice employees and stewards.

It’s not spectacular nevertheless it’s a beautiful day trip watching soccer.

71. EV Charger Factors Stadium, Cheltenham City

Division: League Two Opened: 1927 Capability: 6,923

It’s a excessive bar in today when cash counts much more than heritage and funds are fraught on the mistaken finish of the EFL however the EV Charger Factors Stadium might have essentially the most chequered naming rights previous of any stadium within the nation.

We should always simply keep on with Whaddon Highway actually nevertheless it was renamed the Abbey Enterprise Stadium in 2009, then it turned The World of Smile Stadium, then the LCI Rail Stadium in 2016–17, then the Jonny-Rocks Stadium in 2018–19, and the Fully-Suzuki Stadium in 2022 and now its present superb and evocative identify. 

I hope they acquired some huge cash for these sponsorships as a result of they make the membership look silly and low cost and rip chunks of its identification away from it.

Once more, I do know it’s in all probability not financially viable to dispose of them however I hate stadium naming rights. I’d ban them if I may. Soccer survived for a century with out them so why not now?

It’s a disgrace as a result of it’s a wonderful little floor that gives a unique focus in a city dominated by horse racing.

70. Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham

Division: League Two Opened: 1893 Capability: 11,582

I keep in mind the journey as a lot as something.

Kent may be the county I’ve been to least and so it felt barely unique driving down the M2 and seeing the Priestfield Stadium not removed from the River Medway.

Some might rattling Priestfield however Gillingham have performed right here for greater than 100 years and that weight of historical past counts as a lot as something while you go to a stadium. 

Nonetheless arduous golf equipment might attempt to replicate custom with compelled rituals, you’ll be able to’t cheat historical past.

69. Hayes Lane, Bromley

Division: League Two Opened: 1938 Capability: 5,000 

Hayes Lane is a type of stadiums that feels extensive open to the weather. It’s the alternative of a decent, enclosed floor like Loftus Highway nevertheless it’s nonetheless a pleasure to go to.

I went with Stockport when Bromley have been within the Nationwide League and stood on the open terrace, which was reserved for away followers.

It was a wild night in February 2022 and it felt as if the wind was blowing horizontal however County gained 3-1 and a steward went out of his method to convey me a programme from the place they have been being offered within the residence finish, so it felt like a golden night time all spherical.

68. Peninsula Stadium, Salford Metropolis

Division: League Two Opened: 1978 Capability: 5,032

The gamers who comprise the Class of 92 have been the gamers on the coronary heart of one of many biggest tales I ever lined – the Manchester United Treble of 1998-99 – so maybe it shouldn’t be a shock that I loved my go to to Moor Lane, now rebranded because the Peninsula Stadium.

Many dislike and mistrust the way in which Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and the remaining took over a non-League membership and oversaw its rise to the Soccer League however I like what they’ve achieved at Salford.

It’s a neat little floor and it’s been properly modernised with out shedding all its character. 

I went to a League Two play-off semi-final there a few years in the past when Salford performed Stockport and the ambiance was glorious.

Stockport misplaced the primary leg however made the ultimate. In order that helped.

67. Subject Mill, Mansfield City

Division: League One Opened: 1861 Capability: 9,376

My solely go to to Subject Mill was on Saturday, November 20, 1982.

I do know this as a result of I’ve at all times been a soccer stadium nerd and my 16-year-old self logged all of the matches I went to in a King’s Faculty Macclesfield train e book.

I didn’t know then that Subject Mill was, and is, the oldest frequently used stadium within the league however I stood on an open terrace behind one of many targets that housed the away followers and watched Stockport lose 3-2 in an FA Cup first-round tie.

Possibly that was why I’ve by no means been again. The ambiance was a bit bit misplaced as a result of it appeared so open however there’s a stand now the place that open terrace was. So perhaps issues have improved.

66. Vicarage Highway, Watford

Division: Championship Opened: 1921 Capability: 22,200

I’m going to indicate my age once more: the primary time I went to Vicarage Highway, Graham Taylor was the supervisor, in his first spell on the membership, and Ross Jenkins was enjoying up entrance in a match towards Manchester United.

Possibly I’ve misremembered this however I appear to recall the practice dropping us away followers proper exterior the stadium.

I’ve at all times related Vicarage Highway with drama for some purpose. Regardless that it’s not tight and compact, it’s a spot that may nonetheless generate a terrific ambiance and I’ve seen a slew of upsets there.

The final one was when Liverpool visited in the course of their runaway title-winning season in 2019-20.

They have been nonetheless unbeaten in mid-February and on a protracted profitable run and Watford took them aside and beat them 3-0. It was the form of event that Vicarage Highway excels at.

65. Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

Division: Championship Opened: 1997 Capability: 33,931

The placement of the Riverside Stadium on the banks of the Tees, set towards the backdrop of the area’s industrial heritage in metal and chemical substances, makes it really feel as if the stadium is on the coronary heart of its neighborhood.

Everton’s new floor is the most recent to make use of its metropolis’s waterway as a backdrop however the downside to Middlesbrough’s house is its featureless inside.

It’s a pleasant, passionate place to look at a recreation however its design is unimaginative and bland.

The bitter wind blowing in from the North Sea could make the stroll to the stadium a problem for the efficacy of your winter garments, too.

64. bet365 Stadium, Stoke Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 1997 Capability: 30,089

There was a time, when Tony Pulis was supervisor of Stoke Metropolis, {that a} go to to the bet365 Stadium was considered the last word take a look at of fortitude.

That was when the Sky pundit Andy Grey instructed Lionel Messi ‘would wrestle on a chilly night time on the Britannia Stadium,’ the bottom’s former identify.

A go to to the stadium is a take a look at for followers, too. It generates an honest ambiance however the design of the stadium means the wind blows via the gaps between the stands and chills supporters to the bone on chilly days and nights.

Just a little means away, on the opposite aspect of the twin carriageway that runs down in direction of the M6, you used to have the ability to see the contours of the Victoria Floor, the membership’s former residence, etched into the patch of wasteland the place it as soon as stood however they’ve constructed a housing property on it now.

Even when their new floor lacks character in its structure, the followers have breathed life into it with their raucous vitality.

63. Blundell Park, Grimsby City

Division: League Two Opened: 1899 Capability: 9,031

I’m not saying that Metal’s Cornerhouse fish and chip restaurant is the very best factor about Cleethorpes however consuming fish recent from the North Sea definitely made my go to to Blundell Park extra memorable.

Floor experiences are about much more than the sport. They’re about going together with your mates, they’re about getting a way of the area people, they’re about embedding your self in custom and so they’re concerning the recreation, too.

I beloved Blundell Park for all these causes.

62. Cardiff Metropolis Stadium, Cardiff Metropolis

Division: League One Opened: 2009 Capability: 33,280

I used to be a journalism scholar in Cardiff so Ninian Park was the primary floor the place I ever sat in a press field. From that day to this, it’s by no means misplaced the joys.

Rob Phillips, Cardiff’s South Wales Echo reporter on the time, was nonetheless commentating for the BBC till this season. He was the primary instance I got here throughout of a journalist who was brave sufficient to inform the reality even when it meant being banned by his native membership.

That destiny befell him for a spell throughout my yr in Wales.

Anyway, Ninian Park was a drive of nature stadium and its successor was at all times going to wrestle to copy its depth.

It’s nonetheless a great place to look at soccer as a result of they’re such a passionate group of supporters however the stadium is unappealing from the surface – truly it’s downright ugly – and unremarkable on the within.

Until, in fact, it’s a South Wales derby or Bristol Metropolis are on the town after which the ambiance takes your breath away.

61. MKM Stadium, Hull Metropolis 

Division: Championship Opened: 2002 Capability: 25,586

I’ve acquired a smooth spot for Hull Metropolis however not for his or her stadium.

The followers are sensible, among the finest and most devoted within the nation in a metropolis the place they need to struggle towards the ability of rugby league, however the stadium has too typically turn into a battleground between the supporters and house owners who’ve too typically adopted a heavy-handed strategy to their followers.

It’s a good-looking stadium on the within however there have been occasions when I’ve visited when sections of it have been shut down due to ticketing points.

It’s an area that has been made ugly by division.

60. Carrow Highway, Norwich Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 1935 Capability: 27,359

There’s one thing particular about golf equipment that don’t share their cities with rivals. It strengthens their regional character, particularly, and it’s that means with the tradition at Carrow Highway.

It’s a gem of a stadium, a spot filled with ardour and with loads of enmity for Ipswich City however a fraction faraway from among the uglinesss that may blight the fashionable recreation.

The loving stewardship of Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones pervades the ambiance on the floor. They are going to be missed now that they’ve stepped down from the board.

59. Ashton Gate, Bristol Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 1887 Capability: 26,459

Ashton Gate is among the stadiums that has slipped via the gaps for me.

I’ve solely been as soon as and that was for work nevertheless it’s a good-looking stadium in a wonderful metropolis with a wealthy historical past.

Richard Scudamore, the previous chief govt of the Premier League, is a fan, which at all times struck me as barely unusual given the harm the highest flight did to the decrease leagues throughout his time on the helm.

58. Memorial Floor, Bristol Rovers

Division: League Two Opened: 1921 Capability: 9,834

A unusual mish-mash of a floor whose structure betrays its origins as a rugby stadium, the Memorial Floor continues to be an honest place to look at soccer.

Moderately the form of visible chaos you get at this place with the Widespread Insulation Stand remoted like a widow stand on a part of the one touchline and the West Stand wanting extra like a cricket pavilion than the monotonous uniformity you get at so many new-builds.

House owners are at all times threatening to maneuver to a brand new web site however the Memorial Floor, successor to Eastville, nonetheless survives.

57. Brisbane Highway, Leyton Orient

Division: League One Opened: 1937 Capability: 9,253

From the surface, the fashionable Brisbane Highway seems as if it could possibly’t make up its thoughts whether or not it’s a high-rise housing property, a convention centre or a soccer floor. 

Possibly that’s the purpose. Possibly the long run for some golf equipment is to be all three.

In Orient’s case, they’ve nonetheless managed to retain the character and the delight of the well-known previous floor.

The East Stand, with the stunning previous gable bearing the membership’s identify, is among the finest stands within the 4 divisions and, regardless of all of the adjustments, the place oozes with the native character that makes the very best soccer golf equipment so distinctive.

I took my son to look at his first Stockport County recreation right here when he was three. He didn’t catch the bug.

56. Sincil Financial institution, Lincoln Metropolis

Division: League One Opened: 1895 Capability: 10,780

I haven’t been to Sincil Financial institution for greater than 30 years nevertheless it stays certainly one of my favorite grounds.

The reason being that it’s the house of certainly one of English soccer’s extra eccentric traditions, the sounding of an air-raid siren each time Lincoln get a nook.

It was deserted for some time upon the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine struggle however I’m informed it’s been restored now.

The English recreation is filled with odd histories. It’s what makes it so treasured.

55. Oakwell, Barnsley

Division: League One Opened: 1888 Capability: 23,287

They have been heady days for Yorkshire soccer within the late 90s. Leeds United have been within the Champions League and Barnsley spent a season within the Premier League.

It was a deal with to go to Oakwell in these days and watch Barnsley’s underdog story play out. However there’s one more reason why a go to to Oakwell continues to be particular.

The West Stand is certainly one of few remaining examples in our league of a stand designed by the well-known soccer architect Archibald Leitch and it’s a factor of magnificence.

There was one thing lovely about Leitch’s designs. Most have been demolished now however I’ve sat within the stand designed by him at Raith Rovers’ Starks Park stadium and it’s the very best a part of any floor I’ve been to in Scottish soccer.

Oakwell is treasured due to that and due to different nods to the heritage of the membership like the unique altering rooms.

Barnsley’s Premier League standing got here and went however the membership have by no means misplaced their sense of historical past.

54. Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers

Division: Championship Opened: 1882 Capability: 31,363

The primary time I went to Ewood Park was October 1991 after I reported on the return of Kenny Dalglish to soccer administration for Liverpool’s Day by day Publish.

I went quite a bit over the following 10 years as the nice occasions rolled and it was a beautiful alternative to discover among the Lancashire countryside across the city.

I beloved it at Ewood Park. I favored having the ability to look out from the primary stand on the hole between the stands reverse and see individuals standing on the hillside behind them, staring down into the stadium because the match unfolded.

I don’t know if that vantage level nonetheless exists. It does sound as if the supporter expertise has worsened underneath the present house owners.

The times when Dalglish led them to a league title appear an awfully very long time in the past now.

53. New York Stadium, Rotherham United

Division: League One Opened: 2012 Capability: 12,088

There’s one thing daring concerning the New York Stadium that elevates it above the usual new-builds.

The glamour of the identify – a suburb of Rotherham, not simply one of many biggest cities on the earth – helps, as does the charisma and the imaginative and prescient of the chairman and proprietor, Tony Stewart. It’s daring as brass and it carries it off.

52. Emirates Stadium, Arsenal

Division: Premier League Opened: 2006 Capability: 60,704

If Arsenal have been nonetheless at Highbury, it will be in my high 5 grounds.

Considered one of my finest mates owns a flat within the Highbury condo growth, within the spot closest to the place his season ticket was.

It sends a shiver down my backbone each time I’m going and go to. The respect Arsenal have proven to their previous floor is a template for the way in which different stadiums ought to be preserved.

There’s nonetheless a number of class at Arsenal. Proper from Lynne on the entrance desk on the Emirates to the individuals who work within the media division and the higher echelons of the membership so, in that regard, it’s at all times a pleasure to go to.

However the ambiance turns toxic right here extra rapidly than some other stadium I do know and it’s arduous for me to disassociate coming right here with the reminiscence of the vitriol that rained down on Arsene Wenger in his remaining years on the membership.

After all of the glories of Highbury, all of the historical past and the custom, the Emirates has been a spot of ache.

The stadium will not be as bland as among the new era nevertheless it nonetheless lacks actual character and there’s such a way of entitlement and bitterness among the many supporters that I’ve one pal, who’s a season ticket holder, who solely goes to away video games.

51. London Highway, Peterborough United

Division: League One Opened: 1913 Capability: 13,513

I like London Highway. A well-run membership with a terrific proprietor in Darragh MacAnthony and a stadium that’s a wonderful mixture of previous and new, custom and modernity.

It is a place with a correct identification and followers that make a number of noise and switch London Highway right into a cauldron for giant video games.

It’s the form of stadium the place you’ll be able to really feel respect for the previous in addition to an embrace of the long run.

50. Bloomfield Highway, Blackpool

Division: League One Opened: 1899 Capability: 16,616

Bloomfield Highway is in want of a bit love today however any stadium the place stands bear the identify of Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen and the place these two legends of the English recreation as soon as graced the turf ought to be a pilgrimage for any soccer fan.

The primary time I went was to look at Stockport in April 1983 so I keep in mind the way in which the place used to look within the days when the greats ran out at Bloomfield Highway.

I used to be there in 2011, too, when Blackpool have been again within the high flight, to see gamers like Charlie Adam and Marlon Harewood taking up Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United on a bitter January afternoon by the Irish Sea.

The stadium had modified by then and far of the character of the previous floor was misplaced within the redevelopment. These days within the high flight seem to be a very long time in the past now however whereas they nonetheless play at Bloomfield Highway, the echoes of historical past will make it a magical place.

49. John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield City

Division: League One Opened: 1994 Capability: 24,329

The most effective of the lower-division new-builds, the John Smith’s Stadium is a traditional of recent soccer structure.

Nestled within the lee of a hillside, its elegant, placing structure with its curved trusses makes it a worthy successor to the previous Leeds Highway floor.

Final yr, the Twentieth Century Society known as for the stadium to be listed and named it the most effective new buildings within the nation within the final 30 years.

They’re completely proper. Extra stadiums ought to be listed. Extra ought to have been protected. Too many have been misplaced nevertheless it’s not too late to safeguard the very best of those that stay.

48. Adams Park, Wycombe Wanderers

Division: League One Opened: 1990 Capability: 9,558

I do know a number of followers have Adams Park a lot decrease on their record of stadiums to go to however I’ve at all times favored it.

Possibly it’s the bucolic setting, within the lee of a wooded hill on the sting of the Chilterns, that does it for me.

The stadium may be modest however the group has a behavior of punching above its weight. It’s an ideal place to go and really feel the underdog spirit that’s a part of the drive that drives English soccer.

47. Meadow Lane, Notts County

Division: League Two Opened: 1910 Capability: 19,841

The primary time I went to Meadow Lane, it was to see Manchester United play a top-flight recreation there.

The away part was uncovered and the stadium had quirks and character. It’s nonetheless an exquisite floor to go to and it has developed into a formidable trendy area that has loads of nods to its wealthy historical past and its standing as one of many founder members of the Soccer League.

Its location, on the opposite aspect of the River Trent to the Metropolis Floor, will not be fairly as spectacular as Forest’s, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a venue that blows the breath of soccer historical past throughout your face.

46. Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood City

Division: League Two Opened: 1939 Capability: 5,137

Like Leeds, Morecambe and Grimsby City, going to look at Fleetwood is enhanced by native fish and chips.

Should you can’t get good fish and chips in Fleetwood, you’re not making an attempt arduous sufficient and I dined royally within the Granada Fish Bar earlier than heading to the Highbury Stadium.

The bottom might not be fairly as august as Arsenal’s previous stadium nevertheless it has a sublime, trendy important stand and a fierce native identification.

The membership’s nickname is The Fishermen and the followers chant quite a bit concerning the Cod Military. It’s an ideal day trip by the seaside.

45. College of Bradford Stadium, Bradford Metropolis 

Division: League One Opened: 1886 Capability: 24,433

It’s inconceivable to think about Valley Parade with out considering of the tragedy that befell Bradford Metropolis in 1985 when its important stand was engulfed by flames and 56 individuals misplaced their lives.

I attempt arduous to think about comfortable reminiscences there as a substitute and the College of Bradford Stadium holds the excellence, in my soccer supporting life, of being the one stadium the place I acquired chased by residence followers.

I used to be there with Stockport within the early 80s and I may nonetheless truly run at sooner than waddling tempo then so I acquired away.

Valley Parade nonetheless has its character, it’s nonetheless a wonderful stadium to go to. Each journey there’s a probability to recollect those that have been misplaced.

44. The Hive, Barnet

Division: League Two Opened: 2013 Capability: 6,500

The Hive flirts with soullessness however nearly evades it.

For a begin it’s one of many solely stadiums that permits you to watch the motion, fleetingly, from the London Underground.

The Jubilee Line travels previous it on an embankment between Stanmore and Queensbury and the open corners help you gaze in on the recreation.

I’ve been inside just a few occasions, too, most not too long ago to see Stockport lose an FA Cup tie there in December 2018, and it was arduous to not heat to the imaginative and prescient of the bottom as a hub for neighborhood sport even when it seems a bit like a Lego stadium.

43. The Valley, Charlton Athletic

Division: Championship Opened: 1919 Capability: 27,111

The Valley has modified out of all recognition from the glory days when greater than 75,000 crammed into it within the Thirties.

However there’s nonetheless one thing magical concerning the residence of Charlton Athletic. Maybe, for these of us who’re sufficiently old, it’s the reminiscence of the previous East Terrace rising up in direction of the South London sky.

Even when it was crumbling and condemned, there was one thing majestic about it, one thing that recalled nice days.

Maybe, too, there’s something concerning the information of how arduous the followers fought, for seven years within the late 80s and early 90s, to return to the stadium when it appeared it had been ripped away from them.

And even when solely that reminiscence of the previous East Terrace stays now, the stroll down into the valley the place the revamped stadium nestles nonetheless appears like a journey to the guts of the English recreation.

42. Mornflake Stadium, Crewe Alexandra

Division: League Two Opened: 1906 Capability: 10,109

I’ve acquired a number of affection for Gresty Highway. On a Friday night time on the finish of September 1983, it was the place I noticed Micky Quinn rating a hat-trick for Stockport County on the residence of our bitter rivals.

It was certainly one of my finest soccer experiences, seeing Quinn leaping on to the railings on the Gresty Highway Finish after scoring his third, shaking his fists at us in triumph as we leapt about on the terracing.

If there was footage of the followers’ wild celebrations now, the caption would possibly say ‘limbs’. 

Gresty Highway is a greater stadium now than it was then, which isn’t a excessive bar, and it has a greater proprietor than it did then. However it could possibly’t be straightforward residing within the shadow of such mighty neighbours.

41. SMH Group Stadium, Chesterfield

Division: League Two Opened: 2010 Capability: 10,400 

I used to have a little bit of a vendetta towards the SMH Group Stadium. Maybe not a vendetta, however definitely a prejudice.

I beloved the previous floor at Saltergate however when the membership moved to the brand new stadium and known as it the b2net Stadium, it felt as if it had offered its soul.

Since 2009, it has additionally been known as the Proact Stadium and the Approach Stadium. 

However attending to know a membership typically adjustments your view of a spot. I spent a little bit of time there earlier this season after I went to look at Kieron Dyer, who’s a coach on the membership, and Paul Prepare dinner, the supervisor, at work.

I met the house owners, who’re native businessmen and clearly have the membership’s finest pursuits at coronary heart, and took in a recreation and instantly the SMH Group Stadium had new life and character and soul breathed into it for me.

It’s a membership on the up and it’s a membership that cares about its followers, and so my prejudice towards the SMH Group Stadium is not any extra.

40. Boundary Park, Morecambe

Division: League Two Opened: 1904 Capability: 13,186

I keep in mind the chilly at Boundary Park. I feel lots of people do.

For a very long time, I laboured underneath the misapprehension that it was the very best floor within the Soccer League when, actually, that distinction belongs to the Hawthorns.

Boundary Park simply feels prefer it ought to be the very best. It’s not essentially the most lovely of stadiums nevertheless it’s acquired some grand previous character and it’s embedded on the coronary heart of its neighborhood.

It simply so occurs a few of my finest buddies are Oldham followers, too, so I used to be delighted once they got here up from the Nationwide League.

It’s a deal with to have the bottom again within the 92.

39. Vale Park, Port Vale

Division: League One Opened: 1950 Capability: 15,036 

I’ve acquired a smooth spot for Vale Park.

It was the primary away floor I ever went to and I nonetheless keep in mind the thrill of planning the practice journey from Stockport, making it to Burslem and getting a thrill out of the solely totally different expertise – the additional camaraderie – that being an away fan at one other membership’s floor brings.

Vale Park felt uncooked and actual to me again then and it acquired even higher on my subsequent go to when, in Stockport’s remaining yr within the Soccer League earlier than relegation to the Nationwide League, Anthony Elding acquired the winner for County within the 87th minute in entrance of the away finish.

It was lovely mayhem. County have been relegated just a few weeks later however I’ll always remember these days at Vale Park.

38. Toughsheet Neighborhood Stadium, Bolton Wanderers

Division: League One Opened: 1997 Capability: 28,018

When it was the Macron Stadium, certainly one of its a number of earlier incarnations, I interviewed Tyson Fury in a room on the lodge that was a part of the Toughsheet Neighborhood Stadium within the build-up to his world title struggle with Wladimir Klitschko. 

After he’d claimed the Klitschkos have been a part of a devil-worshipping ring, Fury made some reasonably disagreeable feedback about his views on hyperlinks between homosexuality and paedophilia.

When the interview was printed, he didn’t appear finest happy with the outcomes.

He stated his brother, Massive Shane, was going to interrupt my jaw ‘fully’ with a straight proper hand.

‘See large Shane there?’ Fury stated. ‘Take a look at large Shane. He’s 6ft 6in and 25 stone. He’s going to interrupt (your) jaw fully with one straight proper hand.

‘I ain’t going to do it, ‘cos I’ll get in hassle. However the large fella, there – he’ll annihilate (you), gained’t he? So Oliver, take a great take a look at him, ‘cos that’s the face you’re going to see earlier than you hit the deck.’

Enjoyable occasions. I’ve by no means discovered fairly the identical stage of pleasure in watching Bolton Wanderers there, though it had some nice days when it was known as the Reebok and Sam Allardyce was the supervisor.

It is among the earliest, and finest, of the brand new era of stadiums, and even whether it is on the outskirts of the city, its daring design makes it a neighborhood landmark.

37. Fratton Park, Portsmouth

Division: Championship Opened: 1899 Capability: 20,899

Since their transient sojourn within the Premier League, everybody has turn into conscious of the entrances to Luton City’s Kenilworth Highway floor which can be accessed on what seems to be the bottom ground of a terraced home.

However the previous means in to Fratton Park, beneath a half-timbered gable, is much more charming.

One of many previous establishments of English soccer, the stadium has been renovated however has not misplaced the depth and the raucousness that makes it such a hostile place to go to for opposing groups.

36. Portman Highway, Ipswich City

Division: Championship Opened: 1884 Capability: 29,813

The matchday hospitality of the Cobbolds, the previous house owners of Ipswich City, was legendary amongst journalists. I missed out on these days however a go to to Portman Highway continues to be a deal with.

It’s nonetheless an exquisite floor, a floor on the centre of its neighborhood, a floor the place you’ll be able to breathe within the legends of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, nice soccer males who did nice issues of their time in command of the membership.

Just a few years in the past, I went to the the launch of Kieron Dyer’s autobiography in a set on the stadium and it was an evening that underlined how essential the membership is to the city.

It’s a pleasure to see that the present hierarchy worth the significance of the stadium and have lavished care and cash on it. It is among the nice outposts of the English recreation.

35. Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Division: Premier League Opened: 1889 Capability: 31,750

After I first began going to Molineux, it was dominated by a peculiarity.

One of many stands, the John Eire Stand because it was then, was about 100ft from the touchline, a matter of a lot mirth for visiting followers.

It has been renamed the Steve Bull Stand now and the pitch has been repositioned in order that the fashionable Molineux is a stadium that is sensible.

It’s an area to be pleased with once more for Wolves followers, a stadium whose 4 stands are named after membership legends and former proprietor and benefactor Sir Jack Hayward and which takes care to respect its superb previous.

34. Turf Moor, Burnley

Division: Premier League Opened: 1883 Capability: 21,744

Turf Moor is an excellent place to look at soccer.

Sit within the North Stand, reverse the Bob Lord Stand, and you’ll gaze out over the city and its mills, which don’t look fairly as darkish and satanic any extra, and keep in mind that you’re within the conventional northern heartlands of our recreation right here.

I’ve a pal from Burnley who insists that extra individuals per head of inhabitants put on the jersey of their hometown membership in Burnley than in some other soccer centre in England.

It is a membership, in spite of everything, that could be within the Championship now however which gained the league title in 1921 and 1960 and was as soon as an enormous of the sport right here.

Stoke appears to have been placed on a pedestal for its capacity to offer a hostile atmosphere for visiting groups however Turf Moor can serve up the climate and the ambiance to run it shut.

33. The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion

Division: Championship Opened: 1900 Capability: 26,688

I’ve seen just a few crackers at The Hawthorns.

The 5-5 draw between West Brom and Manchester United in Might 2013 that was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final recreation as a supervisor might be high of the record.

I used to be within the press room there in Might 2017 when Chelsea sealed the title underneath Antonio Conte and the gamers invaded his press convention to bathe him in champagne and usually tough him up. Conte didn’t look finest happy.

The very best league floor in England, sitting on its perch above the M5, it’s also certainly one of soccer’s nice theatres, a floor the place the help exudes a love for the sport and a heat that survives the vicissitudes of the membership’s fortunes on the pitch.

32. Abbey Stadium, Cambridge United 

Division: League Two Opened: 1932 Capability: 8,024

I made it to the Abbey Stadium for the primary time on Boxing Day final yr for the sport towards Studying.

I walked to the bottom down Reduce Throat Lane and stood on the terraces on the Newmarket Highway Finish the place the singing is at its loudest and the place the names and shirts of the celebrated early Nineteen Nineties group of John Beck that included Dion Dublin are painted on the wall behind the stand.

Cambridge may be combating relegation to League Two however the noise inside would have put loads of Premier League grounds to disgrace.

31. Deepdale, Preston North Finish   

Division: Championship Opened: 1878 Capability: 23,404

I like going to Deepdale only for the historical past of the place.

Simply to gaze down from the stands and know that this was the place the place Tom Finney as soon as performed is sufficient to make it a memorable expertise.

And the sense of it being a pilgrimage is barely enhanced by the truth that the most effective statues in soccer sits exterior the bottom.

Taking its inspiration from the 1956 sports activities picture of the yr, which confirmed Finney aquaplaning via an enormous puddle at Stamford Bridge, the sculpture, often called The Splash, immortalises Finney exterior his residence city membership.

It’s an exquisite tribute exterior an area redolent with reminiscences of certainly one of England’s biggest gamers.

30. Kenilworth Highway, Luton City

Division: League One Opened: 1905 Capability: 10,265

The primary time I went to Kenilworth Highway was 42 years in the past. I stood on the open terrace that hosted the away followers for an FA Cup fourth spherical tie that Manchester United gained 2-0.

The newest time I went was in November 2021, to see Neil Warnock break the document for essentially the most video games managed in English soccer however unable to cease his Middlesbrough group falling to a 3-1 defeat.

Throughout these a long time, the ambiance on the previous stadium has endured. The Foremost Stand, which is greater than 100 years previous, shook that night time Luton took Boro down and the stadium turned a bear pit.

It attained a form of fame over again when the membership’s return to the highest flight not too long ago centered consideration on the quirky Oak Highway Finish entrance that goes straight via the center of a row of terraced homes.

Luton will transfer to a brand new stadium at Energy Court docket within the metropolis centre in just a few years however Kenilworth Highway shall be missed.

29. Etihad Stadium, Manchester Metropolis

Division: Premier League Opened: 2002 Capability: 52,900

I’d in all probability have Maine Highway within the high three on this record if Manchester Metropolis nonetheless performed there. I beloved that floor.

I beloved the benches within the Platt Lane, I beloved standing on the Kippax, I beloved the cantilever Foremost Stand and the alleyways across the floor and strolling throughout Platt Fields to the sport.

However the Etihad isn’t Maine Highway. It’s this excessive on the record as a result of it’s in Manchester and it’s witnessed the most effective groups in English soccer historical past enjoying on its turf, marshalled by one of many recreation’s nice managers.

Metropolis have achieved their finest to breathe persona into it nevertheless it’s arduous to disguise the actual fact it’s a characterless, identikit trendy stadium.

The company denizens of the Tunnel Membership, traipsing again to their seats effectively after the whistle has blown for the beginning of the second half, don’t assist, both.

28. Rodney Parade, Newport County

Division: League Two Opened: 1877 Capability: 8,722

A Cardiff taxi driver as soon as informed me that the very best fights in Wales occur exterior Newport railway station late on Saturday nights. He stated he typically took a break simply to go and watch the motion.

Rodney Parade’s a wonderful place to look at sport, too. Not removed from the banks of the River Usk, it’s a contemporary stadium with remnants of character that come into its personal when the giants come to play for the FA Cup.

I used to be there just a few years in the past when Manchester Metropolis visited within the fifth spherical and after the sport, the way in which out for followers took them previous the open home windows of the small altering rooms behind one of many targets the place you possibly can hear the celebrations of Pep Guardiola’s group booming out into the South Wales night time.

Just like the railway station, it’s not a spot for the faint-hearted.

27. County Floor, Swindon City

Division: League Two Opened: 1892 Capability: 15,547

There have been greater than 20 years between my first go to to the County Floor and my most up-to-date, a 0-0 draw with Accrington Stanley in direction of the top of March. It wasn’t the very best recreation however I had the very best time.

I’d had per week of being abused on social media by Newcastle followers (which is a part of the job and, sure, I agree, I don’t need to learn it) and going to Swindon felt like an exquisite breeze blowing on my face.

For a begin, there have been greater than 7,000 supporters there, for a fourth-tier recreation which meant nothing to each groups when it comes to promotion or relegation. The ambiance was full of life and passionate and the bottom has character and heat, even when one of many ends was closed.

At half-time, I watched a DS Lively match between lads with Down Syndrome representing Swindon and Bristol Metropolis and it was a pleasure. It was a pleasure to see their uncomplicated pleasure in the fantastic thing about soccer and the way in which they celebrated their targets and their talent and the way in which they regarded for his or her mother and father within the stands once they scored and the way in which they supported their team-mates.

The match was a reminder of what it means for a soccer membership to be on the coronary heart of its neighborhood. A stadium is about greater than only a recreation.

26. Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion

Division: Premier League Opened: 2011 Capability: 31,876

Possibly it’s the information of the place Brighton & Hove Albion got here from to get right here that makes a go to to the Amex Stadium such an uplifting factor.

I keep in mind seeing them on the Goldstone Floor, which I beloved, but additionally on the Withdean Stadium, which is a glorified parks pitch inside a small athletics stadium. 

When you’ve commuted to ‘residence’ video games at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium for 2 years as effectively, it’s little marvel the Amex nonetheless feels just like the promised land.

Neat on the within, daring on the surface, it’s a becoming residence for an exceptionally well-run membership and a fanbase that by no means gave up on its group.

25. Gtech Neighborhood Stadium, Brentford

Division: Premier League Opened: 2020 Capability: 17,250

It isn’t typically one of many new-build era of English soccer stadiums has extra character than a membership’s former floor however the Gtech Neighborhood Stadium is a cheerful exception.

Griffin Park was a lot beloved, in fact, and its peculiar function of boasting a pub at every of the 4 corners of the bottom was a part of the sport’s folklore.

However Brentford pulled off an architectural marvel with the Gtech, squeezing it right into a parcel of land within the shadow of the raised part of the M4 in west London.

The membership has the most effective residence data within the Premier League this season, which is testimony not simply to the excellence of the gamers and supervisor Thomas Frank however to the tight confines of the bottom and the ambiance it creates.

It’s no shock it’s attracting supporters who beforehand thought-about themselves with out an affiliation. It’s the kind of stadium, and membership, that makes followers really feel they belong.

24. Racecourse Floor, Wrexham

Division: Championship Opened: 1801 Capability: 10,500

I went to a number of video games in Wrexham within the late 70s and early 80s. My finest mate, Bryn, was from the city so when his mum and pop took him to go to household there, I went alongside and we headed for the Racecourse Floor.

I’m not a type of who regards the Ryan Reynolds/Rob McElhenney takeover of the membership with distaste, though I’m conscious that my pal and colleague Ian Herbert, a Wrexham fan and a membership scholar, is beginning to have some misgivings concerning the course issues are taking.

Nothing in soccer is ever fairly as healthful because it appears however thus far, it feels as if it has been good for the membership and for the city.

I don’t know what their long-term motives are however they’ve poured some huge cash into the group and into the infrastructure, and the membership is rising and rising via the leagues. It’s bringing extra gentle right into a neighborhood that has had its share of arduous occasions. 

I used to be on the Racecourse, by the way in which, when Mark Hughes scored his spectacular overhead kick towards Spain in 1985. It’s nonetheless one of many high 5 targets I’ve ever seen dwell.

The others: Angel di Maria for Argentina on the Lusail Stadium on the 2022 World Cup remaining, Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden towards England on the Associates Enviornment in 2012, Dennis Bergkamp for the Netherlands towards Argentina on the Stade Velodrome at France ’98 and Norman Whiteside for Manchester United towards Everton at Wembley within the 1985 FA Cup remaining.

23. St Andrew’s, Birmingham Metropolis

Division: Championship Opened: 1906 Capability: 29,409

Down the winding stairs from the press field, although the primary reception space the place employees try to type ticket requests, via the lobby, down one other set of steps and right into a tunnel beneath the Foremost Stand the place 4 backyard forks hold on the wall exterior the groundsman’s room – St Andrew’s continues to be a wonderful stadium that mixes old-fashioned components and trendy stands.

It’s an ideal place to look at a recreation. If it will get overshadowed by Aston Villa and West Brom, it nonetheless feels as if the soul of the Second Metropolis is alive on this place.

There are new house owners now, in fact, and large plans, however St Andrew’s continues to be on the coronary heart of every thing.

22. Stadium of Gentle, Sunderland

Division: Premier League Opened: 1997 Capability: 48,095

I beloved Roker Park. Like Maine Highway, I’d have it in my high 10 grounds if Sunderland have been nonetheless enjoying there now and I really feel fortunate to have stood within the away finish there and been handled to the complete drive of the Roker Roar.

I’ve by no means been fairly positive what to make of its successor, the Stadium of Gentle. I’m not even positive concerning the identify, which is dramatic, definitely, however can also be an apparent copy of the unique Benfica floor in Lisbon – which opened in 1954 and held 120,000 at its peak.

The design is reasonably uninspiring for such an evocative identify, too. It’s uncomfortably near identikit new-build, however I’ve buddies who say it’s their favorite wherever. 

The stadium does sit proudly atop the bluffs of the River Put on and it’s great to see the group on the up once more and dreaming of a return to the Premier League.

These are among the finest supporters within the nation and the noise the followers make when the largest events current themselves is up there with anybody.

21. Bramall Lane, Sheffield United

Division: Championship Opened: 1855 Capability: 32,050

Bramall Lane continues to be the one floor the place I’ve sat within the dugout throughout a league recreation.

Neil Warnock is a pal of mine and when he was in cost at Sheffield United, he let me sit subsequent to him in an end-of-season Championship recreation towards Ipswich City.

I acquired a entrance row seat for Rob Kozluk, one of many recreation’s nice sledgers, doing his finest to wind up then-Ipswich boss Joe Royle.

I can’t consider many higher grounds to have had the privilege. Bramall Lane is a cauldron of noise, filled with historical past and fervour, within the coronary heart of town.

Its Kop singing the Greasy Chip Butty music is among the iconic experiences in English soccer.

20. Stamford Bridge, Chelsea

Division: Premier League Opened: 1877 Capability: 40,173

All stadiums change and modernise with the years however there are few stadiums which have modified as dramatically as Stamford Bridge.

It was as soon as an intimidating place, dominated by the Shed, a sprawling, boisterous semi-circular terrace behind one of many targets that was synonymous with the gang issues of the Seventies and early 80s.

Going to look at a Chelsea recreation now’s a completely totally different expertise. The transformation was begun by Ken Bates, certainly one of a gaggle of visionary businessmen who modified the way in which we watch soccer, after which continued underneath Roman Abramovich.

And now, for a lot of, going to Chelsea, with its towering West Stand and opulent company bins, is a boutique expertise not misplaced with the massively prosperous space wherein it stands.

You may nonetheless really feel the historical past of the place while you go to, although. To its credit score, the membership preserved the unique wall that stood behind the Shed and it stays in place, used to show footage of Chelsea legends.

Possibly I ought to declare a sure bias right here, too: the meals within the press room on the Bridge is the very best within the Premier League.

19. Train Stadium, Harrogate City

Division: League Two Opened: 1920 Capability: 5,021

Possibly there’s a little bit of recency bias in placing Harrogate within the high 20.

Wetherby Highway, now often called the Train Stadium, was the bottom that accomplished my 92 after I went to look at them beat Tranmere Rovers there final Tuesday night time and so I’m at all times going to really feel nostalgic about being right here.

It’s an enthralling, quirky floor, cobbled collectively in a means which may not fulfill an aesthete however I had a superb night time right here.

My buddies and I stood on the raucous, seething Kop behind one of many targets within the first half. It was solely six or seven rows deep however there have been sufficient surges to make it really feel like being again within the 80s.

We moved to a extra sedate spot in seats behind the opposite objective after the interval. There have been solely simply over 3,000 followers there nevertheless it felt like 10 occasions that.

Tranmere introduced 500 of these supporters from Merseyside for a midweek bottom-of-the-table recreation in League Two, which was an incredible effort.

And it was a wonderful match, a 3-2 win for the house aspect that just about definitely assured their security from the specter of relegation.

A few previous buddies got here with me to make the event even higher and although there have been no fish and chips, I had breakfast at Betty’s the following morning, and an eclair for dessert, to make the expertise full.

18. Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace

Division: Premier League Opened: 1924 Capability: 25,194

I was postpone by what I noticed, pathetically, as the issue of attending to Selhurst Park in south London. Tough to drive to, arduous to discover a parking area, not on the Tube. Et cetera, et cetera.

I acquired over that a while in the past. A visit to Palace is among the finest experiences within the English recreation.

The ambiance generated by the Holmesdale Highway stand, particularly, makes Selhurst Park the most effective grounds in England to look at soccer.

Different golf equipment have seen the amount of their help dim because the demographic of their followers has modified however that has not occurred at Selhurst Park. It is among the few locations left that has the ability to intimidate and it’s all the higher for that.

17. MATRADE Loftus Highway, Queens Park Rangers

Division: Championship Opened: 1904 Capability: 18,193

One of many nice surviving neighborhood grounds, a wonderful, steep-sided gem of a boutique stadium in Shepherd’s Bush, Loftus Highway is a spot to cherish.

When Bernie Ecclestone was a part-owner of the membership, I sat within the administrators’ field with him just a few occasions and acquired shushed by Flavio Briatore for speaking an excessive amount of when my neighbour stored asking me questions. Which will have been the primary time anyone has ever been accused of speaking greater than Flavio.

The soccer wasn’t the very best throughout their time there however the hospitality was: they’d Mayfair restaurant Cipriani doing the catering.

They’re lengthy gone now however the stadium nonetheless stays, an exquisite anachronism in a altering world.

16. Metropolis Floor, Nottingham Forest

Division: Premier League Opened: 1898 Capability: 30,404

Generally, simply the stroll to a stadium is a part of what makes it particular.

My favorite was at all times the stroll via Queens Gardens in Perth to the WACA. The stroll down from town centre to the Adelaide Oval is gorgeous, too, and the stroll alongside the Thames to Craven Cottage is a part of what makes that floor particular. 

It’s the identical with the Metropolis Floor. I at all times park in the identical spot, close to the River Trent, and stroll alongside the river path till you’ll be able to see the Forest followers streaming down in direction of the entrances on the Trent Finish.

If you get nearer, you see the majesty of Trent Bridge subsequent to the Metropolis Floor, too, and you’re feeling you’re proper on the coronary heart of British sport.

There’s a lot historical past on the Metropolis Floor, a lot achievement, a lot custom and such a shocking location. It’s an exquisite place to look at a recreation.

15. House Park, Plymouth Argyle

Division: League One Opened: 1901 Capability: 17,904

My affection for House Park was effectively entrenched even earlier than I took my seat within the beautiful Mayflower Grandstand and watched one of many biggest FA Cup shocks of latest years unfold there in the beginning of February when the Pilgrims beat Liverpool.

That was a day to cherish every thing about House Park and the Inexperienced Military and the proud native identification enshrined there.

The Mayflower Grandstand, which was renovated not too long ago, stays a wonderful piece of stadium structure, the employees and stewards are uniformly pleasant and welcoming, and the bottom occupies a good-looking spot in a park on a hill not too removed from Plymouth Hoe. It’s the most effective soccer experiences within the league.

14. Prenton Park, Tranmere Rovers

Division: League Two Opened: 1912 Capability: 15,012

Prenton Park turned a beloved second residence for me for some time.

Like Stockport, they used to play their residence video games on a Friday night time at one time and that supplied an opportunity to go and watch them underneath the lights.

I beloved Prenton Park and its sense of neighborhood and its noble previous stands from the beginning and after I began work as a trainee on the Day by day Publish and the Liverpool Echo within the early 90s, I acquired to cowl Tranmere within the glory days underneath Jonny King when John Aldridge, who had returned from Actual Sociedad, was scoring for enjoyable.

The ambiance inside the bottom on a few of these nights on the Wirral was electrical. After I was a information reporter on the Echo, I even needed to go spherical to the home of Tranmere’s midfielder Kenny Irons in Norris Inexperienced to take a look at a narrative.

Kenny had been enjoying soccer in his entrance backyard and kicked a ball over a hedge into subsequent door’s backyard. His neighbour was an previous woman and she or he wouldn’t give Kenny his ball again.

After I pitched up on his doorstep, he noticed the humorous aspect.

13. Craven Cottage, Fulham

Division: Premier League Opened: 1896 Capability: 24,500

Craven Cottage is among the jewels of English soccer heritage, and Fulham’s stadium on the banks of the Thames has achieved the tough job of modernising the bottom with out shedding its character.

The presence of the Cottage, essentially the most superb eccentricity remaining in our 92 stadiums, in a single nook of the bottom, is central to that, in fact, and helps to make watching a match there so particular.

It is a membership that has taken care to protect its historical past and worth a stadium that’s totally different. Even the stroll to the bottom via Bishop’s Park and alongside the trail by the river, provides to the pleasure of the expertise. It’s a pleasure to go to.

12. Wham Stadium, Accrington Stanley

Division: League Two Opened: 1968 Capability: 5,278

For as soon as, I can flip a blind eye to the renaming of the bottom because the Wham Stadium. 

That’s as a result of I understand how a lot love and dedication and money and time the Stanley proprietor, Andy Holt, has put into the resurrection of his native group since he cleared its money owed in 2015 when it was getting ready to folding.

Andy doesn’t get a lot thanks for it and is planning to depart the operating of the membership on the finish of the season however he’ll bequeath a long-lasting legacy on this a part of Lancashire. 

The bottom has improved out of all recognition since he turned concerned and any go to to it’s a go to to the guts of the distinction one man could make to a soccer membership and a neighborhood.

Visionaries like Andy are few and much between in soccer and the sport shall be poorer for his absence.

11. Villa Park, Aston Villa

Division: Premier League Opened: 1897 Capability: 42,918

As soon as one of many nice architectural jewels of the English recreation, Villa Park misplaced the fantastic thing about Archibald Leitch’s magnificent unique Trinity Highway Stand in 2000 when it was demolished.

Its loss was an indication of how shabbily we deal with the concept of defending our soccer heritage on this nation.

Regardless of that, Villa Park stays one of many nice arenas within the English recreation. I stood on the previous Holte Finish in 1983 to see Villa, then European Cup holders, play the mighty Juventus and final yr, I used to be there once more when Unai Emery’s aspect beat Bayern Munich, the group they conquered within the 1982 European Cup remaining, of their residence return to the Champions League.

The ambiance that night time final October, with the Holte Finish in full voice, was an exquisite reminder of the good events of the previous at a floor that appears like stadium aristocracy.

10. Outdated Trafford, Manchester United

Division: Premier League Opened: 1910 Capability: 74,197

Sure, the roof leaks and, sure, Outdated Trafford may do with a bit of affection and a focus however there’s a magic about this stadium that may by no means fade. (A minimum of not till Sir Jim Ratcliffe knocks it down and builds the vacationer attraction that’s his imaginative and prescient of the soccer of the long run).

A lot of that comes from the glories it has witnessed. Sit within the Stretford Finish and gaze down at a pitch the place Duncan Edwards as soon as strode throughout the turf, George Greatest danced via the mud and the place Bobby Charlton and Denis Regulation and Bryan Robson and Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney have performed.

It’s nonetheless an impressive stadium, redolent of so many triumphs. Exterior, on the forecourt, the Holy Trinity statue, a tribute to Greatest, Charlton and Regulation, is a spot of pilgrimage. As is the Munich Clock, a poignant reminder of the lack of so most of the Busby Babes in 1958.

I used to be standing on the terraces there when United beat Diego Maradona’s Barcelona 3-0 within the Cup Winners’ Cup in March 1984 and it was the most effective atmospheres I’ve ever felt at an English league floor.

It’s an exquisite place, one of many stadiums that may lay declare to nurturing a piece of the guts of the English recreation. They only want a group to be worthy of it once more.

9. Goodison Park, Everton

Division: Premier League Opened: 1892 Capability: 39,414

I’ve at all times beloved Goodison Park and its beautiful Foremost Stand and its fierce, fierce depth.

Some would possibly say it has fallen into disrepair and, sure, it isn’t as shiny and brilliant as among the new era of stadia nevertheless it appears like nearly essentially the most genuine stadium and passionate crowd there’s within the high flight.

I’ve been going to take a seat in its cramped press field amid the picket seats of that Foremost Stand for greater than 30 years. And I consider it as a blessing that what might need been my remaining go to got here in February to see what turned out to be probably the most tumultuous endings to a match even in Goodison’s lengthy, lengthy historical past.

There was one thing lovely about Everton’s gamers and followers that night time and their utter refusal to let the final Merseyside derby at Goodison finish in a Liverpool win.

Even earlier than James Tarkowski’s last-gasp equaliser, deep into stoppage time, the ambiance was so passionate, so crammed with abandonment, that it was virtually feral. And I positively imply that as a praise.

It was a throwback to the form of ambiance you used to get at English grounds earlier than the introduction of all-seater stadia and the advance of company tradition. 

Lengthy after Everton have moved on to their magnificent new residence at Bramley-Moore Dock, the reminiscence of that match towards Liverpool will dwell on as a tribute to certainly one of English soccer’s biggest grounds.

8. Elland Highway, Leeds United

Division: Premier League Opened: 1897 Capability: 37,608

I like Elland Highway. Even earlier than I get into the bottom, I like Elland Highway.

The statue of Billy Bremner, which is normally festooned with scarves and surrounded by tributes to Leeds followers who’ve handed away, ought to be a place to begin for any go to.

On the different finish of the emotional spectrum, fish and chip retailers are an honest part of a matchday expertise and Graveley’s, on Elland Highway itself, which has a protracted queue snaking as much as its door from two hours earlier than kick-off, is among the finest soccer chippies within the nation.

The stadium is a correct cathedral of our recreation, too. One-club cities typically generate that form of ardour and it’s evident at Elland Highway.

I like the actual fact the stands are named after Don Revie, Norman Hunter, Jack Charlton and John Charles, not an IT firm or an airline or a waste administration service. 

And I like the singing of Marching On Collectively, a membership anthem that dates again greater than 50 years, not one of many manufactured membership songs you hear at some stadiums today that mark a beauty try at authenticity.

You’re feeling the warmth of English soccer at Elland Highway, you are feeling the depth of it and what it means. At a number of large golf equipment, that feeling has been misplaced. Nevertheless it’s alive right here.

7. St James’ Park, Newcastle United

Division: Premier League Opened: 1892 Capability: 52,258

A number of stadiums are known as cathedrals however St James’ Park is the one that matches the outline finest.

Each time I arrive within the metropolis and see St James’ Park staring down from its vantage level above it, it sends shivers down my backbone.

Its place is an emblem of its significance to town. Inside, it generates the most effective atmospheres within the nation, its followers are amongst essentially the most loyal and the Gallowgate Finish is among the most revered sections in our soccer historical past.

Newcastle are leaning in direction of constructing a brand new stadium adjoining to the present web site and shifting to that. Please don’t.

6. Holker Road, Barrow

Division: League Two Opened: 1909 Capability: 6,500

There’s a frontier really feel about Barrow and about its Holker Road floor that makes it particular to go to.

It’s not for everybody. I do know away followers complain, with some justification, about restricted views however I’d reasonably take restricted views and a floor with character and love and fervour than one of many identikit tin bowls which can be nearer to the norm within the decrease leagues.

Holker Road was my ninetieth floor out of the 92 and I beloved every thing about it from the friendliness of the membership employees and the followers and the steak pie I purchased from the Farm Store inside the bottom.

I used to be there in late February for the Cumbrian derby towards Carlisle United and the ambiance was magnificent.

It was uncooked and loud and industrial and actual. It felt like a throwback to the way in which soccer was once earlier than the invasion of vacationers and corporates and it was all the higher for that.

5. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur

Division: Premier League Opened: 2019 Capability: 62,850

One of the best of the brand new era of English soccer stadiums.

My favorite new stadium wherever is RB Leipzig’s Pink Bull Stadion due to the way in which it was constructed contained in the bowl of the previous Zentralstadion however in England, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stands out.

There’s an ambition about it that so many different new-builds lack, notably the steepling finish behind one of many targets that’s stated to be modelled on the Yellow Wall on the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.

I like the nods to the membership’s historical past, notably the reproduction of the cockerel that sits above the South Stand and the black and white pictures that line the corridors exterior the press room.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will get loads of criticism for the failures of the membership on the pitch however the brand new stadium continues to be a shocking legacy.

4. Cherry Pink Data Stadium, AFC Wimbledon

Division: League One Opened: 2020 Capability: 9,150

I by no means made it to the previous floor at Plough Lane, which is a remorse, however I had the most effective of soccer days after I lastly made it to the Cherry Pink Data Stadium, close to to the location of the previous floor, once they performed the group that just about drove them into oblivion, MK Dons, in September final yr.

Simply setting foot on this stadium is to really feel what it’s wish to help a group that’s on the coronary heart of its neighborhood and to be amongst a fanbase whose group means extra to it than simply wins and losses.

Love for the sport and the group and reverence for the historical past of the membership, the membership that was stolen from them and the membership they rebuilt, is in every single place, from the kitsch statue of Dave Beasant on the entrance of the stadium to the illustration on the partitions.

It appears like a stadium the place all people is aware of one another, like neighbours in a avenue, like an enormous, loving, proud household that refuses to be torn aside.

The fantastic thing about the structure right here will not be within the stadium buildings. It’s within the information that that is one thing constructed by followers.

If I lived in London, and Stockport weren’t enjoying, that is the place I’d watch my soccer.

3. St James Park, Exeter Metropolis

Division: League One Opened: 1904 Capability: 8,714

It was the summer season of 2010 when Exeter Metropolis ahead Adam Stansfield died of most cancers on the age of 31.

‘Stanno’, the daddy of present Birmingham striker Jay Stansfield, was a hero on the lovely St James Park stadium, nestled in a nook on the foot of a steep hill and bordered by neat, densely packed terraced streets and a railway slicing.

I drove down there with my elder daughter to have a look at the tributes to Stansfield and we wandered among the many bouquets of flowers and the keepsakes left by heartbroken younger followers and the emotional messages that had been left of their 1000’s on the Massive Financial institution.

It was inconceivable to not be moved by the profound emotional connection between a metropolis and its membership and because the years have handed, St James Park has come to embody for me every thing {that a} soccer floor ought to be: filled with character and care and camaraderie and neighborhood and fervour and delight in what it stands for.

I used to be there once more on the weekend to see Stockport County play and there was a observe subsequent to the away turnstile – a turnstile made in one other age on the Albion Works in Patricroft – saying: ‘Hatters Followers: Thanks for travelling 474 miles to help your membership at the moment.’

Each away fan additionally acquired a voucher providing a free cup of tea. The membership has been owned by its supporters for greater than twenty years and it’s a mannequin of how profitable it may be.

The Massive Financial institution has been prolonged and is now the largest terrace in English soccer. So the locals inform me, anyway. There’s a membership museum, a stall promoting farm produce and a supporters’ membership bar with large screens.

They constructed a brand new stand just a few years again, too. It’s known as the Adam Stansfield Stand.

2. Anfield, Liverpool

Division: Premier League Opened: 1884 Capability: 61,726

Rising up in Manchester, Anfield was a spot I grew up fearing.

The tales of The Kop and what they might do to you in the event that they heard your accent have been fearsome and after I lastly plucked up the braveness to go and watch Manchester United play there, I purchased a ticket among the many residence followers and didn’t communicate a phrase for greater than two hours.

However that didn’t cease me being in awe of the place after I first visited. I’ve by no means been wherever prefer it for the eagerness and the noise it has generated.

Sure, perhaps its ambiance has been barely diluted by the house owners’ makes an attempt to draw a brand new, high-yield breed of informal fan however the ferocity of the emotion the place can nonetheless muster could be extremely shifting.

The 2005 Champions League semi-final second leg towards Chelsea was in all probability the noisiest and essentially the most spine-tingling I’ve ever witnessed it though the tie towards Barcelona, on the similar stage of the competitors in 2019, is seared on my mind for related causes.

A love for a stadium is about reminiscences, too. My first jobs in journalism have been on the Day by day Publish and the Liverpool Echo and I spent many wide-eyed afternoons within the previous press field at Anfield and within the press conferences afterwards, listening to Kenny Dalglish and, later, Graeme Souness, two of the very best British footballers who’ve ever lived.

As soon as, on my first go to to the press field, I made the error of sitting in Tommy Smith’s seat and was instantly conscious of the hulking presence of the Anfield Iron looming silently above me and a colleague telling me to rise up sharpish. I by no means sat in that seat once more.

Some rival followers say the Anfield ambiance is a fantasy. It wasn’t and it isn’t. Company incursions have altered it nevertheless it nonetheless has the ability to make the hairs on the again of your neck stand on finish.

1. Edgeley Park, Stockport County

Division: League One Opened: 1891 Capability: 10,800

My household didn’t have any historical past with Stockport County.

I can’t boast a grandfather or an uncle who as soon as performed for them. My dad was by no means a lot of a soccer fan and was extra more likely to ask me ‘how did United get on’.

However he was from Heaton Chapel and his grandfather made, and misplaced, a fortune within the hatting trade within the city within the late nineteenth century, and he was fiercely pleased with Stockport Viaduct and its historical past and he took me to my first recreation at Edgeley Park on Monday, April 9, 1979.

We sat in Block A of the Foremost Stand, now the Danny Bergara Stand, and I breathed within the scent of cigar smoke that drifted up from the person within the sheepskin jacket sitting a few rows in entrance of us and thrilled on the noise coming from the terraces reverse and gazed as much as my left on the males working away on their typewriters within the press field, males whose faces I recognised as a result of I had seen their picture bylines within the Manchester Night Information.

I’ve talked about elsewhere the curious marvel I felt when individuals who have been strangers to me greeted my dad by identify as we walked up the steps to our seats.

I didn’t suppose my dad had ever been to Edgeley Park earlier than however these individuals knew him anyway as a result of they have been from Stockport and he was from Stockport and people moments made me realise for the primary time that soccer grounds are locations that maintain the soul of a neighborhood. Not for everybody, however for a few of us.

And so even when he wasn’t a fan, I nonetheless really feel related to my dad each time I exploit certainly one of my season tickets, that I purchased in a row subsequent to the press field, and gaze over on the place we sat that first time.

I’m not a correct fan just like the supporters who go week in and week out however I like that floor.

I’m not a member of any London golf equipment however Edgeley Park is my membership and now, identical to my dad, I do know individuals after I go.

I really feel lucky, too, that after the membership kissed its justifiable share of frogs, it has the most effective house owners throughout the entire 92.

Mark Stott has not simply invested within the first group and dragged County again up into the Soccer League however he has purchased a brand new coaching floor and lavished a number of love on upgrading services for followers within the Cheadle Finish.

The Danny Bergara Stand nonetheless oozes character, it’s nonetheless much like the way in which I keep in mind it from that first recreation in 1979 and far of the remainder of the stadium has been renovated and improved.

I haven’t been but this season as a result of I spent my spare weekends making an attempt to finish my 92.

I’m longing to get again. Each fan will know that feeling, the sensation of going residence.