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Post by wrighter on Sept 2, 2013 7:04:04 GMT
I have the feeling, that West Ham fans are really going to miss their, as much as lots of us miss the old Vic, when they move into the Olympic stadium in 2016 !! I"ve been watching Stoke play here since the early 60"s and ive always enjoyed my day/evening here !! OK, there were massive fights in those days with rival fans, but that was happening at most frounds in those days ! It is a mighty impressive stadium imo, the East stand lets it down slightly, but overall, very impressed ! The walk to the ground, past the "pie & mash " shops, the programme sellers shouting out in their cockney accents, the whole ambience was great. When i found myself as the ONLY Stokie drinking in The Queens [2/3 turned up later] i never felt any apprehension, quite the opposite in fact, with some light hearted banter between myself and WHU fans !! Ok, the queues for the tube after the final whistle were horrendus, but moved surprisingly quickly, with a few Stokies happily waiting their turn in the very long queue, even had chance to wave to Monica, who i havent seen for ages !!
The whole day, atmosphere, result, was brilliant, i doubt i will be thinking/saying this in 2 yrs time, pretty sure quite a few WHU fans will be thinking the same
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Post by salopstick on Sept 2, 2013 7:15:31 GMT
It's the sanitisation of football
Move it from the towns and houses and away from the pubs with controlled drinking therefore less trouble
Plus old stadiums were built in a time of less infrastructure where parking transport and other stuff was not an issue
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Post by maninasuitcase on Sept 2, 2013 7:18:33 GMT
I have the feeling, that West Ham fans are really going to miss their, as much as lots of us miss the old Vic, when they move into the Olympic stadium in 2016 !! I"ve been watching Stoke play here since the early 60"s and ive always enjoyed my day/evening here !! OK, there were massive fights in those days with rival fans, but that was happening at most frounds in those days ! It is a mighty impressive stadium imo, the East stand lets it down slightly, but overall, very impressed ! The walk to the ground, past the "pie & mash " shops, the programme sellers shouting out in their cockney accents, the whole ambience was great. When i found myself as the ONLY Stokie drinking in The Queens [2/3 turned up later] i never felt any apprehension, quite the opposite in fact, with some light hearted banter between myself and WHU fans !! Ok, the queues for the tube after the final whistle were horrendus, but moved surprisingly quickly, with a few Stokies happily waiting their turn in the very long queue, even had chance to wave to Monica, who i havent seen for ages !! The whole day, atmosphere, result, was brilliant, i doubt i will be thinking/saying this in 2 yrs time, pretty sure quite a few WHU fans will be thinking the same Good post. Progress and money have taken the soul out of football these days. Stadiums in town centres or in the middle of a housing estate are getting rarer with every passing year. The likes of St. James park will be looked upon in wonder in years to come as most grounds are now in industrial parks or out of town retail locations, with few pubs and worse public transport access. There is a mooting of a new housing estate opposite screwfix so the Brit maybe bucking the trend although its still a good walk up that slope on Stanley Matthews way.
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Post by wrighter on Sept 2, 2013 7:23:20 GMT
It's the sanitisation of football Move it from the towns and houses and away from the pubs with controlled drinking therefore less trouble Plus old stadiums were built in a time of less infrastructure where parking transport and other stuff was not an issue This is all very true, but with this, it also takes away the unique atmosphere the old grounds used to have !! I would much prefer watching Stoke at the Vic, compared to the Brit any day, progress is good and essential, but sadly, not in every case, just my opinion
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Post by greyman on Sept 2, 2013 7:30:46 GMT
I think it's going to be worse for West ham because they're moving into a venue not intended for football. I know they're installing retractable seating to get people closer to the pitch, but it's still essentially an athletics stadium with a capacity of 54,000. They run the risk of killing the atmosphere
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Post by lancer on Sept 2, 2013 7:51:25 GMT
It's the sanitisation of football Move it from the towns and houses and away from the pubs with controlled drinking therefore less trouble Plus old stadiums were built in a time of less infrastructure where parking transport and other stuff was not an issue This is all very true, but with this, it also takes away the unique atmosphere the old grounds used to have !! I would much prefer watching Stoke at the Vic, compared to the Brit any day, progress is good and essential, but sadly, not in every case, just my opinion Totally agree. The Vic is still my spiritual home, and though we now have to accept the future is the Brit, to me I a feel almost as though I'm at an away game.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2013 8:31:14 GMT
Standing near the back of the Boothen End with a low roof made for a fantastic atmosphere and the Brit is just not the same and I miss it.
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Post by The Stubborn Optimist on Sept 2, 2013 8:53:51 GMT
Totally agree.
Always had a bit of a soft spot for West Ham, Bobby Moore remains a footballing hero of mine, a trip to The Boleyn Ground is always something to look forward to for me, proper ground with proper fans. Must admit though some of the trips during the 70's and 80's were real bowel looseners!
Goodison is another ground similar to West Ham where football hasn't become too sanitized and still retains much of its heritage and history. Compare that to Liverpool, though remaining at Anfield, it's become a tourist attraction and lost something of it past along the way.
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Post by nott1 on Sept 2, 2013 10:43:34 GMT
Their and there?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2013 10:52:35 GMT
Grand Ma Police...I stopped bothering with that one years ago...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2013 12:03:51 GMT
The Vic was a shit hole, lets not pretend anything else. It needed bulldozing down but we should have had a better stadium built than we have.
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Post by stevetheboater on Sept 2, 2013 13:00:46 GMT
I love the Olympic Stadium, have loads of good memories of the place from athletics last year and this. Just hope the conversion for footy doesn't destroy its special character. As well as the pitch I expect that the concourses will be substantially modified (not least for segregation) which will make it a very different place. Would much rather it stayed as it was. Three sellout days this summer proved there is an appetite for athletics in this country after 2012 and it is already bought and paid for.
Having said that I do love old stadiums and would move back to the Vic tomorrow!
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Post by wizzardofdribble on Sept 2, 2013 14:34:15 GMT
I've always liked The Boleyn Ground and even went into The Boleyn Pub once on the corner when we were there without speaking a word
The sides are quite steep and close to the pitch (apart from the East Stand that reminds me of a similar stand at Filbert Street) and there is an intimidating atmosphere BUT there have been reports about problems in the area on match days as all the 'cockney sparra's' converge on Upton Park..the vast majority now coming from outside the area
The Krays don't live down Vallance Road anymore those houses are now occupied by people from Bangladesh
There is a feeling by local Politicians that another 'Oldham' is on the cards sooner or later, so they'll be delighted that 'Cam on u eye-ons' are moving elsewhere
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