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Post by crouchpotato1 on Mar 28, 2017 10:29:06 GMT
Smudge's latest offering
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Post by Seymour Beaver on Mar 28, 2017 10:36:43 GMT
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Mar 28, 2017 10:41:37 GMT
No I'd never two time you mate😄 |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2017 10:51:15 GMT
I love The Brit because I'm fairly young and my memories of The Vic are pretty hazy. However, I would love to see The Boothen knocked down and a large terrace built in place. I love it because it is our home but only after terracing is added will I be bold enough to say I actually like the place.
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Post by jimmygscfc on Mar 28, 2017 10:52:23 GMT
I'm sure the article will provoke a response from some of the old guard, of which I'm one. Surely the Vic holds different memories for all of us, and why ignore the times in the 70's when it seemed fit to bursting for some epic cup encounters, not to mention the fantastic football some of us witnessed in those all too brief halcyon days. I understand the reasons for the move but few could argue that we ended up with a stadium without flaws. The improvements we'll see soon will help but until the rest of the ground is looked at we're a long way from where we might hope to be. Yes, it's home but comparisons with the Vic are erroneous really so let's savour the past and look forward.
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Post by sheikhmomo on Mar 28, 2017 10:58:49 GMT
Rose tinted spectacles about the old place no doubt but in terms of overall matchday experience, a town centre ground will always put the identikit plastic monstrosity on the hill into a cocked hat. It’s a frigging nightmare to get to, even worse to get away from and has very little atmosphere in the build up as people tend to drink in their own communities prior to kick off and the facilities on site and those provided by the club are horrifically poor. The Viccy ground was dilapidated in the end and staying there would have been very difficult but I know where I’d rather go for a a day out and its not an old pit with a few car dealerships on it!
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Post by wizzardofdribble on Mar 28, 2017 11:20:59 GMT
The walk from the Gardners to the Brit is about the same as the walk to the Vic.(well a bit more).
The only difference is that walking down Campbell Road to the Boothen Paddock you were surrounded by away fans walking to the Stoke End.
And the average gate was about 15,000.
Now we walk up over the bridge with Stokies..average attendance 27,500.
'The Good Old Days' ???
I don't think so.
We've never had it so good.
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Post by Dutchpeter on Mar 28, 2017 11:25:36 GMT
Another thing for me is The Vic was architecturally more interesting than an identikit stadium. There was something there from between the 1920s to the 1990s. In short it was a more charismatic place to turn up too.
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Post by Gods on Mar 28, 2017 11:41:03 GMT
I am always going to prefer a town centre ground with it's atmospheric narrow streets and accompanying labrynth of pubs and bars to an out of towner and I am always going to prefer the freedom to roam of standing to the pinched straight jacket of seating. A part of me died when we left that place.
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Post by okeydokeystokie2 on Mar 28, 2017 11:47:18 GMT
The increase in people driving to matches would have killed The Vic.
When there were big crowds at the Vic there were less cars. It was still a nightmare to park near the ground even towards the end.
There was definitely something more edgy and atmospheric about the old ground though. Dark concourses, those old red barriers to lean on and the old smells. Piss, fag smoke and stale beer. The Bet doesn't smell like an old football ground.
I still like a drink in Stoke before the match, just means my last pub is now The Welly on London Road before cutting through to Campbell Road and over the bridge. At a brisk pace it can be done in 25 minutes - which is just as well as that's just about the time I've got before another pee after 3 or 4 pints these days!
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Post by Bojan Mackey on Mar 28, 2017 12:52:21 GMT
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Post by chellpotter on Mar 28, 2017 13:03:47 GMT
The Vic for me personally every time!
It was like a gladiatorial pit, you were caged in and had the players box above you in the boothen end where you could almost imagine a Caesar type emperor giving the thumbs up or down. Opposition players who came for corners got loads of stick as you were nice and close to vent your spleen! You could move around quite easily and end up in the boothen paddock to give Wolves away fans grief (verbally) and see different mates in the stands and move away from ones who drove you daft moaning about Keith Berchin etc.. That walk up the steps to the turnstiles was atmosphere building especially on big match days when you queued down boothen road. Then into the concourse past the toilets and back up the steps and come out in the middle of the boothen. Your journey to the front was a constant amount of chatter with fans especially if you were late like I often was. "Are we winning?", "Yes mate a pearler from Steino!"
It could be just rose tinted glasses but I have never had the same experiences at the Brit or Betsy as she is now!!
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Post by Skankmonkey on Mar 28, 2017 13:10:03 GMT
Sorry Smudge. The Vic for me every time.
As a kid in the '60s the memory of walking down Spark St in the fog for an evening match and looking across the chimneys of Stoke towards the magical hazy glow of the floodlights in the distance is part of who I am.
There is no romance in a long dismal trudge up to the soulless retail park Brit for me.
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Post by y_oh_y_delilah on Mar 28, 2017 13:10:27 GMT
No one, but no one who ever experienced the raw naked experience of a night match at the Vic would ever, ever say that they prefer the Brit.
If you're not old enough to have experienced that emotion and atmosphere, then you've nothing to compare it with and not really entitled to enter the debate of which stadium is best.
These aren't rose coloured specs either and I'm not against new stadia per se, but I find it impossible to romanticise about the stadium our club currently plays its games.
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Post by Dutchpeter on Mar 28, 2017 13:19:32 GMT
I think what's being touched on here and on the 'Home games sold out' thread is the missing or diminished social aspect of match attendance. You could gather with family or friends, then migrate to the back of the Boothen as you got older. It was like the best pub in the world to stand with your mates. As we know now, it's almost a logistical impossibility to do this anymore.
I know that we had to make the move, but it doesn't make it superior in some aspects.
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Post by PotterLog on Mar 28, 2017 13:23:55 GMT
We made a reluctant but necessary move from a good but flawed old ground which held some incredible memories, to a good but flawed new stadium which is building its own bank of incredible memories. Just enjoy them both, you don't have to choose between them.
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Post by kerouac on Mar 28, 2017 14:13:46 GMT
The Vic by a mile!
This could be because I'm not attending as many as I used to due to living in the south etc etc but my memories of going, back in the 70's with my dad and grandad are things I'll cherish for as long as I live.
We used to park miles off and walk down a hill and ogle at the gleaming Kawakasis in a shop,before nipping into Woolies for some pic n mix....by this time Stokies seemed to arrive from everywhere heading toward the Vic and for a lad of about 8 years old it was just so fucking exciting.I loved passing the pubs and seeing the blokes boozing and the smoke billowing out from the fags mixing with burgers and onion smell.Queuing,then going through the turnstiles and then setting eyes on that beautiful green pitch wondering how it was all going to pan out,looking up to the players box to see the injured and the wags,the paddock getting involved,the opening of the gates with about 10 minutes to go......it all seems so vivid!!
If we'd won,the walk past the changing room,imagining the players in there cranking up for a night on the Double Diamond, was the icing on a beautifully tasty football shaped cake!
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Post by Gods on Mar 28, 2017 14:31:31 GMT
Sorry Smudge. The Vic for me every time. As a kid in the '60s the memory of walking down Spark St in the fog for an evening match and looking across the chimneys of Stoke towards the magical hazy glow of the floodlights in the distance is part of who I am. There is no romance in a long dismal trudge up to the soulless retail park Brit for me. It is one seriously grim walk up to the Brit, you feel like the very joy has been sucked out of your life  |
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Post by nott1 on Mar 28, 2017 14:37:15 GMT
I loved the Vic but it was much better having a seat in the new stand instead of standing in the Boothen Paddock getting shoved here there and everywhere. I just don't understand the clamour for standing (mainly from people who have never suffered it I suspect) It's better at the 365 in every respect except its location.
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Post by Skankmonkey on Mar 28, 2017 14:50:04 GMT
Sorry Smudge. The Vic for me every time. As a kid in the '60s the memory of walking down Spark St in the fog for an evening match and looking across the chimneys of Stoke towards the magical hazy glow of the floodlights in the distance is part of who I am. There is no romance in a long dismal trudge up to the soulless retail park Brit for me. It is one seriously grim walk up to the Brit, you feel like the very joy has been sucked out of your life And coming back - particularly after a defeat. That slow, despondent shuffle back over the railway bridge is miserable.  |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 28, 2017 14:58:25 GMT
I loved the Vic but it was much better having a seat in the new stand instead of standing in the Boothen Paddock getting shoved here there and everywhere. I just don't understand the clamour for standing (mainly from people who have never suffered it I suspect) It's better at the 365 in every respect except its location. Well, I'm 70 and I'd like to see a standing option at the Bet365 - and I can certainly remember standing at the Vic dating back to the 50s. I haven't met anyone who thinks that the new stadium should be all standing - or even 50% standing. What should be allowed is CHOICE. There should be seats for those who want (or need) them and there should be safe standing areas (with continuous rails) for those who would prefer to stand. That way everyone would be happy - well at least as far as to how they watched the game is concerned. Of course the quality of football is always going to be a variable, but, if they ever did install safe standing areas, I bet the atmosphere would tend to improve - always assumimg that the players did what they need to do on the pitch. I don't understand why anyone would object to this. |
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Post by Davef on Mar 28, 2017 15:42:06 GMT
Sorry Smudge. The Vic for me every time. As a kid in the '60s the memory of walking down Spark St in the fog for an evening match and looking across the chimneys of Stoke towards the magical hazy glow of the floodlights in the distance is part of who I am. There is no romance in a long dismal trudge up to the soulless retail park Brit for me. It is one seriously grim walk up to the Brit, you feel like the very joy has been sucked out of your life If we'd stayed there where would you be parking now? My guess is that you wouldn't get your car within a mile of the ground. |
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Post by nott1 on Mar 28, 2017 16:03:15 GMT
I loved the Vic but it was much better having a seat in the new stand instead of standing in the Boothen Paddock getting shoved here there and everywhere. I just don't understand the clamour for standing (mainly from people who have never suffered it I suspect) It's better at the 365 in every respect except its location. Well, I'm 70 and I'd like to see a standing option at the Bet365 - and I can certainly remember standing at the Vic dating back to the 50s. I haven't met anyone who thinks that the new stadium should be all standing - or even 50% standing. What should be allowed is CHOICE. There should be seats for those who want (or need) them and there should be safe standing areas (with continuous rails) for those who would prefer to stand. That way everyone would be happy - well at least as far as to how they watched the game is concerned. Of course the quality of football is always going to be a variable, but, if they ever did install safe standing areas, I bet the atmosphere would tend to improve - always assumimg that the players did what they need to do on the pitch. I don't understand why anyone would object to this. Comfort? |
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Post by Gods on Mar 28, 2017 17:01:41 GMT
It is one seriously grim walk up to the Brit, you feel like the very joy has been sucked out of your life If we'd stayed there where would you be parking now? My guess is that you wouldn't get your car within a mile of the ground. I'm not complaining about the length of the walk, in fact I still park in Penkhull where I always did for the Vic, it's just instead of walking through historic back streets past great pubs where you could really feel the love you instead end up flogging up some windy bank, over a dual carriage way, past some car show rooms to some christ forsaken carbuncle on a hill side! That's what make my heart sink, not the long walk! |
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 28, 2017 17:54:27 GMT
Well, I'm 70 and I'd like to see a standing option at the Bet365 - and I can certainly remember standing at the Vic dating back to the 50s. I haven't met anyone who thinks that the new stadium should be all standing - or even 50% standing. What should be allowed is CHOICE. There should be seats for those who want (or need) them and there should be safe standing areas (with continuous rails) for those who would prefer to stand. That way everyone would be happy - well at least as far as to how they watched the game is concerned. Of course the quality of football is always going to be a variable, but, if they ever did install safe standing areas, I bet the atmosphere would tend to improve - always assumimg that the players did what they need to do on the pitch. I don't understand why anyone would object to this. Comfort? In stadia with stading areas, if you prefer to sit you can sit, if you prefer to stand you can stand. That's the whole point - we should have the choice to watch a game in the manner we are most comfortable with. The worst thing of the present system is that away fans are forced to stand even if they are more comfortable sitting unless they get a seat right at the front. |
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Post by simple on Mar 28, 2017 18:04:27 GMT
One of the main differences between today's grounds and grounds in the 70s/80s and 90s is fans are not as tribal.Fans walk to the ground with the away fans like they are there best mates which is ok,but most the Vic atmosphere was when the away fans were in the Boothen,or battling in the church yard.When there were poor crowds at the Vic The atmosphere was just has bad as today's.We might have a decent atmosphere against Arsenal because we hate them it will have nothing to do with the ground.I do miss the Vic for the battles but I am older know so piss troughs full and flowing all over your feet,to old know.
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Post by simple on Mar 28, 2017 18:07:42 GMT
If we'd stayed there where would you be parking now? My guess is that you wouldn't get your car within a mile of the ground. I'm not complaining about the length of the walk, in fact I still park in Penkhull where I always did for the Brit, it's just instead of walking through historic back streets past great pubs where you could really feel the love you instead flogging up some windy bank, over a dual carriage way, past some car show rooms to some christ forsaken carbuncle on a hill side! That's what make my heart sink, not the long walk! If we were still at the Vic the capacity would not be much more than Bournemouths,as we had no money and no room to expand due to the houses. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2017 18:07:47 GMT
Nothing beats walking in the ground at 2.45 standing with your mates and having a good old sing. As you walked up near the back of the boothen your hairs stood up. It was electric. No comparison for me. Home will always be the vic.
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Post by liam007 on Mar 28, 2017 18:49:10 GMT
Vic everytime for me,that's where i first fell in love with Stoke City.So many good and so bad memories but that's what made me a Stokie.I know the Brit has been good for us but the experience of football under the floodlights at The Vic is 2nd to non.I used to love the opening home fixture of the season,to walk up the steps and onto The Boothen and see the bright green pitch,the freshly painted markings on the pitch,the goal posts and nets.Just the smell and feel of the place it was magical.Think i'm going to keep wearing these rose tinted glasses thank you.
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Post by Dutchpeter on Mar 28, 2017 19:18:07 GMT
I used to love catching sight of the Vic's floodlight pylons from a distance. Cos I'm a div  |
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