Name: Steve Wilson
Age:
48
Team Supported:
Blackpool, although I did have a fifteen year spell following Liverpool in the
70's and 80's
First League Ground Visited & When:
Bloomfield
Road, Blackpool v Tottenham, September 8th 1962
Last Ground Visited to complete
the 92:
St James Park Exeter, Exeter v
Blackpool
Date Completed:
March 31st 2001
How Long Has It Taken You
To Visit All 92?
Over 30 years, but I only decided to
complete the 'set' just over two years ago when I realised I had been to some 50
English grounds. I also decided at that time to include Scottish teams as well,
and completed my visits there on Saturday May 5th when I saw Dundee play
Kilmarnock.
Best Ground visited (& why).
In England,
probably Pride Park at Derby, which was one of the first of the 'new' grounds I
went to. Even though there were only 20,000 there for a Worthington Cup tie
against Swansea, there was an excellent atmosphere. In Scotland, Hampden, Ibrox
and Parkhead are all totally different but equally impressive, and despite the
modernisation at Ibrox and Parkhead you still get that impression of tradition
at the grounds.
Poorest Ground Visited:
In England,
probably
Macclesfield's Moss Rose ground, though since I visited it in 1998 I believe a
new stand has been built. Whilst in Scotland, there are a number of similar
small grounds in the lower leagues, however it also totally poured down at
Cowdenbeath, so that gets my vote.
Best experience on your travels:
Probably
way back in April 1970 when Blackpool won 3-0 at Preston to clinch promotion to
the old first division and at the same time relegate Preston. There were well
over 30,000 in Deepdale, and
Blackpool filled all four sides of the ground. It's a pity we couldn't hold on
to those fans.
Steve At Exeter:
Worst experience on your travels:
Although most away games in the trouble-filled 70's and 80's were bad, nothing compares to what I witnessed at the Heysel in 1985. I didn't go to another game anywhere for five years after that.
Funniest experience on your travels:
Not funny at the time, but driving to London last September to see Romford play Hemel Hempstead in an FA Cup qualifying match. I had been interested in Romford for some reason since I was at school, so I checked on the Ryman League web site and chose that match to see them. When I got to the ground twenty minutes before scheduled kick-off it was empty - I found out that the game had been switched to Hemel and was being played on the Monday night! I had no alternative but to drive the 200 miles back home again.
Most Goals Seen In One Match:
Excluding testimonial matches, 11 - Liverpool 11 Stromgodset 0 in the Cup Winners Cup in 1974, and Liverpool 10 Oulu Palloseura 1 in the European Cup in 1980. I did see 13 in one day, though, going to Liverpool 4 Chelsea 3 in the morning and then getting back to Blackpool in time for their 3-3 draw with Torquay (May 1985).
Best Goal Seen:
A Kenny Dalglish goal for Liverpool
at Birmingham in the 1980-81 season was stunning, from Ray Clemence to the back
of the net in five seconds and four first time passes, ending with a superb
volley from Kenny
Best Match Attended:
Difficult
to choose as I've seen close to 1,200 now. Probably a tie between two games
played in 1970 - my first game at Anfield, when Liverpool beat Everton 3-2 after
being 0-2 down, and an FA Cup tie at Blackpool when we beat Arsenal 3-2, again
after being 0-2 down.
Stupidest Chant Heard:
During the fuel crisis I
went to see Oldham play at the magnificent Madejski stadium in Reading. There
were about 50 Oldham fans there, and they chanted "Sh*t ground, no
fans". But Reading had the perfect response when they scored twice in the
first five minutes, and chanted "What a waste of petrol" at the Oldham
fans.
Any
tips for those attending to visit the 92?
Pre-season fixtures can be ideal for getting to a lot of grounds in a short time. (Although I should point out that the 92 Club does not recognise pre-season friendlies -ed) Last July, I spent 12 days in North-East Scotland and saw 13 games. Also, don't always believe what you see on the Internet. I checked on the Cheltenham web site before going to see their Sunday lunchtime game against Swansea in February 2000. The site had a page for all-ticket matches, which I checked, and there was no mention of this game being all-ticket. When I got to the ground, I was told it WAS all-ticket and no tickets were available on the day. Fortunately, I was able to convince officials that I wasn't a trouble maker and was able to get in. So if in doubt ring the club beforehand.
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