No. 66: The Hawthorns [West Bromwich Albion]

Tuesday, 26th August 2014.

WBA v. Oxford United [Capital One Cup, 2nd Round] 1-1 AET (7-6 on Penalties)

Wow, what a night!

I started off this blog with an idea to travel to new grounds as a neutral instead of every Oxford game, in the hope of finding something special out about each club and maybe help reignite my passion for my hometown club.

Quite ironic then, that the first two "new" grounds this season, thanks to the quirks of the League Cup draw, were both Oxford away fixtures, and have gone a long way to re-igniting that passion already.

Bristol City was good - but I wasn't expecting much out of the game from the visit of a League Two team to a Premiership club. How wrong I was.

It was quite a giddy decision to go along to this game in the first place, to be honest. Having just started a job in the centre of London last week, to get to The Hawthorns meant taking a rush-hour, £52.00 un-discounted single fare train from Marylebone via Birmingham. I'd  then be relying on the kindness of someone for a lift back to South Oxfordshire, hopefully early enough to get some kip before having to get up again at 6am the next day to be back in London.

Surely only someone with an almost pathetic desire to complete a mad list of grounds visited would have made the effort? And so I did.

HOW MUCH?!!!

To make it even more sad - I've actually been to this ground before, but the rules of the 92 Club stipulate that the game you see must be a competitive one. As such, WBA v. IFK Gothenburg in 1995 doesn't technically count towards my 92. So the Hawthorns was on my "Pedantry List" at the side here ->> (and hence why it's no. 5, not no. 67!).

So off I set across the countryside of rip-off Britain, 90 mins & £50 later arriving in Birmingham for my change-over. Their version of the BT Tower not quite as impressive as the one in Fitzrovia, I have to say.

Birmingham: Exciting.

I was amazed how close West Brom is to the centre of Birmingham to be honest - as I've always thought of it very much as a separate entity. Of course, ask any self-respecting Baggie and he will tell you quite forcefully that they are indeed separate places. But when it's only a 3.9mile drive from the centre of Birmingham to the Hawthorns, you do have to wonder how distinct it really is.

It's also not really the prettiest of surroundings. Mostly industrial or run-down residential streets that even the kindest estate agent's eye would say were "in need of modernisation". 

One of the fans I asked about their club earlier in the week said he loved West Brom to bits, but would never want to actually live there.

Sadly, I didn't get the time to really explore beyond the immediate environs of the ground, only arriving around 20 mins before KO. Had I done so, the first place I would have headed would have certainly been The Vine - this Pub/Curry House recommended by all the West Brom fans I spoke to for it's cracking Chicken Tikka. Next time, I'll be there.

As it was, I had to make do with a quick spicy hot dog and a bottle of warm Carlsberg in the ground. Mmm, the taste of the Black Country.

Something that does stand this part of the West Midlands out as different from Birmingham - Any Baggie will tell you they are from "The Black Country" - the area between Wolverhampton & Birmingham that became the heart of the industrial revolution in the late 1700s - a continuous urban sprawl of coal mines, foundries and steel mills that sent the air black with pollution. As the wiki will tell you, no two Black Countrymen will ever agree where it starts and ends - but it certainly does NOT include Birmingham, and the heritage of "the worlds first industrial landscape" is a great source of pride to the working men and women of this once vital part of Britain's industrial wealth.

The Hawthorns sits amongst residential streets and an Industrial Estate today, long distanced from the foundries that once filled the streets with soot, but it is still an impressive structure.

The Hawthorns. Sponsored by accounting software.

Personally, I have to agree with the WBA fans I spoke to that this has the best of both worlds - it's been modernised, but thankfully still retains a lot of original character with distinct "squared-off" stands redeveloped at different times, rather than a brand new built bowl. 

I like a nice branded gate at a ground.

The corners weren't filled in last time I was here, and it's amazing what a difference that makes, especially when those filled-in corners don't necessarily have many seats, but just a wall to make the ground feel more enclosed. That is good.

And the atmosphere inside the ground, helped by a couple of thousand Oxford fans of course, was pretty good for a half-full ground. It may not have been as atmospheric at the Birmingham Road end perhaps, but there is a lot to be said by letting home and away fans share an end - and the Smethick End, split 50/50 between the fans, was proof of that.

Even if the home fans seemed to need a drum for much of it. ;o)

Taken from Smethick End looking towards West Stand.

The only disappointment was not hearing a rendition of their famous "Boing Boing" chant with accompanying bounces. I guess they save that for big games, perhaps. I'm also ASTOUNDED to read that the boinging only dates back to the 1992-93 season, according to wikipedia. Is that true, Baggies fans? Seems amazing, I'd assumed it was a lucy longer ingrained tradition. This website even says that Radio Oxford's Malcolm Boyden, reporting on a game in 1993, coined the phrase, saying the baggies were "boinging their way to promotion." Very odd.

The large East Stand.

Speaking of the 'baggies' - the nickname for which WBA are mostly known - another interesting fact (if you are still reading?) is that the origin of this nickname is something of a mystery. There are a few options put forward here, my favourite being it came from the loose baggy overalls that the ironworkers used to wear due to the intense heat to work, which they then walked to the ground in after their shift finished. Well it's a nice idea.

Anyway, there was precious little for the baggies to boing about on the night. Even if I am looking through those rose-tinted spectacles as far from being a neutral on the night, I think Oxford did the Football League proud against the Premiership big-boys.

Baggy Bird: Happier than his Bristol counterpart.

I would even say that Oxford probably deserved to have progressed to the 3rd round, after a quite magnificent 2nd half where they really took the game to West Brom. Sure, The Throstles (official nickname, there) had class of touch, broke quickly and threatened the Oxford goal a few times, and perhaps should have done better with some of their chances. 

But would any West Brom fan begrudge Oxford their equaliser?

In the euphoria of that 85th minute equaliser, I almost forgot that the 30-odd minutes plus penalties to come meant that I would be getting home even later. But I will admit to the sensible part of my brain almost willing the ball across the line in the 90th minute when West Brom had a late corner and goalmouth scramble. My heart was in my mouth, but the thought of only getting about 4 hours sleep before my train back to London in the morning was very much in my head.

GOAL! And fingers.

Oxford players celebrate a deserved equaliser in front of their fans

In the end though, of course it was worth it. Penalty heart-ache is always easier to take when you've lost out to a team about 80 places above you in the pyramid, and 9 penalties each down and only Crocombe in goal left to take a penalty for Oxford, the L2 side almost had them there too. And frankly, play like that again this season and I've no reason to worry about Oxford's place in the league either.

What a great advert that game was for the strength in depth of the Football League, and why it should not be tampered with. The team currently 92nd out of 92, taking one of the top 15 clubs in the country to penalties. I can't wait to get back on the road for the next new ground!

With thanks to Ian Sheppard (@sli70) & Eolan Allen (@Irishbaggies). Oh, and thanks to Pat (@OUFCPCW) for the lift home!
Next ground on the 92 Club Trail: Doncaster Rovers' Keepmoat Stadium [30th Aug 2014].
Can you help answer a few questions about your club? Please email mefantasticmrox@mail.com

No. 65: Ashton Gate [Bristol City]

Tuesday, 12th August 2014.
Bristol City v. Oxford United [Capital One Cup, 1st Round]

Ashton Gate, Bristol.

So - the season is away and my first in-road into the 92 completed, with the visit to Bristol City's Ashton Gate for the Capital One Cup 1st Round fixture.

As fortune may have it, my team Oxford were drawn away to Bristol in the 1st Round of the League Cup so it was easy enough to get along to this game for me, a simple 2 hour drive down the M4 from South Oxfordshire.

Bristol City can probably rightly lay claim to true "sleeping giant" status - being the bigger club in one of England's largest cities, you might expect them to have the demographics & catchment area to support a team in the Top Tier of English football.

However, but for a top flight few glory years from 1976-1980, this 'sleeping giant' has spent his years pretty comatose.

Indeed, the 'slump' that followed those glory years saw City become the first club in history to drop from the top flight to bottom flight in consecutive seasons. Were it not for the actions of the "Ashton Gate 8" (Eight players who agreed to tear up their contracts to save the club from going into administration), there may not be a Bristol City anymore.

But things are looking up in South Bristol. The recent slump may seem from the outside a decline from the high of the 2007-08 season, when they were one game away from the Premiership. But most fans are not worried at all it seems.

With the Billionaire Financial Services guru Stephen Lansdown in charge, the view seems to be that the money won't dry up, and the investment in a Bristol 'brand' of sporting franchises (Basketball, Rugby & a Women's WSL team), plus recent wiping off of an estimated £35m of the club's debt, the owners have shown a commitment that goes beyond the norm.

Bristol Sport Brand: Franchisetastic

Couple that with an investment to turn Ashton Gate into a 27,000 seater multi-purpose stadium - the future does look particularly rosy for the Robins.

On the pitch - expectations are also high. A top 6 finish would be the minimum they would expect in League One this season - with some even saying they have by far the best squad at this level and ending the season as Champions should not be an unrealistic aim.

Well - we shall see. It is of course early days, but as I got into my car to drive to the game, I certainly I wasn't expecting much out of the Capital One Cup clash for my beloved Oxford this evening, in the face of such optimism form the home fans.

Bristol is a fantastic city. One I've spent time in before and has plenty to offer the visitor. Isambard's Clifton Suspension Bridge is one of the most beautiful structures that came out of the Industrial Revolution - and the view of it lit up at night overlooking the city is a sight to behold.

Clifton Suspension Bridge: Beautiful.

Then there is the Cathedral, reminiscent of Paris' Notre Dame, and  - more Brunel - the SS Great Britain. The largest vessel ever built when it first hit the water in the 1850s, Isambard's great folly now sits in the dry dock where she was originally built - now a ship museum.

Sadly, I didn't have time for any of this sightseeing malarkey last night, and instead spent the hour or so I had spare before the game walking around the Southville district of Bristol that Ashton Gate is in, looking for somewhere to get some food and a beer.

Although I've never been to watch City, I have been to watch their bitter rivals Rovers a few times, and without fail it's always bloody raining in Bristol when I visit. As it was on this occasion, and I managed to get monumentally fucking soaked in three separate short bursts of monsoon-like rain. Looking for a pub that wasn't "home fans only" proved fruitless around the ground, so I ducked into a very nice little Indian Restaurant chain called "Thali" for a beer and a curry as I dried off a little.

This place was just a 5 minute walk from Ashton Gate - and I heartily recommend it if you are looking for more than the usual burger or bag of chips pre-match.

"Thali" of Bristol: Excellent authentic taste of India.

Then it was into the Bar BS3 by the ground. I sneaked under the "Home Fans" only radar by virtue of being alone and also possessing in my repertoire a pretty decent imitation of the Bristol accent. I also made sure that when inside, in my thickest Bristolian, I ordered a pint of Thatchers Gold cider. I'd have clearly given myself away immediately had I gone for my usual real ale or premium lager - the cider really does flow like rain in these parts. I reckon 95% of all the City fans in that pub were on the cider. And who can blame them, frankly.

I was hoping to meet one of my questionnaire respondents in Bar BS3, but sadly for whatever reason he never turned up. Or perhaps he did and just saw this odd man affecting a Bristol accent and drinking alone and thought he'd give me a wide berth. And who can blame him, frankly.

I did get the opportunity to be in the presence of one of the 'legendary' fans of City though in this bar. I was told to look out for a man called Stoney Garnett, who wears a lovely red hat with a feather in it. Stoney is a part-time comedian who also worked for over 2 decades at Bristol City, and apart from his outlandish get-up, he's also known for his rants of "Get someone on the halfway line!". He even has his own Facebook Appreciation Group.

Stoney Garnett: City Legend

Sure enough, Stoney walked into the beer garden and greeted the assembled with a scream of his above catchphrase in thick Bristolian. I realised my attempt at the accent had probably fooled nobody!

Stoney was dressed in a spangly "crocodile-skin" style jacket in bright Bristol red, the aforementioned red feathered cap & a pair of quite lovely red-and-white Two-Tone shoes.

Everybody knew him and he seemed to know everybody too, as he went around glad-handing the lot of them. I didn't get myself a picture with him sadly, as I was of course still very much undercover in enemy territory.

So I downed my Thatchers and went off to the game.

First impressions were of course, that it was a bit of shame that one end of the ground was a pile of rubble, having been knocked down at the end of last season as part of the ground redevelopment.

A pile of rubble where the Wedlock Stand used to be.

But you can clearly see that this ground has scale and substance, and understand why this would have been the site of a candidate stadium for England's failed 2018 World Cup bid.

Dolman Stand: Where most of the City fans seemed to be.

Despite the ramshackle and dated feel to the three existing stands at Ashton Gate - give me a ground like this over a modern identikit 'bowl' stadium any day. Behind the goal you had a sense of 'scale' that you were in a slightly larger stadium than the norm at this level, but still close enough to the pitch to get a decent view.

The match itself, well I wasn't a neutral on this occasion, so obviously I thought it was a cracking game, considering Oxford scored an 87th minute winner!

The Atyeo Stand: Housing 500 Oxford fans.

When Bristol City went up with only a minute on the clock, I must admit I was not expecting much from the evening other than a stroll in the park for the home side, especially given the optimism the City fans had shown me earlier in the week. But actually, and I hope this isn't the rose-tinted glasses, Oxford began to boss the game pretty early on, and showed composure on the ball and quality I'm sure Bristol hadn't been expecting.

The Williams Stand: Quiet.

Bristol City I'm sure will not flinch too much at this defeat, with a few changes since their opening day victory at Bramall Lane it was clear the league campaign, as with all, will be their priority. But for Oxford, the psychological boost of getting their first win of the season at higher league opposition, plus both of their newly-signed forward line scoring - cannot be over-stated.

All in all, a good start to the experiment. I enjoyed Bristol, only wish I could have spent more time in this great city. And it was an entertaining, fast-paced game of football that put a smile onto face.

I certainly enjoyed it a lot more than "Scrumpy" the Robin, the Bristol City mascot apparently did.

With thanks to: Ashton Adams (@ashtonadamsbcfc), Ben Wilson (@BENWlLSON) & Stuart Radnedge (@stu_radnedge) for their help.

Next ground on the 92 Club Trail: Doncaster Rovers' Keepmoat Stadium [30th Aug 2014].
Can you help answer a few questions about your club? Please email me fantasticmrox@mail.com