The Football Bog Blog

Great Stadia Toilets no.4 in a series of..........
The ones in the old Gallowgate End on the stairs
















Entrance in to the old Gallowgate End at St James Park was at the back of the terrace,this meant a walk up several flights of stairs,the toilets were only noticable due to the black painted walls,with the word MEN painted black on a white square background at the entrance.There were five sets of stairways leading up into the Gallowgate End but no Ladies facilities (wifey's bogs eventually appeared next to the turnstiles) obviously the thought of a female going to a football match was unheard of when the ground was built in the late 19th Century.
It was a major inconvenience to go to the bog during the match,stories of people pissing in your pocket or pissing in a shoe aren't an urban myth,I remember on several occasions a sudden gap appearing,with people suddenly appearing to be running for their lives on the terraces,only to find a drunken Geordie proudly urinating his several pre-match Brown Ale for all to see,a bit like that 'Manneken Pis' statue in Brussels,but wearing a black and white shirt.

(Photograph taking by legendary photographer Stuart Clarke as part of his 'Homes of Football' series)

My Matchday - 137 St James Park

Alnwick Town 0v5 Seaham Red Star

Arngrove Northern League Division Two

28th April 2007

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Once said to be the best place in Britain to live,Alnwick is a picturesque market town in the heart of Northumberland,pronounced “Anick’ (not Alan Wick) the towns main aspect is the famous Alnwick Castle,the second largest inhabited castle in England,the home of the Percy family and the Earls and Dukes Of Northumberland since the fourteen century.The castle also doubles as the residence for a little specky wizard kid and his spellbinding pals in a series of films adapted from the books of JK Rowling,as well as appearing in the cunningly splendid comedy ‘Blackadder I’ and lest not forget the film ‘Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves’ where Kevin Costner played ‘An American Robin in Nottingham’
Alnwick lies 30 miles south of the border which makes Alnwick Town the most Northerly club to play in the FA Cup and Vase, the team have played at St James Park since 1900 on land leased to them by The Duke Of Northumberland,a famous football ground name if ever there was one,shared with a more famous club,as former league side Exeter City also play at a St.James Park.
Alnwick United Services were founded in 1879,with their first league action played in the North Northumberland League where they were champions in 1898/99,in 1923 they moved on to the East Northumberland League and during these early years the club were never settled on their name,changing it frequently between United and Town until retaining their present name from 1936 when they joined the Northern Alliance.
Their first title came in 1936/37,but it wasn’t until the 1960s and early 70s that the club enjoyed huge success winning the league eight times in ten seasons,together with many honours in various cup competitions.
The newly formed Northern League Division Two was set up in 1982 with Alnwick Town being one of the founder members,they had a brief spell in Division One when they won promotion in 1988/89 as runners up to Consett,after a promising eighth finish they suffered relegation the following year and they’ve struggled to make an impact ever since.
The club play in the classic black and white stripes just like the team that play at the real St.James Park (no not Exeter) on a pitch that has a great playing surface but with a slope that runs towards the corner flag at the clubhouse side of the ground.The clubhouse has a distinctive gable roof with a small standing section beside it,there’s a built up standing area at the entrance at the top of the ground behind the goal,which also has a players and officials car park.There’s a small covered seated area in between the dugouts which is basically eight rows of wooden planks divided into three rows of seats,behind the far goal in front of the neighbouring rugby ground is a ramshackle wooden framed covered area,which has one long bench made from nailing long planks of wood on top of one another,I noticed that no one sat on this bench and any arse over 14 stone would probably cause this seat to snap!
The game matched a Seaham side on a high after winning promotion,against a team low on confidence needing a point to hand the unwanted honour of the wooden spoon to Prudhoe.The class between the two sides was apparent with Red Star taking the lead when lofty striker Andy Jennings nodded in at the near post from a corner (see bottom picture)the home side battled to get back into the game before half time but they were let down by the final ball and it looked more likely that the visitors would build on their lead in the second half.
Seaham made a couple of changes at half time with one of those substitutes Warren Byrne scoring a brilliant individual goal on the hour mark,dribbiling through the Alnwick defence Ricky Villa style to make it 2-0,a spectator next to me then turned around and predicted “It’ll be 6-0” well he wasn’t far off,a goal a minute later from midfielder John Toft who smartly lobbed the keeper from the edge of the box before adding a spot-kick to make it four,a smashing second half performance from Red Star was complete when the long legs of Jennings stretched out to scissor kick the fifth and Seahams 99th league goal of the season.
Alnwick Town finished bottom of the league and if they are to be relegated they’ve applied for demotion into the Northern Alliance,but the word is they’ll be safe to play again in the Northern League next season,with no relegation due to the Unibond restructuring (as it was mentioned in the Prudhoe post)as for the current side it was obvious all there effort and good approach play was let down by their finishing,maybe a piece of wizard magic from local young resident Master Potter could do the trick.

LINKS -
Match report

Updates-

June 2007 -Alnwick Town took the decision to step down from the Northern League at their own request, as club officials felt they were unable to hold on to their Northern League status.
Due to a lack of funds and manpower at St James Park, the club couldn’t meet the required ground criteria and with the possibility of the club moving to a new sports complex being built within the town in the next 2-3 years, the clubs committee felt it was best to take a step back before moving forward again.
The club will play in the Northern Alliance from 2007/08 season and hopefully we’ll see them return to the Northern League in their new venue.

My Matchday - 136 Teesdale Park

Thornaby 1v0 Marske United
Arngrove Northern League Division Two
21st April 2007
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Thornaby is a civil parish deep in the heart of ‘Smoggieland’ within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees,the football club were originally called Stockton when they were formed in 1980 playing in the Wearside League until moving up into Northern League Division Two in 1985/86,yo-yoing in between the two leagues with three promotions and two relegations until changing their name to Thornaby-on-Tees in 1999.
The new name didn’t change the clubs fortunes as relegation followed in that first season and so the club dropped the ‘on-Tees’ bit and won promotion again in 2000/01 the following two seasons the club continued in the same vain,down and back up again (are they the sunderland of non-league soccer?) but last season it wasn’t their performance on the field which led to their demise it was their facilities,the Northern League decided that the ground was considered unsuitable and were demoted into Division Two.
When entering Thornaby the ground is well signposted,which is just as well because it would be difficult to find otherwise,the ground is in between a row of houses and through a back lane,you come to the ‘Welcome to…’ sign and then your faced with three different routes,so obviously it took me three goes to pick the right direction to the ground,I should have gone for option A,the dirt track on the left hand side,which takes you down a hill where your greeting by a club official waiting to take your money.I can only describe this as a drive-in-football-ground,you pull up,wind you window down,pay your money and park up facing towards the pitch.
There is another main car park which is behind the canteen,but your free to park facing the pitch which is above a raised terrace which is now out of bounds for safety reasons,likewise the ugly grey concrete stand behind the right hand goal,this also has been cordoned off and looks like it was once a seated stand,behind the same block is the canteen and the toilets. The main stand incorporating the changing rooms is made up of five rows of benches,this also is in need of some work,particulary the removing of graffiti on the back wall,finally the standing area behind the left hand goal which has a congregated triangular roof for shelter and two rows of seats that are visibly never used anymore,the clue being the entrails of bird droppings on the padded seats.
Teesdale Park is a ground in need of major surgery,there’s been no new changes to the grounds facilities in the last 20 years and it shows,the club are currently waiting news over the ground development and when it will start,this may probably be the last game played here in it’s current state,with the club promising a ground with the facilities that’ll be the envy of every club in the Northern League.
The club are looking to ground share next season so it may be a while until they return home,it was noted in the match programme that the club could maybe play some early games at home and then several away,it all depends on the developers time schedule and if they can find a club to ground share with.
The match was a Teesside derby with Thornabys opponents being local rivals Marske United,there was a sparse crowd in attendance but there was a police presence amongst the spectators,two policeman arrived on bicycles prior to kick off,but I don’t think they were attending the game in the name of the law,it looked like they were skiving off,they had a pie and a cup of tea and after watching a boring first half decided enough is enough and left.
I’ll most likely revisit Teesdale Park in a few years time,it’ll be interesting to see the ground after the development and to see the major changes made to a site which has great potential to be a top non-league ground,but I’ll make sure I visit on a cold winters day so I get the benefit of the luxury of watching the game from the warmth of the car or in football ground terms,my executive box on wheels.(see bottom picture)
LINKS -match report from Maske Utd - http://www.marskeunitedfc.co.uk/ReportThorApr07.htm

The Football Bog Blog

Great stadia toilets
no.3 in a series of...

The ones at Thornaby
in the ugly grey
concrete building.

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The toilets at Teesdale Park typify the need for the ground development to go ahead,this nettie looks very old and dated inside with the spiders webs on the ceiling adding to the overall mood of this football bog.

My Matchday 135 - Kingsley Park

Ryton 2v2 South Shields
Arngrove Northern League 2nd Division
18th April 2007
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Ryton lies on the South bank of the Tyne, in the most Westerly point of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead,since 1988 Ryton have played there home games at Kingsley Park in the neighbouring village of Crawcrook,a place I’m familiar with but haven’t frequented for a number of years( I used to go out with a lass from there)
This large villages claim to fame, although I doubt anyone would know this(except sad anoraks like myself) is the place where Curley Watts and his policewoman wife Emma moved to when they left Coronation Street and headed North for a new start on Tyneside and a more peaceful life away from their noisy neighbours the Battersby’s.
This was Ryton’s last fixture of the season and have now completed two seasons as members of the Northern League,originally founded through the local Social Club in 1970,they progressed originally through the Northern Combination and on to the Northern Alliance,where they finishing runners up in 2004/05.
Kingsley Park was officially opened in 1998 by HRH Prince Andrew, after the club were giving a Lottery Grant which enabled them to move to the current site and built a club house, the club has just recently been granted £750,000 mainly through the Football Foundation to build a new football academy.Work is expected to start this summer,Ryton have 23 teams under the club umberella,from the first team down to the under-7s,the new development includes an extension to the club house,new changing rooms, gymnasium and 6 new junior pitches on land adjacent to Kingsley Park,also work will commence on levelling the pitch,which will properly make it the best pitch in the ANL because it’ll be the only ground without some sort of slope.
When entering the ground the admission money is taking at a small hut,painted in the clubs Internationalesque colours of dark blue and black stripes,the near standing area is built up above pitch level and covering is provided by way of nine bus shelters,lined up like a bus concourse,I was expecting to see a young courting couple heavy petting in the corner,but there was a queue formed,not for the 65 bus to the Metrocentre but for the refreshment bar which is next to them,this side of the ground also has a patio area with tables and chairs outside the clubhouse which looks out on to the pitch.
The main seating area is behind the goal,this stand is called the RMC Readymix Stand, the younger members of the Ryton dynasty were in attendance watching the senior team in action,like a choir (but not as angelic) they gave a great vocal support to the team throughout with a great repertoire of songs,this stand has five rows of benches which seem vaguely like were once painted blue and black,it looks a bit tired and is desperate for a facelift,lets hope there’s a bit cash left over to at least give it a lick of paint,there’s also a row of blue flip seats between the stand and the corner flag.
The ground is completed by a small open standing area provided by a pathway behind the goal and the far side has two covered standing areas provided by portacabin-type-shells.
South Shields went into the game still hoping to clinch the third promotion spot behind Spennymoor and Seaham Red Star,things looked on the up when they took an early lead through Scroggins and held the one goal advantage up until half time mainly thanks to some fine saves from Mariners keeper David Peel.I expected Shields to maybe stamp some authority on the game and go on to get the three points but Ryton had other ideas and got two rather fortunate goals from top score Andrew Bulford to take the lead,the first was a 20 yard ‘daisy cutter’ which somehow squirmed under the keepers body after taking a deflection of a blade of grass and the second came via a long boot from the keeper which found the Ryton number 10 standing alone in the Shields half looking a street offside,he took the ball down ran through a calmly slotted home,much to the annoyance of the Shields dugout and a screaming back four.The home side looked as if they were going to hold on for the win but Shields went route one in search of an equaliser and were rewarded in the last minute thanks to a goal from substitute Patton,a share of the spoils,but the one point wasn’t enough as this meant it’s Washington who take the last remaining slot for promotion.
Kingsley Park is one of a kind due to the row of bus shelters gallantly used to shelter the supporters,there was a fair crowd at the game but one football fan was missing,where was Curly Watts? He must still be a ‘Citee fan’

My Matchday 134 - Seaham Town Park

Seaham Red Star 3v1 Guisborough Town

Arngrove Northern League Division Two

14th April 2007

att.81 A trip to the seaside but without bucket and spade or egg and tomato sandwiches,instead it’s pen and note paper,camera and a ‘scabby eye’ at half time,it’s a Saturday afternoon,which of course means football,so with seaside weather I headed towards the coast to Seaham as Red Star go in search of three points to clinch second spot and promotion to ANL Division One.
The Red Star pub formed a football team in 1973, playing on Sunday mornings,the following season they changed to the traditional Saturday’s playing in the Northern Football Alliance League,by 1979 they were plying their trade in the Wearside League under the handle of Seaham Colliery Welfare Red Star and in 1982 they won a league and cup double and took the step up into Northern League Division Two.
In 1984 they changed to their present shorterened name,winning promotion after finishing runners-up to Stockton in 1987-88,this was followed by four good seasons in Division One including a runners-up spot in 2000 before they were relegated in the 2001-02 season.
Seaham is 6 miles South of sunderland via the A19, they also play in red and white striped shirts like their illustrious neighbours,the ground is easy to find as Seaham Town Park is found on arriving into Seaham with the Red Star pub located on the main road.
The pub now acts as the club house and is near the entrance to the park,the football ground is at the top of the park up a slight hill,past the kids playground and the war memorial.The entrance is in the corner of the ground and when arriving the sight of the building next to the stand is pleasing on the eye,this is the club changing rooms,refreshment area and toilets,it has white walls with red trimmings and a salient blue roof,the main stand next to it has only three rows of seats,cheekily divined by being marked rows A,B and C. The other three sides of the ground are grass standing areas with three large floodlight pylons on each side of the pitch,the team dugouts are in front of the red,white and blue building and look like roller shutters but made with blue congregated iron.
Many of the grounds at this level in the football pyramid don’t have a public address system, but this ground has,they make use of it by blasting out a couple of tunes as the teams enter the pitch,firstly there’s a slight blast of Carmina Burana followed by Telstar by the Tornadoes,both tracks come to a sudden abrupt end,as if they’re playing a vinyl record and somebody knocked the needle.
Before the match there was a one minute silence observed prior to kick off in honour of Jimmy Cahill,who was a former committee man and a great supporter of the club who sadly died on Good Friday,he did an excellent job in raising funds which went a long way towards the building of the main stand,that eventually assured there application into the Northern League.
The match itself was a lot closer than the final score suggests,Red Star took a two goal lead but failed to put Guisborough to the sword,who then pulled a goal back just before half time.During the game there was a woman sat not far from where I stood,she was giving the home team plenty of encouragement,she shouted “C’mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham”..5 second pause..”C’mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham"…5 second pause…C’Mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham "(I could go on) The second half was more nervy on Seahams part. ”C’mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham” the game could have gone either way but was finally settled in the last minute “C’mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham” with Lanky centre forward Andy Jennings getting his second notch of the afternoon,and so clinching the three points ”C’Mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham”…5 second pause…”C’mon Lads,Ha’way Seaham” so now promotion is guaranteed for Red Star. I had walked away from the nice lady by the end of the game,but I guess her match summary would have been "Good job Lads,Well played Seaham"
LINKS-
Red Star Match Report