My Matchday - 261 Globe Arena

Morecambe 1v1 Gillingham
League Two
Saturday 28th August 2010
Morecambe was a favoured holiday destination when I was a bairn, and I don’t mean the ill fated The World of Crinkley Bottom attraction in Happy Mount Park.
I fondly remember spending a few summers in the late 1970’s boarding the coach at Gallowgate bus station with my Mam & Dad and sister Gillian on route to Pontins at Middleton Tower.
The holiday camp was based around a huge building in the style of an ocean liner built in the centre of a large lake. I don’t look back with much nostalgia at these holidays. I spent most of the week suffering from asthma due to the thick woollen blankets in the chalets, sprouting a face full of spots due to the overcooked fried bread breakfasts and having no money left by Sunday after blowing my pocket money in the amusement arcade.
After 30 years apart, I’ve frequently returned to this Lancashire seaside town over the past two years. My last visit for football reasons was early in 2009 when ticking off Christie Park, for a League Two clash with Gillingham, so for my latest return to visit the town’s spanking new stadium, Morecambe again faced The Gills for the first time since that fixture took place.
Going into kick off both teams were without a league win between them this season and come the final whistle that unwanted record remained intact, both having to settle for a share of the points.
Gills were the dominant side in the first half, Shrimps skipper Barry Roche keeping his team in the game, pulling off a string of fine saves to twice deny danger man Barcham and producing a splendid double save from Bentley and Spiller.
Morecambe improved in the second half and after a lively start took the lead just before the hour mark. Craig Stanley got on the end of a Mark Duffy cross with a free header from 12 yards.
Gillingham made a double substitution with a quarter of an hour remaining and finished the game strongly. Danny Spiller grabbed the equaliser on 83 minutes, getting on the end of a Palmer free kick to score from a tight angle at the far post.
Spiller wasted a golden opportunity to win the game, blazing over from 12 yards and Roche again denied Barcham with another great save to earn his side a well earned point.

The Globe Arena cost around £12m and is built by Globe Construction, who claim the naming rights having agreed a £250,000 five year sponsorship deal.
After 89 years at Christie Park, work on the 6,476 capacity stadium began in May 2009, a year later than originally planned due to delays with planning, sales and legal agreements. The construction of the Main Stand began in September 2009 with the other three stands developed at the turn of the year.
After a bit of a false start with all three pre-season fixtures postponed, the stadium opened in time for Morecambe first competitive home match of the season against Coventry City in the 1st Round of the Carling Cup on August 10th. The occasion was marked with a 2-0 win with the honour of the first goals at the Arena scored by Andy Fleming.

The Main Stand has a capacity of 2,173 and is named after chairman Peter McGuigan, in recognition of his 10 years in charge of the club.
The stand has all the facilities which the club previously lacked with five private boxes, sponsors lounges, sizable press area and a large hospitality suite which isn’t just used on match day but throughout the year.
The stand runs pitch length, decked out in gleaming white seats with a red section in the centre which is in front of the hospitality and private boxes.
There are covered terraces behind each goal. The West Stand is called the MBW Stand, named after the local wine business and holds 2,234 home spectators, with two disabled sections situated at the front.
The opposite stand is slightly smaller, set further back with the bottom of the terrace parallel with the crossbar. The East Terrace is known as The Bay Radio Stand and accommodates 1,389 visiting fans.
The Main Stand looks across to the Open Terrace which is an uncovered standing section which is reminiscent of the old Car Wash Stand at Christie Park. The 606 capacity terrace is split into two sections with a refreshment area and TV gantry block in between, as well as a large community block in the north east corner.

I headed up to Morecambe via the M6 from the Smudgers bank holiday weekend base in the outskirts of Blackpool. On arrival after a quick look at the ground I met up with 100FgC squad#155 James Little for a pre match drink at the William Mitchell pub, which is only a ten minute walk from the stadium and has a good selection of ales and also allows free use of their car park.
Edinburgh based James had already visited the Globe Arena for the Carling Cup tie with Coventry City. His description of the new ground was “An upmarket version of what they used to have”
A few more of the 100FgC squad got in touch prior to my impending visit to give their opinions, having attended last Tuesday’s clash with Burnley in the Carling Cup.
#86.Jim Morris described it as “A great day out with friendly stewarding, motorbike parking and photos allowed”
#83.Ralph Pomeroy added “Not bad for a new one .. its very much like an updated Christie Park” while one of our newest members of the squad #161.Micheal Swaffield said “We all thought that the Shrimps had replicated what they had before, although the main stand did look more modern! See if you spot the floodlight at the away end that looks out of position!
So the general consensus amongst the squad seemingly suggests that Morecambe have produced a modern day version of Christie Park, however I have read of issues concerning the restricted view in the Main Stand and the width of the alleyways, so I will be interested to read other reviews to subsequent visitors to the stadium.

I’d like to thank Morecambe for their hospitality, especially Derek Quinn for making me feel welcome. He told me to enjoy myself and to “Be nice to us” in my report. But how could I be unkind to such a friendly and hospitable club such as Morecambe? The club, players and their fans seem to have taking to their new surroundings like a duck to water (Shouldn’t that be Shrimp to water…Eddy) so I’d like to wish them all the best in their 21st century version of Christie Park.

Matchday stats

MFC 1(Stanley 59)GFC 1(Spiller 83)

att.2,325

Admission (PP)

seats:£16-£22 standing:£13-£15

Programme £3

Ground no.261 Globe Arena - Matchday Web album(17 pictures)

Village Voice

I am thrilled to announce to release of the debut publication by fellow Geordie wordsmith and 100FgC squad #123 Ian Cusack.

"Village Voice" focuses on the exploits of Northern Alliance side Percy Main Amateurs on last season's promotion campaign, which saw the club return to step 7 of the Non-League pyramid.

The book also covers topics such as the incomprehensible fashion choices of most of the squad, a winter of such severity that the Villagers go 112 days without playing a league game and the need to offer the best quality hot dogs in the Northern Alliance are addressed alongside mere fripperies such as the 2010 General Election by a world-weary, all-seeing author who discovers, despite himself, that his love for Percy Main deepens by the day.

Ian also reminices about his love of the north east non-league scene and of course the goings on at St James Park during the 2009/10 season.

"Village Voice" is priced at £10, copies can also be purchased from Keel Row Books in North Shields, online via Amazon and by post from 52 River View, Tynemouth, NE30 4AF (cheques to Ian Cusack) Copies are also available from the Back Page shop on St.Andrews Street in Newcastle.

All profits go towards a new roof for The Mains clubhouse at Purvis Park.

My Matchday - 259 Estadio Antonio Dominguez

CD Marino 8v1 CD Igara
Torneo Sebastian Martin Melo XII
Thursday 19th August 2010
Our destination for this years summer holiday was Playa de las Américas on the beautiful Spanish island of Tenerife, the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa.
The resort is south of the island, in the northern part of the Municipality of Arona and was built in the 1960’s beside the town of Los Cristianos.
The beaches are man-made from imported sand from Africa due to the darkness of the native volcanic sand. Playa de las Americas is known for its busy nightlife with the Veronicas strip, Starco Commercial Centre and the Patch.

I’ve never have much luck ground bagging while on me jollies, we usually plan our vacation in July before the pre-season build up gets underway on the continent, however this year we decided to nick off a few weeks later.
When I booked our hols back in January I honestly didn’t know that our hotel would be on the same road and only a five minute walk from a football stadium, used by local side Club Deportivo Marino.

After regularly checking on the net on possible fixtures I was delighted to get confirmation a few days before departure that CD Marino were playing at home on my last night in the resort, the first match in a four team tournament stretching over three days.
The club were founded in 1936 and currently play in the Tercera Division - Group 12, which is the fourth level of the Spanish football league system, which features 361 teams divided into 18 regional groups.

The Estadio Antonio Dominguez has a capacity of 7,500 and is primarily an athletic stadium which is used by the local community on a daily basis with a gymnasium, boxing club and leisure centre under the main stand.
The grounds main entrance and reception is on the main road which runs through the resort and down towards the beach, but spectator access is gained at the top end behind the goal. Admission is gained by purchasing your ticket at the office then stepping sideways where a gentleman at the gate takes your ticket before callously ripping it in two, giving you half back and dropping the other part in a bucket. I got the left part back and James the right so I’ve just about got a full ticket.(see web album)
Once inside there is a bar with tables and chairs on the concourse which is perched high giving a good view across the stadium and the surrounding mountains. Only half the ground is used by spectators, the concourse with a dozen large concrete blocks in front continues around to the main part of the stand.
The main section of the stand is covered with smart looking wooden beams and supports. Centrally there is a section of blue flip seats with the club name and crest above which is set aside for club officials.
The rest of the ground is made up with banks of lawns and hedgerows with the far side having two large walls with ‘Paronates De Portes Arona’ (Arona Sports Board) on one and the club name and anchor logo set upon painted white stones, with an electric scoreboard in between.

The sparse crowd had a few tourists but was largely made up of locals, amongst those were some very ardent women, who were so passionate that two of them almost came to blows. A heated argument began after an incident on the pitch between two opposing players, in the end one of the ladies had to go and watch the game elsewhere in case she ended up giving to other wifey a dry slap.

The game was the first semi final of the 12th Torneo Sebastian Martin Melo, a competition played amongst four Tenerife based clubs.
CD Marino were due to play the as advertised UD Realejo, but were replaced by CD Igara who most likely wished they hadn’t bothered to fill in after receiving an 8-1 good hiding by the hosts.
The match was a lot closer than the score line suggests, well it was in the first half anyway. The visitors actually look a 9th minute lead, be it against the run of play and it wasn’t until first half stoppage time that Marino overturned the score line.
The second half was a different story as the home side played some fantastic stuff, adding a further six goals and it could have easily been double figures. The score line might suggest that the football was of a poor standard, but both clubs were technically very good, playing the now recognisable short intricate Spanish passing style, but Marino were much superior and were tremendous in the second half.

The following night Raqui San Isidro beat Tenerife B on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the other semi final before the hosts won Saturdays final, winning 4-0 to take the Sebastian Melo.

Me and James enjoyed an entertaining evening in the Estadio Antonio Dominguez, which was a nice wee break from our usual night in the resorts many pubs. However afterwards we hotfooted back to the town centre to return to the female half of the Smudger clan to finish off our last night of what was a fantastic holiday in Tenerife, which was nicely capped off by bagging a new ground.

Matchday stats
CDM 8 (eight 21,64pen, ten 45+2, twenty-one 51
twenty-two 72, six 75, nineteen 83 eighteen 85)

CDI 1 (eight 9)

att.70est

admission adults 9euro/ juniors 5euro
Link -

Tournament details and report on final

Ground no.259 Estadio Antonio Dominguez - Matchday Web album (21 pictures)

My Matchday - 260 The New Lawn

Forest Green Rovers 1v1 Gateshead
Blue Sq. Bet Premier
Saturday 21st August 2010


I especially flew in from Tenerife to catch my first game in the Blue Sq Bet Premier League this season. I arrived back in Blighty in the early hours of Saturday morning, then after grabbing a few hours kip, I was out of the house again by 6.30am and off to catch our bus down to Stroud for the Heed’s away game with Forest Green Rovers.

Forest Green Rovers FC hail from Nailsworth in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, The former small mill town lies in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds and has a population of over 6,000.
The town hosts the annual Nailsworth Festival every spring, where local artists exhibit their works in the windows of the high street shops. The festival includes many cultural and street events and a free music festival for local bands - Nailstock, which takes place on one of the town’s playing fields.


The club formed in 1890 as Nailsworth & Forest Green playing in the Stroud & District League, until becoming founder members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League in 1922, winning three titles in 1935, 1950 and 1951.
FGR joined another new league, playing seven seasons in the Gloucestershire County League from 1968 until joining the Hellenic League in 1975. In 1981-82 they were league champions and doubled up winning the FA Vase win a 3-0 win over Rainworth Miners Welfare at Wembley.
The following season they progressed into the Southern League, an era which saw a brief name change to Stroud FC in 1989. The decision was an unpopular one so after only three years they reverted back to Forest Green Rovers for the 1992-93 season.
The Green won back to back promotions and are still the currently the longest serving continuous members of the Conference. Last season they finished 21st but thanks to a reprieve courtesy of Salisbury City go into a 13th consecutive season, being in the top league since 1998.
Rovers have reached the final of the FA Trophy on two occasions, which both ended in defeat in 1999 and 2001 and also reached the FA Cup 3rd Round twice, the first of those was a 4-3 defeat to Derby County in January 2009 after leading 2-0, in front of their highest ever attendance of 4836 at The New Lawn.

The Lawn Ground had been home to the club since it was founded in 1890, and remained little more big lawn surrounded by hedges until the club's progression saw a series of upgrades. The ground closed in 1960 and reopened on 19th August 1961 with new terraces, a main stand, a new corner entrance and the sloped pitch was levelled off.
The ground was extended and floodlights erected in 1981. The Trevor Horsley Stand and Barnfield Terrace moved with the club a short distance to The New Lawn in 2006 which was built at a cost of £3m.

The new ground has a capacity of 5,147. The Western Thermal stand is the main stand which has a dozen rows of black seats with FGR picked out in white and 7 boxes at the rear. The stand also has a leisure club, gym, sauna, conference and meeting facilities as well as The Green Man pub.
The original Trevor Horsley Stand is now called the EESI Stand and is allocated to away fans. The stand is fully covered with eight rows of approximately 500 green flip seats.
The rest of the ground is made up of terracing, the East side is open with a scaffold TV gantry, four floodlight pylons and the team dugouts which includes a one man dugout exclusively for the fourth official (never seen that before) The north terrace is covered and now known as the Rockwool Stand
The stadium is fully functional used seven days as part of the Five Valleys Conference & Leisure Centre and was officially opened in September 2006 when the England C team played a friendly fixture against Forest Green.

Both teams settled for a share of the spoils in an entertaining open game at The New Lawn, this despite of the inconsistencies of a pernickety man in black.
Rovers started the game brightly and early pressure paid off, taking the lead in the 10th minute when a precision through ball from Lee Fowler found Reece Styche with plenty of time and space to score.
The lead was almost doubled ten minutes later when a close range shot from Mike Fowler was brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Deasy, then the woodwork came into play again as a Marwood shot clipped the top of the bar to almost draw the visitors level.
On the hour mark Gateshead made a double substitution, going with a more attacking formation and they reaped the benefit almost immediately, a Baxter cross was met with a glancing header from recent signing Gary Mulligan for his first goal in a Gateshead shirt.
Rovers were gifted a golden chance to take all three points when the referee awarded a penalty after an innocuous trip on Styche by Turnbull, but Deasy made a great save to deny Herring and assure that the Heed made the long trip back to the north east with a well earned point.

I collapsed into deep sleep by the time we reached Durham, awoken when our minibus came to a halt at the M1 services in Derbyshire for our half hour rest stop.
We arrived in Nailsworth at 1pm. Those of you who have been to The New Lawn will know that the ground is situated up a long winding mile long steep hill.
I had planned to go into the village for a drink but I just couldn’t be chewed to walk there and back, besides The Green Man’ had Wychwood and Marston’s real ales on offer, comfy settees and football on the box, so I was quite content to stay put.
A few of the lads had enquired about a taxi, but were told the nearest cab firm was in Stroud and just for starters they would charge £15 for having to make the 4 mile trip to pick you up! What a rip off! The words - the piss, taking, and surely, spring to mind.
After a long day I arrived back home at 11pm, finally feeling that I was back from my holidays. Although I was totally “cattle trucked” I still enjoyed the day, so overall it was well worth flying back for.

Matchday stats

FGR 1(Styche 10)GFC 1(Mulligan 66)

att.882
Admission (PP)£13

Programme £2.50

Ground no.260 The New Lawn - Matchday Web album (16 pictures)

My Matchday - 257 The Den

Millwall 2v3 Hearts

Neil Harris Testimonial

Saturday 31st July 2010

£9 each way! No! that isn’t the amount I’ve staked on Newcastle to finish in the top three this season,(I’m not that daft!) it’s the special offer I received from East Coast Trains way back in May to travel anywhere on the east line at this bargain price.
I took advantage of this cheap deal with another journey down to that London and a visit to The New Den, home to the club with the country’s most notorious supporters, who everyone it seems doesn’t like, but apparently they don’t care.

Millwall originated from a group of workers from J.T Morton’s Jam Factory on the Isle of Dogs, who formed Millwall Rovers in 1885. The Aberdeen based firm had opened their first English processing plant back in 1870. The majority of the workforce were Dockers from the East Coast of Scotland, so the club adopted the traditional Scotland colours of dark blue and white as the team kit.
The club became Millwall Athletic playing at several grounds during the club’s first 25 years, beginning on Glengall Road, then a year later played on a field behind the Lord Nelson pub up until 1890 when they moved further along East Ferry Road opposite Millwall Docks. The ground became one of the best in London as the club turned professional and founder members of the Southern League.
In 1901 they were forced into another move to an old potato field in North Greenwich where they played for the next nine years until they made the unpopular decision to move off the island and south of the river to Bermondsey.

The Den on Cold Blow Lane was the home of The Lions for 83 years. The ground was surrounded by railway lines, back lanes, hidden amongst a residential area and shielded by the New Cross hospital.
The ground was well named as it was the Lions Den and home to the Millwall Roar. Unfortunately (or maybe not) I never visited the old Den, as it wasn’t the most pleasant of matchday experiences for visiting spectators and players alike, which was poetically summed up by Gary Lineker:
“I remember running on to the pitch at The Den when I was a youngster with Leicester in the 5th round of the FA Cup. The place resembled a huge trap, and the venom that hit us from the Millwall fans was unbelievable. I remember thinking to myself, maybe it would be a good idea not to score at this place!"

There were initial plans to completely rebuilt the Den into an all seated stadium, but this was abandoned in favour of a new spacious site only a quarter of a mile away.
Build on Senegal fields in Bermondsey, South London at a cost of £16 million, The New Den was the first all seated stadium to be built after the Taylor Report and the first new football stadium constructed in London for a professional club since 1937.
The ground opened on 4th August 1993, Sporting Lisbon providing the opposition in front of 17,887 spectators.
The stadium is made up of four separate stands equal in size with open corners, apart from the north-east corner where there’s a large video screen. The stands reflect each other with two tiers of blue seats with the Cold Blow End behind the goal differs slightly with THE DEN picked out in yellow seats.
The capacity stands at 20,146, the record gate came against Arsenal for a 3rd Round FA Cup tie in January 1994, just short of a full house at 20,093. In football terms the word “legend” is brandished about far too often. For example if an average player scores the winner in a big local derby he’s then lavished with legendary status, even if the player hadn’t produce sweet Fanny Adams in the rest of his one hundred plus games.
There’s no doubting the credentials of Millwall striker Neil Harris as a Lions legend.
Born in Orsett in Essex in 1977, he began his career at Maldon Town before signing for Millwall from Cambridge City for £30,000 in March 1998. In his first spell with the club in just over 200 appearances he scored a total of 98 goals. He also finished as the country’s top scorer, winning the Golden Boot, scoring 28 times in Millwall’s 2000-01 Division 2 Championship winning season.
After a loan spell at Cardiff City he signed for Nottingham Forest in December 2004, leaving the Lions as their all time League scorer with 93 goals, a record he shared with Teddy Sheringham.
His time at the City Ground was an unproductive one, scoring only once in 33 League games which resulted him being farmed out to Gillingham on loan during the 2005-06 season.
After being released by Forest in January 2007, Harris re-signed with Millwall on an 18 month contract, on his signing he stated, "There is something special about this club, it brings out the best in me as a player and a person. It feels like home, it always has done. I can't wait to get started."
In his second appearance he made club history by scoring in a 4-0 win over Rotherham to become the clubs outright record league scorer, then in January 2009 he became all time goal scoring record with his 112th club goal during the 3-2 away win against Crewe Alexandra.
Neil again played a valuable part in last seasons promotion campaign notching another 18 goals. His current goal tally stands at 135 in 400 appearances going into the new Championship season.
But it’s not just on the football field which makes Neil such a legend. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2001, but after receiving surgery and intensive radiotherapy treatment he was given the all clear the following year and returned to football.
As a consequence he set up a cancer charity - The Neil Harris Everyman Appeal in conjunction with the club and the Institute of Cancer Research to help raise money for medical studies and to raise awareness into a disease which has risen by 70% in the last 20 years and continues to increase.

Heart of Midlothian provided the opposition for Neil’s big day, which was my third Anglo-Scottish clash in the five games I’ve attended so far this season.
The last time I saw Millwall in action was near the end of last season in their away win at Colchester, when I boldly predicted that they’d be a Championship club when I came to The Den this season.
The SPL side clinched victory thanks to two perfect free kicks from Craig Thomson. Eggert Jonsson gave the visitors the lead from the spot on 15 minutes after a Robinson trip on Wallace, but the shine was taking off their performance as Hearts Algerian defender Ismael Bouzil was stretchered from the field with a suspected fractured skull.
Millwall hit back with two powerful headers from Liam Trotter each side of half time until Thomson stepped up from 25 yards, his first effort curled over the wall, then he hit the winner with a blistering shot.
An entertaining afternoon was capped off with when Neil Harris was substituted with minutes remaining to allow the crowd to show their appreciation to the Lions record scorer.

If your not a fan of the club then when is the best time to visit Millwall? Is there actually a good time to visit The Den? Other football fans I’ve spoken to say NO there isn’t, but surely this game presented the ideal occasion to tick this ground off.
I arrived at Kings Cross early after catching the 0600 from Newcastle. I wanted to spend a bit quality time in the capital as my last few trips have been fleeting visits.
My morning was spent browsing in record stores (Where’s Rough Trade gone?…Eddy) and visiting various Wetherspoons pubs, my particular favourite being ‘The Moon Under Water’ in Leicester Square.
Working behind the bar in one of those pubs was probably the gayest man I’ve ever clapped eyes on in my life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m homophobic or anything, it’s just this guy took minceness to the extreme, he made Louie Spence look like Chuck Norris!
I headed down to London Bridge at around 1pm calling at the GBG listed ‘Barrow Boy and Banker’ before taking the short train journey to South Bermondsey.
I bought a ticket for the game in advance for the East Stand, thinking this would be the quietest part of the ground, well it was up until 5 minutes before kick off, when I was surrounded by windee-up-merchants who prefer to get close to the away supporters to give them some stick, although the best they could come up with was Ing-err-lind and constantly repeating that “Ey-yor” chant.
Afterwards I met up with my old mucker Decka T for a couple of pints in Kings Cross. This time he didn’t lead me astray like when I came down for the Brentford game, as I chose the pub in advance, meeting in the Lincoln Lounge on York Way which is a short walk from the station.
Overall I had a great day in London and I can safely say I enjoyed visiting The Den. ‘The bread knife’ has giving me great encouragement in my football ground pursuits but she’s always said that with their notorious reputation, would draw the line at Millwall. Over the last few weeks I’ve been waiting for her to ask which match I was going to, but for the first time ever she didn‘t, so I headed off on Saturday morning with her knowledge being I was going to London, meeting Decka and would be home for half ten. So when did my beautiful wife find out about my little misdemeanour? Sunday 1st August at 1247pm when this article (which you have just read) appeared on the internet.

Matchday stats

MFC 2(Trotter 44,55)HoMFC (Johnsson 15pen Thomson 71,88)

att.8,376

admission £12

programme £5

Ground no.257 The Den - Matchday Web album (26 pictures)