ignoring how close they are i,d plump for grimsby. Easy if longish journey for me being motorway and duel carriageway most of the way, parking easy, somewhere to walk dogs and cheap and good chippys.

I don't really have a stand out one but Torquay and Exeter usually mean a weekend job which is always acceptable. The last time I went to Exeter was a five day job but stayed in Torquay and on Match day went to Exeter by train.

Halifax real old fashioned ground

Scarborough

Grimsby is a great old ground & a cracking away day.
I also really enjoyed Boston’s old ground.

Exeter for me too. Nice ground and some great memories. I was quite fond of Edgar Street as well.

The old Chesterfield ground.

Plainmoor TUFC. Everything you could wish for: Covered away terracing with own away end catering. Lovely main stand for those who like to sit. No trouble that I can ever remember and a wonderful social club which still has a big photo of Lee Sharpe on a wall. Oh, and Roker Park such atmosphere. Saw the great, late Jim Baxter arrive there for a home game in the sixties and it was like The Beatles or some big film star had arrived.

Burnley for me when it had terracing.

Leeds.
The games there when we were in league One
Outstanding atmospheres.
Always loved going to Feethams.
The Sunderland games at Roker pk n the SOL also quality.

Just a few to name.
The good old days for sure.

UTP.

For some daft reason, Rushden.
Went to all the three away matches with three different results and not a bad ground at all…and a lesson in what happens when sugar daddy’s lose interest.
Surely it wasn’t scrapped….?

It was demolished in 2017 Crazy when it cost £30 odd million to build. It's now just a empty football pitch shape with a few remaining concrete steps around it .

I agree about Rushden went to the final game of the season that we threw away a 14 point lead at the top and had to win to get the championship ao what happened a draw and we ended as runners up. If I am right owned by Max Griggs owner of Cd Martins boots who pulled out after transferring his factory to India. Remember a chippy down the road with a big crowd of poolies waiting to be served .

Max Griggs sold the club lock stock and barrel to the supporters for £1. I have no idea if that included any debt but it did include a £30 million pound stadium and I presume land. You would have thought the supporters would have been in a good position to make a real go of it or maybe they tried I believe the ground was less than 10 years old at the time so would have thought some other sporting establishment would surely have been interested in purchasing it cheaply even just to dismantle and reuse or sell on. Then the land if it was included

Its not as simple as people think to keep a club going and progress.
It can be difficult and soul destroying.

Nene Park has indeed been levelled - an absolute disgrace. They also had a conference centre attached to the ground with views of the pitch- also flattened. Just derelict waste land now.

The biggest problem was that the whole thing was built on sand. The fanbase was basically borrowed from Northampton, Kettering and Lootown, so they all went in the glory years but as soon as life got difficult it evaporated and disappeared back into the woodwork.

Kettering took the ground over after being booted out of Rockingham Road- but a good chunk of fans boycotted the move and so they folded too. Then there was rumours that Northampton were going to take it over as it was a tidy set up and so much better than their identikit Sixfields stadium. But after a massive backlash from the fans that got shelved too. Meaning that there was now a redundant stadium that nobody wanted.

Still criminal though that it was pulled down. I think the council should have taken it over and made it into a Community hub- facility - could have maybe put a 3G pitch down but as with a lot of councils - no vision, money or thought for potential. I work a couple of miles away and the kids nowadays don't even know it existed.

When I first moved down and worked in Rushden all the kids were fans. In fact I started the September after we'd blown the league there and was winding the kids up about them potentially getting relegated the year we both went up- funny thing was they were mid table and then lost something like 10 of their last 12 games, falling through the trapdoor. Certainly made up for all the stick I got, about Pools fucking up winning the league. I did enjoy that but what happened after, that was just horrible

I thought you would know the history behind its demise. But can I ask why you took over the ground Kettering

Just for the shits and giggles Leggie!
I even rearranged the seats to spell out my name- there was no way I could mow the lawn after that- I was bollocksed!…..........





,.......in truth I could only do the corners and the the bit round by the dugouts as that's as far as the flex on my Flymo would stretch!

The first match at Rushden was a night match and the lad who took us to the ground was a Northampton supporter so he took us to a nice pub nearish to the ground and as we walked in the place we realised it was full of their fans…..it was a ‘whoa’ moment ….. till we quickly realised it was a cross between a knitting circle and a Salvation Army Orgy…..they took the family club theme to a new level.
You could have had a reign of terror with a balloon on a stick.

Yeah, it was a proper family set up, seemed to be women and children everywhere on match days. Probably the most I've seen at an away ground.

Forest Green was a bit like that too, when I went there- a very different demographic to your average seasoned weather worn, battle scarred fan. Probably part of the reason they went pop as once they stopped winning they had no shit times previously to really appreciate what they had, and ultimately no staying power when it started to go south. That's why If Green Vince decides he's had enough, they'll undoubtedly go the same way

I suppose a club who from day one have only known relative success sold to totally new fans doesn’t have a large majority with the resilience of failure to cope with what’s the norm for established clubs, especially so in this day and age.
These clubs tend to disintegrate rather quickly when the good times dry up and the sugar daddy decides to sponsor Kangaroo wrestling for a change.

What about the Reynolds Arena?

you mean the cowboy arena. built by one and resembled the wide open spaces of the wild west even on matchdays.

actually it would make as much sense as stockton and marsk combining to play at a new ground in redcar than there was a reason for the existance of rushden and diamonds in the first place. at least referees could not get mixed up as they did back in the old days when rushden and rushton both in northants played in the same league. we had east runcton and east ruston in norfolk that caused problems especially being nearly 50 miles apart.

To be fair the ground was in Irthlingborough (a very weird place with what appears to be a very small gene pool), was the Diamonds.
I believe Rushden (or AFC R&D) play at what was Rushden Town's ground before the merger- which is like Greyfields enclosure, only with a small clubhouse attached. The distance between the two grounds is about 3 miles.

Difference between Rushden and Rushton is about 300k! The former, a run down shit hole with the remnants of the boot and shoe trade just about hanging on. The latter a very nice hamlet/ village on the edge of McCorby. (Geography wise about 10 miles)

God that was a soulless place…..that proved the line…’build it and they will come’ they came alright, but it still looked like a kids tea party in the Albert Hall, they’d never fill it, so you end up like a single person living in a 10 bedroom house…if only they’d stayed at Feethams.

When you look back feethams was a great ground the buzz you got walking down polam lane hearing the away fans in the ground. Town centre ground small and compact. These clubs nkw moving out of town have no idea that one day whrn the shit hits the fan it will be even more souless.

its odd how these new grounds look souless when only half full never mind how the arena was. more atmosphere with a vic half full that there is a half full stadium mk or donny rovers keepmoat. its just some ground designs do not work in this country like any with running tracks around which are more popular on the continent.

I went inside boros ground for the first time other day i was shocked how small it looked inside and that basically its just a bowl of very little character.

The out of town grounds can lose fans as well, they always put them somewhere obscure and off bus routes …and walking to the match is also gone.
Plus there’s no local decent pubs to use as that’s exchanged for a breeze block wind tunnel serving cat’s piss in plastic ‘glasses’ at their Dick Turpin prices.

We are lucky to have a ground in the centre of town with good facilities.
Whatever happens that ground must never be sold.
I would never go if it was on the edge or out of town.

Feethams. Didn’t even need to think about it.

Watched a feature on FC Hartlepool and during a walk around the ground on a pleasant day the subject of the enclosure came up and it was unclear wether they now own the ground as in the discussion it appears the Council approached them to take over the running of the ground, can’t see it myself ….. but that doubt was there in my mind.

Id say they don't own the ground.
The same as Pools.
I've heard that ground expansion is on the agenda.
Where's the dosh coming from.
Anyhow good luck to them they seem ambitious

.but not sure if hpool needs 2 clubs in the pyramid. But could understand a few fans converting. I know a lad who has an STfor them and isent in a rush to go back to Pools.

Only football like.

that reminds me of the time i was at the old show ground watching scunthorpes last but one game there. knew one of their players and got a complimentary that allowed me into the players lounge at the end of the game. was talking to one of their fans, an 80 odd year old who was quite spright for his age. felt sorry for him as he said he,d only got one more game he could watch his team and had been attending since they were in the midland league. lived 5 minutes walk from the old ground but with even buses being run they would be full after leaving the town centre. think owners have little interest where fans are concerned over this issue.