Fulham

This visit to Fulham was for the 125th annual Varsity football match between Oxford & Cambridge Universities last season. It was on a Sunday morning, before the famous Boat Race on the Thames.



The walk from Putney Bridge is a pleasant one, through Bishops Park, with Craven Cottage just past it, as you can see here.



This is the exterior on the Stevenage Road, & this stand is a Grade II listed building.



It was re-named the Johhny Haynes Stand in 2005, after the death of the Fulham legend, who is commemorated by this statue outside.



On the facade behind is the old Fulham emblem.



And the year of formation, which is incorrect, as they are now believed to have been formed in 1879.



Their next game is advertised, for which a somewhat bigger crowd will be expected!



Here are some of the turnstiles.



Outside the scarves were on sale, though these were for the boat race, not the football. I still bought one though!



I prefer the older emblem to this new one.



Inside the ground now, and I'm stuck on one side. In the Johnny Haynes Stand. The first thing I head for is the famous cottage in the corner. This is by the Putney End, which you can just see to the right.



Here we look along the Haynes stand, from the bottom corner. The plastic seats were put on top of the old terraced enclosure in front of the stand.



Here some of the players warm up, with the Hammersmith End in the background.



Here is another shot of the cottage.



And from this corner we look across the Putney End.



Now we're up in the Haynes Stand, the original wooden seats still in place. It was built by the famous football stadium architect Archibald Leitch. 'Engineering Archie' was published in 2005.



At the end is a montage dedicated to Haynes.



Here we look across the pitch to the Riverside Stand, built in 1973, & originally called the Eric Miller Stand. He was a director, who committed suicide, while under investigation for embezzlement, in 1977.



From near the back we look down the stand.



Moving further along, just as the teams come on the pitch, from the changing rooms in the cottage corner.



The teams line up for the pre-match bits & pieces. The spectators in the Riverside Stand were all ticket holders in advance, and on the day you could only pay for the stand we are in. It was not possible to get past the stewards and reach the other side. Which was a shame, as I am unable to show the the Fulham sign on the gable of the Haynes stand.



Standing for the national anthem. Not being a royalist I stay seated.



Here is a shot of the Johnny Haynes Stand, from the other end, during the match.



Game in progress, with the Riverside Stand behind.



The Hammersmith end of the listed stand also has the collection of Haynes memories on the wall. To the left is the Hammersmith End, and you can also see-immediately to the left of the pictures-some of the executive boxes in the corner.



Cambridge in their traditional light blue, & Oxford in the dark.



The end of the game, and the scoreboard tells the final score, in front of the empty Putney End.

Slavia Praha; Prague, Czech Republic

Slavia Praha are one of the oldest clubs in the Czech Republic, who play in the newest stadium.
The Synot Tip Arena was opened in May 2008, & I made my first visit here on 26th October 2009, for a match against Sigma Oloumouc.



This is the ground from the outside, taken from a footbridge over the road.



This is one of the entrances. The turnstiles are the modern ones where the tickets are read by a scanner in them.



The club shop is a a decent one, with plenty of stock.



Butv hidden round the back, away from the busy main road, it's ugly & looks unfinished. Possibly part of some costcutting, as it was overspent when built.



This stadium is built on the same site as their old Eden one, which sadly, I never saw a game at. It is situated in their working class heartland, as you can see by the blocks of flats in the background.



There is a car park behind, as you see here. Beyond this, like 'behind us' as if we're actually pointing the camera now, is the home of the Slavia rugby club, though I didn't take any pictures of that small ground on this visit.



This is one of the ticket offices, from where I bought mine on the morning of the match, to avoid the possible queues later.



Now I'm back at the ground for the 5.30pm kick off & I bump into these English groundhoppers! Stan Green; Eddie Smith & the 'grandaddy of them all' ...'Veteran'!



And here's the final one of their quartet-'Yorkieexile'.



Eddie was sampling the beer from one of the beerstands outside the ground. It was Gambrinus, who sponsor the top division in Czech football. It''s roots are in a local Prague brewery, but now owned by the huge Plzen company.



Inside, on the concourses, are the blander looking & more expensive food and drink outlets.



Inside the ground itself I am behind the goal, in the main home end. from my seat, in row 8, we look to the main stand to the right. This is the one with the smart frontage.



Looking directly across the pitch is an end that it identical to the one we are in. The small corner on the left, below the big screen, is the away section.



This is the stand down the side to our left, exactly the same design and seating as behind the goals. In fact you can stroll all the way round, even though those seats are more expensive. This is the stand with the ugly bricks on the outside.



I look across my stand, to our big screen.



Looking bakc down the other end we see the small group of away fans who have made the long trip from Oloumouc.



The players 'meet & greet' just before kick off. note the flags in the centre circle...and the ones being waved behind the goal...



A variety of different flags in the red & white of Slavia.



Almost kick off and the players are bringing the flags from the centre to the home end for the fans. Which explains why there are so many of them. Presumably they do this every match.



Marvellous! Even England flags! With the stand along the side in the background.



Practically kick off now, if you can see the players through the flags!



Here we look over to the main stand, where we see the lower level, with executive boxes behind.



And another glance down the other side. The ground is just under half full at our game.



At half time children take part in a mini-game on the pitch.



For some reason this banner in English caught my eye! I was once... ;-)



There are some more banners hanging over the corner, but it's the roof I'm interested in. Made from Canadian cedarwood apparently, the roars and songs of the home fans really does bounce off of it, they are loud, and I'm presuming it was built with acoustics in mind.



I'm now sat above the halfway line, in the stand that was to our left. I simply walked round, and sat in one of the empty seats! This is the view just prior to the second period.



In the far corner of this stand is the away support, in their own fenced in section.



From up this end we get a look at the seats behind that goal.



moving back along the side we see the much more packed home end.



Another look over the pitch, to the 'posh side'!



The home end again, closer.



The game is almost over, & the small away contingent are holding on for an unexpected victory!



Game over now, and a picture of the emptying stands.



And another of the far end.



While some stay a little longer in the home end to offer their support to the players, who still make a point of acknowledging their loyal backing.



This was to be my last snap, I like to finish a set with a crest of some sort, if I can find one, to complement the one at the start. This hoarding was outside the ground. I'm not sure who the player is, but I'm taking a guess that it's their most famous player, the legendary Josef Bican.



But this time I complete our visit with the back of this top worn by a fan!
Superb!