GCO Bihorel; Rouen, France

I visited GCO Bihorel in May 2007, for a Normandy Division D'Honneur game, which is a regional sixth level in the French pyramid. they are based in a suburb of Rouen.

The stadium is named after Marechal Leclerc, not sure who he is.



This is the road the ground is on.



On entering the ground this is a tea bar, to the left, changing rooms behind.



Here's some of the action from this end of season game, surprisingly entertaining, as I recall. 4-2 to the visitors.



There wasn't a programme, but a league table was on the noticeboard, by the tea bar.



Here are some club stickers, stuck on a barrier.



This is a shot inside the tea bar.



And this artwork was hanging on the wall.



Various club trophies & a Calais scarf were on display. The scarf from when Calais reached the French FA Cup final, as an amateur club, in 2000.



The players come onto the pitch from a corner. You can see it is open behind the goal, with the Rue de Verdun behind the white perimeter wall.



Here is the grass standing behind this goal. You cannot get to the side from the far corner, so we are going to head round the ground the other way, towards the main stand.



We can see it here, from behind the goal.



Bench seating. This is the away contingent!



But there's not many benches, most of the stand being terracing.



There is a plaque at the back of the stand.



Here is a good side view of it. If this was an English ground I'm sure those windows would have been smashed by vandals long ago...



This is the name of the stand.



From in front of the stand we look over to the dugouts opposite.



From the same spot we look down the touchline.



Another snap of the game in progress.



We're now down the fae end, looking across the touchline here.



And from the same corner across the pitch.



This is Paul & Mark, two fellow Dulwich Hamlet fans who were with me.



Moving along, we're almost behind the goal, a lone press photogapher in front of us.



Past the goal now, we look back toward the stand.



Down the side, we see part of the scoreboard, by the dugouts. This is as far as we can walk, as you can se it is railed off at the dugouts.



A fuller snap of the scoreboard.



Game over!

Paris FC

Paris FC play in the Championnat National, which is the French third division. I saw them play on a Friday night in 2007/08. It was a night game, so some of these snaps are a little dark.
They currently play at the Stade Charlety, which ,according to Wikipedia, is used primarily for rugby league matches. It has a 20,000 capacity, which is hardly tested for Paris FC matches. On my visit there was only one side open, & I doubt if there was even 500 fans present.





The ground was originally built in 1938. Presumably this is from when it was rebuilt, to modern standards.



There are rugby murals on the concourse walls.



The ground is multi tiered. Here is the lower section, on the side that was open tonight.



This is the goal to our left, behind this is the main road, from where we entered.



From the same corner we look across the pitch, to the far side.



And across the pitch, where we look at the far end.



Another glance down the football spectatator side.



Here we are up in the middle section, where the majority of the crowd sat, for a better vantage point.



This is the spectator side again, but from the other end.



And finally the flags of the home fans.

Partick Thistle; Glasgow, Scotland

Partick Thistle is another ground I managed to have look round on my trip to Glasgow in June 2009. They currently play in the First Division of the Scottish League.

It wasn't possible to gain access to the ground, but I had emailed them in advance, so I rang the bell to the club offices as advised and was shown inside. It's a three sided ground, with no current plans for redevelopment on the fourth side, but it's still a cracking ground, with its mix of old and new stands.



Here is one set of turnstiles, on the road that runs by the main stand, which is to the right.



This is the side of the main stand, and as you can see Firhill is also home to the Glasgow Warriors rugby union club.



Here is the exterior of the main stand, not quite as glamourous, but it reminds me of Highbury, or Ibrox.



This is another view of it, looking back from further down the street.



And here is the centre bit, above the main entrance.



Once inside I was given permission to walk round the perimeter of the pitch. This is the main stand, which we have just looked at outside.



Here we look up to what I presume is the directors/executive area.
I bet the grub from the bakers is tasty too!



This was a strange bit of terraced area in front, with a garden bench!



These are the dugouts.



Here we look back down the main stand.



This is our first look at the newer stand behind the goal.



With another shot along it, from the front.



From behind the goal we look back at the old stand.



And then head round to the other modern stand, opposite it, down the far side.



Here we look up into the multi coloured seats.



And from this side look directly across the halfway line to the old stand.



The other end has no spectating area. just a sterile grass bank.



This advertising hoarding caught my eye, which shows what a historic stadium this is.



From this corner we see the contrast of two of the stands.



Another glance over to the old stand.



From behind the open end we look over to the other goal. I am resuming that that end was once old terracing, and that the development of those flats behind helped pay for the redevelopment of Firhill.



A shot of the new side down the touchline, opposite the old stand, from behind the open end.



So that was the tour complete, or so I thought. I was asked if I wanted to see the changing rooms. Yes please!



And the shower area.



This is the 'boot room'!



I wasn't shown in here though, such is my poor knowledge of Scottish football I had no idea who he is.



I was allowed to stick my head in here though.



Still spacious, compared to the non-league ones I've seen!



And after passing this room it was time for me to be on way!





A big thank you to Partick Thistle Football Club for kindly allowing me to see their ground, and the woman from the office for showing me round. One day, in a year or two, I shall return here to watch a game, and will certainly spend a few quid extra in the club shop, by way of gratitude!