MK Dons

I was fortunate enough to visit MK Dons on the early May Bank Holiday for the Berks & Bucks Cup Final between Windsor & Eton and Marlow.
Fortunate because I got there by car, given a lift by an ice hockey friend. Certainly not a ground I'd have got to otherwise.
Also fortunate because it was cheaper than an MK Dons game to get in, & hopefully the county FA kept the money.
I don't particularly dislike MK Dons, though I am totally against the way they were allowed to evolve from Wimbledon Football Club to their current guise. But they are not going to disappear, & to me they are now just another club, albeit not one I particularly like.
I would return here though, if ever they complete the upper tiers. As you will see this is actually 'half a stadium'.







Stadium MK, built by the Buckingham Group, is a fair way from the centre of Milton Keynes. Not too far out to stop royalty opening the stadium though.



This is the access road towards the ground.



In the car park was a club mini bus.



Here we see the stadium from where we parked up.



The Club shop. Why they have to call it a 'superstore' I have no idea.



The outside looks impressive, but the upper tier is not finished!



Even for a minor game like this you had to purchase tickets from this window, no pay on the gate.



Another view of the outer shell of the ground, from further along.



No cameras eh? You're not going to deter this grounds blogger! ;-)



The actual turnstiles. (This snap was taken on the way out). You can see the modern barriers, where you insert your ticket, which is why you couldn't pay cash on the turnstile.



So now we're in the ground. Here you see the unfinished upper tiers, with the smart new lower section. I would guess they could easily put in the seating upstairs, if they progressed up a division or two, which would be the Premiership!



This is the lower seating behind one of the goals.



From this same corner were we entered we look across the pitch.



And over to the other side, which was the only part open for spectators.



On the concourses were a number of food outlets, most closed today. I cetainly wasn't paying those prices! There's a large ASDA next door, and we popped in there after the match. I highly recommend their meat & potato pies.



A novel way to raise money. This was on the concourse walls. It ma be done at a number of clubs, but not going to many professional grounds it's not something I'd seen before.



We're slowly moving round the concourse towards our section now. Here is another snap of the closed side. I do like the lettering in the seats.



Looking over to the spectator side, some Windsor fans are gathering towards the front.



From behind the goal we look over the pitch, with the concrete upper sections out of shot.



Here is one of the disabled areas, on the concourse, with a warning sign, saying no spectators on the actual concourse during the game. Proof that some prefer to stand, & that there should still be terracing.



We are early, & chat to a friendly steward. On the left is Dave, & on the right is Jane, our driver. They are both fellow Streatham Redskins fans.



This is the main stand side. Just look at all that executive glass frontage. This is clearly a club gearing up for top flight football eventually.



Another very similar shot of the opposite side.



And a rare snap of my good self posing at a ground!



The same side, but showing the seats behind the goal.



A strange sign...does it mean that you can use abusive language & aggressive behaviour in other parts of the ground?



The ground is still new, so even the toilets look smart!



Now we're finally round the side, so get a good look back behind the goal.



Almost kick off. We have a cracking view.



Despite many thinking of MK Dons as a new club, the Dons part reflects the fact they were formerly Wimbledon FC.



This is the area behind the goal at the far end.



Along the side, in the far corner area, there is more space at the back for disabled fans.



Marlow fans hang up their flags with pride.



This Marlow teddy seems to be catching forty winks at half time!



Here we look up the main stand, from the front, by the pitch.



These are the dugouts by the pitch, looking a bit strange to me, as they have no perspex roof.



I spotted these on the bottom of some seats.



A Marlow fan shows off his old, but cherished, sweat shirt to me.



Be nice when it's finished...



Looking down on some Windsor fans at half time.



Here a Windsor fan shows me his old fashioned rattle, which he explained dated back to the Second World War! Customised by himself.



Hefty stewards pitchside. Thankfully they never confiscated my camera! ;-)



The players start to return for the second half.



The final score, in what to be honest, was a pretty poor match.



The presentation table being set up.



Not very happy looking runners up.



The Windsor & Eton faithful start saluting their team.



And this is what they're cheering!



One last look across the pitch before we go.



Before we left Daved posed in an MK Dons scarf he'd bought. He collects scarves, Jane was taking a snap of him on her mobile to send to another Streatham fan, who also follows
AFC Wimbledon!

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.