The Great Football Ground Vote - Group A
The draw for the first group stages (20 groups of 4) has been held, and Group A is a doozy, with four stadiums of pretty decent size, with the four out of the hat being Cardiff, Sunderland, Notts County and Bristol City.
Ground Vote - Group A
- Which is your favourite of these four grounds?88 votes
- Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff City10.23%
- Stadium of Light - Sunderland27.27%
- Meadow Lane - Notts County44.32%
- Ashton Gate - Bristol City18.18%
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Comments
Cardiff is just a modern bowl with no character. Haven't been to Ashton Gate since it's been redeveloped. I like Meadow Lane and the quirkiness of being so close to the Trent and Coty ground. Best from this lot got to be the Stadium of Light though.
Ashton Gate is one of my favorites.
Notts County for me, and I actually like Cardiff’s too.
I went Notts County too just because I am a sucker for four sided grounds - I feel they tend to have more personality.
Notts County is a superb ground. Perfect location too. Always loved it.
Been to three of these and didn’t like Bristol City or Cardiff…Forest lost on both occasions.
Notts County is a good stadium and Wycombe have done well there in recent years.
Stadium of Light - Simply because it was where I first completed the 92 and annoyingly only a few weeks after Martin O’Neill got the sack by Sunderland.
Surprised that there aren't more votes for Ashton Gate. It's a ground that produces an excellent atmosphere and has been redeveloped sympathetically with its history. Meadow Lane is perfectly fine but too big for the club playing in it and I find a little soulless. The Cardiff City Stadium is one of the better new build bowls in my view - the concourse area is really well designed with huge amounts of space.
Notts County for me - sentimental reasons, as one of my earliest and most visited grounds. Remember being in awe of it when first went in 1995 and ground not changed much since. Like the size and similarity but slight differences of the four stands plus the gable.
Sunderland - think it’s a great ‘new’ ground at the heart of a city, and can get a fantastic atmosphere in there. Does feel a bit lopsided but likely would have been my pick in a different group.
Cardiff - decent attempt at a new bowl, but would be surprised if end up picking a ground like this in any group.
Bristol City - also not been there since redeveloped so hard to judge. Do think it looks like they’ve done a good job though and keen to go back one day.
never really got over the Benfica name pinch, why would you do that? I’m an Ashton Gate fan myself, always an excellent atmosphere when we were in the same sphere, albeit pre-modernisation.
I’m another fan of Meadow Lane. Seen some mixed results there but I’m with @wwfc_since_1993 in that it still seemed a shock to be playing in grounds that good in our early league years.
Always found the view from the away end really good. Had a near perfect view to one of the worst performances ever by a Wycombe player.
Voted for Sunderland for the warm welcome we were given there the first time, having driven all the way.
Bristol City had good atmosphere though seemed a bit intimidating.
Notts County always decent though such a pity we have not seen the Chairboys play across the Trent at Forest.
Cardiff voted down due to hostility from home fans.
they claim it's to do with the mining tradition around there, being built on the old Colliery site and all (whether you believe that story is entirely up to you!). I voted for SoL here, mainly because it's the one I have the best memory from - Onyedinma's goal the first time we played there was an unbelievable moment
When I picture the mining industry I think of long dangerous shifts in dark claustrophobic places, the very antithesis of light. If it is indeed meant as an aspirational thought perhaps Millwall missed a trick when they moved to 'The New Den' (now just 'The Den'), they could have borrowed Philadelphia's 'Brotherly Love' theme.
Benfica's stadium is actually named after the region of the city in which it is located, Luz
I agree it was a bit silly for Sunderland to nick it. But that said I did vote for it here. First and foremost a great stadium with a great atmosphere but that walk from the station is something else. You get the feeling that everyone in the city is walking to the game as more and more pour out of the side streets on the way. Every pub and hotel bar packed, and also crossing that bridge over the river
It's quite something
Based on that delightful bit of prose I might stop being quite so curmudgeonly about their name pilfering in future. Having not made the trip yet, it makes me want to take the train up when the Lomtadze Express delivers us up to The Championship.
It genuinely felt like stepping back in time and going to a game the same way people used to go to games decades ago. Quite special I thought (until we were 3-0 down in about 40 seconds)
More or less every home supporter wearing something red and white as well. Most had scarves, loads had hats and the ratio wearing the home kit was very high
When did people start wearing replica shirts in big numbers? Must be 90s?
My mum's side of the family are born and bred in Sunderland, so I've spent a decent amount of time there over the years, and I have never seen a place that wears their club merchandise as much as Sunderland. We'd be down at the beach on a random Wednesday evening and most people there would have something SAFC on, whether a coat, hat, shirt, hoodie, something else. The true embodiment of a city proud of their football club and a one club city at that (most of those visits were when they were a half decent PL side mind!)
Possibly earlier in England - Admiral started making replica kit in the 70s
yeah, i think so. Would have been too risky in the 70s and 80s.
Stadium of Light for me, great first visit there with Fred putting us ahead in front of 1,000+ Wycombe fans. Impressive stadium. Subsequent visits not as memorable, but that first time was a genuine highlight for me.
Were definitely around in the 80s but not on a huge scale
I'm surprised Meadow Lane is in the lead with so many Forest fans on here, but maybe they are just being objective. When does the poll end?
this is based on nothing but memory but before the 90s replica kits were almost entirely for kids.
I’ve a vague memory of visiting the City Ground early in our league days, possibly Coca Cola Cup?
You could buy them in the 1960s - I was given a second hand one in the early 70s when i was about 6 - it was a well known top flight club - shirt shorts and socks but as has been said they were really only worn by kids and then not to matches but to play football in. They also obviously weren't so distinctively 'replica' then if you remember kits from those days.
Cardiff purely because it has hosted some great Wales games in recent times
Great points from Eric about Sunderland though
Replica kits..(and apologies for self indulgence)..my neighbours (QPR fans) gave me a scratchy replica 70s Wolves kit as a kid (in the 80s). No idea why they had that and wish I still had it now. No sponsor..just a gold shirt with the black wolves. Three..was possibly a fake but at that age it was wondrous