|
1. Why you were
looking forward to going to the ground (or
not as the case may be):
Having gone to Old Trafford last season
to see Leeds knock out Man Utd, I didn't
want to miss out on a similar occasion this
year. Also I'd never been to the Emirates
before and there's no better way to go than
with your team.
2. How easy was your journey/finding the
ground/car parking?
We got the train from Newcastle to Kings
Cross and from there got the tube to
Islington, and a 10 minute walk or so got us
there, but the ground isn't visible, so we
relied on locals and signs.
3. What you did before the game
pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?
We stopped off at a burger van pre-match and
then entered the ground. There were
8,000 Leeds fans all in one end, making such
noise that we drowned out the Arsenal
supporters. I was surprised by how
close together both sets of fans were
situated, in fact in
talking distance, but there was no
trouble.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground,
first impressions of away end then other
sides of the ground?
The ground is by far and away, the most
modern ground in England, however it
seemed more of a theatre than a
football stadium. Still there were large
padded seats for all, and the stadium
as a whole looks quite smart, although
surprisingly it looks bigger inside than
out.
The Leeds fans got the whole lower tier
behind one of the goals and half the upper
tier, including two corners, there was
a middle tier of corporate
seats in-between the Leeds fans, which
isn't a great idea, but I'm told the usual
amount of away fans is just the lower tier
corner of that end.
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere,
stewards, pies, toilets etc..
The game was tense for Leeds, however as per
usual the Leeds fans sung from start to
finish. Leeds went one nil up thanks to
a Snodgrass penalty shortly after half time,
this created ecstasy in the away end, with
all 8,000 of us bouncing around. Arsenal
equalised with a Fabregas penalty at the
death however, but we were happy simply to
get a replay. Stewards were fine,
toilets probably the best I've seen for a
football ground. Food was very expensive and
names such as hand-crafted pies took away
the traditional, working class feel of a
football ground.
6. Comment on getting away from the ground
after the game:
Leeds fans were kept in for about 15 minutes
after the game compared to one hour the
previous year at Old Trafford, and when we
were let out, there was very big crowds
queuing for the tube, however no trouble
occurred with both fans bantering instead.
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day
out:
Good game, Nice Ground, Friendly all be it
quiet fans!
|