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1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be)?
This was to be my first visit to Stamford Bridge and I'm always interested in
visiting new grounds add that to it was a big London derby !
2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?
Having been to the ground before (not for a match) I knew where to go, so it was
just a case of usual trip from Oxford on the train but going to a different tube
station (Fulham Broadway).
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?
Before the game I collected my ticket from the guy who was selling it to me. Big
criticism was that the cost was £40. Now I know Chelsea are strapped for cash
but this was just taking the piss. Kids even had to pay £30. I went into
the ground about 40 mins before kick off and just stood at the front watching
the players warm up. I was even caught on the Sky cameras when they had a
shot of Seaman - who was stood near me at the time !
4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground:
I as I approached the ground I saw the monstrosity that is the Chelsea Village
Hotel. Very impressive looking but from what I've heard its empty half the
time. As I said I have been to the ground before this was whilst at work
experience for MOTD magazine they sent me to a press conference for the launch
of the League Managers Association website(!) It's top draw and I suppose if
your a Chelsea fan who can flash the cash its well worth the money. We had
been allocated the whole of the bottom tier of the old main stand (3,000) the
ground which has been recently developed is very impressive but there seems to
be no place to increase the capacity if needed.
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc.
I thought a draw was a fair result, bad defending by Seaman and Keown led to
Zola's goal. I thought the Vieira sending off was harsh, the second goal
was well worked with duracell (Toure) made some good running which eventually
rewarded us with a goal from Toure himself. Atmosphere was good, the fans seem
to make more noise away than when we are at home even though there are only a
few thousand. The stewards were extremely heavy handed. The sun was
bearing down on us and a few people decided to remove their tops which the
stewards didn't like and threatened to chuck them out, the food was far to
expensive for what it was and I decided to eat after the game.
6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:
After the game a few Chelsea old boys were getting a bit lairy and it got a bit
heated on the tube with a few idiots trying to start fights after a few too many
beers. I heard of a few more incidents that happened on the Kings Road, of
course the press don't care about this as it didn't happen in the ground
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
I enjoyed the day at Chelsea, although the whole day was far too expensive.
The programmes were £3 a pop. I spent about £70 and that was only for
train (from Didcot Parkway), ticket and programme. The ground itself is
quite nice and most fans seemed to mix well apart from a few idiots mentioned
above. |
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