Football Ground Guide: Fans Reviews, JJB Stadium, Wigan Athletic FC

JJB Stadium Wigan Athletic
Premier League v Newcastle United
Saturday, October 15th 2005, 12.45pm
Michael Dodds

My usual excitement leading up to away days was enhanced further, knowing I had a shiny, brand-new place to visit. This was my first visit to the JJB Stadium, and, despite my team playing a newly-promoted and in-form Wigan, I was confident of a win and a good day out.

I prefer to travel away by train and left Newcastle Central at 6.30am for the 12.45 kick off (thanks to Sky for that one!!!). Because Wigan has no mainline station it meant changing trains at Manchester Victoria on to a regional service which took around an hour-and-a-half to arrive at Wigan Wallgate Station.

Once there, we were greeted by the local constabulary, whom I asked where away fans could get a drink. Imagine my delight when the response came - ''anywhere you like, mate''. Excellent. So I settled for the first hostelry I found, come out of the station, turn right, past the chip shop, and it's literally 30 seconds down the road. Relatively easy to get served and decent beer so no complaints there then. The welcome from the locals was ok, not much in the way of banter or conversation, but certainly not hostile.

From there it was a pleasant 20-minute stroll to the ground, not well signposted, but easy enough to find if you follow the blue and white shirts - a plan which I, and most other Newcastle fans, seemed to be using (the JJB is one of those grounds which is not visible from any great distance, and just seems to pop up from nowhere at the last minute!). Plenty of turnstiles open and no queues to get in, which I have to say makes a nice change from the likes of Fratton Park, The Hawthorns etc.

Once inside though, one thing became obvious. The concourse areas in the away end are not spacious enough to cope with the amount of people using them. We took around 5,500 fans to Wigan and, although I managed the ridiculous task of getting a pint in the ground, some people, including OAP's and children, were being crushed against the breeze-block walls and pushed backwards down the stairs simply because of the overcrowding in this area. This is something which Wigan Athletic must look to rectify, when large away followings come to the JJB.

The ground itself looks superb. The designers have successfully avoided producing one of the Ikea-style flat-pack stadiums which a lot of new grounds resemble (and therefore all look identical), the stands are steep, covered, with open corners and although I was only half-a-dozen rows from the front my view was impeccable. The atmosphere in the away end was superb, although the support given from the home fans was as expected. They taunted us for around 2 minutes after they scored and that was basically it from them, and although it is undoubtedly positive seeing lots of young families at games nowadays, I cant help but imagine that Wigan's die-hard supporters are distraught at the number of shiny-new club scarves and giant foam hands at their matches.

The game itself was nothing to write home about, we went down to a Jason Roberts goal after the ref did not give a Shearer header which went at least a foot over the line, and Wigan had a man sent off. One of those days really!!!

After the game there wasn't even a hint of trouble and the locals I spoke to seemed a lot happier than those I had encountered in the pub before the game, and for every bandwaggon-jumper, there was a genuine fan with a love and knowledge of their club. Headed back to the station the way I came, and after having a quick pint in the pub I had been in earlier, I enjoyed some fantastic food in the aforementioned chip shop next to the station (recommended).

Caught the train back to Manchester, having some great craic on the way with the locals en route to a night out in the city.

Travelling back to Newcastle, the main topic of conversation amongst fellow Mags, apart from the match itself, seemed to be regarding the safety issues inside the JJB, something which put a slight black mark on the occasion itself but will not deter me from visiting again next season.

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