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Weirdest ground?

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Just watching the Denmark Bulgaria game and have to say that the stadium in Braga is the oddest thing I have ever seen - blasted out of rock!

What is the strangest looking ground any of you guys seen or been to? I went to see Athletic Bilbao play once and thought their stadium was designed by a blind architect!

OTBC

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I''ve just been looking at the Braga stadium. Surely it isnt finished is it?. One end looks a bit like the old nest. I have been told tales of nifty wingers not being able to stop in time and ending up with broken legs. You could almost imagine that happening here.

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In England it''s either Bristol Rovers (floodlights on the pitch with inflatable padding around them to stop wingers hurting themselves when running into them) or Gillingham a few years ago (watching First Division football on a grass bank).

Abroad, I went to watch Granada CF - Spain''s Division 2 B''s finest - at their Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes stadium in 2000 on a field trip and we were in a stand with no roof which would be great for typical sunny Spanish weather but not in a downpour. Plus we were on the end row at the back and the wall at the end had been destroyed so we were teetering on the edge of the stand to the right of the scoreboard:

[link]http://www.terra.es/personal9/supergranadacf/img/loscarmenes.jpg[/link]

It also had the most bizarre floodlights, resembling mobile phone masts.

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I saw Oxfords'' Kassam the other week, which becomes my tip for its mix of bananaman-coloured mini-stadium-style stands on 3 sides. These are all miles away from each other and there''s a car park on the 4th side. The effect is as though Pleasurewood Hills got hold of the plans for a Vulcan temple. Here''s a 360 degree viewing to prove it:
[link]http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/features/360/kassam_centrespot.shtml[/link]

In Germany, St Pauli''s ground is next to the Hamburg funfair and you can wander in of a non-match day through open gates in delapidated fencing, and walk up the earthen banks under the trees to the top of the uncovered terrace. As I recall only 2 or 3 sides have stands, which are Division 3 (4? 2?) size and from a similar era to our old South Stand. And they were in the 1st Bundesliga till 2 years ago.

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Now this will date me, but I''ll always remember going to the old Charlton Athletic ground The Old Valley, yes, I know they still play there. Now that really was a sight to see, built I believe in a quarry or bomb site, and they had 80.000 in there for a league game once!.

I seem to remember City were 3.0 up and drew 3.3 in that game, and despite 19 thousand being there, it seemed empty and very quiet.

And Peter, can we say pi*** d it down now?.

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Hi Wizard

I remember that game well - and yes that must have been the most starnge ground I have ever been too. Great hills of terracing so very steep. It was boxing day 1967 and city were indeed 3-0 up with just 15 minutes left to play.

If I remember rightly we were lucky to hang on for the draw in the end. Still got the programme for that one, it cost 9d and samo fabulous names from the past, Keelan, Stringer, Mullett, Lucas, Brown, Sharpe, Foggo, Bryceland, Manning, Curran, Kenning and Allcock

A certain Gordon Bolland played for Charlton that day

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I salute your stunning memory Maidstone Canary. Oh, those were the days, yes?. Could''nt believe my eyes what was happening on the pitch that day, although I had quite forgotten the Gordon Bolland link.

Kids today know nothing!.

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Anyone remember Plough Lane - there was a strange ground - used to remind me of some poor mans Subbuteo set with an odd bit of stand here, a bit of terracing there...

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The thing I remember most about Plough Lane is that you could get a perfect uninterrupted view of the game through the broken windows in the gents, thereby not having to worry about missing any goals due to pre-match drinking. Unfortunately, we hardly ever scored any goals there....

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GenerationA47 I am clearly way behind the times because I was goint to put Oxfords ground and by the look of it they have moved! Also Wigan when they first joined the league, some friends and I went on grand national day as we had played Everton on the friday night. We stood on the side on shale! very odd.

Rotherhams pretty special too, altough I will miss the prices. Went past a nightclub there where the entrance fee was something like £7, which I thought sounded quite a lot till I spotted underneath that then the drinks were free. B&B near by £10 including evening meal. Thats less than the average mortgage!

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Cold Blow Lane although not as weird as the Old Valley had a particularly strange feeling to it and seeing as Gordon Bolland has been mentioned I thought I''d treat you to an amusing story although you had to be there.

It was Millwall v Fulham in the early 70''s, I was a Cottager i.e. a Fulham supporter not what you may think, which I was until I swa the light in 1982.

Millwall were on the ball and were playing it about between themselves, after about a dozen passes between their players cheered each successful pass, akin to the ''Ole'' chanted these days, this continued for another 10 or 12 passes, until the ball was received by the bouffanted Bolland, where the crowd to a man booed. I assure you it was hilarious and Bolland who was playing for Millwall looked absolutely crestfallen.

Although the Millwall fans have a very tough and deserved reputation, especially at that time, for that one exhibition of humour hold one of my most memorable footballing moments.

Thanks anybody who read this to the end.

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Yeah, ok I''m only 25. Please tell me who the hell Graham Bolland is and why was he booed?

As for weird grounds, Loftus Road, QPRs ground. It''s like a shoebox and possibly the closest stands to the pitch anywhere. Very claustrophobic.

A few years back when we played them on boxing day I sat two rows from the front just to the left of the goal. It was like being at the end of a firing range as the shots whistled past the post. (that day unfortunately it was mostly QPR doing the firing). I bet a few fans have been smacked in the face by balls over the years.

What a dump.

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http://www.derby.org/neil/mallorca1.jpg

Son Moix is the strangest ground I have visited, I should imagine its also not a nice ground to sit in when the rain pours down!



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