British Football Greatest Grounds/Mike Bayly

When it comes to visiting new football grounds I’m something of an anorak so this compendium of 100 ‘must visit’ grounds was of enormous appeal.

As a Fulham supporter for over 50 years, watching my boys in 4 divisions, I must have visited over 70 stadia and have my own preferences and dislikes.

There are in his list of 100 an abundance of grounds of non-professional clubs – such as his number one Lewes – charmingly-named but otherwise rather ordinary Dripping Pan.

You will not be surprised to hear that Craven Cottage (listed as number two) is my favourite, scoring highly for one of its most attractive features – the walk from Putney Bridge through Bishops Park by the River Thames to the ground.

For similar reasons of attractive walks through parks I enjoyed going to Dean Court, Bournemouth ‘s stadium, and the walk through Home Park to Plymouth Argyle’s.

I was surprised to see Luton’s cramped ground Kenilworth Road listed at number 6 as it’s an ugly stadium in an ugly town.

I  am no fan of the modern all-seater out of town stadium except for Brighton’s Amex, beautifully situated and aspected on the South Downs, with fine views of them. Most others are soulless.  I much prefer traditional grounds of faded glory like Everton’s Goodson Park.

Enjoy that whilst you can as they are moving

This book does not list overseas grounds.

I have been to La Bombonera (chocolate box) so-called because of its tightness the home of Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, San Siro in Milan with its high steepled stands, the Olimpico in Rome and Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.

I was disappointed by Real Madrid’s Bernabeu but enthralled by the grandeur of Barcelona’s Nou Camp with its chapel, art gallery and 120,000 capacity.

Although British stadia are catching up most are way behind American ones in terms of facilities and amenities.

There is a final section in this book of ghost grounds.

London on particular has seen nearly half of its stadia disappear: White Hart Lane, Highbury, West Ham’s Boleyn Ground, Millwall’s Den   and now Brentford’s Griffin Park with a pub in each corner.

None have moved far but it’s not the same.

A ground is a visual experience and this book has excellent photographs.  An index of the grounds might have made it more navigable but it certainly brought back many memories of one of the most enhancing of football supporting experiences.