Football Grounds

Photos that are not aviation related
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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

A few more from the first few months of 2019

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Ipswich Town v Sheffield Wednesday, Portman Road, SkyBet Championship, Saturday 2nd February 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Ipswich Town v Sheffield Wednesday, Portman Road, SkyBet Championship, Saturday 2nd February 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Wigan Athletic v Ipswich Town, DW Stadium, SkyBet Championship, Saturday 23rd February 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

We won't be playing there anytime soon, but while walking down Fulham Road, I grabbed some pictures of Stamford Bridge.
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Stamford Bridge - Chelsea Football Club, Saturday 2nd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Stamford Bridge - Chelsea Football Club, Saturday 2nd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Stamford Bridge - Chelsea Football Club, Saturday 2nd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

While on a recent visit to Berlin, I managed to squeeze in a tour of the Olympiastadion. In 1931, the International Olympic Committee selected Berlin to host the 11th Summer Olympics in 1936 and construction of the stadium took place from 1934 to 1936. The games were a huge propaganda success for the Nazis.
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Olympiastadion - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The stadium survived the war almost untouched having only suffered the impact of machine gun shots during the Battle of Berlin in April 1945. In 1998, Berliners debated the destiny of the Olympiastadion in light of the legacy it represented for Germany. Some wanted to tear the stadium down and build a new one from scratch, while others favoured letting it slowly crumble. Finally, it was decided to renovate the Olympiastadion.

FIFA chose it as one of the venues of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The State of Berlin hired a consortium composed of Walter Bau AG and DYWIDAG that won the €45 million franchise. The resident Bundesliga team, Hertha BSC, financed the blue dyed running track at significant cost for it to match the clubs colours.
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Olympiastadion - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Olympiastadion - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

This is the view from the VIP suite, where monarchs, political leaders and their invited guests watch the action from. As no single seat sat directly on the centre line from this suite, former FIFA president Seep Blatter requested the pitch to be moved 2 metres so that his seat was exactly square on to the centre line. Sums the guy up!

The podium where Adolf Hitler watched the 1936 Olympics was located a couple of feet further forward from this vantage point, but has since been demolished.
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Olympiastadion - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Olympiastadion - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Olympiastadion - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Olympiapark - Berlin, Saturday 23rd March 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion is a sports stadium in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. Located on the very eastern edge of where the Berlin Wall once stood, the stadium is the second largest in the city after the Olympiastadion with approximately 20,000 seats.

After World War II and the division of the capital city, the area was part of what became East Berlin, in the Soviet zone of occupation. A football and athletics stadium, with a capacity of 30,000 spectators, was built on the site in 1951, for use during the World Youth Festival that year. Known initially as Berliner Sportpark, East German municipal officials renamed the facility the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark the following year, to honour the centenary of the birth of the man known in Germany as the father of gymnastics. The stadium was refurbished in 1988 and its capacity reduced to the present-day number.

The East German national side played ten international matches at the stadium between 1951 and 1990 and the current users of the stadium are Regionalliga Nordost side Berliner FC Dynamo.
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20190324_134851 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Bolton Wanderers v Ipswich Town, University of Bolton Stadium, SkyBet Championship, Saturday 6th April 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr
Last edited by SuffolkBlue on Thu 01 Aug 2019, 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

So the new season is nearly upon us...and the less said about the last one, the better! We will be playing in the 3rd tier of English football for the first time since in late 1950's, but the only small, saving grace is that I don't have to have another season of continually visiting Ewood Park, Loftus Road, City Ground etc etc. There will be 8 new grounds for me to tick off this season in the league with Fleetwood being the longest trek.

I'll keep this page updated throughout the season and hopefully it will continue to be of interest.

I only managed to get to 1 pre-season friendly this year, although it is one of my favourite grounds. The away stand at the Abbey Stadium is set back away from the pitch due to the plans at the time of it's construction of moving the pitch towards it to allow space for a larger stand behind the opposite goal. It would now seem these plans are very much on the back burner!

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Cambridge United v Ipswich Town, Abbey Stadium, Pre-season Friendly, Saturday 27th July 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge United v Ipswich Town, Abbey Stadium, Pre-season Friendly, Saturday 27th July 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Cambridge United v Ipswich Town, Abbey Stadium, Pre-season Friendly, Saturday 27th July 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr
Last edited by SuffolkBlue on Fri 02 Aug 2019, 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Wes_Howes
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by Wes_Howes »

I remember being in that end of the ground when Cambridge played Man Utd back in the early 90's. Always thought it looked a long way from the pitch when seeing it on TV but wow, I didn't realise quite how far! The same happened at Molinuex when the new North Bank was constructed.

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centaurus18
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by centaurus18 »

XX752 wrote:You dont appear to have any photos of Ipswich at the mighty Carrow Road. Especially last November when Super Grant Holt was putting 3 past you! :smile:


Ah, the poor man's Rickie Lambert.... :grin:

As a Saints fan, I went to a few grounds when they were in League One.... so much more character than those in the PL.
Well, aside from the Moo Camp that is!

Will follow the thread throughout the season....
Mark
'We’re in the stickiest situation, since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun.'

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

It's been a steady start for us in League One, with 2 wins and 2 draws from our 4 league games so far.

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Ipswich Town v Sunderland, Portman Road, SkyBet League One, Saturday 10t August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Our standard early cup exit came at Luton. Kenilworth Road is my favourite away ground, for probably all the wrong reasons. It's impossible to get an unobstructed view, the seats are bolted onto old terracing and give just enough leg room for a 5 year old and the bar has a damp smell and sticky floor, but give me that over a soulless bowl stadium any day of the week.

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Luton Town v Ipswich Town - Kenilworth Road, Catabao Cup 1st Round, Tuesday 13th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Luton Town v Ipswich Town - Kenilworth Road, Catabao Cup 1st Round, Tuesday 13th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Luton Town v Ipswich Town - Kenilworth Road, Catabao Cup 1st Round, Tuesday 13th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Luton Town v Ipswich Town - Kenilworth Road, Catabao Cup 1st Round, Tuesday 13th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Luton Town v Ipswich Town - Kenilworth Road, Catabao Cup 1st Round, Tuesday 13th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Ipswich Town v AFC Wimbledon, Portman Road, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Ipswich Town v AFC Wimbledon, Portman Road, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 20th August 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

I managed to get to our last 2 away games this week, both 1-0 wins and both relatively short journeys. First up was the mid-week trip to Stadium MK for our clash with the Milton Keynes Dons. This was my 2nd visit to the stadium but my first since they installed the seating in the upper tier a couple of years ago. Even though the club has been playing in Milton Keynes now for 15 years, I feel it still has the "franchise" feel about it. The stadium is located within a retail park and it feels characterless, despite having Premier League facilities. The attendance was around 10,000 with 3,600 Town fans present.

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Milton Keynes Dons v Ipswich Town, Stadium MK, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 17th September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Milton Keynes Dons v Ipswich Town, Stadium MK, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 17th September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Milton Keynes Dons v Ipswich Town, Stadium MK, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 17th September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Then on Saturday it was the short journey south to see our game against Gillingham. The last time i went to the Priestfield Stadium, the away end was a very shallow terrace. 15 years ago, this was replaced by a temporary ( permanent) scaffold built stand, still uncovered but seated. The ground was modernised in the late 90's but it still has a charm to it, being shoehorned in by terraced housing. Thankfully there wasn't a cloud in the sky, as I don't envy fans having to sit there on a cold, rainy, midweek game in winter!

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Gillingham v Ipswich Town, MEMS Priestfield Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Gillingham v Ipswich Town, MEMS Priestfield Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Gillingham v Ipswich Town, MEMS Priestfield Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st September 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Next up for me is our longest away league game of the season in a fortnights time, just the 550 mile round trip to Fleetwood :sleepy:

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

We continued our good form to the start of the season with a gritty and hard fought 1-0 win away at Fleetwood recently. It was our longest away day of the season (not including any potential FA cup away days) at 560 mile round trip, but well worth it.

The ground itself still has a non-league feel to it, although that isn't too surprising given their meteoric rise through the leagues. The main stand dominates the stadium with a much smaller seated stand that straddles one side of the pitch opposite. We sold out our allocation of 1,100 and there was a decent atmosphere throughout the game. New ground, ticked off!

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Fleetwood Town v Ipswich Town, Highbury Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 5th October 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Fleetwood Town v Ipswich Town, Highbury Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 5th October 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Fleetwood Town v Ipswich Town, Highbury Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 5th October 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Fleetwood Town v Ipswich Town, Highbury Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 5th October 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Next weekend it's another trip to the North West, to Accrington. Sky decided to televise this one and move it to a Sunday, midday kick off, so it's going to be a very early start from Suffolk for that!

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psquiddy
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by psquiddy »

Our standard early cup exit came at Luton. Kenilworth Road is my favourite away ground, for probably all the wrong reasons. It's impossible to get an unobstructed view, the seats are bolted onto old terracing and give just enough leg room for a 5 year old and the bar has a damp smell and sticky floor, but give me that over a soulless bowl stadium any day of the week.


I scored a goal there in 1987 :biggrin:
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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

It's been a good couple of months ticking off some new grounds, the first of which was the home of Rochdale, Spotland. The 9 hour round trip on a Tuesday night was well worth it though, securing a relatively comfortable 1-0 win.

I wouldn't say it's the most characterful of grounds having been largely developed in the 1990's, but it's tidy and a decent sized stadium for the club.
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Rochdale v Ipswich Town, Crown Oil Arena, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 5th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Rochdale v Ipswich Town, Crown Oil Arena, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 5th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Rochdale v Ipswich Town, Crown Oil Arena, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 5th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Next was another midweek trip to our nearest Football League neighbors at the Weston Homes Community Stadium. The positives is that the stadium has excellent facilities and excellent views from any seat......but.....having a stadium no where near the town centre takes away for me what away days are all about. Visiting new towns and exploring the local area before a game is just as enjoyable as the match itself, but coming here, there is nothing much to do then just walk around a field! I wouldn't enjoy driving half way around the country to visit here, so maybe i shouldn't grumble too much that it was only just down the road for me!

Anyway.....back to the football for the EFL Trophy group stage game
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Colchester United v Ipswich Town, leasing.com EFL Trophy Group Stage, Jobserve Stadium, Tuesday 12th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Colchester United v Ipswich Town, leasing.com EFL Trophy Group Stage, Jobserve Stadium, Tuesday 12th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

The final midweek game in the trilogy was our FA Cup 1st Round Reply at Sincil Bank, home to Lincoln City, who have the best pre-match music at any ground (the Dambusters March :smile: )

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Lincoln City v Ipswich Town, Sincil Bank, Emirates FA Cup 1st Round Reply, Wednesday 20th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Lincoln City v Ipswich Town, Sincil Bank, Emirates FA Cup 1st Round Reply, Wednesday 20th November 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

And victory in that game resulted in a trip to St Andrews for our 2nd Round game against Coventry. Watching a game in a 30,000 stadium when only 2,600 fans are present was on par with a pre season friendly, but both sets of fans tried their best to drum up some kind of atmosphere.
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Coventry City v Ipswich Town, St. Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium, Emirates FA Cup 2nd Round, Sunday 1st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Coventry City v Ipswich Town, St. Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium, Emirates FA Cup 2nd Round, Sunday 1st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Coventry City v Ipswich Town, St. Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium, Emirates FA Cup 2nd Round, Sunday 1st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

It's fair to say that the wheels have come slightly off the tractor over the last couple of months with a terrible run of form seeing our healthy lead at the top dwindle away and we now find ourselves in 4th place. The only bright spark being a few more grounds to tick off along with some ventures back to some visited ones.

This was my 2nd visit to Fratton Park and it's fair to say the away end facilities are "antiquated", but it's a classic old ground still with an Archibald Leitch designed stand in use (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Leitch)

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Portsmouth v Ipswich Town, Fratton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Portsmouth v Ipswich Town, Fratton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Portsmouth v Ipswich Town, Fratton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Portsmouth v Ipswich Town, Fratton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 21st December 2019 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Wycombe Wanderers Adams Park is a strange one...located at the end of an industrial estate isn't great, but when inside the ground, it's very picturesque with the Chiltern Hills behind the stands.

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Wycombe Wanderers v Ipswich Town, Adams Park, SkyBet League One, Wednesday 1st January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Wycombe Wanderers v Ipswich Town, Adams Park, SkyBet League One, Wednesday 1st January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Wycombe Wanderers v Ipswich Town, Adams Park, SkyBet League One, Wednesday 1st January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Wycombe Wanderers v Ipswich Town, Adams Park, SkyBet League One, Wednesday 1st January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

After a few relatively short journeys, it "stupidly"decided to head down to Exeter for our leasing.com EFL Trophy Last 16 match. A 540 mile round trip rounded off with conceding a 94th minute winner! Nice little ground although I would like to have visited it before the classic Main Stand was taken down last year and replaced by the flat pack structure on the opposite side. A decent number of Town fans made the trip down too.

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Exeter City v Ipswich Town, St. James Park, Leasing.com Trophy Last 16, Saturday 4th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Exeter City v Ipswich Town, St. James Park, Leasing.com Trophy Last 16, Saturday 4th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Exeter City v Ipswich Town, St. James Park, Leasing.com Trophy Last 16, Saturday 4th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Prenton Park is up there now as one of my favourite grounds, tucked in the middle of the terrace houses on the Wirral. Sadly I didn't bring my bucket and spade for the sandpit!

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Tranmere Rovers v Ipswich Town, Prenton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 18th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Tranmere Rovers v Ipswich Town, Prenton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 18th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Tranmere Rovers v Ipswich Town, Prenton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 18th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Tranmere Rovers v Ipswich Town, Prenton Park, SkyBet League One, Saturday 18th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

A Tuesday night in Rotherham.....and a defeat......the pain of being a football fan!

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Rotherham United v Ipswich Town, AESSEAL New York Stadium, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 28th January 2020 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

My recent trip to the Eco Power (will always be Keepmoat to me) Stadium was my 69th football ground to visit following Ipswich, chalking off number 58 of the current 92 in the process.

Fair to say it's everything that i dislike about modern, flat pack stadiums. Serves the purpose very well with excellent facilities, but completely lacks any sort of character.

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Doncaster Rovers v Ipswich Town - Eco Power Stadium, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 8th February 2022 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Doncaster Rovers v Ipswich Town - Eco Power Stadium, SkyBet League One, Tuesday 8th February 2022 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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SuffolkBlue
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by SuffolkBlue »

Another new ground ticked off at the weekend for the very long drive to Morecambe's Mazuma Stadium. We created enough changes to win 4 football matches, but came away with a frustrating 1-1 draw.

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Morecambe v Ipswich Town - Mazuma Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 26th February 2022 by Chris Day, on Flickr

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Morecambe v Ipswich Town - Mazuma Stadium, SkyBet League One, Saturday 26th February 2022 by Chris Day, on Flickr

Ken Shabby
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Re: Football Grounds

Post by Ken Shabby »

Great photos, SuffolkBlue, really enjoyed looking through them.
Ken