Internet Football Ground Guide - Away Days, Stamford Bridge, Chelsea

Stamford Bridge - Chelsea
Sunday 1st September 2002
V Arsenal, Premier League 4.05pm
By Stuart Watson

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 Ł40. Now I know Chelsea are strapped for cash but this was just taking the piss. Kids even had to pay Ł30. 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 Ł3 a pop. I spent about Ł70 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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