Places I remember

[Dave Clark Five]

A couple of Villa Park clips. Who can name all the grounds?

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Old grounds in order of appearance.....Villa Park, Craven Cottage, Anfield, Highbury, Ibrox.
Eight new grounds are then shown.... Pride Park? , Reebok, Old Trafford, Emirates? Stamford Bridge ?
Two old grounds at the end.....Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane.
 
The fact that I can name older grounds easier says a little about my age but also a lot about the fact that most now look the same.

[darren woolley]

I must admit I enjoyed that video Dave.

[E I Adio]

Me too. Thanks DCF.

[PeterWithesShin]

Enjoyed that, thanks Dave.

What amazes me is how much the majority of clubs have seen there capacities drop. I found one of my old Rothmans the other day, this one is from 75/76 and the majority of clubs had at least 40K capacity. Fans today would probably struggle to believe Port Vale could hold 50,000 as an example.

[Dave Clark Five]

Fans today would probably struggle to believe Port Vale could hold 50,000 as an example.

Vale Park was originally planned to be the 'Wembley of the North'. It had a grand players tunnel, completely out of proportion with the stand, in readiness for expansion. May be still there for all I know but it is a long time since I went to the ground.

The picture of Stamford Bridge would be hard for a modern fan to comprehend. It was an absolute shit hole with ramshackle stands all round. The triple decker stand stood out against the other stands when first built and now blends in with the rest of it.

[richard moore]

Gosh, Stamford Bridge was awful wasn't it. That cinder track, the crumbling terraces and even those funny little cars for disabled people parked behind the goal all added to the really scruffy feel of the place. I remember watching us there with about 20,000 in the ground in the 90s and two or three thousand of those were Villa. Part of why I despise them so much, this remodelling as some huge, internationally famous and important club with a pedigree along the lines of Real Madrid or similar

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

When I started watching, Villa Park was 65,000 and most Division One clubs would be 50,000 plus. But the biggest league ground in the country was the Valley, 72,000 is the figure that rings a bell. Achieved by having a open terrace which seemed almost as high as the old Holte but along the side of the pitch. I never saw a game there before it was closed and virually rebuilt, but did see The Who at what lays claim to be the loudest gig ever.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudest_band_in_the_world

The Who were listed as the "record holder", at 126 dB, measured at a distance of 32 meters from the speakers at a concert at The Valley (home ground of Charlton Athletic F.C.) on 31 May 1976

[SteveN]

I went to the old Valley once with a Charlton supporting friend and stood on that huge terrace on the side.

The total crowd could not have been more than 10K, a really strange atmosphere. If you could have got it up there you could have parked a caravan with ease and watched the game through the window.

[Ron Manager]

When I started watching, Villa Park was 65,000 and most Division One clubs would be 50,000 plus. But the biggest league ground in the country was the Valley, 72,000 is the figure that rings a bell. Achieved by having a open terrace which seemed almost as high as the old Holte but along the side of the pitch. I never saw a game there before it was closed and virually rebuilt, but did see The Who at what lays claim to be the loudest gig ever.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudest_band_in_the_world

The Who were listed as the "record holder", at 126 dB, measured at a distance of 32 meters from the speakers at a concert at The Valley (home ground of Charlton Athletic F.C.) on 31 May 1976

As I remember it 62,500  was our capacity from the early sixties onward but for some reason Port Vales ground sticks in my mind as one of the biggest grounds I have been in. However I may have drunken to excess before the match as for some reason I think I saw Neil Rioch get a hat trick...Neil Rioch!! and we drew 3-3.
I saw the Who couple of times. Once at The Midnight City in Digbeth and I think Earls Court. God they were loud no wonder Pete Townshend has lost the majority of his hearing.
I think The Holte End held 28,000 in those days with The South Bank at Wolves just beating it.

How times have changed for both clubs

[Ron Manager]

The Shed at Chelsea. Ive never seen a stand quite like it. The roof always looked like it could collapse any minute.Good job the  Health ans Safety mob didnt exist in the sixties. They would have had heart attacks galore. And no Vinnie Jones to save them either!!

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Port Vale away in 71/72 was a 4-4 draw. For some reason I though Neil Rioch had scored a couple of goals there. Having checked he had come into the side the previous week and scored two at home to Blackburn in a 4-1 win. He also played at Port Vale(No. 5 shirt) the next week but didn't score. I think we were 4-2 up with a few minutes to go. George Curtis came back and took back the No.5 shirt the next game.

Lower division grounds I remember being really rammed when the Villa were in town were Meadow Lane, Vetch Field, Saltergate, and Eastville.
Also the last game of 1973/74 going to Leyton Orient for a night match when they needed to win to get promotion and there were over 30,000 there. Imagine, as many people as we typically get in VP these days all packed into Brisbane Road.

[Charlie8182]

I cant get over Crystal Palace having their record attendance of more that 51,000 as recent as 1979 (they've last had a 50K+ gate more recently than us); Selhurst Park wasn't any bigger in height or structure than it is now but they had terracing on all 4 sides so the capacity is only around 26K nowadays.

[dave.woodhall]

I cant get over Crystal Palace having their record attendance of more that 51,000 as recent as 1979 (they've last had a 50K+ gate more recently than us); Selhurst Park wasn't any bigger in height or structure than it is now but they had terracing on all 4 sides so the capacity is only around 26K nowadays.

Pre-Hillsborough there was always room for one more.

[dave shelley]

I remember going to Villa Park in 1960 to see Villa beat Preston in the sixth round of the F.A.Cup and the attendance figure given was 69 thousand odd and my old man saying it was more like 79 thousand.  He'd stood in some massive crowds in his time but he said that that felt like the biggest ever. 

I also stood on that vast terrace in the Valley at Charlton on two occasions.  I was there when the late Dave Simmons manhandled Lionel Martin out of the way to score.  As an aside and may be deserving of a thread of its own if not already done, that was where I experienced the worst pie I've ever tasted.