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Every club aspires to play under the Twin Towers.
Some teams, like Hartlepool United, never make it. Other clubs, such as
Manchester United, are regular visitors.
Granted, not the more famous Wembley ones (we've been there twice and lost both
times so it's probably a good thing we don't!), but our very own
ones.For the entrance to Fortress Feethams, home of the Quakers, has two towers with
little flags on, just like Wembley.
But that's about the only comparison you can make
between Feethams and Wembley. For while Wembley is old, crap and with poor
facilities, Feethams is... erm, exactly the same, come to think of it. Well in
three sides of the ground anyway. The 3,000 all-seater Carlsberg stand, built
two years ago, is one of the best stands in the division. Unfortunately, the
rest of the ground isn't up to the same standard.
The away end is a small wooden affair which holds
about 500 people and I seem to remember that the toilets are fairly appalling,
although they may have been sorted out since I last watched a game from there.
The Polam Lane end is a large, uncovered terrace which comes with the guarantee
of helping to freeze your b*llocks off on a cold night. However, it's reserved
for Darlo fans only nowadays, although in the past it was allocated to away
fans. Finally, the Tin Shed is exactly what it says on the... tin. Yep, it's a
terrace made out of extremely flimsy metal. It's also where all the vocal Darlo
fans hang out, and they're usually fairly noisy.
But despite it's shortcomings, Feethams is a really
nice little ground, and we love it really. Sadly, plans are afoot to move to a
new out-of-town 25,000 all-seater stadium, although many cynical Darlo fans
don't think it'll go ahead. But if we do leave Feethams, we'll miss it a great
deal, and I think most away fans would too if they're honest.
Most away fans seem to enjoy their visit to Darlo,
not least because we usually give them three points. But there are several good
pubs and eateries near the ground, and Feethams is nicely situated. We share the
ground with the local Cricket Club, so if the footy's crap, you can always go
and watch that.
The best pub is probably 'The Falchion' in
Blackwellgate, although 'Hogans', just next to the train station serves the
cheapest beer in the known Universe.
99% of Darlo fans are friendly, too, and are
usually more than happy to chat with opposing fans. We do have a few knobheads
who attach themselves to the club when we're doing well, as any Shrewsbury fans
could testify, but they're only a very small number.
If you're after a few pies, or indeed any other
type of food to eat, you'll have no problems. There's a great chippy called
'Scottie's' on Victoria Road, and there's a cafe on the same street called 'Cafe
81' which is apparently very good, although I've never been in. Inside the
ground, we sell quite nice pies, although they're not as good as they used to
be, and are probably the only club in the league to sell mushy peas, which you
should certainly try. Also available is chocolate, crisps and non-alcoholic
drinks like tea and pop.
Parking is usually fairly easy near the ground. You
should have no problem parking on a street somewhere, but if you do experience
difficulties with that, there's a car park almost directly in line with the
ground, although you usually have to pay.
Finally, one thing that Feethams certainly doesn't
share with Wembley is the prices. Last year they were the cheapest in the
entire Football League, and despite a fairly steep increase this year, they're
still amongst the lowest around.
Oh yeah, and our pitch is crap, a far cry from the
lush turf of Wembley
Daniel King
http://www.madasafish.com/wtmg/
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