So where did this start. Saturday November 19th 2005 at the JJB Wigan. I hadn`t been to an away game with Arsenal for a couple of years but for some reason I really fancied this one. During the game I took a couple of photos of the ground and thought `why don`t I build a collection of photos of some of the stadiums?`. I`d been to plenty of away grounds in the 80`s to watch Arsenal with my mates but had nothing to `show the grandkids` so to speak. So, after a discussion down the pub after a few drinks, I decided to try and fulfil an ambition I have had for many years to visit the 92 English football league grounds in the next three full seasons and document it. So I managed to fit in a couple of away days at Old Trafford and Villa Park and a trip to Stamford Bridge with work to watch Chelski v Everton. And of course the usual visits to Highbury.

I really enjoyed last season, a lot more than the previous season as I visited more grounds for the first time and planned my journeys better. I wanted to finish the South coast and the South of England and take a chunk out of Yorkshire as I never went there once the previous year. So I managed to visit 26 grounds including both Bristols, both Sheffields as well as Leeds, Barnsley and Bradford, finish the Birmingham grounds and South coast and still leave myself a few easy journeys for the run up to Xmas this year. It doesn`t sound a lot but bear in mind I missed three games that I had tickets for due to last minute commitments, at Swansea, Yeovil and our final game at Sunderland which would have put me on 61 grounds and remember, I had a two month break around Xmas so I`m not that concerned that I`m a little bit behind schedule.

I had some great experiences again including watching Chelsea getting knocked out the cup by Barnsley, a great evening at Goodison in the Uefa cup and a real old school feel at Wycombe which made such a pleasant change. But I think my favourite was at Bristol Rovers where I was back on the terraces for the first time since they pulled the North Bank down 16 years ago. It was a really great atmosphere and I`m going to try and sample more terraces this season.

My final game of the season was my first visit to the new Wembley to see England play the USA. Its a great stadium, Old Wembley had so much character but the banks weren`t as steep and there were pillars towards the back so your view at times wasn`t as good.

Anyway check out the pics of these grounds month by month using the menu on the left of this page

 

I hope so. I`ve always wanted to do it but other responsibilities and a wife that hated football always meant I said no. But my personal circumstances are different now so I`ve given myself three seasons to complete all 92, which will probably be nearer 95 allowing for ups and downs from the Conference. I have no 3 year plan, no route planned or hotels etc but ive got a number of games shortlisted week by week. I`m up to 58 grounds to the end of my second season so I`m just behind target. I`ve changed my planned list so many times so far and that will be the pattern for this final season. I`m also going to revisit all the ones I went to in previous seasons as many have changed appearance over the years and I have no records or photos for this site. I`m using the fantastic www.footballgroundguide.co.uk for all directions and info that I need. (check my `Related Links` page)

So here goes, I hope you visit this site regularly to see how I`m doing, and if you`ve got any tips or you want some info on the grounds I`ve been to, then drop me an e-mail on the `Contact Me` page.