football game Subbeteo where young men could play with themselves in
complete safety.
My West Bromwich Albion were the best, Division One
champions three times on the trot with the late great Jeff Astle
goalscorer supreme. Well there were a lot of lonely dark nights in
Westcliff in the Seventies!
Games against the Baggies are always a bit special, the Hawthorns one
of the most atmospheric grounds to go to and their fans Boing
Boinging away winning or losing.
When we were last in this division W.B.A. were the Leeds of that
year, never played them and a fixture you had to make sure you were
at. On September the 1st 1993 it happened and it didn't disappoint.
1-2 down with seconds to go a great Rikki Otto cross was met by Brett
Angel and his second goal of the night led to wild celebrations on
the away end.
The next time we played them Fat Fry had gone to Birmingham we were
in the top six and who knows how Spud Taylor's new management
appointment would have gone if a penalty had not been missed, heads
went down and we were on the end of a 0-3 defeat.
Since then there have been 8 meetings with 2 won, 5 lost and a draw
as we went our seperate ways, the Baggies playing with the big boys
while we went down until Tilly's magic ways turned us around. Now
here we are in the same division all over again,
With the completion of the East Stand in 2001, the Club had achieved
its objective in completely re-building the Hawthorns and making it a
modern stadium. Not only has the ground received a much needed face
lift, but it is now totally enclosed and all seated. The East Stand
is an impressive, large single tiered stand, which has been well
integrated with the rest of the ground. It has a row of executive
boxes running along the back, and to each side of the stand the
previous open corners have been filled with corrugated sheeting.
There is a thin supporting pillar on each side of the stand to
support the corner structures. This stand, which is well setback from
the pitch, has been designated as a no smoking area. On the other
side is the relatively new but smaller, Halfords Lane Stand,
stretching around two corners of the ground. The home end, the
Birmingham Road Stand is large, covered, and quite steep. At the
other end away fans are housed in the Smethwick end, which is also a
relatively new stand. Two new video screens have beOutside the ground
on the same corner are the 'Jeff Astle Memorial Gates' erected in
tribute to the legendary striker.
One strange fact about the Hawthorns is that it is the highest ground
in England (in terms of feet above sea level)!
Away fans are housed on one side of the Smethwick End, where the
normal allocation is 3,000 seats. This means that this stand is
shared with home supporters. For cup games, the whole of this stand
can be allocated to away fans, raising this figure to 5,200. The
facilities and the view of the pitch in the Smethwick end are okay,
although the leg room is a little cramped. I have been to the
Hawthorns on a number of occasions and have always found it to be a
fairly friendly place. The only thing against a visit in terms of a
day out is a nearby pub for away fans, meaning that most elect to
drink inside the ground instead. Considering that the concourse at
the back of the Smethwick End is pretty small in comparison to its
overall capacity, then it has an uncomfortable feel, especially when
there is a large away support. One tip on finding your seat in this
stand, is to remember that although your ticket is marked with the
letter of the row, say Row B Or Row LL, the plates indicating the row
in the stand read B1 or LL1. As you would expect a number of fans get
confused by the addition of the number 1 and start to wander around
the stand looking for their seat. So you have been warned. Also in
first gaining entry to the stand, the Club operate automatic
turnstiles, where you have to put your ticket (which has a bar code
on it) into a slot reader, which then allows the turnstiles admit
you. There are stewards on hand if you get a problem and on my last
visit fans were also being searched before entering the ground.
Food and Drink;
For a pint before the game you could try 'The Vine' which is about a
20 minute walk from the ground. From Junction 1 of the M5 turn left
towards West Bromwich town centre (opposite direction to the ground).
Take the first left into Roebuck Street. The Vine is down on the
left. You can also street park in this area and walk to the ground.
If you continue towards West Bromwich going over a small mini
roundabout, then on the right just before the lights is the Desi
Junction pub. This Asian run pub does an excellent 'Balti Buffet'.
For around a fiver per adult, you can each as much as you like and I
found the food to be pretty good. The buffet is available all day on
a Saturday and you can wash it down with a pint of Cobra beer.
As you pass the ground on the right on the main Birmingham Road carry
on about another half a mile and there is a pub on the right set back
off the road called the Royal Oak. We've been in the last two times
we've visited WBA. The beer is okay and they also serve Asian food
(try the chicken kebabs!)
The Wheatsheaf, The Old Hop Pole and The Oddfellows are all situated
on the High Street in West Bromwich
Getting there;
The ground is located on the A41 (Birmingham-West Bromwich Road). If
approaching from outside the area the ground is about half a mile
from Junction 1 of the M5. On leaving the M5 take the A41 towards
Birmingham, the ground is on your right. Beware though of speed
cameras on this stretch of the A41. Street parking or alternatively
there are a few private matchday car parks at some local industrial
units near the ground, or at Hawthorns station which costs £4.
The closest railway stations are The Hawthorns which is about five
minutes walk from the ground and Smethwick Rolfe Street, which is
about a 15 minute walk from the ground. The Hawthorns is served by a
Metro service from Birmingham Snow Hill station, whilst Smethwick
Rolfe Street is served by local trains from Birmingham New Street.
The Metro service takes eight minutes to the Hawthorns from
Birmingham Snow Hill and trains run every 15 minutes. Please note
though that train tickets are not valid on the Metro and that you
have to buy a separate ticket for it (£1.50 adult return).
Team News;
Well after the excitment of the last half hour at the Hall and
Tilly's inspired triple substitution one would expect some changes
from the starting line up v Norwich. However, that is not Tilly's
style and who are we to moan. Expect the same eleven to start but
the Maher/Gutteridge axis has to start clicking soon as Hunt was
superb when he came on and Harrold will be pushing Paynter
very hard if he continues to look as lively as he did on Tuesday.
This will be one of our hardest tets of the season, Hartson and
Phillips are a class above anything Clarke and Barratt have ever
faced, and if we come away with anything I might just get that W.B.A.
subbetto team out for one final game before they end up in a boot
sale!