Radcliffe Borough - Stainton Park

Radcliffe Borough FC

Stainton Park

Pilkington Road

Radcliffe

Manchester

M26 3PE

0161 724 8346

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 246
Tuesday 19th February 2013
Bury Reserves 2-5 Burton Albion Reserves
Central League






MY VISIT

When I started planning this week away I was planning on doing a game every day. But then realising I would have a lot of spare time to fill. And there would only be a limited amount of stuff that I could do. I had Monday and Tuesday daytime to fill. So I started scouring websites, looking for reserve games. I found that Bury Reserves were at home to Burton Albion Reserves. And to make things even better, it would be played at Radcliffe Borough's Stainton Park ground, where I had not yet seen a game. I woke up around 8 on the day, having a bath, writing my blog and relaxing until around 11.30. I was staying at Widnes Travelodge, in fact, I was staying at Travelodge hotels all week and this one was probably the nicest in terms of the room. I then drove to Radcliffe, just outside Bury, arriving at 12.30. I paid £4 to get in which was more than usual for a reserve game, but it would turn out to be good value, being one of the best games of my time away. For my money, I also got a teamsheet and free biscuits at half time!

As for the game, Bury looked to have named the strongest lineup. Most notably David Healy the Northern Irish international forward but also Cameron Belford and Craig Fagan whose names I recognised. For Burton, I recognised former Wycombe player Chris Palmer and giant centre forward Calvin Zola. And it was Zola who looked the best player on the pitch in my mind, easily winning all his aerial battles and showing good strength. We don't really have anyone in this mould at Wycombe so he could prove a useful signing if ever he came available.  Matt Patterson opened the scoring for Burton with a tidy finish after around 10 minutes. And they never looked back really. Zola got the goal he deserved with a tap in after Belford parried the initial shot. Jimmy Phillips got the goal of the game from a long range shot as Burton cruised, Cleveland Taylor also getting a couple after coming off the bench. For Bury, their replies came after Burton keeper Dean Lyness made a hash of handling a cross and through a last minute penalty that looked as if it had been saved initially. Burton running out 5-2 victors and looking a cut above Bury. After the game, I went and checked into my hotel on the M62, mainly so I didn't have to leave my camera and iPad in the boot of my car. I only stopped for 5 minutes as I wanted to get into Burnley nice and early.

THE GROUND

STAINTON PARK is a pretty average non-league ground, probably capable of hosting football up to the Conference North at present. Unusually the main stand is behind one goal, holding around 350 and being covered. The rest is mainly uncovered terracing, though there is more cover on the clubhouse side, holding around another 300. Talking of the clubhouse, I went in there and it is really smart, there are loads of sports items and articles about comedian Bernard Manning, who was their former Chairman. The club shop and tea bar were not open on my visit, so I can't comment on these.

Runcorn Town - The Pavillions

Runcorn Town FC
The Pavillions
Sandy Lane
Runcorn
WA7 4EX

01928 590508
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 245
Monday 18th February 2013
Runcorn Town 1-1 St Helens Town
North West Counties League





PRE MATCH RESEARCH


I had seen a Runcorn team back in 1993 when Wycombe beat them 4-1 in the FA Trophy final. But they were reformed as Runcorn Linnets in the same division as tonight's hosts. Runcorn Town used to be a Sunday team known as Mond United. They switched to Saturday Football in 1973 competing in the Warrington and District league and then the West Cheshire League. They changed their name to Runcorn Town in 2006, the same year as Runcorn FC went bust. They came onto my list of possible teams to visit in 2010 when they started competing in the FA Cup and entered the North West Counties League. They were promoted from Division 1  in 2011 at the first time of asking and followed that up with a great season finishing 2nd to Champions Ramsbottom United. Currently, they are top of the league whilst visitors St Helens Town are battling relegation in 20th place. They have a reputation for playing good football and if that proves to be true, then I am glad they are doing well. I had already visited the ground on the way back from Tranmere Rovers last season and remembered it as being pretty standard for this level.



MY VISIT

Monday saw me hunting for a game to fill in the empty days between bigger games. Previously I had done games in the Unibond League at Curzon Ashton and New Mills. And although Curzon were playing again, I wanted to do a new ground. I was left with 2 choices - Runcorn Town or Oldham Borough. Runcorn were a level above so I chose them. It would be typical that whatever one I chose would be a boring 0-0 while the other would be a goalfest but I had made my choice. I booked a hotel near Widnes and would be returning to my previous glamorous location of the M62 services for tomorrow.thinking about it, it would have made more sense to stay at the same hotel but the fixtures had changed since I had booked up. I took full advantage of my 12 o clock check out own the day of the game. After going to get a paper I went up to my room to type up my blog on my iPad, ready for upload when I got home. I really noticed the difference between my old Android pad and this new iPad when typing and managed to type fairly quickly compared to before when the autocorrect was not so good and the screen not so responsive. It wasn't all good news though, I couldn't get the Bluetooth Keyboard that I bought to pair with the iPad, something that I will have to look at when I get home.

At a couple of minutes to 12, I went and handed my key into the reception. As I had a few hours to kill, I looked for nearby towns and opted for Bury as it is a place that I have always enjoyed going to. Sadly no revisit to the excellent Trackside pub as I was trying to have a day without alcohol to give my liver a rest! I was also trying to eat a bit healthier too, though spoilt that by having a couple of cakes and a bag of Twiglets on top of my chicken roll, but I was at least moving in the right direction. Bury proved to be a good choice shopping wise though as I got a few old games for 99p each. For the original xBox, I got Rayman 3, England International Football, Atari Anthology and True Crime: Streets of LA. Whilst for the PS1 I got Complete Onside Soccer. I then made my way to my hotel, checking in just after 3. I spent the afternoon writing more of my blog, watching TV, chatting on Facebook and planning the rest of my week. I had to get petrol and get something to eat before I left, but Runcorn was little more than 10 minutes away so I didn't need to leave until around 6.30. I didn't leave until 6.40 as I was replying to texts and messages from all over the place. I filled up with petrol at Morrisons before popping into the store and getting a right bargain. They were marking down the rotisserie stuff and I managed to get 4 chicken kebabs and meatloaf for 47p, which meant dinner was sorted. I also got some fruit. The meatloaf was delicious, but the chicken kebabs turned out to be horribly dry and barely edible.

I got to the ground at 7.20, paying £5 to get in and £1.50 for a programme. I went and had a look in the tea bar and round the ground before settling down for the game and checking my phone. The game kicked off, and Runcorn lived up to their reputation, playing some neat passing football. St Helens were s little more physical, but they were not as bad as their league position suggested. The game was 0-0 at half time, as I popped into the tea bar for a Bovril. The start of the second half was shaded by St Helens and they took the lead on 64 minutes. An initial shot was parried by the keeper, it fell to a St Helens player just inside the area who rifled it in the top right-hand corner.  The equaliser came 15 minutes later as a free kick was won on the left. The resulting free kick was floated in and it was bundled across the line to square things up. There were a couple of chances for either side, but nothing really clear cut and the game petered out to a draw that the visitors will no doubt be delighted with. The point sent Runcorn a point clear at the top of the league, but there will be no doubt that they wanted all 3. They face Walsall Wood in the FA Vase on Saturday, just a few steps away from a Wembley final. I would later revisit the ground on the North West Counties Hop a few years later, hence the extra pictures.

THE GROUND

THE PAVILLIONS is a ground that has seen much change in recent years as the club have really pushed on up the leagues and taken their place in the pyramid. It looks to be good enough for the Unibond 1st Division, being quite similar to New Mills FC. The side where you come in has the dressing rooms, the tea bar and a covered terrace. To the left of this is a small covered terrace. The other goal has no accommodation for fans. The remaining side has a seated stand holding just over 100 and a covered terrace for around the same amount.

The tea bar has a decent range of food for this level and you can actually sit down in the warm and enjoy your purchases as it is a proper room. There is a table with a good range of club merchandise at reasonable prices here as well. I am not sure about a bar, but have a feeling there is one outside, not that I visited it. The programme is one of the best I have seen at this level. Well presented, with a decent amount to read. It is also printed on decent quality paper. A lot of the other programmes I have seen from this level are £1 but this is definitely worth the extra 50p and is better than some of the more costly offerings from teams higher up the pyramid.

Burnley - Turf Moor

Burnley FC
Turf Moor
Harry Potts Way
Burnley
Lancashire
BB10 4BX

0871 221 1882
Official Website
Twitter

Ground Number: 247
Tuesday 19th February 2012
Burnley 0-0 Middlesbrough
nPower Championship






MY VISIT

I had been wanting to go to Burnley for a while, as part of my mission to complete the 92 league grounds. This would be number 90, with just Liverpool and Sunderland to come. I had missed out on going here in the late 90s when Wycombe were in the same league as the Clarets. I remember a particularly sweet 5-0 home win against them. We were struggling in the league at the time, and they were pushing for promotion with a number of very good players in their side. The result certainly ruffled a few feathers and the 3 points ensured another year in Division 2 (now called League 1) I was originally planning to go on Saturday, but their game against Huddersfield Town was rearranged due to the Terriers involvement in the FA Cup. Luckily trip up North was not in vain, and I was able to complete it on Tuesday instead. I had opted to just get my ticket up there on the day as they only ever half sell out the ground. They were also doing a cheap ticket deal if you got a season ticket holder to get it for you. Sadly I got no reply to my plea on their message board, so was going to have to pay the going rate. I had spent the afternoon watching Bury Reserves v Burton Albion Reserves at Radcliffe Borough, before driving to Burnley. I got there around 3.30 and my first job was to go and get my ticket for the nights game. I then went into town, looking around the shops before going to a pub, The Bridge Bier Huis, that had been recommended to me. Though there wasn't much I fancied in the shops, they were still good. The pub was even better, I had a cider and a couple of Belgian fruit beers, all at reasonable prices. I then went to a cash machine before getting some keema curry and chips for £2.30 at a local takeaway, which was totally delicious. 

My phone battery was only on 18% at that point, so with there being around 40 minutes to kick off, I went back to the car for a quick top up. With it being 7.30, I left with my phone at 32% and went and took my seat in the upper tier of the James McIlroy stand. The view was excellent and really high up. Sadly the game didn't live up to the view and was probably one of the worst games I have ever seen in nearly 22 years of watching football. Seeing that Sean Dyche was in charge of Burnley and was previously considered for the Wycombe job, I am glad we opted for Gareth Ainsworth instead. Instead of getting a point for drawing, both teams should have been deducted points for putting on such a snorefest. After the game, I got out of Burnley pretty quickly and was back at my hotel by 10.20. I had seen a great game in the reserves league, which was probably the best of my week away. And sadly the one in the Championship will not be beaten for dullness for a very long time, or at least I hope it isn't.

THE GROUND

TURF MOOR has been modernised over the years with new stands on 2 sides of the ground. These are similar in height and design with the James Hargreaves stand along the side and the Jimmy McIlroy behind the goal. The Bob Lord stand is the other side stand and completing the set is the David Fishwick stand, that can accommodate around 4000 visiting supporters. Both of the older stands have supporting pillars. The stand I opted for, the Jimmy McIlroy upper tier offered excellent views and had good legroom. The town is very close by and offers a much better range of food and drink than inside the ground. Despite the dire football on show, Burnley is still a great day out with lots to do before the game, and friendly locals. Sadly, due to a phone malfunction, my only pictures are from a non-matchday visit, made around 2008.