Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Football Statues

No 11 (in a series of several): Stan Mortenson (1921-1991)

The Wikpedia article on the late Stan Mortenson contains an impressive list of career stats for the Blackpool and England centre forward. 197 League goals for the Tangerines in 317 matches; 23 goals for England in 25 games; Scored in twelve consecutive rounds of the FA Cup; Division One’s leading marksman in 1951 with 30 goals; and most famously, a hat-trick in the 1953 FA Cup Final for Blackpool in the 4-3 defeat of Bolton (He remains to this day the only player to have achieved that feat). This statue of him (apologies for the poor quality image taken on a mobile phone on a particularly damp afternoon back in January) outside Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road ground was unveiled in 2001.

More football statues here.

posted by chevblue at 7:44 pm 0 comments

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Saturday, July 26, 2008

Ipswich Town 2 West Bromwich Albion 1

Friendly
Portman Road, Ipswich, Suffolk

Match Number: 1444

posted by chevblue at 5:45 pm 0 comments

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Football Statues

No 10 (in a series of several): Sir Alf Ramsey (1920-1999)

Ipswich Town, with a team made up of unknowns who had been widely tipped to go straight back down at the end of the 61-62 season, amazed the nation by winning the Football League Championship at their very first attempt. Alf Ramsey, an accomplished right back for Spurs and England in the 1950’s and now at the Portman Road helm, was the man instrumental in achieving this quite amazing success.

Dagenham born Ramsey had taken the managers job in the summer of 1955 shortly after the Blue’s had been relegated to the Third Division South after just a single season in Division Two. Promotion back to that division was achieved again two years later and Ramsey, an intelligent and measured player on the field, spent the next few years assembling a team that was a mix of youth and astute purchases from the lower leagues, but above all a close knit group of players that were very loyal to their manager.

Town were crowned champions of the Second Division in 1961 and, apart from the signing of inside forward Doug Moran from Falkirk it was the same side that went on to take the First Division title. In doing so Town emulated the Spurs side, of 1950 and 1951, who had became only the second side to win the Second and First Division titles in back-to-back seasons. Rather ironically, Ramsey had been a key player for the North Londoners in those two campaigns.

This extraordinary success was due to Ramey’s tactical wherewithal. Up front he employed strikers Ray Crawford and Ted Phillips (61 league goals between them), and on the wings Jimmy Leadbetter and Roy Stephenson. It was the use of latter two in midfield – in an early form of 4-4-2 – that was the key to Ramsey’s triumph. Town didn’t begin the season well, losing two or their three opening fixtures, but Ramsey stuck to his system and the results started coming. Closest rivals Burnley hit the self destruct button in the run in and Ipswich stole home to take the championship – clinched at Portman Road with a two-nil win against Aston Villa on the final day of the season.

More football statues here.

posted by chevblue at 5:16 pm 2 comments

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Braintree Town 0 Ebbsfleet United 1

Friendly
Cressing Road, Braintree, Essex

The pictures continue here.

Match Number: 1443

posted by chevblue at 11:35 pm 0 comments

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Brantham Athletic 3 Walsham Le Willows 1

Friendly
Brantham Athletic Sports & Social Club, Brantham, Essex

The pictures continue here.

Match Number: 1442

posted by chevblue at 9:23 pm 1 comments

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Chelmsford City 2 Ipswich Town Reserves 2

Friendly
Chelmsford Sport & Athletics Centre, Chelmsford, Essex

The pictures continue here.

Match Number: 1441

posted by chevblue at 11:46 pm 0 comments

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Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Bury Town 0 Ipswich Town 3

Friendly
Ram Meadow, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

In the corresponding fixture last season a crowd of almost 2,000 turned out for the game. Tonight the attendance was under half that. Last year the game was played on a beautiful summers evening while tonight’s game was played in a light to heavy rain which has covered most of these parts since around 9:00 this morning, so no real surprise that the attendance was down. The rain is also my excuse for a rather poor collection of photo’s of tonight’s action, but plenty from previous visits to Ram Meadow can be found here, here, here and here.

Match Number: 1440

posted by chevblue at 11:05 pm 0 comments

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Monday, July 07, 2008

Whitton United 0 Chelmsford City 5

Friendly
King George V Playing Field, Ipswich, Suffolk

The often maligned Kieron Dyer, whose antics with expensive automobiles, on-pitch brawls, and other nefarious activities have made headlines in past years, hails from the Whitton estate in Ipswich. The former Ipswich, Newcastle and England midfielder who is yet again beset by injury at current club West Ham has a side to him that sadly is less well publicised. He has sponsored a number of Ipswich Town Academy games and is, as tonight’s match programme very proudly points out, the main sponsor of Whitton United. This is a player who clearly hasn’t forgotten his roots but don’t expect the red tops to tell you that.

The pictures continue here.

Match Number: 1439

posted by chevblue at 9:34 pm 0 comments

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extreme groundhopping

a (mainly) pictorial account of one man's obsession with football stadia, floodlight pylon's and ipswich town football club

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Ground Visit Record

ENGLAND

AFC Bournemouth
(Fitness First Stadium)

AFC Portchester
(Wicor Recreation Ground)

AFC Sudbury
(King's Marsh Stadium)

AFC Totton
(Testwood Park)

Aldershot Town
(Recreation Ground)

Alton Town
(Alton (Bass) Sports Ground)

Arsenal
(Emirates)

Arsenal
(Highbury)

Aston Villa
(Villa Park)

Barnet
(Underhill)

Barnsley
(Oakwell)

Basildon United
(Gardiners Close)

Billericay Town
(New Lodge)

Birmingham City
(St Andrews)

Blackburn Rovers
(Ewood Park)

Blackpool
(Bloomfield Road)

Bolton Wanderers
(Reebok Stadium)

Bolton Wanderers
(Burnden Park)

Boston United
(York Street)

Bradford City
(Valley Parade)

Braintree Town
(Cressing Road)

Brantham Athletic
(Brantham Athletic Sports & Social Club)

Brentford
(Griffin Park)

Brighton & Hove Albion
(Withdean Stadium)

Brighton & Hove Albion
(Goldstone Ground)

Bristol City
(Ashton Gate)

Bristol Rovers
(Eastville)

Bromley
(Hayes Lane)

Burnley
(Turf Moor)

Bury
(Gigg Lane)

Bury Town
(Ram Meadow)

Cambridge City
(Milton Road)

Cambridge United
(Abbey Stadium)

Charlton Athletic
(The Valley)

Chelmsford City
(New Writtle Street)

Chelmsford City
(Chelmsford Sport & Athletics Centre)

Chelsea
(Stamford Bridge)

Chester City
(Saunders Honda Stadium)

Colchester United
(Layer Road)

Cornard United
(Blackhouse Lane)

Coventry City
(Ricoh Arena)

Coventry City
(Highfield Road)

Crewe Alexandra
(Gresty Road)

Crystal Palace
(Selhurst Park)

Dagenham & Redbridge
(Victoria Road)

Dartford
(Watling Street)

Debenham Leisure Centre
(Maitlands)

Derby County
(Pride Park)

Derby County
(Baseball Ground)

Diss Town
(Brewers Green Lane)

Eastleigh
(Sparshatts Stadium)

Ely City
(Unwin Ground)

Everton
(Goodison Park)

Fareham Town
(Cams Alders)

FC Clacton
(Rush Green Bowl)

FC Fleetlands
(Lederle Lane)

Felixstowe & Walton United
(Dellwood Avenue)

Framlingham Town
(Sports Ground)

Fulham
(Craven Cottage)

Gillingham
(Priestfield)

Gorleston
(Emerald Park)

Gosport Borough
(Privett Park)

Great Yarmouth Town
(Wellesley Recreation Ground)

Grimsby Town
(Blundell Park)

Hadleigh United
(Millfield)

Halstead Town
(Rosemary Lane)

Hamble ASSC
(Follands Park)

Harwich & Parkeston
(Royal Oak)

Havant & Waterlooville
(West Leigh Park)

Heybridge Swifts
(Scraley Road)

Histon
(Glass World Stadium)

Horndean Town
(Five Heads Park)

Huddersfield Town
(Leeds Road)

Hull City
(KC Stadium)

Hull City
(Boothferry Park)

Ipswich Town
(Portman Road)

Ipswich Wanderers
(SEH Sports Ground )

Kingstonians
(Kingsmeadow)

Leeds United
(Elland Road)

Leicester City
(Walkers Stadium)

Leicester City
(Filbert Street)

Leiston
(Victory Road)

Leyton Orient
(Brisbane Road)

Lincoln City
(Cincil Bank)

Liverpool
(Anfield)

Long Melford
(Stoneylands)

Lowestoft Town
(Crown Meadows)

Luton Town
(Kenilworth Road)

Manchester City
(Maine Road)

Manchester United
(Old Trafford)

Middlesborough
(Ayresome Park)

Millwall
(The New Den)

Millwall
(The Den)

MK Dons
(National Hockey Stadium)

MK Dons
(stadium:mk)

Needham Market
(Bloomfields)

Netley Central Sports
(Station Road Recreation Ground)

Newcastle United
(St James' Park)

Newmarket Town
(Cricket Field Road)

Northampton Town
(County Ground)

Norwich City
(Carrow Road)

Nottingham Forest
(City Ground)

Notts County
(Meadow Lane)

Peterborough United
(London Road)

Petersfield Town
(Love Lane)

Plymouth Argyle
(Home Park)

Port Vale
(Vale Park)

Portsmouth
(Fratton Park)

Preston North End
(Deepdale)

Queens Park Rangers
(Loftus Road)

Reading
(Madejski Stadium)

Redbridge
(Oakside Stadium)

Romsey Town
(Bypass Ground)

Rotherham United
(Millmoor)

Saffron Walden Town
(Catons Lane)

Salisbury City
(Raymond McEnhill Stadium)

Scunthorpe United
(Glanford Park)

Sheffield United
(Bramall Lane)

Sheffield Wednesday
(Hillsborough)

Shrewsbury Town
(Gay Meadow)

Shrewsbury Town
(Prostar Stadium)

Soham Town Rangers
(Julius Martin Lane)

Southampton
(St Mary's)

Southampton
(The Dell)

Southend United
(Roots Hall)

St Albans City
(Clarence Park)

Stanway Rovers
(New Farm Road)

Stockport County
(Edgeley Park)

Stoke City
(Britannia Stadium)

Stoke City
(Victoria Ground)

Stowmarket Town
(Green Meadows Stadium)

Sunderland
(Stadium of Light)

Swaffham Town
(Shoemakers Lane)

Swindon Town
(County Ground)

Thetford Town
(Mundford Road)

Tiptree United
(Chapel Road)

Tottenham Hotspurs
(White Hart Lane)

United Services Portsmouth
(Victory Stadium)

VT FC
(Vosper Thornycroft Sports Ground)

Walsall
(Bescot Stadium)

Walsall
(Fellows Park)

Walsham Le Willows
(Walsham Sports Club Ground)

Watford
(Vicarage Road)

Wembley Stadium
(Old)

Wembley Stadium
(New)

West Bromwich Albion
(The Hawthorns)

West Ham United
(Upton Park)

Whitton United
(King George V Playing Field )

Wigan Athletic
(JJB Stadium)

Wimbledon
(Plough Lane)

Winchester City
(Denplan City Ground)

Witham Town
(Spa Road)

Wivenhoe Town
(Broad Lane)

Woking
(Kingfield Stadium)

Wolverhampton Wanderers
(Molineux)

Woodbrige Town
(Notcutts Park)

Worcester City
(St. Georges Lane)

WALES

Cardiff City
(Ninian Park)

SCOTLAND

Aberdeen
(Pittodrie Stadium)

Heart of Midlothian
(Tynecastle Stadium)

AUSTRALIA

Northern Spirit
(North Sydney Oval)

AUSTRIA

SW Wacker Innsbruck
(Tivoli Stadion)

BELGIUM

RSC Anderlect
(Constant Vanden Stock Stadium)

FC Brugge
(Olympiastadion)

SV Zulte-Waregem
(Regenboogstadion)

DENMARK

FC Kobenhavn
(Gladsaxe Stadion)

Helsingor IF
(Helsingor Stadion)

ESTONIA

FC Flora
(Lillekula Stadium)

FINLAND

HJK Helsinki
(Finnair Stadium)

VPS
(Hietalahti Stadium)

Tampere United
(Tammelan Stadium)

FRANCE

St.Etienne
(G.Guichard Stadium)

GERMANY

1. FC Koeln
(Mungersdorfer Stadion)

Borussia Dortmund
(Westfalenstadion )

1. FC Union Berlin
(Stadion An der Alten Försterei)

HOLLAND

AZ Alkmaar
(Alkmaarder Hout)

AZ Alkmaar
(Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam)

FC Dordrecht
(GN Bouw Stadion)

FC Groningen
(Euroborg)

FC Utrecht
(Galgenwaard Stadion)

Feyenoord
(De Kuip)

NEC Nijmegen
(Goffert Stadium)

PEC Zwolle
(Oosterenkstadion)

PSV Eindhoven
(Philips Stadion)

SC Heerenveen
(Abe Lenstra Stadium)

Twente Enschede
(Arke Stadion)

Twente Enschede
(Diekman Stadion)

Vitesse Arnhem
(Gelredome)

Willem II
(Willem II Stadion)

IRELAND

Bray Wanderers
(Carlisle Grounds)

Dublin City
(Tolka Park)

ITALY

Inter Milan
(San Siro)

LUXEMBOURG

Avenir Beggen
(Stade Josy-Barthel)

NORWAY

Skeid Oslo
(Ulevall)

POLAND

Widzew Lodz
(Stadion LKS)

SPAIN

Barcelona
(Nou Camp)

Real Madrid
(San Bernabeu)

Valencia
(Luis Casanova)

SWEDEN

Orgryte IS
(Gamla Ullevi (Old))

Helsingborgs IF
(Olympia Stadium)

Landskrona Bois
(Idrottspark)

Malmo FF
(Malmo Stadion)

Mjallby AIF
(Strandvallen)

Trelleborgs FF
(Vangavallen)

IFK Goteborg
(Ullevi)

USA

Chicago Sting
(Comiskey Park I)

Chicago Sting
(Wrigley Field)

Chicago Sting
(Chicago Stadium)

Chicago Sting
(Rosemont Horizon)

Chicago Sting
(Rockford MetroCenter)

Chicago Vultures
(Odeum)

Milwaukee Bavarians
(Bavarian Center)

Schwaben AC
(Schwaben Center)

Tampa Bay Rowdies
(Tampa Bay Stadium)