Royal Gooner wrote:Lost 3-1
Went 1-0 up and had great defence but after they scored it all went to pot
Our 700 or so fans were excellent, singing all match and we didn't hear a peep out of the full east stand that they had. Though Stamford Bridge is a sh*thole. Oil on the seats, poor views and it so dilapidated.
Oil on the seats? You'll have to elaborate on that one. Dilapidated? Well, the stadium has been there since 1877, CFC since 1905, so it is an old stadium but the stands have been rebuilt a few times. You don't have to build new though, you can fully refurbish to bring the stands up to date more. The facilities are no worse or no better than any ground I've been in, more or less anyway.
The views, in my honest opinion, are excellent from all middle & top tiers, I don't see how you can have complaints about them, they are nice & close to the pitch & all but the two goal ends have padded seats. I do accept though that the views from the lower tiers are not good enough in this day & age (West Stand apart), the other three lower tiers are not great views I agree.
A couple of other aspects that you didn't mention though & that I would say are a big plus for grounds like Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are one of less & less clubs that have only ever had the one home & I know for a fact Chelsea fans cherish this fact.
Also---character. Do modern day stadiums like the Emirates have much character & individuality, I don't think so, so many stadiums seem so similar to me & I don't like that. If you were dropped into 4 different places inside Emirates you wouldn't be able to see any difference. Stamford Bridge has 4 completely different sides, each with it's individual character. Highbury was a truly magnificent ground---one of the, if not the, best. WHL, S Bridge, Ellend rd, Anfield, Goodison, Villa pk, Hillsborough, etc, etc, etc, are not 'shitholes', they are fantastic football grounds each with their own very individual style, history, & character.
Sometime in the next 5-7 years Chelsea will also have to give up their current ground & accept a new modern day stadium that no doubt will have a lot of emphasis on VIP & hospitality (the way of the world now). Am I happy we will get a brand new stadium, well, no doubt it will have it's positives but there's no doubt in my mind that something is lost as well (call me an old fool--I'm 55). Anyway, I just thought I'd give my take on your comments, cheers.
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 9:02 am