Grounds for comparison
11 Grounds Where Matches Were Played During The 1948 Olympic Soccer Tournament in London
1. Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace
2. Cricklefield Stadium, Ilford (now home to Isthmian League side Ilford FC)
3. Craven Cottage, Fulham
4. White Hart Lane, Tottenham
5. Goldstone Ground, Brighton
6. Griffin Park, Brentford
7. Green Pond Road Stadium, Walthamstow (now known as Walthamstow Stadium, one of the best known greyhound tracks in Britain)
8. Arsenal Stadium, Highbury
9. Fratton Park, Portsmouth
10. Champion Hill, Dulwich (now home to Isthmian League sides Dulwich Hamlet and Fisher Athletic)
11. Empire Stadium, Wembley
Friday, July 20, 2007
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14 comments:
The thought of 'The Stow' being used a for football does make me laugh.
The two teams come out of the traps, run around the pitch perimeter a couple of times chasing a furry ball.
I reckon they should bring it back.
I'd like to know how Portsmouth and Brighton can be categorised as 'London'!!
Chris - on an unrealted topic, what are your thoughts on the circus that is the Tevez transfer. At this point would you rather have the cash to use in strengthening multiple other positions?
I know my name isnt Chris, Chris, but heres my view.
The Premier League and West Ham have fcuked up and in short, both look like getting away with murder.
Eveyone knew the initial deal last summer was dodgy, which is why the Premier League enquired the initial deal. Its just a shame they didnt check it thoroughly as they should have done.
The Premier League know it and are putting heavy pressure on West Ham to get a fee for Tevez so they can justify it as a 'legimate' transfer - otherwise it opens a whole new can of worms.
I'm bored with the entire saga and West Ham should think themselves lucky that they can get away with it and are still in the Premier League.
I just hope that when Tevez does leave, West Ham dont get a penny. He has payed his fee in keeping them in the Premier League as it is.
But you've left out the other interesting aspect of the ordeal, Kia. It looks as though he may be in prison soon rather than later. And if he doesn't get paid for Tevez, is there a smoking gun to turn over to the Prem. / UEFA / FIFA? Or is this just another shady tatic from a notoriously shady man?
And if it does come to light, what we've all known is the case, that Tevez was never a WHU player, where does that leave Sheffield in their legal battle? West Ham would have to expelled in order to apease Sheffield.
RE: You're first point, I dont see that of relevance.
What should have happened in terms of the Premier League checking out the contract didnt happen. Thats not his fault, more the Premier Leagues.
You're second point is exactly what I am on about and why the Premier League are desperate for some funds to go to West Ham in this deal.
Now that my spokesman has answered your question, I'll do so myself.
As a West Ham fan, I'm sick to the back teeth of the whole sorry affair, just as everyone else probably is by now.
The whole subject has been done to death, and if West Ham get any money out of his transfer to Man United at all, it'll be considered a bonus considering he probably wasn't West Ham's to profit from in the first place.
I think the Premier League will (if they've got the sense) take a long hard look at the experience they've endured over the last year or so and endeavour to prevent such a thing happening in the future.
As for Kia Joorabchian, he's probably second only in corruptness to a certain ex-Thai Prime Minister that's just taken over Manchester City...
Well maybe they can be cell mates.
How exactly does English football work, as far as leadership is concerned? Are all positions appointed (FA and Prem.), or is it a combination of elected officials and appointed ones? I guess my question really boils down to, who is the grand idiot who hires all the under-idiots, and is there public recourse to end the incompetence?
Smart- my point about Kia, was relevent to the doling out of monies. If WHU do receive money, that may cause just as many problems, as Kia (if he has them) could release paperwork damning to WHU. So there is a catch-22 assuming the documents exist.
By of no relevance I guess Im saying that it shuoldnt have got that far.
Everyone knew about it over here in Agust 2006, the FA believed West Hams word and in Januray 2007 regret doing so.
As far as I am concerned it shouldnt have got this far but it has and the Premier League are major factor in this embarrasing episode.
As Alex Ferguson said earlier this year, they were offered Tevez but turned it down as the deal looked dodgy.
With all the rumours and questions going on over here, who could the Premier League not check out the paperwork properly until 6 months later?
Oh after all that, what a dissapointment!
It's an easy mistake to make. Green Pond Road was one of the best grounds in amateur football in its heyday, but fell into disrepair when the team's crowds plummeted in the 1980s. I went there in 1987 and it was falling apart at the seams, but you could still get a sense of the scale that it once had.
Incidentally, the Champion Hill ground in Dulwich used at the Olympics in 1948 was a different stadium to the current one, although built on the same site. The original ground was bigger than many in the Football League (I think it held over 20,000), but was bulldozed in 1991 and the club sold half of the land to Sainsburys and built a new one right next door. The last time I checked, they were in danger of losing that, too.
I went to the original Champion Hill (this is what happens when your team plays in the Isthmian League) in 1990, just before it was knocked down. It was absolutely massive, but the terraces were completely covered in weeds and grass and were so unsafe that only the main stand was open.
Thank you for this list. As mentioned the ground in Walthamstow was not the current Walthamstow Stadium which will be closing down in September 2008 but the Green Pond Road ground used by Walthamstow Avenue until 1988 when they merged with Leytonstone/Ilford. The Green Pond Road site is now housing.
Also the Ilford Ground used was not the Cricklefield Stadium used by the current Ilford FC but a former ground in Lynn road used by a previous Ilford FC until they merged with Leytonstone in 1979. This site is also now housing.
I don't know why Portsmouth and Brighton were used but it might be because the Olympics took place in late July early August and a lot of grounds were unavailable.
As this was prior to the formation of the GLC the Ilford and Walthamstow grounds were in Essex in 1948. Selhurst Park would have been in Surrey and White Hart Lane, Brentford and Wembley were in Middlesex.
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