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First County Visit:	Saturday 7th November 1992
Competition:	Barclays League Division 2 – (Tier 3)
Result:	Brighton & Hove Albion 2 – 0 Stockport County
Attendance:	5,742
Away Trip:	62
Away Day:	245
County Line-up	1 David Redfern; 2 Darren Knowles (12 Tony Barras); 3 Lee Todd; 4 David Frain; 5 Alan Finley (14 Mick Wallace); 6 Bill Williams; 7 Jim Gannon; 8 Peter Ward; 9 Kevin Francis; 10 Chris Beaumont; 11 John Muir
Manager:	Danny Bergara
County Visits:	3

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FLYING AWAY … FOR THE ONLY TIME

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Over the years it works out just under 147,000 miles on the away trips. That’s the equivalent of travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats 168 times. Add in the 1,107 home games with a round trip 18 miles – it comes to 167,000 miles in total.    

The furthest trip is around 280 miles to Plymouth, with the second furthest being Brighton, at 266 miles. I’ve been to the seaside time town five times for football –  3 trips to the Goldstone Ground and 2 to the Withdean Stadium.  The latter stands as the worst ground on which I’ve ever seen a game in terms of a spectator experience . But more of that when we reach there. 

Over the years most of the trips have been under my own steam in a variety of cars and normally in the company of Jeff; Arthur or Mark. There’s been a few times on the train.  Coming to memory are outings to Bristol City; Orient; Reading and a couple of years ago to North Ferriby.   For three years in the mid-90s Jeff and I were regulars on the Fingerpost Flyer. But mainly it’s been in the car apart from one noticeable exception. And that was on 7th November 1992 with the game at the Goldstone ground being my first trip there. 

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Picture taken from the corner of the ground between the East Terrace and the North Stand and shows the Main Stand, (which extended only about two thirds of the length of the pitch. The empty area next to it was the site of a temporary stand erected when Brighton got into Division 1 in 1979, but lasted only 5 years.

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Prior to the game Arthur and I chatted about making the trip. To be brutally honest I didn’t fancy the drive as I didn’t trust my car at the time. Arthur, who worked at Manchester Airport came up with the answer. “We’ll fly there” he said. I rolled my eyes at the potential cost.  But he was, and remains, a resourceful character. He made a few calls and came back with information that we could get some cheap flights through some contact of his. Don’t ask any questions I was told.

So, we turned up at Ringway on the morning of the game.   He said, “right this way” and we headed for the Dan Air stand.  Now those with a long memory know that Dan Air had a somewhat chequered reputation being involved in crashes and incidents over the years. I wasn’t in those days, (and still now), am not a good flyer. So, it was with some trepidation that I boarded said plane.  Less than an hour later we wandered through the terminal at Gatwick, located the train station and headed off south. It left time for an hour or two in a town centre pub before the game. Around 1.45 the question arose. Where is the Goldstone Ground and how far was it? The answer came in the form of a taxi which dutifully dropped us outside the South stand well in time for the action.

Now I’ve got to say that I liked the Goldstone Ground. It was an old-fashioned stadium but had clearly seen better days. Indeed as things transpired its days were numbered. Not so many years after this visit it was sold for retail purposes and a ground which had been used since 1901 disappeared.

Putting my thoughts down about the places I have visited following County I have been indebted to the mighty tomes written by Simon Inglis, (The Football Grounds of England and Wales and in its 2^nd and 3^rd editions The Football Grounds of Great Britain) I like his introduction to his chapter on the Goldstone Ground  It reads:  

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“Over the last 200 years or so Goldstone Bottom has seen it all: hangings, executions, Druid worshippers and a multitude of other bizarre acts most of them committed by players wearing the blue and white of Brighton and Hove Albion”.

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And the blue and white of BHA that afternoon was something to behold.  I’ve got to say that I’m quite a fan of striped kits.  There’s something a bit traditional about them, compared to some of the abominations that have been inflicted on the football watching public in recent years.  But that applies to the shirts.  My own favourite County shirts are the striped ones from 1982 through to 1987 and then the one in 1998, (the one featuring me on the home page of this site).  The “Argentina” shirt in 1981/82 brings back good memories and I also like the plain blue one in the relegation year of 2011/02. 

Ben Walker, who is without question the ‘godfather’ of all things County shirts, has a site where the various editions over the years can be seen.  Check it out here Stockport County Shirts.  Ben’s site looks at shorts over the last 35 years or so.  For a full history of County shirts this site is also worth a look. Historical Kits – Stockport County

And included on Ben’s site is a shirt which was only ever seen once, and that was in the game at the Goldstone that afternoon.  Brighton’s stripes weren’t just for the shirts but also the shorts as well.  More than bizarre.  And that meant a clash, and a change for us.  The second strip in that season was the famous TV interference design, mainly white with 4 jagged red and blue bands.  That clashed as well.

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Ben Walker has one of these.  The picture shows Peter Ward wearing it – but just look at the Brighton kit – derided by fans up and down the land as a “Tesco carrier bag” replica.  It also features heavily on the Programme front from the game, (top of the page)

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But turning to the Goldstone Ground itself.  I said above I liked it.  We were sited in the South Stand, behind one of the goals.  It must have been terraced at one point, but seats had been bolted onto the terrace.  It provided cover but to my mind was dark and gloomy.  To our left was the Main Stand, which only extended for about two thirds of the pitch length.  Historic pictures show another stand next to it.  It had been built when Brighton attained First Division status in 1979, but lasted only five years, and after demolition that area was just a flat space.  It gave an unbalanced look to that side.  At the far end the North Stand, a covered terrace, provided decent accommodation for the homesters.  That was fairly new, having been erected only 7 years prior to my first visit.  But the area which took the eye was the East Side.  An uncovered terrace stretched the full length of the pitch, and in its heyday must have held a fair few.  It shared with London Road and Sincil Bank in our league days the only three grounds I visited with an open side terrace.  The one thing that can be said about the Goldstone is that it wasn’t uniform and had a bit of individuality and character.  I thought that Simon Inglis had it right.  “Everyone else should congratulate Brighton for making the very best out of an unpromising, unwieldy site”.

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As to the game.  We went into it standing 4^th, but that had been based on a good start, (only 1 defeat in the first 8 games), but recent form had been ‘iffy’. Only 2 wins in the previous 7 games had were threatening our position, and things didn’t get any better that afternoon.  A 2-0 defeat saw us drop 2 places.  It was a gloomy trip back.  The train up to Gatwick; what seemed an interminable wait for a late evening flight and an arrival back home at gone 11pm.  I could have driven back quicker.  It was my first flight to a County game, and not one that I was keen to repeat, and indeed haven’t.  It was however a history making flight back up to Ringway.  It was Dan Air’s last day of operation, and it could well be that I was on one of the very last flights that the somewhat notorious airline made….

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There were to be two further trips to the Goldstone.  The list below shows when.  And for those keen of eye they proved to be another “notch in the belt” for the Football League’s fixture compilers!!  New Years Eve 1994 fell on a Saturday and there was a scheduled fixture, (a home defeat at the hands of Bradford City which turned out to be Kevin Francis’ last game in a County shirt before his move to Birmingham City).  So, no New Years Day game, with those being moved to January 2^nd.  They sent us to Brighton, 266 miles away!!  I’ve long wondered about the sanity of those who arrange fixtures. 

Elsewhere on this site I have referred to trips to Torquay on a Boxing Day for an 11am kick-off, (didn’t do that one!) and Bristol City on a Boxing Day, (made that!).  There is simply no rhyme or reason.  Holiday games should be reasonably local; preferably a derby and with a decent crowd.  There’s far too many in the County fanbase who deride the recent years of regional football as ‘dogshit’ and in some areas they’re right.  But I’ll give the administrators their due, Christmas and New Year football is organised on a home and away basis against the same team, and local.  It even applies in the National League.  And it provides for a far better experience. 

So, having made it down to the South Coast in 1995 they then compounded it by sending us to the same place 12 months later, this time on New Years Day.  Madness.  It made for a relatively quiet New Years Eve and a ludicrously early start as the new year dawned.  These FL administrators with no hold on reality didn’t improve.  We ended back down at Plainmoor on New Years Day 2005!!  Football the game of the people, so the saying goes…….

May 2020

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VISITS

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Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Away Day
Sat	07/11/92 (Highlights)	Barclays League Division 2	Tier 3	Brighton & Hove Albion	L	0	2	5,742	245
Mon	02/01/95	Endsleigh League Division 2	Tier 3	Brighton & Hove Albion	L	0	2	8,862	292
Mon	01/01/96	Endsleigh League Division 2	Tier 3	Brighton & Hove Albion	D	1	1	5,694	314

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ON MY JOURNEY WITH COUNTY AROUND 180 GROUNDS

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Previously – THE CITY GROUND Next stop – BASEBALL GROUND