Tims 92

Burton Albion

Eton Park

Ground No. 64

Visited - Tuesday 17th May 2005
Result - Burton Albion 5-3 Burton Albion Legends
Competition - Friendly
Attendance - 1355

The first time that I ever saw Eton Park was on the TV, during an FA Cup game screened by the BBC, and immediately I was drawn to it, in the most part due to its yellow and black colour scheme, which could have made it an alternative home for Wolves! When I later found out that the club were moving, it soon went up on the ‘must visit’ list.

Originally I had planned on going to the last competitive game against Northwich Victoria, but never got round to going, so was glad to see that there was one more game scheduled, even if it was only a friendly.

It wasn’t too long a journey over to Burton, stopping off in Tamworth to have a look at The Lamb before carrying on, arriving into the town at about 4pm. With the sky darkening, I quickly made my way up to the ground, and managed to get inside to take pictures. Before going in though, the first impression was how hemmed in the ground was on two sides, with houses stopping any real expansions, or improvements, which once inside was obvious how much they were needed, hence the impending move to the Pirelli Stadium.

On one side is the Main Stand, an interesting structure, raised from the ground, which is all seated, and only runs for about a third of the pitch, being centred just off the halfway line. On the opposite side is the Popular Terrace, a small stand, that doesn’t have any crush barriers, only a large number of posts and several bins painted in yellow and black (a recurring theme throughout the ground!) Behind one goal is the Brook End, like the Popular Terrace, it has no barriers either and the actual terracing looks more like surplus pavements that the club has bought from the local council! At the other end is another terrace, the Gordon Bray Stand, which looks more modern than the other stands and does indeed have crush barriers, as well as a rather imposing metal fence in its middle, presumably for segregation. Despite by league standards the ground being rather poor, it certainly didn’t look like a bad place to watch football from, having tons of character, and a distinct overuse of yellow paint!

With time on my hands, I went over to the Pirelli Stadium, which is literally just over the road from Eton Park. Looking in from the corner of two of the stands, I really was surprised at how unfinished it was. Although when completed it will no doubt be the best ground in the conference, it did seem far-fetched to imagine it being ready for July, when the first fixtures are due to take place. After taking some more pics, it was back into the town, and after managing to find somewhere to eat, I soon found myself walking back up to the ground.

Admission was only £5, so after going in, and paying a visit to the souvenir shop, I found a spot to stand at the back of the Brook End, which offered a decent view. The game soon started, and was played in a good-natured manner, if not exactly at a frantic pace. The first half ended 3-0 to the current side, who easily outclassed their predecessors, but in the second half they didn’t have it all their own way, despite adding a 4th early on, the legends had a good spell, and managed to score 3 in five minutes, although it did seem that the current team were trying not to make it an embarrassing scoreline! They did however add a 5th late on, although by then, with the tannoy having packed up, everybody seemed to have lost count of the scores, let alone the numerous substitutions, one bloke I spoke to really wasn’t sure at all (although admittedly I had thought that the first half ended 4-0, until reading a later match report!). At the end of the game there was a pitch invasion, and a firework display, that finished off a good night, and a fitting send-off to Eton Park.

After walking back to the station, the journey home went fairly well, despite one cancellation, meaning I got back a little later than expected.

Overall it was a good trip, although the Pirelli Stadium is a massive move forward for the club, it’s a shame to see such a characteristic ground go, as it is quite a good place to watch a game, even if it doesn’t have the comforts associated with most grounds nowadays.