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GAME DETAILS
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Premier League
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Attendance: 25,357
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2-0
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Wilfried Zaha (70), Patrick van Aanholt (78)
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James Tomkins (48), James McArthur (68)
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Chris Brunt (45+2), Craig Dawson (55), Kieran Gibbs (81)
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| Managers |
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| Players |
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| WEST BROMWICH ALBION |
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Subs |
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DT92 Members at this game: (you can click here to load your profile picture) |
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Gary The Baggie
88 |
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baggiecoxy
66 |
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Stamfordgaz63
62 |
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Pre match standings :- Palace 11th/41pts : Albion 19th/31pts. This final match of the season could have been the game which saw the Baggies conjure up another Great Escape from relegation. After some recent hard earned and unlikely wins away at Man Utd and Newcastle, a home win against Spurs and a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool, Darren Moore''s team gained 10 points from 4 games. Moore seemed to have galvanised the team after an extremely poor season under Pulis and Pardew and the Big Push was on. Unfortunately Swansea''s midweek defeat at home to Southampton had already condemned Albion to Championship football next season and so this game at Selhurst Park turned out to be Baggies last in the Premier League with only pride to play for. The Baggies fans though are a passionate bunch and more or less sold out their allocation for the Arthur Wait stand. This was a ground I''d been looking forward to visiting. The ground itself is located in the borough of Croydon and is well known for being a difficult place to get to. Not that it''s out of the way but the exact opposite. After leaving the M23 we travelled through leafy(ish) suburb to built up town centre to industrialised/retail park back to leafy suburb and more town centre. By all accounts, at least when travelling by coach, there''s one road in and one road out And just when you think you''re on the doorstep, here comes another urban area. And not a police escort in sight. Eventually the coach parks up in Park Rd, a long residential street behind the Arthur Wait stand. This is handy as away fans are housed in this stand and the coaches are parked here for the duration of the game. A wander round the outside of the ground brings an unusual sight. At the back of the Whitehorse Lane stand is a Sainsburys which has been built on the site of the old open terrace which in turn has reduced the size of the all seater stand it replaced. Next to Sainsbury''s is the compact (cramped) but well stocked club shop. At the back of the Main stand is the fanzone where many people congregate pre match. Entry to this area is through a pair of huge gates at either end which bear a huge Palace crest. Within this section there is an area where match tickets need to be shown to gain entry. I didn''t go in so not sure if it''s open to away fans. From where I stood it would appear that beer and food was on sale as well as some pre match entertainment from either a DJ or live band. A players car park is located next to this zone and the players seemed perfectly happy to sign autographs and pose for photos for the waiting faithful. Inside Selhurst is a good old fashioned football ground made up of four separate stands, a mixture of old and new. At one end is the newish Holmesdale Rd stand. This is a two tiered all seater with an impressive looking curved roof and windshields on either side. The upper tier has all red seats with the word Palace picked out in blue seats. The lower tier juts out so that no seats are covered by the upper tier. The seats in this area are all blue with the word Eagles picked out in red seats. At either end of the roof is a set of floodlights. At the opposite end is the Whtehorse Lane stand. This is a much smaller stand of about 20 rows of blue seats with Eagles picked out in red seats. At the rear of this stand is a row of executive boxes. At the front of the roof is a large video screen. The Main stand runs along one side of the ground and is the oldest dating back to the mid 1920s. This is a single tiered stand with sets of floodlights running across the length of the roof. The seats are mainly all blue with CPFC picked out in red. In the centre, behind the dugouts, is a section of red seating. At a guess maybe executive seating for directors and family members of the team. This stand also houses the changing rooms. The final piece of the jigsaw is the Arthur Wait stand. The stand is accessed via gates in Park Rd. Immediately through the gates is the concourse for away fans. This is outside the stand and is uncovered so if you fancy a smoke it''s no problem. Also in here are the toilets and food and drink outlets. For a Premier League ground this area is totally inadequate for upwards of 2500 travelling fans and if you fancy a drink or food at half time then prepare to miss the last ten minutes of the first half and probably the first ten minutes of the second. The other problem, which causes a lot of congestion, is that there are only 2 entrances/exits to and from the stand. One leads directly to the food and drink, the other is a side exit. Both of these are rammed at half time and the concourse generally is like a compound of humamity. The Arthur Wait was built in the mid 60''s and inside still retains that character that many modern stadiums lack. The roof is fairly low and the atmosphere and noise generated can be ear-splitting. The stand a single tier and is shared with the home fans located towards the Holmesdale Rd end and away fans located towards the Whitehorse Lane end. The seats are spit into lower and upper sections with a wide gangway in between which is also used for wheelchair supporters. Now I like these old stands, however, the lower section of seating affords great views of the pitch and the other stands. The upper section on the other hand is very restricted with quite a few supporting girders to peer around. The main problem though is the TV/broadcasting gantry. This runs the length of the stand and is situated in the roof above the lower section of seating. It has a depth of some 8 or 9 feet, tall enough for a camera crew and their gear. Unfortunately, from the back row of seats, it completely obscures the opposite side of the ground and most of the two end stands. I was sat in the front row of the upper section which wasn''t too bad a view. Any further back, especially the rear seats, and the view would be so bad I may even have asked for a refund, or at least a discount on the £30 I''d spent on my ticket. If you''re planning a visit I would suggest sitting no further back than row 40. I''ve read recently that the local Council have approved the construction of a new Main stand. I suggest the hierarchy at Palace allocate a space in it for the broadcasters and remove the the gantry from the Arthur Wait. I don''t like to see the old stands demolished but surely these Prem clubs have enough money from the TV deals to have a little more thought for the fans?
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palace93
61 |
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Warren Stephens
61 |
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Pedders
57 |
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DBishop17
26 |
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68johnners
0 |
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