Away Days - Leeds United
First Impressions -- Around the ground -- Facilities -- The Stand -- Overall -- Pictures
Fixture: Leeds
Utd V Preston North End
Competition: Coca Cola Championship
Ground: Elland Road
Date: Saturday 16 October 2004
Kick off: 3pm
Final Result: 1-0
As soon as the fixtures were announced I knew this was one away trip I wanted to make, after all I had never had this opportunity before since this was our first competitive fixture against Leeds for donkeys years!
After making the short journey across the Pennines (1hr 30mins) my first 'port of call' was to stand in awe at the massive East Stand. This was particularly impressive, not just by the size but by the smart modern appearance.
Its not the only thing I first noticed upon approaching the stadium, you can't fail to notice the Billy Bremner statue which was situated outside the club shop. Without doubt a very fitting tribute to one of the legends of the British game.
As per usual I took my usual stroll around the ground starting by walking down by the East Stand. I purchased a programme nearby and from there I took a glimpse of the Revie Stand. This was probably the most modern stand after the East Stand but nowhere near as eye-catching and impressive as its neighbour.
After taking a pic I began the walk back up towards the South Stand (the away stand). This looked somewhat 'different' and rather '70s' although i've definitely seen far worse (hint: a certain club in a seaside 'resort'!).
I had already had a good view of the John Charles Stand on the way to the ground. Again this looked rather 'dated' and 'tired' but it did have an air of tradition about it.
It was not until half-time where I could fairly give an opinion on the facilities in the South Stand. The toilets didn't seem too bad but it was the catering where the main problem lied. There was a few hundred fans in our 'section' of the stand yet there was only one, yes ONE catering bar. This led to two horrendous queues at half-time and worst of all they didn't have any hot food left! Not even one measly pie! This ended up with a few supporters singing 'Premier League yer having a laugh'. I agreed with them - it made me wonder how on earth this could be happening at what was a premiership stadium the previous season.
In the end I ended up getting a coffee, which I soon found out was an obvious breach of the trade descriptions act! Nothing more than warm brown water.
Overall the catering was nothing more than a complete joke and from what heard from other fans in other sections, it was the same all over!
Well I think i've more or less summed up what I think of the stand's facilities!
Anyway, upon entering the stand I was quite surprised to find the turnstiles had a fancy system - the bar code on the stub being scanned and a green light being shown upon acceptance. This made entering much quicker and saved all the usual malarkey of a daft turnstile operator struggling to tear the stub off!
I soon took my seat. It
was quite confusing at first with the row letters being
misleading - quite a few fans got confused too and the confusion
continued to just after kick off.
Anyway as I sat down I was quite bemused to how tight the
legroom was. This was probably one of the worst for legroom
that I have experienced and my legs were literally squashed
up right against the seat in front.
On the bright side, the view was quite good of the playing action and had a good view of the rest of the ground.
It turned out to be a very
enjoyable day out despite the result. Over 4,000 Northenders
made a great noise (myself included!) and really got behind
the team. The stand was perhaps a bit crappy with the lack
of leg room and poor catering. The stadium although a bit
dated was pretty impressive but this was mainly down to
the East Stand.
Still, Elland Road makes for an excellent away day and i'd
rate it as one of the best and most enjoyable away days
in the Championship.
Ratings
Appearance: 7/10
Facilities: 5/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Fans: 8/10
Away Stand: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
