Lost Junior Grounds

[garrellburn]

44 minutes ago, Shanner said:

 

http://www.thetwopointone.com/this-supporting-life/

Looks a very decent crowd, when was photo taken?

[Shanner]

1 minute ago, garrellburn said:

Looks a very decent crowd, when was photo taken?

Had a wee image search on Google there and the image originally appeared in the 2014 book This is Scotland by Daniel Gray so it must be pretty recent. 

Any idea who they're playing? 

[Hillonearth]

7 hours ago, Shanner said:

Had a wee image search on Google there and the image originally appeared in the 2014 book This is Scotland by Daniel Gray so it must be pretty recent. 

Any idea who they're playing? 

It's probably less than it looks at first glance - the crowd used to gather much more down the near end of the stand it's taken from, and it wouldn't have been busy all the way along.

Looks like one of Pollok's away strips from a few years ago, so maybe a Sectional game v them? 

[kilsyth ranger]

It deppresses me when i drive by adamslie park an see it still there but looking derelict , so it must kill the rabs supporters , loved visiting there and a miss the old petershill park to [emoji24]

[Hillonearth]

Especially for bravehearts dad, here's a lost Junior ground:

[Black Pennel]

Hmmm...with regards to the Tinto Park picture...and with the utmost respect to Hillonearth (and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)...the photographic evidence suggests that the vegetation in the foreground is fairly well into the process of decay, the trees are losing leaves and have donned their late autumn / early winter garb,...and the good citizens appear to be wearing apparel appropriate to the conditions...i.e. warm woolly bunnets, puffy jaickets, hoods up & hauns in pockets.

Even allowing for the strange machinations of the fixture guru...are these clubs really still playing sectional cup ties in December ?

Elementary.

[Hillonearth]

14 hours ago, kilsyth ranger said:

It deppresses me when i drive by adamslie park an see it still there but looking derelict , so it must kill the rabs supporters , loved visiting there and a miss the old petershill park to

Same here - my in-laws live in Torrance so we pass by it now and again, and every time we do it's looking more like "Life After People"

[Hillonearth]

8 hours ago, Black Pennel said:

Hmmm...with regards to the Tinto Park picture...and with the utmost respect to Hillonearth (and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)...the photographic evidence suggests that the vegetation in the foreground is fairly well into the process of decay, the trees are losing leaves and have donned their late autumn / early winter garb,...and the good citizens appear to be wearing apparel appropriate to the conditions...i.e. warm woolly bunnets, puffy jaickets, hoods up & hauns in pockets.

Even allowing for the strange machinations of the fixture guru...are these clubs really still playing sectional cup ties in December ?

Elementary.

Or just August In Govan!

Aye, you're right - best second guess is a Junior/West of Scotland cup tie then against God knows who. It does look a decentish crowd - couple of hundred maybe? - and the Bens were maybe only pulling in 60-70 for a bog standard league game the last couple of seasons at old TInto.

[superpollok]

Or just August In Govan!
Aye, you're right - best second guess is a Junior/West of Scotland cup tie then against God knows who. It does look a decentish crowd - couple of hundred maybe? - and the Bens were maybe only pulling in 60-70 for a bog standard league game the last couple of seasons at old TInto.

I don't think it's Pollok. Zoomed in on photo and didn't recognise anyone but it was a bit blurry. Also noticed some fans in the stand with Red scarves on, which would also rule out Pollok.

Maybe Neilston?

[Glenconner]

On 4 August 2017 at 07:59, Shanner said:

 

http://www.thetwopointone.com/this-supporting-life/

Classic Junior ground were the committee have gave up the ghost on any work regarding the upkeep of the terracing. That's 30/40 years worth of neglect. Not a dig at Benburb but a whole host of Junior and Senior clubs in days past. Couldn't have been money in this case, the Bens social club was a gold mine in the 1970s. Classic case of a group of old men that have let the ground get beyond them as the crowds dwindled. Usually the far away end behind one of the goals was first to go followed by the holes in the cover roof that never get fixed. Always wondered who the folks were that finally bricked up the turnstiles at various grounds, could they not have looked at the terracing?

[Shanner]

50 minutes ago, Glenconner said:

Classic Junior ground were the committee have gave up the ghost on any work regarding the upkeep of the terracing. That's 30/40 years worth of neglect. Not a dig at Benburb but a whole host of Junior and Senior clubs in days past. Couldn't have been money in this case, the Bens social club was a gold mine in the 1970s. Classic case of a group of old men that have let the ground get beyond them as the crowds dwindled. Usually the far away end behind one of the goals was first to go followed by the holes in the cover roof that never get fixed. Always wondered who the folks were that finally bricked up the turnstiles at various grounds, could they not have looked at the terracing?

was over at Cliftonhill for the Albion Rovers v Celtic X1 game the other night. First visit there for me and I was genuinely taken aback by how far into disrepair it has fallen. Half the site is basically in the process of being returned to nature as the terraces are allowed to crumble.

if a league side can't be arsed/ can't afford it then the likes of the Bens have no chance.

[tinto]

By co-incidence I was at Tinto park on Saturday for the Govan derby. Well the New Tinto Park which again by co-incidence was the old Tinto Park before they moved into the new Tinto  Park that you see in the picture. Hope that makes sense !!.  I remember them putting that cover up as a kid in the mid 1950's. Looking at the picture the match was played in the last decade and my guess is Johnstone Burgh could be the opponents.

I agree with the comment about not keeping grounds up to scratch and that is no reflection on the people involved with the clubs. The problem is; like the Bens, the committee's are too small for one reason or another and the work load for the people involved is considerable.

Saturday was the first time I had been to New Tinto Park and was impressed. However it will need keeping up and hopefully the Bens will be able to get some folk on board to help their very small hard working crew.  The Ants won 4-1 and I thought they deserved it. Bens were good in parts.  Hopefully both Govan junior teams will go on to having a good season 

The big problem IMHO with the ground aspect of Junior 'fitba is that they do not set a minimum standard for grounds.

[John MacLean]

On 05/08/2017 at 13:56, Shanner said:

was over at Cliftonhill for the Albion Rovers v Celtic X1 game the other night. First visit there for me and I was genuinely taken aback by how far into disrepair it has fallen. Half the site is basically in the process of being returned to nature as the terraces are allowed to crumble.

if a league side can't be arsed/ can't afford it then the likes of the Bens have no chance.

Believe it or not that's Cliftonhill after a bit of money has been spent on it in the last few years. 

[John MacLean]

This is a great thread. 

Got me thinking. I miss a lot of the lost grounds that I visited in my formative football watching years but not keen on the new ones that I've visited. 

Are any of the new grounds an improvement on the lost ones in terms of character? Facilities are better at most I would imagine. Petershill springs to mind in that regard. 

[Nugent4nil]

20 minutes ago, John MacLean said:

This is a great thread. 

Got me thinking. I miss a lot of the lost grounds that I visited in my formative football watching years but not keen on the new ones that I've visited. 

Are any of the new grounds an improvement on the lost ones in terms of character? Facilities are better at most I would imagine. Petershill springs to mind in that regard. 

Cumnock is the standout for me, new 4g? pitch laid where the grass one was gives them the new all weather surface but keeps the character of the ground etc.

[Shanner]

41 minutes ago, John MacLean said:

Believe it or not that's Cliftonhill after a bit of money has been spent on it in the last few years. 

yeah, a few people told me that the stand area has had some work done.

I get that there are reasons why the ground has reached that condition but surely it could have been maintained far more diligently in the first place.

 

[John MacLean]

4 minutes ago, Shanner said:

yeah, a few people told me that the stand area has had some work done.

I get that there are reasons why the ground has reached that condition but surely it could have been maintained far more diligently in the first place.

 

It probably should have been. They've been hit by vandals on more than one occasion. It's not my favourite ground by any means but much prefer it to their Monklands neighbours Airdrie's soulless dump. 

They did have the terracing across from the main stand open about 10-15 years ago but, I think, entry and exit was an issue. 

They have built and opened terracing behind one of the goals which I doubt would have been open at the game you were at. 

 

 

[John MacLean]

30 minutes ago, Nugent4nil said:

Cumnock is the standout for me, new 4g? pitch laid where the grass one was gives them the new all weather surface but keeps the character of the ground etc.

Not been to Cumnock for many years. Just had a look at some photographs. It's looking good. 

[Burnie_man]

1 hour ago, John MacLean said:

Are any of the new grounds an improvement on the lost ones in terms of character? Facilities are better at most I would imagine. Petershill springs to mind in that regard. 

The original Murrayfield Park had “character” ie it was a dump with very few facilities, it’s still there and our youth sides use it although the old pavilion and pitch side barriers have been removed, it’s now just a pitch and the blaize running track is starting to grow in with grass.

We’ve  “moved over the fence” to New Murrayfield Park next door and despite it being a new build 3G, we dismantled and took the enclosure with us and re-assembled it, and it is also has an enclosed feel to it with trees and housing round three sides, it’s nothing like a “caged 3G” at the likes of Rossvale and Glencairn. The facilities are incomparable and it will develop its own character, nobody hankers after the old place.

The upkeep of some old grounds are beyond the means of many clubs these days, and if the opportunity ever arose, eg. Renfrew and Benburb, sometimes it’s best to grasp it with both hands and leave the past behind.  That said, there are still many well maintained traditional grounds which are always a delight to visit.

[locheedfcno1]

Lochee harp gone. Cycled past yesterday. Never had phone for a pic. Pitch overgrown already.