Search: ' Goldstone Ground'

An early-season meeting between two teams suffering hangovers from relegation finds the home side also paying the price for mistakes committed long, long ago and distracted by a meddling council. Taylor Parkes reports

Airy, friendly and staunchly tolerant, Brighton is a magnet for those worn down by the dark heat and pace of denser, less liberal cities – the San Francisco of England, or close enough. It seems right that a team from such a self-consciously bohemian town should be too laid-back for the uptight glare of the top flight, but most inappropriate that they’ve become dependent on the approval of others.

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Only via the FA Cup and only in the 1970s could Leatherhead hit football's big time. Jon Spurling charts a story of yesterday's men that embraced Tomorrow's World

A maverick striker who courted publicity, a cabbage-patch pitch that mysteriously turned to mud even in the summer, a spit-and-sawdust stadium, a memorable green baize shirt and a tiny but prominent hooligan problem – Leatherhead’s remarkable FA Cup run in the mid-1970s was perfect for football as it entered the Technicolor age.

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Tom Davies gives us an update on clubs in crisis

Barnet fans hope to use May’s council elections to break three-and-a-half years of deadlock surrounding their attempts to find a new ground. Club and council have been at loggerheads since 2002, when the Conservatives won control and scuppered plans approved by the previous Labour administration for a stadium on land immediately south of their existing, and inadequate, Underhill home. The Tories refused to sanction the sale of the land necessary for the stadium.

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Some people live football; other people live in what used to be football grounds. Steve Menary reports on the growing relationship between the game and builders

So, goodbye then, Tynecastle, as yet another football stadium falls underneath the bulldozer. Despite the objections of Hearts fans, their ground looks  like being sold to house-builder Cala for £22 mil­lion. Tynecastle will join a line of much loved stadiums, from The Dell to Oxford United’s Manor Ground, in becoming housing.

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Chris Webb explains why the best laid plans of Brighton haven't worked out

An emotionally charged 1-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers on July 28, 1997, marked the end of an era for Brighton & Hove Albion FC. It was to be the last ever game played at the Goldstone Ground, the Seagulls’ home for over a century. Now it’s six years on and we re­main without a permanent stadium, leaving many fans such as myself angry and frustrated as the club continue to pay the price for their lack of stability.

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