I'll be fucking there though.. can't wait.
I sense you take a perverse pleasure in discovering the shitholes of our sceptred isle....otherwise can't really think why anyone would show much enthusiasm for a trip to Pikeyland.
From last years appraisal of crap grounds.
1. Priestfield, Gillingham
Capacity 10,952, Built 1892, Prices £15-30
New research shows that Gillingham is the biggest dump in English football. Priestfield topped an Observer poll, and this fan's view is typical of many: 'Never fails to live down to expectations. Used to be nothing more than a couple of cowsheds knocked together but after redevelopment it resembles a 1970s garage forecourt. The away end has two Portakabins for toilets and the worst catering outside Selhurst Park. The walk from the train station is like walking through the Shangri-La Caravan Park just after closing time.'
Another contributor offered the view that Gillingham 'is the place that makes Middlesbrough look like Monte Carlo'. The Observer sent reporter Jamie Jackson to investigate further. Here's his view:
'I'm going to smash you in the mouth and run off!' Gillingham High Street, Tuesday 28 September. An angry teenage lad with a crewcut is threatening a girl outside the railway station before the match. As a welcome to a town described by a football club spokesman as 'a dump', it is about right. The 'town centre' is a street of kebab houses, cheque cashers, branches of Iceland and Woolworth's, dilapidated buildings, and at least seven charity shops and discount stores. The street is book-ended by the derelict Prince Albert pub and the still-open Southern Belle. If you want to make a night of it, there's the bingo hall around corner.
The route to the stadium passes Costcutter and along a winding street of terrace houses. Apart from a newsagent, and Hair Sandra at number 189, the only sign of prosperous retail life is a branch of the drain cleaners,Dyno Rod. If the houses are not boarded up or run-down, they have rubbish and bin liners spilling on to the pavement. Along Priestfield Road there are more deserted businesses, and children fighting over bits of cardboard and swearing at each other.
An unalluring alleyway takes you on to Linden Road and the main entrance into the stadium. There is the ticket office, the club shop and the Blues Rock Café, which offers 'Karaoke at the bar for £1.50'.
In the stadium the food is poor and £26 is a bit steep for a seat. It's not the football club's fault that their town is so grotty. Chairman Paul Scally is keen to move them four miles out of town. Given what happened with Wimbledon we shouldn't be in favour of any such move, but in this case
I first went there in 66....it seems to have improved since my last visit in 87.
Poll
