Football goes Underground
by Brian Boyd

Football is huge in London, and the city boasts twelve professional teams – more than any other city in the world.  Six of the premiership’s clubs come from London – including last season’s champions and runners-up, Arsenal and Chelsea.  For a football fan visiting the capital, what could be better than a whirlwind one-day tour of the city’s professional football grounds?  Grab your tube map and hop on the London Underground to see what ‘The Big Smoke’ has to offer lovers of the beautiful game.  Mind the gap!

The tour starts at South Ealing station.  Here you’ll find Griffin Park, the home of Brentford, and the only stadium in Britain to have a pub on every corner – perhaps there’s time for a quick drink in each before the next stop.  Music lovers may be interested to know that legendary singer Rod Stewart once played for Brentford.  

Change lines at Hammersmith and head north to Shepherd’s Bush and the currently high-flying hoops of Queen’s Park Rangers.  After you visit Loftus Road Stadium, be sure to stop off at Uxbridge Road for an amazing selection of international restaurants.

Back south now, change at Earl’s Court and follow the District Line to Putney Bridge.  Here you’ll find Fulham’s ground, Craven Cottage.  The stadium is entirely seated these days, following redevelopment, but the famous Craven Cottage still sits in one corner, and this is where the players enter the pitch from.

Just north, near Fulham Broadway station, is Chelsea’s ground, Stamford Bridge.  This is the largest league ground in London.  Walk through the ground and you’re walking on a piece of London history – the soil removed when building the Piccadilly Line’s tunnel at the start of the 20th century was used to build Stamford Bridge’s terraces.

It’s a long journey to the next ground.  Go north and change to the Central Line at Notting Hill Gate.  As you race between Tottenham Court Road and Old Holborn, look carefully out of the windows.  If you’re lucky you might spot one of the Underground’s forty ‘ghost stations’ – abandoned, forgotten and empty.  

Stay on the Underground until you reach Leyton, where you’ll find Matchroom Stadium (still referred to as ‘Brisbane Road’ by many of Leyton Orient’s fans).  Currently in the top three of League Two, the ‘O’s are chasing a promotion this season.

Double back to Mile End Station and change to the Hammersmith and City Line for Upton Park.  This is where West Ham play, and a handsome statue of England captain Bobby Moore stands outside the stadium, proudly holding the world cup trophy which England won in 1966.  

Back in the Underground, take the Hammersmith and City Line west to Moorgate, then the Northern Line down to London Bridge.  You’ll need to use trains, buses or taxis to visit the next three clubs.

Charlton Athletic returned to their ground, The Valley in 1992, after seven years of exile and struggle.  The Valley, near London’s Millennium Dome, is considered a favourite ‘away day’ for London-based football supporters, due to its friendly atmosphere.

Not so friendly is The Den, Millwall’s ground.  Visitors are advised not to wear the colours of opposing teams!  The stadium is also used by Harchester United – an imaginary team.  Episodes of Sky’s TV show, ‘Dream Team’, are filmed here.

Selhurst Park is home to Crystal Palace.  Nicknamed ‘The Eagles’, Crystal Palace are longtime rivals of Charlton and Millwall.  Selhurst Park is actually Crystal Palace’s fourth ground, and they previously played at The Crystal Palace (stadium), Herne Hill and The Nest.

Back at London Bridge, take the Bakerloo Line to Piccadilly Circus for the Piccadilly Line to Arsenal.  This station was originally called ‘Gillespie Road’ but the name was changed in 1932 to promote the club and reflect its importance to the area.  Arsenal Stadium, however, is still known to many fans as ‘Highbury’.

At Finsbury Park the Victoria Line will take you to Seven Sisters.  Tottenham Hotspur’s ground, White Hart Lane has virtually been rebuilt in recent years, making it one of the best in the country. It is totally enclosed which really adds to the overall look of the ground and can make for a great atmosphere.

Change at Finsbury Park again, then from King’s Cross St Pancras follow the Metropolitan Line all the way to the final club – Watford.  Some would argue Watford is so far out that it doesn’t count as a London club.  But if you want to complete the tour, you need to visit Vicarage Road.  Their badge is a hart by the way – not a moose!

Finally, back down the Metropolitan Line to Wembley Park.  Behold – The National Stadium!  Its foundations contain rubble from the old Wembley, and this new ground, with its distinctive arch structure, should be ready to host the FA Cup in 2006.  The tour ends here.  Can it all be done in a day?  Why not find out!

English Language:

Which option (a,b or c) is closest to the meaning of the words in bold in the text?

1. whirlwind
a) very big
b) very fast
c) very windy

2. terraces
a) standing area for fans
b) shops
c) players

3.double back
a) do something twice
b) turn around and go back
c) stop

4. exile
a) being forced to live in another place
b) losing a game
c) bad luck

5. rubble
a) souvenirs
b) football fans
c) material from a destroyed building

Challenge one: Is it possible to complete this tour in one day?  Supposing you started at 8.00 am and stopped at each stadium for thirty minutes.  Use this route planner to calculate what time you would finally arrive at the new National Stadium:

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en

Challenge two:  Now suppose you couldn’t buy a travel card but had to pay for each individual journey.  How much would the tour cost (use the journey planner again)?

Spelling quiz:  Of all the stations on the London Underground map, only one is spelt without using any letters from the word ‘Mackerel’.  Which one? You can find a tube map here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/images/zone_big.jpg

Answers

English language

1. b
2. a
3. b
4. a
5. c

Challenge one:  The whole tour can be done in thirteen and a quarter hours (allowing for three hours to get to Charlton, Crystal Palace and Millwall, and thirty minutes to view each ground along the tour), so you would arrive at the new National Stadium at a quarter past nine in the evening.  Can you find a quicker route?

Challenge two

South Ealing – Shepherd’s Bush	£1.50
Shepherd’s Bush – Putney Bridge	£2.20
Putney Bridge – Fulham Broadway	£1.10
Fulham Broadway – Leyton	£2.50
Leyton – Upton Park	£1.10
Upton Park – London Bridge	£2.50
London Bridge – The Valley	£1.00 by bus
The Valley – The Den	£2.00 by bus
The Den – Selhirst Park	£2.00 by bus
Selhirst Park – London Bridge	£1.00 by bus
London Bridge – Arsenal	£2.20
Finsbury Park – Seven Sisters	£1.10
Seven Sisters – Watford	£4.00
Watford – Wembley Park	£2.20
Total:	£26.40

So it’s £26.40 without the luxury of a travelcard ( a one day ticket you can use as many times as you like ) – or is it? Can you do the trip any cheaper (without walking everywhere!)?

Spelling quiz
St. John’s Wood

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