Squires Gate (NWCFL Premier Division)

Last Saturday marked a small milestone for me. While the lads were being handed a drubbing on the pitch, I was busy chalking off football ground number 75 like a bad anorak.

I’ve been a ground obsessive for as long as I can remember. My school homework diaries are punctuated with highly detailed sketches of mid-nineties stadia and a trip to the match was, and still is, as much about the setting as the game itself.

North West Counties grounds proudly sit among my quota alongside their larger Football League counterparts and are living proof that bigger isn’t necessarily better. Call me an old romantic but peeling paintwork, creaking turnstiles and weather beaten terracing beats pricey identikit all seaters any day of the week. 

Looking through my list I’ve tried to recall a stand out feature or memory from each of the 75. With a deep breath, here goes.

The quaint bench seating at our very own AbiStad. Tractor tyre marks on the pitch at Alder Street, Atherton. Futuristic space ship like curves at the Amsterdam Arena. A Ringo Starr style announcer at Anfield, Liverpool. Blue seats for a team that plays in red at the AWD Arena, Hannover. Lifts to reach the top tiers in the Bernabeu, Madrid.

A nice old clock on the main stand roof at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool. 30 away fans spread across a large all-seater stand behind the goals at Boundary Park, Oldham. A long walk up a steep hill to reach Bower Fold, Stalybridge. One row of seating at Brookburn Road, Chorlton. A caravan on top of the main stand roof at Butterworth Park, Rochdale.

Friendly locals at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Views of rowers on the Thames at Craven Cottage, Fulham. A public gym under the stand for the fatties at Deepdale, Preston. A wire cage on the front of the away end at El Madrigal, Villarreal. Hostile locals at Elland Road, Leeds. Scenic mountain top views at Estadio Olimpico, Barcelona. Two stands running down one side of the pitch at Ewen Fields, Hyde.

7,000 loud away fans at Ewood Park, Blackburn. Condemned terracing at Gigg Lane, Bury. A bloke selling old mobile phones at Goodison Park, Liverpool. Rain, rain and more rain at Harrison Park, Leek. Away fans on all four sides of the ground at Hillsborough, Sheffield. Open terracing at both ends at Hilton Park, Leigh. Slack jawed locals enjoying their new build at Huish Park, Yeovil.

Astroturf and nice coffee at Lambeth Grove, Stockport. Beautiful symmetry at the Lia Manoliu, Bucharest. Soldiers with guns and big hats at the Luzhniki, Moscow. Four stands built in four different decades and Victorian bogs at Maine Road, Manchester.

Flat pack stands and a nice club house at Millbank Linnets Stadium, Runcorn. City centre convenience at Molineux, Wolverhampton. Difficulty parking at Moss Lane, Altrincham. Flooded toilets at New Wembley. Open air vastness at the Nou Camp, Barcelona. Bird shit every where at Nou Castalia, Castellon.

Riot police and dogs at Oakwell, Barnsley. A home from home at Old Trafford, Manchester. Retail park blandness at Pride Park, Derby. Peppered steaks on the burger vans at the San Siro, Milan. A ground that backs on to another ground at today’s visitors’ home of School Road, Blackpool. Icy Irish Sea winds at Seaview, Belfast. Scenic views of the castle and Pendle Hill at Shawbridge, Clitheroe.

A muddy pitch at Silver Street, Irlam. A hill in the corner at Spotland, Rochdale. Panoramic cityscape views from the car park at St Andrews, Birmingham. Endless staircases at St James’ Park, Newcastle. Nothing to write home about at St Mary’s, Southampton.

Cans of lager by the dug outs at Stainton Park, Radcliffe. A hotel built into the back of the stand at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea. A nice long terrace at Tameside Stadium, Ashton. Chilly open corners at The Britannia, Stoke. Efficient bar service at The Etihad, Manchester. Steep stone steps leading down from the main road to reach The Crown Ground, Accrington.

Straddling the Welsh border at The Deva Stadium, Chester. Northern Soul and nice pies at The DW, Wigan. A narrow walkway behind the stand at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich. Open stands and a running track at The International Stadium, Gateshead. A pitch invasion at The KC Stadium, Hull. Seven hours on a bus to reach The Liberty Stadium, Swansea. Superb acoustics at The Milenium Stadium, Cardiff.

Fields as far as the eye can see at The Reebok, Bolton. Short-sleeved locals in winter at The Riverside, Middlesbrough. Beers in the bowling alley by the side of The Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Manchester prices in a London borough at The Valley, Charlton. The cow shed at The Willows, Salford.

Open terracing and a waterlogged pitch at Turf Moor, Burnley. Wannabe hooligans at Upton Park, London.

Shallow single tiers at Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent. A crumbling fifties relic of a main stand at Valerie Park, Prescot. Elevated views from the clubhouse balcony at Valley Road, Flixton. Green crush barriers at Victoria Stadium, Northwich. Beautiful brickwork at Villa Park, Birmingham. A car factory next door at the Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg. Scruffy wooden seats at old Wembley. Compact stands and a lovely pitch at White Hart Lane, Tottenham.

And relax. Here’s to the next 75.