DATE VISITED THIS GROUND
2/10/2002 - Darlington 0 Lincoln City 0
I only visited Feethams, which was more than enough
for me. To be fair to the ground though, I was terribly ill that weekend and it was raining in winter so if I hadn't been
ill then I probably would have enjoyed this ground more, probably being the main word.
I can't recall having to walk such a long distance
to get from the place where the coach parked to get to the ground. This was just a total farce. We got dropped off just outside
a supermarket (Spar???) and were told to walk down a path that would apparantly lead to the away end. After about 5 minutes,
we came to a tall brick wall with some doors in it so we prosumed these were the turnstiles, we were half right, this is where
we brought the ticket but then, after another 2 of 3 minutes walking, we had to hand our tickets into another set of turnstiles
and after a total of nearly 10 minutes walk, we were finally at the ground.
We were in a stand that had been there for a very
long time. It was in two sections, one of small terracing that ran the length of the pitch and a seated area that took up
around 2/3 of the space above. Looking back on it, I wish I had gone in the seated area as the view from the away end wasn't
brilliant. The stand opposite was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen and not just in football. It was a stand of similar
size to the CO-OP stand at Sincil Bank but divided into black and white stripes with DARLINGTON written in alternating colours
depending on what colour block it was on. The stand to the right was a large terraced area which was quite empty and very
ordinary so there wasn't really much to critcise or praise. The final stand, to the away fans left, was the most popular stand
at the ground and was a medium sized terrace holding around 1,500 fans but yet again, this wasn't exactly eye catching, so
it suited the ground right down a tea. I'm glad I don't have to go back here again as quite frankly, the colour scheme of
the main stand was giving me a really big headache.
As for the atmosphere, It was like being in a church,
an empty church, an empty church in the middle of a field, an empty church in the middle of a field on a desserted desert
island. During my visit, the Darlo fans didn't sing a single song and how all these north-eastern teams have a great reputation
for atmosphere is a complete mystery.
Overall, I am deliriously happy I never have to go to Feethams again and
even if I hadn't been ill, this ground would probably still have seemed just as shit.
