Carling Cup at Shrewsbury
After Ironbridge I headed towards Shrewsbury and after a glass of rose wine in the Mytton and Mermaid Hotel at Atcham, I arrived in the town about six forty-five. I should say that the hotel looked magnificent, but at the time I was there, they didn’t have any snacks at all, as they close the kitchens from about four until six-thirty. They didn’t have any decent cider either! Only Strongbow and Magners! I thought that you got good cider in that part of the country.
Do these people want business?
I mean everybody was pleasant and welcoming, but us coeliacs are a prickly lot and we need to graze consistently. That reminds me, I need some more cake. Gluten-free ginger slices from Waitrose.
Now I had made one mistake in that I’d assumed that Shrewsbury still played at the wonderfully named Gay Meadow, which used to be by the River Severn. Legend has it that there was a man in a coracle ready to retrieve any balls that went that way. Will certain US web sites translate the word Gay in this post to something else, just like they do for the American sprinter, Tyson Gay?
As I approached the town centre, there was a reassuring sign with a P and a football on it. After half a mile, I found another sign pointing the way I’d come with P and “Gay Meadow” on it. As there was no sign of any football supporters, I even checked my match ticket to make sure, I’d got the right day. In the end because I needed fuel for the Lotus, I broke a habit of several years and went into Asda to get some. (I always buy products if I can from British companies first, when I have a choice and it doesn’t cost me more!)
Even the guy there was unsure, but eventually I found myself in an area with signs saying “No Football Parking” and people in recognisable Ipswich shirts walking along the road. The area bore no relation to the first sign I’d seen, so I guess it must be some dark plot to get people lost in Shrewsbury. What fate would have awaited me?
Shrewsbury Town's ProStar Stadium
This shows the new ground, the ProStar Stadium, as you approach it over the railway. I then followed others over a fence and down an embankment to cut the corner off getting to the ground. Why don’t architects work out how people will walk and cycle into a site and then create entrances accordingly? In this case, they could have put steps down to make it safer. But then people might fall down the steps in a large crowd and the club would get sued!
Inside the Ground
This shows the inside of the ground, which at present has a capacity of just under 10,000, with everybody in seats. It is typical of some of the modern grounds that we are starting to see in English football. It would also appear that when clubs make this investment wisely, they seem to move up a division. Look at Doncaster and Blackpool for a start. Perhaps, it’s just that you get more bums on seats and a better cashflow, which means better players. And also if I was a footballer, I’d prefer to play in a modern stadium with good facilities and a good pitch.
Shrewsbury's Mascot
Ipswich had brought a sizable crowd and the picture shows the mascot throwing sweets to them. I actually got one, but was it gluten-free? I didn’t chance the glucose in it and gave it away.
Ipswich always have a large support away and I suspect this is because it has a very large diaspora. You always meet locals at away matches, who used to go to Portman Road, when they lived in Suffolk and still follow Town at a distance. Perhaps the funniest thing was when I was in Moscow, I met a genuine Scouser, who had always supported Town. He’d obviously grown up in the 1970s and 80s and did it just to be difficult!
The match was entertaining and at full time and after extra time it was three-all. But then Ipswich won easily on penalties. I’m not sure how the Shrewsbury fans liked being taunted with the chant, “You’re just a small town in Wales!”
After the Shoot-Out
Phew!
The Anonymous Widower 
[…] but I left immediately Coventry equalised, so didn’t actually see the win. I was also at Shrewsbury, when they won in the Carling Cup, but that was on penalties. #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } […]
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