Another afternoon at The Bridge
We went to Stamford Bridge yesterday to watch Chelsea Women play Arsenal.
Chelsea lost 2-0, which was disappointing, but the official attendance was 30,000 including 3,000 away fans who were in good voice throughout. At one point my wife turned to me and said, “Have Arsenal brought a choir?”, which wasn’t as silly as it sounds because singing and chanting are less common at women’s matches and when singing does occur it’s several octaves higher and more tuneful than at men’s matches. So, yes, at times it did sound like a well rehearsed choir.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s a nicer atmosphere at women’s matches, which I hope continues, and I would recommend the game to anyone who enjoys football without the latent aggression and foul language that rains down from every stand during a men’s match.
Although the majority of Arsenal fans were in one stand, there didn’t appear to be the same seating restrictions you get in the men’s game, so there were plenty of red and white scarves even in our section of the ground. We were in Westview, above the halfway line in the West Stand, where tickets cost £50 each. Although this was double what they cost in May, the same seats for a men’s match could cost £350, so they are good value and cheaper seats were available in other parts of the ground.
Interestingly, along with other Women’s Super League (WSL) clubs, Chelsea are trialling the return of alcohol to the stands and hospitality areas. Alcohol was banned in football stadiums many years ago so it’s amusing to see it return in a family-friendly environment where there are significantly more children than at most top tier men’s matches. Or perhaps that’s the point.
In fact, so keen were Chelsea to promote the trial that my wife and I were each given vouchers for a complimentary drink, albeit they included the option of a soft drink. In the event I saw only a handful of people with a beer or other alcoholic refreshment in hand, but perhaps the early kick-off (12:30) was a deterrent.
Talking of which, we only just made the kick-off because our train to Kings Cross was diverted due to weekend maintenance work between Stevenage and Finsbury Park. Then, when we arrived at Kings Cross, we discovered the Underground line between Edgware Road and High Street Kensington was closed so there were long queues of people trying to get on to the Victoria and Piccadilly lines and there was little sign of movement.
With the clock ticking we decided to get a taxi to Stamford Bridge, or as close as we could get because on match days the police close the nearby streets to traffic. It cost £50 but it got us to the ground with five minutes to spare, and our driver was a hoot. A West Ham fan and former docker who now watches Dagenham and Redbridge, he kept us entertained with stories about Graeme Souness, Harry Rednapp, and the late Trevor Francis.
Whether it was true or not, I loved hearing him say, “I had Graeme Souness in the back of my cab once.” He also claimed to have met Souness on a previous occasion in Italy when West Ham played Sampdoria. (Souness played for Sampdoria in the mid to late Eighties.) After being reminded of this, the former Liverpool and Scotland captain apparently played along and said, yes, he remembered it well.
Anyway, I think I surprised our driver with my knowledge (such as it is) of London football clubs until he caught me out with a sneaky reference to a former West Ham and England goalkeeper who he insisted on calling ‘PP’ without revealing the player’s name. “PP, remember him?”. I didn’t, so eventually he enlightened me. “PP, Phil Parkes!” Duh.
Anyway, he dropped us a quarter of a mile from the ground, where the road blocks began, and bid us a cheerful adieu. Given the subsequent result and the long journey home on a succession of over-crowded trains, that taxi ride was arguably the most enjoyable part of the day.
Stamford Bridge from my seat in Westview 4, Row 5
