RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – Walsall
DATE – Tuesday 2nd March
KO TIME – 7.45pm
THE GROUND – the Bescot Stadium, Walsall – click here and here for maps of the area – the circle near the middle shows where the ground is.
Walsall is in the west midlands, about ten miles north west of Birmingham, close to the M5/M6 interchange – infact the Bescot Stadium itself is literally only a matter of metres to the M6 itself..
Away teams’ supporters are allocated 1914 seats in the William Sharp stand (behind one goal), plus additional seats in the Banks’ Stand if demand is there.
Tickets are now on general sale, subject to availablilty – £16 adults, £12 juniors/OAPs.
GOING BY CAR?
Travelling from the north east, get yourself onto the A1/A1M southbound; just after you pass junction 45 (for the A64 Leeds/York road) you’ll see signs for the M1 – so take the M1 southbound.
You join the M1 at jcn 48 and you need to stay on it until you reach jcn 23A. Then leave the M1 for the A42 (signposted Tamworth and Birmingham) – after 14 miles this becomes the M42. Stay on the M42 until jcn 8 then join the M6.
Stay on the M6 until jcn 9.
At the top of the slip road take the third exit onto the A461 Bescot Road then shortly afterwards bear right onto the A4148 Wallows Lane. Just after the road goes over the railway lines, turn right onto Bescot Crescent, follow the road along and you’ll see the stadium on the left.
There’s matchday parking across the road from the ground for £2, which RTG regular Gray The Saddler tells us is much quicker than using the stadium parking. At the ground itself there’s an area specifically for away supporter parking which is good for getting away quickly but the downside is that it also fills up quickly. Gray continues, “there’s plenty of space to park in the car parks of the shops next to the stadium but they dont really like matchday parking there so there are random checks – so if you are feeling lucky you could get away with that.”
GOING BY TRAIN?
The 12.48 TransPennine Express from Sunderland gets you to York at 2.30, then change for the 2.42pm Virgin service to Birmingham New Street which gets you there just after 5pm. Then the 5.42pm Central Trains service out of New Street gets you to the Bescot Stadium station just after 6pm.
Or take a train/metro to Newcastle then the 2.21pm Virgin Trains service out of Newcastle gets you into Birmingham New Street just before 6pm, then change for the 6.12pm Central Trains service which gets you to the Bescot Stadium station just after 6.30pm.
HOWEVER: as with the Birmingham FAC replay match, you can’t get back to the North East from the West Midlands on the same night if you leave after the match – the last train from New Street back to Newcastle leaves at 9.03pm, so if you need to get home the same night, you have to drive, cadge a lift from someone or take the ALS bus.
(For London-based Mackems, there are trains out of Birmingham heading to London, leaving New Street at 9.57pm and 10.45pm.
For train times for that day, check the National Rail website.
ALTERNATIVELY…..
Take the ALS coach and tell them we told you to.
STOPPING OVER?
Travelodge Birmingham M6 southbound – tel 0870 191 1566 (from £30prpn)
Travel Inn Walsall – tel 08701 977 258 (£45 prpn)
Bescot Hotel, Bescot Road – tel 01922 622447
Royal Hotel, Ablewell Street – tel 01922 624555
SCRAN AND BOOZE
The King George V on Wallows Lane is safe for visiting supporters, only a few minutes’ walk away from the stadium, opposite the Morrisons’ supermarket we advised you not to park in.
Infact most pubs in the area are safe, ‘Gray the Saddler’ tells us that Walsall supporters are basically a friendly lot!
There are some good pubs around Walsall town centre, within walking distance of Walsall station (as opposed to Bescot station) and Highgate Dark Mild from Walsall’s own Highgate brewery apparently comes recommended – try the Hamemaker’s Arms on Blue Lane West, the Tap & Spile on John Street or The Victoria on Lower Rushall Street. The Lyndon House Hotel has dress restrictions that probably don’t marry happily with match-goers’ regular attire so may be best avoided.
There are plenty chippies and take-aways around, and the usual array of burger vans around the ground – and we’re told that Walsall do a great chicken balti pie.
Please note that alcohol is NOT available inside the Bescot Stadium
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
Nee probs – there’s an ATM actually at the Bescot Stadium, and ATMs by Abbey, Barclays and Lloyds TSB at the nearby Morrisons Supermarket.
IN THE NEWS
The Saddlers have just appointed “our” Paul Bracewell as their first team coach.
Saddlers’ star player Paul Merson has gone abroad to “undertake a rehabilitation programme further to his long-standing and well-publicised addictive problems”
They’ve got Hearts striker Gary Wales on loan until the end of the season.
THIS SEASON
Currently 17th of 24:
P31 W9 D10 L12 F35 A42 Pts 37 GD -7
HOME FORM
P15 W6 D6 L3 F22 A19 Pts 24 GD 3
HEAD TO HEAD
We’ve played Walsall 9 times in the league: they’ve won 3, we drew two, and Sunderland have won four.
LAST 6 MEETINGS (all comps)
18/10/03 Sunderland 1 Walsall 0 (Stewart 42)
21/09/99 Walsall 0 Sunderland 5 (Dichio 10, 72, Roy 21, Fredgaard 60,76) (League Cup)
14/09/99 Sunderland 3 Walsall 2 (Dichio 17, Barras 46og, Williams 77) (League Cup)
11/02/89 Sunderland 0 Walsall 3 (old Div II)
08/10/88 Walsall 2 Sunderland 0 (old Div II)
06/02/88 Sunderland 1 Walsall 1 (old Div III)
Credits: Walsall FC, Gray the (Lost) Saddler, HairFlick (again!), Link, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, Yellow Pages, The AA, BBC, London Clarets, National Rail.
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