RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO –Derby County aka The Rams
DATE – Sunday 16th January 2005
KO TIME – 12.00pm (moved for Sky Sports transmission)
January 16th takes the Lads back to Pride Park for the first time since Mart Poom scored THAT goal on a rainy September day in 2003, sparking his nickname “The Poominator”.
THE GROUND – Pride Park Stadium, Derby – click here and here for maps of the area – the arrow in the middle points to where the ground is.
Pride Park Stadium is west of Derby city centre, close to the main A52 Nottingham-Derby road.
Visiting supporters are accommodated in the Cawarden south stand (upper and lower). A maximum of 4,000 away supporters can be accommodated here, depending upon demand.
Tickets are now on general sale from the SAFC Ticket Office (tel 0191 551-5151) £25 adults/£13 OAPs/£13 juniors.
GOING BY CAR?
Pretty easy really! By far the most straightforward – and probably fastest – way from Sunderland is to get on the A1; just after you pass junction 45 (for the A64 Leeds/York road) you’ll see signs for the M1 – so take the M1 south. You join the M1 at jcn 48 and you need to stay on it until you reach jcn 25. On the exit slip road turn right onto the A52 towards Derby. After that, just keep going until you see the signs for Pride Park – easy.
Parking in the area around the stadium is extremely limited, you’ll probably be as well off parking in one of the multi-storeys in Derby town centre.
GOING BY TRAIN?
The 10.16am Virgin Trains service from Newcastle gets you to Derby just before 1pm, or the 11.16am Virgin Trains service will get you there just before 2pm.
To get from the station to the ground, come out of the station and turn right onto Railway Terrace, go through the walkway under the railway line and turn right onto Pride Park Way – the stadium is a little way further along on the right.
Coming back, the 5.42pm Virgin Trains service leaves Derby at 5.42pm and arrives in Newcastle at 8.35pm, or the 6.15pm service gets you into Newcastle at 8.49pm.
STOPPING OVER?
Express by Holiday Inn, Pride Park, tel 01332 388000
Travelodge Derby, Kingsway Retail Park, Derby, tel 0870 1911572
Premier Lodge, Sinfin Lane, Derby, tel 0870 9906306
Travel Inn, Wyvern Business Park, Derby, tel 0870 2383313
The Grange Hotel, Normanton, Derby, tel 01332 766338
SCRAN AND BOOZE
A bit like at Stoke City, there isn’t too much around immediately outside the stadium to take the edge off your hunger or quench your thirst – there are bars inside the stadium but be warned: they stop serving drinks 15 minutes before kickoff.
Many away fans drink at “The Navigation” pub just next to the away parking facilities at Wilmorton College. Just follow the directions to away parking signs. There are also some pubs close to the rail station – The Merry Widows, The Brunswick and The Alexandra.
Failing that if it’s just food or a soft drink you’re after, you could put your hopes in the hands of a motorway service station before you turn off the M1 – either Trowell services just north of jcn 25 on the M1, or the Tibshelf service area between jcns 28 and 29. Tibshelf is relatively new, very clean and well-organised, and has several options for nosh – Wimpy, Costa Coffee, the usual standard motorway services café and a ‘sells-everything’ shop with sarnies, pasties, crisps, sweets, pop etc, and cash machines.
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
Handily, there’s a cash machine actually at Pride Park, belonging to the Derbyshire Building Society.
LAST SEASON
Finished 20th out of 24.
THIS SEASON
8th out of 24 (@5.1.05)
P28 W12 D6 L10 F39 A33 Pts 42 GD 4
LAST MEETINGS
02/10/04 Lads 0, Derby 0
27/03/04 Lads 2, Derby 1 (Oster 31, Smith 50)
20/09/03 Derby 1, Lads 1 (Poom 90)
11/05/02 Lads 1, Derby 1 (Phillips 17)
09/02/02 Derby 0, Lads 1 (Quinn 80)
03/02/01 Derby 1, Lads 0
16/09/00 Lads 2, Derby 1 (Kilbane 40, Phillips 74)
26/02/00 Lads 1, Derby 1 (Rae 62)
18/09/99 Derby 0, Lads 5 (McCann 24, Phillips 42, 52, 85, Quinn 55)
TRIVIA
– Our own Raich Carter – skipper of the Sunderland FA Cup winning side in 1937 – signed for Derby County in December 1945. He helped them to win the FA Cup too, becoming the only player to have won a Cup winner’s medal either side of the War. Carter also played first-class cricket for Derbyshire before being sold to Hull.
– Like Sunderland, Derby County is another club linked to the footballing legend the late Brian Clough – he managed them from June 1967 until October 1973. During his tenure, the Rams won the Watney and Texaco cups, were crowned Division One champions and reached the semi-final of the European Cup.
– The current manager is George Burley – a former Sunderland player from 1985 to 1988.
– In 1984 newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell stepped in to save the club from bankruptcy but rarely attended matches, prompting the supporters’ chant “He’s fat, he’s round, he’s never at the ground…”.
Credits: Derby County FC official website, therams.co.uk, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, www.streetmap.co.uk, National Rail.
