PETERBOROUGH UNITED 22.01.11

HOW TO GET THERE

CAR
From North/West; Drive into the town centre, follow signs for Whittlesey (A605) which will lead you to the London Road. The new stand is quite visible from some distance away.

From South; Leave the A1 at the junction with the A15. Take the A15 towards Peterborough, you will eventually come to the ground on your right.

PARKING
There is large gravel car-park at the ground that you can use for around £5. There are also a couple of others in the general areas for around the same cost. The town centre is a short walk with the usual parking facilities on offer.

TRAIN
Peterborough has a busy station with plenty of links to other destinations. It is a 15 minute walk to the ground. Turn right as you leave the station and then right again at the traffic lights. You will soon see the floodlights.

PUBS/FOOD
The area around Peterborough’s ground is a great destination for real ale/beer lovers. The town centre has plenty of the usual drinking venues, offering poor quality food and drink at cheap to extortionate prices. The pick of the ones closer to the ground are;

The Peacock- Right opposite the ground, this pub is handily placed for those who have a taste for KFC (grim). The pub attracts a mix of home and away fans and can get quite busy. The days of this being a problem pub are long gone and fans can expect a comfortable atmosphere and a bit of friendly banter with the Posh fans. The SEP will be heading to this pub.

The Cherry Tree- I am led to believe that this was a gay pub quite a few years ago, but now has more of a traditional feel to it. However, if you are a little nervous of your sexuality then just send your mate in first to check it out. This pub has a good range of ales and also hosts the Peterborough United FC Trust meetings. There is normally a good number of away fans drinking in here and visitors are welcomed.

Charters- A great looking barge moored on the River Nene near to the ground. Upstairs is a Chinese Restaurant whilst downstairs is a bar area. This pub has a fantastic reputation nationally and wins many awards including highly regarded ones from CAMRA. They have around 12 ale’s on offer and these change on a regular basis. There is an outside seating area, which may not appeal in January, but does offer a great environment for smoking. Do not use this pub if you suffer from seasickness!

LONDON ROAD- Capacity 15,040 (8,115 seats)
London Road is a real football ground with covered terraces behind the goals and a great atmosphere. Plans are afoot to modernise the great starting with the away stand, which will become another soulless all-seated stand, with sterile facilities to boot.

Away fans are housed in the Moy’s Terrace behind the goal, which can house up to 3,475 supporters. I expect there to be plenty of space and them to only open one side of the stand as usual. This large terrace has a roof that simply amplifies every noise that is made within its confines. With that in mind be careful what you talk about (last night’s bird, your visit to the clinic, the bloke you met in the Cherry Pub etc) or it may well be loud enough for the home fans in the opposite end to listen in on.

To the right is the main stand, which is a traditional style structure, with a seated paddock at the front. The stand is quite large and houses 3,684 supporters including an allocation of 763 that is given to away fans. Some of the clubs posh fans are housed in here.

The opposite goal is the London Road End, which is a covered terrace for 2,667 home fans. This is where most of the noise comes from and can be quite vibrant when the team are doing well. This stand houses some of the clubs posh fans.

To the left is the Norwich & Peterborough Family Stand. Not sure whether both clubs share this and it is transferred between grounds for each clubs home games. I would imagine it would make sense though, and if this is the case see if you can spot a ball with a Micky Nelson clearance written all over it. The stand is 2-tiered and fairly smart. The clubs posh fans are housed in here along with the ‘posher’ ones who sit in the executive boxes that run along the middle of the stand.

SAFETY
Posh fans are normally a good bunch and you should have no problems in any of the pubs near to the ground.

SOUTH EAST POOLIES
A few of us will be heading for the Peacock pub at around 1pm. Feel free to pop over for a chat.

PRICE