Our Friends from Poland - Walsall FC

We took some back roads to Walsall, which we later realised took us a lot longer to get there than if we had gone on the main roads. But I prefer small roads to the M6. We found the stadium quite easily and from the way we arrived, it looked sort of abandoned. There was a small Park Inn hotel next to the stadium and we parked in their car park. We walked around the outside of the stadium and found our way by foot to the main entrance and the shop. This was better. There were some signs of life. The stadium has a small retail park next to it with a plenty of parking, though it must be busy on match days. We had a good poke around the shop, taking lots of photos and had a nice chat with the lady working there. She joked about the nervousness the club has about always being in a relegation battle in League One. She hoped it would be better the upcoming season, but wouldn't hold her breath. They have recently had a tumultuous few seasons, with fans disagreeing with the owner and the managers changing frequently. There were some good deals at the shop, selling old tops for around 5 pounds, but we weren't buying. One of George's classmates father is a Walsall supporter (though I had never noticed his shirt) but when I saw the Swallow Logo, it did ring a bell. Of course the boys had noticed it. I like their kit.

We went back out and into the main entrance where we rang a bell and waited for someone to come so that we could ask if we could go into the ground. A young girl came and very kindly offered to take us in for a quick look. She was able to answer a few of our questions about why the club are called the Saddlers, despite the fact that they have a swallow on their logo. We thanked her and made our way back to the car, stopping for a minute to chat with a young player from their development side.

After a little drink and biscuit in the car, we headed off to Wolverhampton (on the small roads again).

Bagged the Baggies

After an enormous breakfast of cereal, fruit, pastries, toast and waffles washed down with juice and tea, we set off for West Bromwich, one of our favorite Premier League teams. We had to go through Birmingham city centre to do this and were only following a rough idea of the roads we were looking for, but we found our way perfectly though the Hawthorns is further along the road than we thought. We pulled into the ground opposite the McDonald's  through some lovely wrought iron gates. There was the Pukka Pie van parked alongside us and the boys perked up, but I reminded them about what we had just eaten. We carried on into the shop and took lots of photos. They were selling off last years kit and they had a long sleeved shirt that just fit George for 5pounds that we couldn't resist. As we paid, we asked the shop assistant his advice and he pointed us towards the reception area and we headed that way.

The person working there was very friendly and offered to call over another employee who could take us through. I believe he was a maintenance worker, and I must admit that he didn't know very much about the club. He was not able to tell us why West Brom are called the "Baggies".  I have now looked into the matter and I have learned that he is not alone in knowing the exact reasons. There are many explanations. He did explain that the Hawthorns stadium was built on the grounds of a meadow of hawthorn trees and the bird on the shield is a "throstle" or thrush that lived in the meadow.

We got some great pictures of the ground and have a lovely chat about America with some of the people hanging around the reception area. The wrought iron fence made a nice backdrop for some more photos. We headed off, excited to visit more clubs. Next stop, Walsall.

The Blues, Birmingham City

Our last visit of the day was to Birmingham City. It is easily accessible from the centre of the city and well-signposted too! We parked on a side street and walked a block or so up a small hill to the ground. St Andrew's is perched on a high place in the city and there must be some nice pictures of the ground you can find on the internet.


We arrived first at the reception area of the ground and went in to ask at the front reception area. Without a hesitation the lady at the desk cheerfully took us up the stairs behind her and into the upper section of the stadium. We took some photos of the pitch and stands and came back down with her. While she went back to work we noticed some of the odd displays that they had in the reception area. This included a statue of Jesus with the Bible and a guest/date/diary book with old dried corsages around it. We saw some of their silverware on display as well as a current team picture. We asked her about the statue of Jesus and she said that they had it out of respect to the local community. (Maybe a St Andrew connection?) I thought there must be more to the story, but I can't find anything about it on google. Any one reading this have any ideas? She very kindly gave us a few old programs that the boys have enjoyed reading.

We left the main stadium and headed over to the shop which is just up the road another minutes walk. Inside was cramped and full of things. We took some good photos and headed to the hotel as we were exhausted after our long day of adventures. So far it had been wonderful, but how could tomorrow top today?

Aston Villa - Be Prepared

We had a quick sandwich at Ricoh Arena and got back in the car and headed into Birmingham to visit Aston Villa. I took the wrong exit off of the M6 but we finally made it after a detour through the outskirts. At least we didn't hit any traffic as I know it can a nightmare. We arrived at Villa Park after a little rainstorm, but the sun was coming out and our spirits lifted as we approached the ground. 

Parking is easy during the week and we happily jumped over a few puddles into the shop. It was the first premier league club we visited on this trip and we weren't too sure how we would be welcomed. We had  not made it onto any of the pitches at premier league sides. We enjoyed taking the photos of the shop and asked the shop assistant who we might speak to. He suggested that we ask the security desk by the entrance. So we wandered over there and had a chat to the man running the desk. He couldn't understand why we weren't living in the US as we could (being US citizens) and explained how he wanted to immigrate there. But we got back onto the subject of football grounds and he called one of his collegues who very kindly showed us into the stadium and next to the pitch for some photos. All in all, we were happily surprised by their generosity. Aston Villa have issues this season with winning, but hopefully they will be able to be "prepared" to get through it in the end.

The boys liked this celebration

Ricoh Arena

We easily found the stadium using the directions from our book and again parked easily at the stadium, which has a casino attached to it. It looks like a convention centre as well, and I know that they host concerts there. Though new, it does lack character, especially as it sits out of the town centre and just off the motorway.

The shop is off to the side next to the ticket office. It is a small shop, but packed with items for sale, and we did enjoy the variety of items, including a car booster seat that we had never seen before and three designs of garden gnomes. The ladies in the shop told us how we might get into the ground and we followed their advice and headed into the main entrance to try our luck. Boy did we get lucky. The very kind man working at the reception desk gave us a tour of the ground that you couldn't have even paid for. We saw everything! We learned about the club, we were given some old programs and all in all we were treated royally. The boys and I were just amazed.

The Elephant is on the Coventry Coat of Arms

It is spotless, partly as the players are stictly forbidden to wear shoes inside the  changing rooms

The nearby Jaguar factory sponsor the seats for the players

A view from the lounge, where you can enjoy matchday hospitality

Some sources state that the elephant is a symbol for strength. Others claim it is a religious symbol for Christ, and is related to dragon-slaying. I doubt we will ever know. Sadly, the real historical meaning appears to have been lost.