... My first trip to Fratton Park, Pompey's home ground, was back in 1992, and I now go to every match that I can get to.
Fratton Park is notorious for being "the worst ground in the Premiership" - but is this opinion justified ? Admittedly, the ground is very old - not a lot has changed from ... Read review
Advantages: Uncomparable atmosphere, whether the team win or lose Disadvantages: Fairly basic facillities and old ground
...known). My first trip to Fratton Park, Pompey's home ground, was back in 1992, and I now go to every match that I can get to.
Fratton Park is notorious for being "the worst ground in the Premiership" - but is this opinion justified ? Admittedly, the ground is very old - not a lot has changed from my first visit apart from the obvious transformation of the terraces where I first stood into an all seater ground. The seats are ... ...their purpose. Fratton Park must be the only club in the country that can have covered stands for it's home fans, whilst the "away end" is not covered and open to all elements of the weather that the South Coast has to offer - rain and wind in the winter, and scorching hot sunshine in the summer months.
The toilets are basic, and often involve quite a hefty queue especially before the match and at half time.
Catering facillities ... more
Having been born in, and living in Portsmouth all my life, when it comes to football there can be only one team for me... Portsmouth (or Pompey as it is commonly known). My first trip to Fratton Park, Pompey's home ground, was back in 1992, and I now go to every match that I can get to.
Fratton Park is notorious for being "the worst ground in the Premiership" - but is this opinion justified ? Admittedly, the ground is very old - not a lot has changed from my first visit apart from the obvious transformation of the terraces where I first stood into an all seater ground. The seats are plastic, with not a lot of leg room, but serve their purpose. Fratton Park must be the only club in the country that can have covered stands for it's home fans, whilst the "away end" is not covered and open to all elements of the weather that the South Coast has to offer - rain and wind in the winter, and scorching hot sunshine in the summer months. The toilets are basic, and often involve quite a hefty queue especially before the match and at half time. Catering facillities too are quite basic, although there is a good selection of food and drink available. Tea and coffee are of the "vending machine" variety, and cost around £1.50. Beer, snacks and hot food are also sold at higher than average prices.
So, from the above information you'd expect that the reputation was deserved... but you'd be wrong. What makes Fratton Park such an amazing ground cannot be assesed by any of the above factors. Both home and away fans (and the television pundits) agree that the atmosphere at Fratton Park is unrivaled in the Premiership. The home fans sing throughout the game, however well (or badly) the team is doing, and the compact design of the ground amplify the acoustics. It really does have to be experienced at the ground to fully appreciate the atmosphere created.
If you are taking young children to the ground, you need to be aware that some of the lyrics of the songs are quite rude, as is some of the inevitable shouting (usually towards the referee).
The ground is very well marshalled, and this makes the arrival and departure process very well co-ordinated.
Ticket prices are around £26 to £30 for adults, with concessions available at around £20. Programmes are also available for £3, with unofficial publications at around half the price.
Travelling to the ground can get very busy on match days. By car, the main road is the A2030 "Eastern Road" towards Milton. Whilst there is a car park at the ground, this is charged at £5, and often gets full quite early on. There is some street parking available, but again this soon gets full and the area can get very congested. I'd recommend travelling to central Portsmouth and using one of the big car parks there - the main one near the Civic Center and Courts charge just £2 for all day parking on a Saturday. If you do decide to come by car, it is a great idea to tune your stereo to 107.4 The Quay - the Official Portsmouth radio station. They provide up to the minute travel information, along with a pre-match build up with banter, competition and statistics that are sure to get you in the mood for the game.
Alternatively, you can get the train to Fratton Station, which is located just 5 minutes walk from the ground. There are extra trains put on for match days, and the station is well policed to ensure that everyone arrives and leaves safely.
I originally wrote and published this review on youstayuk.co.uk in April of the 2005/06 season, when the future of Portsmouth Football Club was uncertain. This was the season when our manager Harry Redknapp left the club for our rivals "down the road", a new French manager was failing to win any games at all, and the players were (understandably) demotivated. As a result, the club was propping up the bottom of the league, facing almost sure relegation. Later in the season, the club sacked the French manager, Harry came back and a new Russian tycoon Alexandre Gaydamak purchased the club, with the promise of investment in new players and a new ground. These changes boosted the club and the players performance, and we had a tremendous end to the season ensuring survival.
Now, six months down the line, Portsmouth Football Club is facing a new lease of life. Having topped the table in the early stages of the new season, the club has welcomed the addition of several new players and the future is looking very bright for the team.
Advantages: Great Atmosphere Disadvantages: Very Old
Fratton Park is the home of the legendary Portsmouth Football Club, Pride of the South. Ok, I know I should leave the mind-bending drugs alone but I like it in this little world on my own! : O)
Anyway here’s all you need to know about it. (The ground that is, not the mind bending drugs)
Fratton Park is not what you would call a new stadium. Some might call it old and decrepit, I prefer to call it a classic ground from yesteryear!! It has ... ...nearest local train station is Fratton and this is about a 5-minute walk away from the ground. The food is what you’d expect at a football ground. Loads of burger vans outside and plenty of places inside the ground to get food and drink, although they do quite often run out of hot food towards the end of half time so be quick. Also the quality of the food inside the ground leaves a lot to be desired so it’s best to buy something from ...
TallPaul73 06.09.2001
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Advantages: BRILLIANT ATMOSPHERE! BRILLIANT TEAM! Disadvantages: Some cramped seats.
FRATTON PARK!
I'm going to start with some history of portsmouth football club, founded in 1898.
Location: South Coast. Rivals with: Southampton (Scummers)
Nicknamed: Pompey
Trophies: FA CUP winners 1939 (Held for longest time in history due to World War 2), Charity Shield 1949, First Division 2003 and one of only 4 clubs to have won back to back titles after the 2nd world war.
Interesting stories: -In 1996 portsmouth football club was bought ... ...Hislop.
Now on to Fratton Park:
Fratton Park has a capacity of 20,220, which is quite small, but helps towards building a great club atmosphere. As the stadium has been home to our football club throughout its history, naturally it has become old-fashioned and worn out. I remember last season how poor our turf on the pitch was, even after having it re-laid, it still looked abysmal. But now the pitch is looking in great form, with a professionally ...
powellandrew 15.10.2006
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Access by public transp...
Parking facilities
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Quick review of Fratton Park
Smallish cramped ground. View not always good. Some facilities need updating BUT.....
A truly awesome atmosphere generated by some of the most passionate fans on earth. The Fratton End can preduce a truly frightening wall of sound and they just don't stop singing.
The home crowd must be worth at least 15 points a season.
If you want to remember what watching football was like before the moneymen and marketting executives took it over - pay this ground a visit. ...
properfan 21.09.2007 (20.09.2007)
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Advantages: Easy to get in, most people want OUT Disadvantages: Smelly, dirty, scummy
...wide launching. The park of Fratton has completely good bonds of transport to the club, because there is a station of train a few minutes far, which binds all the way towards London! If you look at to buy tickets for a play of Pompey, you can be feeling frustrated to really have to descend all the manner in Portsmouth, at the office of reservation, where you must upwards make the tail during hours over hours. With the investments of Gayman we could ... ...Campbell [see my other review!], David James, Niko Kranjcar, Manuel Fernandes, Benjani and Mendes. What amuse to observe. With my second visit with the park of Fratton, I noted that we had bought a new large screen! This shows the goals if you could not see them and time. It is a useful development, as the last time I went, I wanted to know time and would have preferred to see the clearer goal. The atmosphere at the stage is large, with the noisiest ...
tom099 14.04.2007
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", said teacher.
Johnny puts his hand up.
Please sir, if I had an extra eye I would have it on the end of my willy"
"Why ever would you do that?" asked the somewhat shocked and stunned teacher.
"Because there a is small round hole in the fence at FrattonPark (you may
insert the football team homeground of your choice here) and with my third eye
I could get to watch matches for FREE!"
Joke 3
A man gets home from work to find his wife in bed with another man.
>
> Boiling with rage the husband grabs the other guy, bundles him (naked)
down stairs out into the garden and into the shed.
>
> He grabs the now screaming man by the todger and clamps him in the bench
vice and removes the tommy bar.
>
> The husband reaches over to the shelf and grabs a saw.
>
> "You're not going to saw it off are you?" screams the naked man ...
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