Visiting Chelsea's stadium

This is part 1 of my exciting "West London adventure"

Oh look, it's that club. The one with the supporters who only know one chant, and it's the extremely irritating one which gets on your nerves after a few seconds. 

It's Chelsea. Admittedly one of the most successful football clubs this century, even if most of it was down to a scummy Russian oligarch. And yes, I'm only being this snide because I'm biased. But if I was going to visit all the West London stadiums, I had to go to Chelsea's home ground, Stamford Bridge. Begrudgingly, yes, but moving on. 

 

(Worth noting - Stamford Bridge isn't a reference to the Battle of Stamford Bridge that happened in 1066, though in fairness it would be a weird influence. That battle happened way up in the north, anyways. It's also not a reference to the recently blogged about Stamford Brook. In reality, it's a reference to the Old English word "Samfordesbrigge" which means "the bridge at the sandy ford".) 

Centred in the incredibly posh neighbourhood of Fulham, Stamford Bridge opened in 1877, initially as a home for the London Athletic Club. It existed like this until 1904, when the club moved out, hosting the World Shinty Championship in 1898 in that time. In 1904, two brothers - Gus and Joseph Mears - bought the lease to the ground with the hope of having football played here. They first asked Fulham FC, who played not too far away at Craven Cottage near Putney, who said no. The Mears brothers soon realised they could put matters in their own hands, and formed a football club of their own - Chelsea FC - in 1905. The club didn't do much for nearly 100 years, until money came into the picture, and Chelsea started being good.

 

Unlike Loftus Road or the Brentford Community Stadium, odds are you won't be alone if you randomly turn up at Stamford Bridge. This is probably due to Chelsea's size; they are internationally recognised in a way QPR aren't. This is also how I ended up taking some photos of fans outside the stadium, because they asked me to. 

Chelsea proudly display all the trophies they've won by doping on the stadium's front by the Stamford Gate, and they have enough to span four banners worth. It's a nice looking stadium, too, especially when basking in the hazy glow of an impending sunset. This side is the Shed End, probably the most famous Chelsea stand - it's the only one I could name without looking them up. Expect the most die-hard fans to be here. Whether they're intimidating to the opposition is another question entirely.

 

The other three stands aren't as notable, and require you to go round the back, where the stadium is unsurprisingly not as flattering. Sure, you have the Shed Wall which displays their 20 year long history, but otherwise it's roads and car parks. Whilst the East and West Stands have deeply unimaginative names, the other one are somewhat interestingly named. It's the Matthew Harding Stand, named for former Chelsea director Matthew Harding, who tragically died in a helicopter accident in 1996.

Final consensus on the stadium: it's actually kinda nice; worth visiting if you're in the local area.