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Portman Road: Home of Ipswich Town Football Club

Elland Road, home of Leeds United.

RELEGATED from the Premiership in 2004-05, former FA Cup winners and finalists and a club who have played in European competition, Southampton are a club steeped in tradition and the Saints have had some great players over the years - Kevin Keegan, Peter Shilton, Alan Shearer and Matthew Le Tissier to name but a few...

Address:

Portman Road

Leeds

LS11 0ES

Telephone:

0113 - 3676000

Ground Capacity:

40,204 (all-seated)

Official Website:

www.lufc.co.uk

Unofficial Websites:

How to get there:

By Car:
From The North:
FOLLOW the A58 or A61 into Leeds city centre, then follow signs for the M621. Join the M621 and after one and a half miles leave the motorway at the junction with the A643. Follow the A643 into Elland Road for the ground. Go down Elland Road past the ground on your right and the Old Peacock pub on your left, you will come to a couple of entrances to a couple of very large car parks (£3).

From The South:
FOLLOW the Motorway M1 and then onto the M621. You will pass the ground on your left and then you need to take the next exit from the motorway and turn left onto the A6110 ring road. Take the next left onto Elland Road for the ground. Just as you go under a railway bridge there are entrances on either side to a couple of very large car parks (£3).

By Rail:
LEEDS train station is around a 35-minute walk from the station. Probably best to either take a taxi or one of the shuttle buses, that run from just outside the station to the ground. The shuttle buses start running two hours before kick-off and are probably a better idea than the long walk. If you do decide to take the long walk, then you'll need these directions: -

It is best to leave the station from the rear exit, from where you can walk down the short hill out of the car park and follow the road around to the left. At the traffic lights, go ahead (the road bears slightly left) and follow Whitehall Road for just shy of half-a-mile, passing under a railway bridge and then forking left down Springwell Street, to cut off a corner. At the end of Springwell Street, you come to a roundabout exit road with a zebra crossing in front of you. Cross at the zebra crossing, taking the next exit road clockwise around the roundabout. This is the A58 Domestic Road. This road becomes Domestic Street after about 400-yards (Domestic Road turning right and heading up to an overpass) and continues slightly uphill for about another 400-yards, passing under another railway bridge. There is a zebra crossing up here, which you should use to walk up the right-hand pavement. Upon reaching the top of the hill, you come to a garage, and some small shops, where you should turn right onto Shafton Lane. At the end of Shafton Lane, turn left onto Ingram Road and follow this until you see a pedestrian bridge ahead, as the road bears left, becoming Tilbury Road. By now, you should have seen the football ground over to your right. Cross the M621 via the footbridge, turning right at the bottom, and head down Elland Road towards the stadium.

By Bus:
THERE is a shuttle bus in operation taking fans from the station to the ground. This operates from the Blechynden Terrace bus stop outside the station.

Parking:
IF you're driving, there are plenty of big car parks near the ground (£3) plus some industrial estate slots if coming from the M62 - but be prepared to queue to get out. On the streets, take pot luck.

Other than the football...:

If anyone's looking for culture, there's the Royal Armories Museum or the Yorkshire Sculpture Park a couple of junctions down the M1, while in the city centre, Leeds Art Gallery on the Headrow is very good.

If you're looking for a pre-match beer, the ground is not that well served, unfortunately. There's a pub on Elland Road called the 'Peacock' that gets absolutely rammed and I'm not sure they'd let in too many away fans.

Up the hill and to the right is another pub (the 'White Hart') which is again very busy and the owners might not want too many away colours in there. Neither of these are rough, but they can get boisterous.

Back towards the Dewsbury Road (the A653 off the M62, J28 - another way in that's not signposted from the South) is another favourite haunt called the 'Dry Salters' - but this I can't vouch for. In town, though, once stepping off the train, you'll be spoilt for choice. Just use your common sense though as some pubs in the South of the city centre (bottom of the hill, generally) are traditionally less friendly. The best real ale is in a little place called 'Whitelocks' or 'The Ship' - both up alleys off the main shopping drag called Briggate (one of the alleys is next to M&S).

If you want to get some food prior to the match, then you're spoilt for choice! Yorkshire prides itself on fish and chips and you can fill your boots in Leeds. They do like their dripping, too, so ask for scraps if your arteries are up to it. There's a very popular one just across form the away end called 'United Fisheries'. Two long queues, that will move faster than you think - and a good greasy spoon next door called the 'Cracked Egg'. That's usually full, too, but there's always the Sub sandwich shop between those two and the 'Peacock'. There are various burger bars on the street, but you use these at your own risk! There is also a McDonald's outlet across the road from the East Stand. Pies and confectionery are served inside the ground.

Programmes are on sale outside the ground only.

You can search and book hotels located right near to Ipswich Town's Portman Road stadium by clicking HERE.

A Hatter and a Saint - Kerry Dixon

Kerry Dixon.

Luton-born Kerry Dixon was firstly a Tottenham apprentice, but got a first taste of League football for his next club Reading. Joining the Elm Park outfit for £20,000, he scored 51 league goals in 116 appearances before a £175,000 move to Chelsea in August 1983. He went on to be a prolific marksman at Stamford Bridge scoring 147 goals in 335 appearances and earning international honours with England along the way.

He left Chelsea in 1992 after losing his first-team place and he signed for their Premiership rivals Southampton for £575,000. However, after only 9 League appearances and 2 goals at The Dell, he joined Luton initially on loan and then permanently on a free transfer in February 1993.

The bulk of Dixon's professional career was sandwiched between rejection by Luton as a teenager and joining them in February 1993 at the age of 31. "Luton were marvelous for me. To run out there for the first time and score a few goals for them was great for me” recalled Kerry Dixon in an interview with the Telegraph. "The highlight [of his Luton career] was probably setting up two of Scott Oakes's goals when we beat West Ham 3-2 in the quarter-final to book our place against Chelsea. But the semi-final itself was so disappointing."

He made 88 appearances for the Hatters, scoring 20 goals in the two years that he was at the club. In a separate interview he said of his career, "Apart from playing for England, my best memory in football was playing for Luton, against Chelsea, in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 1994. Luton lost 2-0 but the reaction of the Chelsea fans to me was probably the greatest thing that has happened to me. Every single Chelsea fan was singing, 'There's only one Kerry Dixon'. It brought a lump to my throat."

He won eight caps internationally, scoring twice against Germany in a friendly tournament in Mexico in 1985, and scored 231 League goals in his career. He joined Millwall from the Hatters in March 1995 for £5,000 and showed that he had lost none of his appetite for the game, when outscoring both of Millwall's big money summer signings. He then went to Watford for £25,000 in January 1996 (11 appearances, 0 goals) and finished his playing days at Doncaster Rovers, playing 16 games and scoring 3 goals. He became their player/manager, but was sacked in August 1997 and moved onto non-league Boreham Wood as player-coach.

Kerry faced the Hatters in an FA Cup match in November 1998, when two goals from Phil Gray and one from Steve Davis saw Luton to a 3-2 victory. He went on to manage non-league Letchworth Garden City in the South Midlands Football League. He also had a spell working in a pub, after taking on the lease of The Distillery, a pub in his home town of Dunstable.

He then became the assistant manager to Robbie O'Keefe at non-league neighbours Hitchin Town, and Kerry could also be heard as a regular commentator on Talk Sport.

In November 2003, Kerry became the Hitchin Town manager following O'Keefe's departure from Top Field. He was to be assisted by Ian Donnelly (Assistant Manager) and Mark Burke (Coach) in a three-man management team.

Andy Melvin, managing director of Hitchin Town FC, said of the appointment: "We have opted for a three-man team that brings together a wide range of experiences and expertise. Kerry Dixon's vast experience as a player and coach will be a major boost to this club. But as well as Kerry's undoubted qualities, we are also going to rely on the local knowledge and credibility of two popular and well known figures. Ian Donnelly is a great character and well-liked among our supporters. Mark Burke's name has been synonymous with Hitchin Town for almost 20 years. Between these three, we should be able to build a solid platform for the future."

Kerry Dixon said: "I have been at the club since the summer and I know all about its restrictions and the abilities of our playing staff. I will be looking to focus on the strong points of each player and also to improve on the weaker aspects of their game. Right now we have a job to do to get the club away from the lower reaches of the League. I am confident we can bring about a significant improvement."

Dixon added: "I was brought to the club in the summer by Robbie O'Keefe, who was an excellent coach for Hitchin Town FC. It was a pleasure to work with him and I will always be glad that he gave me the chance to come to Hitchin."

However, things with the Canaries didn't work out quite as planned and Kerry took up a role with Dunstable Town.

The Club and The Ground

I first went to Elland Road in the mid 1980's. I remember being impressed as to how the two tiered stands continued around the corners, giving that enclosed feeling, an essential ingredient of any great stadium. The only real let down was having one side a mixture of terrace and seating. I thought at the time if only they could fill that side... Well as we all know they have, but who could have dreamt of the giant of a stand that now sits proudly on this side. The East stand is simply huge, towering above the rest of the ground (it is at least twice the size of the other stands) and has been quite well integrated into the stadium. However the other stands now look a little tired in comparison. One of these, the West Stand, was renamed in March 2004 the 'John Charles Stand' in honour of their former great player. There is an electric scoreboard in one corner of the ground between the South & John Charles Stands.

Apart from the visit of Manchester United and the odd cup tie or local derby, Leeds is a fairly enjoyable place to watch your football. However, if you are attending one of the former games, then exercise caution around the ground and the adjacent car parks. Hatters fans are located in the South East corner of the South Stand at one end of the ground, where up to 1,800 fans can be accommodated. This allocation can be doubled if necessary by giving away fans the whole of this stand. Facilities within are fairly basic, the leg room sparse, plus I saw a number of fans being ejected (without warning) for swearing. So be on your best behaviour.

Ground Guide courtesy of the excellent Internet Football Ground Guide.

History - Southampton Football Club

IN 2001, the move from the Dell to the new Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium was something of a spiritual homecoming for Southampton Football Club.

The team that play in red and white today can trace their roots back to the club formed in 1885 by members of St. Mary's Church Young Men's association who played their football on the banks of the Itchen for 13 years before moving on.

Originally called Southampton St. Mary's, the club joined the Southern League in 1894 and won the championship for three years running between 1897-99 and again in 1901, 1903 and 1904.

That success spanned some major changes for the Saints as they moved to a newly built £10,000 stadium called The Dell in 1898.

Although they would spend the next 103 years there, the future was far from certain in those early days and the club had to rent the premises first before they could stump up the cash to buy the stadium outright in the early part of the next century.

Good omens were quick to arrive though and before the century was out the South Coast was given a taste of things to come as they reached the first of their four FA Cup Finals in 1899.

On that day they went down 0-4 to Bury and three years later they would suffer a similar fate at the hands of Sheffield United as they were beaten 1-2 in a replay, but it had given the club a thirst for the big occasion — albeit one that would not be truly satisfied for over seven decades.

After the First World War when many football teams were broken up by the call of national service, Saints joined the newly-formed Football League Division 3 in 1920 which split into South and North sections a year later.

The 1920-21 season ended in triumph with promotion and marked the beginning of a 31-year stay in Division 2.

Saints were briefly forced to switch home matches to their local rivals Portsmouth’s ground at Fratton Park during World War 2 when a bomb landed on The Dell pitch, leaving an 18-foot crater which damaged an underground culvert and flooded the pitch.

Promotion was narrowly missed in 1949 and 1950 by a margin of one point and then goal average as Charlie Wayman rattled in a total of 56 goals. Then relegation in 1953 sent Saints sliding back into Division 3 (South).

It took until 1960 for Saints to regain Second Division status, Derek Reeves plundering 39 of the champions' 106 League goals. In 1963 a crowd of 68,000 at Villa Park saw them lose 1-0 to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final.

The dream of Division 1 football at The Dell for the first time was finally realised in 1966 when Ted Bates' team were promoted as runners-up. It was a never-to-be-forgotten achievement.

For the following campaign Ron Davies arrived to score 43 goals in his first season and Saints stayed among the elite for eight years. Twice they qualified for Europe before becoming the first victims of the new three-down relegation system in 1974.

The most memorable day in Southampton Football Club's history came in 1976 when the Second Division side, managed by Lawrie McMenemy, won the FA Cup for the first time with a sensational 1-0 victory at Wembley over odds-on favourites Manchester United.

In 1978 Saints gained promotion back to Division 1 and a year later they were back at Wembley, losing 2-3 to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup Final. Alan Ball was in the Saints team, one of several star names to join the club.

The signing of Kevin Keegan, twice European Footballer of the Year, from Hamburg, was a masterstroke by Lawrie McMenemy, a move which stunned the football world and one that was followed in the 1983-84 season by the most successful campaign in the clubs’ history.

With the great Peter Shilton in goal they finished runners-up to Liverpool in the league and reached the FA Cup semi-finals, losing to Everton in extra-time.

By finishing fifth in 1984-85, Saints qualified for European football for the fourth time in five seasons and the following year reached the FA Cup semi-finals again, only to go out to Liverpool.

Lawrie McMenemy then left in the close season to be replaced by former Saints and Hatters player Chris Nicholl.

In 1986-87 Saints were again stopped one step short of Wembley with Liverpool again their tormentors, beating them over two legs in the Littlewoods Cup semi-final.

During the 1988-89 season, Southampton created history by becoming the first club to include three brothers - Danny, Rodney and Raymond Wallace - in a Division 1 match.

The following year Saints emerged as one of the country's most entertaining teams as second top scorers in Division One with 71 strikes in their goals for column. Matthew Le Tissier, 24-goal leading scorer, was named PFA Young Player of the Year with strike partner Rodney Wallace in second place.

In 1990-91, Le Tissier was again top scorer with 23 goals. Alan Shearer proved what an exciting prospect he was by captaining the England Under-21 team and the following season a change in management saw former Reading manager, Ian Branfoot take the helm.

Saints reached the Zenith Data Systems Cup Final at Wembley, going down 2-3 to Nottingham Forest in extra-time after an epic battle. Shearer was Saints' top scorer with 21 goals and was capped by England.

On the eve of the 1992-93 season an English record transfer fee of £3 million saw Blackburn Rovers prise Shearer away from the south coast and Saints were amongst the teams in the newly formed Premier League.

Tim Flowers followed his former team-mate to Lancashire mid-way through the 1993-94 season, with Blackburn signing another record breaking cheque for £2 million, the largest sum ever paid for a goalkeeper in the world at that time.

After Branfoot was sacked in January 1994 he was replaced by the fans' dream partnership of ex-club captain Alan Ball and Lawrie McMenemy who rejoined the club as Director of Football.

Against all the odds they steered Saints to final-day survival.

The 1994-95 season saw Saints finish a highly creditable 10th with 30-goal top scorer, Matthew Le Tissier, being named club Player of the Year.

Former youth and Reserve coach Dave Merrington took over as manager in July 1995 when Alan Ball left the club for Manchester City and Saints scraped through another final day survival battle with 0-0 draw at home to Wimbledon.

Ironically Saints stayed up at the expense of Manchester City who bizarrely played for time in their game against Liverpool under the impression that their 2-2 draw was enough to keep them up!

1996-97 saw the arrival of Scotland hero Graeme Souness as manager.

Souness brought in several new players including current centre-back Claus Lundekvam and despite masterminding a 6-3 annihilation of Manchester United, for the third time in four years Saints were not safe until the final day when they stayed up despite a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

Souness and McMenemy resigned soon afterwards and were replaced by Dave Jones who had just led Stockport to promotion from Division 2.

He took Saints to 12th in his first season but the 1998-99 campaign saw the Saints brush perilously close to the drop as they took just one point from their first eight games.

A storming second half of the season saw them stage a magnificent recovery and the "Great Escape" was completed with three consecutive victories in their final three matches to stay up at Charlton's expense.

Jones continued to build and his side were comfortably 13th when he found himself facing totally unfounded child abuse charges. He was given paid leave of absence to prepare his successful defence and Glenn Hoddle was recruited in January 2000.

He steered Saints to safety but stayed little more than a year, leaving in March 2001 for his spiritual home to take over the vacant manager's position at Tottenham Hotspur.

First team coach Stuart Gray stepped up in a caretaker capacity for the final few games of the season including the memorable final league game at The Dell where Saints triumphed 3-2 over Arsenal thanks to Matthew Le Tissier's magical last minute winner

Gray was confirmed as the new man at the helm in the summer of 2001 as the finishing touches were added to the club's superb new 32,000 capacity Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium, built at a cost of around £32m.

His tenure was brief however. A poor start to the new season brought just two wins from the club's first eight Premiership games, to leave Southampton second from bottom of the table.

Chairman Rupert Lowe acted swiftly dismissing Gray and his assistant Mick Wadsworth in October 2001 and bringing in former Coventry manager Gordon Strachan to revive the team’s fortunes and he promptly led the side to 11th place. The fourth time in five years that saints had been safe well before the end of the season.

In his second season in charge the wee Scot went on to surpass all expectations as he guided the team to a record breaking 8th place in the Premier League with a final day victory over Manchester City and the FA Cup Final.

Although the big day at Cardiff was ultimately a disappointment with Arsenal winning 1-0 in a hard fought game, the day will be fondly remembered for the phenomenal support of the fans that out-sang their counter-parts even as the Gunners were walking up to collect their trophy.

With Arsenal having already qualified for the Champions League though, Saints runners-up spot was good enough to earn them a place in the UEFA Cup in 2003-04 season. A tricky first round tie against Steaua Bucharest meant their European tour was a brief one however and a couple of months later Saints' season looked even more shaky when Gordon Strachan announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the season to spend time with his family.

Ultimately his departure came even sooner when a mutual decision was made between Strachan and the board to part company in February 2004. Steve Wigley stepped into his shoes in a caretaker role to steady the ship and saw the team go unbeaten during his two games in charge.

Eventually a successor was found in the shape of former Plymouth boss Paul Sturrock who guided the team to a respectable finish of 12th in his first season in charge but at the start of the 2004-05 season he parted company with the club after just two games.

Wigley again returned to the hot-seat, but this time on a permenant basis as Rupert Lowe showed his faith in Saints' Former Director of Youth and reserve team manager.

It was another brief appointment however as Wigley was also unable to transform the team's fortunes, notching just one win against Portsmouth in 14 Premiership matches in charge. Saints then pulled off a massive managerial coup as they snapped up former Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp after he had left their bitter rivals only weeks earlier, but he was unable to save Southampton from being relegated from the Premiership as a last day home defeat to Manchester United saw the Saints finish the 2004-05 season bottom of the Premiership and facing life in the Football League.

History courtesy of The Official Southampton Website.

Luton Town v Southampton...

A full rundown of all of the past meetings

Home Matches

Dec	25	1920	D3S	D	1	1	14000
Aug	29	1921	D3S	D	0	0	10000
Mar	12	1938	D2	L	1	3	14428
Apr	7	1939	D2	W	6	2	15946
Oct	19	1946	D2	D	2	2	17668
Apr	17	1948	D2	L	0	2	17202
Sep	11	1948	D2	D	1	1	20257
Dec	26	1949	D2	D	1	1	18765
Sep	2	1950	D2	L	0	1	16942
Mar	22	1952	D2	W	2	1	15551
Feb	21	1953	D2	L	1	2	19424
Dec	3	1960	D2	W	4	1	12927
Sep	16	1961	D2	L	1	4	13209
Aug	29	1962	D2	W	3	2	7124
Mar	2	1976	D2	W	1	0	13737
Oct	23	1976	D2	L	1	4	12123
Apr	22	1978	D2	L	1	2	14302
Nov	27	1982	D1	D	3	3	11196
Oct	22	1983	D1	W	3	1	12389
Sep	8	1984	D1	D	1	1	8657
Oct	19	1985	D1	W	7	0	8876
Aug	26	1986	D1	W	2	1	8777
Dec	18	1987	D1	D	2	2	6618
Jan	2	1989	D1	W	6	1	8637
Feb	24	1990	D1	D	1	1	9417
Jan	12	1991	D1	L	3	4	9021
Sep	4	1991	D1	W	2	1	8055

Statto's Corner

Away Matches

Dec	27	1920	D3S	D	1	1	19793
Sep	5	1921	D3S	L	1	2	11000
Oct	30	1937	D2	W	6	3	20544
Apr	10	1939	D2	W	4	0	15114
Feb	22	1947	D2	W	3	1	11710
Nov	29	1947	D2	L	1