Awaydays #14 - Turf Moor

The club: Burnley (The Clarets), Turf Moor

The ground: A nice mixture of old and new - two new stands and two originals. Nice, because of the history, though the accommodation could be spruced up a bit. The stands are separate structures with open corners and the three large ones dwarf the older,smaller stands along the side. The away end is massive, however Burnley have closed half the seating to erect a huge video screen. Unusually the players' changing rooms etc are located at the away end of the ground. The seating is wooden, but the seats are huge with ample leg room. There are a couple of roof supports along the front of the stand.7/10

The facilities and food: The concourse is fairly large if spartan, with one set of toilets and one snack bar which are all fairly basis affairs - a true cowshed of a structure. The food had improved massively from last year. 6/10

The stewarding/police: The stewards were very keen on people remaining seated throughout the game, even threatening eviction; however they failed to notice that one row back and one block along from the 'trouble' there were other people standing (including me), who they didn't even acknowledge. 6/10

The travelling: Bloody miles, but at least it's motorway all the way to the centre of Burnley, the ground is signed from the motorway if you look carefully enough, however as you get closer they become deceiving. The change from brown tourist signs to white backed council signed and home and away traffic is segregated. But the away traffic is sent on a wild goose chase that takes you away from the ground to nowhere, because the signs disappear. When you eventually get back to the ground you end up 300 yards from where the split took place. 3/10

The surrounding area (what's there to do outside the ground): The cricket club next door is perfect and welcomes away fans (in most cases), although can get crowded. It is reasonably priced and friendly. 5/10

The home fans (their contribution to the atmosphere etc): Created a wall of noise for some of the game once Argyle had decided to give up the ghost. 6/10

Total score: 33/60

Awaydays League Table:

Barnsley (Oakwell Stadium) - 42
Blackpool (Bloomfield Road) - 38
Charlton Athletic (The Valley) - 38
Crystal Palace (Selhurts Park) - 38
Hull City (KC Stadium) - 38
Sheffield United (Bramall Lane) - 38
QPR (Loftus Road) - 36
Cardiff City (Ninian Park) - 34
Burnley (Turf Moor) -33
West Ham (Boleyn Ground) - 31
Layer Road (Colchester) - 32
Stoke City (Britannia Stadium) - 28
Torquay United (Plainmoor) - 27
Watford (Vicarage Road) - 27

Note that I was unable to go to Carrow Road.