England's lost football grounds

Very nostalgic article.
As a Bolton supporter, I find it quite telling that the only photos of Burndenpark are of toilets.
We've certainly gone down the pan.

The old stadia have so much character, the new ones just feel like identikit environments...

I'm from Farnworth (now part of Bolton). I remember going to Burnden Park with my mate when I was young to watch a charity match (think it was Wanderers vs Piccadilly Radio all-stars). Wanderers got thrashed!
Mind you, there were buckets of water being thrown around in the second half...

Think Sam Allardyce was playing back then. Burnden Park was a bit grim, but had plenty of presence and was a "proper" football ground.

That's the product of commercializing football. The new stadiums are designed for people to sit down, there be space for boxes, press and restaurants, which obviously makes it a lot more comfortable but loses a lot of the atmosphere.

The example we should follow is Germany. They have new, modern, comfortable stadiums, but the safe standing areas still creates a great atmosphere.

Football loses a lot if places like Anfield, White Hart Lane and Elland Road get replaced with new, fancier stadiums with no atmosphere.