My Friend Stan
Today took us to Grounsell Park, home of Heaton Stannington – or the Stan, as they are known around here.
Noddy Holder of the seventies glam rock band, Slade, once sang about ‘My Friend Stan’ and if previous trips to Northern League grounds were anything to go by, then Stan was about to become our friend, too.
Stan’s opponents on the day were North Shields, a team we were scheduled to watch last week.
Unfortunately, with the weather being what it is lately, that game against Sunderland RCA was another victim of a waterlogged pitch.
With a pitch inspection due for Saturday morning, this game was also in doubt, so it was with relief that we saw their social media update confirming the game would take place.
So, let’s see how we got on…
Heaton – The Journey
Although Heaton is just nineteen miles from our house, it involves two bus trips.
Even so, we didn’t have to leave home until 11:30, a nice luxury on a Saturday morning!
We caught the 11:40 bus to Newcastle and it was much busier than our usual earlier bus. This contributed to it taking longer than normal, too, along with more traffic.
A young mum with her toddler son sat by us on the bus and she was a good example of modern parenting. She never took her eyes off her phone and carried on texting someone constantly while her son was craving attention.
With all these attention-starved kids around, it’s no wonder so many of them find other, less sociable ways to get attention.
We all love our social media fix and silly phone games but please folks, love that bundle of life you brought into the world, too.
The bus arrived in Newcastle at 12:55 and headed to our connecting bus stop.
As we stood waiting, we could hear the atmosphere coming from a rocking St James’ Park. Newcastle were playing Spurs and after thirty minutes, were already two goals to the good.
With the Magpies scoring another two without reply, I’m sure the noise only got louder.
Meanwhile, our #37 bus arrived at 13:10, arriving in Heaton twenty minutes later.
With no pubs in the immediate vicinity (according to Google Maps), we decided to head straight to the ground and get a drink at the clubhouse.
Heaton
South Heaton and High Heaton are both suburbs of Newcastle and lie about two miles east of Newcastle city centre.
Heaton originally meant ‘high town’ and lies on the higher ground near the Ouse Burn, one of the River Tyne’s tributaries.
The remaining ruins of King John’s Palace are in Heaton Park. Despite the name, King John never stayed in this mini castle, having died fifty years before its completion in 1260.
As with most of the northeast of England, coal was important to the area and there were mines here, long since closed now.
The East Coast Mainline passes through Heaton, which also has a significant rail depot.
The Ringtons’s Tea company was born here in Heaton.
Heaton is a popular place for students to reside while attending Newcastle or Northumbria Universities, both of which are based in the city.
Fans of Newcastle United may, or may not know, that Heaton was the former home of their club when they were playing in the Northern League as Newcastle East End. Before merging with Newcastle West End to become ‘United’, they played at the Heaton Junction Ground on Chillingham Road.
The Stan play their football at Grounsell Park, which is in High Heaton, a short walk from Newcastle Freeman Hospital.
Notable People
Heaton’s Sir Ove Arup was the design engineer for the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.
In a freaky coincidence to my opening paragraph, the manager of Slade and former bass player with Geordie band, The Animals, Chas Chandler was also from Heaton.
That connection alone should have them blasting out ‘My Friend Stan‘ before kick-off!
Chas also managed the Jimi Hendrix Experience and it is rumoured that Jimi himself used to busk on Chillingham Road in South Heaton when he was in town. Rather than book himself into a posh hotel, Jimi would happily stay with Chas’s mother in a terraced house on Second Avenue.
Probably the most famous Heaton native is Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy (Cole).
One final thought to ponder, does being from Heaton and leaving, make you an Old Heatonian?
Heaton Stannington – Grounsell Park
Getting In
We got off the #37 bus and headed the short distance to Grounsell Park, across the road.
We were welcomed by the gateman who somehow realised we were hoppers Guide and he told us the clubhouse had won the CAMRA award for best ‘Club of the Year’ by the local CAMRA branch. Not just this year but for three or four years in a row, I believe he said.
(EDIT: Heaton Stannington’s clubhouse was voted CAMRA Tyneside club of 2018, 2020, 2022 & 2023!)
Sounds promising!
After the friendly welcome, we paid to get into Grounsell Park, costing £7.00 each.
Cash or card is accepted… usually.
For some reason, the machine didn’t like our card, so we ended up paying with cash.
A programme was also available for £1.50 at the gate.
Programme
£1.50 gets you twenty-eight matte paper pages with a colour cover and some photos inside.
It contains five full pages of adverts and contains lots of info on the club’s history, player profiles, a league table and a look at the opposition.
Overall, great value and well done to all involved with the production.
East End
Entry to Grounsell Park is located on the southern side of the ground. This is where the majority of the important parts of the ground are but for the purposes of detailing it, we will head around it first.
To the right, is the east end of the ground. This is largely taken up by a car park behind the goal, where a large net (mostly) protects the cars from errant footballs.
In the southeast corner is a large hut used as the changing room for the players and officials.
At the southern end of the hut, there are toilets and a snack kiosk, which we will come back to.
The Stan Can Van is also located here.
North Side
The northern side of the ground consists of a grassy bank with a path running in front of it around the ground.
The technical dugouts sit on either side of the halfway line on this side.
West End
The western end of the ground is bereft of any structures.
At least, any structures relating to football…
There are, however, extensions of people’s gardens encroaching onto the grass inside the ground. Maybe the club charges rent for people to use the excess ground? If so, that is a clever way to make a little extra much-needed cash for the club.
Otherwise, I have no idea why there are tomatoes etc growing there…
South Side
This is where all the matchday action takes place.
There are two seated stands, almost joined together but not quite. This became more apparent during the rainy spell in the second half!
You can probably tell by the different angles of the roofs that these are separate stands, defined by the different coloured seats.
These two stands hold one hundred spectators between them.
Beyond these two stands, there is a sheltered standing area and beyond that, there are picnic tables with more, uncovered standing room below.
Behind all this is the clubhouse which dominates everything.
Grounsell Park has a capacity of 1,500 (100 seated). The pitch is of natural grass and has four floodlights (installed in 2013), one in each corner.
We decided to go in and sample the award-winning clubhouse next.
Heaton Stannington – Grounsell Park Gallery
Heaton Stannington Clubhouse
There are two points of entry into the clubhouse. The bar is located on the right-hand side of its two rooms.
A large TV screen is on one wall, while the rest of the room has a ‘pub’ feel.
We ordered a pint of Coors and an Eternal IPA for a very reasonable £6.60. Again, cash or card is accepted and this time, the machine was happy with our card.
We took our drinks into the bigger room to the left and took a seat.
This is a long, rectangle-shaped room filled with tables and chairs, with bench seats along the walls.
At the far end of the room was the club’s merchandise stall, where a young lad was diligently and patiently awaiting customers. Good for him!
I purchased a pin badge from him which cost me £3.00.
This was certainly a great little clubhouse and it’s easy to see why it has won awards.
Heaton Stannington Tidbits
Heaton Stannington Football Club was officially founded in 1910, although there was a club in existence in Heaton from 1903.
The unusual name of Stannington comes from the club’s origins in the Stannington Avenue area of Heaton.
The club played out their early existence in the Northern Amateur League.
Their first silverware came in the mid-1930s when they won both the Tynemouth Infirmary Minor Cup and the NAL Challenge Cup. In 1936/37, they also won the NAL Division One and the Northumberland Amateur Cup.
1935 saw the Stan move from their Coast Road Ground to Newton Park on the site of a filled-in quarry.
In 2007, this was renamed Grounsell Park in honour of club servant ‘Mr Heaton Stannington’, Bob Grounsell.
Heaton Stannington gained election to the Northern League in 1939. The Second World War meant that they only managed to play one season before the league was suspended.
Following the war’s end, play resumed at Grounsell Park in 1946.
After years of poor form, which included five consecutive bottom-three finishes, Stan resigned from the Northern League and hopped around several different leagues. These included the Northern Alliance, the NAL, the North Eastern League and in 1972, moved up to the Wearside League.
Financial difficulties caused by the club’s trustees meant they had to resign from the league in 1982. A heartbreaking effort to build a supermarket on the ground was defeated in the courts and the parasitic trustees had to relinquish ownership of the club.
Northern League Return
There followed another period of league switching which culminated in their return to the Northern League for the 2013-14 season, sixty-one years after their last appearance in the league.
In 2012, the Stan hosted the Olympic team of Gabon, losing the match 4-0 against a team that included former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea star, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
In 2021/22, the Stan gained promotion to Division One of the Northern League. They missed out on the title on goal difference, winning the playoffs in front of a then-record crowd of 1,091 as they defeated Tow Law Town 2-1.
The record attendance was broken in March 2023 as Blyth Spartans came to town. 1,339 spectators saw the Stan narrowly beaten by the visitors in the semi-final of the Senior Cup.
Since returning to the Northern League, Grounsell Park has seen improvements made, including floodlights and two seated stands.
Heaton Stannington – Pre-Game View of Grounsell Park
Before the game, the southwest corner of the pitch received a lot of attention from staff and officials.
Luckily, it was deemed fit for action and the game got the go-ahead.
It was easy to see why this patch was a concern.
Heaton Stannington v North Shields – The Game
Form
Before Saturday’s game, the Stan sat in fifth place in Division One, while their visitors North Shields, occupied the fifteenth spot.
In their last five games, Heaton has had some impressive results. These included back-to-back home wins over Guisborough Town (3-1) and Sunderland RCA (4-0).
They then went on the road to face the division’s bottom two clubs and recorded emphatic wins over both. They beat Tow Law Town 4-0 and Sunderland RCA 4-2.
Most recently, they faced a decent Birtley Town team at home and drew 0-0.
North Shields has had a gruelling run of facing teams who are all above them in the league, including the top two.
They faced Bishop Auckland at home and lost 2-0, before losing 4-0 at Shildon. Sandwiched between those two games was a 0-0 draw at West Allotment Celtic.
Last time out, they lost 2-0 at home to Whitley Bay.
With this info in mind, my prediction was plenty of goals with a 3-1 win for the home side.
Kick-Off
Summary
The game kicked off in blazing sunshine (and a swirling wind) and I had a bit of a sunburnt head when we got home.
Still, it was a welcome change from the recent rain! (Temporarily…)
The game took very little time to get into full swing and after seven minutes of action, we had seen two goals and a red card.
Three minutes in Heaton took the lead through Sean Reid.
Just two minutes later, Ben Harmison, (yes the cricket player and yes, the brother of Steve, yes, also a cricket player) equalised for North Shields.
Then came a moment of madness from the home side’s captain, Richard Slaughter.
For reasons known only to him, he decided to kick the legs from beneath a Shields player during a stop in play.
This left the Stan in the awkward position of having to play ninety minutes (seven minutes injury time) with ten men.
It didn’t stop them from retaking the lead in the eleventh minute, though. Leighton Hopper put the home side back in the driving seat with a close-range finish.
Another equaliser came in the 22nd minute and it was another close-range finish from the Robins’ Will McCamley.
There were no further goals before the half-time whistle and the sides went in level at the break.
Half Time – Heaton Stannington 2 North Shields 2
The half-time break gave us a chance to try out the snack bar.
Mrs Hopper had a cheeseburger and I had pie, chips and gravy, which cost a total of £8.00.
The chips and gravy were tasty but I have been spoiled with scotch pies in Scotland, so the pie was a bit of a letdown. Mrs Hopper enjoyed her burger and overall, the scran was a winner.
Unlike the winning scran, it was time for my halftime ritual of checking Stoke‘s score.
Sure enough, they weren’t winning. At least they weren’t losing either and after a 0-0 halftime score, we went on to get a valuable point at Hillsborough against fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.
I have no idea if Stoke will stay up or not, but we have struggled mightily since relegation from the Premier League a few years back. We have yet to finish in the top half of the table!
Despite this stat, there were 4,000 Stokies at Hillsborough and that remarkable loyalty needs to start being rewarded by the team next season.
Second Half
The blazing sun disappeared and was replaced by what looked like it could have been sleet mixed in with pouring rain.
This didn’t do a lot to improve the suspect corner of the pitch and towards the end of the game, I saw one of the home team players hurt his foot while attempting to clear the ball from there.
The league and FA really need to give teams all the help they need by extending the season when there are extenuating circumstances like the incredibly wet weather we have had this year.
I have no idea why they are so reticent to help when they claim player safety is paramount.
These guys are playing games every two or three days, training and holding down full-time jobs on top of playing on precarious surfaces!
Sort it out!
The Chuf-fle Brothers
Meanwhile, Mrs Hopper made me smile with a comment about two of the Heaton players being brothers as they both had Chuf on the back of their shirts.
Yeah, it was the sponsor’s name, or all eleven of them were related…
Heaton was showing no sign of being a man down and was probably the better team as the game went on.
Indeed, they retook the lead on fifty-eight minutes through a low effort by Jay Hornsby from long-range.
From our angle, I think the North Shields keeper would like that moment back again…
The game was wrapped up late on by Konner Lamb – I really hope his nickname is ‘Kebab’.
I finally managed to capture one of today’s goals with this one.
Stan Army
I feel like a quick shout-out to the young Stan Army who were in one of the two little stands is in order, too.
They were making plenty of noise throughout the game and brought a little bit of atmosphere to the occasion.
With Newcastle United playing at home, it was great to see youngsters supporting their local team and getting behind them.
Couple this with the young volunteer in the clubhouse and it seems the club are doing things right in attracting the next generation of supporters.
Despite there being a further eleven minutes of play after Lamb’s goal, there were no further goals in what had been a good game of football to watch.
I will leave an official Match Report here, if and when one becomes available.
Attendance – 414
Entrance Fee – £7.00
Programme – £1.50
Heaton Stannington v North Shields – Match Highlights
League Table After Today’s Game
League table courtesy of the Northern Football League website.
Up Next
The Stan will look to continue their fine form with a trip to Whickham‘s Glebe Sports Ground on April 15th.
A home game against potential league-winners, Shildon awaits them two days later. They will then travel to Guisborough (20th), before finishing the season with Boro Rangers at home (25th) and Crook Town away (27th).
North Shields will look to get back to winning ways as they face the team immediately above them, with a visit to Penrith on April 20th.
An away trip to Birtley Town (22nd) is followed by back-to-back home games against Crook Town (24th) and Whickham (26th). They round off their season with a trip to Sunderland RCA on April 30th.
That’s five games in eleven days, Herr Klopp!
Heaton Stannington Thoughts
Many people seem to think that a football club is all about winning trophies and having a fantastic stadium.
It’s not!
Heaton Stannington is a prime example of what football is all about. Friendly, welcoming people with a great clubhouse and social scene that helps in its community and is run entirely by volunteers.
If that isn’t the spirit of what football is all about, I don’t know what is.
Even before we arrived at the ground, the club’s responsive social media admin had answered all my questions the evening before. Not all clubs are like this and it makes such a big difference in my opinion.
From the moment we got to the gate, to the moment we left, Heaton was a great place to be.
Good beers at a reasonable price, decent food, again at an affordable price and a cheap printed programme. Add in the young Stan Army bringing a little atmosphere to the occasion.
Combined, these things make Grounsell Park a great place to watch football.
I think the club might consider busting out a bit of Slade before the teams come out. Imagine Noddy singing about ‘My Friend Stan’ as the black and white shirts take to the field…
Heaton – After the Game
Following the game we walked to the bus stop which is pretty much right outside the ground and awaited the #38 bus into Newcastle city centre.
It arrived at 17:07 and deposited us twenty minutes later.
We caught the X1 bus at 17:40 and arrived back home an hour later.
One of the easiest trips we will have made this season.
Next Up for Hoppers Guide
Next week is a special occasion for Hoppers Guide… It was due to be my 150th ground visit and will incorporate two games.
Of course, recent postponements mean this will now be ground number 148 but that doesn’t diminish my anticipation of a great weekend.
Originally, we were visiting just one ground while we were here but for once, last-minute plans at the behest of TV have worked in our favour.
After planning to visit Inverness for the weekend, Caley’s game against Raith Rovers was moved to a Friday evening for coverage on BBC Scotland.
Normally, this would cause the onset of rage and wasted train tickets but luckily, we had planned to be there for the whole weekend, starting on Friday.
It also, inadvertently, opened up a chance to re-visit Elgin City on Saturday. This is particularly handy as Elgin is one of our ten ‘missing’ Hopper Tales from when I was building the website.
So, Friday will be Inverness Caledonian Thistle v our old friends from Kirkcaldy, Raith Rovers. Then, on Saturday, we will be attending Elgin City v Peterhead.
What a weekend!
Onto the next!
