Week Two
Following last week’s 2023/24 season opener at Newcastle Benfield, we carried on our exploration of the northeast with a visit to North Shields FC.
North Shields is a small town on the banks of the River Tyne. It is part of the large sprawling urban area that stretches from the coast to Newcastle.
North (and South) Shields were originally fisherman’s settlements that supplied produce to the local churches in exchange for their boats and livelihood. The term ‘Shields’ actually derives from the name given to these settlements, and were known as scheles.
…and here was me believing the name was linked to the harbour walls that shield the river mouth from the North Sea!
Groundhopping is educational folks!
We were headed to the Daren Persson Stadium for North Shields’ game against Blyth Spartans, who are a 25-minute drive away, up the Northumberland coast.
Blyth Spartans were responsible for one of the FA Cup’s big upsets back in the 1977/78 season when they knocked Stoke City out. This was a side containing the likes of Terry Conroy, Denis Smith, Howard Kendall and Garth Crooks and were playing in the old Second Division.
I, along with many Stoke fans of a certain age, still get a nervous twitch when I hear their name mentioned!
I have to say though, I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Croft Park (home of Spartans) when we started this groundhopping adventure back in 2021. A friendly club and a great old-school ground to watch football. This would be the first time I had seen them playing away from Croft Park.
North Shields – The Journey
As with last week, the trip to North Shields was a relatively straightforward one. Clutching a Greggs breakfast, we caught the 08:25 bus to Newcastle on what looked like being another gorgeous sunny day in the northeast.
We alighted at the John Dobson Street bus stop and walked a short distance to St. Mary’s Place to catch the #307 bus to North Shields.
In fact, the journey was so similar to last week, that we actually went past the same bus stop that we had got off at last week to visit Newcastle Benfield. This time, though, we kept going for another six miles into the heart of North Shields.
We had deliberately set off earlier than needed because there were a couple of places I wanted to check out before we headed for lunch. First was a shop that had been recommended to me by one of our Twitter followers and it had me intrigued.
Stadium Collectables, a shop selling programmes and signed memorabilia from the footballing world.
We walked from the bus stop and headed for Saville Street. When we got there it was disappointing to see the shutters were pulled down over the shop and it was clearly closed. The ‘To Let’ sign above the shop makes me think it won’t be opening anytime soon either.
Disappointing.
They do still have a website though, so maybe for financial reasons, they have got away from the bricks and mortar storefront.
Comedy Icon
Another thing I wanted to see in North Shields was to be found in Laurel Park, a short walk from Saville Street.
As we made our way there, we got a great view of the River Tyne in the valley below us. It was a lovely sunny day and I was glad I had remembered to bring my sun hat.
We found Laurel Park and it was looking lovely in the sunshine. A couple of dogwalkers were just leaving and a lone boy with a football were the only other people around. At the centre of the little park was the reason we had made our way here.
Stan Laurel was one-half of the most iconic comedy duos of all time. Laurel and Hardy were old, even when I was a child and I remember watching re-runs of their old films in black and white and laughing my head off at their ridiculous antics. (Who could ever forget their piano sketch!)
It was interesting then, to see that Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson) spent some years as a child growing up in North Shields. In fact, legend has it that the steps down to North Shields Fish Quay inspired the aforementioned piano moving scene in the movie, ‘The Music Box’.
It’s a shame that the statue is partially hidden from view by a big iron fence that surrounds it but it is also indicative of the disrespectful and destructive society we live in.
Lunchtime!
I had planned to spend twenty or thirty minutes browsing the stock at Stadium Collectables, but with the store being closed, we were a little early.
We strolled along the path from Laurel Park, still heading east towards our chosen watering hole. I got another lovely picture of the Tyne looking out towards the North Sea. You can see the two sea walls jutting out from North and South Shields.
There are also three lighthouses: one at the end of each sea wall (Tynemouth Lighthouse on the north side,
South Shields Lighthouse to the south) and another on the south side of the river, Herd Groyne Lighthouse.
We headed down the Fish Quay steps (I’m imagining a piano being moved up them as I write this) and on up Union Road before turning left into Brewhouse Bank and the Low Lights Tavern.
Low Lights Tavern
We arrived just after eleven and headed into the bar where we were served by a lovely young lady. A decent selection of seventies classics was coming over the sound system at a good decibel level that allowed for easy conversation and a nice choice of beers and spirits were available.
I was hot and thirsty, so I ordered a refreshing fruity cider, while Mrs Hopper plumped for a Beavertown IPA. Not the cheapest of places at £10.75 for the two drinks but the atmosphere is nice.
It turns out, the Tavern is also the oldest pub in North Shields.
Sam Fender
We sat chatting with the barmaid and the (I assume) landlord/owner for a while. A strange turn of conversation, apparently, Newcastle United fan, Sam Fender used to pull pints in the Low Light Tavern before he became a world superstar singing artist.
One of the pumps is supposedly related to Sam in some way (I don’t remember the story, but it involved one of his music awards being turned into a pump) but it seems people come from all over the country and beyond to take photographs of said pump.
Well, how could I not after hearing this…
As the clock ticked toward noon, we ordered some lunch and went into another room to get a table. I had a peppered steak and mushroom pie, while Mrs Hopper went with fish.
As you can see, mine was clearly the much healthier option…
The Low Light Tavern is well-known for its pies and there were certainly no complaints from me.
After eating our lunch, we started to make our way towards the Daren Persson Stadium. While we had been inside the Low Light Tavern, the light had indeed been lowered. The sunshine that had left me sweaty and miserable upon arrival, was now gone and replaced by grey skies.
As we got to the top of the steps again, the heavens opened up and it was like turning on a power shower. We scrambled desperately for our rain jackets in Mrs Hoppers’ bag as huge spots started to soak us rapidly.
Can you believe she got her coat out before mine? How rude!
North Shields – Daren Persson Stadium
After a 1.3-mile walk in patches of drizzle following the quick power shower, we arrived at the Daren Persson Stadium.
This was another belief I had shattered today. Daren Persson… has to be some Scandinavian benefactor or former chairman or something, right?
Nope!
As we were on the bus coming into North Shields, I noticed a funeral director’s shopfront on Walton Avenue – Daren Persson Funeral Services.
Yup! This ground is sponsored by an undertaker and not the WWE legend, either.
Getting In
Access to the Daren Persson Stadium is through a single turnstile at the end of the car park. At the gateman’s hut, we handed over the 2 x £4.00 entry fee along with a further £3.50 for a club crest pin badge.
We had learned our lesson from last week and took some cash with us. Once again, like Newcastle Benfield, North Shields is a cash-only stadium so please be aware of this if visiting.
No programmes or teamsheets were available on the day for this friendly. I’m not sure if North Shields normally would produce a programme for league and cup fixtures.
West End
Once inside, we found ourselves at the west end of the ground and we made our way to the left.
This is where the Robin’s Nest social club is and Mrs Hopper made her way inside for a drink while I went off on a circuit of the pitch to get some photos.
Most of this end of the ground is taken up by the gate hut, a snack bar, toilets and the social club. There is a net behind the goals to prevent people from getting hit by errant footballs as the players warm up.
The players’ entrance to the pitch is also at this end of the ground. The building you can see to the left in the following picture is where the dressing rooms are and the pitch entrance is in front of it.
North Side
Once around the corner and into the north side of the ground, there are some raised paving stones that make up three tiers of terracing. The terracing stretches most of the way to the halfway line, where this is a small seated stand with a roof. The seating consists of five rows of benching, so it was a little difficult to estimate the capacity of it.
On the other side of the stand, there is just a grassy bank and a path around the pitch.
East End
There really isn’t much to say about this end of the ground. Bereft of structures and not even a net behind the goal to stop skied shots from leaving the ground. Though, there is a gate in the fence to allow them to be retrieved easily.
South Side
Moving onto the south side of the ground, there are two sheltered standing areas on the halfway line, opposite the stand on the other side. Handy when the rain starts to fall but the view is impeded a little by the dugouts that lie to either side of them.
The pitch itself is of natural grass and a metal barrier surrounds the playing surface. There are six floodlights, three on either side of the pitch.
This brought my little tour to an end and I went to find Mrs Hopper in the social club.
Despite the off-and-on drizzle, I was still extremely warm and walking inside the club, I knew straight away I wouldn’t be staying for a drink. I’m not sure if it was just my inability to cool down, or if it was too warm in there. Probably the former. Mrs Hopper often refers to me as a hot water bottle…
As with most northeast clubs, there is a strong Newcastle and or Sunderland connection. With North Shields being on the northern side of the Tyne, this is Newcastle territory and there were shirts and other memorabilia of both the Magpies and the Robins.
I took a few quick pictures and departed to find us a good vantage point for the game that was by now about half an hour away.
North Shields – Daren Persson Stadium Gallery
North Shields – Pre-Game View of the Daren Persson Stadium
North Shields v Blyth Spartans – The Game
Form
Normally, I use this section to report on the club’s latest form and give a score prediction. Being as this is a pre-season game, I will just give you an insight into how each club did last season.
North Shields are playing the 2023/24 season in the Northern League Division One after relegation from the Northern Premier League East. This was not due to poor form on the pitch but a failure to convince the FA that ground improvement measures were in place.
You can read the club statement about that on their website, here.
Indeed, North Shields finished just two places below the playoffs before their subsequent relegation, so that will have been a tremendous disappointment to both club staff and fans alike.
On top of this, was the bizarre release of Wayne Phillips, who has only recently signed for the club. I have no idea what happened but it seems like a really strange thing to sign a player and release him less than two weeks later.
Incidentally, just prior to publishing this article, I found out that Wayne Phillips has today signed for Whitley Bay.
Blyth Spartans, meanwhile, will be relieved to be playing in the National League North again for 2023/24, given that they narrowly avoided relegation by just one point.
This leaves them three divisions above today’s hosts.
The visitors had problems of their own with a large number of trialists and youngsters included in today’s squad.
Given the off-field turmoil and the divisional gap, I could only see this result going one way and my pre-match prediction was a 0-3 result in Spartans’ favour.
Kick-Off
The first thing of note is that Blyth Spartans players were not wearing numbers of any kind on their shirts. At this level of football, that’s something I have never witnessed, even in a friendly.
The man standing next to me pointed this out as I hadn’t noticed and we struck up a conversation that lasted for most of the game off and on. He too was there as a neutral. A Hartlepool United fan living in Jarrow next to an exiled Stoke City fan living in Hetton.
You have to love football!
Due to the lack of a programme/teamsheet and the fact that there were no numbers on the shirts of one of the teams, I am just going to leave a link to the Blyth Spartans match report on this occasion.
Anyone wishing to read how it went can click the following link.
Summary
To summarise, Blyth were comfortable winners but Shields had a few decent chances too and were never completely outclassed. They may even have been the better team for the first twenty minutes or so. I’m sure they will take some comfort from that ahead of the new season.
The first goal was a bit of a scramble and ended with a close-range finish but the second goal by Jordan Hickey was a lovely twenty-five-yard left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
This 73rd-minute free kick was one of North Shields’ best chances of a goal.
Despite the game being a friendly, there were a few challenges that may not have gone unpunished in a league game. Blyth had a young lad playing on the left side who took more than his fair share of knocks during the game and I’m sure he knew he had been in a game on Sunday morning.
I was almost correct with my 0-3 pre-match prediction, missing out by just one goal.
Full-time – North Shields 0 v Blyth Spartans 2
Attendance – 232
Entrance Fee – £4.00
Programme – N/A
North Shields v Blyth Spartans – Match Highlights
Post-match interview with Robin’s manager Daniel Iredale
Ex-Aston Villa and Leicester City striker, Graham Fenton is the Blyth Spartans manager. I remember him having a very brief spell at Stoke City in 2000, scoring one goal in five appearances.
This is his post-match interview
Up Next
Next up for North Shields is a Tuesday night fixture at Craik Park, home of Morpeth Town. Their first league fixture will be at home to Seaham Red Star on the 29th of July.
I’m sure they will be looking to establish an early grip on the league and carry out the necessary groundwork needed to ensure promotion is feasible.
For Blyth, their next pre-season fixture will be at home, where they will be hosting newly relegated Hartlepool United, one division above Spartans.
Their first National League North fixture will be at home to Gloucester City on the 5th of August.
I imagine after last season’s narrow escape, the Spartans will be looking for an improved season and would probably be happy with a mid-table finish.
However, with so many trialists and youngsters in the team, it promises to be an unpredictable season ahead for the Green and White Army of Northumberland.
Thoughts
We enjoyed our day in North Shields, despite the sporadic rain showers.
A fantastic pub lunch at the Low Light Tavern, the superb views of the River Tyne and out to the North Sea and the Stan Laurel statue. A shame about missing the Stadium Collectables shop but c’est la vie.
As for the ground itself… there isn’t a lot in terms of structures and that’s probably the only reason the Robins will be playing in the NL Division One this season, to be honest.
If they can carry out the work that the Northern Premier League demands of its clubs, then I’m sure Shields will be back sooner rather than later.
Having said that, it’s yet another friendly northeast club to visit, with a good social club for pre-match pints.
Overall, a good day was had.
North Shields – After the Game
After the whistle blew for full time, we made our way out of the ground and made for the bus stop on Waterville Road, just down the street from the stadium.
Our bus was due in five minutes once we got to the bus stop and here it came, bang on time… and went straight past us, turning up the road towards the stadium instead of towards the bus stop that clearly stated it was for the #307 to Newcastle.
Grrrr!
Knowing that the next one would be half an hour away, we walked further down Waterville Road and under the Metro bridge to the next stop along. This way, whichever route the bus took, we would already be on it. Luckily, the bus was early (or late, who knows with public transport anymore) and we got on board.
Good decision!
Sure enough, this bus went past the ground and ignored the bus stop we had previously waited at too.
We arrived in Newcastle and got on our bus home. Once at Gateshead, the bus was suddenly inundated with Sunderland fans on their way home from their day out at pre-season friendlies. They had played two matches against both South Shields (4-3) and Gateshead (3-2) winning both games.
A father and son sat by us and we chatted football once again. I love all these random chats with fellow football fans and we really are one big family with only the club we support being the difference.
Next Up for Hoppers Guide
Next week, we visit another northeast club – Shildon AFC.
They will be hosting South Shields in a friendly game at Dean Street. Another new stadium for us and it will be nice to see South Shields again. A place we have visited twice and enjoyed our time there.
Onto the next!
