Boundary Park - Oldham

Boundary Park - Owdham Athletic

Who would have thought it? 46 games all done & dusted and it`s another trip to BP for the travelling tangerine hordes.
If the old bill had stepped in earlier and secured the release of the extra 1600 tickets I`ve every confidence that we would have sold out our allocation, as it stands I`ll expect around 4000 of us, giving Sky a good dose of all things tangerine. I`ll expect an extra loud welcome to good old RW & our favourite ex Knobber, here`s hoping the Lilysheeites choke on our very words as they watch it from their front rooms, their season already over and another case of "Job Done".
A cold night in Feb saw a fantastic turnout and a great result. The numbers will be swelled considerably more this Sunday, here`s hoping for a similar result.

How to get there
This is not fun. Even Platos' sat nav can`t find this bleeding place. I`ve considered adopting the Hansel & Gretal approach, so that we can find our way back out, however it`s a Sunday and the locals will be looking for a treat for their lunch so that`s that idea out of the window.
By Car- Leave the M62 at Junction 20 and take the A627 (M) towards Owdham. Take the second slip road off the A627 (M) following the signs for Royton (A663). At the top of the slip road you will find a large roundabout that around it has a McDonalds and a KFC. Turn left at the roundabout onto the A663 towards Royton (beware though of 30mph speed cameras on this stretch). You will be able to see Boundary Park over on your right.
For the Virgin lovers amongst us - There are trains from Manchester Victoria to Owdham Werneth station (15 mins). The ground is 20 minute walk away. Turn right at main road near station and keep straight ahead through traffic lights until you reach roundabout with Tesco on your right. Turn left at roundabout and BP can be seen on opposite side of dual carriageway after approx 600 yards near B&Q Warehouse.

The ground
Behind the goal in the Rochdale Road stand should be a sea of tangerine.
The one good thing about this stand is that you can (and we will) make some noise, altogether now - "Are you watching PKE?" Not a bad view from here.
In the league game we sat in the main stand and had a decent view of the Seaside support , one things for certain Sky`ll love us.

Where to drink
Last time around we drank in and parked on the pub next to the Travelodge situated behind the home end. Despite one of us wearing colours (step forward Worsley) we received no agg. You have to get there early though as door men appeared nearer the kick off time. The Clayton Arms is a small but busy pub situated next to the ground, the Bluebell Inn is slightly further away and the Old Grey Mare and the White Hart can be found about a 5 minute walk from the away end. You turn right out of the away end on to Sheepfoot Lane then head left to the top. Turn left onto Oldham Rd. The BBI is first + the WH is slightly further down the same road.

Plod & Stewards
Despite all the verbal banter on the internet during the season nothing ever seems to happen. Numbers will play a big part in this on Sunday there`ll be plenty of OB around to ensure a smooth transit to & away from BP. I found the stewards most helpful during this seasons league game, fingers X`d for more of the same.

Fear Factor rating - 5.

This is it. Our 3 game season starts right here, right now. The prize a trip to the new Wemberley. It`s been 15years since our last one and we all know the heartache of the mid nineties. This season counts for nothing, other than it`s given us both a chance to reach the promised land. Here`s hoping that it will be the bear as opposed to that b loody owl that`s strutting down the Wembley walk in 2 weeks time.

Onwards + Upwards

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