Great Start to 2007

We returned to Swansea from Birmingham in the early hours this morning...exhausted from a whirlwind tour of Premiership football. Hours on the road and in packed stadiums can be taxing. But who cares, we saw two beautiful cities and three outstanding matches!

It all started on Saturday when we drove from Swansea to Liverpool to watch a match at Goodison Park, home of Everton FC. Newcastle were the guests on what was a nasty, wet afternoon. Goodison Park, in our opinion, is a great building. When we walked in we were reminded of old Tiger Stadium in Detroit with double-tiered stands held up by white rafters. There was not a bad seat in the house. The match was a bit sloppy and in the end Newcastle were beaten 3-0 with 2 goals from Victor Anichebe and a rare goal from Phil Nevile (pictured, top). The atmosphere was a bit drab, like the weather, but it must be said that Goodison has served the best beer so far of any stadium. China's Chang Beer sponsors Everton FC and makes a darn good pint as well.
We didn't have much of a New Year's Eve to celebrate when we discovered upon arrival in Liverpool that celebrations that were to take part in the City Centre were cancelled due to inclimate weather. Wind gusts of up to 80 miles an hour disrupted celebrations all over the country, but fortunately we had a nice place to stay, television broadcasting London's amazing fireworks display on the River Thames and an excellent room service meal to keep us happy.
On New Year's Day, we went to Anfield for a lunch-time match between hosts Liverpool FC and Bolton Wanderers. The sun was out and it was a bit chilly, and going to one of football's most spectacular stadiums made us forget all about any New Year's Eve disappointment. Anfield is simply an amazing place to see footy. It is a cathedral for football fans and although we had been there before the experience gets better each time. The match itself started off a little slow for both teams but Liverpool were the most threatening and by the time the second half started they showed why they were crowned the best team in all of Europe just 2 seasons ago. The match finished 3-0 with goals from Peter Crouch (pictured, middle), Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt.

The Anfield faithful sings "You'll Never Walk Alone":

The Liverpool squad arrives at Anfield prior to the match:

The following day we set out for Birmingham to see a night match between hosts Aston Villa FC and Chelsea FC. Villa Park is the home ground for Aston Villa and is very different than both Goodison Park and Anfield. Villa Park is more reminiscent of stadiums in America with stands rising away from the pitch that gives a more distant feeling than the other venues. It is a nice place to see a match, however, and the home supporters were in full voice. Constant singing and chanting throughout the night helped a below-strength Aston Villa cope with one of football's most talented teams in Chelsea. In particular, Chelsea midfielder and England International Frank Lampard looked disrupted by the Villa supporters who chanted "Where were you in Germany?" and "You let your country down!", referencing Lampard's uninspiring performances for England during the World Cup. Atmospherically, Villa Park is the pick of the bunch so far, although since the match took place at night and televised live across the UK it may have been a unique occasion. The match itself was as enthralling as a 0-0 draw could be. Villa defender Wilfred Bouma (pictured, bottom) put in an outstanding performance.
Overall, the trip to Liverpool and Birmingham was a good one and we managed to mix in some culture was well, visiting the Tate Gallery on Albert Dock in Liverpool and the ThinkTank museum in Birmingham which houses the first steam engine designed by James Watt.