Craven Cottage - A day out to the capital
- Charlie Hynes
- Apr 7, 2019
- 3 min read
In the weeks before coming to university, I can recall my sister (the wind-up merchant that she is) telling me the sport journalism course at University of Gloucestershire would not be as expected.
She said that I wouldn’t get any opportunities to cover top live sport at uni and that was only something third year students got to do. I do have to say it is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world when you can tell a sibling that you were right, and they were wrong.
After being able to go to the likes of The Hawthorns, Kingsholm and Sixways stadium in a journalistic capacity, Friday was going to be one to tick off the bucket list: go in the press box at a current Premier League ground.
The ground in question was the iconic Craven Cottage. Over the years it had been the location of many great matches including Fulham’s famous 4-1 Europa League win over Juventus. Friday’s game was not quite of the same stature but certainly wouldn’t take anything away from the experience. It saw Fulham Under 23’s face Reading Under 23’s.
Arriving at the stadium was an interesting experience with the driver pulling off some sensational moves through the narrow streets of Fulham and then waiting outside the stadium for 20 minutes complaining to my peers that I needed a Greggs.
The exterior of Craven Cottage was as expected and was the most ‘London’ football ground I think I've seen. The red brick look of the stadium fitted into the local Fulham housing aesthetic and without the stadiums floodlights the ground would be easily camouflaged. One thing that stood out to me when arriving was a sign that read ‘Away fans and neutral fans’ on the Putney end stand. For me that maybe up there with the dodgy idea of half and half scarves in football.
After getting into the ground the group were allowed the opportunity to get food which saw 25 students descend on the meal deal section of Tesco after navigating the streets of Fulham like a D of E expedition but with more intent.
On our return we headed to find our seats. Initially, the ground felt a lot smaller than expected and the press box was positioned lower than I would have expected. Taking in my surroundings, the famous cottage in the corner of the stadium caught my eye. With its balcony overlooking the pitch, it reminded me of a traditional cricket pavilion such as that of Headingley in the era that my Grandfather would watch great Yorkshire sides of old.
The game itself was a representation of the form of both sides throughout the season with 4th placed Reading starting strongly against a struggling Fulham side. Reading quickly took the lead through former West Ham and Brighton striker Sam Baldock from the penalty spot then doubled their lead with a goal from Ben House.
Neeskens Kebano looked to be Fulham’s brightest player with some electric runs from midfield, but Fulham just couldn’t finish their chances as well as their counterparts. The Royals eventually put the game to bed with a last-minute breakaway goal to move up to 3rd in the Premier League 2 Division 2 table. Fulham Midfielder Matt O’Riley seemed understandably unenthusiastic in the post-match press conference after his side's performance, similar to that of a teen that had just been told to tidy his room by his mother.
An interesting chat with former UOG student and head of Fulham Academy media Adam Micklewright about his route into his job followed the game. This was an intriguing insight into life after uni and he gave some great advice on how to succeed in the course.
It was now home time, back on the coach to Cheltenham to get a good night's sleep before I headed to Coventry to watch Wasps vs Worcester the following day. The day was capped off with a two hour long sing along with everyone in high spirits after what I’m sure many of us will look back as an enjoyable preliminary experience of a Premier League club’s press box.
So, to respond to my sister’s comments that I would not be able to experience a professional press box environment in my first year I would say you couldn’t be more wrong. This course has so far offered some experiences that I believed would have been unimaginable a year or so ago and feel incredibly lucky. Hopefully, this will be able to continue throughout the next few years.
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