Field Mill Memories

Mansfield Town  0  Swindon Town  0

English Football League – Division Two

My Dad will probably not remember it, but one of my earliest and most vivid football memories is from the day he took me to a Mansfield Town game.

It was Boxing Day 1985, I would have been thirteen years old, and for some reason we made a late decision to go and watch the Stags play Stockport County in a Division Four game. I think it was a late decision because Belper’s game had been postponed if I recall, but anyway, time was tight.

My Dad claimed not to have been for many years, but had a recollection of where the ground was. I’d never been at all so was pretty clueless, but as the clock ticked onto 3pm we were parking up at the bottom of Bishop Street, and by the time we’d got to the turnstiles at the back of the West Stand, the crowd had roared twice and Mansfield were 2-0 up!

The Ian Greaves Stand

Having only ever been to the Baseball Ground, the City Ground and Meadow Lane, visiting Football League grounds was a new and exciting experience for me, and I simply loved it at Field Mill. The old West Stand which we were stood in front of on the paddock, was a beauty of a structure. It dominated the ground, while to our right was the open Quarry Lane end which housed the Hatters fans. The hard core Stags support stood on the terraces behind the opposite goal, while the tiny Bishop Street Stand sat opposite.

On a sunny day (yes, December, I know), it was a belter of a game which finished 4-2 to the Stags. I can tell you that Tony Lowery scored twice for Mansfield, while Neville Chamberlain and Paul Garner got the other goals. The Stockport goals came courtesy of a brace from Mark Leonard. The crowd was 4,206 and Les Chapman saw red for the visitors, who’s fans were very vocal!

Bishop Street Storage Facility

How do I know all of this? Well, for one season only, I used to write the match details on a piece of paper and slip them inside the programme, only at the time, I thought one day they might come in useful, like today, when it comes to writing this blog! So, according to my records I’ve got 76 sets of match details tucked away in programmes, maybe one day……

I Knew Those Notes Would Come In Handy One Day!

Visits to Field Mill have been infrequent over the years since. Following another Belper Town postponement a car load of us went to see them play York City in 1987, while I made the journey with a mate the year after that to stand in the away end to see his Tommy Johnson inspired heroes smash the Stags 3-1.

When non-league football befell the Stags, I was very much under the influence one Christmas courtesy of a public transport, and watched Burton Albion gain a victory on their march to the Football League, while on a snowy evening I saw Nuneaton Town edged past as Mansfield made their own way back to the professional ranks again.

So, Mansfield Town, why today?

Quarry Lane

Well, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the match of choice. We were meant to be going to Harrogate Town v AFC Fylde, on the basis we had to be at a Wedding Reception in Penistone that evening. Only, Mrs H had too many wifely tasks to carry out so that went out of the window. I toyed between Mansfield and Burton, but, what swung it was the fact that I’d not been for a while, and as they sat third in the league, they were probably worth a look.

With street parking available just five minutes walk from the ground, if you know where it is, I was buying a ticket less than half an hour after leaving the house, so with a seat secured in the Quarry Lane End, it was time to nip round to the Sandy Pate Sports Bar for a bit of liquid refreshment.

The SPSB is a cracking little place, open every day, it sells the Lord’s Finest Carling at a mere £2.90 a pint, and if you so wish you can upgrade to a two pint pot on a matchday to save queuing. With lager and a burger consumed, while watching the Gers beat the Celts on the telly, the place got busier and busier with both Stags and Robins fans taking advantage of the great value for money.

Suitably refreshed, I found my way to the seats and elected to ignore the actual seat number on my ticket, and went for the very top corner of the stand towards the Bishop Street side. I’d forgotten to bring any chalk with me, which was a great shame as I was in the family enclosure and on the backs of the seats are chalk boards for kids to draw and scribe on. What would I have written? No idea, probably just drawn a penis or something equally childish!

The Away End

Field Mill has changed an awful lot over the years. The old West Stand has been replaced by a two tier stand named after great former Manager Ian Greaves, while behind both goals are two similar single tier seated stands. The Bishop Street side still has the old stand but it’s boarded up and is now used as a dumping area / TV gantry / advertising board hoarding. Put simply, that side of the ground is perhaps next on the list of redevelopments.

Expectation was in the air, a higher than average attendance of 5,333 were in place to see if the Stags could maintain their excellent recent form and remain firmly in the promotion hunt. But, to be fair, other than a spell of intense pressure in the final ten minutes as Mansfield laid siege to the Swindon goal, the game was a bit of a damp squib.

We're Ready To Go

Swindon had done their homework and were able to stifle the Stags, while they could argue that they had chances themselves to have won the game. But alas, not the best performance from Mansfield you’ll see this season, and in terms of a spectacle, it was a touch disappointing. But, teams coming to Field Mill may well adopt a more defensive minded approach in the coming weeks and months, so the Stags are going to need to formulate a Plan B.

My parking spot was a belter, I drove straight out and was home again within half an hour. In hindsight, I perhaps should have invited my old man along, I owe him a trip to Mansfield after he introduced me to them all those years ago. Maybe next time, I’d make sure we didn’t miss kick off though…….