The Best You've Never Had

Dorchester Town U23  7  Swanage Town & Herston  0

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Admission / Programme – No / No

I was asked recently as to what I considered to be the best football ground in England……..that I haven’t actually seen a game at.

I was kind of torn, because first things first, I haven’t been to the said places, so I could only work from photographic evidence, but I had got it narrowed down to two grounds, both of which in the grand scheme of things are pretty close to each other.

Salisbury and Dorchester Town, and with the holiday in Dorset booked, surely I would be able to get to one of them, and hopefully, from a geographical perspective, it would be Dorchester because from our base in Weymouth, it was only about a ten minute drive away.

The footballing Gods looked down on me, and while it wasn’t to be a first team game, I did spot that the Under 23 side were playing at home to Dorset Premier League outfit, Swanage Town & Herston, that, ladies and gentleman, would do for me!

Let’s have a childhood rewind again. It was the Summer holiday of 1987, we had been to a pre-season friendly at Weymouth where they entertained Cardiff City. It was played at the clubs shiny new Wessex Stadium home, the club having recently moved from the old Recreation Ground which is now an Asda that can be spotted a short distance away from Town Bridge down in the harbour.

Knowing that Dorchester also had a club, I seem to recall Dad made some excuse while we were out and about in the car to go and have a drive to have a look at the ground. We did that a lot on holiday, many of which I have since been back to for games, Sidmouth Town, Newquay and Ottery St Mary spring to mind. Anyway, we went to Dorchester, an old fashioned ground on the South side of the town, but plans were afoot for a move, only a few yards away!

And that was what happened, in 1990, the club moved to what at the time was a publicly well received facility, literally next door to the old site, which came with a seal of approval than none other than the current King Charles! It seems the £3 million project was built on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, so Charlie had a big say in the architectural and aesthetic side of the project. Not one for ‘monstrous carbuncles’, he has visited the site on a few occasions, although I don’t think he’s ever done it for a pre-season friendly!

To be fair to His Highness, he got it spot on in terms of designing a football ground, what a beauty it is, albeit, for a first time visitor it is now starting to show it’s age a little, but that in no way detracts from what is without doubt a top drawer stadium, that did host Football League games in 2001-02 season when AFC Bournemouth had a spell away from Dean Court while it was being re-developed.

As expected the journey from Weymouth was a breeze and a good hour before kick off I’d negotiated the roundabouts and was pulling into a space right outside the main entrance to the ground. Let’s start with the exterior, from the outside the ground has the feel of a fortress, with high brick walls, and pitched roofed buildings in each corner that resemble turrets. The main stand is a significant building and from the rear where the main entrance and signage is,  you can see that it contains all of the facilities the club needs such as the changing rooms, the bar and of course club offices.

It was free admission, so in I wandered and first hand got to experience the majesty (no pun intended) of the stadium. The main stand offers an impressively elevated viewing position with a large number of seats (DTFC can be picked out in black and white), while either side of the stand, right down to the corners are areas of uncovered terracing. Behind the South goal is a steep area of terracing complete with crush barriers and a pitched roof, while on the East side of the ground a similar but lengthier structure is in situ, punctuated by a large turnstile block area that straddles the half way line.

Finally, behind the North goal is another area of elevated terracing, this time without a roof, but, this area looks like one that can easily be segregated should Weymouth or Yeovil Town pay a visit. Yes, it is a fabulous stadium, but what it does have is a bit of class, with a nod to the historic. I can see exactly why it received so much positive publicity when it was first built. One change that has taken place very recently is the laying of a 4G surface, the Avenue is very much a community facility.

But what about the football club, because, when you build a new ground it’s often looked upon as the launchpad to success on the field?

Well, going back to the Post War period the club were a Western League side, before moving to the Southern League in 1972 where they became members of Division One South. The club did get promotion to the Premier Division where they remained through the latter part of the Eighties and into the Nineties when they moved to the Avenue.

They made the cut to become founder members of the Conference South in 2004, where they remained without making much of an impression for ten years before being relegated back to the Southern League again, where they remain.

Since being back in the Southern League, the highest finish has been thirteenth, so right now, they do have the feel of a club that is somewhat entrenched in Step 3.

They’ve had some FA Cup success, one of the highlights being 1981-82 when neighbouring AFC Bournemouth were held to a 1-1 draw at home in the Second Round, before a replay at Dean Court ended in a 2-1 defeat. A First Round 9-1 defeat came at Oxford United in 1995-96, while in 2000-01 they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Wigan Athletic.

Oxford United were then held to a draw in 2008-09 before they won a replay 3-1 at the Avenue, while in 2012-13 the clubs first victory over a Football League club came when they beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at the Avenue, before losing 3-1 at Luton Town in the Second Round.

So that kind of brings us up to the present day, but what did the Under 23’s get up to against the Dorset Premier League side, who themselves have competed at a higher level in the past? Well to be honest the hosts blew them away with an impressive 7-0 victory, five of the goals coming before the break.

To be fair, Dorchester won the Hampshire Combination Development League last season, losing only two games an averaging almost four goals per game scored, so they are clearly a decent outfit, and on the night they were simply too good.

So the best ground in England I’d never visited, has now had a visit, and I’d go as far as to say, in terms of grounds I’ve been to, and there have been a fair few from a non-league perspective, it would be right up at the very top end.

It shouldn’t be in the Southern League though, it’s better than that……….Charlie would agree I'm sure!