A fond farewell to Love Street
It was an afternoon of tears and cameras; memories triggering the former, the latter to take pictures which in days still to come will set the eyes moist all over again.
They were photographing everything; the pitch, the pylons, the pie stands, the seats, the seagulls, the signs. And the old ground looked pretty as a picture in the winter sunshine.
It was a long and lingering farewell kiss to an encounter that was far from brief. St Mirren Park and its loving support embraced one another for 114 years.
On Saturday the attendance topped 10,000 - once a miserable turn-out for a St Mirren home game - but then that was in days long ago and far away. Buddies can't spare the time any more.
If only.
It was that kind of day, when the mind was set racing to conjure up dreams of clubs like Saints having that kind of backing every week. But you dreamed on.
I thought about my old man who passed on just months after St Mirren won the Scottish Cup in 1987 and who first infected me with the disease.
I wasn't a fan as a kid, in fact I confess to some foolish infatuation with Hearts, a condition long since cured. My mum re-married a brilliant bloke called Alex Rowan, who was Paisley to the core.
At first oh, how I laughed. Then it turned to apathy. And then everything in black and white started to make sense.
And by the seventies, when I covered the arrival of Alex Ferguson for the Daily Express I had caught the blasted bug.
Don't believe Johnny Watson. I'm not a Rangers fan from Paisley. Quite the opposite actually, a St Mirren fan from Govan.
It was a grand day. If this is what football flittings are like then bring them on. Don't buy, just rent.
The board of directors were glorious in their understanding of the emotion of it all. Chairman Stewart Gilmour, vice chairman George Campbell and his gang have performed quite fabulously in their financial machinations, in taking a club out of the red, producing a new dream home and clearing the debt.
But on Saturday they showed that they are also men of the people.
One supporter, Brendon Farren, put a framed photograph of his recently deceased dad - a lifelong fan - on the roof of the tunnel, his smiling face peering out just above the heads of the players as they took the to pitch. "No problem," said George.
You can't help feeling it might not have been that way at other, allegedly bigger clubs. That adjective describes their turnover, but not necessarily their soul.
St Mirren couldn't take three points, but in just about every other department they came up with the winning numbers.
The world's biggest removal van will cart the Reid Kerr stand - the Love Street end accommodation - down the road to, of all places, Cappielow, where it will protect Morton fans from the raging storms at the Tail of the Bank.
St Mirren have even pocketed about fifty grand for that.
So whatever else it was, Saturday turned into a fair old pay day for the Buddies. A capacity crowd, match programmes - collectors' issues if ever there was one - on sale at a fiver a go.
The only element of the afternoon which didn't crackle was the fireworks display.
The phrase damp squib comes to mind. I've seen better pyrotechnics in what Strathclyde Police euphemistically call a domestic.
Actually the game wasn't much cop either. A 0-0 draw, and only because Motherwell were denied a pretty good claim for a late penalty, although the irony of Paul Quinn mumping about not getting it was rich, since he should earlier have been red carded for an elbow in the face of John Potter.
But this was about an occasion, not a game. Well, Saints fans would say that given absence of a sense of romance among the football gods.
Of course, tales of the demise of Love Street may be premature. If the team draws with Brechin in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup then it will have been proven to be a false dusk.
And we'll have to start the greetin' all over again in the replay.
Stand by with the Kleenex and the cameras...
* You can listen to a documentary presented by me, 'Love Street Story', which tells the tale of the ground, on BBC Radio Scotland on 810MW from 1830 GMT on 8 January.
"Tell them who you are and what you are about," they said. To be honest, there are days when I struggle to remember myself. Forty years toiling at the coalface of football journalism does that to you. But I have reason to believe that I have reached the heady heights of the title of Football Correspondent of BBC Scotland which gives me a renown, in Scottish terms, of somewhere between Alex Salmond and the deep fried Mars Bar.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~22~RS~)
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I was at the match Chick, and apart from the actual football it was a great event. It was an emotional day (I?ll admit to having a lump in my throat during ?auld lang syne?) but emotion should not temper the praise we should be heaping on Stewart Gilmour and the board. Just entering through the turn-styles for the North Stand showed how badly needed this move has been, not just to clear the debt but also to provide the team and the fans with the facilities befitting an SPL team.
Well done all at St.Mirren I?ll miss the old ground but not regret the move.
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On Saturday the attendance topped 10,000 - once a miserable turn-out for a St Mirren home game - but then that was in days long ago and far away. Buddies can't spare the time any more.
I'm not a St Mirren fan, but I can't help but think lower attendances might be a consequence of pricing. I doubt you'd get into an SPL game for much under £25 and, for me, that's just too much (that's pre-transport and all associated costs). I'm not having a go at you Chick, but it riles me a bit when I hear pundits bemoan attendances. I know you get in for free as it's your job, but I'll bet most journalists aren't on minimum wage and can therefore afford to make such comments.
Not really relevant to your article, I know!
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BrietnersFro - is there really any reason to demean a man's memories of his dead "Old Man"?
Sometimes Chick's blogs are pretty lame, I know, but yours is the worst piece of writing I have seen on here. Snide, petty and spiteful.
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TheWorthinGer,
Thanks! exactly the way I hoped it would come across. I am spiteful at the idea my license fee pays Chic wages.
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As a lifelong Jambo I would like to pay my fond farewell to Love Street. Probably the last of the "good old grounds" in the SPL. Sure there are some cracking old grounds still enduring in the lower leagues and visiting them is always a joy too.
Also, must say I raised a laugh at Chick's comment that he used to be a Jambo himself!!! See you at Tynie then Chick eh? I'll buy you a pie and a pint in Diggers!
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Yet another tradition gone - remember going to Love St in the 80's to see the Ton gub them 3-1. Looks like the new ground is in minature, seems that they lack ambition. These new stadiums are souless and drab places to go to - give me the Cappielows of this world anyday with a bit of character and with terracing and not the ridiculous all seaters.
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I can't believe it, last week's blog was a good read, and now this. i nice little insight into a small club's (compared to other British clubs) emotional farewell to an old ground.
A few years ago it looked like my team, Swindon Town, would be leaving the County Ground and the thought of such a move filled me with dread. Luckily any move now seems a million years away, and for the time being we remain in SN1 at the County Ground, not an "out of the packet 21st century" ground, no our old fashioned (although not that fashionable) little ground that we love.
The older style stadiums are a dying breed, hopefully ours will remain for many more a year.
Keep up the good work Chico, and happy new year to all.
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So being a Hearts supporter is a condition, probably not as big as a condition as someone who can't decide what club they support. The weather is fair. Rangers, St. Mirren, or Hearts. LOL.
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I'm not a St Mirren fan. Never have been, never will be. I've moved around a bit in my years and so rather than follow a local team I went with the other old tradition of following my dad's team. So, for my sins, I'm a follower of one of those so called bigger clubs Chick mentions.
However, as a quirk of fate would have it, during one SPL winter shutdown a few years ago my season ticket went on ice and I decided to take in some first division matches in the mean time, through a few local friends of mine at the time. Local back then meant Falkirk. And although not my team, I would go in with the Falkirk fans and enjoy the day. The fates had it that the games I managed to see Falkirk play were against the two teams destined for promotion that season (thanks to Brockville being a shi... eh... stadium not fit for the SPL) - at home to Dunfermline, and away to St Mirren.
I was still relatively new to the season ticket thing for my own team and so I had only ever gone to home games. Indeed, I'd only been to three stadiums in Scotland - my own, Brockville and Hampden for Scotland games. So I was eager to expand and jumped at the chance for my first ever "away" game. Love Street was the venue.
The game itself was a disappointment - St Mirren won 1-0 with a breakaway while we were still screaming for a foul at the edge of the box - but Love Street took its place in my own personal history that day.
As fate would also have it, I was recently at my own team's final visit to Love Street, and the result was more favourable than my original visit to the stadium (so you can guess which "big team" is mine then!) and it was actually kinda sad leaving there for the final time.
There is one positive on the horizon though. As I'm now currently resident in Paisley, the new stadium will be a slightly shorter walk than the old one!
Will the new place have character? We'll have to wait and see. But I'm sure it will be missing one charm than the Northbank had... no roof on the toilet!
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For everyone taking a pop at Chick's standard of journalism this week's blog is far superior to Ron Mackay's match report in the Sunday Herald and Graeme MacPherson's match report in Monday's Herald. Ron Mackay goes on about future Tesco shoppers and seems blissfully unaware that Tesco changed their planning application months ago and are now hoping to build flats rather than a supermarket at Love Street and he also said it wouldn't take long to unpack the trophy room and move it to the new ground. St Mirren's haul of trophies from the last 25 years probably exceeds that of most of the non-Old Firm teams in the SPL with a Scottish Cup win, 2 first division titles, 1 Challenge Cup and momentos from European ties all represnted in the trophy room. Graeme MacPherson pokes fun at the after match celebrations where the stewards let the fans on the turf after the firworks. "It was the slowest, most benign pitch invasion of all time, as if undertaken by stoned slugs..." what did he want instead... a riot and fans not respecting the club's wishes that no one nicked the turf or stadium fixtures as we could still have a cop replay to play at the old ground.
By comparison Chick's blog has honesty - it wasn't much of a game, his own opinions (i thought the fireworks were ok!) and a warmth and insight and compassion into the events at the final SPL game at Love Street that was sadly missing from the "quality" journalists I've mentioned.
For me the only damp squib was the parade of the ex-players. I wish they'd done a walk round the stadium so we got a better view of them and since we couldnt hear who had turned up due to the announcers introductions being horribly distorted by the radio mic / old PA system combination. I'll also say that it was disappointing to have a 2 page spread of photos in the Sunday Herald which featured a wall, a sign, the players boots, the playres shirts in the dressing room pre-match and almost no pictures with fans or a full ground or the parade of ex-players.
Chick's blog and the picture give a much truer picture of what it was like to be there on Saturday.
Thumbs up Chick!
:)
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I live overseas and couldn't be there. I listened to as much as I could on the internet and have to admit I shed a tear at the thought that my wee boy will never see the buddies at Love Street.
I still remember my first game. Standing at the Caledonia end with my dad watching a 5-1 win over Berwick in the League Cup in early September 1978. After that, I was hooked.
Will you be podcasting your documentary?
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I have to laugh at one of the posts about some new stadiums being drab and that you can't beat a full Cappielow but let's be honest, Morton would chop someone's arm off if they were given a stadium like Ferguslie Park. St. Mirren are showing great ambition, moving with the times, and good luck to them. Just don't squander the money!!!!!!
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Chick, are you unwell or something? That's 2 good blogs in a row! Are you finally putting some thought into what you're writing rather than simply going for the word count? (Having said that, it was pretty similar to the one you did a few weeks ago - was that the first draft?)
I must admit that I'm lamenting the fact that Stadiums are the same the world over these days - it's only the colour of the seats that change. Forthbank, Broadwood etc all look pretty much the same, and have the same aritificial atmosphere. I know I've said it previously, but I prefered the days when all stadiums were like Cliftonville. Alright, 3 sides of the ground were condemned, but it did have soul, and it felt as if you were part of something special, but that's progress(!) I suppose, and is probably quite a good metaphor for Scottish football as a whole - It's bright and shiny, what with Chairmen referring to 'product' and suchlike, but with nothing substantial underneath.
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Always sad to see the old grounds go. I know the new grounds are more convenient for clubs but they are usually pretty souless places struggling for atmosphere.
Anyway, here's a link to photographer Stuart Clarke's site. He's got some cracking pics of Love Street
http://www.homesoffootball.co.uk/
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Always sad to see the old grounds go. I know the new grounds are more convenient for clubs but they are usually pretty souless places struggling for atmosphere.
Anyway, here's a link to photographer Stuart Clarke's site. He's got some cracking pics of Love Street
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Thanks for this Chick....I wasn't able to get to the game but I have been disappointed with the stuff in the papers, Setanta and the official St. Mirren website. I do have the pleasure of saying my last game was when we beat Rangers 1-0 recently and I admit to shedding a tear that day because I knew I would never be back. Like a lot of people I am happy that the club has a future because people seem to forget that the decision was made to move on the basis that if we didn't, the club would not survive. Having a team is more important than where we play, even if I love the place and have for the last 50 years.
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As a Bury FC supporter I only made it to Love Street once (just to "do" the ground) for a game with Rangers. It was a cracking old ground with friendly supporters of both sides. Good banter and a decent pie. Went for a beer with some Buddies fans after the game and they told tales of famous games at the ground.
All the best to the Buddies at the new ground and a Farewell to Love Street.
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Chico,
It was good to see you and Dougie enjoying the pre match entertainment, and your blog sums up precisely what I felt during and after the match. It was never about the game itself - instead we were there to witness the end of an era and to remember the perfect days amongst fans and players alike.
It was good too to see that some of the 'Well fans stayed to the end. I only hope that there is no cup replay. I am not sure I could bear a rerun of the emotions that Saturday brought forward.
Keep up the good work Chico, and I look forward to seeing you at the new St Mirren Park.
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Nice wee article Chic, well written and emotional. I wish all the best to St.Mirren and their true fans in their new ground.
However you will know by my recent comments I'm a cynic of yours. I just feel this article is trying to big up how much you love St.Mirren but I'm sorry, the rumours (or are they?) of you being a Rangers fan will always hang around you.
Also it's a bit of a biased article too. I've just felt recently that a lot of your articles aren't particularly relevant of main interest to SPL fans. For example the likes of Phil McNulty (BBC Premiership blogger) and Paul Fletcher (BBC English Football Leagues) write about teams that are on good form, challengers to the throne, managerial success stories, clubs in crisis (That doesn't translate to rangers losing two games in a row) amongst other things. I'll give you a few topics that you could discuss:
1. The recent good form of Dundee United and the part Craig Levein has played in that and whether they can sustain it.
2. Aberdeen fans love/hate relationship with Jimmy Calderwood
3. Talk about the troubles that are facing Inverness Caley Thistle.
4. The fall of Motherwell and Falkirk this year.
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g9mccle -
how can you say that a stadium like broadwood is better than cappielow??
is it better to have something that's unique and characterful, or something that's indistinguishable from everything else.
and before you start banging on about 'facilities' - the pitch at cappielow is just as good as broadwood's and the seats are just as comfortable - despite the fact that they're not house in uniform height and design stands...
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I was at the game, too, and it was great to see you and Dougie standing watching the game. I just wish I'd had a radio to my ear to hear you both talking trackside.
I was there with my Mum and my sister. Mum went to Love Street every Saturday before my sister and I appeared on the scene. In fact, she was there the day I was due to be born! I arrived a week later - couldn't have been that exciting a game! Kinda like Saturday's!
And now we move to the new St Mirren Park. What special occasions will that place see? Only time will tell.
Thanks for the memories, Love Street!
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It was a sad moment leaving love st for the last time but we must look forward with hope and build on what we have achieved so far.
The club had no choice in selling the ground so i dont think any saints fan feels any anger or resentment to the board. They had no choice. If we stay we die, if we move we survive and have a great chance of progressing on and off the field.
The new stadium looks ok but its what its like on 3 oclock on a saturday that counts.
It is what we make it.
To compare NSP to Broadwood or New Broomfield is wrong! These are 10000 seaters with attendances that are lucky to reach 1500. NSP is an 8000 seater which should hopefully average 6000 per game. How good would the atmosphere be in Ibrox or Parkhead if just over 10% of the ground was full?
As i said, it is what we make it.
Onwards and upwards.
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I totally agree with CrazyPauley, the fans are likely to stay away due to the prices being charged. John Boyle at Motherwell has attempted to change this by lowering prices and getting kids into the ground at Fir Park and trying to boost crowd numbers. Sadly though, given the economic circumstances of the country and globally recession, all SPL clubs and not just St Mirren will have to be far more creative in tempting fans through the turnstyles.
I'm surprised Chic never mentioned this as I seem to remember a particular rant from him over pricing when St Mirren played Dunfermline at East End Park a few seaons back in a relegation 6 pointer. The Buddies were charged more than the Dunfermline fans that day and Chic didn't exactly appreciate it so where's his call for Mr Gilmore to bring prices down and ensure an 8000 sell out every week at NSP?
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this ground was a favourite of mine to visit, especially while I worked at the airport, but it will always be etched on my heart with the date 3rd May 1986:
St Mirren 0- Celtic 5
Dundee 2- Hearts 0
the words on the commentary said it all :
IT'S LIFT OFF AT LOVE STREET !!!
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Back home for the festive period but couldn't make the Motherwell game - saw us beat Hamilton the week before. We played much better that game.
So many wonderful memories:
view of the stars from the NB toilets
every time we played Morton - win or lose, what a great atmosphere!
beating Celtic 4-2 after being 0-2 down-wasn't Scanlon great?
beating Hearts 6-2-running down Love St at full time under a hail of bricks!
The current board have done a fantastic job, and I just hope I get to see the new ground before the end of the season.
My kids could do worse than follow their father,like I followed mine, and support the Buddies!
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great article!
my first ever experience of live football was at love street, i went with my dad and uncle and we stood at the home end. i was taken aback by the noise and emotion of it all and ended up moving to the front, just yards behind jim leighton. i must have been around 11 or 12 years old and some lads around my age sepnt 90 minutes calling him some unbelievable stuff, the only word that would fit on this webpage would be 'tube'!
i soon fell in love with peterborough united, my hometown club, and am very happy for it, but i feel my introduction to real football was a fortunate one and i will always remember my day at love street.
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That was nice Chic and remember seeing you at a game against Falkirk 15 years ago so either you also support the Bairns or your true to your word. We lost 3-0 but hey happier times.
So many memories from 4-1 against the Gers in 1981 to 3-0 defeats to Dumbarton in 90's. Thats why I stuck with the Buddies, you never knew what you would get.
My first game was a famous one, 1977 Cup against Dundee Utd, 4-1, 17000 crowd and I was hooked. Next game losing to Motherwell and waiting an hour to get....."WHAT HAD I LET MYSELF IN FOR"
I ,for one, am only happy with progress, it was not that long ago Saints were in dyer trouble, Mr Gilmour and the board have been marvellous as has Gus on next to nothing. Memories are fantastic and will last but so does the present and the future.
At a time when football is going into Credit Crunch, the Buddies future is more Black than Fright.
The staduims charector is down to the fans. Love Street has changed so much in the last 10 years.
So well done Chic you hit the nail on the head. Saturday was as much a celebration that we have a future and now the past will be that much sweeter.
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Chick:
It is a very fond farewell to Love Street....
~Dennis Junior~
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