Ground: Stamford Bridge
Visits: 3
Date: 4th January 1997
Match: Chelsea - West Bromwich 3-0 (FA-Cup)
Attendance: 27 446
Date: 22nd April 2000
Match: Chelsea - Middlesbrough 1-1 (Premier League)
Attendance: 34 467
Date: 20th April 2011
Match: Chelsea - Birmingham 3-1 (Premier League)
Attendance: 40 848
Report (Chelsea - Birmingham):
My first match on this trip was supposed to be Ipswich-Norwich on Thursday evening. Since I didn't want to rush things I decided to fly out to London on Wednesday afternoon, hoping to catch a game in the evening. In the end I only had two choices, Tottenham vs Arsenal or Chelsea - Birmingham. Getting a ticket for the north London derby was impossible meaning it had to be my third trip to Stamford Bridge. My first trip to this west London ground was in January 1997 (the second in April 2000). In 1997 the Shed End was rebuilt and the old West Stand was still there. The new West Stand, with its hospitality boxes, was opened in 2002 and the capacity nowdays at Stamford Bridge is 42 000. For most games the demand is much bigger than that, there are a lot of tourists in London! For unattractive midweek matches getting a ticket is a bit easier though and there were plenty of tickets left when I bought mine 10 days in advance. As a ground Stamford Bridge is quite nice but the atmosphere during most matches is not that good.
Chelsea scored after a minute against Birmingham and when the second was scored 25 minutes later everyone knew it was game over. The second half was more like an exhibition game, Chelsea were simply too superior for this to be a dramatic match. I spent most of the second half listening to my seat neighbours discussions, some of those were quite interesting, and when Spurs equalised (3-3) against Arsenal I was immediately informed. The match at Stamford Bridge eventually ended 3-1 to Chelsea and even if the game/atmosphere wasn't the best it is always nice to see four goals.
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Stamford Bridge on a matchday

Chelsea, Wall of players

Remains of the old Shed End wall

Statue of Peter Osgood

East Stand

Shed End

West Stand

Matthew Harding Stand

East Stand (vs Birmingham)

East Stand (vs Middlesbrough)

Birmingham fans

Shed End (vs Birmingham)

Shed End (vs Middlesbrough)

Kick-off (vs Birmingham)

My view (vs Birmingham)

West Stand

Dressing room

Pano

Pano

Pano