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  • Dec 22, 2018
  • 3 min read

Hello and welcome back to The Football Ground-Low, as this is my first football ground review in three weeks. For this one, I took a short bus journey from my house to the Sadiku Stadium, home of Kings Langley FC (and Watford FC Ladies), in a Southern League Premier Division match against Gosport Borough. Langley, who started the game in 12th position, ran out 3-0 winners against the team 4 places below them, with all three goals coming from striker Mitch Weiss.




FACILITIES

The stadium is at the smaller end of the scale when compared to others of this level, with a capacity of just 1,963, however it is perfectly suited to the needs of Kings Langley FC, which is village/suburb in between Hemel Hempstead and Watford. Kings Langley also enjoyed three successive promotions at the end of 2015/16 meaning that it has been hard to match the level of the ground to the stature of the team. Having said that, the ground is nice and well maintained, with lots of area for fans to stand to watch the game as well as seating the side of the pitch and in a tiny stand behind one of the goals. Also has a good bar on site as well as a full-size football pitch (with netted goals) that can be used to have a pre-match kickabout if you please!

6/10




FOOD AND DRINK

Hot food and drink is served form a burger van inside the ground while alcoholic beverages can be bought from the bar. I decided to go for my normal option of a portion of chips for £1.50 and, sorry Kings Langley, but they were the worst chips I’ve had at a football ground that I can remember. They were far too skinny for my liking (basically fries) and while some too soggy or under cooked, others were too hard and basically a crisp! I wont even go into the lack of pepper!

To be fair the burgers they were serving did look quite nice and you do get a decent sized portion for the price (£1.50 chips and £3 burger) but I was not impressed with the quality.

Snacks are also available for the same venue such as chocolate bars, sweets and crisps.

3/10




FANS

Although they made little noise throughout the game (I only heard one chant all game coming from a section of about a dozen Langley fans!), I was impressed with the turnout of 165, which is good considering the size of Kings Langley, the proximity and ease of access to bigger clubs (London teams, Watford FC, Hemel Hempstead FC) and that it was very close to Christmas, meaning many people could’ve been out shopping or put off by the cold!

6/10



MATCH PROGRAMME

The match programme is very basic and lacks the slick look that other clubs at this level go for, however it contains all useful information about the two clubs such as history, squads and recent results all while costing just £1. You are also given a print out of the official team sheet with purchase of a match programme which is a nice touch.

5/10



PRICES

The prices to enter the match are £11 for adults £7 for concessions (students and over 65s) and £2 for under 16s, which are all fairly standard for this level, although many clubs do have a slightly cheaper concession price. Prices inside the ground are very good, with the cost of food and drink and match programme being especially reasonable (prices shown below) although £1.50 for crisps seems a little high?

6/10


OVERALL

To summarise, this is very pleasant non-league ground that offers a good match day experience for home and away fans with decent prices and facilities available for all ages, although maybe avoid the chips! Can be easily accessed from around the country, with the nearest train station; Apsley, a 20-minute walk away while the 500 bus, a service that runs from Watford to Aylesbury, can drop you right outside the ground.


26/50

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  • Dec 1, 2018
  • 3 min read

Updated: Dec 7, 2018

Hello and welcome back to The Football Ground-Low, where I kicked off the month of December by visiting Broadwater, home of 4th placed Berkhamsted FC, taking on Corby Town who started the day in 3rd position in the Southern League Division One Central. It was the visitors who took home the three points, coming from behind to win 2-1 in a match that they just about edged.



FACILITIES

Broadwater, which can hold up to 2500 people of which 170 are seated, is a pleasant but unspectacular ground, featuring 1 stand with seating as well as two smaller terraces behind either goal. All three stands have a roof which is a plus point and you are able to get very close to the action when in the seated section – literally about a metre away from the dugouts, so you can hear everything that’s going on! In a good location, the train station is just a few minutes’ walk away, with the platform visible from the stadium. Decent bar also on site. Without any thrills, this a nice, small ground that fulfils the needs of the club and fans.

5/10



FOOD AND DRINK

Good selection of the typical match day food and drink on offer, such as burgers, sausage rolls, soups, teas and hot chocolate, which is served from a little hatch first thing as you enter through the turnstiles. Also has a good selection of snacks, such as chocolate bars, crisps and sweets all available at low prices. I can’t actually comment on the taste and quality of the food and drink offered as I actually bought a portion of chips from a fish and chip bar next to the train station, which I would highly recommend trying it if you go past on the way to Broadwater (best chips in town I’ve heard, £2.40 for a very generous medium portion). Should include a menu board next to the serving hatch so its easier for fans to see what’s on offer!

5/10


The venue for my pre-match meal. Would highly recommend if you pass by

FANS

The fans didn’t chant during the game which isn’t uncommon for a club at this level, however there seemed a great community between everyone at the club, with everybody seeming to know and be friendly with everyone associated with the club, from the people behind serving the food to the manager and coaching staff.

6/10


In touching distance of the away team dugout

MATCH PROGRAMME

Just like the ground itself, the match programme has everything you’d expect it to have without any thrills. In colour, limited advertisement and filler pages and solid pieces of information about the league, recent results and history of both teams, it is a decent match programme and at £1.50 it is well worth picking up a copy. It seems as though it is only sold at the turnstiles, so don’t forget to ask for yours’ when your entering the ground.

6/10



PRICES

Ticket only cost me £2 to get in as I was assumed to be under 16, however the usual adult price of £8 is very respectable (I would say £10 would be fine to charge at this level) and the £6 concessions fee is also fair. Prices inside the ground continue to be respectable, with the match programme being cheap at £1.50 and, while I didn’t eat from the food served inside the ground, so I cannot confirm the prices or level of quality, they seemed low with some snacks starting such as chocolate, sweets and biscuits starting at 30p.

8/10



OVERALL

You may come across bigger and fancier grounds at this level of the game, however sometimes you cannot beat the more old-school, close to pitch view that you seems to be getting more and more rare. Good transport links, low prices for getting in, food and drink and match programme, a close-knit relationship between fans and club staff and a decent level of semi-professional football makes a visit to Berkhamsted’s Broadwater Stadium well worth it.


30/50

Where does this rank on the official Football Ground-Low league table? Click here to find out!


 
 
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