On Saturday we have the excitement of going to Brentford, with kick-off at 5.30pm, as we have been selected for live coverage by Sky once again. We’re not famous any more!
The best way to get there by car involves going round to the west of London on the M25 and then coming in on the M4. Come off at junction 2 and take the A4, going around the Chiswick Roundabout so that you end up coming back on yourself. Continue along the A4 and at the first roundabout take a left onto the B455 (Ealing Road). The ground is located about half a mile down this road on your right.
There is no parking at the ground for supporters. So apart from a small pay and display car park in Layton Road (first right off Ealing Road, costing £5 for three hours but free after 6.30) then it is street parking. However there are residents’ only parking schemes in operation on some of the roads, so look out for the small parking information signs. Some roads in the area (such as Somerset Road, which is off the A3002 Boston Manor Road) do also allow pay and display parking at a cost of £1 for 30 minutes, but may be free parking after 6.30. Again, check the signs to be sure.
It’s no surprise that the nearest railway station is Brentford, which has a train every 15 minutes from London Waterloo. It’s only a five minute walk from the ground, and you can’t really miss it, not least because you’ll see where Griffin Park is when you go past on the train just before you arrive at Brentford station.
Another option is to go to the nearest Underground Station to the ground is South Ealing, which is on the Piccadilly Line. This tube station is around a mile from the ground, straight down Ealing Road, but if you can’t raise the energy to walk that far you can get the number 65 bus.
Brentford is famous for being the only ground in England that has a pub at every corner of the ground. The surrounding land was formerly owned by the Griffin Brewery, hence the name ‘Griffin Park’. Of the four, the ‘New Inn’ is the best for away supporters. Another option away from the ground is the real ale pub 'Magpie & Crown' which is only five minutes walk away, on Brentford High Street. There is no alcohol for sale inside the away end in the ground, but if there was it would probably be exorbitantly priced anyway.
Griffin Park has been Brentford’s home since 1904, and with a capacity of only 12,763 it has been described at as ‘compact’. Thankfully the stand given to away supporters isn’t quite so old, we get the Brook Road Stand, which was opened in 1986. It’s a small double decker stand with seating above and terracing below, and known to Brentford fans as the 'Wendy House'!
This stand gives us an allocation of 600 seats and 1,000 on the terrace, and while the view from the seats is good, the terrace has a couple of large pillars which tend to get in the way. If you’re wondering why Brentford are still allowed to keep some standing areas, it’s because they are due to move to a new stadium (see below) and they are spared the expense of converting terracing in a stand that will only be used for two more years.
The Leeds allocation was sold through the ‘Away Attendance Tracker’ scheme and has now sold out, so if you haven’t already got one you won’t be getting in, as Brentford are only selling tickets for the home stands to fans "with a previous purchasing history with the club”. The tickets for the seats are £27.50 for Adults, Over 60's £21, 18-21 year old £18.50, Under 18's £8. For the terrace most categories are £1.50-2.50 cheaper apart from the Under 18's price, which is still £8.
Brentord’s official site says that they are heading for their biggest crowd of the season, and "ticket availability for Saturday’s game is now limited”. And they are limited to extent that "to buy tickets for this match, you must have previously bought and attended a Brentford fixture”, obviously to keep Leeds fans out of the home stands.
The Club have received planning permission to build a new 17,250 capacity stadium, at Lionel Road (in-between Kew Bridge railway Station and the M4), just under two miles away from Griffin Park. They have begun clearing the site, and stadium construction is due to begin in early 2018, with completion in late 2019 or early 2020. So if we’re still in the same division as the mighty Bees in a few years’ time we might get a slightly larger allocation, but alas, there’ll be no more terracing. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.
Some of this stuff came from www.footballgroundguide.com .