Craven Cottage - Fulham F.C

Last night was my third visit to Craven Cottage, home of Fulham F.C. Tonight's match was the Europa League (the latest moniker for the UEFA Cup) qualifier second leg against Vetra of Lithuania, Fulham already 3-0 up from the first leg.

First thing I'll say was the queue trying to get into the Hammersmith end (where the most vocal home support is housed) was atrocious and in the rain wasn't that amusing. By all accounts the barcodes on peoples tickets weren't working so every ticket had to be checked by hand.

Once inside (missed the first 15 minutes of the game) I began to appreciate just why Craven Cottage is one of my favorite football grounds. It's small in capacity but charming. Although it has long lost it's terracing it still has the original main stand and of course the famous cottage in the corner of the stadium. Leg room in the newer stands is brilliant (are these stands permanent as they seemed a bit prefabricated) and the view was very good. Biased as all three goals (as Fulham ran out 6-0 winners on aggregate) came at my end.

Program was a special addition celebrating Bobby Robson's career and legacy and cost £3. It was pretty good value for money on top of the fact that my ticket cost me a tenner. In fact, a Fulham season ticket can be as little as £300 for the full season with half season tickets available (presumably to catch those uncertains if they get into a good run).

With Vetra bringing a small number of fans considering they were allocated the whole away end the game did have a pre-season vibe about it but it doesn't take anything away from the experience - there wasn't much to sing about however. Allegedly Fulham isn't the most vocal of grounds (according to the season ticket holders to my right). I did appreciate it when a chant of "we all hate Leeds scum" came from the back of the Hammersmith end. Put a smile on my face.