McDiarmid Park

St Johnstone v Motherwell
Scottish Premier League
Saturday 11th May 2019, 3pm
Tony Smith (Doing the 134)

Why were you looking forward to this game and visiting McDiarmid Park?

The four lower Scottish League teams I have yet to visit are not involved in the play-offs. Fortunately, St Johnstone are in the top flight, my only other remaining were playing their last home fixture. The chance to cement a “top of the bottom six” finish at the expense (£60K) of opponents Motherwell perhaps an incentive for it not to be an ‘already on the beach’ boring game?

How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?

I travelled by train on the Friday but unfortunately, neither Perth, Dundee or Stirling had any evening theatre etc attractions that appealed. The ‘Ballroom & Latin dance weekend’ at my hotel was definitely to be avoided but with clientele unlikely to disturb my sleep by partying all night. 

On Saturday, staff at the bus station which is just outside the railway station were singularly unhelpful but the out of town twice an hour 15/15A does stop near McDiarmid Park. However as recommended on this site I went to Mill Street and took a No. 2 (6 an hour) bus, purchasing a £4 day-rider to cover all eventualities including error. Unlike many cities, Stagecoach Perth have yet to introduce real-time electronic passenger information but friendly locals told me “where to get off”, in the nicest possible sense.

What you did before the game pub/chippy etc, and were the home fans friendly?

I strolled downwards through the extensive car park (£5) towards the (South/Family) Ormand Stand. At about 13:40 the Saints Club Shop in there opened and stocked a good range of merchandise. ‘No.1 Mum’ mugs were priced at only £2 compared to £8 for those without the slogan despite both featuring the club crest as were the £10 ‘Money’ mugs (no handle and slot for coins).

What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of McDiarmid Park?

A stewarded gate behind the East Stand, where BBC vans were parked, prevented a walk entirely around the stadium which is built within a hole. This thus needs a high walkway to enter the Muirton Suite in the Main/West Stand which was quite full with fans eating/drinking pre-match. I did not join them but used the toilets and bought a programme (£2). At 20 pages this seemed poorish value but I did welcome the previous club info in the pen-pics. 

I opted to sit in the £1 cheaper East Stand and having paid £23 was handed a free team poster and could have got another programme. The adjacent toilets were clean/functional although slanted seating support girders mean the room is not box-shaped. The food bar menu included a special offer Steak & Chorizo Pie (£2. 60) or Macaroni vegetarian option. I had a (£2.50) minced beef bridie with (£2.20) cup of tea although a soft drink in the same sized cup was much cheaper (£1.40). 

After watching the end of the Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion first leg play-off on a tv screen I then took my seat fairly centrally and high up avoiding those stickered for season ticket holders. The colourful seating, including the unused North Stand behind the goal were very much visible as only just over 3,000 occupied the more than 10,500 available. The ground seems to have aged quite well, has excellent/spacious viewing but I suspect any refurbishment would dispense with the need for traditional style floodlight pylons.

Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..

Presumably, a league/contractual requirement I was bemused to see yellow footballs in use on a sunny May afternoon. Brogan (a hound?) the mascot is hardly impressive but according to fans near me they would have preferred him to officiate. Indeed, I believe it was the ref’s first match at this level and the visually accurate ‘wee boy’ was perhaps the politest I heard him called! I thought he was okay but probably missed a nailed-on penalty against the home team for handball where he instead booked the forward appealing. 

After eight minutes the away fans, sited in a quarter of the Main Stand let off an orange smoke bomb, which the stewards largely seemed to ignore as the smell drifted diagonally across the pitch towards me. Other than that it was a reasonable game with a 33rd minute penalty and flowing move in the 46th giving St Johnstone a 2-0 win and league position financial bonus. In defence of referees I was pleased to see in the former incident he booked the Motherwell keeper for moving the ball from the spot in a distraction manoeuvre that almost paid dividends. Back at half time, I was back at the food bar when I realised 32 fans and 3 ex-players were being mentioned by the announcer (as listed in the programme) as part of a short “roll of remembrance”. I thought this was a nice/fitting way of honouring those now unable to attend.

Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

I don’t think there was (unmerited) any pitch invasion or seasonal awards after the match but I had anyway made a quick (safely cordoned off) exit upwards to the bus stop. A No. 2 continuing its longer circuit to town was caught by some fans who crossed the busy road. The equally frequent No 1 arrived exactly on time at 16:55 on its faster inbound circuit and along with a contingent of away fans I arrived in town before 17:15. Whether the two bus service which each then thin out in frequency would be as well suited for a big-firm fixture is however open to debate.

Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

I enjoyed my visit to McDiarmid Park and although one of the first purposely planned all-seater stadiums I thought it was superior to many since built/visited despite the inconvenience of the location three or so miles from the town. Having visited the Black Watch museum etc on previous trips to the area the weekend continued low culture with a look in at Wetherspoons. As a typical early Saturday evening it was so packed I eventually ate and drank back at the hotel despite there being many attractive options in town, not least in Mill Street. Incidentally, the similarly named Scottish Canadian David Wotherspoon played a reasonable game in the No. 10 home shirt but like the ref didn’t seem to be a fans’ favourite.

St Johnstone v Glasgow Rangers
Scottish Premier League
Saturday January 14th, 2012, 12.30pm
James Prentice (Glasgow Rangers fan)

Why you were looking forward to going to visiting McDiarmid Park?   

McDiarmid Park was one of the first of the wave of British purpose-built stadia and I was looking forward to seeing it for myself. I had wanted to go to McDiarmid for a number of years and bit the bullet when my Rangers supporters' club decided to run a bus to a match at the Perth stadium.  

How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?  

I made a very early start to drive to meet the coach but once aboard the journey went fairly quickly after having a snooze and chatting to a few mates (plus having a browse through Groundtastic magazine!). The ground is on the outskirts of Perth so was easy to find, although it is not so far out of town that somebody who arrives in the city by train wouldn't be able to walk it. Our coach parked up in a designated bus park in the footprint of the stadium, just the other side of an astroturf pitch. There is space for around 100 buses and about 500 cars.  

What you did before the game pub/chippy…. home fans friendly?  

We headed up to the 208 Bar on Crieff Road, which offered decent beer (Tennent's, Belhaven etc) and some respite from the freezing conditions. The 208 is a bit of a sports bar with a few framed shirts on the walls. Being on the outskirts of town, there wasn't a whole lot else to choose from, with no other pubs or chippies in sight, although if I'd been feeling a little more adventurous I might have gone to try to find something else. I didn't see a lot of home fans before the game, but those I did see seemed friendly enough.  

What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of McDiarmid Park?  

McDiarmid Park, without being particularly big, is pretty functional and feels nicely balanced with all four stands of similar height and design. I was in part of the Main (West) Stand; the view was okay and unobstructed but the leg room was the best I have ever had – even six foot-plus people will be comfortably accommodated! Rangers also had fans behind both goals. I have always been fascinated by the colour scheme of the seats at McDiarmid Park – sections of in orange, blue and red! I can only think they based this on 1980s Ibrox, which had a similar design, although as with Rangers' home ground I think the ground would look better if they changed the seats to all blue.  

Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc.  

The atmosphere wasn't the most memorable, with the St Johnstone fans remaining pretty quiet apart from when they scored, although the Rangers fans tried to lift the team with a few choruses at various points in the match. I thought it was slightly bizarre that fans in the Main (West) Stand have to go to the side of the stand and down a flight of stairs before reaching the kiosks and toilets, which are situated in the bowels (sorry, rubbish pun!) of the stand. However, the pies are well worth traversing the stairs for – the Scotch pies in particular had more filling than any I can remember! The stewards were quite relaxed, which isn't always the case during away trips.   The first half was a bit of a slow burner, with Rangers taking a while to get into gear and the hosts rarely threatening. Rangers opened the scoring midway through the half when Steven Davis took a quick free kick, starting Sone Aluko on a mazy run; he in turn set up Nikica Jelavic to slide in the opener.   Rangers should have doubled their lead early on in the second period when Dorin Goian had a bullet header nicked off the line (not bad for a guy who broke his nose in the first half but elected to soldier on!). Rangers spurned a few other chances and were made to pay for their profligacy when Marcus Haber's header went in off Carlos Bocanegre; television replays later showed the goal shouldn't have stood as Haber was impeding a defender, although this was merely in keeping with a pretty poor refereeing decision. However, with seven minutes left, Aluko's free kick was headed on to his own bar by Murray Davidson and Jelavic was on hand to tap in the winner, allowing Rangers to take all three points back down the road to Ibrox.   

Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:  

We made our way out of the ground pretty sharpish, as we all had a 300-mile-plus journey home! Our bus was brilliantly positioned and was one of the first out of the car park which meant we were able to depart without a hitch.  

Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

I enjoyed my trip to McDiarmid Park. Despite being more than 20 years old, it is still in pretty good condition and the stands offer a decent view of the playing action. It would be nice if one or two more bars and chippies happen to spring up in the vicinity of the ground, because if they do it will certainly be one of the better days out in the SPL and a place I would be more than happy to return to one of these days.