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Contents:

• FOTTEN GROUNDS: GAY MEADOW, SHREWSBURY
• BOOK OF THE WEEK: GOODBYE GAY MEADOW, BY MATTHEW ASHTON ( ASSOCIATN WH SHREWSBURY TOWN FC, £24.99)
• THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR GROUND: SHREWSBURY TOWN, GAY MEADOW AND THE NEW ONE
• GAY MEADOW
• PHOTOS OF GAY MEADOW
• ELM PARK (GAY MEADOW)
• GAY MEADOW

FOTTEN GROUNDS: GAY MEADOW, SHREWSBURY

In 1910, after beg told they uld no longer e the army ground the club accepted an offer om Shrewsbury Corporatn to play at a field known as Gay Meadow which had recently bought. The reason for the field beg named Gay Meadow is not clear, wh theori beg was rived om the Welsh word Cae, meang a field, or Old English words galla, barren wet land, or gat, a goat. After the war further Midland League champnships me 1945 and 1948 which year Gay Meadow staged an amatr ternatnal between England and Wal.

The first ever Football League game at Gay Meadow saw neighbours Wrexham beaten 2-1 on 21 Augt 1950. The attendance of 11, 019 was to rema the largt ever to see a match at Gay Meadow between the two clubs. No further ground improvements took place until the mid-1950s when tre lg the road to Gay Meadow, known as The Narrows, were felled to improve accs and the roof on the Riversi Terrace was extend to the north.

The Imps’ relegatn after ne seasons Divisn Two rulted their send vis to Gay Meadow mid-April 1962 on their way to a further relegatn.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: GOODBYE GAY MEADOW, BY MATTHEW ASHTON ( ASSOCIATN WH SHREWSBURY TOWN FC, £24.99)

In a memorable game agast a si wh the bt fensive rerd the divisn Cy went 2-0 up through wger Dick Krzywick and striker Peter Graham, prerved their lead wh a penalty save by Peter Grotier, then sealed an emphatic w wh late goals om midfielr Dave Smh and Graham’s fellow striker John Ward to rerd their biggt ever w at Gay Meadow. But after a rerd-breakg 1975/76 season unr Graham Taylor Cy quickly renewed acquatance wh Shrewsbury back the Third Divisn wh a vis to Gay Meadow towards the end of January 1977. Both clubs fished the 1976/77 season jt above mid-table so Cy were back at Gay Meadow January 1978.

Lln eventually fished well clear of relegatn wh Shrewsbury aga mid-table, but when the two clubs met aga at Gay Meadow the followg September, the Imps had ma an even worse start to the season unr Bell than they had unr his precsor the year before.

A move to a new ground began to be nsired the mid-1980s, when plans were drawn up for a new stadium to the north of the town wh a Sasbury supermarket to be built on the se of Gay Meadow.

THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR GROUND: SHREWSBURY TOWN, GAY MEADOW AND THE NEW ONE

Meanwhile, Lln Cy’s next game at Gay Meadow me the group stage of what was then known as the Autoglass Trophy November 1991. Fundg was to e om the sale of Gay Meadow to the uncil who proposed to replace wh a r park. Cy were back at Gay Meadow jt over a year later at the begng of March 1994 and after three feats on the ground were back to wng ways wh a 2-1 srele agast a send-placed Shrewsbury si who had gone 16 league match unbeaten.

Wh Shrewsbury back the third tier and no further proposals for a new ground, plans were ma to revelop Gay Meadow. However, wh their stay the higher divisn beg the brieft possible the Imps were back at Gay Meadow aga two years later on April Fool’s Day 2000, wh this time a 2-1 victory thanks to another goal om Lee Thorpe and one om Gav Gordon.

GAY MEADOW

This would have 10, 000 seats wh spe for expansn to over four tim as many, wh the st of to be met by the sale of Gay Meadow to property velopers.

Cy were at Gay Meadow aga October 2000 for their send vis the lendar year wh former assistant Phil Stant now charge of the si.

PHOTOS OF GAY MEADOW

Wh Cy h by fancial troubl durg the summer they were now managed by Keh Alexanr aga and spe puttg somethg of a cut-price squad together almost om scratch they were seventh place, ahead of their hosts on goal difference, when they vised Gay Meadow on the last day of Augt. The two clubs therefore met aga at Gay Meadow on the first day of the 2004/05 season.

What was Cy’s last ever game at Gay Meadow therefore me on 9 September 2006 and for the third time a row saw a 1-0 w for the Imps wh the goal beg sred by midfielr Lee Frecklgton.

The fal Football League game to be played at Gay Meadow saw a 2-2 draw agast Grimsby Town on 5 May 2007, while the fal petive match was agast Milton Keyn Dons ne days later the first leg of the League 2 play-off semi-fal. While like most replacement grounds is not as nveniently placed for the town centre as the old one do not have the same sceptibily for floodg as Gay Meadow had due to s nearns to the river.

ELM PARK (GAY MEADOW)

In fact, s lotn almost on the bank of the River Severn was part of the unique character of Gay Meadow, wh balls ocsnally beg kicked over the roof of the Riversi Terrace and havg to be retrieved om the river.

Gay Meadow mt rank as one of Lln Cy’s bt away grounds terms of rults achieved, although they only played a total of 17 gam there.

GAY MEADOW

Twenty different players sred for Cy at Gay Meadow, the top srer wh three beg Lee Thorpe who sred for three gam a row. Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Readg the Game newsletter sent straight to your box for eeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s ee weekly newsletter You uld not hontly claim that Gay Meadow – that most polilly rrect of ground nam – was a thg of trsic bety.

"If you uld, Gay Meadow would be the most valuable football ground the world.