It's in - it's out again!

Trying to find a picture of the classic QPR stanchion has been like searching for the proverbial needle....hence the picture of the ever stylish Stan Bowles who, along with Gerry Francis and Leighton James, were often to be seen (in my memory at least) thumping a 30 yard rocket into the net at Loftus Road - only for the ball to cannon back out off the most peculiar stanchion shape.

However, a drawing shows what it was like (thanks to the Groundhog). It was of the complete arc type, and sort of looped down from a broad top to a narrower bottom, with the net tightly drawn between. It actually looked like the groundsman had knocked it out from an old clothes rail and screwed it to the back of the posts.

A closely related cousin existed at Upton Park at around the same time - there of course it was Frank Lampard and Billy Bonds who wellied the ball into the top corner.

Maine Road hybrids

It seems only right to begin the club round-up with my own team, Manchester City. What a peculiar hybrid these stanchions formed in the 70s. Although they had the aesthetic quality of the full 'bar-to-ground' type, they managed to ruin it all by having the nets hanging limply from the top, in the manner of the 'mini-triangle' version so beloved of St James's Park and others. Typical City.

What an effect there could have been, had it been done correctly, with the broad arch described by the stanchion providing an invitingly large space to thump the ball into. No chance of the ball cannoning out of those nets.

Alas it was not to be, so Franny Lee-One Pen's spot kicks, Peter Barnes in the midst of a 5 goal rout of Spurs and the same Mr Lee's 'look at his face' moment for Derby against us will always be missing that final something.

Later on - and before succumbing to the bland continental style - City moved to the afore mentioned mini triangle but this is not the memory that lingers.

Wembley - perfection in a goalpost

Shock and numbness were my first reactions when taking my seat at Wembley for the much anticipated England v Switzerland, Euro 96 curtain raiser. Fair enough after the game, which was a tedious 1-1 draw, but what had plunged me into despair before it all started was the sight of my beloved Wembley goalposts - minus their historic stanchions.

Must just be for the tournament I consoled myself, having to stick to EU regulations or some such malarkey. But no, it turned out they were gone for good.

Rounded, elegant and in perfect proportions they were THE goals you wanted to curl one into. Other grounds had more idiosynchratic efforts, but these took all the best bits and moulded them into perfection. And how appropriate that they should be sited at Wembley, the epicentre of English football grounds.

Montgomery's save, Gunther Netzer's pen, Damarski's sucker punch and Tommy Hutchison's off the shoulder own goal are all played out in my mind in front of those famous stanchions. As is their besmirchment by the Tartan hordes during one famous visit in the 70s!

Alas we'll never see their like again but, like the old Wembley itself, they remain burned into the memory cells as something truly sacred.

What's this all about?

Loftus Road, Upton Park, Maine Road, Highbury, St James's Park....and the Daddy of them all, Wembley.

There was a time when these famous football grounds - and many more at home and abroad -were characterised by more than just a sponsor's name on plastic seats.

This was the era of the stanchion. An inelegant piece of metal bolted onto the back of the posts that held the net up.

To some of us of a certain age, this was a thing of great beauty (sort of). As a child you just yearned to hammer a ball into the top corner and see it nestle twixt net and metal. Or more likely, bounce out again (like it always seemed to at Upton Park).

A part of football's soul went when these disappeared to be replaced by soulless, formless continental style netting.

This site aims to celebrate the stanchion in all its sepia tinted glory. It may take some time....