Filbert Street or the King Power Stadium

[Spudulike]

6 minutes ago, SemperEadem said:

I remember asking a few years back if there was any anti feeling to moving to a bowl at the time and the response was there was not. Really surprised at that.

It was generally recognised the club needed a new stadium to progress. Sadly, Filbert Street had degenerated into a dump and could never return to the glory days of the 60's and 70's. The installation of the Kop Pens and the gentrification of the Pop Side started the decline, compounded by the Carling Stand, and eventually the conversion to all-seater. Filbert Street in the late 80's and 90's was a shadow of its former self. I think the majority were more excited about the new stadium than sad about leaving the old. Perhaps we believed the club hype about great it was going to be and how the new Kop would replicate what we had before but bigger. 

 

One thing for sure, we most probably now wouldn't now have a Premier League title or an FA Cup on our honours board if we hadn't moved. 

[sharpylcfc]

16 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

It was generally recognised the club needed a new stadium to progress. Sadly, Filbert Street had degenerated into a dump and could never return to the glory days of the 60's and 70's. The installation of the Kop Pens and the gentrification of the Pop Side started the decline, compounded by the Carling Stand, and eventually the conversion to all-seater. Filbert Street in the late 80's and 90's was a shadow of its former self. I think the majority were more excited about the new stadium than sad about leaving the old. Perhaps we believed the club hype about great it was going to be and how the new Kop would replicate what we had before but bigger. 

 

One thing for sure, we most probably now wouldn't now have a Premier League title or an FA Cup on our honours board if we hadn't moved. 

Would trade all that to still be at Filbert Street, one of the worst things to happen to the club winning the Premier League in my opinion. 

[SK3Blue]

Filbert Street for me, proper atmosphere with no clappers in sight. 
 

Simple to attend games, pay on the gate, none of this priority nonsense.

[blueharmie]

3 hours ago, CrazyKopCorner said:

That's really funny because when I have a dream about us it's always back at Filbert Street - my unconscious brain must be pining to go home 

Best bit about the cop was the concourse. It was literally on the playing pitch it felt like. Just remember walking to my seat hundreds of times and never got board of it .

[bovril]

2 hours ago, SemperEadem said:

I remember asking a few years back if there was any anti feeling to moving to a bowl at the time and the response was there was not. Really surprised at that.

Early 2000s were a different time. There was more trust in the unstoppable march of progress bringing benefits to us all. That was true in football too - 2002 was about twice as close to Hillsborough than it is to 2025. It was still the beginning really of the transformation of English football and although there were a few grumblings about e.g. players extortionate wages or clubs starting to bring out new kits every season, the game hadn't become the soulless, globalised product that we're now forced to consume all weekend every weekend. 

[Stuntman_Mike]

2 hours ago, sharpylcfc said:

Would trade all that to still be at Filbert Street, one of the worst things to happen to the club winning the Premier League in my opinion. 

That is a very interesting take 

 

 

[sharpylcfc]

4 hours ago, Stuntman_Mike said:

That is a very interesting take 

 

 

Probably should explain and expand on this, if we're being completely honest as a club honours wise in the last 10 years we've been completely spoilt. I just think certain fans have become massively entitled, like thinking we're too good to go down and should be consistently challenging for the top 6. If we hadn't won the Premier League people expectation for us would of been top 6 and expecting it. Now have we recruit well we could of definitely got to that stage but surprise surprise Rudkin and King Power failed as per usual. So us winning the league wasn't great for us as a fan base because some fans became massively entitled. Then that's where proper fans have been shafted on getting tickets because King Power would rather have day trippers come from round the world instead and their idiot Thai influencer friends who probably support Man United and Liverpool. So yeah I miss Filbert Street more and that's why I'd trade all our success to go back. 

Edited 3 February by sharpylcfc

[Foxdiamond]

10 minutes ago, sharpylcfc said:

Probably should explain and expand on this, if we're being completely honest as a club honours wise in the last 10 years we've been completely spoilt. I just think certain fans have become massively entitled, like thinking we're too good to go down and should be consistently challenging for the top 6. If we hadn't won the Premier League people expectation for us would of been top 6 and expecting it. Now have we recruit well we could of definitely got to that stage but surprise surprise Rudkin and King Power failed as per usual. So us winning the league wasn't great for us as a fan base because some fans became massively entitled. Then that's where proper fans have been shafted on getting tickets because King Power would have day trippers come from round the world instead and their idiot Thai influencer friends who probably support Man United and Liverpool. So yeah I miss Filbert Street more and that's why I'd trade all our success to go back. 

The strong possibility that decline would have been quicker and steeper. 

[Groby_Blue]

7 hours ago, worth_the_wait said:

Spion Kop & Double Decker - last league home game (May 2002).    Was it really 20+ years ago?

I was there in the crazy corner. The only time I'd ever been on the pitch was after that match when loads of fans ran on. 

 

It was so weird standing on the pitch, looking at the Kop from the players perspective and watching loads of grown men smashing their seats to bits to take them home 

[iancognito]

9 hours ago, Spudulike said:

If they did that we would've just ended up with a new stadium on the same patch of land. The Carling Stand diluted the character as would any replacement structures. It wouldn't have been the same place anymore.

No it would have been boxier stands closer to the pitch with a better old school atmosphere. It'd not so much the character as the general set up.

[Sly]

 

[Spudulike]

23 minutes ago, iancognito said:

No it would have been boxier stands closer to the pitch with a better old school atmosphere. It'd not so much the character as the general set up.

Not sure that I remember seeing artists impressions of how a redeveloped Filbert Street would've looked. I suspect it would've been a wraparound with the corners filled in which would've looked very much like what we now have. Dunno. Whatever, it couldn't have stayed exactly as it was. It's time was up and had been for over a decade.

[Spudulike]

2 hours ago, Groby_Blue said:

I was there in the crazy corner. The only time I'd ever been on the pitch was after that match when loads of fans ran on. 

 

It was so weird standing on the pitch, looking at the Kop from the players perspective and watching loads of grown men smashing their seats to bits to take them home 

I was right above you in the Double-Decker. Didn't get on the pitch as it was hell of a drop !

[worth_the_wait]

7 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

Not sure that I remember seeing artists impressions of how a redeveloped Filbert Street would've looked. I suspect it would've been a wraparound with the corners filled in which would've looked very much like what we now have. Dunno. Whatever, it couldn't have stayed exactly as it was. It's time was up and had been for over a decade.

The only artists impressions I remember of a redeveloped Filbert St, was when they thought about turning the pitch though 90 degrees.    But I think that was some intermediate idea, not for any fully redeveloped Filbo if they'd had more land to play with.

 

There's no evidence corners would've been filled in.  In fact for cheapness, I think the opposite would've been the case.   The Carling Stand was built on a "goal post" box design, and I suspect if we had redeveloped the East and North Stands, it would've been on a similar structure.   You would've then had 3 new stands.

 

The only old stand would've been the Double Decker, but there wasn't too much wrong with that ... and it would've continued to do the job.   Ipswich Town's Portman Road still basically has one "old stand", and that's perfectly decent.

 

Anyway, it's all a moot point.   The Club has moved, and that's that!

 

[dayday]

Going for a pee in two Inches of urine in the kop toilets, trying to tip toe in 

[Spudulike]

13 minutes ago, worth_the_wait said:

The only artists impressions I remember of a redeveloped Filbert St, was when they thought about turning the pitch though 90 degrees.    But I think that was some intermediate idea, not for any fully redeveloped Filbo if they'd had more land to play with.

 

There's no evidence corners would've been filled in.  In fact for cheapness, I think the opposite would've been the case.   The Carling Stand was built on a "goal post" box design, and I suspect if we had redeveloped the East and North Stands, it would've been on a similar structure.   You would've then had 3 new stands.

 

The only old stand would've been the Double Decker, but there wasn't too much wrong with that ... and it would've continued to do the job.   Ipswich Town's Portman Road still basically has one "old stand", and that's perfectly decent.

 

Anyway, it's all a moot point.   The Club has moved, and that's that!

 

The design trend at the time favoured bowls, ie Middlesbro, Cov, Reading, Southampton so we may well have gone down that route. Even Bede Island plan was a bowl. But they were starting from scratch so who knows.

[iancognito]

1 hour ago, Spudulike said:

Not sure that I remember seeing artists impressions of how a redeveloped Filbert Street would've looked. I suspect it would've been a wraparound with the corners filled in which would've looked very much like what we now have. Dunno. Whatever, it couldn't have stayed exactly as it was. It's time was up and had been for over a decade.

There were bizarre ideas about spinning the pitch 90 degrees but that's what I mean about buying up the houses and just giving it a bigger footprint. It just needed backing, no-one can look at Burnmoor & Filbert Street now and think THAT looks better than a football ground.

 

It may have been past it's sell by date but thats why you develop the stamds. Everton will find with BMD just like we did with Filbo, West Ham did with Upton Park and so many others did with their grounds, you never get the character and the soul back. It's why Liverpool developed Anfield and why so many don't want United to leave OT.

[worth_the_wait]

16 hours ago, Groby_Blue said:

I was there in the crazy corner. The only time I'd ever been on the pitch was after that match when loads of fans ran on. 

 

It was so weird standing on the pitch, looking at the Kop from the players perspective and watching loads of grown men smashing their seats to bits to take them home 

I dug up some turf that day.

 

I noticed that my good lady had a decent-sized handbag on her, so I asked her if she minded putting the turf in her bag and carrying it home for me.   She gave me that look that all husbands will recognise.   But fair play to her, she realised how much having a part of Filbert Street meant to me ... and agreed.

 

Anyway, I put the turf on a plate in my kitchen window, and lovingly cared for it.   Watered it, occasionally trimmed it with scissors, it was my agricultural pride and joy.

 

And then after about 18 months, just as the Club were going into Administration .............................   it died!

 

[LE8 Poster]

Just to come back to this topic, although there can be less of a connection to modern stadiums, there's a lot more our club could do to add more character. 

[Heathrow fox]

On 03/02/2025 at 09:23, SemperEadem said:

I remember asking a few years back if there was any anti feeling to moving to a bowl at the time and the response was there was not. Really surprised at that.

Just to add that the atmosphere had been diluted somewhat since the all seater rule had come in.The main selling point was that the new ground was 50% bigger and that meant a lot.

Derby and Southampton were the guinea pigs and they had made their moves to similar bowl type stadiums hassle free.We had the added bonus of being able to keep the same pre match routines.

An early 22/23 fixture v Derby County which we won 3:1 i think,produced the feistiest atmosphere i can remember in L1.Better than anything Filbert Street post all seater.It was immediately clamped down on.Never been the same since.

[sishades]

On 03/02/2025 at 10:17, SK3Blue said:

Filbert Street for me, proper atmosphere with no clappers in sight. 
 

Simple to attend games, pay on the gate, none of this priority nonsense.

Thats because it was a shit ground with attendance around the 10K mark. Total embarrassment

[kushiro]

Great thread this. Overwhelming Filbert Street victory. 

 

The King Power at least has one redeeming feature - it's still in the city. If we'd have relocated by the motorway I couldn't have faced going.  

[Clogger_]

2 hours ago, sishades said:

Thats because it was a shit ground with attendance around the 10K mark. Total embarrassment

One for the unpopular opinions thread sishades ;-) It was shit but it was home

[LE8 Poster]

Also feel it's worth adding the point about how clubs always lose some fans when moving to a new stadium, and that seemed particularly relevant to our club.

[Ian Nacho]

I'm too young to have ever been to Filbert Street. One of my biggest regrets in life.