Our game at Sunderland kicks off on Friday night at 8pm, thanks to yet another Sky Sports selection. You'll find the Stadium of Light on the site of the former Monkwearmouth Colliery on the north bank of the River Wear, the opposite side from the city centre.

To get there by road you need to take the A1231 exit off the A19 (signposted Sunderland North) and follow that road till the fourth roundabout, from which it is another mile along the B1289 to the stadium. Parking however is limited, so it is advised that you park well away from the ground and the best bet is probably to use the free park and ride service from Sunderland Enterprise Park, which is signposted from the A1231.

There is limited parking by the stadium, and a residents’ only scheme on the surrounding streets, which naturally is strictly enforced by the local traffic wardens. But you can park at the Stadium of Light Metro Station (cost £1) or one of the city centre car parks in the city centre (about 10-15 minutes walk from the ‘Light’).

There is also a ‘Park & Ride’ scheme, which is free for both home and away supporters. Buses run from Sunderland Enterprise Park, (which is well signposted just off the A1231) every five minutes for 90 minutes before kick off, and continue after the game until everyone has gone.

Sunderland’s railway station is an underground affair, and looks surprisingly grotty and insignificant for the main station in quite a large city. To get there you’ll have to change trains in Newcastle, and when you emerge above ground you’ll find yourself in the midst of the pedestrianised shopping streets.

It won’t be possible to get a train back to Leeds after the game, but I’ll include these directions for the benefit of those who live a bit closer to Wearside. The station is about a mile from the stadium, and you have to turn right outside, then go through the gap between JJB and a nail bar, emerging on Bridge Street. By then you’ll see the stadium in the distance and you just have to go down the main road and over the Wearmouth Bridge.

If that seems like too much effort, you can get the Tyne and Wear metro to the ‘Stadium of Light’ or ‘St Peters’ stops. After the game the metros from ‘Stadium of Light’ only go northbound (towards Newcastle) and southbound only from ‘St Peters’, presumably in the interests of relieving congestion at both stations.

The best watering hole close to the SOL is the Colliery Tavern, which gets packed but is safe for away fans to use. Also close to the ground and slightly bigger than the Tavern is the Wheatsheaf, but like its rival, the ‘Wheat’ gets packed to the rafters on Matchdays. The club recommend Greens, Street Bar, Victors, Fire Station or The Peacock in the city centre, and there is also the CAMRA listed ‘Harbour View’ on the sea front.

And if that doesn't appeal, there is all the excitement of the “Beacon of Light Fan Zone”, which away fans are able to use. Food-wise, there are quite a few takeaways along North Bridge street, and a chippie next to the ‘Albion’ pub. Sunderland are keen to tell us that their stadium is now ‘cashless’, but that won’t affect anyone who thinks that everything inside is bound to be too overpriced to bother with.

The stadium has a present capacity of 49,000 (expanded from the original 41,590). When the new stadium was first built Sunderland were one of the few clubs where the atmosphere had improved since they went all seater. At one stage the crowds had dipped alarmingly after they’ve got relegated from the Premiership a couple of times, but now they’re back to getting over 40,000 at every home game.

According to Simon Wade of the now defunct 'The Wearside Roar' fanzine: "One day, all stadia will be made this way. It was designed and built with the fan in mind. There's no such thing as a bad seat. Uninterrupted sight-lines from every one of the 49,000 seats". The allocation to visiting clubs is in the upper tier of the north end of the stadium, where the allocation for league games varies from 1,100 to 3,000, depending on the size of the travelling support.

We are getting 2,102 tickets this time around, at a cost of £32 for adults, £29 for over 65s, £24 for Under 22s and £14 for Under 16's. Tickets for the home parts of the stadium “are only available to eligible supporters”, and further intrepid research told me they are fans with a “previous purchase history before 18 August”.

The club have preliminary planning permission to extend the south stand and raise the capacity to 55,000, with the board's final goal being a stadium that will host 64,000, but this will all have to wait until Sunderland establish themselves in the Premiership.

And as they’ve yo-yoed between there and the Championship more than any club other than Norwich, I’ve a feeling that could take quite a while, but you never know, it could happen.

Some of this stuff came from www.footballgroundguide.com

Photo: Action Images

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