Don Goodman names EFL League One stadium as the coldest ground he's ever worked at | OneFootball

Football League World have asked Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman to name the stadium in which he was the most cold working from and he knew immediately.

Don Goodman has named the coldest EFL stadium he's ever been at when working for Sky Sports.

Goodman played almost 600 senior matches and has been a pundit for Sky Sports for many years, but when FLW asked him to identify the coldest that he's ever been inside a football stadium, he knew his answer immediately.

The commentary areas inside grounds tend not to have any heating and are also elevated, so that commentators and summarisers can see the game clearly, but this can seriously impact those who are up there reporting, because they're left completely exposed to the elements.

"I've never been so cold in my entire life ever, bar nothing" - Don Goodman names his coldest match

There was no hesitation from Goodman when Football League World asked him to name his coldest ever match.

He said: "This is the easiest question you've ever asked me, to be fair! It was a game at Bolton Wanderers, the Reebok Stadium as it was then. They were playing Aston Villa in the Championship", he told us, "It was February - I forget the year, but it was the Beast from the East - and I've never been so cold in my entire life ever, bar nothing".

"Me and Gary Weaver were commentating", he continued, "I have a picture of it. The wind was blowing the snow into our faces, onto our notes, and even hats, gloves, scarves, big coats, you name it, we had the lot, and still froze!"

The three points Bolton gained that evening turned out to be very important indeed

The Beast From the East was a storm that started on the 22nd February 2018, with the worst of it lasting for ten to twelve days. It brought unusually low temperatures and heavy snowfall to large areas, and had a ruinous effect on the English football fixture list.

But its effects lingered on for weeks after its end, and snow was still falling in parts of the country by the time that Bolton Wanderers played Aston Villa in the Championship on the 17th March.

The match was played in treacherous conditions, with snow still falling, with Bolton winning 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal scored by Adam Le Fondre. The result left Villa in 4th place in the Championship table, and they ended the season in the same position, losing the play-off final to Fulham.

The win was a welcome one for Bolton, who had one eye on avoiding relegation and saw these three points nudge them six points clear of the bottom three. They ended the season in 21st place, separated from relegation by just two points.

The match was played just as discussions were taking place about the possibility of having a winter break, but this has never really happened. In the EFL, the fixture list is just too congested now to be able to allow for one. And regardless, the dates usually discussed for such a break have never included February or March, so the Beast From The East wouldn't have coincided with one anyway, had it been in place.