The ACN guide to the best away days  | OneFootball

Birmingham City

Quality ground? Hopefully a bit safer these days after a couple of years of renovation works due to corrosion and asbestos issues. 6/10

Quality scran and pubs? On the last day of the 2023-24 season they did a pre-match cheap beer promotion to get fans in early. My pint was only £2 but it did taste of chemicals. 5/10

Quality atmosphere? Keep Right On is a great anthem and they do really belt it out. 8/10

Quality memories? Onel loved a last-minute goal here. 7/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 26/40

Blackburn Rovers

Quality ground. Looks like Carrow Road, so a big plus there. Easy to reach with nice surroundings. 7/10

Quality scran and pubs. Some great independent offerings, but a bit of a walk to get to them. 7/10

Quality atmosphere. Never full, not often noisy, but you do get a big away following. 2/10

Quality memories. 2/10 Not the venue for any iconic Norwich wins. 2/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 18/40

Bristol City

Quality ground? A nice traditional ground, with some modern touches (see scran below). Not hard to get to by train, nicely nestled in a city environ as football should be. 7/10

Quality scran and pubs? Bristol is stacked full of good pubs as Cameron set out last year, but what’s really nice is how the ground opens up to a range of food trucks and outlets. 9/10

Quality atmosphere? Some good flags action last time I was here, and the home crowd can get it going but nothing to write home about. 6/10

Quality memories? No scenes of triumph or limbs to report but it’s usually a good day out. 4/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 26/40

Charlton Athletic

Quality ground? A unique and beloved ground, rescued by Charlton fans. 9/10

Quality scran and pubs? A few stops from Greenwich, which boasts some of the best pubs in London in my opinion. 9/10

Quality atmosphere? Not the loudest on my last visit, but that could change given their recent success. 6/10

Quality memories? Promoted back to the Championship here in 2010. 10/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 34 /40

Coventry City

Quality ground? As soulless out-of-town bowls go, this is up there with the best, but that’s hardly saying much. 4/10

Quality scran and pubs? Last time I went, we walked the five-ish miles from the city stopping at local pubs on the way. Lovely walk, some nice pubs. Around the ground is slim pickings and the offer inside is basic. 5/10

Quality atmosphere? The away allocation is usually decent and if the team is on form, the relatively closed surroundings give us a chance to make some noise. But the home fans don’t offer much of a contribution. 4/10

Quality memories? Witnessing the high point of the Wagner era is as good as it gets, at this ground at least. 2/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 15/40

Derby County

Quality ground? An out-of-town bowl with very little around it, but decent views from the away end, close to the ground and decent facilities. 5/10

Quality scran and pubs? Not much to speak of. 3/10

Quality atmosphere? It’s not that Derby fans can’t make noise, it’s just that they don’t choose to do so very often. The dhol drum last season was a nice touch, though. 5/10

Quality memories? Borja’s hilarious goal last season was an away day high point for the season. The League One 4-0 win at Christmas was glorious. 6/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 19/40

Hull City

Quality ground? A decent rugby ground. 6/10

Quality scran and pubs? Some nice offerings in the centre. 7/10

Quality atmosphere? Not usually full, and then there’s the ‘mauled by the tigers’. 4/10

Quality memories? Losing despite a Maddison hat trick. 2/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 19/40

Ipswich Town

Quality ground? At least there’s not moss growing out the roof anymore. 1/10

Quality scran and pubs? A point per pub we’re allowed in: 1/10

Quality atmosphere? Always going to be electric when we come to town. It’s also the only time they can guarantee a sell-out. 10/10

Quality memories? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. For every 5-1 win, there’s a Bryan Gunn air kick. 5/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 17/40

Leicester City

Quality ground? A soulless bowl that seems to have developed some soul. 6/10

Quality scran and pubs? Leicester is decently well stocked for an away day pub crawl, and the locals are surprisingly friendly too. 8/10

Quality atmosphere? Decent. Definitely decent. 7/10

Quality memories? The infamous game where Martin O’Neil resigned as our manager to head off for the Leicester job, on the very day we were playing Leicester (albeit at their previous ground). 4/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 25/40

Middlesbrough

Quality ground? It’s a 1990s identikit stadium, but in a nice location. 5/10

Quality scran and pubs? Not a huge selection of pubs, but they do have parmos. 7/10

Quality atmosphere? Boro fans can be really vocal. 7/10

Quality memories? The only really iconic match against ‘boro was at Wembley. 3/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 22/40

Millwall

Quality ground? You already know the answer to this. Not helped by the caged-in walkway in, or the fact that away fans are perched precariously on the upper tier. 6/10

Quality scran and pubs? Near the ground? Who knows? But there are good pubs around London Bridge, and the famous Southwark Brewing Company taproom before you venture down there. 6/10

Quality atmosphere? It gets overblown but they can make a bit of noise. 6/10

Quality memories? Nothing special, but Pukki’s cracking goal there on the way to the first Farke championship will live long in the memory. 4/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 22/40

Oxford United

Quality ground? Other than the missing side, the nearby sewage farm gives the place an interesting odor. 3/10

Quality scran and pubs? Oxford has some genuinely amazing pubs, but they’re all a trek from the ground. 9/10

Quality atmosphere? Some great flags. Disconcerting chants of “Yellows! Yellows!” 6/10

Quality memories? Losing on the opening day of last season wasn’t great. 3/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 21/40

Portsmouth

Quality ground?  Like a small version of Goodison Park, and no more up-to-date. 5/10

Quality scran and pubs? There are some low-quality pubs you need to do some research about before choosing which to drink in. But friendly if you find the right one. 2/10

Quality atmosphere? One of the best across the four professional leagues. A cavernous, echoing home end behind the goal where the noise never stops. A shed for an away end that squishes the noise and makes you feel claustrophobic. Night games are special. 9/10

Quality memories? David Fox’s beautiful cross to Simeon Jackson to seal our unexpected promotion to the Premier League. What a night. 10/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 26 /40

Preston North End

Quality ground? A proper ground, this one. Decent size, decent location, and the beautiful Tom Finney statue.  8/10

Quality scran and pubs? They sell butter pies in the ground. That should be enough, but this away day offers some good real ale pubs on the walk and some nice food options too. 9/10

Quality atmosphere? The home fans are woeful, and the away allocation is usually bigger than we can sell, spreading the fans out. 3/10

Quality memories? James Maddison scored his first goal for Norwich here, and I saw his family celebrating like mad, which was nice. 3/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 23/40

Queens Park Rangers

Quality ground? It’s old school and tight and compact, which is good, but some of the views from the away end are terrible and the concourse gets so packed as to be downright dangerous. 5/10

Quality scran and pubs? Good luck getting anywhere near the concourse bars to try the food. The pubs around Shepherd’s Bush Green are mostly away fan unfriendly and also very expensive, so it’s worth venturing further afield. 3/10

Quality atmosphere? When they get going it can be pretty loud, and the man who wears a Sombrero will always make some noise. 7/10

Quality memories? We’ve played here so often in recent years there’s been plenty of good (Pukki chesting it in), plenty of bad (last season’s 3-0) and a bit of ugly (Joey Barton’s headbutt). 6/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 21/40

Sheffield United

Quality ground? Great location. Old school ground that needs a lick of paint. 7/10

Quality scran and pubs? One of the great pub cities. 10/10

Quality atmosphere? One of the more intimidating places to go as an away fan. 8/10

Quality memories? Busgate. 7/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 32 /40

Sheffield Wednesday

Quality ground? A grand venue in need of TLC. 8/10

Quality scran and pubs? As above, plus the Bere’s pork sandwich factory is across the street from Hillsborough. 10/10

Quality atmosphere? Usually a good level of noise. Can be bouncing (literally), but not often a sell out. 7/10

Quality memories? Some big scorelines in the past, promoted here in 1981, despite losing. 7/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 32 /40

Southampton

Quality ground? Leicester with red seats. 4/10

Quality scran and pubs? Went to a nice pub that was also a bookshop once. No memory of anything sold in the ground so it probably wasn’t either brilliant or awful. 5/10

Quality atmosphere? The home fans to the left are always good value for a few hand gestures. 6/10

Quality memories? It’s 17 years since we last won here, including on our last visit leading three times then conceding an injury-time equaliser. 2/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 17/40

Stoke City

Quality ground? It’s a box in the middle of nowhere. 3/10

Quality scran and pubs? There are some decent pubs in the area, with reasonable prices. 4/10

Quality atmosphere? To be fair, Stoke fans can make some noise. 8/10

Quality memories? Probably had a Cold Tuesday Night here at some point. 3/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 18/40

Swansea City

Quality ground? Not the most exciting design but it does a job. 6/10

Quality scran and pubs? It’s a bit out of town so the options immediately around the ground are limited. Make a weekend of it though and you can have a lovely few days enjoying the hospitality of the beautiful Gower Peninsula. 5/10

Quality atmosphere? It’s never been particularly intimidating on our visits. 4/10

Quality memories? Winning 4-3 in December 2012 to go nine games unbeaten and 11th in the Premier League. Halcyon days. 7/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 22/40

Watford

Quality ground? A bit of character and a decent view from the away end. 7/10

Quality scran and pubs? No alcohol is served in the away end which always catches a few out, but as it’s not far from the town centre there’s no shortage of options on the way. The staff at the Oddfellows pub near the ground were doing a sterling job getting all the away fans served on our last visit. 7/10

Quality atmosphere? Their noisy contingent are right at the other end so it’s hard to tell. 5/10

Quality memories? Josh Sargent, say no more. 8/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 27/40

West Bromwich Albion

Quality ground?  Very similar to Carrow Rd in many ways. Bonus point for the new(ish) tram making the trip there significantly less painful. 8/10

Quality scran and pubs? Some good options in Birmingham on the way there. 6/10

Quality atmosphere? Very similar to Carrow Rd in many ways. 5/10

Quality memories? WBA have Boiler Man, the greatest mascot going, making every visit memorable. 8/10

Total ACN quality away day score: 27/40

Wrexham

Quality ground? No-one at ACN towers has made the trek to Wrexham to be able to say. ?/10

Quality scran and pubs? Probably? We’ll have to wait and see. ?/10

Quality atmosphere? Quality hype, yes. Quality atmosphere? Put us down as don’t knows. ?/10

Quality memories? Norwich have not played a competitive game of football against Wrexham since 1982. Some fans will have memories of that we are sure, but not many. ?/10

Total ACN quality away day score: ????/40