The lure of great stadiums

There isn't a player in England who does not include playing at Wembley on his career wish list, which is why the recent view of Everton manager David Moyes that playing FA Cup semi-final games at Wembley can de-value the experience of doing so in the Final - a valid point in my view - will probably have had a very mixed reaction.

No doubt there are some among football's elite who would go even further than David Moyes and argue that the Football League play-off and the JPT finals should not be staged at Wembley either. But just try telling that to the fans and players of clubs outside the Premier League - especially to ones like Luton.

It says much about the attraction of a trip to Wembley that Luton, whose average League Two gate is around 5,000, have been allocated 30,000 tickets for the JPT final, while Scunthorpe's allocation is 20,000. Last season's Wembley final between MK Dons and Grimby attracted a crowd of 56,000.

I could not help thinking that Luton's players had been motivated by the prospect of playing at Wembley when noting the hunger and desire they showed in their 2-0 win at Notts County on Tuesday.

The closest I ever came to a Wembley appearance was in my debut season at Coventry when we were knocked out of the FA Cup by Sheffield United in a fifth-round replay penalty shoot-out at Bramall Lane, so I will definitely among those casting an envious eye on Luton Town and Scunthorpe on April 5!

But I am proud of appearing in big games at other great stadiums, including the Millennium Stadium, Anfield, White Hart Lane, Villa Park and Ibrox. During the early days of my career, I was slightly blasé about appearing at such arenas, primarily for the deluded reason that I thought these would be the type of places where I would be playing my football for the duration of my career.

I have been proved wrong - inevitably - but I can take a great deal of comfort in the knowledge that many players only gain entrance into such places as spectators.

In terms of atmosphere, the stadium I enjoyed playing at the most was Anfield. I appeared there on two occasions, both when I was playing for Coventry City. The first was a fleeting substitute appearance, where the closest I got to the ball was when I was nutmegged by Michael Owen. I have since been nutmegged by many a player and normally I would not own up to such experiences. But in this instance, well it was Michael Owen!

In my second appearance at Anfield, I started the game alongside Carlton Palmer in midfield. The biggest problem for me was not so much the crowd and the noise they made - which was almost deafening - but the fact that big Carlton Palmer and myself were up against Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister! It will come as no great surprise to you that we lost 4-1.

What struck me about Anfield, even as a young man, was just how instantly aware you were of the tradition surrounding the place. From the moment you walk in to the ground and past the famous "boot room", to the time of kick-off with "You'll never walk alone" echoing from the packed stands, you are left in no doubt that there is something special about this stadium.

The new stadiums that have been built in recent years have plenty of benefits, especially the modern facilities. However, while they are nice and shiny, the experience of playing at the modern-day grounds is nothing like as stimulating as that of appearing at Anfield and the long-standing homes of the other football giants as far as I am concerned .

I would like to hear your views on the new stadiums and how they compare to the likes of Anfield (or any other older stadium) for atmosphere.

One of my biggest regrets is that, because of injury, I have never played at Old Trafford - the "Theatre of Dreams" as it is aptly called - or Elland Road. It was particularly frustrating for me to miss out on playing at Elland Road, during my time at Coventry because this was the place where I watched the likes of Mel Sterland (now he could strike a free-kick!), Chris Fairclough and David Batty in the relative glory years of Leeds United.

During training on the Thursday before the match, it was looking as though I would be selected to start the game. However a groin injury during that training session (which led to a double hernia operation) put pay to that particular dream.

As I have said before, playing at the Millennium Stadium for Hartlepool against Sheffield Wednesday in the League One play-off final was a fantastic experience but it was all rather surreal. Former players and people who I respect told me to savour every minute of this experience but regardless of how hard I tried to do so, the whole day has unfortunately become just a blur.

The Millennium Stadium was a great arena to play football in. The atmosphere was incredible as were the facilities in the dressing rooms. I remember being pleasantly surprised that we all had our own individual lockers, which was a real treat considering that at lower league grounds, it is not unusual for you to have to share a peg with your team mates because some of the other pegs have fallen off which could lead to you going home wearing another players tracksuit!

Not that I am complaining, far from it. Players who drop down levels have to adapt to the different types of stadiums and facilities. It is something that has never bothered me.The quality of the pitch is more of a priority to me as opposed to the state of the players' tunnel.

Like most players, I am just grateful to be earning my living from the game, although we still have a bit of a laugh at some of the places we play at.

A tongue-in-cheek comment that is familiar in League Two when we play at a ground which is facility-challenged is: "This is not really what I dreamt about as a kid." There is one ground in particular, that has a changing room with one loo. That in itself is not a problem, except that whenever I play at the ground, the loo is always blocked. Not nice with 16 nervous footballers around!

Just imagine if there was only one loo in the dressing rooms at Wembley!