English football boasts some of the game’s most intimidating fans and stadiums – Troy Deeney can vouch for that.
The former striker is one of a rare group of players who has experienced life in all four major divisions in England – the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.
Deeney spilled the tea as he revealed his top five most intimidating stadiumstalkSPORT
Yes he made over 600 appearances and scored 182 goals in a hugely successful career, but one thing that Deeney better than anyone was to get under the skin of opposition fans.
Gearing up for the interview, the 36-year-old was asked where he got the most stick during his career.
His response? “Everywhere – I get stick in Asda!”
Of course, Deeney was never blameless in his career as someone who took great joy in winding up opposition fans and players, but where were the most intimidating places to play football?
Troy, the floor is yours!
5. Villa Park (Aston Villa)
They clearly love me. They must be homeless with the amount of coins that they threw at me!
I scored every time I was there – I was at Watford and scored against them. I played them six times, won five, they beat me once and that’s the only one you’ll ever hear about – but I scored in that one too.
Aston Villa was intimidating because there was an expected kind of pressure of being from Birmingham, a Birmingham City fan, where it was them vs me.
I was a Blues fan from being a kid so when the offer came, I had better financial offers from different places, but it meant I could go to my team from home and so I wanted to help out where I could.
In the two years I was there we managed to stay up and got some things rolling which was okay – it wasn’t what I wanted it to be, but it is what it is.
Villa Park is the home of Aston Villa – the fierce rivals of Deeney’s boyhood club Birmingham CityGetty Images – Getty
Aston Villa’s fans have a not-so-special place in the heart of the strikerGetty
4. Carrow Road (Norwich City)
It’s not the most intimidating place but it’s where I got the biggest nibble from a fan.
They’re quite nice at Carrow Road but there was this one guy…
I was warming up and this guy decided he wanted a bit of beef so he came flying down the stairs, foaming at the mouth, effing and jeffing and I said, ‘give us a kiss, beautiful’ and his head was rattled.
Deeney also had a memorable run-in with a fan while warming up at Carrow Road
I said, ‘come on, clearly you love me. Give me a kiss’ and it made everyone around him laugh and he walked back to his seat in shame.
I also called him a ‘good little boy’ as well.
I’m a bit of a wind-up merchant but I can take it just as well as I give it.
3. London Stadium (West Ham)
I only got to play once at Upton Park and I was a sub because we were playing the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend so didn’t get to experience the full Upton Park.
At the new one the fans are still great but there’s that little bit of distance – they made a beeline for me and let me know that I was going to get it.
While the London Stadium isn’t too intimidating, the West Ham fans certainly make up for it
I enjoyed it – they’re my kind of people. They’re honest, they’re raw, they’re harsh but win, lose or draw, as long as you are respectful they will give you the respect back.
The fan base is amazing. In my opinion it’s just a shame that they moved away from Upton Park because it was intimidating and on top of you and just felt proper.
Even the coach going in, it was a bit moody and you’re like, ‘yeah, this is proper’.
2. The Den (Millwall)
Millwall is ledge. I absolutely love it.
I like going to places where you know what you’re walking into and as a kid I went to Millwall vs Blues and we got locked in – I think it was a play-off game – we got locked in because they were trying to make us miss the train.
The Den is among football’s scariest venues, but Deeney loves it!Getty
That was intense and I always thought, ‘oh my god I can’t wait to play there’ – obviously I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity to but I played there loads of times.
I scored my first goal there – I scored loads man – and won and lost there but every time the fans are intense.
It’s the first time I’ve been heckled by children and OAPs at the same time!
I played a game with Watford where we beat them 5-0 and one of their fans ran on the pitch and tried to punch our right back in the face – so it was quite intimidating, but I just laugh and find it funny. It’s good fun.
I used to try and find somebody to get me motivated for a game – obviously you want to win and whatever, but if our team is losing 1-0 I need to smash somebody and wind up a fan to get something going.
Deeney loved playing for boyhood club Birmingham, but said it came with its own pressureGetty
1. St Andrews (Birmingham City)
This last one is a different type of intimidation because I’m a fan, I’m from the area and all my mates are there.
I had mates from my own area slagging me off and throwing stuff at me because at that time I was playing against the Blues!
I remember we played them and we beat them 3-0 or 4-0 and I scored two – one at the Blues’ home end and as the corner came in I looked in the stand and thought, ‘this is great, I’m playing at the Blues’ – it was the first time I’d played there – and I’ve caught eyes with one of the lads from school.
I’ve gone to say, ‘you alright’ and he was like, ‘f*** off’ – I was like, ‘mate, after this we’re going to get a beer together, what’s happening?!’
It was intimidating for that reason because I HAD to win. I couldn’t lose because doing so and going to the boozer in the area wouldn’t have been nice.
