Troy Deeney once named England's five scariest football stadiums to play in | OneFootball

Troy Deeney has singled out the five most intimidating grounds he played in during his career

Troy Deeney made a name for himself at Watford during an impressive 11-year stint leading the lines.

And the forward also played for Birmingham City and Forest Green Rovers before hanging up his boots in 2024.

The now 38-year-old played up and down the English football pyramid, reaching the Premier League during his time at Vicarage Road.

But he played in League Two and League One with Walsall in the earlier stages of his career, and he spent several seasons in the Championship both at Watford and Birmingham.

Here we look at the top five scariest football stadiums to play in, as once named by Deeney…

5 ? ? Villa Park

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Speaking to Talksport, Deeney ranked the five most intimidating grounds he played in during his career, with Aston Villa’s home stadium being the first one mentioned.

The former striker opened up on how his support of their bitter rivals Birmingham City impacted the reaction he got from the Midlands outfit.

The 38-year-old’s record against the Villans was impressive, scoring six goals in five games in the Premier League, his best run against any top flight opposition in his career.

“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,” said Deeney.

4 ? ? Carrow Road

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Deeney singled out Norwich City’s home ground as where he got the biggest single reaction from an individual supporter.

While he admitted that Carrow Road was never the most intimidating ground, there was one fan who stood out.

He recalled an incident where the supporter in question pursued Deeney from the crowd, and was quite rattled by the striker’s response to his jeering.

“They’re quite nice at Carrow Road but there was this one guy,” said Deeney.

“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.

“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.”

Deeney played against Norwich three times in the Premier League, scoring twice and providing two assists.

3 ? ? London Stadium

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Deeney praised the support that West Ham receive at home, even with the issues at the London Stadium where the crowd are quite far away from the pitch.

He never quite got the full Upton Park experience, but believes that the fans have been able to maintain an intimidating atmosphere at their newer home.

The Hammers moved into the former Olympic Stadium in 2016, and have been able to make full use of the over 60,000 capacity.

The stadium is regularly quite full on matchdays, and the atmosphere certainly rivals the best English football has to offer, on its day, making for a tough environment for away supporters.

2 ? ? The Den

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Deeney has claimed that Millwall’s home has earned its reputation as a difficult place for away teams to go.

The former Watford star recalled an incident from his childhood, attending a fixture away to the Lions while he was supporting Birmingham.

He suggested that the Den lived up to his expectations, having been looking forward to playing there someday after being locked in the away end by fans when he was younger.

“I scored my first goal there – I scored loads, man – and won and lost there but every time the fans are intense,” said Deeney.

“It’s the first time I’ve been heckled by children and OAPs at the same time!”

1 ? ? St. Andrew’s

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Deeney claimed that the intimidation he felt as a player at St. Andrew’s was very different to anywhere else.

The striker recalled playing against the side he supports, and the jeering he received from people he actually knew.

In one particular incident, he remembered being booed by someone he was planning to have drinks with after the game, highlighting the importance of not losing any time he played against the Blues.

Birmingham are now planning to build a new stadium under the ownership of Knighthead Capital, which will see them leave St. Andrew’s.