A-list A-frames - Brentford FC

As far back as 1936, the Bees were showing the world how to trap a ball and how stylish a left footed kick can look - and sturdy-looking A-frames at 1.13 in the film.



By the early 1970's the architecture at Griffin Park had gone all Feyenoord.



The 1980's and 90's ushered in an era of A-frames that looked like Dundee United's.



The new century saw the installation of Continental D's at Griffin Park.

A-list A-frames - Exeter City FC

As late as 2005, Exeter's St James Park hosted Manchester United between two fine sets of A-frames.



Some quarter of a century earlier, the hardware at St James Park rivalled anything at West Ham or QPR or Southampton.



The bygone St James Park features in the poignant clip below.

Walsall FC

From way back Walsall appear to have had distinctive hardware. About the time the Saddlers were becoming founding members of League Division 4, they kicked into a pair of big square A-frames.



Then, up to the early 1980's it was if Real Madrid had decamped to Fellows Park.



But by the time the European champions of the time Liverpool called in 1982, Walsall had installed Continental D's, which would stay in-situ until they moved stadium in 1990.



To their credit, in the era of the homogenous box-net, Walsall still play between a pair of classic Continental D's to this day.

A-list A-frames - Plymouth Argyle FC

The Pilgrims have a long history of distinctive on-field hardware.

Standard A-frames suited the early 60's



While something more boxy (or more Manchester City) were thought to be required for the 70's and the visit of Pele




The boxy white stanchions were eventually replaced by distinctive black hardware that served Home Park from the mid-90's to stadium redevelopment (and boxnets) in 2002.



Check out the old film clip below, where the ground staff are filmed erecting the cross bar, beautiful.

Wrexham FC

While goal nets aficionados and those with a bent for the spectacular would most readily associate Wrexham's Racecourse Ground with Mark Hughes goal and a pair of classic Continental D's…



A look further back at the Dragons history of goal nets shows A-frames like those at West Ham or QPR in place through the 1970's.






Then, when the Continental D's were finally introduced, rather confusingly they were tied back, box-net-style.




A glimpse of this set-up can be glimpsed in this haunting film from 1979.