FGR Fans

[Knibbsworth]

Give them a chance to get the ground right, they have not been a league club for long, until they get established they might go down again at some stage soon.

They knew weeks in advance the game was an away sellout and they had nothing but two self scan turnstiles. That is 650 people per turnstile, the vast majority trying to get in between 2:40 - 3:00.

Each turnstile would have had to process over 30 people a minute, or one person every two seconds for that number of fans to get in on time. What did they expect?

Similarly on the catering side of things, two people in a room trying to serve a hundred queuing, each person taking more than two minutes to get served a polystyrene tray of chips and pay for it. Only about 10 people got what they wanted, the majority were just wasting their time.

It really did feel like an amateur club with volunteers in the club house, a pre season friendly against Caĺlington Town, rather than a Football League club expecting 1300 fans and having prepared facilities and staff to both serve them and make their club some money.

 

[HC Green]

Give them a chance to get the ground right, they have not been a league club for long, until they get established they might go down again at some stage soon.

They knew weeks in advance the game was an away sellout and they had nothing but two self scan turnstiles. That is 650 people per turnstile, the vast majority trying to get in between 2:40 - 3:00.

Each turnstile would have had to process over 30 people a minute, or one person every two seconds for that number of fans to get in on time. What did they expect?

Similarly on the catering side of things, two people in a room trying to serve a hundred queuing, each person taking more than two minutes to get served a polystyrene tray of chips and pay for it. Only about 10 people got what they wanted, the majority were just wasting their time.

It really did feel like an amateur club with volunteers in the club house, a pre season friendly against Caĺlington Town, rather than a Football League club expecting 1300 fans and having prepared facilities and staff to both serve them and make their club some money.

As they would have played against Cheltenham and Swindon last season they would have experienced large away followings already, so yesterday shouldn’t have come as a surprise to them.

 

[Devizes Green]

We had a great day in the Hospitality,where there were a lot of Argyle fans in there, where the FRG staff were all very friendly and it was good to meet Forest of Dean Green on our table
Agree that the access to the ground is very poor and cannot cope with the traffic,where we had another drink in the bar for an hour after the game finished and waited for the traffic to clear

 

[lyndhurst green]

The nearest club to me is Hereford FC, now playing in National League North. I’ve been to Edgar Street about half a dozen times in the last eighteen months. Based on my visit to Nailsworth yesterday and on infrastructure, atmosphere, organisation and fan experience, Hereford are vastly more suited for league football than FGR. I wish them all the best, but they simply aren’t set up to accommodate any team visiting in large numbers or any sort of growth in their own stature.

 

[Leigham Green]

They are an evolving club. You can’t find yourself in the football league and suddenly make yourself a bigger stadium with all the infrastructure that goes with it. They need to get themselves established in the league and then look to the future and how they develop facilities to match.
It was a bit of a culture shock for us, having been to bigger clubs in the past but to me they were a friendly, welcoming club that will learn from yesterday’s experience.

Surely you prepare for the Football League BEFORE you join.

Yep there are certain things you can do. I heard complaints yesterday about the poor quality of the ground and there are complaints on here about traffic afterwards. There is little than you can do about your ground short term. We have queues to get out of the car park at Home Park and traffic congestion in Outland Road afterwards so it happens at most grounds. They are a small community and there is literally nowhere for the coaches or park and rides to go other than outside the ground. In terms of turnstiles to get in, there are two. To maintain security I would imagine they can’t open gates etc.
I agree regards catering that they could have upped their game.

 

[gaspargomez]

What a very strange bunch they are.

 

[IJN]

Oh the irony.

 

[OnicknowlePete]

It certainly felt non league and as for atmosphere, far better at Parkway. Stewards were friendly enough from what I experienced, enjoyed a couple of beers in the Britannia in the town, but not a ground I would want to return to any time soon, especially the dirt tracks you have to negotiate on your way in and out lol,
Pete

 

[Forest of Dean Green]

We had a great day in the Hospitality,where there were a lot of Argyle fans in there, where the FRG staff were all very friendly and it was good to meet Forest of Dean Green on our table
Agree that the access to the ground is very poor and cannot cope with the traffic,where we had another drink in the bar for an hour after the game finished and waited for the traffic to clear

Nice to meet you too. Hospitality was very good. Getting away was a nightmare. Had to get my son to work or I would also have stayed in the bar. Took us 45 minutes to get all of a few hundred yards from the ground. You can see why they have plans to move. It’s a bonkers place to have a football league ground.

 

[Knibbsworth]

my brother live 50 miles away from nailsworth,he uses public transport.it took him 5 hours to get home.this is part of his experience yesterday;
"How that ever qualifies for a football league ground , it’s a mess top of a hill no car park, only get 2 coaches in there, taxi drivers not interested in going there I can see why traffic never moved for 45 minutes after the game, a good result but a badly organised club"

I saw 3 blokes get out of a taxi at the ground, one said to the other two 'it was never that far was it? He just charged me nearly 20 quid'. Maybe on a Saturday afternoon the taxis (that are interested in taking football supporters) switch to New Years Eve tariff for anyone who wants to go up into that quagmire.

 

[Green mary rose]

Awful club. Pretty sure male stewards aren't able to search female fans, but the Scottish steward on the turnstile was adament about feeling up the wife. F##king perv.

The steward asked if he could search me I said do i have a choice he said he would get a female steward I said just do it I just get fed up with been searched and I see a lot of males my age not getting searched I'm in my 50s .

 

[HertsPilgrim]

..I'll echo some of these sentiments.
What an odd day out.

Myself and a mate watched the game standing one legged, outside the barriers, leaning against a floodlight, balanced on the end of a terrace, as that was literally the only space we could find.

I somewhat (perhaps naively) thought that a vegan stance may mean the club has to up it's game on the catering front.
I asked for a chip butty and was presented with a half portion of chips with a burger bun plonked on top. :facepalm:

Still, points in the bag and a couple of decent boozers in Stroud, and given that I thought we would take a hiding off the top team...

 

[Evilpilgrim]

Trust me, FGR are painfully aware of the traffic issues, the proposed new stadium was shot down by planners so not much they can do except appeal. A bit ironic that a club of such eco-principles ends up causing a 2 hours traffic jam every matchday, but until they are allowed to move what can they do? There were roadworks on the way to the ground on Sat too which didnt help.

 

[Guiri Green]

I was confronted by some of their Ultras, the 'Quichey Blinders' I think they called themselves. One look at my Beef Wellington had them backing off.

They wont mess with Ginsterasi.

 

[Pogleswoody]

I was confronted by some of their Ultras, the 'Quichey Blinders' I think they called themselves. One look at my Beef Wellington had them backing off.

They wont mess with Ginsterasi.

I thought it was the Leeky Blinders? :think: