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Away Days at the B&D Stadium
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Away Fans Guide
by Hardy on 08/11/2001
If you are heading to the Barking & Dagenham Stadium for a game, this section of the site offers travel information, details of the ground and surrounding area. |
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The Away Fans Guide
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This is the full version of the DiggerDagger Away Fans Guide for those
looking for a detailed guide to all aspects of visiting the Daggers including
prices, travel information and food/drink recommendations plus a description of
the ground and some club history.
For a concise view of just the information pertaining to travel, tickets,
away accommodation and food/drink options refer to the abbreviated
version.
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Visiting The LBB&D Stadium, home of the Daggers
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Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club
London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium
Victoria Road
Dagenham
Essex RM10 7XL
Tel: +44 (0)20 8592 1549
Clubcall: 09066 555 840 (60p per minute)
Email: info@daggers.co.uk
Website: www.daggers.co.uk
Find a map here
About the Ground
Prices 2008/09 Season
Other ways to part with your money
Travelling by Car?
Where to Park
Travelling by Train?
Will the game be on?
Fancy a Beer?
Something to Eat?
Local Attractions
What kind of welcome can
Away Fans expect?
Feedback invited
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About the Ground
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 The ground was renamed once more to the London Borough of Barking &
Dagenham Stadium from the Victoria Road Sports Ground in the summer of 2007 following a sponsorship deal with the local
council. The ground was renamed the Glyn
Hopkin Stadium in the summer of 2003 for three seasons.
The ground has a Football League "A" grading and now has a capacity of 6,000 the majority of which is standing terrace.
There are currently just over 1,000 seats split between the Carling Stand and the Barking College Stand (or Marie Celeste as it
was formerly known to the locals) both on the south side of the ground. Many of the seats in the main stand are reserved for season ticket holders, although those not are on open sale on a normal match day. The Carling Stand (pictured
right) now also contains 3 "executive" boxes.
 All
matches in the Football League will be segregated. Previously, in the non-league
game this was not always the case, allowing access of away fans to all parts of the
ground. This is common in many non-league grounds and allows the age old tradition of changing ends at half time to stand behind the goal your team is attacking.
 The only cover from the elements is either in the seating or in the covered terracing (pictured above) which is known as the Sieve to the locals - you get one guess why. This runs along the north side of the ground opposite the
stands and is officially the North Stand.
 The Sieve is able to be accessed via a walkway at the rear (above and left) and turnstiles situated in Bury Road, which runs parallel to Victoria Road. The Bury Road turnstiles allow further options on segregation and to ease congestion on big match days and tend to only be open for matches where large crowds are expected.
 The Bury Road Terrace or Clock End
(right) is uncovered terrace running along the East of the of the ground. At the south end of this terrace is the Dagger Shop. The terrace is split around two-thirds of the way up to allow entry of the groundsman's vehicles and easy exit from the ground via Bury Road.
Behind the terrace there is now a Police control box for the ground, built in
the summer of 2007.
 When segregation is in place, away fans are allocated the Pondfield Road End
(left) at the West end of the ground. This has a capacity of around 1,200 and is
currently uncovered terracing. Access to the away terracing is via gates at the far end of the ground from the entrance via Victoria Road. Walk around the clubhouse and the gates are on the right hand side.
During
the close season 2009 the club is expecting to build a 1,240 seat stand at the
Pondfield Road End to increase total seating capacity to over 2.000 to satisfy
Football League ground regulations. The stand as envisaged will have disabled
facilities, also incorporate a bar, snack bar, and new changing facilities. This
will remain as away accommodation.  At
present in
the Football League the Barking College Stand (right) is also be allocated to away fans. The view from
this Stand is not the greatest as there are support posts along the front, and it is slightly set back in comparison to the much newer Carling Stand making the corner of the ground near the main turnstiles difficult to see clearly.
It does however have the only cover available to away fans, which may be worth
considering depending on the
weather forecast. Use gate 7 for the Barking College Stand.
 When segregation is in place the Police have in the past placed away coaches to the west of the ground across Pondfield Park. This can mean an interesting walk across an unlit muddy park depending on the time of year. The club are
still trying to get the Council to install lighting in this area.
 Disabled fans are welcome and are given space (right) in front of the Barking College Stand which
was refurbished during the 2002 close season. It helps the Club greatly if disabled visitors can phone in advance (see telephone number above). Both disabled fans and carers are charged entry to the ground as recommended by the National Association of Disabled Supporters.
Further details of disabled access at the London Borough of Barking &
Dagenham Stadium can be found at
the Association of Wheelchair & Ambulant
Disabled Supporters website. The listing for Dagenham & Redbridge includes much better pictures of the accommodation.
Immediately behind the Pondfield terracing is the Daggers training ground.
There has been a proposal for floodlit astroturf pitches to be installed in this area
which has been bouncing around for ever and a day now, but it seems likely that
this will be over ridden by the building of the new stand and now not happen.
The history of the Victoria Road Sports Ground is discussed by D&R Press Secretary Dave Simpson in a great
article on this site which can be found here.
BBC Essex have a great 360 degree picture of the ground (which is now
somewhat out of date) and the home dressing rooms which can be found here.
Map of the ground:
Click to enlarge
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Prices 2008/09 Season
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 This
season the club have brought in discounts for advance tickets in order to
encourage fans to buy in advance to ease congestion on match days. For Football
League games advance tickets to the terraces are £14 adults, £10 for
concessions and £6 for children between 8 and 15, and £1 for children 7 and
under. For Football League games entry on
the day to the terraces is £16 adults, £10 for
concessions and children under 16. The recent VAT reduction has seen most of
these prices reduced fractionally.
 Seats in the Carling Stand (left) are
now split with different prices for entry through gate 8 (tunnel area) which are
£20 for adults and £14 for all concessions, and through gates 5&6 (south
eastern corner of the ground) which are £19 for adults and £13 for all
concessions. Again the prices differ for advance tickets with a £2 discount on
each of the above prices for tickets bought ahead of the day of the game (plus
the VAT reduction).
 With
the Barking College Stand
(right) now allocated to away fans, the family area of the ground is now
designated as being the Carling Stand rows A, B & C, seats 1 to 28. Here
family tickets can be bought in advance for £14.70 for adults, £8.80 for
concessions and £6.70 for 8 to 16s and £2 for 7s and under.
As
detailed above, it is now possible to buy advance tickets for all
first team matches. The club have an online service here,
and tickets can also be bought in person from the clubhouse. Times that the
ticket office is open are notified at the clubs Official
Site.. Tickets purchased via the internet are not subject to any surcharges and tickets can be collected on the day of the game by presenting
the credit/debit card used. Tickets can also be purchased by telephoning 020
8592 7194 with a Switch, Visa or MasterCard card up to 5.00pm the day before the match. Tickets can be collected on the day of the game on presentation of the credit debit/card and any relevant proof of concession status. There is a £1.50 surcharge for each telephone order.
Please note only cash is accepted at the turnstiles on match days.
Away tickets follow the same principles although advanced
tickets must be bought through the opposition club. These are priced in line
with the home pricing for the Carling stand (gates 5&^) for the Barking
College Stand and with the home terrace pricing for the Pondfield End Terrace.  As mentioned above, there are three executive boxes in the Carling Stand
(left). At present two of these have been let for the next two seasons, however the third, which seats 12, is available for hire on a match by match basis
for league matches. If you are interested please contact Steve Thompson at the club for details (see www.daggers.co.uk).
In the past the club has regularly invited local clubs, schools and children's groups to games. If you are interested please again contact Steve Thompson at the club for details (see above). The club also has had "Kids for a Quid" days a couple of times a season whereby terrace entry for children is reduced to £1. Again, these will be notified at the official site.
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Other ways to part with your money
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 The full colour 60 page match day programme, The Dagger,
is £2.50
for season 2008/09 and is generally a good read. Programmes are on sale in the clubhouse, in the Dagger Shop, and just through each of the turnstiles.
The
programme is edited by club Press Secretary and occasional DiggerDagger.com
contributor Dave Simpson and scooped the award for best programme in the
Nationwide Conference in 2002/03 at the Conference AGM.
 The
previous fanzine entitled "Just a small club from Essex!"
fell by the wayside during 2003/04 but was been replaced by a new one
"Daggers to my Heart" for 2004/05 with the first edition (right) out
in pre-season. This has failed to reappear since.
The Dagger Shop (below), situated next to the Bury Road terrace, has a range of
souvenirs from replica kit through to mouse mats and key rings. They also have a fine stock of old D&R and other club
programmes which are sold out of an old container (nicer than it sounds) near
the Bury Road gates.
Replica shirts can also be ordered through shop on the Official
Website, although other goods are not available via this route. It is
planned that this service will be expanded soon for exiles..
 The Dagenham & Redbridge FC Supporters Club
is now run from an "office" behind the terrace accessed near the Bury
Road gates, and any membership queries or away travel bookings should be made there. The D&R Supporters Club's home on the web is
now at the
Officail Site.
On match days the Supporters club sell Golden Goal tickets at £1 each with a prize of £50.
The club themselves run a 50/50 draw with profits going to ground development, tickets priced at £1 each with a draw at half time. Look out for sellers of both just through the turnstiles. The 50/50 tickets are also sold by people circulating the ground during the first half of matches. Prize money for the 50/50 draw is regularly well over £100.
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Travelling by Car?
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 From the North: Approach via the M25. From the M25 exit at junction 27 and head south on the M11. At the end of the M11 join the A406
North Circular Road and head south towards Barking. At the junction with the A13 exit the A406 and take the A13
East towards Tilbury, Dagenham and the Dartford Tunnel. Exit the A13 at the signs for Dagenham/Dagenham East and the
A1306 with the Vue cinema on your left. At the second set of lights
on the A1306 take the B178 (Ballards Road), turning left at traffic lights with the Ford Plant main gates on your right and a McDonalds immediately in from of you.
There is a fairly small signpost for Dagenham & Redbridge FC on this
junction which is easy to miss. Now see "Nearly there" below.
From the South: Take the M25 and cross the river at the Dartford Tunnel. Shortly after exiting the tunnel take the exit onto the A13 at junction 31 of the M25. Follow the A13 to the Dagenham/Dagenham East exit. At the
double roundabout under the main A13 turn right and pass back under the A13, then go straight on up over the bridge to the traffic lights and turn left onto the A1306. At the second set of lights turn right into the B178 (Ballards Road), with the Ford Plant main gates on your left and a McDonalds on your right. Now see "Nearly there" below.
 Nearly there: At the
north end of the B178 (Ballards Road) turn left at the roundabout onto Rainham Road South (the Bull Pub is on your left here). Careful approaching this roundabout as it is a 30mph speed limit and there is a camera.
If you are in need of cash there is a free cash machine in the garage opposite
the Bull Pub. After passing Dagenham East London Underground Station (pictured right) which will be on your left, Victoria Road is 400 yards further down on the left.
The ground is about 100 yards down Victoria Road.
Find a map here
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Where to park
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 There is very limited parking at the ground available by prior arrangement only.
Other parking is available in the side roads near the ground and fills up fairly quickly before a major game. You ought to find something, but the later you arrive, the further you walk. It is possible to park in Pondfield Road behind the club and walk across Pondfield Park to the back entrance into the ground.
Note that parking on the pavement in Bury Road is not allowed and the Council will be giving parking tickets and potentially also clamping cars that are found here on match days.
Please be careful not to block driveways or other access ways if parking on the side streets in the area.
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Travelling by Train?
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 Use the London Underground, District Line to Dagenham East (not Dagenham Heathway). Come out of the station and turn left, Victoria Road is about 400 yards and on your left, the ground is a further 100 yards down Victoria Road. If using the Bury Road turnstiles (not open for all matches), this is the next road up on the left past Victoria Road.
Dagenham East is around 40 minutes from Central London on the District line.
London Underground map During
much of 2008/09 the London Underground have been kindly shutting the District
Line between Barking and Upminster most weekends and running a replacement bus
service. This is very slow and you need to add time to your journey is
you intend to use this. Closures are notified at the Transport
for London website. It
is possible to get a C2C train from London Fenchurch Street to Barking and then
transfer to the District Line for the last 4 stops to Dagenham East which will
save a little time provided the train timings are right, but this is probably
not going to make much difference overall, especially at weekends.
 Alternatively, it is possible to get a Great Eastern
train to Romford and than take the number 103 bus to Dagenham which stops close to the end of Victoria Road. Great Eastern trains run out of London Liverpool Street station.
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Will the game be on?
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 The club invested in new drainage in 2000 and now has frost covers as a result of the high profile and costly loss of the Charlton Athletic FA Cup 3rd round replay in January 2001. Barring a really cold spell or persistent heavy rain the pitch has proved very durable recently.
To check out the five day forecast weather forecast for the Dagenham area see the Yahoo weather forecast.
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Fancy a Beer?
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 DiggerDagger recommends that you drink in the Dagenham & Redbridge FC clubhouse
(left). The clubhouse is open to away fans on most match days for a day membership of 50p. Again for major matches the club may be reserved for members only, see the official web site for notification of this. The clubhouse has two large bars plus various halls usually used by sponsors. Good beer is sold at reasonable prices and a friendly welcome is given to visiting fans.
The following Dagenham pubs are reasonably local walking distance to the
ground and given in order of recommendation
The Eastbrook is just past the ground on the right if walking up Rainham Road from the station. It is a family pub with a garden and got some pretty good reviews from the Charlton fans that came over for the FA Cup replay in January 2001.
"The Eastbrook, as you said, is a welcoming pub with some decent
beer. The prices were more in line with what we pay up here than I expected too!"
Mark Griffiths - Wrexham
The Bull is further down the Rainham Road
South on the roundabout at the top of Ballards Road. From Dagenham East tube station turn right away from the ground. The Bull has a play area for children, a garden and seating at the back, and caters for those who would like a pre-match meal.
For those following the driving instructions below the Bull is an easy landmark
to find within a couple of minutes of the ground and has a decent sized car
park.
The Beacon in Oxlow Lane has a decent reputation. Turn left at the lights where the Eastbrook is situated into Oxlow Lane. The pub is 5
minutes down the road passing the Jet petrol garage and is on the right hand side passing a Pizza, Indian and a Chinese.
The Railway is a 5 minutes walk from the ground, situated next to Dagenham East station, turn right out of the station. Opposite is a fish and chip shop. The Railway has a big screen TV. This has an iffy reputation although DiggerDagger is not sure how much of this is justified. There have been some negative comments regarding away fans in this pub, and it is probably the last choice for a local beer despite its convenience for the station.
The
Lord Denman is in Dagenham Heathway, which is the stop before Dagenham
East on the District Line if coming from London. This is a JD Wetherspoons pub
and therefore has predicable fare if chain pubs are your thing. The walk from
there to the ground is maybe 20 minutes.
Even the most committed local will admit that the area around the ground is
not the greatest to visit so, if you are coming down for the day and fancy
somewhere a little more salubrious but not within walking distance of the
ground, the following are recommendations that are reasonably local and a little
more upmarket.
Next to Hornchurch Station, two stops on from Dagenham East heading towards
Upminster is The
Railway which is considerably more pleasant and welcoming than its
namesake at Dagenham East. A 15 minute walk into Hornchurch town centre from the
station (turn left out of the station and keep walking up Station Lane) will
take you into the town centre with all sorts of pubs and restaurants. The best
pub (IMHO) in Hornchurch is the Fatling
& Firkin, part of the Firkin chain of brewpubs. At the end of Station Lane
follow the road round to the left into the High Street and walk 100 or so yards,
and the pub is on the right hand side.
At the end of the District Line, also on the C2C mainline is Upminster
Station. Right next to the station is the Essex
Yeoman. This is the pre-game venue of choice for the Upminster
Daggers who would welcome any away fans that are looking far a chat and a
bit of banter.
If anyone has any other pubs in easy reach of the ground that you feel may be
of interest in adding to this area of the site, please drop
me a line.
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Something to Eat?
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 Food, tea, coffee and soft drinks are available from the three
permanent tea bars in the ground. These are at the corner of the Bury Road End (right), next to the main turnstiles, at the Pondfield Road End, opposite the turnstiles, and at the back of the
Sieve, in the centre of the covered terrace. For games where a really big crowd is expected the club has in the past allowed additional temporary catering vans into the ground. Beer is not for sale within the ground.
 Various fast food outlets are dotted around the area of the ground, including a couple of fish and chip shops in the area opposite Dagenham East Station and on Rainham Road between the Station and Victoria Road. DiggerDagger cannot vouch for the standard of the fare.
If driving and in need of a burger and fries, there is a McDonalds on the A1306 at the junction with Ballards Road (see the driving instruction above). DiggerDagger can vouch for this one. It is the same as every other McDonalds in the UK.
If you fancy something a little more "East End" there is a Pie and Mash establishment just beyond the Eastbrook pub in Dagenham Road. Again, DiggerDagger cannot vouch for the food quality, although we have been informed that for some visitors this is the highlight of their visit to Dagenham. This may have been because their team left Victoria Road empty handed though.
"The pie and mash shop is a good spot for a feed. I recommend the
stewed eels!" Mark Griffiths - Wrexham
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Local Attractions
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Lets be honest here, Dagenham is hardly the greatest part of the world,
even if it does have the best pub team in the world. "Lets go and see the biggest
council estate in the world darling" is highly unlikely to cut it I'd
guess. So how will you sell the
trip down from the frozen north to your non-footballing
wife/girlfriend/significant other?  Despite the Essex postcode, Dagenham is in Greater London and
only about 40
minutes from Central London by underground, 25 minutes by car on a good day, and this
is one of the great cities of the world. There a
hundred places to find out about things to do in "The Smoke" so I
won't add them here, use Google!
If shopping is your ladies thing the shopping
centre in Romford is pretty good and only 10 minutes or so drive from
Victoria Road. The
Brewery in Romford is sadly no longer a brewery but is another area of shops very close to the main centre
which has a bowling alley, multi screen cinema and a number of restaurants in
it. Also in Romford is the Greyhound
Stadium which is always a good night out. Meetings are held four nights a
week including Saturday nights with first race off at 7:30pm.
Back on the shopping theme the famous Lakeside
Shopping Centre is right by the M25 Junction 30/31 at the north end of the
Dartford Crossing and is where Essex Girls traditionally buy their white stilettos. Lakeside also has a large retail
park with all the usual collection of the major retail outlets including
CostCo, Toys 'R Us, PC World, JJB Sports etc.
Just the other side of the Dartford Crossing in Kent is Bluewater which bills itself as "the leading shopping and
leisure destination in Europe". A visit here is highly likely to prove more
expensive than the equivalent trip to Lakeside so take care when suggesting it,
but it is a pretty spectacular set of shops.
Very close to Lakeside is the Arena
Essex Raceway where there are various motor racing fixtures pretty much
every Sunday from March to October. Brands
Hatch is also in easy reach just off the M20 in Kent.
If anyone has any other local attractions that you feel may be of interest in
adding to this area of the site, please drop
me a line.
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What kind of welcome can away fans expect?
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 Dagenham
& Redbridge Football Club is an amalgamation of four famous old amateur sides of yesteryear, Walthamstow Avenue, Leytonstone, Ilford and Dagenham and in its current form only came into existence in 1992 when Dagenham merged with Redbridge Forest.
For a detailed explanation of the various founder clubs and mergers, and a
more detailed season by season review of how Dagenham & Redbridge came to
find themselves in the Football League at last than given below, see the club history section.
The new club's first season under former Redbridge Forest manager John Still
saw it finish 3rd in the Conference but it was downhill from there and the club
was relegated in 1996. After this though the appointment of Ted Hardy as manager
saw the clubs fortunes turned around completely and after a Wembley appearance in the 1997 FA Trophy final
beaten in extra time by our old rivals Woking, promotion back to the Nationwide Conference
was won in May 2000 under Garry Hill.
In their first season back in the top flight of the non-league game the Daggers finished an impressive
third, and had a hugely successful FA Cup run, being 4 minutes away from beating Charlton Athletic at the Valley, losing by a single, extra-time goal in the replay at Victoria Road.
 In the 2001/02 season the club again progressed making another FA Cup 3rd round appearance, this time beaten at home by Ipswich Town, and finished second in the Nationwide Conference missing out on promotion to the Football League on goal
difference to arch enemies Boston United.
In 2002/03 the club went one better in the cup, losing narrowly to Norwich City in the 4th round after beating Plymouth Argyle and is again having a fine
Conference season finishing fifth after an early poor start, once again missing
promotion in the cruellest of manners, losing the first ever Conference play off
final to a truly golden goal for Doncaster Rovers in extra time.  2003/04 proved to be a very disappointing season with wholesale changes to
the squad and a series of disappointing results including early departures from
the cup competitions. Towards the end of the season a televised horror show
losing 9-0 at home to Hereford led to manager Garry Hill's position becoming
untenable and he resigned in March.
The Daggers headed in to 2004/05 under a new (old) manager,
John Still who has done a great job of rebuilding the team since his appointment
under tight monetary pressures to the point where the Conference title, and with
it promotion to the Football League was won on the 7th of April 2007. The
Daggers first season in the Football League was a bit of a struggle with the
club in a relegation fight up to March, finally finishing a relatively
comfortable 20th. This season so far has seen a real turnaround in form and the
club is currently looking at a potential play off spot or better heading in to
2009.  As a result of the somewhat patchwork history, the fan base is quite diverse, however Dagenham and Redbridge fans are generally a friendly bunch, and welcome the exchange of non-abusive banter with away fans.
As with anywhere else though there is the occasional nutter that attaches
himself to a club but the Daggers have a fine reputation and try hard to
keep it. The genuine affection from Norwich City, Morecambe and Stoke City where
praise has been heaped on the Daggers fans after big games is what following
Dagenham & Redbridge is all about.
 At bigger games at Victoria
Road sadly there has been a tendency for some of the less attractive elements of local Football League and
Premiership clubs (you know who I mean) to attach themselves to the team and at the FA Cup match with Ipswich Town there were a couple of incidents of coin throwing. There were also
two incidents in 2001/02 of away coaches being stoned when leaving the ground. This sort of behaviour is not condoned by the club or the regular supporters and anyone caught will face prosecution and a ban from Victoria
Road and and other football grounds.
 The club crowds
settled to an average of about 1,500 after a high of nearer
2,000 in 2001/02 but rose again to close to 2,000 again towards the end of the
Conference Championship season. Once in the Football League crowds have been
around the 1,800 to 2,200 level depending on the opposition. A historic view of club
attendances can be found here.
In the Conference, games were segregated where police advice to do so was received,
which was most ex-Football League clubs or where the visiting club indicated it was
bringing more than 200. In the Football League, from 2007/08, all games are segregated as a matter of course which
has changed the atmosphere at the ground
further and is a disappointment for most supporters.
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Feedback invited
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If anyone who has attended a game at Victoria Road has any comments or suggestions, good or bad, please let me know. Email me here or leave a message at the message board here."The
welcome at the club itself is very warm - I hope we're both in League Two next
season as I look forward to coming down again! Looking at yesterday you're more
than capable of pulling yourselves away from the bottom - Nurse, Okoronghae and
Patterson impressed me particularly." Mark Griffiths - Wrexham If you are visiting the club I wish you a pleasant trip and a safe (but depressed) homeward journey.
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