Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:22 pm  

The non-refundable deposit was a sticking point for me at Barnet.

& I know I wasn't alone in that stance.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:54 pm  

Oddly, I have agree with you for a change.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 6:56 am  

I went to the open day and had very mixed feelings. The good points where it seems there going back to basics to get a club feel again and having all teams there can only be a good thing , however the grounds an embarrassment, unless your in the back row of the grandstand where you can stand up its a restricted veiw. We bought tickets for the front row and you have to either bend down and watch through the glass or try and peer over the metal bar thats right in your eyeline , its terrible , second row just as bad , third row slightly better and 4th row decent as you can stand up as there's no one behind.If the club do get the marketing right and they get some locals interested there going to be mainly pitch side and unless the prices for that are virtually free I can't see many repeat customers as the veiw is gonna be awfull. Also wondering what will happen if we got Wigan or saints at home in the cup , will we have to give up home advantage or be on the move again for a one off game ? because surely the ground cant cope with a couple of thousand away fans.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 8:53 am  

BRIXTON wrote:

I went to the open day and had very mixed feelings. The good points where it seems there going back to basics to get a club feel again and having all teams there can only be a good thing , however the grounds an embarrassment, unless your in the back row of the grandstand where you can stand up its a restricted veiw. We bought tickets for the front row and you have to either bend down and watch through the glass or try and peer over the metal bar thats right in your eyeline , its terrible , second row just as bad , third row slightly better and 4th row decent as you can stand up as there's no one behind.If the club do get the marketing right and they get some locals interested there going to be mainly pitch side and unless the prices for that are virtually free I can't see many repeat customers as the veiw is gonna be awfull. Also wondering what will happen if we got Wigan or saints at home in the cup , will we have to give up home advantage or be on the move again for a one off game ? because surely the ground cant cope with a couple of thousand away fans.

Agreed.

I am sure we all accept the ground is NOWHERE near what we would like it to be.

But on more than one occasion Hendo alluded to temporary stands. I guess if we are in need of putting up temporary stands (assuming these would be permitted), we are doing something right both on and off the field. That would be a nice place to be.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 9:22 am  

Actually standing up at the barrier, personally, is not an issue, some forms of terracing would be nice but I quite like it.
You are not the first person to mention the view from the seats and the glass barrier someone mentioned it on Monday and fact it's like looking through a car windscreen with no wipers. Pretty sure we all agree, even the most dedicated apologist (to placate CN) that it's a long long way from the Stoop, but the reality is the club are maybe at long last looking at life beyond DH and affordability.
If we do get games where extra seating is required then temporary structures hopefully have already been agreed, it's happened before at a lot of places, OK on a different scale but the Stoop was exactly that the first time we were there.
Trail finders have same issues as us if they were to progress any further in the RU world, so I would be gobsmacked if planning permission for expansion was totally out of the question, they got it for the current buildings.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 9:53 am  

I could live with a crap ground if it was our crap ground or part of it was. As for the temporary stands im not convinced ,behind the sticks is the road into the car park and has houses behind so think thats a non starter , opposite the main stand there's plenty of room but they will be going onto the training pitch so will surely ruin the grass so cant see that happening, couldn't really see what was behind the stand with the tent above it so not sure there , only place I can see for improvement is knocking down the main stand and starting again which wont happen because of the cost as it has all the dressing rooms , treatment rooms and bar in it , hope im wrong but cant see this being a decent ground without millions being spent on it.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 1:02 pm  

BRIXTON wrote:

I could live with a crap ground if it was our crap ground or part of it was. As for the temporary stands im not convinced ,behind the sticks is the road into the car park and has houses behind so think thats a non starter , opposite the main stand there's plenty of room but they will be going onto the training pitch so will surely ruin the grass so cant see that happening, couldn't really see what was behind the stand with the tent above it so not sure there , only place I can see for improvement is knocking down the main stand and starting again which wont happen because of the cost as it has all the dressing rooms , treatment rooms and bar in it , hope im wrong but cant see this being a decent ground without millions being spent on it.

I think in your posts you have really hit the nail on the head. If we had bought this ground and had planning permission to develop it then it would be a real step forward. As it is we are a pro club as tenants at a ground which screams amateur / social club!
I have posted previously about what would happen if we drew a SL club at home in the Cup, waive home advantage or desperately try to hire an alternative venue for the day? TBH I think we’ll have trouble accommodating a club like Bradford when they visit, they travelled in decent numbers last season.
And should, as we all want, we be successful in the league, win the million pound game then we’ll likely to have to move again won’t we as this ground is never in a million going to be up to SL standard? DH knows this hence his evasiveness at the Fans Forum!
Whilst many will brush this sort of thing off with a ‘we are where we are’ ( God I hate that phrase!) , we are where we are because of years of cocking up both on and significantly off the pitch! If the current level of marketing and engagement had been tried while we were still at The Stoop or even the Hive we might not be in the mess we find ourselves in, seeing as we still had a significant level of support! Even as the Broncos mkII we pulled in nearly 5k for the first game of the season against St Helens. At Ealing we’ll do very, very well to pull in a fifth of that crowd!

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:09 pm  

London v Bradford last year 1100 we will cope am sure. Not making excuses and agree that the problem of a big club draw in the cup or super 8s if we somehow made middle 8, but it's back to the same thing, only way it will get better is ignore the whingers and whiners who run off to other clubs and get past the trestle table on game days and build the fan base back up.
It is sad where we are, but walking away does nothing to help.

I for one intend to do what I have done for many a year, and that's come down and watch rugby league.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:22 pm  

mickyb1234 wrote:

get past the trestle table on game days

If we ever play them Salford fans will certainly get past that trestle table.

Without paying.

Re: Open day and shirts before Xmas : Wed Dec 23, 2015 6:48 pm  

Effectively bad mouthing other clubs fans is never a good idea