What makes a good/bad/great away day, no matter what division you watch your football in?
Is it about the entire day, from the distance that you have to travel and the difficulty of getting there, to the town or city itself, or the ground itself or its immediate environs, and even the cost of a pint.
From grounds that were built with the Premier League in mind to those built for non league clubs who’ve grown since, all life is here.
Darren Stobbs reveals all about his awayday at Wycombe
Time left Bristol and time arrived at Wycombe?
We ran a minibus for this cup match, which we thank the Community Trust allowing us to use.
We left The Mem at 3:10pm, stopping at Reading services and arriving at Adams Park for 5:45pm.
Distance from Wycombe town Centre / Train Station?
Wycombe railway station/town centre is about 2.5 miles from the ground.
When was the ground opened and what are the plans for the future of the ground?
Adams Park opened in 1990, after the club left Loakes Park (their home for 95 years). There are no plans to upgrade their current stadium. A year ago their pitch was heavily invested in for the first time in 23 years. They also included under soil heating as part of the upgrades.
What options were there for pubs around the ground?
The ground is situated at the end of an industrial estate. The nearest pub is a 15 minute walk away. There is another pub, which did reach out to the Supporters Club in advance, however this is five minutes further on again.
On this occasion, being a low profile fixture, Wycombe let us into their Supporters Club bar. This is a large room with Sky TV, and also food available.
What did I think of the food and drink available inside the ground?
A local hazy pale ale, plus a standard IPA were available in the Supporters Club bar. A beer and a cider came to £13 and jacket potatoes (a first that I have seen at a ground on our travels) with various fillings were a steep £8.50p each. Although they looked nice, I opted for a chicken & bacon pie in the ground at £6.50p. Bovril and other hot drinks were £3 each.
What did I think of the away end and my view of the game?
Rovers fans were situated in the usual seated stand behind the goal. It offers a decent view of the playing action with no pillars etc obstructing your view. The seats are quite tight in this stand with not a lot of leg room.
What was the atmosphere like during the match?
With the attendance very low (as expected) the atmosphere was like watching a behind closed doors match. From the kick off you could clearly hear the players shouting orders to one another. Looking around it made me think how much money clubs must lose on staging a game like this.
One funny aspect was the underground area that was revealed which stores the temporarily used goalposts/nets etc. Quite a good idea actually, but it was almost like they were getting ready to lower a coffin into the ground! As shown on the photo.
What allocation is given and can this be increased, and how many Rovers fans were there?
The away end holds a full and final allocation of 1,850. For this EFL Trophy match 101 Rovers fans made the journey, but the total attendance was only 656, so it wasn’t a bad percentage of the crowd!
The Match:
We continued in the same fashion as most of our away games so far, up against it from the first whistle.
We are also doing ourselves no favours by conceding early in the match, and again shortly afterwards.
We were behind on four minutes with a low shot on the angle inside the box. Then a low cross with a simple shot at goal made it 2-0. Another shot, not far out, found the bottom right corner to make it 3-0 and other similar attempts could have made the scoreline a lot more.
In the second half there was a better response, but with the damage done earlier in the match, we only managed a consolation goal with Ellis Harrison’s neat low finish. We had two or three decent efforts to get back into the match, but ultimately didn’t take them. Wycombe then got a fourth goal with a deflected cross on the left which was headed in.
Rovers Man of the Match:
Jack Sparkes was my man of the match and was full of effort down the left side. Even at 3-0 down his head didn’t drop. I think that he could have a bit more confidence though, to take the opposition on more often.
The Referee:
A lot better standard than in recent games and in general he let the game flow well. I would say the best referee that we have had so far this season.
Stewards/groundstaff:
They were friendly both inside and outside the stadium. The car park attendants were accommodating and let us park by the stadium free of charge. They also escorted us out on to the main road after the game.
How easy did we find it to get away from the stadium after the game/what time did we get back home?
We left Wycombe at 9:05pm, the quickest ever time getting away from Adams Park. Those of you who have been there before will know how it can be really slow, with only one road in and out of the stadium area. We got back to The Mem at 11:05pm.
How much did I spend in total on this away day?/ Was it good value for money?
Just over £56 which, for an EFL Trophy away match, was a bit more than expected. The match ticket, drinks and food were all a little bit pricey.
Would I recommend this away day to other fans?
For me, Wycombe is not the best away day. Yes, it’s within two hours of Bristol, but the ground is at the end of an industrial estate and seems a bit soulless. There is no character as to where it’s situated, albeit there are open fields and a forest behind the stadium.
There are no immediate food or drink outlets. Getting away from the ground can be a bit of a nightmare even if the stadium is only half full.
However, the atmosphere is usually a charged up one at Adams Park. Since back in 2001 when they relegated us to our first time in League 2. Then the dubious abandoned game after a thunder & lightening event at Wycombe, when we were winning.
