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 Shrewsbury
Time left Bristol and time arrived at Shrewsbury?
We left The Mem at 7:15am, stopping at Frankley services on the way and arriving at Shrewsbury for 10:30am for this lunchtime kick off, having by passed through Gloucester due to the planned road closure.
Distance from Shrewsbury town Centre / Train Station?
With the stadium now on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, the railway station is just over three miles away and the town centre 2.5 miles from the ground.
When was the ground opened and what are the plans for the future of the ground?
‘The New Meadow’ was opened in the summer of 2007, just after Rovers had beaten Shrewsbury at the then newly built Wembley Stadium. Shrewsbury had played at a number of local venues in their early days, like many other clubs did. They then played at ‘Gay Meadow’ from 1910, until moving to their current venue. There are no plans to increase the capacity, but the stadium is built in a way that the corners can be easily filled in. This would increase the capacity of the ground to 12,500. Shrewsbury were also the first club to introduce safe standing rails in 2018.
What options were there for pubs around the ground?
There are two pubs within a 15 minute walk from the stadium, in either direction. I have been to both of these in past seasons, but there is also a Supporters Club bar that usually lets Rovers fans in. On this occasion this was just for home fans, but a Fanzone adjacent to this was available for away fans.
This was also under cover; the Rovers staff and owners should note how well this worked. It could be a great addition to our own Fanzone, especially when the weather turns for the worse. No real ales were on offer, but instead two lagers and a cider, plus non alcohol beverages. The lady who served us was friendly and accommodating. Someone in our group loves a G & T and it wasn’t a problem for the staff member to go next door to retrieve this whilst we waited.
What did I think of the food and drink available inside the ground?
Drinks in the Fanzone were of an average price. The usual array of pies etc were available in the ground, priced at a very reasonable £4. The pie was hot and had plenty of gravy. Bovril and other hot drinks were £2.50p. There was also a burger van near the Fanzone, which I am told was a very good choice.
What did I think of the away end and my view of the game?
The away end is of the same height as the other stands. It offers a good view of the playing action. It can also generate a good amount of acoustics, once the songs started flowing.
What was the atmosphere like during the match?
I have written in previous articles of the notorious drummers in League Two. Well, Shrewsbury had two of them! The atmosphere was very much up and down, but by the later stages of the second half, it was very much on the downwards trend. I wouldn’t say that it was toxic, but it was going that way, with some of the travelling Gasheads making their point of view at the end of the match. It was the first time I had heard songs and comments made like this towards the players since Barnet away last season.
How friendly were the home fans?
We asked a Shrewsbury Town supporter whether a programme was available, he was friendly and helpful, also explaining that Shrewsbury now produce an independant programme, like many other clubs are now doing. Inside the stadium, a ‘Shrewsbury’ supporter decided it was a good idea to start waving around a shirt from the other team in Bristol. He was definitely wearing a Shrewsbury home shirt, but for some unknown reason had this idea, whilst the onlooking stewards did nothing to stop him taunting the Rovers supporters.
What allocation is given and can this be increased, and how many Rovers fans were there?
The North Stand holds a full capacity of 1,796 and a decent crowd of 891 Gasheads made the early start for this lunchtime kick off.
The Match:
It seems like rinse and repeat, with what I have reported on our away performances. This was yet another below par performance, like all the other away matches, except at Crawley Town. It makes me wonder if that match was a false dawn, given the fact that Crawley have had such a poor start to the season.
In the first half we struggled to get a foothold in the game. The positive was keeping a clean sheet and my thinking was if we came away with at least a draw, or even got an ugly win, then that would be most welcoming. The second half was better, with more possession. However, a penalty was given, which at the time was difficult to judge from where we were sitting. Steve Evans also confirming that he failed to see why.
After seeing it back, I can only describe it as one of the worst penalty decisions given, since I’ve been watching Rovers. If penalties are given for that, then there will be one given at every corner during a match. The resulting kick was put low in the left corner. Shrewsbury then had two players sent off, one on 80 minutes for a bad challenge from behind on Shaq Forde and an even worse high challenge on Arvin Appiah four minutes into added time.
We only managed to muster up one shot on target in the whole game and struggled to break-down the eventual nine men of Shrewsbury, with still six minutes left we couldn’t find an equaliser.
A lot of fans comments after the game and also the impression I got, was that the players looked like they had never played in the same team before. It was very much like individuals out there with no togetherness.
ATTENDANCE: 5,329.
Rovers Man of the Match:
Clinton Mola was my man of the match, despite being substituted in the second half. It was difficult to find one to give it to, but Mola was present in any forward play that we tried to create.
The Referee:
Someone I know, gave me the information last week that Ben Toner being the referee. Between us, our prediction was that we would be up against it. I don’t think he has given a good account of himself before in a Rovers match. Not only did we have that crazy penalty decision given against us, but in the first half Bobby Kamwa was turned down a certain one. Also, another referee that couldn’t wait to give one of our management team a card. This time it was Steve Evans turn.
Stewards/ground staff:
They were relaxed and friendly, with no issues to report.
How easy did we find it to get away from the stadium after the game/what time did we get back home?
We left Shrewsbury at 2:40pm. Going back the ‘scenic’ route, to avoid the M5 closure at Gloucester, then somehow still finding it. Let’s just say it wasn’t planned and the driver got into a bit of a pickle! We got back to The Mem at 6:40pm.
Would I recommend this away day to other fans?
For me, it’s not the greatest away day to look forward to. The old ground had a lot more character to it, and it was near town. The new ground serves a purpose for Shrewsbury Town, but it’s a bit bog standard and has obviously been done on a budget. It just seems a bit soulless to me.
Just to note, for all the times I have been to Shrewsbury away, I have never known why they are nicknamed ‘The Salop’. There are probably well educated people out there who know why! But own up if you also don’t know. If you happen to live in Shropshire then you would likely know.
However, after using Google, the reason is – Salop is an abbreviation for the county of Shropshire and it’s county town of Shrewsbury, which is why Shrewsbury Town Football Club is nicknamed ‘The Salop’.
