Andy W Taylor wrote:toffo wrote:I just want to say what a shambles it was trying to get in the ground.
I stood in the queue at 2.20 and got in the ground at 2.58. I was lucky, there were hundreds of walsall fans still outside at kick off and some did not get in till 3.20. Totally unacceptable.
There was one little turnstile available for tickets and cash paying customers. They decided to open another turnstile at 3.01,.......... totally pathetic.
If the cattle in the market next door to the ground were treated half as badly as our fans were today there'd be questions asked in the House!
We too joined the end of the queue before 2:30 and only just made in inside before KO. At that point the queue was a lot longer than it had been when we joined it! 1 turnstile open for terrace, and 1 for the seats - and didn't matter if you were paying cash or had already got a ticket you still had to wait in the same line.
All the stewards were from Walsall, just there to keep order amongst waiting fans without any control over what was going on. The main man outside said that the club had informed Hereford we would be taking at least 1200-1300, and that it had been obvious there weren't enough turnstiles early on but they still refused to open more. I asked him if KO would be delayed as it was obvious there would still be loads of fans outside at 3:00; he said it was up to ref to make that call upon advice from police - obviously the fact that the pavement was totally blocked and people were forced to walk amongst the cars on the main road didn't consitute a safety issue to to the boys in blue! When the cheer went up as the players came onto the pitch the inevitable pushing started as people were desperate to get in.
Once inside, both seats and terrace turnstiles opened into same courtyard. We were directed to the bit on the side under the stands - which only had enough space for about 300 at the front with a clear view - everybody else would have at least 1 concrete pillar blocking their view of most of the pitch. The one clear bit was on the halfway line - but you couldn't stand there because it was reserved for ambulance access! I asked the steward there why we were in this poxy area (the turnstile was actually marked "overflow area") rather than the usual bit we get in the corner. He told me Hereford had said they would give the OK to open the connecting gate to it only when there were more than 900 fans inside - he thought it must have been close to that already and he'd been told there were at least 500 still outside!
When they did open the gate there was an almighty crush of people trying to go through to where there was a partially decent view and a bit of space. They almost immediatley tried to close it again as it looked the main exit gates had been rushed by people outside trying to get in and the police came wading in. So by the time most of the people outside (some with tickets) did get in, the decent(ish) area was closed off again and it started to get nasty around the connecting gate because they wanted to come into where the main body were (there was loads of space too!)
Mind you, the ones on the side at least had access to bogs (which I agree were worse than Fellows Park) and the refreshment kiosk.
£13 to stand in a cramped end with a crap view of the pitch? People with advance tickets missing over 20 minutes of the game even though they were there in plenty of time? A total and utter shambles from Hereford and the local constabulary, and I think an apology or 2 and/or at least a partial refund in order.
Well said Andy. Hereford have clearly forgotten how to handle bigger followings. Understandable I suppose when you consider a whole generation of Hereford fans see Forest Green as a 'big'game.