I admire all of your groups tenacity in getting to the game....all that & the floodlights fail.Unbelievable....With the trains being cancelled there was alot on our train who decided to turn around at Bristol Temple Meads when the train terminated. I think we were possible the only people who made it to Dagenham who went on the 8:53 from Exeter St Davids and we only made it there for half time(having to hire a minibus at bristol coach station) £240 extra we paid between 14 of us, to get to the ground but not see a ball be kicked.
Yeah I never know why some people leave it so late to decide.....
With reference to your post and without getting into a slanging match 'Pelsey' you state that I said that you would all have to pay full fare which is factually incorrect as on leaving the ground I in my wheelchair said that you could all come back with us but you would need to make a decision asap as the coach was leaving prompto. As it was we took four additional passengers back 2 from the East Devon Grecians minibus and Ian Bond + 1 at no charge and never had any intentin to charge.Thanks again Joe.
Yes, saturday was beyond a joke - but despite the non-stop travelling and the huge 0 minutes of football we saw in the end we still had huge fun - just one of those days i s'pose! We spent a ridiculous amount of money getting to Dagenham as well. We worked out we spent 7 and a half hours getting there! Nothing ran smoothly on saturday, not even the train ride home, which half way through it someone tried to commit suicide on the railway line! We met plenty of City fans at Bristol train and bus stations - all of them went home!
A huge thank you to RaWZ for safely getting us back to Exeter, much appreciated.
Just one rant left - the Jubby bus - what a joke. As we started to make our way out of the ground we passed Jubby, who offered us a lift home as he said there were 20 spare seats - but we would have to pay full price!!! We told him we had no way of getting home as we had received a text saying that all trains back to Exeter from London had been cancelled, but he still said full price or nothing.
To sum up, i am sure we aren't the only group who had so much grief on saturday, but we probably had it the worst! Hopefully this raises the club's awareness of just what some fans go through just to see City.
To be honest of all the grounds I've visited in this country, I find Dagenham's the most dispiriting. A saturday morning before an away game I generally feel quite a keen sense of anticipation. A trek to Dagenham (even though I was staying in London for the weekend!), followed by 2 hours stood in the rain and cold, watching a game from behind the goal at pitch level thus meaning the events occurring in the other half of the pitch were guesswork. Well, lets just say the usual feel good factor wasn't quite there. Without wishing to unnecessarily disrespect Dagenham (as I suspect it applies to us given our pretty sh*t uncovered and flat away end), of all the grounds I've been to in the country (around 30 at a stab), Dagenham is the least enjoyable matchday experience. I've stood on my fair share of open terraces behind goals, and been rained and snowed upon on a number of occasions, but when you can barely even see the game (due to the terrace being all of about 8 steps high (starting from below pitch level seemingly), its hard to think about much else other than the elements. Add to the shake up the fact that there doesn't appear to be any pub anywhere near the ground at Dagenham and, all in all, its a rubbish place to visit as an away fan. I think City's saving grace as an away venue is that there are a number of good pubs close to the ground.
Anyway, for what its worth, I reckon that'll be my last trip to Dagenham unless its for a play-off place/is a play-off match. Call me a wuss or a fairweather fan (probably quite apt given some of my reasoning), but I would say in mitigation that I've been to Northfleet 3 times (and quite enjoyed all 3 visits - a win, a lose and a draw) so one could hardly accuse me of being a purist. Oh and for what its worth the ground at Northfleet is my second least favourite (as you may have guessed - I've never been to Aldershot).
Why would we want to sit :S. A cover would be nice but no seats!A fine turn out by your fans.....closer to 400 than 300 l think.
Anyway, you may be pleased to know work starts in May on a new 1,200 all seater stand for away fans. Should be ready for the start of next season.
Oh....as for Aldershot....even us Dagenham fans don't go their!!!
FA regulations l'm afraid!!!Why would we want to sit :S. A cover would be nice but no seats!
What about our away end? And the Big Bank??FA regulations l'm afraid!!!
I think you will find that you need atleast 2000 seats so does'nt affect our away end or big bankWhat about our away end? And the Big Bank??