Many thanks to Groundhopper for running Shrewsbury Town under the microscope this week, and I hope they are pleased to find out they are top of the table so far this season and by some margin, it was genuinely hard to find fault with the match day experience offered up by the Shropshire club, a pity we never got the result to round the day off.
| Shrewsbury Town | |||
| Category | Score | Comments | |
| First Impressions of the stadium, parking, ease of entry. | 8 | Coaches parked right outside the away end. A modern stadium. Entry was easy. Those buying on the day could only pay in cash causing a delay for some seeking out cash machines. | |
| Food & Drink, range, quality, price. | 9 | There was a burger van outside and a fan bar area which welcomed away supporters. Inside the ground was a standard range of food & drink which was reasonably priced | |
| View from your seat, any poles in the way, obstructed view, seat broken? | 9 | We were behind the goal with an unobstructed view. Wheelchair users were in the same stand at the front. However, they were given the opportunity to move to the viewing platform at the rear of the stand which was taken up by some. | |
| Home team support, was it a library, good banter between the fans? | 7 | There was a reasonable amount of noise from the home support. The main support was behind the opposite goal which had a drum. I couldn’t understand why there was a breakaway group in the stand to our right who also had a drum and were generally singing something at odds to the home end. There was a reasonable amount of banter between the two sets of supporters. I’m aware that two home supporters were ejected from the ground for making alleged racist gestures, but I didn’t witness the incident. Shrewsbury we’re swift to make a statement regarding the incident. | |
| What were the stewards like, helpful and friendly or jobsworths? | 9 | The stewards were polite and helpful. They assisted one wheelchair user and carer to the platform at the rear of the stand. They were also quick to assist a less ambulant supporter out of the stand at the end of the match. | |
| Toilet facilities, clean and well equipped with hot water, disgusting. | 7 | I’m no fan of the stainless-steel toilet. Hot water in the gents but not the ladies. | |
| Ticket pricing, did the price reflect the facilities of the ground? | 10 | £20 for an adult is good value, twenty’s plenty. | |
| Ground facilities, half time service, did they let fans outside at halftime? | 7 | Fans were allowed out for a half-time smoke. I don’t recall any half-time entertainment. Service wasn’t too bad, we have seen worse. | |
| Match atmosphere, did the Dons fans give good support? | 9 | Good support from the Dons fans who made plenty of noise. The drum was allowed although an agreement has to be signed in advance which stipulates that the drum should not be played continuously | |
| Ease of exit, did the carpark clear quickly, traffic around the stadium? | 9 | Exit from the ground and car park was relatively swift. | |
| Any other observations or comments that may have affected your scoring? | |||
| Name – Groundhopper | Total Score out of 100 | 84/100 | |
