Some may describe it as a dump and that is being polite on a family forum. However, give me good ole' English football like that any day. Ok, I shared a couple of pints beforehand with some not606 friends, which does help put some spring in your step at my old age, especially as you tramp along something that I can best describe as a woodland path towards the ground. I am also sure my patience would have been tried if any of the front line stewards we were met by at the end of our walk to the entrance of the ground had insisted on searching me as they did many of the fans. I suppose I should see it has a compliment if they ever do stop me. Oh to be young again. But it is an enjoyable experience that every Premier League plastic (prawn sandwich eaters) with their plastic seats should be forced to endure before ever calling themselves a true genuine football supporter. Despite me having blue blood running through my veins I have always admired teams such as AFC Wimbledon who fought back from the ashes, with the hard earned support and cash of their followers and you can certainly add The Shots to that list. How nice to enter a ground and be able to merge from a corner into whatever side of terracing you choose, to stand where you want, to listen to both sets of supporters creating an atmosphere rarely experienced at Priestfield these days. People can make their excuses why the Rainham End is so quiet these days but that noise at the Recreation Ground was created by (an official attendance) of just 3,267 fans. An atmosphere that some 30,000+ in attendance around other stadiums would struggle to match in the higher leagues. Hopefully we will not have to play Aldershot again but that is not through no disrespect to their club, their supporters or their ground but merely because I want us to take the auto route to League One. Aldershot you should be proud, you have what I class as an experience of a proper football environment and one without scratching the surface to much appears to have left the nanny state at the other side of the turnstiles. Finally just want to add, I'm not sure what the local pub was called we used beforehand but what fast efficient service to deliver your pint, even managed to get a seat. Hopefully someone will remind what the place was called just before the short journey across the road and then straight down the earlier mentioned path.
That was either The Fountain or we went into The Royal Staff which is sort of at the back of the Fountain. There we also had a couple of pints (they ran out of one of the bitters) and a hot baguette with chips which was £3.99. The place was packed with Gills but three of us still managed to get a seat. I think the atmosphere and noise there,is generated because (a) there are only 3 sides to the ground and (b) we are all packed together in the corner of the covered terrace or in my case,packed into the stand along the side. We should have won though.
"..........People can make their excuses why the Rainham End is so quiet these days but that noise at the Recreation Ground was created by (an official attendance) of just 3,267 fans. An atmosphere that some 30,000+ in attendance around other stadiums would struggle to match in the higher leagues." I quite agree brb, i thought it was a great atmosphere, especially considering it was from just over 3000 fans. credit to both sets of fans.
