"Nice for the kids"

One visit for a frustrating 1-1 draw with Hereford in 2010. The Bury fans were frustrated that - in their opinion - their team was underachieving, and that their manager was making poor, unimaginative decisions. The Hereford fans were frustrated that a lead they'd taken on 46 minutes, and then defended with ten men for much of the second half, was surrendered in stoppage time. All this took place in the small arena of a small-time club in a small town, in front a community crowd rather than a united, passionate crowd... which is not necessarily a criticism.

Location

Little more than a twenty-minute walk south from the Bury Interchange metrolink station and bus station.

View

From the main stand, full marks for comfort - plastic seats that just seemed that little bit more comfortable than the average small club's plastic seats - but marks dropped for a view obscured by vertical metal girders rising from the middle rows of seats to support the grandstand roof.

Facilities

One small toilet (clean) inside the main stand. No TV, but half-times from around the country both read out and posted on the slightly defective scoreboard at one end of the ground.

Food & Drink

One small food bar in the main stand. All the usual fare at middling prices. Quality not put to the test, but a small number of people seemed to be eating the stuff without needing immediate medical attention.

Police & Stewards

No sign of police; the stewarding was low-key; and before kick-off there were volunteers inside the ground handing out free healthy-eating promotional packs to kids, which was a nice touch.

Atmosphere

A nice family atmosphere, which is good for the club as the next generation of supporters made up a large proportion of the crowd. On the downside, there was literally no singing at until stoppage time, when Bury finally started to apply a little pressure. During the second half there were one or two loud, angry voices of ringing out quite regularly, mostly directed at the manager, but the one time that this included a broadside of expletives, the gentleman responsible was immediately rebuked by a concerned mother. His friend duly apologised.

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