Who remembers this ground?

http://www.dedmangray.co.uk/commercial-property/?property_id=DBS170085

Paul Evans sent off in his last appearance for us.
Coach setting off early from TP to avoid missing the start due to M25 traffic. No hold ups and we got there at about one with no one around to let us in the bar.
Realised there were no pubs in the vicinity so the next year some of us walked miles along a road to a pub in Aveley.

I didn’t go there when we lost 3-1, ended my ever present run of games which stretched eight years. Glad I picked a good one to miss.

There was a walkway near the main stand leading to the hotel above where the players used to change, this was years before we played there.

I remember the 0-2 was played on a proper end of season pitch. Almost completely bare.

One of our visits coincided with free admission to local children’s teams and half the crowd was aged under 12. There was a group who tried to wind up the City fans and Roger Wilsdon playfully took a few steps as if to chase them. The kids fled!

comrade powell wrote:http://www.dedmangray.co.uk/commercial-property/?property_id=DBS170085

Paul Evans sent off in his last appearance for us.
Coach setting off early from TP to avoid missing the start due to M25 traffic. No hold ups and we got there at about one with no one around to let us in the bar.
Realised there were no pubs in the vicinity so the next year some of us walked miles along a road to a pub in Aveley.

I think Keith was already in the bar though as he knew their chairman.

Like Mark says the abiding memory for the ground was the huge bare patches on the pitch.

I remember this ground well, which is quite unusual for me to retain any memory of away grounds, but this one was in the middle of nowhere, and the bar was cr*p (John Smiths only).
I think I made at least two visits to Thurrock. Not sure whether it was in the game that was Paul Evans's last game for us (and one other I recall - was it Bobby Ford?), but I do remember a lot of our fans doing the conga around the whole perimeter of the ground, during the match too - and we were losing - in fact I don't remember ever winning there - and on one of the occasions weren't we in with a shout of promotion if we had won?
The other lasting memory associated with this ground, was something that I was told about. Our London contingent of fans (who made an occasional appearance when we were playing in or near London), turned up; most, if not all, of which had been drinking on the way. They had crazy nicknames I recall. Anyway they were a great bunch, and good fun - and very vocal, which pleased our team. The story goes that after the game they decided to leg it to the nearest tube station, miles away? and in doing so had to cross a busy dual carriageway. One of them decided to hurdle the mid-road barrier - didn't quite succeed, and ended up in hospital with a broken leg. It was either this one, or another one, that had got lost independently, who subsequently went 'missing' for about three weeks! Wicked!

Midsomer-steve wrote:I remember this ground well, which is quite unusual for me to retain any memory of away grounds, but this one was in the middle of nowhere, and the bar was cr*p (John Smiths only).

Steve.......can I claim my prize for spotting a link!!!!!

Steve has jogged my memory - there was only bottled beer on sale in their bar.

stillmanjunior wrote:Almost completely bare.

They were actual holes. Incredibly dangerous for players. I remember them up close as we all went on the pitch to say our farewells at the end. A depressing place to keep seeing your team lose.

Oh dear this brings back a few memories! I believe Pistachio Cowboy, Noono and some strong cider was involved... The security guards at Lakeside centre in Thurrock did not appreciate a group of well oiled non league football fans in conga formation arriving in face paint, one nursing a broken leg asking for burgers.

Ah yes - I had forgotten the face paints - it must have been the same occasion that Thurrock were trying to attract more people by supplying the kids with face painting kits, crayons and colouring books - they were laid out on each table in the bar. As we got there early, it was too much for our lot to ignore, and they certainly went to town on the face painting, if my memory serves me. I think that a certain York junior ended up with more paint on his clothes than on his face. He looked like Big Chief Sitting Bull, surrounded by his little Indians at one stage.

Nice to hear from you again SLRCity - I am pleased that you are still reading the Forum. Yes, Pistachio Cowboy and Noono were two of the names that I can now recall. Are you all still together, so to speak, and will you be gracing us with your presence again, at an away game near you, when we are eventually back to the normalities of being able to watch matches again? If so, bring it on.