Groundhop 2019 dates

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

Brilliant day out. Four very enjoyable games today, after the very one sided game last night. 26 goals over the five games so far, three red cards as IHS had a collective heads gone.

The day finished with a really high quality game at Linlithgow. Two very impressive teams.

I don't think the referee at IHS was quite as bad as he's been made out to be. He got the penalty decision badly wrong, but the red cards were spot on.

Onwards to Peebles tomorrow where a nil-nil surely awaits.

[lithgierose]

530 paying at linlithgow.

[HTG]

618 was/is the correct attendance. Not sure where the 530 was taken from but it looked more. 

[Bundesliga Boy]

36 minutes ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

Brilliant day out. Four very enjoyable games today, after the very one sided game last night. 26 goals over the five games so far, three red cards as IHS had a collective heads gone.

The day finished with a really high quality game at Linlithgow. Two very impressive teams.

I don't think the referee at IHS was quite as bad as he's been made out to be. He got the penalty decision badly wrong, but the red cards were spot on.

Onwards to Peebles tomorrow where a nil-nil surely awaits.

I was there as a neutral today and the referee was superb.

[HibeeJibee]

3 hours ago, Specky said:

The "clicker" may have counted committee and kids who wouldn't pay to get in and form part of the "official" attendance? Dunno just a thought.

I was speaking to them at Blackburn - they count everyone in the ground apart from the players, referees and coaching staff etc. From the point of a view of a groundhopper the way someone got into the game... ticket, cash, free, comp, official... isn't considered particularly important versus them being present to watch it.

Incidentally: just to show it's not all about home fans, groundhoppers and neutrals I heard Jeanfield took their largest travelling support of the season to the night game. Some effort that.


Really excellent crowds yesterday and today: all above 300. Plus the 618 at Linlithgow v Jeanfield is the highest at any Scottish groundhop game and is also apparently (with a single technical exception) the GroundhopUK record. Previously the Scottish record was 491 for East Kilbride v Whitehill in 2015 and apparently the GroundhopUK record was 574. Entertaining game too... indeed opening 5 games saw 26 goals!

Perhaps doubtful whether it'll approach this given the circumstances: but if Peebles v Newtongrange gets 291 or more the aggregate crowd for 2019 would surpass that of 2015 and become the largest yet. That would also make it the best average yet. If it gets 300 or more it would also be the first year with every game 300+.

Edited March 31, 2019 by HibeeJibee

[Specky]

I'm not knocking them but don't think there were that many swifts there last night. I think their cheer for the first goal was mostly from Broxburn players who came to watch.... [emoji16]

 

 

[Rab B Nesbit]

6 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

I was speaking to them at Blackburn - they count everyone in the ground apart from the players, referees and coaching staff etc. From the point of a view of a groundhopper the way someone got into the game... ticket, cash, free, comp, official... isn't considered particularly important versus them being present to watch it.

Incidentally: just to show it's not all about home fans, groundhoppers and neutrals I heard Jeanfield took their largest travelling support of the season to the night game. Some effort that.


Really excellent crowds yesterday and today: all above 300. Plus the 618 at Linlithgow v Jeanfield is the highest at any Scottish groundhop game and is also apparently (with a single technical exception) the GroundhopUK record. Previously the Scottish record was 491 for East Kilbride v Whitehill in 2015 and apparently the GroundhopUK record was 574. Entertaining game too... indeed opening 5 games saw 26 goals!

Perhaps doubtful whether it'll approach this given the circumstances: but if Peebles v Newtongrange gets 291 or more the aggregate crowd for 2019 would surpass that of 2015 and become the largest yet. That would also make it the best average yet. If it gets 300 or more it would also be the first year with every game 300+.

Great stats Hibee. The Swifts one at 310 was very impressive as many tend to go elsewhere. I think it’s definitely gathering momentum and looking forward to seeing what they come up with for next year. 

[Marten]

9 hours ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

I don't think the referee at IHS was quite as bad as he's been made out to be. He got the penalty decision badly wrong, but the red cards were spot on.

Penalty was outside the box, it was wrong to let him retake it and the second & third red card were completely unjustified. Just after the first red there was also a very harsh yellow for an IHS player for kicking the ball away. There was no consistency, he was just completely awful. I was there as a neutral and I ended up swearing at the referee. That's very rare for me, but he was so poor that I just got very annoyed.

[drs]

9 hours ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

WTF is that?

Edited March 31, 2019 by drs

[Deanburn Dave]

A man taking his bird to watch a game. Acceptable behaviour as long as she knows the offside rule.

[GNU_Linux]

WTF is that?

One of their injured players. I hear he flys down the wing pretty fast.

[HibeeJibee]

3 hours ago, Rab B Nesbit said:

Great stats Hibee. The Swifts one at 310 was very impressive as many tend to go elsewhere. I think it’s definitely gathering momentum and looking forward to seeing what they come up with for next year. 

Absolutely.

It's actually the best "Saturday afternoon" crowd in the whole 5yrs:

2015 ... 281 ... Selkirk v Spartans
2016 ...  P-P  ... Preston v Threave (about 200 attended CSS v Leith)
2017 ... 267 ... Coldstream v Tynecastle
2018 ... 278 ... Kelty v Tweedmouth
2019 ... 301 ... Inverkeithing v Heriot-Watt Uni


Great shot:

Edited March 31, 2019 by HibeeJibee

[Salvo Montalbano]

I was speaking to them at Blackburn - they count everyone in the ground apart from the players, referees and coaching staff etc. From the point of a view of a groundhopper the way someone got into the game... ticket, cash, free, comp, official... isn't considered particularly important versus them being present to watch it.

Incidentally: just to show it's not all about home fans, groundhoppers and neutrals I heard Jeanfield took their largest travelling support of the season to the night game. Some effort that.


Really excellent crowds yesterday and today: all above 300. Plus the 618 at Linlithgow v Jeanfield is the highest at any Scottish groundhop game and is also apparently (with a single technical exception) the GroundhopUK record. Previously the Scottish record was 491 for East Kilbride v Whitehill in 2015 and apparently the GroundhopUK record was 574. Entertaining game too... indeed opening 5 games saw 26 goals!

Perhaps doubtful whether it'll approach this given the circumstances: but if Peebles v Newtongrange gets 291 or more the aggregate crowd for 2019 would surpass that of 2015 and become the largest yet. That would also make it the best average yet. If it gets 300 or more it would also be the first year with every game 300+.

You can't say something like "technical exception" and tell us the record with an explanation, shirley?

[HibeeJibee]

13 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

Perhaps doubtful whether it'll approach this given the circumstances: but if Peebles v Newtongrange gets 291 or more the aggregate crowd for 2019 would surpass that of 2015 and become the largest yet. That would also make it the best average yet. If it gets 300 or more it would also be the first year with every game 300+.

Crowd was 288...!



In all seriousness that's a fantastic turn-out given Sunday lunchtime, effectively dead-rubber game, Mothers Day and OF derby on TV.

 

2 hours ago, Salvo Montalbano said:

You can't say something like "technical exception" and tell us the record with an explanation, shirley?

Speaking to one of the organisers at Blackburn he said that some years ago they "piggy backed" on an Easter Monday derby Bridlington v Scarborough and there were over 1,500 present but that it wasn't really a 'normal' groundhop arrangement. Presumably the game was happening anyway.

Edited March 31, 2019 by HibeeJibee

[Burnie_man]

Burnieclub actually clicked 372 at our game, and it was initially announced at that before being rounded down to 328. I believe the groundhop guys did their own clicking and that's what they wanted to go with, but a big disparity and Burnieclub is always accurate.

We don't do inflating crowds in Blackburn [emoji23]

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

Absolute dog of a game today after the excitement of yesterday. Here's a picture of a horses...

[HibeeJibee]

Here is a rundown of all Scottish groundhop crowds in first 5yrs. CSS v Leith was 'hastily arranged':



  618          2019     Linlithgow v Jeanfield (Sat night)

  491          2015     East Kilbride v Whitehill (Fri night)
  462          2015     Threave v Edinburgh Uni (Sun aft)
  435          2016     Spartans v Stiring Uni (Sat tea)
  418          2016     Edinburgh City v East Kilbride (Sat night)
  400          2015     Dalbeattie v Edinburgh City (Sun lunch)

  387          2017     Hawick v East Stirlingshire (Sat tea)
  380          2019     Dunipace v Bonnyrigg (Fri night)
  366          2016     Gretna v Dalbeattie (Fri night)
  356          2019     Camelon v Edinburgh Utd (Sat morn)
  328          2019     Blackburn v Preston (Sat tea)
  324          2016     Whitehill v Gala (Sat morn)
  323          2015     Gala v Stirling Uni (Sat tea)
  312          2015     Vale of Leithen v Preston (Sat morn)
  301          2019     Inverkeithing v Heriot-Watt Uni (Sat aft)

  294          2016     Edinburgh Uni v Selkirk (Sun lunch)
  288          2019     Peebles v Newtongrange (Sun lunch)
  281          2015     Selkirk v Spartans (Sat aft)
  278          2018     Kelty v Tweedmouth (Sat aft)
  267          2017     Coldstream v Tynecastle (Sat aft)
  263          2017     Preston v Cumbernauld (Fri night)
  259          2017     Ormiston v Leith (Sun lunch)
  235          2018     Mid Annandale v Lochmaben (Fri night)
  227          2017     Eyemouth v LTHV (Sat morn)
  207          2018     Heriot-Watt Uni v Leith (Sat tea) - at indoor stadium 

  166          2018     Burntisland v Preston (Sat morn)
[ 165          2016     Civil Service v Leith (Sat aft) ]


TOTAL   = 8,831
Average =     334

Edited March 31, 2019 by HibeeJibee

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

Penalty was outside the box, it was wrong to let him retake it and the second & third red card were completely unjustified. Just after the first red there was also a very harsh yellow for an IHS player for kicking the ball away. There was no consistency, he was just completely awful. I was there as a neutral and I ended up swearing at the referee. That's very rare for me, but he was so poor that I just got very annoyed.

Probably utterly futile of me to comment on one referee performance amongst six, however...

For what it's worth, I agree with you regarding the penalty award, as my original comment said, but I had the benefit of being within ten feet of two of his three red cards and I can tell you he got them bang on.

One was for a very high tackle followed by a motion of the head (as an IHS player described it), one was for a fairly derogatory insult directly to his face.

The other red card was in the middle of the pitch and I didn't see much wrong with it based on how his IHS team mates reacted at that moment in time.

I think this is basically the case of a referee getting fed up with players being grossly abusive to him, resulting in him dealing with it via caution, and why should he not?

If referees clamp down on verbal abuse I think our game would improve. I wouldn't take aggressive personal abuse in my job and I don't see why he should either.

If I'm totally honest, I'm a little perplexed why you as a neutral would feel emotional about the game enough to swear at him. I'm willing to believe he did his best and called it as he saw it. Why give him verbal abuse, what were you hoping to achieve by swearing at a stranger doing his job to the best of his abilities?

It's only an opinion, and my £5 is worth the same as yours. But I'm pretty happy in how I conducted myself in this regard.

[Marten]

17 minutes ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

Probably utterly futile of me to comment on one referee performance amongst six, however...

For what it's worth, I agree with you regarding the penalty award, as my original comment said, but I had the benefit of being within ten feet of two of his three red cards and I can tell you he got them bang on.

One was for a very high tackle followed by a motion of the head (as an IHS player described it), one was for a fairly derogatory insult directly to his face.

The other red card was in the middle of the pitch and I didn't see much wrong with it based on how his IHS team mates reacted at that moment in time.

I think this is basically the case of a referee getting fed up with players being grossly abusive to him, resulting in him dealing with it via caution, and why should he not?

If referees clamp down on verbal abuse I think our game would improve. I wouldn't take aggressive personal abuse in my job and I don't see why he should either.

If I'm totally honest, I'm a little perplexed why you as a neutral would feel emotional about the game enough to swear at him. I'm willing to believe he did his best and called it as he saw it. Why give him verbal abuse, what were you hoping to achieve by swearing at a stranger doing his job to the best of his abilities?

It's only an opinion, and my £5 is worth the same as yours. But I'm pretty happy in how I conducted myself in this regard.

I agree with you on the first red card, that could arguably have been a straight red for the tackle as well instead of 2 yellows. The second red card seemed very harsh to me and to all people around me agreed with that, a yellow would be fine. The penalty shouldn't have been given as you agreed, but it shouldn't have been retaken either. Another very harsh decision as the goalie pretty much saved it on the line, so it can't really be argued that he came off his line, I think it was understandable how players were annoyed with that. For the third red card I again think a yellow would've been fair but a straight red very harsh. I must have stood fairly close to you as it happened close to me as well. I didn't find that language worthy of a straight red, especially as I heard such language (or fairly similar) earlier in the game with no action taken at all. If anything, the inconsistency is what annoyed me the most. That probably caused my reaction which (as I said) is quite rare for me. And I wasn't the only one with such a reaction based on some of the hoppers around me.

I think this was easily the poorest refereeing performance of the weekend (and one of the poorest I've seen in a very long time). Today's referee was excellent btw.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Marten

[Bundesliga Boy]

30 minutes ago, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

Probably utterly futile of me to comment on one referee performance amongst six, however...

For what it's worth, I agree with you regarding the penalty award, as my original comment said, but I had the benefit of being within ten feet of two of his three red cards and I can tell you he got them bang on.

One was for a very high tackle followed by a motion of the head (as an IHS player described it), one was for a fairly derogatory insult directly to his face.

The other red card was in the middle of the pitch and I didn't see much wrong with it based on how his IHS team mates reacted at that moment in time.

I think this is basically the case of a referee getting fed up with players being grossly abusive to him, resulting in him dealing with it via caution, and why should he not?

If referees clamp down on verbal abuse I think our game would improve. I wouldn't take aggressive personal abuse in my job and I don't see why he should either.

If I'm totally honest, I'm a little perplexed why you as a neutral would feel emotional about the game enough to swear at him. I'm willing to believe he did his best and called it as he saw it. Why give him verbal abuse, what were you hoping to achieve by swearing at a stranger doing his job to the best of his abilities?

It's only an opinion, and my £5 is worth the same as yours. But I'm pretty happy in how I conducted myself in this regard.

 

Absolutely spot on from every angle.

Inverkeithing completely lost their discipline. Regardless of whether it was a penalty or not, the guy who got sent off at that time ran to the ref pre-penalty and was f’ng and blinding in his face. After it was retaken he sought out the referee again and started f’ing and blinding in his face again. This nonsense has to stop at all levels in football. Credit to the referee for having the bravery to stand up to the two in question who lost the plot.

I found myself standing among a number of locals, only one of around 8 actually saw the attempted headbutt. The other 7 were apoplectic about how the guy was shown yellow twice for the same challenge - ahem! 

One later went on to bemoan how the ref had sent off two of their players, my father kindly pointing out that they were actually down to 8.

Another couldn’t believe his team were losing 5-2, inspite of it being 4-2.

An odd afternoon all round.