Ian Cartwright has written an article for the Charlton OS telling their supporters what Edgar Street is really like. Whilst he notes that the club house is now called Radfords, he still thinks the Len Weston stand is called the Floors to Go stand. And it's highly unlikely either a Bull or a Swede (when did the Bulls ever bless suede!) will be on show. Here's part of his article:
Our most recent visit to Edgar Street was in 1989, again in the League Cup, when a Paul Williams goal saw us run out 1-0 winners. Those there will recall a number of fans were unaware of the fact that we had actually scored until the teams lined up for the restart because the view was not very good and we had scored down at the distant far end under some dodgy floodlights.
Thankfully, this problem seems to have been overcome. The floodlights have been upgraded and now the visiting section is in one corner of the main Edgar Street Stand, both seating and terracing, the infamous Blackfriars End only being used if absolutely necessary.
The Edgar Street Stand (now wonderfully called the Floors to Go Stand, which confused me more than a little) is a curious affair, with the seats located in the top tier but overhanging the terrace below. I found dangling from a reasonable height while watching the game a bit disturbing, although at least there are barriers (which slightly impede the view at the very front) at the front.
Directly below is the visitors' terrace, which you would expect to be of the paddock variety. However, there are loads of concrete supports all over the place, almost with the feel of a multi-storey car park with steps, if you can imagine that.
If you avoid the posts, which is actually not too difficult - I am a bit prone to exaggeration - the view is not too bad and pretty close to the action. It still has that strange feeling of being in the seating with the overhanging stand. The facilities are pretty basic but you can get hot and cold food, albeit no beer.
There will of course be the tradition at Hereford cup games of parading a prize bull around the ground prior to the start of the match and the ceremony of the blessing of the suede will also take place (yes, really). The ground is situated near the cattle market, so one would hope that any breeze is blowing towards it - I will leave it at that...
The ground does boast its own bar, which has recently been renamed Radford's, and the Oxford Arms by the car park is also OK. In truth, however, the ground is that close to the town centre that there are plenty of places from which to choose, many of which are manna from heaven to the real ale enthusiast. On the whole, most are OK, but home fans can be a little partisan, so trying to stamp too much of your own impression on things is not advisable.
Text at top (next game etc)
Next Game: Away At Bishop Stortford In The FA Cup On Saturday 28 September at 3.00pm