Welcome to the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
It seemed only fitting that I begin the blog by visiting a venue in my current hometown of Gloucester. This was Glevum Park, the home of Tuffley Rovers. Despite having lived in Gloucester for over five years, this was my first visit to see Tuffley Rovers play, and they did not disappoint!
It’s All In The Name
Tuffley Rovers are known as The Rovers. The reason behind this nickname is simple. The clue is in the name.
Some Notable Former Players
Jamal Lawrence (Former Cheltenham Town)
Josh Aldridge (Former Cheltenham Town)
A History Lesson From AFC Finners
Tuffley Rovers was founded in 1929, and their first headquarters were inside a former railway carriage that also served as founder Donald E Hall's boot and shoe repair shop. They spent many years in district leagues, winning the league three times in five years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After a couple of promotions in the early 1990s, they were promoted to the Hellenic Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football. However, due to financial constraints, they would be forced to resign from this league in 2006.
They would go on to win Division Two of the Northern Senior League as well as the GFA Senior Amateur Cup.
Tuffley Rovers would return to the Hellenic Premier League in 2013. Since then, the club has established itself in this division and hopes to advance further up the national league pyramid.
Their growth in recent seasons has also seen them expand, with the club now fielding a number of different sides in addition to their senior team, including a full youth section, a veterans team, and women's teams.
Honours
🏆Hellenic Football League Division One (Champions: 1992-93)
🏆Gloucestershire County League (Champions: 1990-1991)
Matchday: Tuffley Rovers 2-6 Brimscombe & Thrupp
When I arrived at the ground, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed this treasure before. The ground was fairly easy to find, being located near the centre of Gloucester. I arrived with my fellow groundhopper, AFC Finners, and we were greeted with open arms almost immediately. It seemed too good to be true after paying a measly £3 to get in (the joys of being a student). A man who we believe to be a director of some kind approached us, handed us team sheets, and was eager to talk about the club. They, in turn, were interested in our exploits as groundhoppers thus far, and we realised right away that we were in a family club.
On the grounds, there is a restaurant that serves hot dogs, burgers, and sandwiches. Unfortunately, despite the low prices, the food is of poor quality. Both the burger and the hot dog were microwaved. In my opinion, there is no excuse for this. When you serve food in a restaurant, it should be of the highest quality available, not the simplest.
As you pass through the turnstiles, you are greeted by a bar area with heating, which is always useful when attending a winter game, and reasonably priced stock-£3.60 per pint. We were allowed to walk around the entire ground, as with many non-league grounds, so we were able to see the various views the ground has to offer. We decided that standing by the dugouts was the most interesting thing to do after seeing the character the ground has to offer, because, to quote AFC Finners, 'we could hear what the managers were saying.'
Teamsheets
Tuffley Rovers
Manager: Neil Mustoe
Jack Copland
Will Ramsey
Liam Wright
Jacob Geddes (C)
Scott Nicholls
Josh Aldridge
Lucas Price
Dominik Kent
Jamal Lawrence
Aaron Basford
Lewis Bainbridge ⚽
Subs
Harry Morgan
Demilade Yussuf
Ashley Bird
Joel White
Jurek Marszalek
Brimscombe and Thrupp
Manager: Sam Prior
Gavin Jones
Eli Simpson
Ben Deakin
Dean Turner
⚽Kyle Pitts
Jack Bartman
⚽Sam Folkes
⚽Jonty Welch
⚽⚽⚽Jack Smith
Ollie Pitt (C)
Ben Baxter
Subs
Oliver Barnes
James Campbell
Sam Mason
Ben Snook
Dan Hill
The game itself provided excellent value for money. Tuffley Rovers were in the Hellenic League, playing Brimscombe and Thrupp. My philosophy with almost all of the matches I attend is that if I see a goal, I can't be disappointed. This philosophy was realised in about 10 minutes, as Kyle Pitts led Brimscombe and Thrupp ahead. It is a fear of mine that if a team goes 1-0 down early in a game, the game will be a landslide of goals to a particular team, so when Tuffley Rovers equalised, I was overjoyed. This goal was ruled an own goal, but there was some debate on the terraces about whether it was going in anyway. It was 1-1.
Lewis Bainbridge scored for Tuffley to make it 2-1. After the ball cannoned off the crossbar, Bainbridge tapped in, and I found myself doing math equations in my head to figure out how many goals I was getting for the pound I was getting. Soon after, Jack Smith made it 2-2. Then it was 3-2 to Brimscombe and Thrupp via Sam Folkes. The score was then 4-2 thanks to Jack Smith. I was just catching my breath when halftime arrived. By the way, each goal has cost 50p so far. We talked about some ideas we had with some of the local fans, petted a dog at the game, bought a hot chocolate, and then it was time for the second half. We were concerned that with all of the goals in the first half, the second half would be a dull 0-0. We had to wait until the hour mark for another goal, which was scored by Jonty Welch. The score was 5-2, and the rest of the game went exactly as we expected. We did, however, witness two firsts for AFC Finners and myself. First, I noticed that one of the management team members was smoking a cigarette in the Mauricio Sarri style, which I found utterly hilarious for some reason. Second, I noticed one of the substitutes running towards a fence, then abruptly pulling his shorts down and going for a wee- only in non-league. Brimscombe and Thrupp eventually made it 6-2, a scoreline that I had mentioned to AFC Finners earlier in the day was not aesthetically pleasing. Jack Smith completes his hat trick. That's how the score remained. It was nice to see that, unlike in the higher leagues, the fans did not rush out after the game, but instead stayed to have a drink or two with the players. Overall, I had a great time at Glevum Park. For £3, I feel I got excellent value, 8 goals, a few laughs, and a fun afternoon. Tuffley Rovers are clearly a well-managed club with a close-knit group of players and supporters. That is how football should be.
Scores On The Doors
Atmosphere: 5/10 Food and Drink: 4/10 Stadium: 5/10 Welcome: 6/10 Overall Experience: 7.5/10
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