Colin Faulkner wrote:We now have an agreement for next Tuesday that means the supporters who usually utilise the viewing platform will have the option to sit in the Bisley suite to watch Notts County get beaten. Alcohol restrictions at football and the space being used for hospitality will mean they cannot access this prior to 7:30 (someone could buy a beer and stand watching the game). This does mean they may lose some of the atmosphere but will be safe, warm and dry. We are hoping the ramp is safe and usable for the Grimsby game, indeed it will be updgraded to help eradicate the original problem.

This is great news.

Looking at the facts as we know them it appears that the WRU don't want us at Rodney Parade. If that is correct then we also need to be aware that our ten year license to play at Rodney Parade is closer to the end than the beginning. So I have spent the best part of the last twenty years saying that we need to develop a stadium. No whilst it is undoubtedly true that the best time to have started that endeavour was twenty years ago, the second best time is now.

Ostriches, so the mistaken belief goes, bury their heads in the sand. Unfortunately it is no misconception that far too many of us have buried our heads up our backsides.

newgroundrodney wrote:

Colin Faulkner wrote:We now have an agreement for next Tuesday that means the supporters who usually utilise the viewing platform will have the option to sit in the Bisley suite to watch Notts County get beaten. Alcohol restrictions at football and the space being used for hospitality will mean they cannot access this prior to 7:30 (someone could buy a beer and stand watching the game). This does mean they may lose some of the atmosphere but will be safe, warm and dry. We are hoping the ramp is safe and usable for the Grimsby game, indeed it will be updgraded to help eradicate the original problem.

This is great news.

Yes , it is a shame that so many dragons staff that spend their time berating the Welsh weather and the rain that none anticipated this problem.

It is funny how quick an organisation reacts to negative press though I must say.

The ground has always been a disgrace for disabled supporters. I dread to think how worse it could have been over the years without the DSA support.

Rodney parade won’t listen until it hits them in the pocket. Time for our disabled supporters to threaten disability discrimination against Rodney parade.

It looks like the DSA had to busk an arrangement for Saturday when they've got enough on their plates already. It's not like the arrangements are state-of-the-art in the first place, the ramp looks like it was a bolt-on (literally) after someone forgot about wheelchair access.

Before I ever watched County I was a regular at NRFC and disabled spectators used to watch from those little blue "invalid cars" parked in front of the shale bank where the open terrace is now. Things haven't moved on that much in half a century.

Shameful and total disgraceful whos ever fault it is wru / dragons. And surely it's case for us paying for a service and not getting our money's worth .

There is no shame in getting it wrong. What is shameful is not taking responsibility. The WRU were wrong in failing to provide suitable accommodation for those supporters who are not ambulant. However Newport County likewise share that responsibility. Both the landlords and ourselves should have ensured that the facilities for those in wheelchairs was up to standard.

I see in the Argus Newport County have refused to comment. Newport County should have taken our share of responsibility and apologized.

Its a shame one of the nationals doesn't pick up on it, i saw it Saturday and thought that they must have a crap view not realising they were open to the elements also
Very poor of the wru

5 days for commited volunteers to repair , refurbish and open a pub.

Our landlords have increased our costs and the fixtures have been out since mid June yet they cannot provide a ramp for our disabled supporters in that time. Utter disgrace

Alan G Bryant wrote:5 days for commited volunteers to repair , refurbish and open a pub.

Our landlords have increased our costs and the fixtures have been out since mid June yet they cannot provide a ramp for our disabled supporters in that time. Utter disgrace

I agree. The behaviour of the landlords is disgraceful. However we need to take some responsibility. Did we point out the difficulties before hand? Did we insist that the WRU met their responsibilities? Did we apologize to those who were marginalized? Did we decide to reimburse those who were affected? Did we choose instead to refuse to comment?

Well nobody can call Newport County hypocrites. As they said they won't comment on anything detrimental to the club. If we are to be a part of the community, something more than just a business, something that we can be proud of it is not good enough to remain silent. I like Kevin Ward, I think he can be an influence for good at our club. But I have to say, this was a test, and in my view, a test Kevin, the board of directors and all of us have failed.

By all means decry the WRU. But let's not believe for one moment that we can absolve ourselves of all blame.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

Alan G Bryant wrote:5 days for commited volunteers to repair , refurbish and open a pub.

Our landlords have increased our costs and the fixtures have been out since mid June yet they cannot provide a ramp for our disabled supporters in that time. Utter disgrace

I agree. The behaviour of the landlords is disgraceful. However we need to take some responsibility. Did we point out the difficulties before hand? Did we insist that the WRU met their responsibilities? Did we apologize to those who were marginalized? Did we decide to reimburse those who were affected? Did we choose instead to refuse to comment?

Well nobody can call Newport County hypocrites. As they said they won't comment on anything detrimental to the club. If we are to be a part of the community, something more than just a business, something that we can be proud of it is not good enough to remain silent. I like Kevin Ward, I think he can be an influence for good at our club. But I have to say, this was a test, and in my view, a test Kevin, the board of directors and all of us have failed.

By all means decry the WRU. But let's not believe for one moment that we can absolve ourselves of all blame.

Playing devils advocate you'd have to ask when exactly did Newport County know that the disabled facility repairs hadn't been carried out? If officials for the club weren't allowed access until the morning of the match then it becomes a "damage limitation" exercise and unfortunately if the club isn't flush with money then they look for the cheapest and easiest solution - chuck them in the corner of the Bisley where there's some cover and give them some ponchos.

It is disgraceful but I fear it's a managed disgrace. The agreement possibly makes each organisation responsible for the accommodation of their disabled customers, not the owner of the property. So Saturdays disgrace was County's disgrace even though they had an insufficient time scale to do anything about it from the time that they became aware of it. The access to the existing "shed" will be completed in time for the rugby season. County will without doubt be charged a "premium" for the use of these facilities for their home games. Complain? That'll cost County in the yearly evaluation of rent...

"Chuck them in the corner"??

How on earth can it be "County's disgrace" if in the same sentence you say "even though they had an insufficient time scale to do anything about it from the time that they became aware of it".

I'm pretty sure the ponchos are essential on the platform even when it's accessible.

George Street-Bridge wrote:"Chuck them in the corner"??

How on earth can it be "County's disgrace" if in the same sentence you say "even though they had an insufficient time scale to do anything about it from the time that they became aware of it".

I'm pretty sure the ponchos are essential on the platform even when it's accessible.

They are our fans therefore they are our responsibility. This is a PR disaster really because even on the argus site and social media we are being slated. Time for the Chairman to invite all those people as a guest of his at the next game and have the argus print the story. Let the club publically apologise to the people then publically call out the facilities provided by the WRU as not good enough.

What we cant allow to happen is we start using our disabled fans as a stick to beat the WRU with. Also I cant believe in the argus we didn't comment on this. That looks poor.

As a club we have to take ownership of this and move on before this gets bigger and we are known as a club that doesn't look after our disabled fans which is nonsense because we know how much work the DSA have done the last few years.

daftasfxxx wrote:Its a shame one of the nationals doesn't pick up on it, i saw it Saturday and thought that they must have a crap view not realising they were open to the elements also
Very poor of the wru

If the nationals pick it up they will say Newport County Fans are treated like this. The headline wont mention who owns the ground.

George Street-Bridge wrote:"Chuck them in the corner"??

How on earth can it be "County's disgrace" if in the same sentence you say "even though they had an insufficient time scale to do anything about it from the time that they became aware of it".

I'm pretty sure the ponchos are essential on the platform even when it's accessible.

Perhaps you need consider a couple of things. Firstly Newport County should have taken steps to be sure that this situation didn't arise. And to say that it's all the fault of the WRU is rather too easy. In legal vernacular we term it contributory negligence.

I can accept fully that Newport County simply made an error of oversight. These things happen even in the best run organizations. There are two types of response. Any competent business wouldn't strive to put things right so that it does not occur again.

A good business will apologize, even if the main fault does not lie with Newport County the responsibility does. It would then make amends. Reimburse those people, invite them into the directors box for the next home game. Put simply be proactive. The result of this would be a public relations triumph and it's the right thing to do.

A clueless badly led organization would shrug it's shoulders, allow the blame to fall on others, and 'refuse to comment on anything detrimental to the club'. It is not only the wrong thing to do it's also a public relations disaster.