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For one thing, they stopped cramming people in in potentially very unsafe numbers. Then they replaced a lot of standing with seating. Above all, with the club's debts having reached unsustainable levels by the mid 1980's, the then Chairman/Owner replaced the big Royal Oak (Kop) Stand behind the goal with the tiny 'Wendy House' stand, using the space saved behind to build flats for sale.
I'm not exactly sure what the Royal Oak stand capacity was, but it was certainly over 10k. While the two tier Wendy, with seating upstairs, was around 2k.
Which is why GP's record attendance was just under 39k (in 1949), just as Loftus Road's was over 35k (in 1974).
Anyhow, thanks for posting that - I'd seen it before, but it was nice to be reminded, especially since the move to the GTech.
[Post edited 18 Jun 0:00]
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 00:18 - Jun 18 with 3937 views
Flew over it last week, it's basically a weird little patch with a digger and a mound of earth in the middle. Just next door, Lego Land Kew, where Man Utd YouTubers film themselves in the home end. Hmmmm.
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 01:39 - Jun 18 with 3890 views
Yes, it is Griffin Park on 23:58 - Jun 17 by NewBee
What did they do?
For one thing, they stopped cramming people in in potentially very unsafe numbers. Then they replaced a lot of standing with seating. Above all, with the club's debts having reached unsustainable levels by the mid 1980's, the then Chairman/Owner replaced the big Royal Oak (Kop) Stand behind the goal with the tiny 'Wendy House' stand, using the space saved behind to build flats for sale.
I'm not exactly sure what the Royal Oak stand capacity was, but it was certainly over 10k. While the two tier Wendy, with seating upstairs, was around 2k.
Which is why GP's record attendance was just under 39k (in 1949), just as Loftus Road's was over 35k (in 1974).
Anyhow, thanks for posting that - I'd seen it before, but it was nice to be reminded, especially since the move to the GTech.
[Post edited 18 Jun 0:00]
Not that I went much, but my first visit to Griffin Park you had the big, covered stand. Next game I attended, you were home to Cambridge Utd, it had gone. I was wearing a Rangers shirt and the Fen Folk, much to the annoyance of the Brentford, sung 'part time supporters' all game long.
At the risk of opening up old wounds, Denis Signy stated that the "takeover" conversation started with a discussion between Jim Gregory & the Brentford chairman as to how much larger the crowd would be if the Carlisle (or Leicester) League Cup game had been at Griffin Park.
My first experience of the ground was for an FA Cup first round match against Chesham. Due to travel problems from Ipswich (A12 & train delays are not new!) it was half time before I arrived & all the gates were shut. However, I was spotted trying different entrances & was allowed in at no cost. Brentford won 2-0.
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 10:12 - Jun 18 with 3545 views
Yes, it is Griffin Park on 09:15 - Jun 18 by terryb
At the risk of opening up old wounds, Denis Signy stated that the "takeover" conversation started with a discussion between Jim Gregory & the Brentford chairman as to how much larger the crowd would be if the Carlisle (or Leicester) League Cup game had been at Griffin Park.
My first experience of the ground was for an FA Cup first round match against Chesham. Due to travel problems from Ipswich (A12 & train delays are not new!) it was half time before I arrived & all the gates were shut. However, I was spotted trying different entrances & was allowed in at no cost. Brentford won 2-0.
Lets get it the right way around... the conversation was between the Brentford Chairman (Jack Dunnett) and Jim Gregory. Dunnett instigated the discussions.
Urban myth has it portrayed (which is why the pryk with the microphone stirs up so much hatred) that we tried to take over Brentford when in fact Dunnett offered to sell Brentford to Gregory.
They are different situations but "Brentford try to sell themselves to QPR" isn't quite the same sensationalist headline as "QPR try to buy Brentford!"
It only got newspaper headlines because Gregory said he'd think about it. If he dismissed the idea there & then it would not have been newsworthy.
The irony is that had Gregory dismissed it, Brentford may have folded as there was a large tax amount owed. The sensationalist headlines actually stirred up fans and others into action that actually saved the club so the irony in all this is that by Gregory 'thinking about it' actually saved the club.
Yet they hate us for it.
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 10:41 - Jun 18 with 3480 views
I used to go to Griffin Park with my old man for most home games back in the mid/late 60's as Rangers were away when the Bees were at home. Loved it because under the covered home end there was a programme shop. Every visit my old man let me choose two or three from various clubs. Looking at the film the only thing missing ,from when I started going, at the Ealing Rd end are the tower blocks. Most memorable game was a first round FA Cup tie versus Guildford City -December '67- Match abandoned in the second half due to heavy snow. Back to Brentford BR station and a warm up in the waiting room in front of a real open fire. And the train back to Hounslow-despite the heavy snow- was on time! Imagine that happening now....
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 12:03 - Jun 18 with 3335 views
Yes, it is Griffin Park on 11:45 - Jun 18 by Marshy67
I used to go to Griffin Park with my old man for most home games back in the mid/late 60's as Rangers were away when the Bees were at home. Loved it because under the covered home end there was a programme shop. Every visit my old man let me choose two or three from various clubs. Looking at the film the only thing missing ,from when I started going, at the Ealing Rd end are the tower blocks. Most memorable game was a first round FA Cup tie versus Guildford City -December '67- Match abandoned in the second half due to heavy snow. Back to Brentford BR station and a warm up in the waiting room in front of a real open fire. And the train back to Hounslow-despite the heavy snow- was on time! Imagine that happening now....
Was there some sort of divide / wall running across that covered end? As mentioned, in the ground once before it disappeared and have a vague recollection that it wasn't a straight slope from top to bottom.
Yes, it is Griffin Park on 00:18 - Jun 18 by Northernr
Flew over it last week, it's basically a weird little patch with a digger and a mound of earth in the middle. Just next door, Lego Land Kew, where Man Utd YouTubers film themselves in the home end. Hmmmm.
For years, one of the touchline stands had a massive advertising sign on the roof, clearly visible on the Heathrow flightpath, saying "Next Time, Fly KLM" (club sponsors).
When the sponsorship ended, a fanzine asked for suggestions for a replacement. The winner was "Next Time, Flush Over Fulham".
[Post edited 18 Jun 12:21]
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 13:50 - Jun 18 with 3155 views
This was great stuff. I used to go there in the late 60’s (my mother would not let me go to HQ-all those nasty rough boys in Shepherd’s Bush).
It was 2/6 through the boys turnstile, 6d. for the programme and 3d. each way on the bus from Boston Manor. I used to be given 4/- for the day, so had 6d. to spend on sweets.
The crowd was around 4,000 or so except for one match against Aldershot (I think) who were chasing promotion. It was 10,000 that day. I used be right at the front of that big roofed stand. I was amazed when I went back years later (might have been a pre-season game) to see that it was no longer there.
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 23:12 - Jun 19 with 2252 views
When my parents let me go to games as a 15-year-old, I went to Griffin Park with some of the boys from school before settling on Rangers - much nearer home, bigger crowds, better players, but I always loved Griffin Park. The Royal Oak seemed bigger than the Loft (maybe because it was emptier!), but the Hammersmith End looked bigger than both. That New Road stand was a ruin though, I thought of it when the Valley Parade fire happened.
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 12:08 - Jun 20 with 2102 views
Yes, it is Griffin Park on 12:19 - Jun 18 by NewBee
For years, one of the touchline stands had a massive advertising sign on the roof, clearly visible on the Heathrow flightpath, saying "Next Time, Fly KLM" (club sponsors).
When the sponsorship ended, a fanzine asked for suggestions for a replacement. The winner was "Next Time, Flush Over Fulham".
[Post edited 18 Jun 12:21]
One thing that struck me visiting Griffin Park around 1980 was how many of the ad boards around the pitch were for bolts, screws and other industrial fasteners. From the days when the Great West Road was the home of light industry I suppose.
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Yes, it is Griffin Park on 19:44 - Jun 24 with 1626 views
I used to go to Griffin Park about 1957 and there was a huge neon lucozade sign overlooking the ground. I remember a crowd of 20k for an amateur cup semi final (Barnet v Woking). They bumbled along in the old 3rd Division South and then announced their "First Division in 5 years" plan which involved splashing out on big names and ultimately led to running out of money and the QPR takeover scheme.
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