Statement on FGR & Newport

The Robins Trust has noted the widespread comments made by fans regarding the decision to move the 1887RedArmy from Block 7 of the Colin Farmer Stand for the upcoming fixtures against Forest Green and Newport County.

While we have no power or jurisdiction over decisions that are made by the CTFC safety team and police, and are aware of the agreement made between the Club's safety team and 1887RedArmy prior to the season, we believe there are issues to be looked at.

First, it cannot be argued that atmosphere at home games has improved markedly since the 1887RedArmy moved and believe that decision to move for big games needs to be looked at with greater flexibility in future.

Second, we believe the use of footage of the 1887 Red Army in promotional videos of the FGR fixture, despite knowing they would be moved for this game was badly thought out. Fans Groups are not convenient marketing tools one minute, and inconvenient security issues the next.

We would encourage Cheltenham Town FC to review their decision to move the 1887RedArmy in these instances. And also encourage more flexibility and proactive engagement on these decisions in future.

We would also implore CTFC to be far more open and considerate of paying supporters when making announcements about changes such as this.

As a Trust we have always championed two-way communication and that did not happen in this instance.

We hope that the reaction since the initial announcement will guide the club in the future. The Trust will always be a critical friend to the club in these issues.

That said, let's all get behind Michael Duff and the team after their superb start to the season as we look to reestablish ourselves as Gloucestershire's number one team for the 132nd year out of 133.