Fans join cardboard army to cheer on Robins at play-offs
mark.halliwell@reachplc.com
MORE than 500 Cheltenham Town fans have signed up to join a cardboard army of fans for the League Two play-offs.
The Robins are set to face Northampton Town in a two-legged semi-final behind closed doors and the club launched a crowdfunder scheme last Saturday, giving fans the chance to be there – in cardboard cut-out form – for a minimum pledge of £25.
Since then, almost £20,000 has been raised, with former chairman Paul Baker and former players including Steve Elliott, Steven Gillespie, Jerry Gill, Kevin Willetts and Craig Armstrong among those to pledge their support.
The club is also supporting the Hollie Gazzard Trust, by donating 10 per cent of proceeds from the cut-outs to the charity founded by former Robins striker Nick Gazzard in memory of his daughter Hollie.
Manager Michael Duff said: “The amount of money that has been raised and the amount of support that has been given in a short space of time is appreciated by me and the players and doesn’t go unnoticed. Hopefully we can see you all soon and be in League One.”
Individual fans can have their cutouts in the ground for £25, while couples can pledge £48 and a family of four can show their support for £90.
Fans who have pledged money can send in pictures, which will be made into cut-outs by local companies Signcraft and Typecraft and placed in the ground for the play-off game.
The supporter cut-outs will be made using Foamex, a superior quality, extremely versatile PVC foam sheet and will be 2ft by a foot in size. They will stay there should games continue without crowds and will be signed by either the manager or the players before they are returned to fans when the lockdown is over. Fans can also send in videos of support, which will be played on the Whaddon Road scoreboard during the game.
There are 500 spaces in the Paddock area of the ground, but the club is also inviting fans to have their cut-outs in the Speedy Skips Stand end and in the Colin Farmer Stand, home of the 1887 Red Army singing section.
Businesses can also advertise in the empty Main Stand, which will face the TV cameras during Sky Sports’ expected coverage of the game, for between £100 and £300.
Even away fans can get involved, with Northampton fans invited to pledge and send in pictures to be placed in the Hazlewoods Stand, for visiting supporters.
The club set an initial £12,500 target, which was passed in just over a day and the second target of £18,500 was crossed yesterday afternoon.
The dates of the play-off games are yet to be finalised and Cheltenham’s players returned to training on Monday under strict guidelines after they all returned negative results for Covid-19 in tests last Friday.
Leagues around the world have been helping fans to take part in football during the lockdown with German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach filling the seats with cut-outs at Borussia-park for games since their league restarted.
To donate to the crowdfunder, go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/fill-thepaddock/updates/124433#start