Club Background

The pre-War club Chelmsford FC was wound up in 1938.  A new club, Chelmsford City FC, a somewhat strange choice of name as Chelmsford wasn’t a city, was formed and accepted into the Southern League. (Many years later its optimistic persistence in the face of reality would pay off, with Chelmsford granted city status in 2012.) It also took over the former club’s ground, New Writtle Street.

In the decades after World War II The Clarets were a force to be reckoned within the Southern League, Champions three times and runners-up on four occasions. Just like Yeovil Town the club repeatedly applied for election to the Football League during this period (17 times in total) and, just like the Glovers, was repeatedly frozen out by the old-boy-network of FL chairmen voting for each other.

However, in the mid-Seventies the Clarets hit a sticky patch. A couple of mid-table seasons was followed in 1976-77 by relegation out of the Southern League Premier Division into Division One South. It was just the wrong time to be absent from the SLPD as by the time Chelmsford got back up the club had missed out on the formation of the Alliance Premier League in 1979.

On its return to the SLPD Chelmsford was initially a force again, finishing 4th, 3rd, 9th, 2nd and 5th but then, somewhat out of the blue, 1987-88 was a disaster of a season, relegated again. This time the bounce back was immediate, promoted as Southern League South Champions in 1988-89. However the next eight seasons in the SLPD were an almost constant struggle, only once finishing in the top half of the table, before finally relegated (1996-97) 13 points short of the safety line.

As well as on the field Chelmsford was also hitting hard times off it. In 1997 New Writtle Street was sold to developers and the club left the town completely, ground sharing first with Maldon Town and then with Billericay Town. It wouldn’t return home until 2006 when the Clarets became tenants at the Melbourne Athletics Stadium.

It had taken until 2001-02 to get back up this time, as runners-up in Division One East. Again they found the SLPD hard going and in 2004, after 66 years with the Southern League, switched into the Isthmian League. There the club was more successful and after a failed play-off campaign (losing to Billericay Town on penalties at the semi-final stage) in 2006-07 it was promoted as Champions the following season into Conference South.

The Clarets have remained in Conference South / National League South ever since. During that time they’ve been disappointed in the play-offs six times and seriously flirted with relegation just the once.

We’ve Met Before

Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Chelmsford City

03/09/1938 Home SL W 1-0 Graham
07/04/1939 Away SL L 0-3
12/10/1946 Home SL W 2-0 Smith, White
28/12/1946 Away SL L 1-3 Stock
04/10/1947 Away SL D 1-1 Horlock
21/02/1948 Home SL D 0-0
06/11/1948 Home SL L 0-1
01/01/1949 Away SL L 1-3 Bryant
19/11/1949 Home SL W 3-0 Foulds(2), Paterson
12/04/1950 Away SL L 0-3
23/09/1950 Home SL L 0-2
03/03/1951 Away SL L 0-3
18/08/1951 Home SL W 4-1 Wright(2), Colvan, Hamilton
12/01/1952 Away SL D 2-2 Aldred, Lindsay
25/10/1952 Home SL W 4-2 Hindle, McKay, Clarke, Machin
21/02/1953 Away SL D 3-3 Easton, McKay, Machin
21/09/1953 Home SL W 4-0 Lunn, Hindle, McKay, Own Goal
23/01/1954 Away SL L 0-1
16/09/1954 Home SL W 5-0 Clarke(3), Fraser(2)
08/01/1955 Away SL L 2-5 Ryan, Fraser
30/03/1956 Away SL D 0-0
02/04/1956 Home SL W 3-1 Brown, Reid, Elder
24/11/1956 Home SL D 3-3 Tapscott(2), Fidler
05/01/1957 Away SL L 1-2 Gaillard
25/01/1958 Home SL D 1-1 Elder
16/04/1958 Away SL L 0-3
22/11/1958 Home SLSE L 1-2 Emmonds
28/03/1959 Away SLSE L 0-2
30/03/1960 Home SLP W 3-1 Paton, Dennis, Coughlin
23/04/1960 Away SLP L 1-3 Pacey
10/09/1960 Home SLP D 1-1 Albury
21/01/1961 Away SLP L 0-2
08/04/1961 Home SLCF1 W 3-0 Taylor, Coughlin, Paton
15/04/1961 Away SLCF2 L 0-3
28/04/1961 Home SLCFr W 2-0 Taylor(2)
12/09/1961 Home SLP D 2-2 Coughlin, Albury
18/09/1961 Away SLP L 2-3 Taylor(2)
25/08/1962 Away SLP D 0-0
22/12/1962 Home SLP W 2-1 Taylor, Pounder
23/11/1963 Away SLP W 2-1 Foley, Taylor
04/04/1964 Home SLP W 2-0 Hall, Taylor
22/08/1964 Home SLP W 5-1 Hall(2), Brookes, Pounder, Albury
12/12/1964 Away SLP L 0-2
21/08/1965 Away SLP L 1-2 Albury
29/01/1966 Home SLP L 1-2 Ashe
19/11/1966 Away SLP L 0-3
08/02/1967 Home SLC4 D 1-1 Muir
27/02/1967 Away SLC4R D 3-3 Gulley(2), Taylor
06/03/1967 Away SLC4R2 L 0-6
15/04/1967 Home SLP W 3-2 Harris(2), Foley
19/08/1967 Home SLP D 2-2 Taylor(2)
16/12/1967 Away SLP L 0-1
31/08/1968 Away SLP W 2-1 Mitten, Elliott
09/11/1968 Home SLP W 1-0 Plumb
06/12/1969 Away SLP L 0-1
28/02/1970 Home SLP L 1-2 Clancy
12/09/1970 Home SLP L 0-1
03/05/1971 Away SLP L 1-3 Reynolds
11/12/1971 Home SLP L 1-2 2767 Own Goal
26/02/1972 Away FAT3 W 3-2 5191 Weller, Cotton, Clancy
01/04/1972 Away SLP L 1-3 3879 Weller
28/10/1972 Away SLP W 2-0 3331 Brown, Weller
24/03/1973 Home SLP L 1-2 4147 Brown
17/11/1973 Away SLP L 2-3 2056 Irwin, Clancy
13/04/1974 Home SLP D 1-1 2390 Cotton
24/08/1974 Away SLP L 1-4 1945 Verity
19/10/1974 Home SLP W 1-0 2272 Plumb
27/09/1975 Away SLP D 1-1 Plumb
11/10/1975 Home SLP W 3-0 2089 Housley(2), McMahon
06/09/1976 Away SLP L 1-4 Brown
20/11/1976 Home SLP L 0-2 2329
21/01/1995 Away FAT1 W 4-2 1331 Coates(2), Benbow, Spencer
02/09/2023 Home NLS D 1-1 2933 Williams 90
24/02/2024 Away NLS L 0-1 1502

Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Chelmsford City

Home Away Overall
W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A
17 9 9 66 47 6 7 25 87 26 23 16 35 106 125

 

Club Statistics

RECENT RESULTS

26/12/2023 Braintree Town Away NLS W 3-0 1527 Francis 67, Ruff 75, Hockey 80
01/01/2024 Braintree Town Home NLS W 3-0 1540 Watts 17, Ruff , Carruthers 56 (pen)
06/01/2024 Worthing Away NLS W 3-2 1774 Hockey 1, Ruff 18, Francis 83
13/01/2024 Wealdstone Home FAT4 L 0-1 865
22/01/2024 Welling United Home NLS W 1-0 625 Carruthers 25 (pen)
27/01/2023 Hampton & Richmond Borough Away NLS W 1-0 1342 Ruff 63
29/01/2024 Weston-super-Mare Home NLS D 1-1 624 Alfa 36
03/02/2024 Havant & Waterlooville Away NLS L 1-2 804 Ruff 35
10/02/2024 Weymouth Home NLS W 1-0 812 Barbrook 47
17/02/2024 Eastbourne Borough Away NLS W 3-0 1409 Alexander 52, Ruff 70, Wordsworth 90+4
20/02/2024 Hemel Hempstead Town Away NLS W 4-1 554 Alexander 3, Francis 28, Ruff 47, 50
24/02/2024 Yeovil Town Home NLS

LEAGUE ATTENDANCE STATISTICS

Highest League Attendance: 1,540
Lowest League Attendance: 567
Average League Attendance: 800

CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS

Games Without A Win: 0 Games Without A Home Win: 0
Games Without An Away Win: 0 Games Without Defeat: 3
Games Without A Home Defeat: 5 Games Without An Away Defeat: 2
Games Without A Draw: 4 Games Without A Score Draw: 4
Games Without A No-Score Draw: 19 Games Without Scoring: 0
Games Without Conceding: 0 Home Results Sequence: WWDW
Away Results Sequence: WWWLWW Overall Results Sequence: WWWWWDLWWW

 

Club Information

Address : The Melbourne Community Stadium, Salerno Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 2EH.

(click for map)

Telephone Number : 01245 290595
Email : enquiries@chelmsfordcity.com

Owner : John Holmes
Chairman : Steve Shore
Club Secretary : Alan Brown
Team Manager : Robbie Simpson

Capacity : 3,065
Seated : 1, 311
Covered Terrace : some, at one end of the stadium
Surface : grass
Record Attendance : (at Melbourne Stadium) 3,201 v AFC Wimbledon, Isthmian Premier League, 15/03/2008

Colours : shirt claret red with white trim, shorts claret red, socks claret red
Nickname : The Clarets
Programme : They produce one – not found details on size, price etc.

Ticketing

Melbourne  Community Stadium is that construct every football fan doesn’t delight in, primarily an Athletics Stadium. Don’t we all love peering across a running track, long and triple jump pits etc. at tiny figures running about in the distance? No?!  There’s one raised (up a short flight of steps with a few rows terracing in front) cantilevered stand holding around a 1,000 seats along one side of the ground and a small amount of pitch level seating (also covered) on the other side. There’s some cover on the terracing behind one of the goals, the rest of the stadium being open to the elements.

There’s a surcharge (a chunky £3.00) for walk-up ticket purchase on matchdays. The lower advanced purchase prices listed (below) end at 12.00 noon on the day of the relevant fixture. Click HERE for on-line purchase.

Prices  (there’s booking fees so basically the headline prices are a pack of lies) on-line :

Adult: £14.00 (£15.44 with booking fee)
Concession (65+): £9.00 (£10.16 with booking fee)
Student 17-24 / Youth 12-17 : £4.00 (£4.84 with booking fee)
Under 12 : FREE
Family Ticket (2 adult + up to three Under 12) : £24.00 (this is only available via advanced purchase on-line, £26.04 with booking fee)

Prices walk-up:

Adult: £17.00
Concession (65+): £12.00
Student 17-24 / Youth 12-17 : £6.50
Under 12 : FREE

Disabled Provision:

No information found.

Official Away Travel

The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Chelmsford on Saturday 24th February, 3.00 p.m. kick-off.

Details are as follows:

Members: Adult £30; Concession £28
Non-Members: Adult £33; Concession £31
Coach departs Huish Park: 8.00 a.m.

To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 (after 6.00 p.m. please) or email him on paulhadlow@outlook.com.

If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.

You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.

Directions To The Ground

General

Chelmsford is the county town, roughly in the middle of Essex. Given city status in 2012 the population is around 110,000.

By Road

From Huish Park to Melbourne Stadium is between 183 and 185 miles: an A303, M3, M25 trip. On reaching the M25 there’s virtually no difference in mileage between going round clockwise or anticlockwise, though choosing anticlockwise will result in tolls to get across the Thames.

Whichever way have circuited the M25 exit at Junction 28, which is 14 miles from Chelmsford, onto the A12 (eastwards). Exit the A12 at Junction 15 for the A414 (Three Mile Hill). At the first (Widford) Roundabout take the second exit (staying on the A414). This is almost immediately followed by a second (unnamed) roundabout: take the first exit onto the A1016.

Follow the A1016 in to Chelmsford. After two miles, at a road network interchange,  keep in the left hand lane throughout and exit onto the A1060 (Rainsford Road, going westwards). After one mile (Rainsford Road has become Roxwell Road by then) turn right at the traffic lights into Chignal Road. After about half a mile turn right into Melbourne Avenue. After another half mile turn left into Salerno Way. After about 100 or so yards take the first exit off the roundabout into the Melbourne Park sports complex. The football stadium and car park are a few hundred yards up this (unnamed) road.

(Whichever way you end up approaching Chelmsford try to avoid the Army & Navy Roundabout in the south-west of the city. Notorious for its traffic congestion, with queues regularly building up to a mile long at peak periods, a whole series of schemes have come and gone over several decades… and all completely failed to improve the situation. A new £81 million scheme was approved on 14th January 2024 but won’t be completed until 2028 at the earliest.)

Parking

For this level of football the car park looks quite large (c. 200 spaces) but the tone of the club’s information on parking suggests that little is likely to be available for visiting supporters. The ground (and wider Melbourne Park sports complex) is completely surrounded on all sides by tightly packed housing estates where one can battle for on-street with the local residents. There doesn’t appear to be any public car parks closer than a mile or so from the stadium.

By Rail

Appears there will be NO train services running between London Liverpool Street and Chelmsford on Saturday February 24th: engineering works. Bus replacement service only.

By Bus

Chelmsford Shuttlebuses C2 and C3 go from the centre (the Bus Station is a one minute walk North of the railway station in Duke Street) up towards the ground with services running every 10 to 15 minutes during the bulk of the day. The nearest stops to the stadium to ask for are Melbourne Shops or Langton Avenue. From them it’s 0.2 of a mile (5 minutes walk) to the ground. Bus journey time is about a quarter of an hour depending on traffic.

By Taxi
A selection of Chelmsford taxi companies can be found here.

Web Resources

Web Sites

Chelmsford City Football Club – Many Minds, One Heart : Official Site.

ClaretsTV : club’s official YouTube channel.

Chelmsford City FS Soapbox : unofficial message board.

Social Media

@OfficialClarets : club’s Twitter account.

Local Press

None of the local newspapers appear to give The Clarets any coverage.

Food & Drink

General

Yet another NLS stadium that’s in the (in this case northern) outskirts of town (sorry, the city) meaning there’s little in the  way of eating and drinking places nearby and it’s a long hike from the centre.

Club Bar

The clubhouse is called The Clarets Bar and opens from 1.00 p.m. for a 3.00 p.m. kick-off. Has Sky and TNT Sports. There’s a van on the concourse providing burgers, hot dogs and chips.

Broadly the stadium is no-smoking, however there is one designated smoking area outside the clubhouse.

Local Pubs

The Ale House.

Ale House: Under a couple of railway arches by Chelmsford Station and a stone’s throw from the Bus Station. The website keeps regularly updated changing lists of what’s on, generally: eight cask ales; around fifteen ‘craft’ keg and continental lager offerings; half a dozen + draught ciders; around 100 different bottles and cans in the fridges. Disabled access, outside area with tables & bench seating. Opens 11.00 a.m. every day (except Sunday when it’s noon), closing 11.00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and midnight Friday & Saturday. One and half miles (so a half hour walk) from the stadium or see By Bus (or taxi) above.
The Ale House, 24-26 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1TS. Tel: 01245 260535. Map: The Ale House.

Brewhouse & Kitchen: Brewhouse & Kitchen are a bit “marmite”, some people love them, others don’t. This is the Chelmsford branch less than a hundred yards from the railway station so 1.5 miles from the stadium. Quite wide ranging menus changing through the day from noon: Lunch, Main, Buffet  + a Children’s. Slightly oddly – I’d assumed why it opens at 9.00 a.m. weekdays would be to catch the later commuter traffic – there’s no mention of a Breakfast menu. Can’t say much about the beer as each individual branch brews its own (though they do stock other brewery’s beers too) so one has to go to find out. Have been to about half a dozen of the 23 outlets and my experience is their owned brewed beers are decidedly better in some than in others.  Disabled access, family friendly and outdoor space. Opening is given as from 9.00 a.m. weekdays (no idea what they actually serving then) to 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and midnight Friday, and 11.00 a.m. at weekends, closing midnight on Saturday and 10.30 p.m. Sunday.
Brewhouse & Kitchen, Anne Knight Building, Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1LW. Tel: 01245 202400. Map: Brewhouse & Kitchen.

Flyer: One of two pubs relatively near the stadium (the other being the Red Beret below) this is in Greene King’s Hungry Horse format. Sky and TNT Sports, Pool and Darts, disabled access, family friendly, car park. Food served from 11.30 a.m. – 9.00 p.m. (8.00 p.m. on Sunday). In the midst of a housing estate to the North of the stadium it’s closer as the crow flies but there’s an unbridged stream in the way so the route to ground is a more circuitous 0.9 of a mile (20 minutes walk). Opening from 11.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. everyday except Sunday when it closes at 10.30 p.m.
The Flyer, Dickens Place, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 4UU. Tel: 01245 441242. Map: The Flyer.

Hop Beer Shop.

Golden Fleece: Solid generalist pub  in central Chelmsford 1.6 miles from the stadium. Food (in the mid-range-modern-pub-grub style and including vegan and no gluten options) served from opening up to mid-evening. Children allowed until 8.00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 7.00 p.m. Friday & Saturday. Sky & TNT Sports, beer garden, disabled access toilet. Up to six hand pumps in use. Doom Bar is the permanent but don’t worry, no need to suffer that as the changing options are generally rather better. There’s 20% off real ales for CAMRA members. Keg includes some options from the ‘craft’ end of the market. Also has a couple of real ciders. Opens from 11.00 a.m. every day except Sunday when it’s noon, closing 11.00 p.m. or midnight during the week, 2.00 a.m. Friday & Saturday, 10.00 p.m. Sunday.
The Golden Fleece, 84 Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1JP. Tel: 01245 256752. Map: Golden Fleece.

Hop Beer Shop: Claims to have been the first micropub to open in Essex, it’s to be found a little to the South of the County Cricket Ground so 2.1 miles from the football stadium. Stocks up to five changing cask beers from small independent breweries, four keg lines (‘craft’ and continental) and some boxed ciders.  There’s around a hundred lines of bottled and canned beers though these appear to be shelved rather than fridged so not sure of the potential for drinking those in. Opening hours are noon – 9.00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, noon – 4.00 p.m. Sunday.
The Hop Beer Shop, 173 Moulsham Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0LD. Tel: 01245 353570. Map: Hop Beer Shop.

Hopsters: Has four branches, the one in Chelmsford being in the same street as the Hop Beer House (above). Primarily a bottle shop with a large range of cans and bottles in the fridges to drink in or take away, it’s recently added a couple of keg lines. Winter opening hours: noon – 7.00 p.m. Thursday; noon – 10.00 p.m. Friday & Saturday. 2.1 miles from the ground.
Hopsters, 47a Moulsham Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0HY. Tel: 01245 931914. Map: Hopsters.

Orange Tree.

Ivory Peg: Central Chelmsford Wetherspoon 1.8 miles from the ground. Typical open-plan Spoons with toilets up miles of stairs (though this one does have a disabled adapted toilet on the ground floor). Food served 8.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. with alcohol service beginning from 9.00 a.m. Not found what time children are allowed to in this particular branch; it varies across the chain but is usually up to somewhen between 7.00 p.m. & 9.00 p.m. Opens at 8.00 a.m. every day, closing midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1.00 a.m. Friday & Saturday.
The Ivory Peg, 3-7 New London Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0SW. Tel: 01245 253130. Map: Ivory Peg.

Orange Tree: Another in a cluster of pubs (see Hop Beer Shop and Hopsters above, Queen’s Head below) in the area South of the County Cricket Ground all around five minutes walk from the train and bus stations. Food served lunchtimes (noon – 3.00 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and up to 4.00 p.m. on Sunday).  Up to eight changing real ales with generally half by Essex breweries and half sourced from wider afield. When draught cider is on it tends to be from the likes of Somerset’s Burrow Hill and Lilley’s or Devon producers. Looks to be ten keg lines… no idea what. Sports TV, beer garden, car park. Opening is at 2.30 p.m. Monday & Tuesday, noon the rest of the week; closing 10.00 p.m. Monday and midnight every other day. Exactly two miles from the stadium.
The Orange Tree, 6 Lower Anchor Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0AS. Tel: 01245 262664. Map: Orange Tree.

Queen’s Head.

Queen’s Head: About 100 yards from The Orange Tree (above) and two miles from the stadium. This is the only pub owned by Crouch Vale , one of the earliest in the wave of new small independent breweries – established way back in 1981 – and one of the first in the UK to feature hop varieties imported from America and Germany. Cutting edge at that time, it no longer is but a number of beers in its core range have become classics. The pub pretty much sticks to its own beers though the lager is by Calvors Brewery from Suffolk  (am not aware of Crouch Vale ever brewing any keg beers themselves). Wet led, no food other than pub snacks. Outside area and car park. Opening hours are: 5.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; noon – midnight Friday & Saturday; noon – 11.00 p.m. Sunday.
The Queen’s Head, 30 Lower Anchor Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 0AS. Tel: 01245 265181. Map: Queen’s Head.

Railway Tavern.

Railway Tavern: Yet another pub (unsurprisingly given the name) right outside the railway station – allegedly one can hear the train arrival announcements from the garden so if one downs one’s pint swiftly enough and runs… Part of a chain of around forty pubs across Essex owned by Gray & Sons. It ceased operating as a brewery in 1974 and these days its pubs offer a wide selection of changing beers mostly from breweries spread across the South of England. This one (wet led, no food) has up to eight changing cask beers on plus ten keg taps. The keg is mostly mainstream but sometimes something more ‘craft’ may appear. Opens 11.00 a.m. every day except Sunday when it’s noon, closing 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11.30 p.m. Friday & Saturday, 8.00 p.m. Sunday. 1.5 miles from the stadium.
The Railway Tavern, 63 Duke Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1LW. Tel: 01245 280579. Map: Railway Tavern.

Red Beret: The closest pub to the stadium at about a third of a mile away in a housing estate to the South & East. Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Racing UK, Pool, disabled access, family friendly, small beer garden, car park. Doesn’t appear to do food. Opens 11.30 a.m. (noon on Sunday); closing 10.00 p.m. Sunday & Monday, 11.00 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, midnight Friday & Saturday.
The Red Beret, 2 Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 2DX. Tel: 01245 901940. Map: Red Beret.

Voodoo Keller Bar: Bit of an unexpected hybrid as it’s Chelmsford Brew Co.’s Tap but done in the style of a Bierkeller so also carrying a range of German Lagers. Has up to twelve lines (a mixture of cask and keg) of Chelmsford Brew Co.’s own beers, some guest ‘craft’ beers from small independent breweries and the aforementioned German Lagers. Food is (unspecified) deli boards, toasties and Bratwurst with hot pretzels served up to 9.30 p.m. Opening hours: 4.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday; noon – 12.30 a.m. Friday & Saturday. In central Chelmsford 1.7 miles from the ground.
Voodoo Keller Bar, Basement 59 New Street, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1NE. Tel: so many different numbers given by different sources, if you do need to give them a ring Google it and take pot luck picking one. Map: Voodoo Keller Bar.

Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: In 1835 Charles Dickens, after visiting Chelmsford, described it as “the dullest and most stupid place on earth”. It’s probable little has changed.

Top-Tip: Dig out those binoculars, telescopes or opera glasses… yep, it’s an Athletics Stadium.

Local Amenities: County town, so expect it’s got some stuff.

Other Points Of Interest: Jimmy Greaves played for Chelmsford City in the 1976-77 season scoring 20 goals in 38 matches despite being still deep in his (later successful) battle with alcoholism.

[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice. ]