SecretSam

19 hours ago, spudski said:

The semi final against Hereford was great fun. 

Used to stand in the lower Williams nearest the East End. Always boisterous. 

Maybe the shirt was from a game in the lead up to the final. Season 85/86. 

 

Still haven't found my keys after that night

OMG what have they done to the flag

Massively under-rated player for whom we received a frankly daft amount of money. Would love to have an equivalent back at AG. 

18 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

I like QPR's ground . Old school , I've found a spot with a decent view (lower tier ) and QPR mates & family make it a great day. Facilities are shite though.

 

Zero legroom, terrible view (upper tier), cramped, horrendous concourses, crap WCs, catering, the lot.

I'll take MK's ground, every time. Nothing they can do about the fans, it's about the facilities. 

Worst I've been to? The old Wembley, 2001ish. Worse than Trumpton.

1 hour ago, spudski said:

It's not a British thing about ' Nostalgia '. 

I have many friends in Italy and other European countries who all said we are nuts for pulling down old stadiums, like Highbury and parts of Villa etc. 

Anything designed by Archie Leitch defined British football. 

https://footballgroundguide.com/stadiums-archibald-leitch-design#:~:text=Archibald Leitch biography,-Born in Glasgow&text=He would go on to,lives on to this day.

I want a Stadium with history, bang in the centre of the community. Each stadium with it's own identity. 

Surrounded by pubs and places to socialise. 

Free parking on match days and good public transport connections. 

An away end, home end, good acoustics. Both with Terracing. 

Sides with seating. 

No electronic advertising around pitch. 

Lights turned off in stadium on night games. 

Stands close to the pitch. 

I don't want violence, but I want an edge to visiting the ground. An atmosphere. ( Which the Club say they want, but do everything to deter it )

I don't want it to feel like I'm visiting a shopping Arcade or Cinema, which it does now. 

Lastly...I'd crack down massively on drug use in the Stadium. More respect shown to fellow supporters. Look after, the kids, elderly, infirm. Respect and look after them...don't abuse them. More 'Policing' by the 'elders' of the ' tribe'. 

 

 

 

So, basically, all grounds pre-the Taylor report? 

1 hour ago, spudski said:

It's not a British thing about ' Nostalgia '. 

I have many friends in Italy and other European countries who all said we are nuts for pulling down old stadiums, like Highbury and parts of Villa etc. 

My point about nostalgia was wider than just footie.

Regarding Italian grounds, most of them are owned by the local authority, have running tracks, and aren't well maintained.

4 hours ago, ExiledAjax said:

I'll be honest and say that in addition to the factors you point out - sight lines, comfort, tight to the pitch -  a huge part of it for me is the area surrounding the ground.

Stadiums that are set in the heart of a city, surrounded by characterful pubs and bars, a variety of food options, within an interesting walk from a railway station, those are special. Places like the old Griffin Park, Kenilworth Road, St James Park (both Exeter and Newcastle), the City Ground, even somewhere like Stamford Bridge or the Emirates. The atmosphere at these grounds begins outside the gates and it's often wonderful.

That's the only good thing about Kenilworth Rd, what a dump.

Regarding location, some non-central are bad - Reading, for example - but MK Dons' ground is a doddle to get to by car.

11 hours ago, GrahamC said:

6526, **** me.

Not so much a crowd, more an audience.

And yet still 10,000 locked out...

News of Portsmouth's promotion, and comments about 'a proper ground' lead me to wonder: exactly what is a 'good ground' these days? There's still apparently a lot of love for old grounds, despite drawbacks (legroom, facilities, accessibility) because they are deemed to offer a better 'atmosphere'. Or maybe it's the classic British disease of nostalgia?

For me, I like a ground where I can see, there's reasonable comfort (I'm paying solid money, so expect my 173cm frame to be accommodated), the loos are OK and the stands are tight to the pitch. I'm genuinely not bothered about standing at my age (55) unless the tickets are very cheap.

What are your thoughts?

TBH, with Burnley near certainties for relegation to the Championship, I'd imagine he'll be playing for them next season, so this is all a bit academic.

However, if not Twine, then whom, as a playmaker of this ilk?

Dynamic pricing - start tickets dirt cheap, every couple of days they go up a £1. Start them at £10. Guaranteed sell out. 

And let the Rotherham fans have cheap tickets, too, they've had a miserable season. And they live in Rotherham.

Dickie, Max. None of the others have really done enough.

On 04/04/2024 at 07:22, ChippenhamRed said:

How about for once we don’t go retro? What’s the point in harking back to previous periods in our history all the time…when our history is so limited in terms of success?

I’d like to see a classy, minimalist design, in a deep, vibrant red, with a great fit and good quality materials, made by a proper manufacturer and sold for a reasonable price that recognises that fans are not made of money during a cost of living crisis. No dicking about with the crest.

Too much to ask? Probably.

THIS. 100%.

I am sick of 'retro' crap, harking back to when we were slightly less rubbish. Let's bloody look forwards.

AND NO HORRID COLLARS. Round neck, v-neck, just none of those pointless little wings.

52 minutes ago, winsleyred said:

Not always first trip to Wigan i ended up at the rugby ground

And it's not even proper rugby up there, it's that weird touch rugby thing

11 minutes ago, phantom said:

Speculation has already started

Late to the party as usual...

10 hours ago, Negan said:

 The owners got their man, I’m praying they back him now. 

I think this is key. With a number of key players potentially OOC in the summer, we need to invest solidly.

30 minutes ago, exAtyeoMax said:

Would love it to not be O’neills. It’s just such poor quality.

I don't buy the kits, so I can't comment on quality, but I must say the yellow kit looks cheap. However, I do like the current black kit.

Right, season's effectively over. Speculation on the new kit can begin.

I'll start: red home jersey. Probably some purple knocking about in the change strips.

Just watched the highlights. Hyam's probably still screaming, or has had to be sedated. 

On 08/04/2024 at 18:53, Enclosure Old Timer said:

Those floodlight pylons were a thing of beauty. 

The best thing about the floodlights on pylons was it made finding grounds a doddle. Usually they were visible for some distance. Back in the days before Google Maps, you really didn't want to be asking someone on the street where the ground was...

Welll, that was unexpected 

2 hours ago, kmpowell said:

 

His eyesight must have been pretty good

14 hours ago, Harry said:

The club have been made very much aware over the past 15 years of the link. Those in charge at Willem have been very open to dialogue and arranging some sort of official link but those at our end want nothing to do with it. 

Typical

Frankly, it's a silly rule but I can sort of see the point. Having said that, there's plenty of stupid celebrations that don't involve shirt removal. I personally hate the baby cradling or 'football up the jersey' ones. And dance moves. And acrobatics. 

Mind you, I also couldn't stand Shearer's dull as shit one-armed salute

2 hours ago, Selred said:

This thread sums up the issue with the forum in my opinion.

Two pages on a non City player (yes cracking player and all that), vs a thread on Pack having a great season on the "ex-players" sub forum and no replies at all.

Think we need to relook at how the forum is set up.

I just replied on the Pack thread, always liked him. 

Back on Palmer - there's a lot of competition in that part of the pitch; shame we don't have a similar situation in defence