Bedred31

More than 2000 ticketless fans got in. I think it was probably ten times that. There were really no empty seats ( and there should have been 250000),some fans with tickets could find nowhere to sit and the lads behind me were standing 2 to a seat. I don’t think anyone with a ticket went to cause trouble. To be fair, the people around me who’d forced their way in were as good as gold during the game. Problem was the presence of thousands of morons outside who were pissed and drugged up. And it was bad- really really bad. I was at the Gate throughout the 70’s and have been going to England away since Euro 88 and this really was as bad as I’ve seen. Baroness Carey’s done a good job- aside from the questionnaire ( sent to all ticket holders) which to me seemed bizarrely obsessed with questions about witnessing racist behaviour when, God knows, there was plenty of other criminality to report.

Spot on. His unusually high proportion of head/ facial injuries is due to the fact that, almost uniquely in this squad, he’s always prepared to stick his head in.

I agree. But energy and press doesn’t depend on talent or experience, and this is the most conspicuous deficiency. Our midfield almost looks depressed!

SU close down with real urgency. City attacker invariably has 4 closing in. City’s comparative lethargy bemusing. Never expected it from a Pearson side.

SU attacking with width - we give them a huge amount of casual space on the flanks.

Like to see it again, but replays don’t seem to exist on the red button.

Was the camera- seemingly the only camera- made during the First World War?

I’ve got the shirt history mug. Pics are obviously a bit small, but it’s a bloody good thing.

Stuck on a training course in the Midlands. Local news very miserable at Stoke result. ‘Dominated’ and ‘against the run of play’ amongst the comments. Bloody marvellous- love it.

I live in Bedford, which is about 20 mins ( on a good day), from the stadium. It really pains me to say it, given the history of ‘the franchise’, but they are pretty much everything you want a local club to be. Stadium is obviously excellent but season tickets are dirt cheap. My son (whose 23) and his mates bought season tickets pre season for £125 a pop, so they can afford to go when they feel like watching some footy ( they all support and watch other clubs). Great community involvement and presence. Local schools get lots of attention. Local talent really well developed. No one here as a bad word. Bugger.

Really helpful both- much appreciated.

Anyone going? And does anyone like me have ticket issues? Mines not arrived and the helpline has been closed all day. If anyone has a response from the FA or experience of this in a previous match I’d be grateful.

And set off to away games 2- 3 hours earlier, often when dark, and for games like Boro, probably in the middle of the night. While the Prem and UEFA does all it can to maximise the number of late afternoon/ evening games for tv revenue.

Here’s the modern rub. You don’t actually have to be ‘wealthy’ as such. You simply need a business plan which retains the capacity to raise finance. ‘Investment’ in the SL sense- ie putting my hand in my own pocket to produce dosh- is v unusual. The buyers will obviously have a significant commercial profile which will equate to assets and, as such, ‘wealth’. But in future any injection of funds will be raised (ie probably ‘borrowed’) against assets (existing and predicted) and the income stream these assets will (or at least may) produce. Good owners- eg Leicester- will do this and keep the fans inside. Others- eg Glazers at MU- will borrow against the club in the expectation that the fans will pay it off by increased ticket prices and buying more stuff. Premier League / Sky money obviously integral. Say what you like about SL but personally I love the bloke. Because in future his seat in the Directors box is filled by a Chinese/ American/ Middle Eastern businessman/ woman in a brand new red and white scarf.

Have to admit the Shakespeare disavowal is a blow. My impression is that we would if we could but we’ve no money so we can’t. And if we can’t when our manager is kyboshed indefinitely, then that’s grim. Panic spending in January in a desperate bid to stay up seems unlikely. Which just leaves panic and desperation. Think the club is missing a trick here. If they came out clearly with a black and white home truths statement- unable to spend a penny more because of pandemic/FFP, existing personnel, fit, injured, unwell, absolutely the people to get us to next summer, no incoming etc, then 99% of the speculative crap on here would disappear. Think the fans would dig in, make a virtue of necessity, get with the Dunkirk/ Total War vibe, and actually start to value the challenge.

Blimey, that took me back. I can only remember the ‘Support Bristol City, Now or Never’ version.

Looking for a one word response from Tinman.

I can see why Shakespeare would want to rejoin Ranieri. But I can’t see why he’d want to return to Watford. Money tends to talk but SL can almost certainly (in spite of our current predicament) offer more security. NP has praised the clubs care for him while he had Covid, so this may be a factor too.

Yes! I can see an announcement that we want Shakespeare, followed by a 6 week/ 2 interview process, culminating in the announcement that we’ve reappointed Downing.

Am I right in thinking that under NP the wage bill has fallen form 60m to 40m pa?

Been in Durham this weekend and LJ all over local news- they have a channel called Tyne Tees TV ffs. Almost same script as here - same fan’s criticisms and same responses from LJ. Actually felt a bit sorry for him, as he hasn’t done a bad job for Sunderland. Anyway, bit of a distraction from the trauma at City.

Would assume FFP not a problem, given recent departures. Reasonable to assume there was/is some sort of plan in recent departures and NP wanted Shakespeare last summer. Get it done or let it go publicly- just don’t lose out to Boro or whoever if we really want him.

Pundits gunning for Shakespeare- several on Twitter expressing hope he goes as well. NP has cleared the decks of the coaches so SL should not be thinking about going to bed tonight unless he’s spoken to Shakespeare.

Time for SL to decide whether we respect FFP and go down or breach it, take the financial consequences, and move on and, hopefully,up. It worked for Bournemouth.

The truly depressing bit is feeling the need to add ‘& Fleming’ to the title, because you just know that if SL sacks NP tonight, he’ll wake up tomorrow convinced that his no 2 is just the man for the job. I think we’re going to have to double down on this, support NP with everything we’ve got to the end of the season, while devising a pretty big prayer rota.