First of all the crowd... a disappointing 23000. Couple of weeks ago I sat amongst a crowd of 31000 + to watch Reall Madrid- a friendly.
Since then the owners have continued to show their committment- the team has won two away matches - and we have a stadium threequarters full- not good enough.
Then we seemed as a crowd to sit back and wait for the team to deliver.. no bite , no massive support .. the occasional desultory drumming trying to raise the volume ... even out shone by the Reading support - not good enough.
Finally the booing ... disgraceful-I was bitterly disappointed too- but thats not acceptable - not good enough.
The team - well first of all Sven got it wrong both tactically and selection. I saw posts suggesting that young Schlupp should start and complacently thought no way would that happen - put him on the bench to continue his development .. yes
He was lost tactically and at this stage technically ... but then so was his replacement ... that lost cause Wagstaffe - unload now!!
It seems to me that our signings are good solid journeymen- but with the exception of Bamba - who is a really talented player- with skill and heart- they are not massively above the normal championship level . We are missing some of the sheer attacking brilliance that came from our loanees last year -especially going forward.
Mills is Hobbs plus a few years experience..-Danns - hustle and bustle but no finesse - full backs -solid and willling to overlap but not hugely skilled or pacy
They need to gel as a team - didn't like some of the arm waving and shouting at each other -at one stage I thought Bamba was going to floor King!
Get our new striker - then see Nugents value! and Sven get a system to suit the players -not the manual
For us - the supporters - come on 100% support in the matches -and encourage a friend to come!! we can do better than yesterday -all of us
None of us performed....
posted on 14/8/11
All I'm suggesting is how come people can afford to pay up when we are in the Premiership (Av. 30000) but can't afford lower prices when we are in the Championship. How will your mates afford match day tickets next season if they are £35/£45 in the Prem, but I bet if we are in the Prem there will be sell out crowds most games.
posted on 14/8/11
Well it remians to be seen if we'll sell out every week if tickets were £35 a game. I'm still sceptical about this proposed capacity expansion - 40K is hugely optimistic even in the Premiership IMO.
There will be more season ticket holders in the Premier League though, people just jump on the bandwagon. People not only don't turn up now because of ticket prices, it's more to do with the ticket prices relative to the quality of football/opposition. People may feel wathcing us play Championship clubs every week isn't worth the price, yet watching big Premiership clubs is value for money despite it being more expensive.
This is not my view but it clearly is how a lot of people see it.
posted on 14/8/11
Good debate Emilio - it just grates with me when people say they support Leicester when in reality the follow Leicester's progress.
posted on 14/8/11
posted on 14/8/11
So, johngee has spoken the dread Words That May Not Be Spoken - that our new signings may simply not be good enough. I hope to high heaven that he is wrong, and that our uselessness yesterday was down to this magical "gelling" business plus tactical errors on Sven's part. But a little bit of me fears there is at least something in what he says.
Apropos of which, I see that Shane Long has put one past Man Utd on his debut, and that Kevin Phillips has scored twice for Holloway today.
PS - Be wary of dissing fans whose heartbreak when we lose is just as great, even if they cannot get to many games as they'd like. Also those who simply cannot afford to go to every game, so have to pick and choose.
posted on 14/8/11
No -you are right Malling -there are a number of dedicated fans -who because of logistics and genuine financial reasons- cannot get to every game ... and others -ears pressed against their manual radios.. out in the middle of nowhere ... they all have my admiration.. however first home game of the season.. --owners and management showing massive support and committment-- new players to welcome... 23000 was disappointing .. we should do better
posted on 14/8/11
The point being made Malling is not about dissing fans who can't afford to pay week in week out but those people seem to be able to afford to pay when we are in the Premiership week in week out. You either can or can't afford it, irrespective of which league you are in and if you are a true supporter it's irrelevant what league you are in.
posted on 14/8/11
Wouldn't really argue with that, MG, at least as a theory.
It's maybe a bit idealistic for the real world though - Emilio makes an honest point that the size of our "core support" is relative to what league we're in. We wouldn't get 23k fans in the Blue Square, but that doesn't means that we currently have thousands of merely fair-weather fans. Likewise I'd hesitate to describe the additional 5-6k fans we might get regularly in the Premiership in that way. Footie is competing with everything else for its slice of our family budgets, and one has to make judgements.
It's complicated, is all I'm saying - and drawing distinctions between supporters and followers, core and non-core fans puts one on a slippery slope towards intolerance.
But interesting discussions, guys.
posted on 14/8/11
But surely you can either afford it or you can't, irrespective of what league you are in and if you a true supporter you follow your team when times are bad as well as good. What I am saying why do 30000 on average can afford it when we were in the Prem and prices higher, where do those 7000 go when it's cheaper in Championship? I appreciate it about the quality of football opposition, but if you are true fan, rather than a follower, then it doesn't matter which league you are in.
posted on 14/8/11
John, I mostly agree with your assessment. The only thing I could add would be a bit more defence of Danns: While he didn't have a good game by any means, he seemed to be driven by a will to influence the game rather than wait on the wing for a pass that was never going to come. You could rightly point to some positional indiscipline, but I think he's wasted out there anyway.
Still, a minor point in what is overall a very fair article IMO.