Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: PDX_Rover on January 21, 2025, 01:23:58 am
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6.30pm And we are underway
Those gathered are welcomed to the event by master of ceremonies Jonathan Heath. The top table of Terry Bramall, Gavin Baldwin and Grant McCann are introduced to the audience with hearty applause following.
6.31pm Question from Jonathan Heath for TB on his excitement for the Crystal Palace game.
"I am not as excited because of the fact we are playing on a Monday night. I am excited because this will be the second Premier League team we have played this season. We had a wonderful evening at Goodison Park earlier this season and I was excited for the team that they ran out in front of 37,000 people. We didn't disgrace ourselves that night.
"We know Crystal Palace keep winning at the moment so it's up to you Grant to deal with that."
6.34pm Question from Jonathan Heath for GB about the decision to host it on a Monday night being out of the club's hands
"We were hoping it was going to be a Saturday where we could launch a lot of things the Matchday Experience Group has been working on. From our point of view, we are feeling bitter. Replays have gone and you would have thought they would look after us by giving us a Saturday game but that has not happened."
6.35pm Question from Jonathan Heath to GM on preparations for the Palace game.
GM: "It's not ideal and it hurts the preparation going into the next game. It unbalances the week. For the financial side of it for the club, it's not great. We've got to concentrate on the football side of things and see what we can do. Palace are in great form, they have three England internationals in the team. It's exciting for us and the fans and we hope we can have this place bouncing."
6.37pm - First question from the audience. To GB, who does have an input on when the Palace game is played?
GB: "It's dictated by the TV companies. We have looked to make it accessible for supporters with the ticketing prices. Palace had no input either. All clubs got an increase in broadcast distribution monies and the price for that was not having any say over TV scheduling."
6.39pm - Question to GM about the young lads currently out on loan and whether they will form a core of the team in the future?
GM: "They are contracted here because we feel they can contribute. What is important at this moment in time is the first team and making sure it's up to scratch and being moe consistent than we have been recently. We've worked really hard on getting loan experience for the young players because it's really important they play games. We can't give that to them at this moment in time."
6.40pm - Question to GM on whether he thinks Rovers can 'football' their way out of the division.
GM: "I think we've got a really good team and squad and thanks to Terry and Gavin for giving us the finances to do it. I think we've showed we can challenge for the majority of the season. Walsall are doing what we did late last season. I do believe if anyone can do that other than Walsall, it's us. We've shown we can play through teams that want to sit in. I think we've played better and lost than what we did at Gillingham at the weekend."
6.42pm - Question to GM on whether there will be outgoings this month and any permanent signings for the future in the summer?
GM: "Outgoings - we've feel like we've got a bloated squad at this moment in time. There's 25/26 first team players when all are fit. We were struggling to pick a bench at the start of last season and we have no such problems now. We have spoken to some players about going out to play football between now and the end of the season. That will hopefully happen.
"In terms of future planning, we are always planning. When the window shuts we'll go straight into planning for next season and we've got a really good team doing that."
6.45pm - Comment from the audience on the improvements in the catering on the concourse. Have we run out of bulbs for the floodlights? The tannoy system is not up to scratch either.
GB: "The floodlights are tested every year and they are Championship standard at this stage. As it gets closer to the end of the year, bulbs will go out. As long as they pass the tests, we will leave them because it is costly.
"When the stadium was procured, they were told they should spend £600,000 on a tannoy system and they spent £200,000. There are 20 miles of cabling. We are working with a local company to see how we can make it better, turn it up in the bowl and down with the concourses. The FA brought in huge temporary speakers for the Women's international game and they were excellent. We are looking at options. There's different technology than from when the stadium was built. Do we put £600,000 into the tannoy or the team, or find a balance? It is questions we are discussing."
6.49pm - Adrian Sullivan from new front-of-shirt sponsors Pass Logistics is introduced to the audience.
He discusses how much the sponsorship deal means to him and his family as a passionate Rovers fan before talking about the growth of his company in a short space of time. "I want to see the club back in the Championship and I'm passionate about that. I'm not here for a short while - I want to be involved around the club for many years to come."
6.56pm - Submitted question to GB. Can you tell us about the training ground developments?
GB: "The background was that GM put myself and TB under pressure to improve the facilities. The gym and medical facilities were tired, to put it mildly. We spent arund £330,000 on medical bills last season. We've spent just under £60,000 so far this season and Dave Rennie can take a lot of credit for that. It was important for us to invest in the health of the players, to make them more robust. And it helps when trying to attract players that we have a brand new facility."
GM: "I don't know how long the gym has been there but it got to the point where it wasn't fit for purpose for the players to be in there. They couldn't do jump testing because they'd hit the roof. We also just needed a bit more space. When I spoke to GB and TB about it, the fact. When I first came back, we brought a lot of the new signings to the stadium to show them around rather than the training ground. We want to get back to the Championship and that's a journey. The training ground is a big part of that and we want it to be a place they want to stay rather than going home quickly."
GB: "It can only happen with TB. It's not just money, he puts far more in than that. You worry about conversations over money but it was probably the easiest conversation we've had. He saw it is an excellent investment. Without TB this would not be happen and it's a significant change that is happening."
TB: "The weights kept dropping through the floor! It's not what you want. I didn't act as quickly as Grant and Dave wanted me to because that would have involved putting in another Portacabin. I wanted a permanent building that would make a real difference."
7.03pm - Submitted question - when will money be made available for a U21 or Reserve team to help build players towards the first team.
GM: "It's definitely something we're looking to do. We have all spoken about it. At this moment in time, with the division we're in, not many teams at this level have a reserve team and it does cost a lot of money. U21 football is okay but the main part of developing players is them playing men's football. It's something we will look at if we make it through the leagues because we do want to produce our own."
GB: "It's similar to the tannoy system - do we spend the money elsewhere on the first team. We've done an extensive piece of work on the costings and there is a lot to it."
7.05pm - Question from the floor - is there any movement on the stadium sponsor?
GB: "Eco-Power are here for this season and next season. They have been excellent and they have made it clear they are willing to talk over the future but they have also said they will be happy to step aside should we get another offer that could change our world."
7.07pm - Question on referees and linesmen. Have they ever read a rulebook? It makes me so angry how our players are treated!
GM: "I think I speak for a lot of managers in the league that we do get frustrated with the inconsistency. You're not human if you don't make mistakes. The inconsistency is frustrating but it is the same for everyone. The higher you go, the better referees you get. We have to accept it. We need to be at the top end of this division because you tend to get the better referees."
GB: How many people in the room would want VAR at this level? (Only a very small handful raise their hands).
7.10pm - Grant, did you get booked on Saturday at Gillingham?
GM: "I did. And Adam (Grice, club secretary) informs me I'm one away from a ban."
7.12pm - MD of Stuart Thacker of training ground developers WorkBox Direct is introduced to the audience.
ST discusses the growth of the company. "We are currently working with Aston Villa on a development. We've worked with Nottingham Forest and Notts County."
ST discusses the plans for the new facilities at the training ground and fitting them in with the planners' determination for environmentally friendly spaces. "It's purpose-built. It's designed around the club. The training ground was inherited and needed to be adapted around. This is a chance to make it your own."
ST says all is progressing well in planning and the hope is for a spring start date. "The aim is to get the players in the new facility within the first month of next season."
7.22pm - Another submitted question to GB. What is the role of Shadow Board? Do they contribute anything of value to the club and supporters?
GB points out the members of the Shadow Board present. "I think fans need to be massively grateful for the Shadow Board. They challenge us on the top table over the decisions we make. They act as critical friends and they are challenging.
"We went with a plan for season tickets last year and they challenged that with positive success. They have challenged us with the Matchday Experience Group and we are examining all sorts of things that have come from that.
"Different heads of department across the club meet with the Shadow Board. They are held to account.
"It works well because they are honest and blunt, but equally they are passionate about wanting us to do well."
Shadow Board chair Derek Daniels is introduced. He encourages the question asker to reach out and speak to members of the Shadow Board.
DD: "Myself and the vice chair James put around 40 hours a week into the Shadow Board, speaking to the club, to supporters, challenging. I always get a response from Gavin at all hours of the day and night. There is nothing they will not address. We don't get an input in the players.
"No one is off-limits to us. There are other clubs in this area that could only dream of the engagement we have got. People come from all over to be part of the Shadow Board and represent you. We are all Rovers mad and we are as desperate as anyone to get back into the league we belong.
"Mr Bramall's values for community are off the scale. He doesn't like getting the plaudits but he deserves the credit."
7.29pm - Question submitted to TB. Are you fully invested in Doncaster Rovers and, if so, what gives you the motivation?
TB: "I'd like that person to give me his definition of 'fully invested.' Have I run out of money? Not yet. Am I working hard to continue the upward trend of Club Doncaster? We are working hard on bringing more success and especially in the community. It is why myself and Dick Watson joined John Ryan in 2006. There was no way we wanted Doncaster - a community that had supported our business - to lose its football club. We felt very strongly about helping John continue his work.
"I've been chairman for just over a year and I've really enjoyed being involved. I've enjoyed working with Grant and all the staff that are here at the back. The reward for it is evenings like this where I see nearly 200 of you and I know how much it means to you. There's a few more thousand people in Doncaster to whom this club means so much. To have that is so humbling."
7.33pm - Submitted question. What happens when you are no longer with us? What is the succession plan?
TB: "It's actually a very sensible question. It's something I've given a lot of thought to. I'm pleased to say that I'm feeling fit as a fiddle and I'm enjoying working with the staff. My daughters look after our businesses and philanthropic activities. It gives me more time to devote to this role and I don't think a day goes by without me communicating with Gavin.
"We want to support the team on the pitch. We want everyone in Club Doncaster to feel the support. It's more than what goes on on the pitch. We want to help turn Doncaster into a proper city and we know the power of the club. We know through the results the Club Doncaster Sports College are achieving that we are making an impact. That augers well for the employability in the city.
"What we're working to is to develop an objective for everyone to get behind. We have a lot to do. It's how you get all the people going down the same road and driving towards the same objective. We all feel it when we lose and we don't want Grant to feel any worse than we do. We want to give him support and we can do that through integration.
"Believe me we are working very hard on that.
"On succession, when the club is successful and we have all our ducks in a row, it will be easy because people will be queing up to take my place."
7.38pm - Having heard of the lack of communication between another local chairman and his manager, can we have insight into how you communicate about transfers?
GM: "We communicate all the time and that is really healthy for the club. We met three months ago to discuss what we wanted to do and it showed the value with how quickly we completed our business this month."
GB: "There is a mixture of formal meetings with meetings in the diary for months ahead. But we speak daily, both myself and Grant and myself and Terry. When we meet formally, we measure progress. Grant challenges Terry and I but we challenge him also. It's all in the right spirit and it's all designed for us to get us the promotion that we want."
7.40pm - Question from the player - are there any players out of favour?
GM: "Absolutely not. We've got a strong squad that all train really well. People always want to ask you about the players that aren't playing rather than those that are and are doing well. We are never going to do anything with just ten players. We saw in the second half of last season when we had players pushing each other.
"One or two know they need to go and play football to help themselves for next season and beyond. But we train together every single day and we are working together. We only bring players to this club that are good people and we have no idiots in there."
7.43pm - Could we bring the general sale for some of the away games forward to help with planning for coach travel?
GB passes over to Shaun Lockwood. "Yes, we can do that."
7.44pm - Are there plans for the stadium to house more events in the summer?
GB: "We're in on-going discussions about a boxing event in the summer. With Donnyfest, we want to have set events in the diary each year. We're working with the RFU on more Challenge Cup semi-finals. It may be more significant events but fewer but we make them massive. We want to help grow Donnyfest and make it bigger."
7.45pm - What are your opinions on the season so far? Would you consider the season a failure if we don't get promoted?
GM: "I was thinking about the position we were in this time last year. We were maybe 21st or 22nd. I sat here and said at that time we would still finish in the top seven. We ended up finishing fifth.
"You might think I'm mad but I am still looking to chase down Walsall.
"I called the League One season a failure, I saw last season a failure. I would see it as a failure if we didn't get promoted. We want to try to get out of the division as quickly as we can."
7.48pm - What are your key lessons from this division?
GM: "There was a lot of things in the first half of last season that we can look at. We had a lot of injuries and I didn't really know the league to be honest. We were learning on the job. The amount of work I put in, watching manager's press conferences and things like that. A lot of the staff in the building knew the league and I leaned on them. It took me some time to learn from that and I feel I have educated myself.
"It's not where we want to be. I know the level above very well. It's been a lot of education, working with the staff and players and tying everything into one to make us better."
7.50pm - What effect does people booing have on the team and staff?
GM: "It's a very good question and it's a hard one to answer. Fans pay their money to come and they want us to perform. They have an opinion and that is why football is a great sport. From the human side, it's very tough at times. I've lived through it and I can lead the players through it when they get unnecessary treatment. No one goes out to put in a bad performance and we don't put out teams to lose.
"We had an incident a couple of weeks when Luke Molyneux wasn't in a good way. He had tears in my office when he felt too much criticism was coming his way. Social media can be a horrible place. We have to help the players and support them. In the last two games, Mols has won the games for us. He's probably been one of the most productive players from across the EFL and we are priviledged to have him."
7.55pm - Will there be any new incomings this month? Also, could we look at keeping any of the loanees permanently?
GM: "We're very happy with the three players we have brought in this month. We are very lucky to get Rob Street. Ethan Ennis is a really exciting young player and he was the best we have seen in training today. He is so sharp, he is quick, he can finish. Charlie Crew is an exceptional young talent and the players were wowed by him in his first training sessions before the Gillingham game.
"Gillingham was big for Charlie and he will grow from it, like Matty Craig did last year. We feel like we've got a very good squad.
"You never know what happens in a window. We're keeping our eyes wide open. You don't know what is going to happen. We have potential targets if anything happened to any of our players."
7.58pm - Club Doncaster Foundation CEO John Davis is introduced to the room
JD presents to the audience a summary of the impact the Foundation has on the community. He highlights this with the Christmas campaign, designed to help people, which involved the whole of Club Doncaster.
8.03pm - Jonathan Heath brings the evening to a close, thanking attendees and the top table.
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Thank you for posting this, thank you to all that attended and all the Q & A's.
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Echo the above, appreciate you taking the time to put this across. A good read also.
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This was on the official site last night. The media team has got a lot of stick this season (some of it fair and justified) so it’s a big thumbs up and thanks from me for getting this out so quickly and to with such detail.
Overall it’s a good read - I like GM’s bullishness/confidence and the open communication is a big plus. Sounds like they’re just as pissed off about the Palace game as the rest of us, I’d be interested to know how much detail was given or asked for when the new broadcasting arrangement was agreed. A part of me feels that all clubs (or at least the majority) must have been complicit in selling football’s soul but maybe that’s unfair.
One shame/concern for me is the squad size. There was talk of being smarter with spend last year and the fact we have so many players (with some seemingly unsuitable for how we play) suggests that hasn’t happened, but who should learn lessons from that? GM? TB? GB? Do we have the right structure in place? If it had been managed better could we have spent on some of those non-football areas discussed?
Also sounds positive that TB is thinking about succession but it’s all quite vague. He’s still ploughing a lot of money in and we’re very dependent but I certainly trust the right planning is happening behind the scenes.
Overall a pretty positive picture and I think it’s important to recognise how much we should appreciate the openness and candour that these 3 show every year.
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A welcome summary enabling us all to share in what is a valuable annual meeting.More thought is now given to the questions hence more substance than triviality is being discussed.I would have hoped for a short summary pf the Club Doncaster Foundation from Mr Davis . Though very important to TB Club the Foundation is the underwater part of an iceberg in my opinion
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Thank you PDX for the detailed summary, much appreciated.
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This has given me much more information about the Foundation work .
https://clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk/
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The video of the event should be out by tomorrow.
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Well done and thank you PDX for such a comprehensive summary of last night’s event. Thanks also to those supporters that attended as this must encourage those at the top table. I also agree with graingerover that the questions this time were far better than at past events. You can never please everybody but I do think that this puts the club in a positive light compared to most other clubs.
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Well done and thank you PDX for such a comprehensive summary of last night’s event. Thanks also to those supporters that attended as this must encourage those at the top table. I also agree with graingerover that the questions this time were far better than at past events. You can never please everybody but I do think that this puts the club in a positive light compared to most other clubs.
Alost like he copied and pasted from the website :lol:
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The meeting sounds very constructive, with the management team being as open as possible about how the club is being developed. So much of a contrast with the Wendies similar meeting!
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The meeting sounds very constructive, with the management team being as open as possible about how the club is being developed. So much of a contrast with the Wendies similar meeting!
Full marks to whoever it was who managed to ask a question and have a dig at Wednesdays at the same time.
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Thanks PDX for putting this up on the Forum.
I am heartened by the open nature of the communications between the Club and the fans, and the willingness of TB, GB and GM to share information with us.
We should never take this for granted - just ask the Wednesday fans!
We continue to be in good hands and I'm very grateful for that.
If we all stay united in our aims then this can only help us to achieve them.
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Thanks PDX for putting this up on the Forum.
I am heartened by the open nature of the communications between the Club and the fans, and the willingness of TB, GB and GM to share information with us.
We should never take this for granted - just ask the Wednesday fans!
We continue to be in good hands and I'm very grateful for that.
If we all stay united in our aims then this can only help us to achieve them.
This was a brilliant fans forum, refreshing to read after reading ours from last week!
A club going in the right direction
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This was on the official site last night. The media team has got a lot of stick this season (some of it fair and justified) so it’s a big thumbs up and thanks from me for getting this out so quickly and to with such detail.
Overall it’s a good read - I like GM’s bullishness/confidence and the open communication is a big plus. Sounds like they’re just as pissed off about the Palace game as the rest of us, I’d be interested to know how much detail was given or asked for when the new broadcasting arrangement was agreed. A part of me feels that all clubs (or at least the majority) must have been complicit in selling football’s soul but maybe that’s unfair.
One shame/concern for me is the squad size. There was talk of being smarter with spend last year and the fact we have so many players (with some seemingly unsuitable for how we play) suggests that hasn’t happened, but who should learn lessons from that? GM? TB? GB? Do we have the right structure in place? If it had been managed better could we have spent on some of those non-football areas discussed?
Also sounds positive that TB is thinking about succession but it’s all quite vague. He’s still ploughing a lot of money in and we’re very dependent but I certainly trust the right planning is happening behind the scenes.
Overall a pretty positive picture and I think it’s important to recognise how much we should appreciate the openness and candour that these 3 show every year.
Yes, we've gone from one extreme to a other with the squad size and injuries, or the lack of, resulting in us being a bit top heavy.
We can debate whether we could have gone for more 'quality' over quantity but I ask myself whether McCann feels he's hampered or not and to me he seems happy with the strategy and the players he's acquired. I don't think we should worry about the finances as we have previously, as it seems TB is happy to speculate to accumulate in all areas including the new training facilities.
With the stadium sponsorship coming up for grabs in a couple of years, there should be an opportunity to give the stadium a good makeover and upgrade of vital equipment, such as the sound system, lighting etc.
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Now out on video.
https://youtu.be/9Y0N17BaMTo?si=uAcPxppCeG4gBEhg
I think it's fair to say we can read more than just the transcript provides and having watched the vid, it really heartened me listening to TB. There aren't many like him anymore, which is a shame, as he embodies the value of the community club and how it should appeal to the wider population of the City.
When he casually remarked about something and said, "....when we're in the Championship." do you think he actually believes it?
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What about the kiosks ?
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Regarding the "bloated" squad size, I would suggest that had we been top of the League, or firmly positioned in the top 3 and firing on all cylinders consistently, then Grant may not have felt the need to bring in 3 more recruits in January.
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Regarding the "bloated" squad size, I would suggest that had we been top of the League, or firmly positioned in the top 3 and firing on all cylinders consistently, then Grant may not have felt the need to bring in 3 more recruits in January.
A bloated squad ? We only ever pick from 16-18 players each week when players are fit usually because we don’t have enough depth in the first place. We are stronger at the back this season but not upfront …where it counts . We just don’t spend on players but moan about not spending enough on the P.A System .. you couldn’t make this up !!
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And he’s back
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This photo is a great advert for the Doncaster Foundation and credit to Olowu visiting the schools in our community in this way .
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Thanks all for posting the transcripts and links.
Much appreciated.
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I think it’s outstanding that your owners and manager do these events. I’d guess that it’s fairly rare in football circles.
At my club the relationship between owner, manager and supporters is fractious at best.
I’m sure that you all realise how fortunate you are.
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This photo is a great advert for the Doncaster Foundation and credit to Olowu visiting the schools in our community in this way .
I love this!!
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Great to see the players interacting with the community.
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A grateful thank you PDX Rover for posting that lengthy and informative forum content.
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I think it’s outstanding that your owners and manager do these events. I’d guess that it’s fairly rare in football circles.
At my club the relationship between owner, manager and supporters is fractious at best.
I’m sure that you all realise how fortunate you are.
I think most do. Unfortunately we had our own terrible owner in the past, so know how bad it can be.
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That was a great watch, & it shows the togetherness of the club & everyone pulling in the right direction, well done everyone, we are very lucky.
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How can you not love Mr Bramall, such a nice bloke.
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Great stuff. Most worrying take home is that some people put their hands up in favour of VAR in the lower leagues. Who and why? ;)
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It would cost too much for most teams.
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Only three or four out of 200 people put their hands up in favour of var.
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Great stuff. Most worrying take home is that some people put their hands up in favour of VAR in the lower leagues. Who and why? ;)
Well I wasn't there, and I understand your concerns. However, people go on every week about the atrocious refereeing in League 2, and rightly so, because it sometimes costs us points. VAR would stop most of that, but would take away much of the spontaneity.
So which is it, lack of spontaneity, or robbery of points? You can't have it both ways.
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Great stuff. Most worrying take home is that some people put their hands up in favour of VAR in the lower leagues. Who and why? ;)
I did. Im in favour of it. Have you seen some of the shocking decisions we have been on the end of? Nothing wrong with VAR its only showing whats happened.
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In principle I agree with VAR.
The problem is, we’ve gone from the clear & obvious mistakes to now analysing the most minuscule offside. It isn’t going to happen at L2/1 in my opinion, but again I believe in the initial concept.
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In principle I agree with VAR.
The problem is, we’ve gone from the clear & obvious mistakes to now analysing the most minuscule offside. It isn’t going to happen at L2/1 in my opinion, but again I believe in the initial concept.
This is exactly what I was saying to some pals on Monday.
Taking an age to reach a decision definitely isn’t sorting out a clear and obvious mistake by the officials on the pitch.
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In principle I agree with VAR.
The problem is, we’ve gone from the clear & obvious mistakes to now analysing the most minuscule offside. It isn’t going to happen at L2/1 in my opinion, but again I believe in the initial concept.
I agree Oh look his fingernail is offside if he had cut them this morning it would have been ok. They need to stick to Clear and Obvious not his big toe is offside
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For me if it’s an offside decision and can’t be decided within 60 seconds the the on field decision stands, handball and dangerous play then fine take a bit longer to get the right decision
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These things are not going to solve the inconsistent interpretation of the rules which is everyone's bugbear.
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We put our hand up, because whilst their are still some problems with VAR, we believe it will help in some way to making the refs accountable for their very poor decisions when goals are scored against us.
However VAR does need to be extended and improved so that other incidents within a game can be reviewed, ie the yellow card situations.
With continued advancement of technology etc. it should be feasible to review instances like this without stopping games.
I would consider that the majority of supporters of all clubs are seriously concerned regards the decline in the capability of officials, so we must look at everything which may be available to improve decisions. So surely extending var must be a consideration.
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What about improving the competence of officials rather than hiring hundreds of more VAR officials, who are likely to be as just as inconsistent. How many more officials does it need to play a game of football more fairly than it does now?
If there are ways to use technology to help the existing officials then explore it however, there maybe limitations with this if games will require more cameras to be installed and operated. These are more likely to be sledgehammer to crack a nut.
What about ex players putting something back into the game by being rewarded well for going into officiating using their experience to interpret the rules better than someone who hasn't played the game?
What about helping officials by giving them the opportunity to review their own decisions rather than someone else refereeing the referee? I.e. being able to look at incidents again from whatever camera angle is available. If it's not conclusive then stick to the original decisions etc. (Obviously not every minor decision can be reviewed so yes, there needs to be some mechanism that triggers a review..an appeal from a team captain maybe in limited circumstances?) Referees can't continue to be treated as villains and be given as much help as possible to do their job well.
Then finding ways of keeping the crowd informed...just a simple announcement by the ref?
None of anything being suggested is going to make the game free of mistakes and everyone has to accept that, but if we can reduce the risks of incorrect key decisions then we should without sucking the life out of the game.
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Perhaps some of the problems arise from the over-complication of certain rules such as offside. Get rid of the complication and make the decision-making simpler for the officials.
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Perhaps some of the problems arise from the over-complication of certain rules such as offside. Get rid of the complication and make the decision-making simpler for the officials.
Definitely! And made worse where cheating is encouraged, tolerated and even coached by those who are the loudest critics of the Referees. Yes, you Messrs Evans and Raynor to name but few.
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We put our hand up, because whilst their are still some problems with VAR, we believe it will help in some way to making the refs accountable for their very poor decisions when goals are scored against us.
However VAR does need to be extended and improved so that other incidents within a game can be reviewed, ie the yellow card situations.
With continued advancement of technology etc. it should be feasible to review instances like this without stopping games.
I would consider that the majority of supporters of all clubs are seriously concerned regards the decline in the capability of officials, so we must look at everything which may be available to improve decisions. So surely extending var must be a consideration.
Whether the standard of refereeing has deteriorated is debatable. What has entered the reckoning is the video replay, not only in the form of VAR, but also, potentially, of every tackle via standard TV and slow- motion replay. What has also highlighted the strength of opinions is social media debate and the whole attitude to “authority”. Believe it or not, there was a time when I was younger, which goes back to WW2 when “officials” and official bodies were actually respected by the majority of the population.
I don’t want to widen the debate to how, in times gone by, it was assumed by the man in the street that (for example) policeman were honest and did not have to go round in twos because Courts were generally prepared to accept that their evidence would be honest, but it serves as a background to how a belief in people doing the job of keeping order in some aspect of daily life were regarded. So, back then, the debate over refereeing decisions which certainly took place, ended by the time the match-goers had discussed events and got back home.
As time has gone on, so has the intensity of meticulous examinations of refereeing decisions gone on, and on. And even amongst most of us, who “study” the game a bit more intensely than the average match-goer, bias often stands out. It isn’t easy, when you want to see you side win, to recognise the incidents where your own team escapes a yellow card and equally, to repress the desire to call for the opponent to be booked when one of your favourite players is the victim. And none of your team are ever “cheats” are they? And “taking one for the team” is widely praised isn’t it - if it’s your player doing the taking!
Fundamentally, I disagree that there is evidence that the situation is worse now than ever. For example, I wonder how many people actually refer to the FA’s “Laws of the Game” to check exactly what it says about such things as “Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity”. In debating this, more often than not, the phrase “the last man” is quoted - even by TV commentators. That is nowhere in the rules, yet opinions are often based entirely around it.
Finally, the modern game has become more and more challenging to referee. You see so many corners in televised PL matches which are strewn with foul play. There is good reason to believe that teams practice the harassment of goalkeepers. Matches could be held up indefinitely if referees insisted on fair play there. One way to clean it up would be to restrict the number of players allowed in the box, but that’s another debate.
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Some very reasoned responses on here regarding VAR. However, as SS alludes to VAR removes spontaneity and absolutely kills the unbridled joy that you feel as a fan, when after a fleeting glance at the ref and lino, you are able to celebrate a goal, especially a last minute winner.
Everything has become too forensic. I agree that managers have largely brought this on themselves by whinging about an incorrectly awarded throw in etc. Perhaps over simplistic but for every decision that incorrectly goes against your team, there will be ones that incorrectly go for you.
Football is about moments and moments such as Brentford, Wembley, Cardiff and Stoke would not have been the experience that they were with VAR and for that reason I am against it
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It seems that Norway is doing the right thing and getting rid;
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jan/22/norway-on-verge-of-abolishing-var-from-domestic-leagues-after-club-vote
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We put our hand up, because whilst their are still some problems with VAR, we believe it will help in some way to making the refs accountable for their very poor decisions when goals are scored against us.
However VAR does need to be extended and improved so that other incidents within a game can be reviewed, ie the yellow card situations.
With continued advancement of technology etc. it should be feasible to review instances like this without stopping games.
I would consider that the majority of supporters of all clubs are seriously concerned regards the decline in the capability of officials, so we must look at everything which may be available to improve decisions. So surely extending var must be a consideration.
Whether the standard of refereeing has deteriorated is debatable. What has entered the reckoning is the video replay, not only in the form of VAR, but also, potentially, of every tackle via standard TV and slow- motion replay. What has also highlighted the strength of opinions is social media debate and the whole attitude to “authority”. Believe it or not, there was a time when I was younger, which goes back to WW2 when “officials” and official bodies were actually respected by the majority of the population.
I don’t want to widen the debate to how, in times gone by, it was assumed by the man in the street that (for example) policeman were honest and did not have to go round in twos because Courts were generally prepared to accept that their evidence would be honest, but it serves as a background to how a belief in people doing the job of keeping order in some aspect of daily life were regarded. So, back then, the debate over refereeing decisions which certainly took place, ended by the time the match-goers had discussed events and got back home.
As time has gone on, so has the intensity of meticulous examinations of refereeing decisions gone on, and on. And even amongst most of us, who “study” the game a bit more intensely than the average match-goer, bias often stands out. It isn’t easy, when you want to see you side win, to recognise the incidents where your own team escapes a yellow card and equally, to repress the desire to call for the opponent to be booked when one of your favourite players is the victim. And none of your team are ever “cheats” are they? And “taking one for the team” is widely praised isn’t it - if it’s your player doing the taking!
Fundamentally, I disagree that there is evidence that the situation is worse now than ever. For example, I wonder how many people actually refer to the FA’s “Laws of the Game” to check exactly what it says about such things as “Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity”. In debating this, more often than not, the phrase “the last man” is quoted - even by TV commentators. That is nowhere in the rules, yet opinions are often based entirely around it.
Finally, the modern game has become more and more challenging to referee. You see so many corners in televised PL matches which are strewn with foul play. There is good reason to believe that teams practice the harassment of goalkeepers. Matches could be held up indefinitely if referees insisted on fair play there. One way to clean it up would be to restrict the number of players allowed in the box, but that’s another debate.
I agree with much of this and am certain that the vast majority of dissatisfaction with refereeing can properly be dismissed as simply our inbuilt bias in favour of our own teams. I completely include myself in this and just have to give myself a talking to every now and then.
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Some very reasoned responses on here regarding VAR. However, as SS alludes to VAR removes spontaneity and absolutely kills the unbridled joy that you feel as a fan, when after a fleeting glance at the ref and lino, you are able to celebrate a goal, especially a last minute winner.
Everything has become too forensic. I agree that managers have largely brought this on themselves by whinging about an incorrectly awarded throw in etc. Perhaps over simplistic but for every decision that incorrectly goes against your team, there will be ones that incorrectly go for you.
Football is about moments and moments such as Brentford, Wembley, Cardiff and Stoke would not have been the experience that they were with VAR and for that reason I am against it
I don't necessarily agree about removing the spontaneity as we will continue to celebrate the ball hitting the back of the net. Even now, without VAR, we don't always see the flag already up, cheers ring round until it dawns on us, it's not given. Another example recently when Moly scored and I was convinced he was offside and didn't even stand up, only then to realise the goal stood.
With VAR, we can have two celebrations for the price of one, the second when a goal is confirmed, or disallowed if it's the opposition etc.
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If we get VAR in the EFL (and I hope we don't), who will the var's be? What level of competence will they be if they are not qualified enough to be refereeing games themselves?
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The problem with VAR is that they're trying to match 19th century rules against 21st century technology. A player pointing for the ball or ahead by a toenail is surely not offside. The micro managing of the game is sucking the life out of it. It's sad to see every player's reaction when they score now is to look at the linesman. I believe in the old adage of things evening themselves out. However, the standard of referreeing in general is appalling, especially in League 2. Then again, we could have done with some technology when England played Argentina in '86. Even Maradona couldn't believe it was given. It was what it was. Anyway, bring on Harrogate. RTID.
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The problem with VAR is that they're trying to match 19th century rules against 21st century technology. A player pointing for the ball or ahead by a toenail is surely not offside. The micro managing of the game is sucking the life out of it. It's sad to see every player's reaction when they score now is to look at the linesman. I believe in the old adage of things evening themselves out. However, the standard of referreeing in general is appalling, especially in League 2. Then again, we could have done with some technology when England played Argentina in '86. Even Maradona couldn't believe it was given. It was what it was. Anyway, bring on Harrogate. RTID.
It was a well-meant and necessary 19th century rule/“Law” change and the modern game needs it just as much now as it did then. Having adopted it, the rational response is to accept it. I remember that the old maxim in umpiring cricket ( - pre technology) was to give the batsman - sorry “batter” - the benefit of the doubt in fine LBW or catch decisions because he only had one chance compared with the bowler.
There can be no “balance of probability” or “beyond reasonable doubt” with VAR though and whilst I have made no study of the reception it received, there was clearly a convincing majority of those who favoured it. If we didn’t have it, things would be no better. Wrong decisions would be made and they would surely be subjected to video analysis and the ire would surround the hairline decisions which went against the team you support.
To take a balanced view you have to eliminate emotions and that’s probably impossible for all of us especially when we are so deeply invested.
Finally Rich, I agree that on a practical level, we have to accept that there is a fair chance of things evening themselves out, but it’s not easy and for some, more or less impossible.
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Strangely enough, mate, one of the best refs in the world, Michael Oliver, has obviously played no football since his early schooldays, if at all. He began refereeing at 14, and was refereeing in the Northern League at just 18.
I personally think good eyesight and expert understanding of the rules are more important than experience of playing. JMHO.
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Strangely enough, mate, one of the best refs in the world, Michael Oliver, has obviously played no football since his early schooldays, if at all. He began refereeing at 14, and was refereeing in the Northern League at just 18.
I personally think good eyesight and expert understanding of the rules are more important than experience of playing. JMHO.
That’s fair enough mate, but as you state there, MO is one of the best in the World.
Sadly the ones we get are nowhere near that.
They probably aren’t even the best in the stadium.
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I think a referee in each half would make sense as a potential method of improving officiating.
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Just to go back to this, I know we are all biased Rovers fans but how on Earth did it take about 40 minutes for the ref to penalise the Harrogate defender for persistently fouling Ironside.
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Strangely enough, mate, one of the best refs in the world, Michael Oliver, has obviously played no football since his early schooldays, if at all. He began refereeing at 14, and was refereeing in the Northern League at just 18.
I personally think good eyesight and expert understanding of the rules are more important than experience of playing. JMHO.
Hi Steve
I gotta watch MotD tonight. The commentators at Molineux today were apoplectic about the sending off of the Arsenal lad. I thought as you do about Michael Oliver. But I think we ought to watch MotD tonight....
BobG
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Strangely enough, mate, one of the best refs in the world, Michael Oliver, has obviously played no football since his early schooldays, if at all. He began refereeing at 14, and was refereeing in the Northern League at just 18.
I personally think good eyesight and expert understanding of the rules are more important than experience of playing. JMHO.
Hi Steve
I gotta watch MotD tonight. The commentators at Molineux today were apoplectic about the sending off of the Arsenal lad. I thought as you do about Michael Oliver. But I think we ought to watch MotD tonight....
BobG
Baffling decision. If that’s a red then you’d see hundreds across the country every week. Two things that are worse than the original decision though:
1. Why is VAR not intervening? The ref can make mistakes in real time but the VAR has to be overturning that as a clear and obvious error.
2. The second yellow given to Gomes was worse than Lewis-Skelly’s. Yes, the end result was the same but he should have been issued a straight red if Lewis-Skelly’s challenge warranted it. Inconsistency across games is hard to eradicate but consistency within games should be the bare minimum.
If there’s that level of inconsistency and incompetence right at the top level then what hope do we have in League Two?
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Strangely enough, mate, one of the best refs in the world, Michael Oliver, has obviously played no football since his early schooldays, if at all. He began refereeing at 14, and was refereeing in the Northern League at just 18.
I personally think good eyesight and expert understanding of the rules are more important than experience of playing. JMHO.
Hi Steve
I gotta watch MotD tonight. The commentators at Molineux today were apoplectic about the sending off of the Arsenal lad. I thought as you do about Michael Oliver. But I think we ought to watch MotD tonight....
BobG
Baffling decision. If that’s a red then you’d see hundreds across the country every week. Two things that are worse than the original decision though:
1. Why is VAR not intervening? The ref can make mistakes in real time but the VAR has to be overturning that as a clear and obvious error.
2. The second yellow given to Gomes was worse than Lewis-Skelly’s. Yes, the end result was the same but he should have been issued a straight red if Lewis-Skelly’s challenge warranted it. Inconsistency across games is hard to eradicate but consistency within games should be the bare minimum.
If there’s that level of inconsistency and incompetence right at the top level then what hope do we have in League Two?
The Arsenal red card was warranted. He just booted the Wolves player and the ball was 2m away. You can’t just kick people.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
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I agree with Gaz on this one no attempt to play the ball and not just an ankle tap but a full on kick, violent conduct for me
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It wasn’t a kick, it was studs down the shin, the ball had gone, red card without a doubt
https://x.com/watch_lfc/status/1883184096865878518?s=61&t=DCRm1C_BBr5pt7J45jXUsA
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On the subject of red cards, watch the assault on Endo for Liverpool, by Enciso and tell me that didn't warrent a red! He only got a yellow
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It wasn’t a kick, it was studs down the shin, the ball had gone, red card without a doubt
https://x.com/watch_lfc/status/1883184096865878518?s=61&t=DCRm1C_BBr5pt7J45jXUsA
OK terminology if you insist then Filo, but still a red
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I often wonder how many of our refs have actually played football, even at Sunday league level.
Some of the things they miss are incredibly easy to spot.
For example, the sly nudge to one side of a player who is jumping to head a ball, how many times does that go unnoticed.
Then there is the shirt pull which holds a player back and makes him look like he is doing a moonwalk.
There is a sizeable list of these things which everyone but the ref can see.
Strangely enough, mate, one of the best refs in the world, Michael Oliver, has obviously played no football since his early schooldays, if at all. He began refereeing at 14, and was refereeing in the Northern League at just 18.
I personally think good eyesight and expert understanding of the rules are more important than experience of playing. JMHO.
Hi Steve
I gotta watch MotD tonight. The commentators at Molineux today were apoplectic about the sending off of the Arsenal lad. I thought as you do about Michael Oliver. But I think we ought to watch MotD tonight....
BobG
Baffling decision. If that’s a red then you’d see hundreds across the country every week. Two things that are worse than the original decision though:
1. Why is VAR not intervening? The ref can make mistakes in real time but the VAR has to be overturning that as a clear and obvious error.
2. The second yellow given to Gomes was worse than Lewis-Skelly’s. Yes, the end result was the same but he should have been issued a straight red if Lewis-Skelly’s challenge warranted it. Inconsistency across games is hard to eradicate but consistency within games should be the bare minimum.
If there’s that level of inconsistency and incompetence right at the top level then what hope do we have in League Two?
I think I heard the pundits on MotD say that VAR had checked it and backed up the refs decision.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
At Hull it was noticeable how good their PA system was.
It was like listening to your own sound system at home.
I know it probably cost considerably more than ours but my mate at the game commented on how it didn’t seem to be on full volume and that we were still able to speak to each other without shouting and still be able to hear what was being announced in the stadium.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
At Hull it was noticeable how good their PA system was.
It was like listening to your own sound system at home.
I know it probably cost considerably more than ours but my mate at the game commented on how it didn’t seem to be on full volume and that we were still able to speak to each other without shouting and still be able to hear what was being announced in the stadium.
Doesnt even sound as if its turned on in the West Stand totally impossible to understand and hear. Whoever the sound Engineer trying to tweak it needs to come into the West on a normal matchday
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
Absolutely zero chance it gets overturned.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
At Hull it was noticeable how good their PA system was.
It was like listening to your own sound system at home.
I know it probably cost considerably more than ours but my mate at the game commented on how it didn’t seem to be on full volume and that we were still able to speak to each other without shouting and still be able to hear what was being announced in the stadium.
Doesnt even sound as if its turned on in the West Stand totally impossible to understand and hear. Whoever the sound Engineer trying to tweak it needs to come into the West on a normal matchday
They may as well not bother with it in the West Stand its that crap, is it like that in other stands?
I do wonder how they would mange to get an evacuate the Stadium message across if the need arises
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Bloody deafening in the East yesterday. Unbearable.
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
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That's a red card for me, straight down the side of his leg, above ankle height with zero chance of playing the ball, which had gone anyway. Dangerous play, red card.
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
Strange how everything about the club that you don't like is 'embarrassing'.
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
Strange how everything about the club that you don't like is 'embarrassing'.
He’s just a serial whiner, no one takes his opinion seriously
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
At Hull it was noticeable how good their PA system was.
It was like listening to your own sound system at home.
I know it probably cost considerably more than ours but my mate at the game commented on how it didn’t seem to be on full volume and that we were still able to speak to each other without shouting and still be able to hear what was being announced in the stadium.
Doesnt even sound as if its turned on in the West Stand totally impossible to understand and hear. Whoever the sound Engineer trying to tweak it needs to come into the West on a normal matchday
They may as well not bother with it in the West Stand its that crap, is it like that in other stands?
I do wonder how they would mange to get an evacuate the Stadium message across if the need arises
I think it needs sorting but no idea how the club shells out 500k for a new one. They could find it through increasing season ticket prices but would people be happy with that? Raising season ticket prices by £50 makes about 250k if we sell 5000ish.
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Yeah, I was there so I'm aware of what they said.
It's part of the liability in owning a football club I'm afraid. It needs sorting, and if TB has to get his cheque book out, so be it.
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Great, spend otber peoples money
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Yeah, I was there so I'm aware of what they said.
It's part of the liability in owning a football club I'm afraid. It needs sorting, and if TB has to get his cheque book out, so be it.
Why didn't you say this to TB at the time then, instead of just posting about it afterwards?
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Hilarious thread
One moment it’s definitely a red, next line it’s crap lights. Then we move on to the sound system’s not as good as ‘ull
How are the chips these days?
Haven’t heard much about the toilets recently or indeed if the seats are still dirty.
I assume the scoreboard is still knackered too?
Good to see it’s still Moansville Arizona in bleak old Yorkshire
Enjoy Saturday’s 3 points please,….. and save your sanity.
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Funnily enough the scoreboard was ok but broke on Saturday :-D
I do think if that happens though they should use the large screen for time/score for the whole game and stop the ads (or make them half the screen) Every time I looked around to check how long was left it was an ad showing.
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Yeah, I was there so I'm aware of what they said.
It's part of the liability in owning a football club I'm afraid. It needs sorting, and if TB has to get his cheque book out, so be it.
Why didn't you say this to TB at the time then, instead of just posting about it afterwards?
Do you think he doesn't already know this ?
-
It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Yeah, I was there so I'm aware of what they said.
It's part of the liability in owning a football club I'm afraid. It needs sorting, and if TB has to get his cheque book out, so be it.
Why didn't you say this to TB at the time then, instead of just posting about it afterwards?
Do you think he doesn't already know this ?
Nothing to stop you reiterating the point, especially as you've repeatedly labelled other people who just post things on internet forums rather than saying things in person as 'keyboard warriors'. Not a great look, which is why people don't take you seriously.
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Yeah, I was there so I'm aware of what they said.
It's part of the liability in owning a football club I'm afraid. It needs sorting, and if TB has to get his cheque book out, so be it.
Why didn't you say this to TB at the time then, instead of just posting about it afterwards?
Do you think he doesn't already know this ?
Nothing to stop you reiterating the point, especially as you've repeatedly labelled other people who just post things on internet forums rather than saying things in person as 'keyboard warriors'. Not a great look, which is why people don't take you seriously.
I wouldn't insult TB's intelligence by saying the bleeding obvious to him.
You however seem to try and create meaning to your sad little life by attacking anyone who dares question something which isn't quite right about the club.
So what is it that I've said regarding the tannoy or floodlights that you don't like ?
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It's a bit embarrassing just how bad the sound system is.
Honestly think it needs sorting properly.
The broken bulbs in the floodlights need sorting aswell.
Supposed to be a professional football club, not Sunday league.
The stadium will be going the way of glanford park is the don't spend some money on it.
You got a few spare 000's to throw in for the sound system then?
Read the report from the MTO re the floodlights and the tannoys, it's not a bloody nightclub
Yeah, I was there so I'm aware of what they said.
It's part of the liability in owning a football club I'm afraid. It needs sorting, and if TB has to get his cheque book out, so be it.
Why didn't you say this to TB at the time then, instead of just posting about it afterwards?
Do you think he doesn't already know this ?
Nothing to stop you reiterating the point, especially as you've repeatedly labelled other people who just post things on internet forums rather than saying things in person as 'keyboard warriors'. Not a great look, which is why people don't take you seriously.
I wouldn't insult TB's intelligence by saying the bleeding obvious to him.
You however seem to try and create meaning to your sad little life by attacking anyone who dares question something which isn't quite right about the club.
So what is it that I've said regarding the tannoy or floodlights that you don't like ?
As I said, don't take you seriously. Sorry and all that.
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When I first watched it I through never a red ,but looking back at it it's a clear red the ball was six foot away and if he had just walked up to another player and kicked them he would have been sent off and that's what he did
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
The current stadium PA system since has been in place since the stadium was build and to turn round say that it is NOW only just being looked at is just plain stupid . They saved £400k by buy a cheaper system ( understandable it’s a big saving ) but it would have been paid for by now if they’d address it 10 years ago . Investing in infrastructure that has benefits far beyond reading out a few birthday greetings or the team sheet each home game .
The club talks about the Matchday Experience but neglects to understand that this bain is just part of the weekly concerns . It’s taken over 10 years to sort out the catering and look at now ..it’s more expensive but satisfying and the long mindless queues have been addressed as well and very few complaints over all .
The pre-match atmosphere starts with the Sound we create and music the public address system is part of the atmosphere and complements the large screen advertising and announcements required at every home game , but this farce of playing around with tinpot which sounds like bean tin on a string , is just not adding to anything but frustration. This false economy of under investment in the stadium is just typical of the old mentality that’s plagued the club since it moved to the new stadium. Players partitioning without dugouts anymore , is another , with only certain players sat on padded seats whilst the rest are sat in plastic stadium seating .
Aren’t players given any thought and their experience of a matchday . They are also subject to hearing nearby unwanted comments on occasion so very privacy to speak to each other without having to be over heard or reacting to engage with spectators comments , when they’d sooner focus on their part in protection of the dugout .
There is I’m sure a huge list no doubt of things that require sorting but cost money , yet the enlargement of the fan base starts and ends with the spectators impression felt and left with every home game .. let’s hope our cup run buys a better pa system and gets the club into the 21st century!!
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Whatever they’ve done with the test has completely destroyed the speakers in the ground on the West, sound perfect however in the concourse - putting them back to how they were will be like an upgrade lol
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While the PA system isn't great and perhaps costs were cut when the stadium was built, it is worth remembering that we got an unbelievable deal both with getting the stadium built and then our later long term tenancy.
We got a modern, 15,000 seater stadium with a load of potential commercial revenue streams attached, for precisely zero pounds and zero pence. Even two decades ago this stadium cost in the region of £20 million to construct. We later got a 99 year lease at an inflation-linked £100k annual rent, which I would guess is roughly the annual salary of Jamie Sterry. Again, we paid zero pounds and zero pence for this deal.
If some of the PA set up wasn't great when it was originally built, it was a very small price to pay.
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A penalty off a play off final last year after best last third of a season most can remember, and sitting third currently. If only there were some hopes that things have changed
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A penalty off a play off final last year after best last third of a season most can remember, and sitting third currently. If only there were some hopes that things have changed
How big is the membership of clubs in league 2 that have been given a 15,000 seat stadium with a low annual rental? There's not many in the league above or even Championship level, mind you it was entertaining listening to how badly run a team currently 3 points off the play offs in the Championship are
The stadium wasn't 'given' to anyone, DRFC was offered a lease, the mangement and the benefactors worked on their business plan to bring the stadium into profitability with hard work over quite a few years.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
Absolutely zero chance it gets overturned.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
Absolutely zero chance it gets overturned.
Zero?
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Wonder where we'd be now without the council handing over the stadium with a low rent? The narrative of cut back to almost zero financial input from the owner (sustainablity) has led to a situation where there are now signs of Anorexia Nervosa with the patient.
T.Bramall said at the M.T.O "can we do it with less money, we think we can" his actual words.
Not a great legacy so far, decline over the last few years and in the bottom division two successive seasons for the first time since Richarson.
Sorry to be pedantic, mate, but this is now our 3rd successive season in the bottom division.
We desperately need to get out this season.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
Absolutely zero chance it gets overturned.
Zero?
Desperately bad decision.
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Come on Gaz, it’s never a red card. It will probably be rescinded.
On another note. No idea what we’ve done with the PA system. No longer even audible in west stand. Whatever they have done has made it 100x worse
Absolutely zero chance it gets overturned.
Zero?
Desperately bad decision.
Yeah I agree, should never have been a red card. Always knew it would be overturned
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Wonder where we'd be now without the council handing over the stadium with a low rent? The narrative of cut back to almost zero financial input from the owner (sustainablity) has led to a situation where there are now signs of Anorexia Nervosa with the patient.
T.Bramall said at the M.T.O "can we do it with less money, we think we can" his actual words.
Not a great legacy so far, decline over the last few years and in the bottom division two successive seasons for the first time since Richarson.
Sorry to be pedantic, mate, but this is now our 3rd successive season in the bottom division.
We desperately need to get out this season.
Agreed Scawsby, I honestly believe if we can get out of this league we will flourish in league 1, it's just getting there!