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Post by Andy on Apr 12, 2024 14:16:18 GMT
I dont bring my youngsters along any longer whenever i think there is going to be a biggish crowd (2,500+). The views of the match when you are under 5 foot in height are hopeless, unless you can get right up to the barrier. Any trip to the toilets, catering or anything else and you're stuffed. Just very irritating to see away supporters so well treated. Perhaps the answer is to try and smuggle the kids in with them.
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Post by jdl on Apr 12, 2024 20:12:00 GMT
This could become a serious issue on the last day (not quite the last day, but you know what I mean). Chances are H&R could still need to win that game (as probably, will we), so they'll turn up in numbers. And Plod will almost certainly declare the game segregated.
So, we'll end up with maybe 3,000 home fans (possibly even more), with only half the EE available, crap sight-lines for many, long queues for food/drink/loos, etc. Whilst a few hundred H&R fans have what is, by NS standards, a luxury away experience.
And repeat for the semi and (possibly) final. Against sides just as desperate to win as us, and capable of turning up in numbers...
If the barrier can be moved for a hypothetical home Cup game against Man U, surely it can be moved as well for our two/three most important home games of the season?
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Post by Benny on Apr 12, 2024 21:04:37 GMT
4200 capacity minus 800 for the away end and Genco hooligan advert equals 3400 home capacity.
Anything above 2500 home fans will be uncomfortable.
If the away team swap ends, which they invariably do given the chance, there will be the usual rush to swap ends.
Wonder if it will be all ticket.
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Post by jdl on Apr 12, 2024 23:19:53 GMT
If it matters to one or both teams, I would think so.
More thoughts on all this:
The problem isn't just that away fans get a large chunk of our best terrace - they also don't get anything else. So, if we have to allow more away fans than that bit of the Genco will hold, we've got problems - where do the rest go? And, in the meantime, we will get games where a large part of the Genco is empty, but can't be used by home fans.
The obvious solution (excluding the really obvious solution - passim) would be to give the away fans the other end of the Genco. Then we could permanently move the barrier closer to that end, allowing more space for home fans - and if we needed to accommodate more away fans on occasions, they could have that half of the river side as well.
Of course, as always, there would be problems with this. Some (eg fencing off the riverside) would be relatively easy and cheap, but others (eg separating home and away fans between the away turnstiles and the home bit of the Genco) would be tricky and expensive. But the results might be worth the expense, as it would reduce home fans annoyance by giving them most of the Genco for all games, and by partly allaying the feeling that the away fans were being treated better.
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Post by 61666 on Apr 13, 2024 4:10:44 GMT
For all our success this season, recent postings across a number of threads indicate more than a degrees of dissatisfaction with the way the Club is conducting itself. Maybe a hat is also reflected in reduced gates too? Either way, it is something that has been rumbling on for too long now and will certainly need addressing should be getting promotion.
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Post by Nick on Apr 13, 2024 8:10:05 GMT
No question, this issue has been rumbling on for such a long time, with home supporters becoming increasingly fed up.
It's strange that the club doesn't seem to get it !
Until it does, nothing will get done, but the disgruntlement won't go away.
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Post by daveu on Apr 13, 2024 8:56:38 GMT
I suspect that all the “cheap” options put forward by supporters won’t satisfy the safety authority. I’m pretty sure I remember Oliver saying the cost of reconfiguring the town end for away supporters was prohibitive. I guess we’re stuck with what we’ve got until someone comes up with a substantial pot of cash.
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Post by jdl on Apr 13, 2024 9:24:49 GMT
So, an interesting dilemma - we need to grow our gates to sustain higher level football, but can't afford to make the changes necessary to do this.
We appear to be stuck as a NS/NL yo-yo club until new owners/'investors' can be found.
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Post by Benny on Apr 13, 2024 10:15:40 GMT
That assumes the current situation is revenue neutral. The cost of temporary scaffolding at the perimeter fence. Of steel structures built beneath the Genco hooligan barrier. Of increased stewarding and police to keep spotty teenagers apart who would never fight given the actual chance. Of reduced capacity where the barrier sits. Of providing a catering outlet and bar for 30 people. Even if just 100 on average are discouraged from attending, that’s £1,000 per game, or £25,000 per year. We’ve just had an £800,000 windfall. Spending £50,000 of that on three fences, a new home fans exit, and some cheap seats on the riverside would be just 6.25% of the cup money. And would not only save money in the long term, would eliminate the biggest cost, the ongoing damage to the good reputation of Maidstone United Football Club.
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Post by grovergreenstone on Apr 13, 2024 11:19:32 GMT
Exactly, the Cup money must have some left for ground improvements that help make match day better for families/U13's.
If there isn't any money left, then the club would be in big trouble without the cup run.
Are we living that close to the edge ?
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Post by stones1 on Apr 13, 2024 11:43:43 GMT
The money doesn't stretch nearly as far as we expect it to.
It's pre-tax for a start so that immediately wipes out a huge chunk of it.
You'd imagine the players get a healthy bonus (presumably near enough 50 grand when split between them all) - and quite rightly so as they are the ones who did the business on the pitch.
It probably does just about cover the cost of the pitch, TE toilets (which do need condemning) and gantry with a small amount left over.
I wouldn't say this means we're living close to the edge but more that you can't build anything worth building for the money you have left. Though it's a shame the run doesn't leave a sa new stand as it's legacy - but would be a bit underwhelming if it was just town end covering for the riverside.
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Post by jdl on Apr 13, 2024 12:44:26 GMT
Two things puzzle me about the Cup money:
1. It doesn't seem as much as we thought it might be, in fact it seems to be rapidly disappearing altogether. And yet Cup runs are always talked about in terms of once in a blue moon opportunities to spend on important things. When we asked how lowly Sutton could afford promotion to the League (including replacing their pitch), we were told it was because of their Cup run... Both these things can't be true.
2) We needed a new pitch and TE toilets anyway - even before the Cup run, so these must have been budgeted for. So, how come all this extra money is going to be used up doing things that we (apparently) already had the money budgeted for?
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Post by stones1 on Apr 13, 2024 12:52:35 GMT
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I recall Sutton doing a deal with the Sun for a shed load of cash?
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Post by grovergreenstone on Apr 13, 2024 13:36:48 GMT
Two things puzzle me about the Cup money: 1. It doesn't seem as much as we thought it might be, in fact it seems to be rapidly disappearing altogether. And yet Cup runs are always talked about in terms of once in a blue moon opportunities to spend on important things. When we asked how lowly Sutton could afford promotion to the League (including replacing their pitch), we were told it was because of their Cup run... Both these things can't be true. 2) We needed a new pitch and TE toilets anyway - even before the Cup run, so these must have been budgeted for. So, how come all this extra money is going to be used up doing things that we (apparently) already had the money budgeted for? Exactly, so either we hadn't budgeted for the pitch, gantry & toilets so would have taken a loan to pay for it ? Or we had budgeted for it all and the owners who are looking to sell want to hold back every penny they can. And talking of Suttons cup run. They had 3rd, 4th and 5th round ties all at home, with a maximum of 5000 attendance. So our trips to Ipswich and Coventry would have made us more money than Suttons run.
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Post by pwoodstone on Apr 13, 2024 13:45:36 GMT
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I recall Sutton doing a deal with the Sun for a shed load of cash? They did. The advantage of playing Arsenal instead of Coventry
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