Football Focus

[luckymucklebackit]

On that basis, I think that you could still find some equivalence.

 

It is only for the benefit of the Pools companies that we get to hear about teams in the third tier of Scottish football, some of whose matches are attended by fewer than 200 souls. If BBC and others were to report on the likes of Tooting and Mitcham, Kingstonian, Dulwich Hamlet, Welling, Harrow and Wealdstone.......... all of whom have much higher attendance figures, you would see that there are an equivalent number of professional/semi-professional clubs in Greater London.

 

The problem for the lower tier teams in Scotland is that we no longer appear on the pools coupons, the coupons that remain now prefer to include the fifth tier of the Football League in preference to the lower Scottish Leagues.  Indeed the teams in the lower Scottish leagues suffer from very limited coverage by the BBC at regional level and none at National Level, as a result the attendances have declined over the years.  My team, Airdrie, plays in the third tier of Scottish Football, our average gate is 850, which in a 10,000 all seater stadium provides very little atmosphere.  In the 1970s we could attract an average of 3000, with bigger crowds for cup ties.  I have fond memories of that period with victories in the Texaco cup over Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and today's heroes Huddersfield Town, beaten by an aggregate score of 7-2!!

There are actually many more Semi Professional Clubs in Scotland, there are 16 clubs in the Lowland League, 18 in the Highland League and no less than 159 clubs in the Scottish Junior League, many of whom are better supported than the senior clubs but are almost unknown outside of their own supporters.

 

Jim

[pH]

By the way the last time I visited Glasgow I also noted many football fields filled with exuberant amateurs on Saturday mornings. I’m certain that such teams in Scotland still exist even now, though maybe Rugby was more popular.

 

Pete, there are problems with trying to play rugby on crushed ash or red blaes pitches! (Football can be painful as well.) Also, at least into the 1960s in the west of Scotland, there was a definite class element in who played rugby and who didn't.

[devonseasider]

My thoughts do go out to Blackpool fans because, behind the scenes, it appears the club has not been well run for a long time. I understand the fan's sentiments and feel it is a shame that they did not go to Wembley. However I am not questioning their decision.

 

No suggestion that you were doing that Andy, at least none intended.  Apologies if I gave that impression.

 

What I was trying to do was highlight the split amongst the supporters.

 

There are those with more extreme views who feel strongly that no-one should go through the turnstiles.  The argument is that no income will hasten the Oystons' departure.  Those who do go are seen in the same light as the Oystons themselves.  I don't think there's been any actual physical intervention yet but it wouldn't surprise me if that happened, feelings in some quarters are running that high.  Not only has Karl Oyston alienated himself from the supporters but he's also created an incredible amount of ill-feeling between the various elements of that fanbase.  It will take years to heal once things finally sort themselves out, assuming they ever do, and in the meantime there's going to be a lost generation of potential fans who will look elsewhere.

Very difficult, very emotive & very sad.

 

Sunday's ticket sales for Blackpool are generally being reported as a little over 5500 although that probably includes staff freebies etc.  Under normal circumstances I would have expected nearer to 20k.  For the 2010 play off against Yeovil the total attendance was almost 60k, while the two championship play offs against Cardiff & West Ham each saw around 35k in the Blackpool end.  Admittedly, in the latter case, that did include a considerable number of 'Ammers who had been able to buy tickets from Bloomfield Road due to, how shall I put it?, problems in the ticket office.  That's another story and again I'll say no more!

 

Anyway, the next big match involving Blackpool starts next week at the High Court in that there London.  This time it's club president, Latvian banker & 20% shareholder Valerie Belokon versus the Oystons.

Should be interesting.

[Horsetan]

.....Not only has Karl Oyston alienated himself from the supporters but he's also created an incredible amount of ill-feeling between the various elements of that fanbase.....

 

Sounds a bit like Venky's and Blackburn.

[andyram]

No suggestion that you were doing that Andy, at least none intended.  Apologies if I gave that impression.

 

What I was trying to do was highlight the split amongst the supporters.

 

There are those with more extreme views who feel strongly that no-one should go through the turnstiles.  The argument is that no income will hasten the Oystons' departure.  Those who do go are seen in the same light as the Oystons themselves.  I don't think there's been any actual physical intervention yet but it wouldn't surprise me if that happened, feelings in some quarters are running that high.  Not only has Karl Oyston alienated himself from the supporters but he's also created an incredible amount of ill-feeling between the various elements of that fanbase.  It will take years to heal once things finally sort themselves out, assuming they ever do, and in the meantime there's going to be a lost generation of potential fans who will look elsewhere.

Very difficult, very emotive & very sad.

 

Sunday's ticket sales for Blackpool are generally being reported as a little over 5500 although that probably includes staff freebies etc.  Under normal circumstances I would have expected nearer to 20k.  For the 2010 play off against Yeovil the total attendance was almost 60k, while the two championship play offs against Cardiff & West Ham each saw around 35k in the Blackpool end.  Admittedly, in the latter case, that did include a considerable number of 'Ammers who had been able to buy tickets from Bloomfield Road due to, how shall I put it?, problems in the ticket office.  That's another story and again I'll say no more!

 

Anyway, the next big match involving Blackpool starts next week at the High Court in that there London.  This time it's club president, Latvian banker & 20% shareholder Valerie Belokon versus the Oystons.

Should be interesting.

 

I did not take any offence at your comments. I am simply highlighting my sympathy towards Blackpool fans. I really hope things sort out positively in the near future. It must be heartbreaking for true fans to feel like they should stay / need to stay away. When clubs, that have been around for so long, are under the ownership of people who seem not to have the best interest of the club at heart, their future existence can be thrown into doubt. We have already seen what has happened to Leyton Orient this season whilst Blackpool are joined by Blackburn and Coventry in being owned by complete ar$#####s. Worrying times for fans.

[devonseasider]

Sounds a bit like Venky's and Blackburn.

 

Some similarities but overall I think it's more toxic at Blackpool than the others.

[Ohmisterporter]

For Blackpool fans the quandary is do they want the club to fail or succeed? Will the Oystons be more likely to sell the club if it is high up the leagues and they can get more for it, whereas a club in the bottom tier will attract a lower price? It seems crazy to say that reaching the Prem again could be a disaster, but with the millions available even to teams that get relegated after the first season there would be no chance the greedy family would sell the cash cow. Well done Huddersfield I hope you have better owners than 'pool.

Edited May 30, 2017 by Ohmisterporter

[andyram]

I just hope the actions of the boycotting Blackpool fans do not leave the club in financial ruin. I genuinely hope that the fans succeed in getting their club back and that they can thrive again.

[BoD]

For those football fans who have in any way followed young Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery's fight against cancer (and there aren't many who haven't) this was posted on Facebook a couple of hours ago.

 

Bradley lowery's fight against neuroblastoma

 

Sorry for the lack of updates Iv needed some time to digest some information.

 

Bradley has been having radio therapy to help control the pain he was having in his leg. This has helped but unfortunately pain has started else where now due to tumours growing all over.

 

On Thursday after Bradley's last radio he took poorly and his saturation levels where very low (this is the amount of oxygen he is getting into his body), because we weren't at the RVI where he is normally treated the nurse had to get an ambulance to blue light him there.

 

Once we were there Bradley's consultant checked him over and sent him for a chest x Ray. The results were devastating, all of Bradley's tumours have grown really fast. The reason his oxygen levels are low is because there isn't much room in his lungs now. I was told Bradley has now only got weeks to live because of how rapid the cancer is spreading.

 

Yes I knew this was coming but I thought it was going to be months not weeks. My heart is broken in two, it is too soon for this to happen, it should never be happening to start with. My baby has had to put up with so much over the past 4 years and now he has to suffer a painful death. How is that fair??? Why should any parent have to be put through this heart ache???

 

Heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking.

[laurenceb]

Puts things in perspective dont it

[andyram]

There cannot be many people in this country whose hearts have not been touched by this brave little boy. Thoughts to him, but also to his parents. Sometimes life really is not fair!

[Two_sugars]

I read the report on the local Teletext news. . . If you hadn't posted it, I would have....

 

What a BIG Little Man.

 

 

 

John

[Brit70053]

I'm no good with finding appropriate words for this heart breaking situation, but My thoughts are with Bradley, his family and everyone who has been closely involved with this inspiring young man.

 

John

[Mike Kieran]

I was about to sarcastically post about Cristiano Ronaldo's celebratory hair cut, but there is no joke that can erase the heartache of a child needlessly suffering like such. It always brings tears to my eyes to see news like this.

 

A tip of the hat to Jermaine Defoe for spending as much time as he does with Bradley offering whatever support that he can. A quality human being.

[Ohmisterporter]

I just want to say congratulations to the England under 20 team for becoming world champions; an achievement that has been overlooked IMHO because too few over rated and overpaid prima donas were involved. And well done to manager Paul Simpson, one time Blackpool player (and about nine other clubs).

[gwrrob]

I'll be interested in how many of these players are in the full England squad in five years time.

[cary hill]

i'll be interested to see how many of those players go on to get regular first team football with their clubs. or will they be squeezed out by "ready made" foreign mercenaries as is often the case at present?

Edited June 12, 2017 by cary hill

[BoD]

Great to see, but I hope we don't start talking about another Golden generation. Previous Golden generations didn't even reach the giddy heights of bronze.

[andyram]

I echo the comments in recent posts. Congratulations to the England Under 20 team and manager Paul Simpson. A great achievement. Good to know that Simmo did not pick up too many tips from the Wally with the Brolly during his stint as his assistant manager at Derby County.

[devonseasider]

Apparently a few "interesting" snippets starting to come out at the High Court in the Belokon vs Owen & Karl Oyston / Blackpool FC unfair prejudice case.

People who understand the legal intricacies seem quite encouraged / optimistic about this last week's proceedings.

Edited June 17, 2017 by devonseasider

[Joseph_Pestell]

i'll be interested to see how many of those players go on to get regular first team football with their clubs. or will they be squeezed out by "ready made" foreign mercenaries as is often the case at present?

Four of the players from Everton. So I, too, hope that they get a chance and are successful at Premiership level. Not too optimistic though as we have gone on a spending spree this week and our track record with young stars is not the best.

[Stubby47]

RIP Bradley Lowery

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39883344

[NHY 581]

RIP Bradley Lowery

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39883344

 

A truly courageous, inspirational little boy.

 

God bless.

[peanuts]

this is a truely awfull kit https://www.wiganathletic.com/news/2017/july/2017-18-kit-revealed/#.WV_L-WIdqE4.facebook

[devonseasider]

To return to the High Court Belokon vs Owen & Karl Oyston (Blackpool FC) unfair prejudice case, all I can say is "Wow".

I thought I'd got a pretty good idea of what's been going on for the past few years but some of the stuff that's come out is just unbelievable.  Why the Oystons would want some of those disclosures to be in the public domain is completely beyond reasonable understanding.  Belokon's legal team were from Clifford Chance.  By all accounts, the Oystons must have got their team from "take a chance"!  Needless to say, the former seem to have wiped the floor with the latter.

During questioning, Owen & Karl have contradicted themselves, each other, their advisors and their written statements.  The past few years have been such a web of lies & cover-ups that it's almost impossible for anyone, themselves included, to pick a consistent path through the maze.

 

It was stated in court that BFC should be regarded as a "property business with a football club attached".

It has been on record for some time that somewhere around £30 million has been transferred out of the "football side of the business" into other parts of the Oyston empire, often as unsecured, interest-free loans to be paid back "at the sole discretion of the loanee".  These transfers included a payment of around £11 million to a company wholly-owned by Owen for services provided to BFC.  The only slight problem here is that the company in question was, and had been for some time, dormant!

Perhaps the most telling comment, from a fan's point of view, was the Oystons' QC's assertion that it was "safer to take the money out of BFC and put it into Segesta etc rather than "squandering" it on investments for BFC such as "buying players" ".  Says it all, really.

Within 24 hours of beating Cardiff in the Championship play-off final  -  reportedly the most valuable football "prize" of all  -  there were internal memos between father (Owen - owner) & son (Karl - chairman) discussing how they could remove money from the club without other shareholders/backers being involved and how much they could take.  Incredible!

 

 

Those of you who know what's been going on and are aware of how readily they have issued defamation proceedings against any fan who has dared to question them and/or their actions (or lack of) will understand when I stress that the above is purely my understanding of the situation, may, indeed, be far from the truth and is not intended to cause any offence or distress.  If any of those apply I apologise wholeheartedly and will immediately withdraw my comments.  Anyone reading the above should not necessarily believe it to be the truth!

Hopefully that statement will be enough to cover me if any of the Oystons or their "police" are toy train fans!