Harty's Phone In Thread (18/02/06)

[Yorkie]

Infernal Optimist do you buy a programme? There's loads of info in that.

 

[Bromley shrimp]

No, I'm not saying that at all

The potential fan base is huge, but the best marketeer/salesman in the world can't sell a primitive dump like Withdean to them, evidence, look at all the rocketing attendances of clubs that have moved from even better grounds than Withdean to modern stadiums, their attendances have shot up, the latest example this season is Swansea at the Liberty stadium.

We are now in an incredibly difficult position to compete with a team like Swansea given the new scale of their revenues and budgets.

Maybe it's just me and the like who are not put off by the conditions and I should really take an overall picture of what other people are prepared to tolerate.
I came into work today to be told by a Millwall supporter that they'd climbed above us. You see if we lose I tend to switch off as I'm that annoyed, but ground conditions don't come into it, bearing in mind I've been going with my boy then aged 5 since Withdean opened.

He's never ever complained about the Withdean conditions, just accepts it as part and parcel.

On a bright note, he told me on Friday night (for the 1st time) to put PNE tickets on hold until after Watford as he didn't like seeing us lose every week.
Almost immediately after he said "Dad get PNE tickets - I've just seen a good game from the Albion".

There are doubtless thousands of kids from the next generations who could be passionate about the Albion. We just have to keep our sights set high on the park for them wherever we end up playing.

 

[Storer68]

Who has suggested a 'conspiracy'?

Errr You did.

 

[Superphil]

The Pom Pom girls got changed in the Hospitality Lounge (in the lounge, not the changing rooms). None of them were shy

Some of the guys we were with were having trouble not spilling their pints, I only had eyes for Superwife of course.

 

[Superphil]

Exactly my point. To be fair I did see around 20 Nsc'ers at the last one and they did ask a couple of questions.

But all people are baying for here is to get DK on the radio. They don't want to face him at a Fans Forum. They may even get some answers. Not necessarily the ones they want to hear mind you.

I was at the last one, and I asked a very difficult question to MM, and he could not grasp what I was talking about, took the hump and told me that our current midfielders were good enough.

I asked him something like this.

"As a team we are lacking in a creative midfielder, what have you been doing during the summer to ensure our current midfielders improve their game"

He denied we lacked a creative midfielder and told me I was the only person who thought that, to which I said that us fans who go week in week out regularly discuss, at games, on NSC, in the pub, that we need a creative midfielder. He wasn't having any of it and went for another question from someone else.

He did describe a young French lad he was hoping to sign, who was the spitting image of Leon Knight........ "and he's black" he said.

 

[Yorkie]

I remember that. At least you went and asked the question.
Did we ever sign that French lad?

 

[BensGrandad]

London Irish are now at the 11k average mark, but we are having such a storming finish to the season, I reckon we are likely to finish with something like a 12k or 13k season average, two near sell-outs of the Madjet are forecast in coming months.

At our old Sunbury ground, we averaged just over 4k in our final season there in 1999. It's been steady year on year progress about 20 or 30 per cent a season, and it's been interesting to watch the various marketing and ticket offer techniques that have produced that huge rise.

A professional rugby franchise at the Falmer stadium would work very well I reckon, with star names I think you would get crowds of between 5 and 8 thousand very quickly.

A new rugby professional franchise has just been set up in Perth, Western Australia, its opening crowd was 37,000 and it already has 21,000 members. It didn't exist up to a year ago.

Leisure and sport is a massive growth industry worldwide. The potential for the Albion is phenomenal IMHO.

I will bring up your attendance figures with Wally when I see him at the end of March and continue my debate with him.

My thinking was that the nearest top rugby club to Brighton was
Outside of London and that witha little enterprise they could have formed an alliance with Brighton Rugby Club whose owner I believe own the Marina and whose President is Mr McCarthy on Brighton Council, so you would have had a combination of money and power on the council.

Where could we have built the stadium Waterhall as I believe Brighton Rugby Club play now how about Falmer just off of the A27.

 

[London Irish]

The Pom Pom girls got changed in the Hospitality Lounge (in the lounge, not the changing rooms). None of them were shy

Some of the guys we were with were having trouble not spilling their pints, I only had eyes for Superwife of course.

Now that's one way to boost income from corporate/business doners

 

[saltash seagull]

I wouldn't mind a Fans Forum actually, but it's true that if you go by previous practice, the only people who actually turn up to them are the massed ranks of rose-tinters, lemmings, club lickspittles, cronies and Breast supporters

I guess the other lot are not used to asking a question where you don't have to mouse-click Submit Reply

all i see at the forums is the same faces i see week in week out on the terraces round the country im not talking ur spurs or palace games im talking about the one's i'll see on a cold tuesday night at carlisle next season! now this is not a dig at you li or at any1 else cos i don't know most of you from adam but those that turn up at fans forums seem to me to be the hard core that are there week in week out regardless of where and when it is the ones that if old enough use to do the same during the gillingham days

 

[saltash seagull]

I was at the last one, and I asked a very difficult question to MM, and he could not grasp what I was talking about, took the hump and told me that our current midfielders were good enough.

I asked him something like this.

"As a team we are lacking in a creative midfielder, what have you been doing during the summer to ensure our current midfielders improve their game"

He denied we lacked a creative midfielder and told me I was the only person who thought that, to which I said that us fans who go week in week out regularly discuss, at games, on NSC, in the pub, that we need a creative midfielder. He wasn't having any of it and went for another question from someone else.

He did describe a young French lad he was hoping to sign, who was the spitting image of Leon Knight........ "and he's black" he said.

yer he didn't like any questioning if you ask me you asked that and he totally dismissed,remember some1 else suggesting mark yates who's done very well at colchester and surely alongside chippy or hammond would have given us another option to play another system to change things when they weren't working ect colchester play him and garcia just off big chris we could have tried that with trolley up there and seb and yatsey playing of him with charlie,hammond or chippy sitting behind

 

[London Irish]

yer he didn't like any questioning if you ask me you asked that and he totally dismissed,remember some1 else suggesting mark yates who's done very well at colchester and surely alongside chippy or hammond would have given us another option to play another system to change things when they weren't working ect colchester play him and garcia just off big chris we could have tried that with trolley up there and seb and yatsey playing of him with charlie,hammond or chippy sitting behind

We could have, but Yeates reputation as a teamworker is poor and we went for Frutos and Seb as our creative atacking midfielders. I'd like to point out that Yeates has scored 3 goals in 31 games in tier 3 this season, a poorer rate than Frutos who is playing in a division higher and in a far less free-flowing team!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

We could have, but Yeates reputation as a teamworker is poor and we went for Frutos and Seb as our creative atacking midfielders. I'd like to point out that Yeates has scored 3 goals in 31 games in tier 3 this season, a poorer rate than Frutos who is playing in a division higher and in a far less free-flowing team!

The phone-in was FOUR days ago. You got the last word. Well done, you must be very proud

 

[Harty]

No Tom I get the last word....C u all Satdi.

 

[simonsimon]

HARTY v LONDON IRISH

Fight ?

 

[Beach Hut]

London Irish could start a fight in a room on his own

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

London Irish could start a fight in a room on his own

And he still wouldn't win.....