Is it time for Dick Knight to go ?

[Lord Large]

I don't know, how do you separate Dick Knight from his ego?

(Awaits punchline)

Seriously, I think the man clearly loves the club and wants what is best for the fans and everyone concerned. I just worry his ego gets in the way more often than it should.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

correct

thirded.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Dave, sorry to be thick, but how exactly does Pay On The Gate help get people home quickly?

it doesnt, its just part of the package....what I was suggesting was that at the Goldstone for example, if you had been down to play cricket or football, you could make your way to the ground, hand over your £3 and by three you were in.

If the albion are suggesting that we can buy tickets away from the ground, say train stations, or kiosks then on present form, where there have been almighty f*** ups with ticket collection, this is one big hassle and may put people off. If they adopted the Millwall scheme, where there are booths open to buy a ticket next to the turnstile, then at least people would be at the ground to buy tickets rather than away from it ( so reducing the " oh f*** it I am not waiting for this" factor)

 

[Dave the OAP]

This is SIMPLY NOT TRUE, Dave.

There will be MORE parking than would normally be permitted by government guidelines. 2,350 spaces.

This extract from the Secretary of State's letter, granting planning permission, makes it quite clear:-

62. For the reasons given in paragraphs IRa18.121 – 18.122, the Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector that the level of “on-the-day” parking provision proposed by this scheme exceeds PPG13 standards and is inconsistent with national guidance on reducing parking to promote sustainable travel choices. However, the Secretary of State notes that this available parking would be shared with the University of Sussex and Falmer High School and therefore will not be solely for the use of the stadium traffic. She also notes that the proposed condition limiting the number of existing available car parking spaces to 2,350 was available for comment at the inquiry, but that there were no objections to the proposed condition. Having regard to her conclusions in paragraph 60 above as to the accessibility of the application site, the Secretary of State does not consider that the level of parking is sufficient to warrant refusal of the proposals, and has adopted the condition as proposed. In the light of her conclusions as to the lack of any suitable alternative site having been put forward for the proposed community stadium and for the above reasons, the Secretary of State disagrees with the Inspector’s conclusion in IRa18.136 and concludes that the proposed development complies with PPG13 to an acceptable degree.



And this is the planning condition that applies:-

39. The Stadium shall not be brought into use unless and until details of arrangements for car parking for a minimum of 2,000 and a maximum of 2,200 cars at Sussex University and Falmer High School or at alternative locations within 1.5km of the Stadium have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority and the said car parking provided. No Outdoor Event for which these parking spaces are required in accordance with the Travel Management Plan shall take place unless such parking spaces are available for use by persons attending the said Outdoor Event.

The total number of car parking spaces to be provided for Outdoor Event traffic shall not exceed 2,350 within 1.5km of the Stadium.

2250 x 4 = 9000 people travelling by car, excellent. I am happy now. But didnt Perry say that they would make it unviable for people to park?

 

[Simster]

can I just say,just to tempre the comments above, that although my support for the club feels to be draining away and I am finding it increasingly difficult to get excited about a club I once loved , I have nothing but admiration for all those people who helped save the club, wrote letters, went on marches,etc etc ( I did some of those things myself).

I would also like to see DK walk out in the sun at Falmer with the fans and supporters having a brand new shiny stadium to play in. I am not sure if I agree with the statement that we "deserve " it, there are many many clubs in dire straights that one could also say deserve a stadium, and to be perfectly blunt, if the supporters of the club in the days before the Goldstone had to be sold had come along and supported the club week in week out, you could say we would never have had to be in this position. Which is my concern over Falmer in a nutshell. we know the business plan relies on a certain number of fans turning up through the gates.....we know that pay on the gate is not an option ( but pay at a station or such like is) we know there will be no parking, we know that it is too far out of town to walk, therefore we will have to rely on trains and busses. Our park and Ride sceme busses are a fiasco and many people gave up long ago with this etc etc. The club are relying on thousands of people staying behind after a game until crowds filetr away. This is flawed. Look at every ground on Sky/BBC/Sentanta etc at the end of a game, within 10 minutes its empty....people want to go home!.

I know it is pre-empting and the stadium has not yet been built!, however the club MUST get rid of the hassle factor for the majority of fans...OK Ed will say he is happy to stay behind to get his train to Glynde, BUT there will be thousands coming from BRIGHTON who will want away quickly, and away fans wanting to get home, and I say again, WE MUST HAVE PAY ON THE GATE WITHOUT HASSLE

That wa smore what I was getting at

To be honest Dave, that is a top, top post. People will start off buying in advance and queuing up patiently for a train home, but 3 years on people will definitely have had enough of having to behave completely differently to fans everywhere else in the country.

 

[clippedgull]

Anyone like this suggestion? For late deciders.

You apply to become a member of BHA (free!) you lodge your credit card/debit card details with the club. (In advance!)

You get given a special 'club style plastic swipe thing!'

You turn up on the day, swipe your card at an electronic booth (dotted around the perimeter of the stadium). pick your seat, ticket printed out. You go in via the 'electronic turnstile'

Your account will be debited by the club.

For games that are likely to be sell outs then that system may have to be suspended and any fans that need tickets would have to buy in advance. Maybe 2 or 3 a season.

 

[Knotty]

If there are any alternatives then Dick should go.

If there is not, well we could have worse people in charge.

I think the problem is less Dick Knight, more Dick Knight's ego.

You must know him pretty well to know that his ego is a problem.

Given that you do, what is the problem with his ego, exactly?

 

[Simster]

2250 x 4 = 9000 people travelling by car, excellent. I am happy now. But didnt Perry say that they would make it unviable for people to park?

It's not really 9,000 though. It's about 7,000 because it's not as if every car is going to be full.

And 7,000 is only going to be half the break-even gate I suspect. This wouldn't be a problem if the ground was centrally located, but I think it might be at Falmer.

 

[El Presidente]

You must know him pretty well to know that his ego is a problem.

Given that you do, what is the problem with his ego, exactly?

I think the problem is with his id, not his ego.

 

[Seagull73]

It's not really 9,000 though. It's about 7,000 because it's not as if every car is going to be full.

And 7,000 is only going to be half the break-even gate I suspect. This wouldn't be a problem if the ground was centrally located, but I think it might be at Falmer.

What even though the highly successful park and ride scheme will be in operation, and the fact that it is right next to a train station along a busy South-East coast railway line?

Yeah, I can see transportation to the ground being a real problem!!

The entire ethos of the stadium was built around public transport, and not personal vehicle travel. I don't understand why anybody would move into this debate now, when this is all we have heard for the last 7 years?

 

[Simster]

What even though the highly successful park and ride scheme will be in operation, and the fact that it is right next to a train station along a busy South-East coast railway line?

Yeah, I can see transportation to the ground being a real problem!!

The entire ethos of the stadium was built around public transport, and not personal vehicle travel. I don't understand why anybody would move into this debate now, when this is all we have heard for the last 7 years?

All good points sir, but the reason people didn't talk about it earlier was because we were told Falmer was the only option. To pick it apart for being so worthy given the problems the club was having securing the land might have been considered almost treacherous by some on here. Christ, posters like SuperPhil are still on here moaning at anyone who doesn't hold his own rose tinted view on things. And if the club were to ever expand, then 2250 spaces is clearly nowhere near big enough (but let's get it built first eh! ).

 

[1067Seagull]

i and adrie,s hopeing for a GULLS win on friday so we can go out in hoveacttually and everyone will be drunk and the girls will be happy with three points so it cuold be a dick knight for adrie and me if we get beyond a snogg. come on you GULLS YAY for victory

 

[Seagull73]

All good points sir, but the reason people didn't talk about it earlier was because we were told Falmer was the only option.

Sorry, are you saying that now Falmer is being built and we have the land and planning permission that there are more suddenly more suitable alternatives?

To pick it apart for being so worthy given the problems the club was having securing the land might have been considered almost treacherous by some on here. Christ, posters like SuperPhil are still on here moaning at anyone who doesn't hold his own rose tinted view on things. And if the club were to ever expand, then 2250 spaces is clearly nowhere near big enough (but let's get it built first eh! ).

I think once the stadium is built, expansion plans (should they ever be needed), would incorporate that. But don't forget, it's not just the 2,250 spaces at the stadium, there are also a further 2,500 spaces at locations close to the stadium, so there are alternatives.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

But don't forget, it's not just the 2,250 spaces at the stadium, there are also a further 2,500 spaces at locations close to the stadium, so there are alternatives.

No.

"The total number of car parking spaces to be provided for Outdoor Event traffic shall not exceed 2,350 within 1.5km of the Stadium".

That is the 2,200 at Sussex University and Falmer High School and a small number of spaces for players, officials, staff and disabled people at the stadium itself.

Other locations nearby will be impossible to park in - eg the A27 (it's a clearway, with stopping banned), the road to Woodingdean (expect yellow lines) and Falmer Village (already with yellow lines, time restricted parking, residents' parking scheme and ESCC's notorious parking wardens just ready to fine transgressors, like they already do in the streets around the Dripping Pan when Lewes are playing).

Park and Ride, buses and trains will fill the gap between car park capacity and tickets sold.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Hull City provide 1100 parking spaces (@£3 a time), plus a Park & Ride facility that can cope with 650 cars (free parking, with a £2 return fare on the buses). On-street parking near the stadium is residents only - with parking wardens and fines for illegal parking.

Beyond that, there are the City Centre car parks (£3.60 for up to 4 hours) and a bus ride or walk to the stadium.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

No.

"The total number of car parking spaces to be provided for Outdoor Event traffic shall not exceed 2,350 within 1.5km of the Stadium".

Just as a matter of interest, what does 2,350 car parking spaces provided translate into in terms of bus parking spaces provided? 500 maybe?

So some very rough maths might give figures:

2000 car spaces x average 2.5 people per car = 5000 spectators

500 bus spaces x average 30 people per bus = 15000 spectators

Add in the train capacity and it all seems to fit quite nicely if the emphasis remains on public transport.

 

[clippedgull]

500 bus spaces x average 30 people per bus = 15000 spectators

500 buses

B&H struggle to provide four heading back into Brighton after a game from Withdean!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

500 buses

B&H struggle to provide four heading back into Brighton after a game from Withdean!

OK. Just to keep you updated: I have now gone and sat in the corner and thought about what I posted

 

[Pavilionaire]

To get back on topic, there are 2 issues here - the footballing side and the non-footballing side.

To start with the latter, Dick Knight and his team have worked tirelessly to get things right so I have no beef with DK and think the job that's been done has been excellent.

As for the footballing side, DK has to come out and back the manager publicly. It would also help if he could shed a little more light on the murky manoeuvres that saw Wilkins sacked but then offered the post of coach straight after.

A lot of fans I know lost a lot of respect for Dick over the Wilkins affair and the haste with which Adams was reappointed, and I don't think Dick has managed to justify his actions.

I think Adams WILL get us out of this mess but as each day passes and managers like Ince and McAllister are getting sacked for less I'm half-expecting the Albion to be next to wield the axe.

I'm also concerned that some of the players might already be looking for a move away for next season. Whether or not we survive will not mask the fact that the present management team is tactically inept, and I worry that Elphick and Murray in particular will follow Lynch out of the door.

 

[Ernest]

I can't BELIEVE that nearly 20% of NSC wants the potless pillock OUT and I bet the bearded BUFFOON is TREMBLING in his christmas trifle now he knows that the GAMES up and he has been SUSSED out.

KNIGHT OUT

SACK THE BOARD