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29 January 2001
Bit of site news for you : yes, the guestbook has been trimmed down. Yes, the SW19 TrimALot device was a little over zealous (so much so that it took out a vital piece of code which meant that it fucked up). And yes, I will try not to leave it quite so long next time. But the guestbook works now. Next time I have half a day spare, I'll be working on stuff like mirror sites in order to keep downtime to a minimum. Plus other things too exciting to mention.
WFC? Oh yeah. According to Wombling Free, WFC are going to do free travel up to Boro. Which is great, even though the venue in itself may well put people off. And the reputation of WFC Official Travel (hell, I'm going up by automobile....) I've noticed more and more clubs are doing this, West Ham did it for the Old Trafford visit and we were going to do it for Bradfart away last season. Bet they charge us £25 a ticket though....
I'm careful not to put this as a Dumb Rumour Of The Week contender, bearing in mind the last time I did it the thing actually happened, so here goes : Damo to Soton for £1m. Stop laughing. I seriously doubt if this is true, even the less-than-truthful TwatTalk are having doubts about it. Meanwhile, the old JH To Coventry rumours still won't go away, they may indeed come back in for £5m for him. I would like to think that if JH goes we won't need to get rid of people like Euell and Damo.
28 January 2001
And
about time too - finally, Magpies 0 Kestrels 1 gets completed,
though even THAT took about 120 minutes. This must have taken a profound
effect on people, hell it's taken me over 24 hours just to get over
the fact I won't need to go to Nottingham for a while (and if anyone
is complaining about how long the report takes, please be aware that
I do do this all in my spare time, I was working today and I was bloody
shattered last night. I've told you before about taking this site for
granted and I have no desire to keep telling you). One person who clearly
loves Nottingham is Trond : this is the second time this season he's
come by the River Trent and scored in the last minute. Just as well
really, I didn't fancy penalties. Good goal too, a strong header from
virtually 18 yards out. The rest, well.....
Plus points: A win. We're through to the next round. Angrymann played very well. The return of KC. The rehabilitation of Gareth Ainsworth (Can we fix him? Can we fuck...). No JH - hangover again - and a much more mobile team again.
Minus points: Wasting so many chances. Jason Euell didn't have a very good game. Voodoo's sending off - he just can't leave that witch alone. Realising that the next round will see us play Boro. Away. Urg.
Disappointing: The WFC turnout. Noisy, but was still the same as the fogged off game. That said, many couldn't go yesterday but just as many took their place.
Kindergarten's out on Saturday: (1) The Brimson brothers lookalikes in the Notts County stand near us who tried to large it big time. Nice Mr Policeman kept an eye on them, but they were roundly shut up by the loud WFC contingent. Nobs. (2) The 15 year old Leicester fan on the returning train who joked about our attendances. Do people still find taking the piss out of our attendances funny? Even though they stopped being funny in 1986? They must really have shit, unfullfilled lives if they do. If they were an animal they would have put out of their misery a long time ago on humane grounds. Anyway, here's a funnier joke : I've found a Leicester fan with a brain. Oh come on, it's a bit more original......
Quotes: (1) "Why is
it when you quote anything I say you never give my name?" - certain
un-named Womble. No idea Mr F..... (2) "He should be kicked out
of this club" - the bloke behind me on Voodoo (words to that effect
anyway). Bit harsh, how would YOU feel if you were cursed in the same
way as he was? (3) "P***r C**k, P***r C**k, P***r P***r C**k, they
got no hair but he don't care, P***r P***r C**k" - song on the
way back about a certain WFC director. Name changed to protect the
editor's bank balance the innocent from such scurrilous lies. I
doubt if anyone would guess who it is about anyway.
Be honest: I bet you were figuring out who was going to take the penalties 10 minutes before the end of ET. I hope TB was.
I hope......: .......that Angrymann isn't dropped horribly like he was against Pompey in place for you-know-who. That would really make Paddy live up to his name of Angrymann...
Poncy: The bijou wine bar, sorry, pub near the ground which sold beer in straight glasses and felt like a yuppie hangout. Look, we only SING about nonce things like drinking champagne. We don't actually LIVE that lifestyle. Well, I don't......
So, was it worth going up there 3 times just to see 22 grown men kick around a pigs bladder for a cup-shaped piece of tin? Why, yes it was. And it only cost £5 to get in.
In
a nutshell: Thank
fuck that's over.
So, who will we play in the
5th round if we beat Boro? Wycombe, believe it or not. At their place
too. Sadly, Lawrie is starting to become a bit of a prick towards us.
We all know his views on Dublin, and he held similar ones about MK too.
But coming on TV and saying that he doubt if he'll see us win anything
else in his lifetime is motivation enough for me. Don't you just hate
it when former greats put the boot in? And some people would like to
see him as WFC manager one day.
As is per usual on Sunday, transfer rumours abound a plenty. None coming into WFC of course, but the usual mass exodus going out, as per usual. This week : Mr 110% to Spurz on loan or Villa. JH to Spurz. And Damo to Soton for £1m. Somebody somewhere is really taking the piss.
25 January 2001
Well, the BRG meeting with supporters representatives went ahead last night, and from all parties concerned, it seemed to go extremely well. Obviously, there were fears that BRG would drop out at the last minute because something "urgent" would come up, and you could have been forgiven that it would have been a straightforward "we haven't decided on anything yet, end of meeting". But it wasn't, and for that it can be deemed a success.
Now, I wasn't there, but as you all know, W&WW was. From the W&WW guestbook as well as Mr J himself, here's basically what was said:
- there have been loads of proposals sent to WFC (including Gatwick, Basingstoke and, yup, MK) but nothing had been agreed.
- the search for a new ground started "today" and would start in Merton. You can stop cheering now. The early favourite is the Dog Track, something which the more senior directors favour.
- we haven't actually started looking for a site before "today", this is due to us getting relegated and I suppose re-prioritising.
- any new stadium wouldn't be a "gift" and would needed to be paid for. Hence that's why a partner would need to be found (fair enough) and would need to have additional ways of getting dough. Wonder if there are any homeless rugby union teams around in the South East who would like to share a new ground? Oh, quite a few....
- ground shares with other people (in their own back yard, hinting at Brentford at Feltham) have been snubbed because all it would benefit is the other club, not WFC.
- he seemed to rule out MK, quoting from W&WW - "if we end up in MK, or Oslo, as it might as well be, something serious must have gone wrong if there is nowhere between there and Merton'.
- the role of CK was called a little bit into question. Quote: "Charles Koppel will 'be asked again if he is willing to be totally dedicated to Wimbledon' and then be expected to get it right". CK basically spends a lot of time in the USA, which is something SW19 can sympathise with.
- he did pull the plug on the D****e deal, because the Everton player kept fucking about (saying "yes/no" too many times). He also made the comment that "next year I expect to be right up there and if we are not the following year I will not be happy. I could live with not going up ONLY if we have given 100%, but only then". Basically, he only wants players who are 100% committed to the club
I think I've covered most
of it, there should be some sort of WISA press release on it, and you
can always look at JZ's guestbook to see what else I've missed out.
Now, my comments : I'm hopeful yet I'm cynical. Cynical, because I have heard all this sort of talk before. Hopeful because this isn't coming from Hammam, and from what JZ is saying, most of the "known" stuff BRG wasn't bullshitting about. As it stands, the ball is firmly within "our" (the fans) court. We've protested, we've made our point and BRG is, on the surface at least, listening. Now it's up to us to make some positive representation, be it with the council, WFC, whoever. I'm sure we must have at least one party who can be a "party", wouldn't surprise me if we got more than we think. But for the first time in a long, long while, the fans really can help decide WFC's future.
Looking at the comments above, I'm kinda bewildered in some cases. Now, remember BRG's comments about how "advanced" MK was? How does this tie up with what he said yesterday? Could be a simple mis-quote, even local papers do it. For all we know, BRG probably used "it" instead of "we" but it got changed. How come we've supposedly "exhausted" all options yet not even looked? Who was being asked? Who was being asked to do it? It just doesn't tie up. The fact that BRG has given it to "us" to look at grounds may be seen as cheap labour by some but is still one helluva golden opportunity.
More confusion : does this mean then that Tony White and Reg Davis were talking out of turn? Were they trying to be "macho", acting like complete retards or simply just don't have a clue what's going on? We all know that Tony White is the guy singing a bastardised "Sex Bomb" in the Halifax advert, but In the case of Davis, his program notes about how he doesn't think WFC should "lower ambition" and how he thinks that MK is neither good nor bad is somewhat at odds with the opinions coming out of last nights meeting. Whatever way you look at it, there are definitely some people at WFC who don't know what other people at WFC are doing. Remember that story I told you before the Wigan game about Peter Cork getting it totally wrong about the whereabouts of Barney? What WFC needs now, perhaps more than ever, is a complete reorganisation from top to bottom, and putting in people who not only know what their job is but also what other people's jobs are. Yeah, it may include getting rid of some of the furniture.... sorry, valued members of staff, but then an administration that knows more or less what direction is going is always going to perform much better than one which doesn't. It should have probably come about 8 months ago, but then there have always been scare stories of companies that try and change things too quick.
Speaking of structure, it seems that BRG is a little bit disappointed in CK. It's OK if your owner isn't there most of the time, providing that the guy he puts in charge to run a particular section oversees it as much as possible. And that ain't happening. My fear is that CK won't be "allowed" to change things where necessary. Player power, if you will, only this time it's from people who probably wouldn't even get onto a football pitch. Insert your own John Hartson joke here.
In a nutshell though, it's all looking promising again. BRG is keen to have more meetings, which is good, fans could very well have more of a say than at probably any time in the club's history, and the level of optimism has arisen somewhat. Let's hope it stays that way.
Elsewhere, JH reportedly had food poisoning for the aborted Notts County game. No idea whether it was the addition of chilli sauce on his doner and kofte. And REMBE is acting like the meeja star we all know he thinks he ought to be : he reportedly had a go at WFC fans for not being loud enough, basically blaming us for our poor home form. He never could bring himself to blame his fellow professionals could he? It's always somebody elses fault with him. Never mind, he'll fit in well at ITV....
23 January 2001
I
swear that somebody somewhere is taking the piss. For those who don't
know, the Notts County game was called off at 7pm due to a waterlogged
pitch (the picture to your left of a floodlit Meadow Lane, courtesy
SW19 Action Shots Inc, complete with heavy precipitation tells the story).
So this is the second time that we've tried to play this game and the
weather has got us. Methinks that all teams who play by rivers should
be forced to move to stop pissing me off. Well, Al Fayed is trying exactly
the same thing isn't he? Yeah, I'm pissed off. Having heard that the
game is called off just a mere 4 miles away from the ground is not fun.
We'll be trying yet again on Saturday, and with luck we may get a bigger
following. To be fair, the weather was dire, and it had been raining
for most of the afternoon, but surely the referee could at least call
it off an hour earlier? Maybe this should be included in FA Rulings
: matches involving teams less than 25 miles apart from each other must
only be called off at a minimum 2 hours notice. It would certainly save
un-necessary journeys. Anyway, I'm off to swear and curse now.
Oh, and a funny story/rumour has reached SW19 Towers that Fulham are considering banning WFC fans for the game at Craven Cottage in May. Why? To get people into their promotion party. Hmm, can't see THAT working somehow, we could take 4000 easy ourselves, certainly in the top 3 of away attendances there (QPR and Palace would also take similar), and even if we were banned, I'm sure that some people will get in via other means....
22 January 2001
Still a lot going on about the Pompey stewards doing their impression of Terry Funk. Read some supportive (of us) comments from Pompey fans, a certain webmaster with a very lively guestbook gets on R5 (along with Barney) and still very real threats of legal action abound, which prevents me from saying much more
Unfortunately, SW19 is in trouble with a couple of people, the insinuation being that I'm inciting violence against stewards. The offending comment is this one:
" I certainly remember loads of scuffling, loads of stewarding (including a bluecoated female steward on the floor, how anyone resisted the temptation to stamp on her head I will never know)"
Now,
having reread the "offending" comment, I am still perplexed
as to why I'm being singled out here. Seriously. Had I said something
like "it's a pity that nobody stamped on her head" then I
would understand it. Why did I make the comment? Because that very incident
stood out in my mind and I thought it was worth mentioning, that's why.
Same with everything else I write on here, and I've had few complaints
thus far. Is it relevant? Probably, it did at least show the sort of
physicality going on during the set-to. I will not apologise for making
the comment, hell I'll make it again : I certainly remember loads of
scuffling, loads of stewarding (including a bluecoated female steward
on the floor, how anyone resisted the temptation to stamp on her head
I will never know). But as for me saying that I'm encouraging violent
and illegal behaviour? Crap. Utter crap. And I'll kill anyone who suggests
otherwise............................................................
20 January 2001
Normally,
I have no qualms about letting rip with my opinions about stuff. However,
at this moment, I am currently exercising genuine restraint. Surprising,
as today I saw some of the most disgusting and quite frankly fucking
shit things at a football match (and believe me, I've watched games
at Millwall, seen first hand racist abuse at Newcastle and coin throwing
at Man City to name but two). But more on that later.
The game, namely Sailor Boys 2 Air Force 1 takes a back seat, but for those who want to know : we started off OK, JH started. Pompey got a pen, they scored. We hit back after a bit of a scramble with Euell. Then they hit a 30 yarder after some backing off from a corner and that was about it. We looked 1-dimensional again - something that seems to be a regular occurance with JH playing - and needless to say, he was getting some stick again.
That was the only thing really that was keeping people's interest on the game. The main topic of conversation was of course the obscene treatment handed out by the stewards on WFC fans. Those there will testify what I mean, but a posting on my guestbook from "Frozen Don" sums the whole thing up better than I could (if the poster in question objects to me reposting it here, I will gladly remove it)
"What a bunch of cunts! So have Pompey finally got rid of the 657 crew by giving them jobs as 'stewards' then? Never seen anything like it at a Wimbledon game, and I hope I dont again. For those of you who didn't go, the stewards started to eject people when the cocaine song was being sung [SW19 note: I'm told that it was in fact the "Who Ate All The Pies" song aimed towards the fat bald and psychotic steward].. then just lost control and started dragging people out by the throat, the ear, saw a few punches and kicks going in and all round fuckin bedlam. The stewards looked like rent-a-mob doormen who hadn't done the job before and were just up for a ruck.. which they got. This lasted for about 20 minutes in the first half and ended up with at least 2 Dons fans being treated by the St Johns Ambulance for injuries. When a number of Dons fans went to find the police over the assults that were going on, there was one officer avaialable who refused to do anything. Apparaently Pompey had the game down for no police inside the ground. Finally a Pompey fan managed to persuade the copper to go and bring in his Sargent from outside the ground to assess the situation, but they refused to do anything more. David Barnard came into our end at half time after he'd been in discussions with the Pompey ground safety officer. The second half all the stewards who'd kicked it all off were moved out of our end but no other action was taken. I'm too pissed off with the whole fucking day to write anymore, i'm sure everybody else will have something to say about this over the next few days. If you were there and you saw what went on then write to Pompey, Portsmouth Old Bill and Wimbledon and demand to know how this was allowed to happen, what action has been taken, what the CCTV showed up and why we treated like shit... 1 turnstile open for 2,000 (oh yeah they actually had another one open for advance ticket holders, all bloody 100 of em?) I'm off down the fucking pub now..... "
Few more things to add : firstly, the whole thing seemed a blur but in the words of a certain webmaster with a very lively guestbook "it all kicked off again". There are unconfirmed reports that the two people primarily picked upon were in fact Brighton fans who were in our end supporting WFC, though why the fuck that should matter is anyone's guess. Somebody thrown out was apparently grabbed by the eyes - you read that right - which was mentioned by somebody called Rob (not me) on Talksport. Apparently WFC have made an official complaint to Portsmouth FC about the treatment of WFC fans in general, as a direct result of David Barnard having to physically intervene at HT. I saw what looked like one of the unfortunates limping pretty nastily. I certainly remember loads of scuffling, loads of stewarding (including a bluecoated female steward on the floor, how anyone resisted the temptation to stamp on her head I will never know). The blue coated stewards apparently have the power of the police, because Hampshire constabulary don't get involved with policing Pompey games any more (too expensive apparently - or too dangerous). And although I don't tend to get involved with this sort of stuff, some people were asking the stewards, quite innocently, what occured and were threatened with ejection. I would like to wager that the team's general lackluster performance was directly attributed to this series of incidents, after it happened the team certainly did not play well.
You will notice I'm using terms like "apparently" a lot, and basically keeping objective as far as possible for a WFC fan caught in the action. This is deliberate : I have a feeling that this could genuinely involve legal action (I would certainly hope so, if I was the guy with the limp I would be contacting my lawyer) and naturally I do not want to incriminate myself any more than I have to. I have taken some pictures of the stewards who were being pointed out - sadly after the event - and I am assured that WFC will be in recipient of them soon enough. There is set to be a few general letters of complaint : I am likely to check one out in the forness of time, and apparently WISA may get involved. If you did see anything concrete, write. As you have probably read, this is a serious thing that has happened today. I will say no more unless I know I can quanitify it in court, but suffice to say, I would rather be face to face with a member of the 657 Crew than a Pompey steward.
17 January 2001 [Dead Early AM Edition]
Probably
the ultimate Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction. The picture to your left
tells the whole story. Here's the lowdown : we played pretty naff in
the first half, nobody wanted to tackle (temperature was -4C). In fact,
that's how their goal came about. Looked pretty lightweight up front.
There was a little bit of fog towards the end of the first half. HT
came and went, and the fog had literally descended within 15 minutes.
We came out, thought the game was going to be abandoned, then 2 minutes
of farce action persued. We scored thru Dean Blackwell - we think
- then the ref took the teams off. 10 minutes later, it got abandoned
and we all got vouchers to use for the next game. Whenever that is.
So, we've got to do it all over again....
Further proof of the strange day? Well, we passed two Arsenal team buses (one about 20 years old). We passed a place called "Bunny". I kid you not. And on the way back, the SA North Cheam Cab co. managed to get "I Can See For Miles" by the Who on Crapital Old. Mind you, the fog in Notts was awful, and fuck knows how anyone managed to get out of it. Was all right from Leicester though.....
14 January 2001
Fallout from yesterday : very few papers reported on the protest yesterday, those who did got the figures disgustingly wrong. One paper said "hundreds", the other gave it as low as 350. Add another "0" to that and you'll get closer.
We do have an ally against MK, and it's a good one : one TB. He said "the fans want what we want". Now, from the players point of view, many if not most of them are settled in this part of London. The old joke that away games will be nearer than home game may be a bit closer to the truth than first feared. Additionally, I think that TB knows that if MK is still going by the time the new season starts - or even before - he will have to play a team in front of very low crowds indeed. Remember his earlier comments this season about how he needs the crowd to pump the team up?
JH is still at WFC, Cedric Roussel has said that he doesn't want to drop a division. His loss. Coventry basically need an extra £1m for him, and given their current financial shit, I wouldn't be surprised if the ginger twat (I'm referring to Strachan this time) doesn't get it.
One final thing, check out "articles"....
13 January 2001
First
of all, an apology. I left my camera at home and therefore there are
no pictures. So instead here's a picture from Central Park in New York.
I hope you appreciate it
All right, enough sarcasm. Under normal circumstances, I should be whooping for joy about finally winning a "home" game (Bell End 3 North End 1), about it being a very one-sided game, for once in our favour, but typically I ain't. Why? Because after the game probably the biggest demo I have ever seen involving WFC fans made a loud racket, chanting "10 Years Without A Ground" and making noise. There were between 1500-2000 who stayed behind afterwards, kudos to each and every one of you. Reports that David Barnard was standing at the front, earpiece firmly in place and trousers ready to be changed are unconfirmed, though I did see somebody who looked like him at the front. Whether such protests will have any effect I just don't know. I fucking hope so, I don't recall seeing as much passion about new grounds as the day we left Plough Lane. I still maintain though that our real hopes for breakthrough is with the planned meeting with BRG. This meeting HAS to be positive, it HAS to get "our" fears, hopes and concerns over. Failure to do so will mean disaster for WFC. Not "should", "could" or even "may", but "will". The opportunity is there, I don't believe that BRG is as ignorant than Hammam, as I say, the very fact we're getting a meeting with the top bod in such a difficult time is more than Hammam ever did, so the opportunity is there. Just make sure we take it.
The match? Oh yeah.
Plus points: Winning. At SP. Comprehensively. The protest afterwards, most people stayed behind. The players warming down afterwards and applauding us - yes, each and every one of us. Nobody played badly. Great performance by Euell. The return of Wild Thang.
Minus points: Conceding a rather dumb goal. Injuries to Kelvin and Pecker - or were they assasination attempts?.
Truth is stranger than fiction: The whole day. I cannot recall a time when I have actually sat through a match not really bothered what the score is. As this report shows, I can't really describe the match as there are more important things ATM to be getting on with. I guess most peoples mind were on the demos afterwards.
Lame: Getting CK to write the message from the chairman. We all know that it's going to say the same as his official statement this week. Surely it would have been better to write it under BRG's name, it would have hurt and would save a lot of aggro. Sadly, this is how fucked up WFC comms are. Even though CK's comments are probably true and there isn't as much to worry about as we think, it ain't gonna get people on your side with the current approach
Even more lame: Well known West Brom fan Reg Davis' "apology". Claiming how "hurt" he is by people chanting "traitor" at him. Yes, well perhaps if you DIDN'T go on TV hinting what a great idea MK is you maybe wouldn't get such grief. And repeating in the program that you don't think that MK is either a good idea or a bad idea is likely to win you back support. Coincidentally, I fully know that Davis is a Wolves fan - hey, if he thinks it's great to deliberately go out and annoy people, I can do the same. We should have got rid of this dinosaur 15 years ago - we definitely need to get shot of him now before he does more damage.
Definitely not so lame: TB saying that he never said that he wanted MK, and in print as well. Given that R&G are concentrating most on the welfare of the playing staff, this holds much more weight than maybe even any of us could muster. Methinks we have a very good ally in TB.
AWOL: JH. In his own executive box today.
Was it worth it? Yes, definitely. There's a club we have to fight for, and most people seemed to have had the same idea. The powers-that-be definitely know our feelings now. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Who knows? My gut feeling is that there is - seriously. Witness CK saying that any relocation has to be feasible and acceptable to all. Olive branch?
Oh, and in amongst all this - JH deal is likely to be called off. Who says? TB. In a nutshell, Coventry offered £2.5m for him plus Cedric Roussel and we've basically told them to fuck off. Well, actually, TB has told Coventry to "restructure" the deal. In other words, pay us the £5m before you start fobbing us off with players you don't want. It was pointed out to me that if a straight cash deal was to go ahead then the money WOULDN'T go into TB's transfer fund, hence the desire for a player swap deal, but then he has had money to sign people like Darren Holloway.......
10 January 2001
Fuck me, I go away for a couple of days and it all explodes into life. Moves, non-moves, transfers, denials. And I think we also played a game sometime. Oh well. Instead of repeating verbatim about everything that you can certainly read elsewhere, I'll give my $0.02 on various subjects from where I see it.
MILTON KEYNES: Yeah, it's still a shit story no matter how (un)likely it seems. From various private conversations I've read about, it seems the following is most probably true : the club were shown a very nice presentation about MK and said how nice it was. Immediately, it suddenly gets blown up to "WFC are going to MK" and we all know the fallout. Various people who work for WFC who hint that it might be a good idea are immediately slaughtered - take a bow Mr Davis - and even BRG gets to feel the anger without leaving Oslo. It also seems that the residents of MK aren't actually that enamoured about a major football club (well, us) turning up on their doorstep : there was a Milton Keynes United non-league team not so long ago which went bust due to lack of interest. Northampton Town also were considering moving to MK but didn't due to lack of interest. Hmm.
PROTESTS: The one at Notts County went down very well, apparently. Press and club tried to play the numbers down, those actually there claim more than 1000 were there. CK in a statement today said something to the effect of "please stop protesting against MK". You can take this as a Hammanesque act of defiance (complete with yellow streak on full show), or you can take it as a "we're not really going to MK, chill" approach. I personally reckon that the club have (privately) got cold feet about MK and realise that they can't do it without somebody getting lynched. Pleaing against protesting won't work of course : another, more general ("10 Years Without A Ground") protest is occuring against PNE on Saturday. Expect more of the same. The protest was going to go ahead anyway, but the MK stuff has given an edge to it (and, dare I say, awoken people from their slumber?). The major difference between this and Dublin (apart from the fact that the owners are much more willing to meet the fans - if you don't believe me look back to how Hammam ever so suddenly went AWOL over Dublin) is that whilst we were fighting against Dublin, this time round we're fighting for something.
WFC: BRG is going to meet a WISA delegation in the last week of January to clear the air. He'll also be writing in the program against PNE. Should be interesting. Methinks that such a meeting will also concentrate on the lack of communication the club seems to have. I will say this about the current structure of WFC : K&R working from Norway shouldn't be a problem if WFC is run properly in the first place. If you disagree and reckon that companies should be run "locally", ask yourself how multi-nationals survive. But as WFC is so poorly run - and the fact that the owners aren't maybe closely involved enough to make a difference - then it's no wonder we're still falling way behind in the PR stakes. Also, Merton Council have issued a rather nice pro-WFC statement, you can read it elsewhere but again this is more in the positive column.
WISA: Plenty of people wanting to join WISA over all this, I know at least 6 people who are asking me how to join. I'm sure you know plenty too.
TRANSFERS: Latest on John Hartson - according to the Coventry chairman, fees have been agreed for the Lagered Up One and all they have to do now is arrange Hartson's terms and a suitable payoff for Barnett. TB clearly wants rid of him, he's never said "no" to anybody trying to come in for him certainly, and if we can get the biggest drain of our resources off our backs we'll be fine. Also, Gayle is still wanted by Newk. Fuck knows why. Not that I believe that losing both of them is any reason to start committing suicide..
MATCHES: Oh, you mean there were some? Didn't see Notts County, but I'm told it was good attacking and shock defending. As usual. And the reserves lost 5-1 tonight. And it was bloody cold
Anyway, that's me up to speed I hope. Now, let's get busy.....
4 January 2001 [FINAL EDITION......I hope]
Right, final update for tonight and indeed until Wednesday. I'm going off to New York City tomorrow for a bit of personal business, so there's no way I'll be updating till then. Will still be available via the SW19 guestbook but any late breaking stuff, just go elsewhere :)
Anyway, MK Dons. The plot thickens. And none more so from SW19 reader Robert Wilder, who got hold of WFC today. In fact he got hold of David Barnard of all people. And guess what? The first he knew about MK was in the Substandard as well. Transpires that the two main men in all this - BRG and CK - are abroad. Did somebody mention conspiracy? Or stitch up? Funny how the story ran when the two main people at WFC were out of the country. Somebody doing the dirty, only I can't tell who. Depending on who you side with in these instances, it's either BRG conveniently being absent when the shit hits the fan, or its somebody waiting for BRG to be abroad when things go pear shaped. Anyway, DB won't deny they've been approached - which can and does mean anything - but he HAS said that nothing has been signed. Again, perhaps my theory that BRG was maybe misquoted still holds water. I've heard nothing else to suggest that he actually came out and said it apart from what you've read in newspapers. So who knows?
Some other snippets I've heard/read from various people (taken without permission - hope you don't object) :
-one of the MK MPs, when not accepting backhanders from Lord Sainsbury, and who was supposed to have met with "representatives" of WFC, er, hasn't. I mean meeting with WFC reps, not accepting bribes. Turns out that she is in with this consortium at MK (told you she accepts bribes) and naturally is very keen on it. I read the website for the Milton Keynes Citizen (http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk if you must know), and they're hinting at Gatwick as a "rival" as well. Seems more and more likely that the main cheerleaders for MK are from MK themselves. Fuck me, what a shit life they must lead up there.
- Rumour has it that this whole shebang may be from KIR. But this is because Aker RGI are doing so badly that he may need to sell a few other entities to get some money back. Push the share price up, apparently. This maybe explains why BRG wasn't overly enthusiastic about MK (see below) : maybe KIR is saying to him "Bjorn, I need dough. Can you work this for me?", and as BRG whenever I've heard him speak or met him in the flesh has always seemed a decent bloke with a brain to match. Remember that KIR bought the 80% of WFC in the first place because BRG was a bit strapped for cash and couldn't buy it at the time.
- Reg Davis was on C17 as usual. And apparently he made a right prick of himself. Well, I didn't see the interview but those who did reckon that he wasn't inspiring confidence about anything. As usual. Anyone who did see it, let me know.
- And last snippet : Crapital Old was full of Wombles tonight. So was Tony Gale, giving it the usual footballers non-committal bollocks. He did condemn R&G for "not putting up the money to let WFC keep the best players". What, you consider losing Carl Cort and Ben Thatcher as bad points?
See you Wednesday.
4 January 2001 [PM EDITION]
No prizes for guessing the topic today. We've since had an official response from the club, and here's what they say:
"In response to media speculation surrounding the relocation of Wimbledon Football Club, it is a well documented fact that the Club has for sometime been actively seeking an appropriate location to develop a new stadium. In this regard, the club are evaluating various opportunities and that in the event any of those opportunities should appear to be appropriate for the Club, then a statement will be made by the Club at the relevant time. "
Not very helpful, is it? It's neither confirming nor denying anything, and some would say a bit ominous. With this in mind, check out what Football365 wrote today:
"it is understood that the proposal has not yet been discussed at board level by the club and it is likely that many supporters will be opposed to it"
You can say that again. The fact that this hasn't even been discussed at boardroom level is a strange one, and it puts BRG's comments in a new light. Was he misquoted? Did he say something totally innocent and had it straight out of context? Read on....
"Although it seems that there are those at the Milton Keynes end who want it to go ahead, it remains to be seen whether the proposal will receive boardroom support at Wimbledon. And Gjelsten himself was later said by one source at Wimbledon to not yet be completely forthright in his support of the plan. There are also still many other hurdles for the Dons to cross before any such proposal could become a reality. "
Hmmm, now that's interesting. This may explain why the official WFC statement was so vague - it's because the board of directors are having their own civil war and can't actually say one way or another what is going to happen. If BRG himself isn't totally in favour of the move, who is? KIR? CK? Or dare I say, some of the "older" directors? Remember, this isn't the first time we've heard about MK, it's been going since before KIR even knew where Wimbledon was.
Some other stories are claiming that both Bluewater and Gatwick are still there, some are even suggesting that MK is merely a smokescreen for Gatwick (which I think would be the least unpopular move), after all, CK's comments earlier this season are pointing to it.
All this of course isn't going to die down anytime soon. Prominent WISA members will be on various radio stations, I can guess the phone-ins will be flooded. We've got a SP game this Saturday, I'm sure that there will be some sort of protest. I can't say for myself whether or not boycotting games is counter-productive or not, but I've no doubt the protests will be the most high-profile since Dublin.
Final update tonight
4 January 2001 [AM EDITION]
Yeah, I'm up early, and this is why. Remember I mentioned about Milton Keynes a little while ago? Well check this out from the Substandard:
"Wimbledon's owners are planning to move the club to a new £50 million super-stadium in Milton Keynes. Negotiations to become involved in a project to build a 45,000-seat ground, hotel and offices on a 55-acre site in the town have already reached an advanced stage "
Right, I'll give you two minutes to fall off your chair, curse and swear a lot and then I'll continue.
Done that? Good. There is a quote from BRG in there, and it's interesting reading:
"Milton Keynes has a lot to offer and looks like the most realistic option. We have looked for alternatives in the south London area but it has been hard to come up with any that are viable. You name a place and we have probably looked there. That leaves us trying to make the best of Selhurst Park or moving and I don't think the future of the club lies in being a tenant. It is very limited. But there is still homework to be done on Milton Keynes and it is not a done deal. We have a responsibility to our loyal supporter base but they have to be rational. We will sit down with them and the players to see what is best for all of us."
Right, here goes : firstly, this is probably the biggest kick in the teeth since Dublin. A severe kick in the teeth. It makes all the hard work in trying to get a new ground totally unworthwhile. It's like being gobbed on yet again and you seriously question why you should keep continuing to support WFC.
Second thing, and this is a much more rational approach, read between the lines of BRG's statement. There is a major difference between what his comments over such a move and Hammam's approach. I think reading the last sentence could be a major factor : it's as though he's willing to "negotiate" if that's a good word to use. This is very important : if he gets the message that the fans won't tolerate MK any more than Dublin very early (and forcefully), chances are he will back down. If the players object as well, then the deal is as good as dead. Remember, if they're training in SW London and then have to go up to MK afterwards, doubt if they'd be particularly happy with it.
Thirdly, and this is the most important thing of all, the Football League. The ESS again : "But there could still be problems with the officials at the Football League, who would have to agree any move or name change, which may be proposed by the club at a later date. They have traditionally been against the idea of clubs relocating away from their supporter heartlands and Wimbledon would have to make an exceptional case for moving lock, stock and barrel. ". Like the FAI, these are the main people to have on your side. If somebody knows how to contact them, let me know and I shall put up contacts. Their form, from "our" point of view, is good. They effectively forced Brighton away from Gillingham into Withdean, and if "we" put enough pressure on, who knows? I doubt if Luton Town will be happy with it either....
So, what of the immediate future? Well, firstly, R&G's popularity has surely plummetted. If he's expecting people to be rational about this, he'll have a nasty shock. But the fact that there will be dialog between the fans and the club is promising. What this will do for supporter morale is anyone's guess : part of me thinks that there will be massive protests on a Dublin scale. Part of me thinks that this could be the last straw for many people and will simply abandon the club. In all likelyhood, both scenarios will happen. The club shop will find takings will slump, and I shudder to think about PGPF's future. Nobody will buy season tickets next year unless it's definitely not going to happen, I certainly won't, and if there is a 2 year wait for a stadium to be built the club could lose severe money. Not to mention all the negative publicity.
There are two "good" things to come out of this : firstly, it's refocused the move back to Merton, albeit in a rather underhand and unpleasant way. And secondly, this surely must galvanise Merton Council into doing something. Anything. Again, a load of letters will buck ideas up...
If you haven't already, join WISA. Form your own campaigns, annoy the club - hell, really get on the club's nerves. Badger all the people I've previously mentioned. Get yourself on phone-ins, write to the papers, whatever. We've still got time, and we have more power than people will think
The call to arms is nigh. More later.
2 January 2001 [FINAL]
Rats
cocks. I wasn't expecting Horns 3 Pricks 1 but I suppose that
an unhealthy over-reliance on away form will backfire on you eventually.
Actually, the game could easily be described as a typical Selhurts performance.
Lots of huffing and puffing and not really much else. I guess the whole
team was still in shock at Marcus Gayle actually scoring. It was a peach
as well, either a poorly delivered cross or a mega fantasic shot. Either
way, that should have put us on the road but didn't. What went wrong?
Basically, we fell asleep and before we knew it we were 2-1 down. From
then on we stuggled to get back into the game and it was practically
lost by half time anyway. I'm just going to put it down as a minor setback,
we were due a shite away performance and I suppose this was it. No JH
BTW. Flu, I guess.
The lowdown.....
Plus points: Marcus Gayle finding the net. Solid performance by Rob Gier. Much more solid second half performance (not that it was difficult). Good WFC turnout - between 1k and 2k, similar to last year. Plenty of singing too. Angryman putting the shit up the Watford defense.
Minus points: Throwing the game away so soon after Marcus Gayle's opener. Poor Peter Hawkins had his worst 20 minute spell in a Tiny shirt. Too many astray passes. Pedestrian for a lot of it - look, were our lot on the wagon New Year's Eve? And did they finally come off it New Year's Day? Ardley looked out of it, his corners especially were dire.
Scary: Sully's kicking. Oh sorry, Kelvin's kicking. And you thought their similarity only ended with them looking like each other?
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Marcus Gayle scored a beauty. Repeat that slowly. Now go and lie in a darkened room and pretend it never happened. (2) The stand we were in. Newly built of course, but the concourse areas were smaller than my front room. (3) Did my eyes deceive me and a WFC player (Angryman) actually harrass a Watford player? (4) And did my ears deceive me by hearing people chant Kimble's name (he was a sub)? Or was that tinnitus?
Quotes: (1) "Elton John is a homosexual" - WFC chanting. Next, we'll be chanting something about George Michael and public conveniences. (2) "I bet he doesn't" - un-named WFC fan who is of a non-hetro persuasion commenting on chants about Mr Dwight's version of Hunt The Salami. Take your word for it..... (3) "I wouldn't mind so much but they're a bunch of fat, bald journeymen" - another un-named Womble at half-time about Watford. You may insert your own joke relating to a certain WFC Welsh centre forward. Not that you need much encouragement :)
Salutations: The two Wombles right near me who are readers of this site and who also gave the abuse to Ian Walker at the Spurz reserve game this season. Top lads
Fat Bastard Alert: The editor consumed 2 saveloys, 1 fish cake, a whole portion of chips and a cheeseburger with onions. I was hungry.
So, was it worth £18? Er, no......
In a nutshell: Bollox
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the reference to Final Edition up the top is something the Evening Substandard uses when they're not going to do another edition that day. See, I keep my ear to the ground :)
2 January 2001 [PM EDITION]
Firstly, belated Happy New Year to everyone, unless you're in a place where they don't use the Gregorian calender in which case it's probably the middle of April.
Special pre-Watford update just to tie up a few loose ends. As you well know, Burnley was called off. If W&WW is to be believed, then it was pulled because Simon "Wideboy" Jordan decided not to cover the pitch up for us. Leaving aside the legalities of such a move (isn't there some sort of tenant rights issue here?), it also surely puts WFC/CPFC relationships at an all-time low. Jordan wants us out, that's clear. We want to leave, that's clear as well and I can see more things like this happening. Of course, it backfired horribly (and extremely hilariously) on Palace - because of this, they lost out on a lucrative New Years Day game and they ain't gonna get much sympathy here.....
The Burnley postponement works in our favour a bit anyway : we've got people like Angryman and Pecker with the dreaded influenza, they should be OK for tonight. JH is supposed to have flu, again this is depending on who you believe. The Obese Welsh One is also supposed to have a cracked rib. This may explain his recent poor form. But it doesn't explain his general level of unfitness this season anyway. It has been reported elsewhere that he got dropped because of his general attitude and the rib/flu injury is merely a smokescreen : given BRG's recent comments about JH's motivation and the latest rumour that Brescia want him for £4m (well, it was 4m lira, or £2.49), there may be a little more truth to that last theory than some would admit.
Elsewhere, Robbo may be back in favour : TB has commented on how his attitude (Robbo's, not TB's) has improved on the training ground. I guess that being told to piss off by Burnley really bucked his ideas up. Bet that when he was told "there are loads of old dogs up in Burnley" he misunderstood
More later