|
|
22 May 2001
For once, nothing about stadia, match reports or what I'm up to. But the Coventry chairman was on Radio 5 this morning. I wasn't up when it was on, but they were talking about the Lagered Up One. It goes something like this - Coventry could not get insurance for him and they're stuck with him, because "any other club could not get insurance for him". Which rather begs the question, how did we get insurance for him in the first place? I'm sure the person to ask is currently trying to flog off Ninian Park. As for payment etc, this is where it gets a bit confusing. WFC wanted £5m for him. And believe me, we tried getting £5m for him. We all know what happened, and it transpires that after so many games, WFC get paid. The fee quoted is £1.7m. Now, I have no idea whatsoever if this refers to the entire fee that Coventry have paid him, or for just that block of games. Regardless, it's a severe loss on our part but one totally necessary IMO. We basically had to cut our losses, and losing up to £5.3m on him was a price we simply had to pay. Look how many games we lost after he left. One. Had we gone up we would have regained that anyway, so it becomes an irrelevance. The only thing I will say about the whole JH saga is that somebody's pockets bulged nicely afterwards....
Coincidentally, TB on the OS today said that his worst performance of the season was Pompey away. Hartson's last game. Of course, nobody can actually remember the game, we were too busy playing Avoid The Psychotic Steward...
Yet more off-field culling. Carole Tilbrooke is gone, and I'm not shedding any tears. Like Reg Davis, she wasn't exactly charming or brimming full of customer care, especially as she once threatened to ban me for life off the OSC coach for having a strong alcoholic drink called Kaliber (conveniently ignoring the fact that OSC members were swigging Becks). Some may well lament this passing, crying over yet another break from the past. As far as I'm concerned the quicker the old guard go the better...
One final thing about Reg Davis - he's the Clubman of the year. Is that codeword for "retirement"? We can but hope.
21 May 2001
One thing you can say about WFC under the reins of CK, we don't half use some decent companies in pushing ourselves forward. Our PR is handled by Brunswick, who are responsible for such companies as Railtrack, British Airways, DeBeers etc, and the mob he's employed to look at WGS is HOK and Lobb. Who? Well, they've been responsible for the vast majority of NFL stadia refurbs/relocations within the last 10 years, as well as many new baseball grounds in the 50 states. If you go to http://www.hoksport.com/projects/proj_list_alpha_1.htm you'll see exactly what they've done recently. And believe me, they ain't bumbling amateurs. Go on, just go there (remember to return here of course :) ) and marvel at what they've done. Even if the WGS is a no-go, then providing it's within sensible distance, we'll end up with a quality stadium that people everywhere will wank over. Well, I'll be there bashing it you can bet. And guess what? Their UK branch is based in Putney....
One thing I've noticed about the stadia, certainly in the US and the Air Canada Centre in Toronto (which I've been in, it's seriously pukka, supposed to have the best sight lines in the entire NHL) is their locations. More and more of them are in a what we would describe as urban areas. The Skydome I've written a whole article on (see "Articles"), but look at somewhere like Coors Field in Denver, CO (been there as well, well Denver. Well, Denver International.....) and it's basically in the middle of a built up industrial estate. And this ain't exactly unusual either : both the mighty Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Eagles are moving stadia soon. But are they moving to an out of town complex? No. In both their cases (and in the case of BoSox the movement is literally a matter of blocks) they're remaining in predominantly downtown areas. Why? Transport links, basically. Certainly in the US, they want you to go to the game, have some refreshments, watch the game etc etc, and maybe have some alcohol (and at $7.25 for beer at Oakland As, you can certainly see why). However, if you drive to a game, you can't drink. So that's why more and more complexes are now downtown. Also, more people are likely to go if it's on their doorstep, if you don't - or can't - or won't - drive to a game, then you can just as easily hop on the local subway or bus route and basically enjoy yourself. And that may well work in WFC's favour. Think about it, WGS is urbanised, I went past it today and the whole place (not just the stadium) needs regeneration. It's not that badly situated for transport, nothing overly major round there required. A dedicated bus route or two, maybe a cut through to Wimbledon Park tube or Haydons Road BR. Oh, and did you know that HOK and Lobb are involved in transport as well?
Anyway, try to temper your excitement, things will undoubtedly go wrong. This is Wimbledon Football Club after all.
Moving on - Mick Harford left WFC because he was given the assistant managers job or something and didn't want it. In other words, TB wanted him away from the players as much as possible. Me, I'm saying nothing.....
Also, REMBE is now in that rather curious position of "ambassadorial" role at WFC. Basically, this means he is not reserve team boss any more, and I doubt if he's on the first team coaching staff either. In other words, this is the equivalent of TB being moved sideways when OGEM got fed up with him. What this will mean for him I don't know, but it's more likely now that he'll go into the meeja side of it, which is what he really wants anyway. I'm not too sure his heart was really in WFC anyway within the last couple of years, certainly snubbing a book signing session last season caused a lot of comments, and the less said about the ALLEGEDLY turbulent period during our last season in the top flight when he ALLEGEDLY went round meeja gatherings ALLEGEDLY saying to newspaper editors "I can ALLEGEDLY give you loads of shit from WFC" ALLEGEDLY furthering his own ALLEGEDLY newly set up meeja company to ALLEGEDLY get tres muchos muzolos in return the better. I'll stop shouting now shall I? Anyway, WFC know they can't publically dump him - though quite frankly I wish they would, given his links with the ESS, which should be a hanging offense in itself - so they've given him this title, keep his good name alive whilst getting him out of the way. And you thought TB's riddance of the WFC Clique was finished?
18 May 2001
Right, the meeting between WFC and Merton Council happened last night, and it's all been cleared up. Except for the bits that haven't. Yeah, as usual involving WFC and the LBM, there's definite confusion in the air. Let me explain : last night, W&WW reported that WFC were going to look at the Dog Track with a company who specialise in football stadia and would try and get a difinitive answer one way or another. Fine. However, this morning, Sport First (later repeated by TwatTalk) quotes CK:
"The costs are almost certainly prohibitive. At £1,000 a seat, a 25,000 capacity stadium would cost the club around £25million to build. "Add on top the costs of buying the site itself and the cost of demolition and you are probably talking about something in the region of £40million."
Mmm, doesn't sound quite so good does it? And when you consider that Judge Dredd of Merton in his little outburst said that CK "accepts responsibility for not following up the Greyhound Stadium" it looks rather bleak for our return to Merton. But hold on - there's a major contradiction here. Is somebody lying? Have wires been crossed? Has a mind or two been changed, hands forced etc?
Consider the following : these quotes from (supposedly) CK and Judge Dredd must have come earlier this week - before the meeting. After the meeting, we certainly ARE looking at WGS, getting in some - and I quote - "major players" to look at it. In fact, WFC are going to get the fans involved with this in a much deeper level, apparently. This leads to another question - we hadn't apparently done any looking into WGS before yesterday. Supposedly. So where did CK get his figures from? Unless moves have been made beforehand, the only thing I can think is that he's been reading the council's feasibility study from 1994 into WGS, which sounds plausible as it was mentioning similar sorts of figures IIRC.
More questions - does it really cost £1000 a seat? Thought the average price was about £25? Hell, the "safe" terracing in Germany costs something like £81 and that's supposed to be state of the art. Makes you wonder how stands at places like Preston can cost only £4m or so (even Palaces wasn't that expensive) and yet ours costs extortionate amounts. It's not as though building supplies in SW19 are any more expensive than elsewhere, so what gives? Of course, I could be just paranoid here - the report DID come from Sport First, a rag not well known for its accuracy in such matters, and Judge Dredd didn't exactly have a clue about who owns PL anyway.....
As for my views ATM, I'm supposed to be clear in my head after yesterday but I'm just more confused than ever. I will not doubt that WGS could be expensive. But I really need to be convinced we're doing it the most efficient way before we can rule it out, I think a load of people will feel the same way. We are now closer to returning to Merton than ever before, I just don't want it ripped out of my grasp without somebody telling me why. I could go so far as to say it could cost us a lot of support and goodwill if we chicken out of WGS without a fight - even a move to somewhere like Tolworth could cause ructions if SW19 has been inadequately poo-pooed.
Am I confident in it? I believe it's always been possible, and hopefully the stadium feasibility people will prove it to me. I guess "wait and see" comes into play yet again. Just like it's been for the last 10 years.
Meanwhile, KC and Kelvin have signed 5-year deals. Undoubtedly in KC's case, this is worth more than signing another defender and chances are he'll see his career out with us now. Until Celtic come in for him.
Elsewhere, a legend has departed the club for pastures new. I am referring of course to Johnathon Hunt, who I always thought was a tad under-rated for us this season. Also, Carl Leaburn is finally gone. Now, many other sites will give him a rapturous send off. SW19 won't, because if we're being honest, he was crap. I get the impression his hero-worshipping status was down more to scoring twice against Palace, which whilst extremely commendable in itself isn't really a deity worshipping cause. Never mind, I won't wish ill on him, he certainly had a better attitude than some ex-strikers I could mention, but at least we're getting shot of those sort of deadwood finally. Tezzaball rolls on.....
11 May 2001
Hello again everybody - I'm back from my latest Quest For World Domination (TM) and returning to life in front of a 17" Sony. Such is life. Mega thanx once again to JC for filling in my size 7 USs, muchos appreciatos
Anyway, since I've been gone a lot has gone on. Perhaps too much has gone on, so I'll put down what coherant thoughts I have left before I forget it all :
- QPR MERGER : To be honest, as soon as I heard it, I thought nothing of it because I figured it would die as soon as it came. And I was proved right. It's a shame that it resulted in CK getting a legit death threat, that could well have set back club/fan relationships back a long way (though as it turns out, didn't). Now, some may question why the two parties met three times if there was no merger on the cards. Well, they could have met on other stuff, like transfers, and merger talk came up with at least one of them. And if we sign a QPR player this summer then this theory would be proved right. Some still don't have the trust, which is unfortunate. Again, I will keep putting this down to the Post Hammam Syndrome, where anything even remotely untowards is treated with suspicion, distrust and indeed paranoia. And will clearly take a while to shift
- THE GROUND : AFAIK, the latest situation is this - Merton have said they'll give us an answer within 8 weeks with regards to sites where WFC could place a new stadium. Although it now appears that answers could be as forthcoming as early as next week. Which makes me believe that CK has a site up his sleeve already and is using this as a "shit on the pot or get off" device. Don't believe me? OK, why have Merton suddenly jumped into life? Because there's an election coming up? Because of merger talk? We've had exactly both situations before and nothing substancial came about during that, so I think there's more to it this time (and I don't mean the fact that Merton are absolutely fucked with regards leadership and other things). Now, I have no idea where this new site could be, but after the QPR/MK things, don't expect it to be too far away from London SW19 - a third fuckwit scheme would really damage CK. Time will doubtlessly tell with regards to what is available and what we want to do with it (WFC will want to make revenue to fund it, though promisingly it doesn't need to be actually on any stadium site) - we will know where we stand before the new season starts, and this is probably the most significant breakthrough since leaving in 1991.
- MICK HARFORD LEAVING : oh boo hoo hoo. I'm so sad. Waaah. OK, enough sarcasm. The cull is continuing, and this time the coaching staff are on their way. He was good as a player for us, but on the coaching staff he was short of useless. Unless you liked looking at his thighs (so the female populace keep telling me) or dishing out freebies he didn't seem to have much purpose. Oh, he was a "motivator". Hmm, worked well I don't think. It was clear that he was too chummy with the Booze Clique at WFC, various stories I've heard point to that, and you could probably bet Simon Jordan's wrist watch that he'll end up at Luton. With OGEM no doubt, and David Kemp as well, so they can recreate that dream 1998 lineup. Although given their record against teams in lower divisions, they'll be fighting relegation next season.
Also, don't expect REMBE to hang around as well, not if the bright lights of studios come a calling.....
- ON THE PITCH : ur, don't ask me :) Looks like the youngsters are bedding in nicely, though TB is clearly going for reinforcements. After a shaky start his signings look to be settling down and this record may open the pursestrings a little bit more. Links with Matt Lockwood of Leyton Orient seem strong, he's a LB which is good, and people like Sean Newton and Kevin Lisbie are also named players. TB wants and indeed expects auto promotion next season. Possible? Perhaps, a decent start this time would propel us nicely, though even so I still reckon that playoffs are our best bet next season.
- AND FINALLY..... : the mascot. Fat fucker isn't he? Looks pretty namby pamby from the photos as well, though if he starts smacking opposition players and starts antagonising Palace fans, I for one will welcome him with open arms. And a face mask.
More later. If there's anything.
10 May 2001
OK,
this is my last addition to SW19's Army, before Mr 'What about the
porno references?' REPD returns from yank land. A couple of things
to report. First up, Wimbledon coach Mick Harford has reportedly left
the club by mutual consent. Not too sure what to make of this. I'm
inclined to believe that he doesn't really fit in with Terry Burton's
new style of football, though the presence of OGEM at Luton may bear
some relevence to the decision. Though I've doubted Harford's coaching
credentials in the past, I can't deny that he's a decent bloke to
have on the bench. And I'll never forget the story I read about him
single-handedly decking several men in a pub brawl, after leaping
to former team-mate Tony Coton's defence, and starting the brawl by
asking a man "Did you call my mate a c**t?" Nice one Mick,
all the best. Also, it's emerged that Leyton Orient LB Matt Lockwood
is one of TB's summer transfer targets. He's apparently a versatile
LB by trade, takes wicked set-pieces, and has been scouted by WFC
all season. He was also in the Nationwide Division 3 XI. Other targets
are rumoured to include Darren Caskey of Reading, Jermaine Darlington
of QPR, and former Dons hitman Dean Holdsworth. These are rumours
though, and you should probably consult TwatTalk for latest shite news. Oh, and there's one more thing ... it's been emotional ;-)
JC.
6 May 2001
With
relegation and promotion not an issue for either side, it was no great
surprise when this game finished Five Fingers 0 Six Fingers 0. A chance to blood some of the promising youngsters at Wimbledon?
Well, the likes of Neal Ardley cannot really be described as this.
Instead, we were treated to a fairly unadventurous strong Wimbledon team, though missing Super Kelv, Sir Kenneth, and
Hughsie. This was a fairly scrappy encounter in all honesty,
with the odd decent move, and a spot of argey bargey on more than
one occasion. Chances were few and far between, with the closest attempts
including a Euell offside goal, and a Norwich player firing over from
two yards out. So the last game of the 2000/2001 season comes and
goes, in a manner reminiscent of the 0-0 draws we all witnessed at
the beginning of the season.
Anyway ...
Plus points: We didn't concede. Good games for Gier and Williams at the back, especially bearing in mind the absence of Sir K of C. We finished the season in 8th position, ahead of Watford. The new mascot. Williams came close to decking a Norwich player.
Minus points: We didn't score, hence nor did we win. It was a fairly scrappy game. Palace avoided relegation by a single point - those jammy fuckers. Just wait for next season Jordan you c**t. A fairly piss-poor attendance IMO.
Quotes: 1) "What's it like to fuck your mum? What's it like to ..."
Wimbledon fans in response to some bollocks that the inbred Norwich supporters were chanting. 2) "Portsmouth are winning
2-0!" The bloke who announced this score about ten minutes after
everyone knew about it, and had been singing about it. Unlucky mate.
3) "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!" My response
to hearing that Palace had scored. 4) "It didn't help them pushing
us all the time." Norwich player outside the ground after the
game, obviously talking about the reactions from a number of Wimbledon
players, to some shite tackles by Norwich.
Truth is stranger than fiction: Our new mascot. For those of you who don't know, we've finally got ourselves an official mascot. It's a womble. It's a fucking big womble. It hasn't got a name yet (I believe there's a competition or vote to decide this - my vote's with 'Wandle' the womble). Oh, and it's got a bad-boy bop.
What the fuck?: Terry Burton continues to play Ardley ahead of Ainsworth. OK, Ardley's been a great servant to the club, and his passion cannot be questioned. But for the good of the team, Ainsworth must play ahead of Ardley.
The response to the merger: Fans - various songs, the distribution of posters, throwing of season tickets onto the pitch, another sit-in protest. Koppell - as well as meeting with a number of supporter representatives prior to the game, Koppell also addressed the 2000-3000-strong Wimbledon protest after the game. Basically, he said that the merger was QPR's idea, it isn't going to happen, and that we will have a definitive response from Merton (regarding finding us a new home), in two months time.
In a nutshell: A fairly lame end to a promising season. So now it's pre-season to look forward to ... better book your ticket to the west country then! Though I have heard we may be playing Brentford at Griffin Park.
Was it worth it?: Ermm ... would have been better if we'd had a pitch invasion ;-)
JC.
3 May 2001
Reports today in the Sun newspaper have claimed that Wimbledon FC are to merge with QPR. These reports have been confirmed by both parties, and that talks have taken place. Though both chairmen claim alternatives would be explored if both sets of fans opposed the move. The proposed move would involve playing games at Loftus Road, Terry Burton as manager, and the majority of the Wimbledon first team. Both sets of fans strongly oppose any move, and demonstrations will almost certainly take place on Sunday against Norwich.
Now for my take on this. FUCK OFF YOU C**TS!! This cannot happen, and I for one, will do everything I can to oppose it. It would mean throwing away the history and identity of both clubs. The Nogs obviously are not in touch with what the supporters want. Their intentions must now surely be questioned. That's all I know for now, but will keep you informed of any major developments. See www.wisa.org.uk for the latest information.
JC.
2 May 2001
If
I'd adopted Wimbledon FC's attitude to this match report, I probably
wouldn't bother, as we're so near to the end of the season, and who
would care if I didn't ? But seen as I'm so dedicated to you, the
readers, here is the match report for Poodles 1 Terriers 1. The
fact is, this was always going to be a game between a team that had
f**k all to play for, and a team that was fighting against the drop.
Southampton Vs Wimbledon last season I hear you say. In this respect,
it wasn't that surprising when we came out looking the better team.
The first half came and went with few chances and no goal. However,
Ainsworth gave us the lead shortly after the break, with a low volley
that crept inside the far post. But typical of us lately, we decided
to sit back a bit on the 1-0, and lo and behold, the opposition grabbed
a fairly late equalizer, through Kevin Gallen after he looped the
ball over a stranded Kelvin Davis.
Can I be bothered ... go on then:
Plus points: We scored. We won a point with nothing to play for, and a number of top players missing from the team. Singing anti-Palace song at the CPFC office next to the Holmedale stand, where Simon Jordan was 'apparently' looking from the window.
Minus points: We surrendered a 1-0 lead, and finished 1-1 for the EIGHTH time this season. The attendance - apparently around 4,500, though I doubt it was even this, and that includes a good Huddersfield following. The pitch (see picture).
Quotes: 1) "Sorry mate, no pies left." The chimp working at the food outlet in the Holmesdale. 2) "You c**t! F**k you! Innit!" The charming Thornton Heath local lass who, following me making a certain gesture after she beeped me when crossing the road in front of her car, pulled up beside me on the main road, and started shouting abuse. Bitch. Another reason why we gotta get out of this shithole. 3) "Oh Holloway you prick! It's all your fault." The Holloway hate club sat behind me, could be heard saying this sort of line every time the ball went near Holloway. Idiots.
Truth is stranger than fiction: The atmosphere at the game. Our supporters were cheering for Huddersfield towards the end of the match. All to piss of Palace of course. Also, Gareth Ainsworth's superman impression. Those of you who remember the famous 'head tackle', this was better. Fully committed as usual, GarethAinsworth.com (REPD's joke), threw himself to try and block the Huddersfield full-back. However, the Huddersfield player turned as Ainsworth charged in. The result being. Ainsworth flew through the air in what can only be described as superman-stylee, but without the arms in front. You had to be there to fully appreciate the beauty of it.
In a nutshell: This game was never really going to be important after Saturday, and so it proved this way. But it did have its amusing moments, and we didn't do Palace any favours. Hoorah.
Was it worth it?: Yeah I suppose so. Altogether now ... "Play up Pompey, Pompey play up."
JC.