62 Comments

This is not going ‘home’ to me – it’s sterile

Kahn12-300x225Nigel Kahn has been a critic of the move to Stratford from Day One and has never made any secret of it, fighting his corner constantly in declaring we should have stayed at Upton Park. But last night as he trekked into the new stadium we asked him to give us his feelings on his first match day experience post Boleyn. He has taken up the challenge. Here’s what he made of it all.

When Hugh asked me to put down in words my take of last night I wasn’t sure If I wanted to as it was never going to be one of “It’s brilliant – a fabulous stadium.” It was only ever going to be negative.

So I wasn’t disappointed when I entered the stadium and sat in my seat. It was exactly as I thought it would be.

osWalking round the stadium early, through the streets with no names, I could only think back and compare to the Boleyn, which had real character. If the move is going home, I don’t recognise home any more. A one word review equals Sterile.

The stadium may look impressive from a distance, it may have great views over to Canary Wharf in the distance, but it has no soul, no heartbeat of West Ham United.

You can stick as many claret and blue seats in as you like, you can put up hundreds of West Ham London badges but it still don’t mean this is the home of West Ham.

I can understand the excitement for many, I witnessed many of the over 20’s bouncing around like 10 year olds acting as if it was their first time witnessing a game, and I don’t begrudge them that excitement.

The club have marketed this as a step into the big time and anyone under the age of 40 who has possibly never associated West Ham with real success will see this as such – the chance to compete. Only time will tell if the club are right, or the moaning crusties as I saw us called on C&H this week are proved correct.

Personally, this club bears no resemblance to the West Ham of 40 years ago when I started my path to insanity. Like the rest of Premier League football it has evolved and was re-invented in 1992.

We are just patrons – numbers; customers, ‘likes’ on their Facebook page, to be counted and advertised as proof of the club’s growth, and then enticed to part with our money. I’m starting to question the point of football. Is it there to entertain fans, or to be a business to earn and amass as much money as possible!

It seems to me that football is no longer a sport or entertainment for the benefit of the fans – it is big business, and big business needs big income. To get that we end up in a stadium that while being impressive is not built or looks right for football.

The reason for the move had nothing to do with the general fans, the club don’t even get the income from my £4.10 purchase of a pie; our move is to do with that the corporate area at the Boleyn had maxed out and had no room to expand.

But at the OS they can market it to the big corporates, enticed with better surroundings for the business man. Look no further than the picture from the East looking over to the West stand as the second half kicked off. The swathes of empty seats as the club Wembley clients prefer the lounge to the thing  for which they are supposed to be there.

I won’t be walking away but looking at the shiny new London stadium, with its Club London lounge and the London on the badge, I feel the club has whitewashed its past in pursuit of the pound in our pocket.

The foreign fans’ with their dollars or Yen  seem to embrace the Premier League more than I can, and that for me was what football nor specifically West Ham Football club was ever about.

These views are solely those of the blogger and are not necessarily shared by ClaretandHugh

6 foot 2Nigel has just launched a brilliant new fanzine which was published ahead of last night’s game and will be available for every home game.

Catch up with it here @ http://read.magazine.live/moore-than-just-a-fanzine/data/3447/reader/reader.html?t=636057634842140888#!preferred/0/package/3447/pub/3450/page/0

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

62 comments on “This is not going ‘home’ to me – it’s sterile

  1. Fair play Nige,i never expected you to change your view,i just couldn’t see it happening.But that’s fair enough,at least you have stood by what you believed in throughout..It still doesn’t stop you being a grumpy old ball bag though haha :;)

    • Bang on P45! Like some old grumpy guts at a party, sitting in the corner all gloomy because they are playing pop instead of heavy metal or something.
      Meanwhile all the others are jumping around, having fun, getting p1ssed, getting off with each other, and being happy…Typical blast of a party!
      Nigel, you do great historical stuff – REALLY great – but you have to move with the times in ALL things…or you go under: Fact of life, mate. Cars, clothes, TVs, computers, mobile/smart phones, washing mashines…you name it. I bet you update those etc.
      To me, you are pushing water uphill with resenting this masterful progress….
      Come on, go with the flow, Nige; lighten up and enjoy it.
      They have made a great job of the Westhamification, I reckon – especially as we don’t actually own the ground…(apart, OF COURSE, from lacking a 100 foot statue of Billy Bonds with folded arms!)…
      The new is often a shock; that isn’t a reason to invalidate it: There’s lots of space. lots of loos, bigger seats…Almost everything is better.
      I won’t be missing those sh1tty loos in the West Stand!
      And here’s a point; were you equally against the building of the West Stand at the time, or the Northbank? Southbank?
      The Old West Stand was iconic, but my God it was dated. Pillars etc….Needed updating. OK, those mock castle towers were a bit kitch…but we all got to love them too…
      Come on; lighten up! The new ground is FANTASTIC! All you have to do is say to yourself; “Actually, this IS great”….and you’re on your way to having the same enjoyment we are enjoying. If you can’t, OK – fair enough – Frankly, it really saddens me languishing like a loser, when you have more to offer than most others; we are all WHU supporters, we need to stay together….There you go; appela over; I’m leaving you to your sofa in the corner and going to get a beer and a laugh at the disco in the garden!…Hope to see you bopping out there too like a good’n sometime. Greatly missed, but good luck!

  2. I am of that era as well and it might be early days but it doesn’t feel right and before I am called a crusty or whatever it was my 17-year-old son turn around to meet at the game and said this isn’t right dad. We will have to live with it now though so come on you irons

  3. As stated in the first paragraph, Nigel was never going to embrace the OS, his mind was made up whatever. It does seem, however, that his objections/dislikes are more against the whole modern game. Times change, it seems for a lot of the youngsters for the better, for some of us oldies, the worse.

  4. Sorry to hear you didnt like it Nigel but having read your articles here & elsewhere I didnt really think you would be jumping about with enthusiasm.But you have been,watched a match & based your view on that.For me I can then take your view of the stadium seriously,unlike the fans who have written the place off having never been there.I think they are the crusties you refer too imo.

  5. Personally ings I would use the word cyber space ?
    I fully respect you’re statement , and I must admit I’m more with you on you’re take of it ,
    For me as well as other people who were asked their view , it was the majority of 50-60 year olds who felt like you and I , I can honestly say with hand on heart that I felt out of place ?
    It was empty of feeling ! It didn’t feel right !
    But we oldies who have gone through the threepenny north bank turnstiles as kids have memories and feelings that many of today have not , we are the west ham of old and I’m afraid all we have is the memory and soul of the old girl and club imbedded , we will never forget that ? But we will still go and cheer and moan as normal because like it or not , the old girl has gone , a new day a new time and a new age of supporter , but we have something that most at the stadium will never have , mooro and his merry band who showed us the west ham way which is our history !! Now its time for a new chapter , let’s try and enjoy and move on , but like you it will never be the same .

    They think its all over ,it is now ?
    Come on Slav make some old stalwarts happy !
    God bless nige , this club still needs blokes like you , me , and the rest of the family !

    • Fantastically put, johnboy, IMO. I loved those old days as a boy, queuing for the turnstiles in the Northbank with my milk crate and worrying whether I would get in…Happy days, eh? Mooro, Trev, Bonds et al….(I missed Hurst in Claret + Blue; my 1st time seing him, he scored against us Northbank end…header…I can still see it!)….and Pop Robson’s bicycle kick – (became goal of the month) – evening game v Derby (which we lost)….
      Happy, happy days….but so are these happy days…success like we have never known….
      I’m embracing the future like nearly all the supporters are.
      Just VERY sad to leave our West Ham friends who are wanting to live in a past that has gone…Gone forever; memories only…and unable to enjoy the bright new future…Hurts to leave them behind, dunnit? They belong with us!

      • milk crate??? sheer luxery. We would have given our right arm for a milk crate

        • You funny sod, dafishes! Monty Python!….You were ‘there’ too, mate, yeah?
          Well I WAS small; my nickname in school was ‘Tich’!…

    • (Hurst was playing for Stoke)

  6. So guys but I have been going to Upton Park for a fair few decades now since a kid & I loved my 30 odd years there,great memories & some fantastic matches but I loved it lastnight in the OS as well, as did my young boys.Everyone will have different experiences but for me it was great.

  7. The place is fantastic stop living in the past

    • What a disrespect full remark !
      If it wasn’t for the past we would have no history , obviously you don’t understand that !
      Maybe You didn’t live through it ?

  8. I was happy to publish this because West Ham/Boleyn is written on Nige’s soul. He can’t change now and I think his views are balanced by the inclusion of the game at large. I feel for him and others but as Mooro once said to me: “The best camera is n your head – the memories are there forever mate :-)”

    • You might be right, but personally, I cannot accept that, Hugh. I HAVE to live in hope that Nigel and co, will come round to it. They have WHU in their hearts, so they belong with us on the journey going forward.

  9. Nobody likes change but it will be change for the better. Just need to give it time. This was just the first match. However I must say thought the seats were coming further over the running track!

  10. Next year I’ll be there, if I don’t like it I’ll have the building taken down, don’t worry… lol 😀

  11. Makes you wonder why he went doesn’t it?, when he knew and we all knew a 100% that he wouldn’t enjoy it –

    I know I’d hate having needles stuck in my eyes, so I don’t allow anyone to stick needles in my eyes…. Laughing boy Nigel however, knew he would hate the new stadium but he still went anyway #weird #odd #masochist

    • addiction, drug addicts hate their drug of choice at times, but they generally always go back.
      i won’t go rehab because i don’t want to kick the habit, but the drug has changed

  12. Its strange today I was expecting a real backlash about the move but there has been far more postive comments than I expected.So much so some of the support who still don’t agree with the move are getting quite tetchy with fans who are pleased with the outcome of the night.Sour grapes perhaps as they were expecting to be gloating today about the poor reviews.

  13. Fully agree jb ! There’s some right mugs out there , their comments a worthless .

  14. I do think people need to give it more than a single game to decide “oh, I don’t like this”. We have just moved in, so of course it won’t feel like home yet. Let’s see how it feels the first time we beat Tottenham there.

  15. I remember it must have been about a year ago someone wrote a ‘Pro’ article on the move to the Olympic Stadium & the author got absolutely slaughtered by the opponents of the move.I mean really slaughtered so I can see why people who enjoyed the experience are having a go at his negativity towards the move.Its role reversal with this blog.Im sure Nigel can take it however,he is hardly a shrinking violet when it comes to telling people what he thinks lol

  16. I respect your point of view Mr.Kahn though dont agree with it.I have been goin to watch The Irons for decades & loved,adored the Boleyn.What a home it was,the best in the world for us fans.But ya know what,i went to the OS yesterday & bloody loved it,i mean really bloody loved it.Ok I don’t know how to use Twitter,aint got a clue what a USB stick is but I know this is time to move on & I bloody well will with a big smile on my face.

  17. I understand Nigel’s view everyone that went to the old Boleyn before it was altered and when the terraces were there can relate to that, was the Boleyn ever the same since they made it all seater and then built new stands ? For me definitely it was not, times change, I have lived in a few different homes my most recent s new build, with any new home until you have explored it and lived in it for a few months or longer it always feels a bit unreal but then you have some shared memories good mostly hopefully and more and more it feels like home, I have to say all my first experiences were memorable and enjoyable and I hope n the future yours are too Nigel COYI!!!

  18. Ahhh come on boys dont have a go at Nigel the Wetlands think you are being mean to him & his very balanced (???) article lmao.Someone go water the delicate flowers.
    I appreciate you coming to the dark side to put your views across Nigel.Next time we will lay on some crumpets & earl grey lol

    • So the deal is that no one can disagree with Nigel because it is a balanced article.What are we ment to do then,tug our forelocks say what a great read,agree with it all pal just to not offend some of his buddies sensitive natures.I have read that blog when some authors have been torn to shreds by them.Some Asian guy,sorry forgotten his name got totally & utterly trashed by them on a weekly basis.I gave my opinion to Nigel which wasn’t ment to offend but I sure as hell aint going to agree to keep his buds happy.

      • Some on there look down on the contributors here.They think they are the cornerstone of West ham Football Club & comments on here are worthy of only laughing at.The illiterate C&H users.The irony is that many there talk more sh1t than most on here do!

    • yorkshire tea and cheese beigel from brick lane and its a date

    • It is rather peculiar that on here you have such diverse reactions to this article but on there it is seen almost across the board as a fair,balanced article.Are they scared of Nigel on there? Lol. Really,not a single one disagrees or has anything to say about the negative side of it.Its just ‘I agree’ or ‘its a balanced article’.Strange I must say.Not one person who said they read it disagreed.I can’t get my head round that.

  19. **** me what’s the point of an article if you have to agree with it.

  20. No offence, I may be completely wrong,… but looking at Nigel – he looks the type of bloke who is rarely happy with anything in life. Someone similar attending Upton Park for the first time 100 years ago probably hated it. Some people just cannot handle change.

    I’m an old git and I remember the old grounds like Aston Villa where one end was a mud hill covered in wee because a lot of fans relieved themselves where they stood. However, I can accept change and I was very proud last night and I am sure that the stadium will improve even more. It feels like home already.

  21. Lol,chill out lads.Im sure Nigel didn’t expect everyone to agree with him.He can take it like a man.I have missed this during my summer break.Its good to see the passion is still about.

  22. I don’t often agree with Johnboy but he has got it spot on in his earlier post. We must moveon . It’s happened . We have moved. We ain’t going back . So we must get on with it . In twenty years time when all us old farts are gone and forgotten our new younger fan base won’t even remember UP. COYI X

  23. Nigel great respect mate but you have to get over it. If you can’t you will just drive yourself crazy. We have moved. We ain’t going back. Get used to it. I agree it will never be U P but isn’t that the whole point of progressing and moving on?

  24. thanks everyone for the comments,

  25. Everyone loves ya really Nigel.I bet we have all read articles of yours over the years & enjoyed them massively.So we dont all agree about everything but we still all support the same team…well I think you still do lol.

  26. Im sixty five years old and saw my first game at the boleyn ground aged six. I have been to winnining

    I saw my first game at the boleyn ground aged six, I am now sixty five. I went to the london stadium yesterday and it took my breath away. not just the stadium, but the whole park and location. those who pine for the Boleyn ground and reject progress are living in a vacume. West Ham was there before you and I were born. and hopefully will be there long after we are all dead and buried. those that want everything to remain as they remember it are being nothing more than selfish. I am not the future. nor are most of you. There are a generation of young and yet unborn fans that will only know the london stadium as home. Anyone that wants to deny them that and insist that their west Ham experience should be everyones experience is being cruel in the extreme. I will see few, if any more games of the team I love. but I’m not the future. but I am sure this move gives the team a future beyond my dreams you may, like me, have great memories of West Ham. But please dont deny future fans their memories. which I hope will be even better than ours.

  27. That’s an interesting read Nigel,thanks.I ain’t going to admit to agreeing with it all but see some points that are valid about football & the way it’s going today.But if we don’t go with the flow we will be sunk.Irrespective of that I think no matter how much of an affinity fans had with Upton Prk I have to say I have read some true pony on the our sites today.I mean come on,people claiming that it is how it must feel to lose a child,its like your soulmate leaving you for another man or woman & other relationship,family based guff.Accepted everyone feels differently but please,talk about over egging the pudding.

    • thanks Eddie, having lost a child, believe me it is no where near that. I am torn because in 2 years time with spurs in ether ew stadium if we were still at the Boleyn with 35,000 it would of been difficult but Leicester stadium only holds 30,000 while newcastle hold 52,000. Having a big stadium guarantees you nothing

      • Oh dear,well im sorry for your loss,i cant even imagine that feeling tbh 🙁
        I hear what your saying totally about it not bringing success.Ofc a stadium guarantees nothing & I don’t really know enough about the viability of us having been able to build a purpose built ground but the thought of The Spuds & Chelski moving into 50-60 k grounds while we were still stuck with 35k would have really p1ssed me off if im honest.

  28. Oh dont even go down that road Eddie.I have read the same today.”It’s like losing a loved one” or ” a death in the family”.No,no it bloody well isnt.If some folk truly believe that then they couldn’t have lost anyone close to them.It is an idiotic comparison

  29. Nigel Khan ; seeing as you are being a negative kind of person with no real vision of the future with A constant view looking backwards it’s probably better for you to sell your season ticket .
    We ALL loved the Boleyn Ground , of course we did . But if you think a gate of 35,000 will feed us , then you are being silly .
    It is up to us to make it our home and dig in to help give it History of our own making .
    This new home of our’s will bring it’s own memories for the younger supporters who are itching to make Thier mark . Don’t deny them that honour .
    I have been a Hammers fan for , can’t really remember now , but I am 65 yrs old .
    This move to the ( OS , London stadium ) is what we needed ,, so what do you say if we give it a right good go and make it work !!

    • Well, I’m DELIGHTED Nigel has a Season Ticket. Whilst I feel he has a strong duty not to continually impose his “I don’t like the stadium” opinions on those around him, I am VERY pleased he will still be coming. He has WHU in his heart like the rest of us. Everyone is always saying WHU is a family club. Well then he is a WHU brother. Also, it is great to have people with long memories, to pass on WHU folklore to the younger ones coming through. And is Nige really NOT going to cheer when we bang in a goal? I don’t think so! So from that, small acorns…
      I was one of the sceptics because I could get no answers to my ‘distance from the pitch’ enquiries which only made me all the more suspicious + the fact that most other athletics to football stadia had failed. Selling our own ground for that was too risky IMPO. But I was wrong. I was wrong about Slav too: I thought his appointment was emotional froth and noise! How wrong was THAT?!! Being wrong, even on major stuff, doesn’t negate me my other views, or make me any less of a supporter. Swallowing one’s pride and admitting being in the wrong takes guts. But the sooner one does it, the sooner one can get on with life, and it puts those that continue to gloat completely in the wrong….. Of course, you might say that you do not feel you are in the wrong. If you don’t like the new stadium, that’s your opinion. But that is ALL it is. It doesn’t mean you are right. Sure, all new buildings can feel a bit sterile to some. I feel KB has done a superb job of the ‘Westhamification’, especially considering that we don’t own the ground.
      You are one of us, Nige and I’m proud of the huge contribution you make. Thank goodness you had the good sense to buy a season ticket – but pls don’t p1ss off those around you! I’m just v sad for our brothers who haven’t…Gary Firminger et al…. LONG LIVE WHU!

      • Haha,you dont believe all that #Westhamfamily do you Fishy face,lol.Some of our fans would sooner shaft you than have you in the family.Its total bolloxs 😀

        • I like it, Sammy-boy…well, of course you would know! Can I make a tiny request; pls use a claret and blue dagger as you stab me in the back, yeah?….Oh and for the record, I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect than you….indeed it would be an honour! You make such being stabbed in the back….well….er…a pleasure! Keep up the magnificent work, Oh mighty P45.

  30. The OS will divide many people for a while but I too am surprised by the vast majority of positive feedback from our first match. There are various issues that need ironing out but I was very impressed with the whole match day experience. Regarding Nigel’s comments about football as a whole, he can’t be faulted. Football has changed beyond recognition and maybe that is what many who were/ are against the move are actually talking about. The move to the OS reflects the shift in football towards a money making machine where us fans are numbers, likes on Facebook and retweets. TV money outstretches income from other sources, but marketing the ‘brand’ will bring in new fans, more revenue and ‘success’ to a club at the end of the financial year. Personally there is still a lot to entertain and I know there will be plenty of that in the OS. But when the ‘entertainment’ factor is much less than the negativity of the modern game, you have to question why you still go. Nigel reminds me of some supporters who have already made their mind up not to go again to see West Ham. I respect that view. My eldest son is off to America and my younger son will now join me in the new stadium – a 10min walk from my flat. I am looking forward to bringing him into the fold with a new stadium and new team and it will feed his growing interest in football. It will be interesting, at the end of the season, to see how many of those who are still against the move will have changed their minds. I feel for Nigel as I am sure it can’t be easy to adjust to the new surroundings. But I am sure his views are reflective of what we have all felt over time.

    • Football has ALWAYS been about money, Mr D. It is just that clubs were run by people who were not v business minded, and as a result, made some immense cock-ups. Billy Bonds as manager having to cope with the bond scheme etc etc. What caused a seismic change was the increasing use of foreign players, and players going over like pansies, diving etc. In those days ‘divers’ would have been jeered at so much, they would never do it again….and sure, I miss that.
      Professional fouls were a nasty part of the game; Your hatchet men like chopper Harris’s of this world taking out an opponents etc… something of which Billy Bonds was VERY wrongly accused of. Sure, he was hard as nails – and he certaily was – but very fair, and would NEVER endanger an opponent. I remember him jumping up after Willie Donachie had up-ended him as the ref was about to book Donachie saying “Leave it out .ref”, or that bit of magic when that nasty toe-rag Billy Bremner was about to get his comeuppance off Billy after one of his trademark cynical fouls on BB, and just as they squared up, Billy grabbed him and waltzed away…. Bill was never the most skillful, but he made up with it with sheer heart and guts, and what with being our longest serving player (precisely because of that guts) and actually being a true gent, is why he is so beloved by many WHU faithful. So, sure, if I am honest, I preferred those old days. Even with the skill of Payet etc….the 70’s was a cracking time…apart from Moore, Bonds, Trev, there was Devonshire, Parkes, Ray Stewart, Pop Robson….Magical times! What I can’t stand about the modern game are the dives, getting people sent off and refs making bad decisions. We sould be playing in the Champions league now. For the sake of the game, we MUST bring in TV replays, where a manager gets a couple of bites per half to have a decision reviewed – like in tennis. If he gets it right, then he keeps that chance of review. Also, ban ‘Fergie time’ forwever, by having the stop watch run for all to see, like in rugby. The game ends at the last second – end of!
      It’s those changes that have made the modern game, and not so much the stadia. And like anything, as I’ve said above, the modern game is in need of massive improvement. Who knows; maybe if England is ever going to survive on the international stage, maybe like Germany, we have to restrict the no of foreign players…We probably do….
      So, Nige, if it was a house, you might complain about the new stadium not having bay windows “Got to have bay windows, or it an’t a house”, but with bi-fold doors onto the garden, large bedrooms with ensuites, it is still a lot BETTER in most people’s opinions! I’m done!

  31. I am not surprised by Nigel’s write up, If he had written anything positive about the OS It would be a shock.
    However I can’t help feeling a bit sad that he and probably countless other will no doubt feel like this.
    Thanks for sharing your opinion Nigel.
    We face an uncertain future thats for sure, I never went the other night, so haven’t got an opinion on it, but I am thinking it will take a few years, maybe even decades before we really know if this move was good or bad.

  32. I can empathise with Nigel’s feelings and, as a season ticket holder for over 20 years, I had similar thoughts after Thursday night.

    The stadium looks stunning, the pitch looks amazing from my new seat in the east upper but the game and players felt so distant. I felt unexpectedly detached from the game and can only hope that that feeling will pass as I get more used to it as the season moves on.

    I desperately wanted to love it and did like certain aspects but the truth for me is that although it’s a very impressive facility and the board have done a great transformation job, it’s simply not designed for football and is a ‘make do’ job. It’s as close to a good football stadium that the former OS can be.

    I’m all for leaving the Boleyn and moving on to bigger and better things but for me the OS isn’t the right choice. It was a cheap, obvious opportunity that fell in to our lap that was too good to pass up. I’d have rather waited and spent more time (and probably money) on finding a site to build a new home, owned and used exclusively by west ham and designed specifically to give the best matchday experience to the fans.

    Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea will all soon have stadiums that tick all those boxes. I fear that we don’t and have had to settle for the next best option available.

    Our new stadium is the result of reacting to and making the best of an opportunity not pro-actively findlng the best solution for the future of the club and it’s fans.

  33. The open void between tiers should have been made visible from reservation centre when choosing seats surely something can be doner to make feel attached to lower tier, It feels rather like a building site ..will there be a waiting list to change seats next season..lld expect so ..

    • It is,its being covered over with claret & blue covers isn’t it.Thats what I understood anyway.Not everything was complete Turdsday 😉

  34. I was thinking that the new stadium is a bit of a leveller. Everyone going now is a newbie, regardless of how long you’ve been following West Ham. That’s got to hurt a bit, especially those that feel they earned their stripes supporting WH through thick and thin. Having said that, the older generation should never stand in the way of the new generations coming alone, who deserve to have their own ‘special memories’ too. There is definitely something special about the noise in the new stadium and hopefully there will be some special results this season to help everyone feel at home in the new surroundings.

  35. I dont have any sympathy for fans who have given up going or say they will stop going.Its a different stadium but its the same players on the pitch.Anyone who stops going to support Noble & the team because of a change of venue I wont miss anyway.I doubt the team will miss them either.It will give a chance to someone who wants to be there & wants to support them not bathe in their personal sorrow.

  36. Well the waiting list is long enough isnt it Stan.I have seen some shocking comparison made about this move which I mentioned to Nigel.Really stupid remarks in all honesty,i have also read some reactions to not liking it that could only have been written by members of an amateur dramatics society.

Comments are closed.