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the bloke should say something publicly asap.he either needs to give the dreaded vote of confidence or get shot of malpas.say anything really, but he cannot just say nothing.it's hit a point where fans need to hear something from the board.

hes gone away i bet

i bet he has not

No, I think silence is the best option.

Any statement from Fitton other than saying he's sacked Malpas wont be liked anyway....

Surely it's down to the press to ask him anyway.

dont you think they would have?

Nah I think he should stay quiet and  just get on with the job in hand.Pointless saying anything people only hear what they want to anyway.

I agree with Yeovil. He should hold a press conference today saying Malpas is out the door unless we win our next 10 games.

Top post Yeovil.

It took me a moment to see what you did there :D

He needs to come out and back him or sack him, silence is not going to do any good because the fans have had enough of maurice.

If he stays silent i presume malpas is close to the sack especially if we lose on friday.

what leads you to that assumption?

Id asume the exact opposite myslf.

If Fitton did come out and back the manager what good would that do?

It would piss alot of people off and they wouldnt probably start calling for Fitton to sell up and take Malpas with him.

Just my opinion, i don't see how fitton can back the man after the terrible results we have been having and the dire performances, how much longer can he last?

I know what you're saying but fitton's the boss, he should say something on the matter.

Exactly, and if he was going to sack MM he is hardly going to tell the press first is he? Will MM be expected to find out by reading back page of the adver with his morning haggis?

If anyone called for Fitton to sell up I'd have to fight to keep my pacifist tendencies

That's just the dreaded vote of confidence, even if AF meant it many fans would see it as MM is as good as gone.

I think other chairman would have sacked malpas by now, just my opinion, not a won a game all this month, terrible performances, 3 home defeats on the bounce, he should be given his marching orders but i still think fitton will give him another 4-5 games.

Theres plenty of time,we just need a confidence boosting home win.

Im sure Fittons made noises before now about loyalty,continuity and looking at things over the long term.He also doesnt seem the type to worry about being unpopular or pandering to mass hysteria.

Probably a bit of an over the top suggestion, but it wouldnt surprise me from some of our more how shall I say retarded fans.

The fans made their opinion clear yesterday. They want Malpas sacked, any statement backing him will be met negativly. So what would be the point

I'd like to see some crazily cryptic statement so we can spend ages trying to understand it. Would be awesome. Maybe some sort of riddle?

Oh and the statement has to be made in the form of a song. With a dance to go with it.

Oh and late friday.

These are my demands people at STFC. Make them happen please.

Lets face it, any statement would probably be slagging the fans off, rather than Malpas.

i expect the Adver will have something tomorrow

ace - would it be a dance like the Macerena? or more kind of interpritive dance?

Undecided on the need for a statement (don't see the point tbh) but if one is to be made I'd be firmly opposed to any kind of dance-related add-ons. We've got enough problems on the pitch without highlighting our booty-shaking deficiencies as well

can he stay silent with fans threatening to not pay for their season tickets?and generally fans fed up with the situation?
i think the reasons some of you have given not to speak are spot on and fair.but i just feel we need to hear something from him.
that said, if he's sticking with malpas then if i were him i'd stay silent too i think.
i guess i dont have a fucking clue really.

Unless he has decided to sack Malpas then he's better off keeping quiet. Fans would read all manner of things into whatever statement he makes so he's better off saying nothing. That way he keeps his options open. At least all the talking and arguments are about off field activities. That alone should tell us how far this club has come in the last 12 months. We're all talking football again.

Can you opt out of the second part of the season ticket....

people could cancel the payment via their bank if they wanted i'd guess.

I don't think there is a need for a statement, Fitton & Watkins are not daft blokes, far from it when the time is right they will act, now is not the time for rash decisions.

Changing the manager for the sake of it does not do anyone any good, and I think Malpas should be allowed a little bit more time, Fitton has to be sure that changing Malpas is the right thing to do I suspect that Fitton will give Malpas time to try and turn things around, Malpas was Fitton's choice and I'm sure he will want to be seen as having given him a fair crack at the job.

I suspect that Malpas has a few games left yet though, I don't think anything will happen in the next few weeks that's for sure.

If a change is going to be made then Fitton needs to give the new man the opportunity to bring in his own people, yes it will cost money to pay up contracts but unfortunetly that is the nature of the beast, but a clearout of managment will be needed if Malpas ultimately fails.

You have to remember though that Fitton prides himself on being loyal and will not make a rash decision.

what are the club going to do about it?  take potentially hundreds of fans to court?

Come on give AF a bit of time to tap someone up, or at least make sure he's got a decent replacement lined up.  It'd just be our luck if he did sack MM that he then goes and appoints Barry Hunter as our new boss.

Technically, no. It's not a half season ticket, it's a full season ticket with a split payment option.

So all those people saying they wont take up the second option and technically talking bollocks?

Possibly, but like Colin Todd said, I can't see the club wasting time and money chasing people for the second payment if they really don't want to pay it.

I have been wondering this. So if people choose not to pay then they still have a season ticket and so they can still get in right? Unless the club checks each name at the turnstiles.

No, not after Dec as the books sent out in August were only for games. You get the second lot of tickets after you've paid the 2nd installment

Yes I paid by cash and didnt give them any card details so I certainly can!!

Not at all see below...

SEASON TICKET UPDATE: SECOND HALF
Posted on: Tue 23 Sep 2008

The STFC Box Office will be extending their opening hours for Season Ticket Holders to take out their second part Season Ticket which has to be purchased by 30th September.

Thursday 25th September    8am to 7pm
Saturday 26th September    8am to 3pm
Sunday 27th September    8am to 2.45pm (and after match)

For those fans who ticked the box on their application form for the 2nd payment to come out automatically, this will processed this month.

For fans who didn't request this, we would ask them to visit the STFC Ticket Office or call 0871 2232300 to pay the 2nd installment.

Season Ticket holders will have until Sept 30th to do this and will be given a 2nd Season Ticket booklet covering the 2nd half of the season.

It would be of great assistance to the Ticket Office if supporters could purchase their 2nd Season Ticket booklet as soon as possible, as this will help in avoiding large queues during the last week of the renewal process.

Should any fans choose not to take up their season tickets for the 2nd half of the season by October 1st, their seats will be released for general sale for games taking place after the visit of Yeovil Town on Saturday 20th December 2008.

The Club will announce the price of a Half Season Ticket, covering the final eleven games of the 2008-2009 Season at a later date.

http://www.swindontownfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/TicketNews/0,,10341~1386837,00.html

In regard to the original post, lets get some perspective here. Yes we have been piss poor in our last 3 home league games. Yes the solution may or may notinvolve replacing the management.

But so we really think 3 poor games needs comment from the Chairman? Especially when mixed amongst our away form, which has been acceptable. Of course not!

 Quite right....Mr Fitton will decide if and when, the club needs a change of manager, we need to support the team, which includes the gaffer.  If people feel unable to do so, then much better to stay away....have the moaners considered that our backers might not be too impressed with some of our "support"

That's the practical impact though Gazza - technically (in fact legally) there is no such opt-out option. Those who signed up for a season ticket committed to pay for it, just in installments. But, as CT has pointed out, in practical terms, I don't see the club taking legal action against fans to force them to meet their commitments.

I'm not sure Fitton needs to say anything. He should just let MM get on with it and if we fail to win the next two games call him into the office and say "look mate i'm sorry but on your bike."

Absolutely. I already paid for mine last month but I know 2 people already who are going to "opt out" of buying their ticket for the 2nd half of the season..

I just don't understand that. It just seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If nothing else, they've already paid for more than half of the total cost in return for less than half the season's games.

They probably think "oh we have 240.00 extra to spend for xmas now"

I dont' blame them though in a way, who wants to keep watching crap performance after crap performance? also they probably want to make a point.

what point?

that they are happy clapper fair weather fans who dont actually support the team and will only turn up when we're winning....

Still cheaper than those that have paid £20 a game , what I dont understand is if you dont take up the option you still have tickets up to almost XMAS so if you dont pay before 1st October they can not sell tickets for your seat until the Yeovil game. Now if AF gets rid of Malpas in the next couple of weeks and things start to turn around do those people still have the option to get the second half at the cut price or the more expensive price. I paid mine last week as I still think it is good value and I think we owe to AF for saving the club.

I think Fitton should come on here, like a modern day Mark 'Flasher' McDevlin

fitton should stay silent until he takes action. i don't want a chairman who is always talking and you're never certain.

if fitton only speaks when his actions match his words, that is the mark of a trustworthy man in my opinion.

Welcome to Swindon Town. If we grow another 4,000 fans in the next 3 years then most likely our support will get even worse.

Will be interesting to see at what point we realise we are in for a relegation fight. Usually pulls everyone together a bit. Not Accrington/Chester/Rochdale again. Noooooooooo.

Fucking well said, Sonic. Fitton will appreciate that fans get lairy during and after shit performances like Sunday's and that forums are bound to go into meltdown as a result. The one thing I expect his lordship to do while we're all slating the players and Malpas though, is for him to keep a level head.

I'm not saying that Malpas should stay or be fucked off, but Fitton shouldn't be making a hasty decision right now.

I'm pissed off with Malpas and the shit performances by players in his side who should be fucking ashamed of accepting Fittons money in their wage packets. Fitton should be left to sort the situation out in his own way, and in his own time though.

*Deltaincline in rational post shock*

FWIW mate I completely agree with you !

As I see it, we have in Mr Fitton a chairman who knows how many beans make five. Not just in an astute businessman way, but also as someone who understands about football. The point above about taking his money as wages for poor performances will not be lost on him, and I would not be surprised if he is carrying out some performance reviews with the relevant parties. Whilst he isn't spouting platitudes to subdue the masses, I'll bet he is far from silent inside the club. When he has something constructive to say we'll get to hear from him.

You mean AF give MM monthly appraisals in the canteen?  "And where do you see yourself in 5 years time Maurice?"

People don't just become fans overnight DV. If we had an abundance of full-time, will support the club through thick and thin, fans already then the CG would have been full to the rafters when the new board arrived and we would have sold the season ticket allocation in the first couple of weeks.

But we didn't. In fact, we weren't even close.

I'm a Swindon fan because i remember the good games, great players and managers and know at some point we'll turn the corner and those sort of times will return. However, those people who were tempted in to becoming paying Swindon fans at the start of the season have had none of that yet.

If this season was my first season, i'd be thinking there must be better things to do with my weekends than watching the current shower of shit at the County Ground. And i'd be thinking about spending the second installment on doing other things, especially as nothing looks like changing with the current management and the attitude of the players playing for them.

You're right.

Those are the type of people we need to get through the turn style and turn into fans in order for our fanbase to grow.

At this moment in time im on a real downer about our fans, rightly or wrongly.

The area I used to sit was very empty last season its full of new season ticket holders and some of the shit they come out with just makes me hang my head.

I'm sure Tails and STFC_Dave will concur about a certain bloke!

Also new fans must be made to feel welcome not called morons and threatened to be battered all the time.

I'm thinking stand segregation - not by price but by how long you've been a fan... you have to do your time in the Arkells, followed by the DR wings before you can have a season ticket in the DR middle blocks.

Town End for day tickets?

You have summed up my boyfriends feelings!! This is the first full season he has come and he brought a ST - he is thinking about not bothering buying the second part!

I very much agree with this ...

And fans who don't show up every week shouldn't be given pasting on forums either. Let's face it, with everything going on in the financial world at the moment, paying for tickets to see a desperate, down-on-their-luck football team isn't going to be the top of everyone's list right now.

Of course, when teams are at least putting the effort it, or even winning, that £20 doesn't seem so much of a hit.

Is that right? Who cares! If they come and pay to watch the team they should be welcomed. If they stay at home we should maybe ask why, but we absolutely shouldn't go on about "fair weather fans" as that isn't really going to help them to come back if they read it, is it?

I know a couple of people who have not paid their 2 half s/t as yet but fully intend to, now I'm assuming that if they turn up at the ticket office after Oct 1 they won't be told...please go away you didn't renew in time you'll have to purcchase a 1/2 ST when they are announced.

I'm sure that there will be plenty of people though that have not paid by Oct 1 due to pay day etc and those that don't read the internet believing they are due to pay in Oct rather than by 1 Oct.

It's our understanding that the club intend to take a sensible line on this, they're out to get as many s/t holders as possible, not drive them away by getting all hard and fast on arbitrary deadlines

The bloke sat next to us against Millwall was saying rather loudly (when Millwall had a free kick on the edge of the area) "see if I was manager I'd be telling them to put the wall on the goal line". Thank God you're not the manager then I thought

That Jan....................





is fucking ace

Not at the time it wasn't Fred, especially as it was only a couple of minutes after he let everyone know about the back pass rule "HE CAN'T PICK IT UP, IT'S A BACKPASS, HE CAN'T PICK IT UP!!!!!", he didn't pick it up (even though it wasn't really a back pass, more like a tackle that ended up with the keeper.

Im glad i dont sit by people like that,I must have been good in a previous life.

I'm not sure if these examples prove that new Swindon fans are generally idiots or if, in fact, it's just that people are idiots.

The person who sat in front of me in the Prem season was a complete helmet who'd nearly have a seizure each time Andy Mutch went near the ball. Idiots have been around for ages.

If, as I suspect, it's the latter then we're screwed. People = Money but also People = Idiots

It's a difficult choice, a ground full of idiots or low attendance figures. And is an idiot always an idiot or does going to watch Swindon for a few seasons cure them of their idiocy?

sounds familiar to a bloke sat near me on saturday who would shout things like "PASS" or "TACKLE".

so, that's how you play this football game, eh

My favourite is 'Kick It!'

Or DRS's mate Rob's constant moan from Sunday: "Push up!"

'Square It' even though there's no other player on a vaguely similar plane to the one with the ball.

There used to be an old timer in the Town End that always used to shout "PLAY WIDE SWINDON PLAY WIDE".

I moved away from him for that samdy. Just tell him to shut up

To be fair, he looked like he was off his tits on something.

Haha probably, all the same though tell to shut up

YOU'RE RUBBISH .................. (Insert any players name here)

The mantra of Tonis mum..................

My voice still hasn't recovered from shouting at the linesman for not telling the ref he fucked up on a free kick decision.  I was doubting my passion a couple of seconds before that...

I started supporting in 1981, so I accept shit will happen more often than success.  I accept the shit after a game and at half time in the concourse when it's perfectly acceptable to vent your complete and utter anger at the game, but I got very fucked off with people on Sunday.  I enjoyed the 2nd half after I forgot about the game and moved away from other fans.  Sad.

Haivng done the leaflet drop in the Town centre a couple of years ago, it is clear Swindon suffers a high thick population count.  It's not a football problem per say.  People were telling me how we should never got rid of Hoddle for fucks sake, or that Honda should invest £20m as a gesture of goodwill.  It was a real eye opener.

Getting new fans is absolutely the right way to go, and I think it's not the new ones who annoyed me on Sunday.

Rob, do you realise how many TRUE Swindon fans turn up for every game from way outside the Swindon area?

The catchment area for Swindon must be one of the largest in the country, apart of course from Kent and Essex.

If you every travelled down the M4 from the London area for a Swindon home game you would be amazed how many of us come to games, so you assumption of thick Swindon fans in inner town has been the same for many years.

I remember during the Prem days, nearly getting into fights at work because of plastic's knob Jockeys saying that Digby should be sacked for letting so many goals in.