Adver News: THE SAM MORSHEAD COLUMN: Irrational panic over Patey's comments

[News Monkey]

THE SAM MORSHEAD COLUMN: Irrational panic over Patey's comments
           
           


  LOOKING at messageboards this week, you’d have thought Swindon Town had just been on the back end of consecutive 5-0 hidings.

           

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/10142664.THE_SAM_MORSHEAD_COLUMN__Irrational_panic_over_Patey_s_comments/?ref=rss
           
           
           

[corner]

Sam on how to win back some of the fans.   

[Batch]

At least Patey may now put his comments into context, then we can forget about it.

[Red Frog]

One of Morshead's best articles yet, and the kind of insight that's required, rather than just reporting. I've always rated him higher than many of you, and it helps that he's the first Town fan in the role for several years.

[Abrahammer]

Absolutely bang on the money there Sam

[OOH! SHAUN TAYLOR]

That is a very good article - fair play. SM takes a hell of a lot of largely unwarranted stick but that is spot on.

It may even go some way to calming down the thisis legend that is louis cassius (then again.... )

[fatbasher]

Good article, SAPfan or whatever his name is still does not get it.

Which brings me onto previous posts I have made about our finacial future particularly if we get promoted again.

Expenditure is dependant on income and not investment as i understand it and we will not be in a position to consider redevelopment until we fill our 15k ground week in week out as we should in the championship, but we need to gain a foothold there first. In order to do that we need to have an influx of money and if the board do not put that in legitimately then we the fans will have to bare the brubt of that. What price seaon tickets and generak matchday tickets next season if we do?

[Ardiles]

Oh great.  Not this again.

I’m not doubting it is in sections of the town, but do we have the regular footfall to back up such an enormous venture?

With the exception of the visit of Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup, there has only been one five-figure attendance at the County Ground this season. The average crowd for Town’s home games is 8,411. So what is the incentive to increase the capacity to 20,000?

There’s certainly no reason to momentarily lose all grip on reality because Patey has been more forthright than others with the notion that, right now, Swindon does not need a new stadium.

Yep.  In just the same way that Reading didn't need a new stadium when they moved from Elm Park, or Swansea not needing to move to the Liberty.  But they did.  And the rest is history.

Our own move/redevelopment is now at least 15 years overdue.  If it is true that 'redevelopment appears to be a slow and deeply painful process', we need to be asking why it appears to be uniquely slow and painful in Swindon.  Why has it been less so at other clubs and in other towns/cities?  The tone of Sam's article, you may have noticed, has really got up my nose.  (Not a meltdown, you understand.  It's just irritated me a little.  There's a difference.)  We don't need the local press acting as apologists for the very obvious lack of progress on this front.

[kerry red]

Oh great.  Not this again.

Yep.  In just the same way that Reading didn't need a new stadium when they moved from Elm Park, or Swansea not needing to move to the Liberty.  But they did.  And the rest is history.

Our own move/redevelopment is now at least 15 years overdue.  If it is true that 'redevelopment appears to be a slow and deeply painful process', we need to be asking why it appears to be uniquely slow and painful in Swindon.  Why has it been less so at other clubs and in other towns/cities?  The tone of Sam's article, you may have noticed, has really got up my nose.  (Not a meltdown, you understand.  It's just irritated me a little.  There's a difference.)  We don't need the local press acting as apologists for the very obvious lack of progress on this front.

But Elm Park, Vetch Field and the Withdean were not fit for purpose in any way - they were all complete shitholes.

The CG, for all its faults, is an all-seater ground with the 2 main stands of a decent standard.

The one fact most Town fans cannot come to terms with is that our attendances are a stagnant 8000-odd. Middling along in the Championship will obviously see that rise to just over 10,000 (mainly because of larger away support).

Again, if memory serves, even with Hoddle in the season we went up to the PL, our average attendance was still not near capacity even then

[Flashheart]

I always thought one of the main purposes of redevelopment was to create additional revenue streams. Hotels, offices, shops, that type of thing.

Anyway, nobody has said there will be no redevelopment. He's just said there's no news on that front.

[Ardiles]

But Elm Park, Vetch Field and the Withdean were not fit for purpose in any way - they were all complete shitholes.

The CG, for all its faults, is an all-seater ground with the 2 main stands of a decent standard.

That's true.  And almost certainly a factor in why it is taking us longer than most to get things moving.

The one fact most Town fans cannot come to terms with is that our attendances are a stagnant 8000-odd. Middling along in the Championship will obviously see that rise to just over 10,000 (mainly because of larger away support).

The number of folk who seem a little down on our attendances surprises me.  There is nothing stagnant about an average attendance of 8,500 odd in tier 3.  It's really rather good.  We have one of the better followings in the division, and we're getting  approximately double what we were getting 10 years ago.  (Most of us can remember the days when a crowd figure at the County Ground would often begin with a '4'.)

But that's not the point.  As Flashheart says, the point of a redevelopment is to take the club to the next level in commercial terms due to the additional revenue streams that would arise.  Most weeks the County Ground is about two thirds full - much more than it used to be - but that is hardly the point of a redevelopment.  I may be more of an optimist on this point than most, but I believe our crowds are going to take off significantly once

(a) we're in the Championship; and
(b) we have a redeveloped stadium.

And there are plenty of precedents to support this.  The public in Swindon has responded to the investment of recent years and crowds are well up on what they used to be.  With the playing side of things heading in the right direction, it's time to plan for the future.

[Riddick]

We need a new ground, its years over due and is holding us back massively!!!!

We need all the additional incomes from redevelopment that makes the club more sustainable.

And as mentioned above plenty of clubs with very small crowds have moved to new stadiums and increased attendances like Reading, Swansea.

This club needs to sort the ground out, for me the ground and facilities is the difference between a league two/one club and a championship team with a chance of premier league. It frustrates me so much that nobody in charge of this club has pushed this forward at all.

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

Oh great.  Not this again.

Yep.  In just the same way that Reading didn't need a new stadium when they moved from Elm Park, or Swansea not needing to move to the Liberty.  But they did.  And the rest is history.

Our own move/redevelopment is now at least 15 years overdue.  If it is true that 'redevelopment appears to be a slow and deeply painful process', we need to be asking why it appears to be uniquely slow and painful in Swindon.  Why has it been less so at other clubs and in other towns/cities?  The tone of Sam's article, you may have noticed, has really got up my nose.  (Not a meltdown, you understand.  It's just irritated me a little.  There's a difference.)  We don't need the local press acting as apologists for the very obvious lack of progress on this front.

I agree. The rest of the article is spot on except for this section.

I'm with you on this Ardiles. We really need new facilities to push on as a club. Club's like Peterborough can't push on any more at Championship level because they don't have the facilities. If it wasn't for their owner bankrolling them all the time they'd be coming straight back down.

We really need it to happen and we're well behind other clubs in that respect. Even the likes of Rotherham have managed a new stadium recently. Part of the problem isn't attendances. It's the lack of co-operation of SBC and the local residents (otherwise known as NIMBYs) that have held us back over the years. Not to mention so not very well thought out plans from previous regimes. I've no doubting this board can get the plans right, they have their heads screwed on. I also understand we need investment to help us achieve it but if the owners honestly think that because crowds aren't currently big enough we do not need a new stadium and facilities then they are getting it wrong.

The fans also need to get behind it. And if they are still skeptical of it because crowds aren't big enough then it's hardly going to help the cause. Stayaways who moan about lack of progress should maybe consider getting down to a few more games as well. It will only help.

Finally the whole negative air around the club from some sections of support (a minority it has to be said) needs to be banished for good. Why do we always have mong meltdowns at such small things like we had this week? Maybe if the doom and gloom lifted the board and club would feel it has a bit more support?

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

I always thought one of the main purposes of redevelopment was to create additional revenue streams. Hotels, offices, shops, that type of thing.

Anyway, nobody has said there will be no redevelopment. He's just said there's no news on that front.

Exactly this. The idea isn't to increase crowds (although you'd hope that would come with nicer facilities and better football) it's to try and sustain self stability financially as a club. This is why the likes of Reading have prospered. It's not just been about bigger crowds leading to a bigger budget but extra revenue streams making the club a much better financial prospect.

[BruceChatwin]

In regards to the stadium redevelopment, except for the Stratton Bank and a couple of other issues, I like most of the things about it as it stands: where it's positioned, the view you get of the game, the atmosphere when we actually wake up (Tranmere game/ Aston Villa had moments of genuine electricity) and I do worry about losing all of those things if we move to a Colchester or Franchise style empty bowl stuck out in an industrial estate. If, however, the clubs financial stability and survival are going to be dependent on new revenue streams, then we should be trying to sort this out NOW while we're still on an upward curve.

In regards to Patey, at least he's spoken openly and we know where we stand. I think the biggest problem the fans have with him is he is primarily focussed on representing the interests of the owners over the club, whereas his predecessor was his polar opposite in that regard. Following on from JW, it feels like we don't have anyone invested in representing US anymore at boardroom level whose passionate about the progress of the club.

Nice to see some positivity on the advertiser anyway, even if I don't agree with everything the article says. There is an incredible paranoia that surrounds our club when it comes to issues of ownership, but I think (prepare for a bad metaphor) we've been hit so many times by the school bully we're justified in cowering at the slightest sign of a raised fist.