Millwall’s FA Cup fourth round match
against Aston Villa was set down for Saturday 26 January. It was moved to Friday 25 January at
7:45pm. The reason for the switch was
that a march protesting cuts to the local Lewisham Hospital was to take place
on the Saturday. Now normally clubs get
a bit peeved about fixture changes but not only were Millwall OK with the
switch, they took an active role in promoting the march and encouraging their
supporters to take part in the demonstration.
“Whilst changing the date
of our Cup tie is an inconvenience to us, we believe there is a bigger picture
here.
Millwall Football Club, our players, staff and many thousands of fans have,
over the years, had reason to be grateful for the resources, facilities and
care we have received from our local hospital.
We are not persuaded by the arguments put forward in favour of closing the
A&E department, childrens ward, intensive care and maternity services at
Lewisham.
Consequently, we have given permission for hospital staff and supporters to
hand out leaflets and collect signatures for the petition at tomorrow's match, in
an attempt to persuade the Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt to reverse the
decision.
Our players will also be warming up before the game against Burnley in special
t-shirts in support of the hospital and we would also encourage supporters who
feel strongly about this issue to attend the demonstration next Saturday."
Read more here:- Millwall Football Club - Show Your Support
"FC
United is delighted to announce that the judge has rejected the claim to quash
the planning permission for our development in Moston.
...
We
are delighted that the judge has now rejected the claim and his decision is a
huge step forward towards us achieving our aim of building our own ground and
community facility in Moston.
We understand that some residents remain opposed to the development but look
forward to ensuring that the new facility is an asset that provides a
widespread benefit to the local area."
Read more here:- FCUM: Judicial Review Ruling
...many years ago, and their voices weren't heard
"Linesman John Brooks was picked up by the microphones of the television cameras on the pitch at the end of Sunday afternoon’s match telling Joleon Lescott and Joe Hart that, “They’ve paid 62 quid over there – go and see them” after Manchester City’s two-nil win at The Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon. He earned himself considerable praise amongst supporters and some sections of the press for saying this – it is, of course, not known whether he realised that he would be audible on the television camera’s microphone or not – but his reward from The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the organisation which assigns match officials, was to be deselected from Wednesday night’s FA Cup Third Round replay between West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers.
...
A twenty-five year old estate agent from Stalybridge took a banner to the match which had the phrase, “£62!! Where will it stop?” painted on it, but during the match he was ordered by a match steward to hand the banner over and was subsequently ordered to by two police officers who threatened him with being ejected from the ground and arrest for a breach of the peace if he failed to comply with the steward’s demands."
Read more here:- 200%: Ticket Prices And The Costs Of Having An Opinion
(thanks again to our Scottish correspondent)
"Supporters'
groups have warned the Premier League there is a danger of "future
generations being lost" to the game after a Guardian survey revealed its
cheapest tickets were the most expensive of the four major leagues in Europe
and more than double those in Germany or Italy.
...
"[The Bundesliga]... offers a model that in many ways is more successful than our own. And it is not
a coincidence that most of their clubs are owned by their members... It's
very important that we keep football accessible. The evidence indicates that
the 18-30 age group, when people come out of the family tickets and have to pay
in their own right, is declining," said [FSF chairman] Clarke.
...
"There is no
doubt that away support is declining. It may be that the trend with away
support will spread to home support soon. In this case, the match going fan is
an essential part of the TV product. With the massive increase in media income
they should be able to bring prices down," added Clarke."
Read more here:- High ticket prices risk excluding a generation from English football
"Unlike Germany's thriving Bundesliga, the Premier League is run for the super-rich, not fans.
...
A recent flash point is the price visiting fans are charged for their tickets. (Manchester City fans protested at the £62 they were asked to pay for today's game at Arsenal.) If the price of admission, along with travel, is prohibitive, then the game is played to only one set of supporters in the stadium with one set of chants. The experience of a game shrivels.
...
Christian Siefert, CEO of the German Bundesliga, told the Observer recently that football is one of the last areas where people are brought together: "We want to have our whole society as part of our football, in our stadiums", explaining why the owners of football clubs forgo the highest possible ticket prices."
Read more here:-
The beautiful game embodies everything that's bad about Britain
