It could have been much worse

[upthemaggies]

I know the drive home might not be a pleasant one.

1972-1998 we were unbeaten there in the league, 7 matches, I was at three of them - all stood on the Quarry Lane end. We didn't lose a home league game to them in that time either. What changed, as far as I can tell, is that they started taking the fixture far more seriously than we did around 2002 - based on the numbers they brought to Meadow Lane before and after. There was never that many of them in the 1980s, 88/89 season Stags was only our 7th highest gate of the season despite being on a Saturday. It all seemed to change when Dearden was our manager (soon after he'd quit them for us) and they brought a huge following for a very intense and bad tempered 2-2 draw. Since then there's been at least 10k for every ML league clash and we've only beaten them once.

[Stagnificent]

Well, given the alternative marky, ie: 2 sets of fans and 1 bog, I would imagine swapping stands is a far better solution.

SAG ruled against it because of trouble in the retail park with home fans walking that way, or something like that.

It's been a long time coming, but finally some of the people who make these decisions are seeming to see sense.

[Elite_Pie]

SAG ruled against it because of trouble in the retail park with home fans walking that way, or something like that.

It's been a long time coming, but finally some of the people who make these decisions are seeming to see sense.

Must admit it seems strange to give a whole stand to away fans when you know they'll only bring 200 max. Especially when if you continue to do well the empty seats could be occupied by home fans.

I wonder if anyone has suggested you renovate the Bishop Street stand (insert smiley face)?

[countygump]

I wonder if anyone has suggested you renovate the Bishop Street stand (insert smiley face)?

OK it would cost but knocking down the old Bishop St stand and making it just standing only terracing for away support should be the cheapest option? You would have the option then to either cover it or redevelop it at some point in the future. You're allowed standing only terracing in L2 aren't you?

[i961pie]

Must admit it seems strange to give a whole stand to away fans when you know they'll only bring 200 max. Especially when if you continue to do well the empty seats could be occupied by home fans.

I wonder if anyone has suggested you renovate the Bishop Street stand (insert smiley face)?

Go on Elite put in one of those funny emojis you love😂

[slack_pie]

Well since you ask, I have a few...
- you're a league club again playing in front of a full Meadow Lane.
- you're in the autos after a great start
- you clearly have a talented squad
- defeats can help you learn whwre to improve. I believe you will.

Don't worry about us. We're on a journey under Clough that WILL end in promotion one season or another. You'll most likely get there too from what I've seen so far this season. Chins up.

Cheers buddy.

Saturday was awful. As usual, we saved our worst performance of the season for you guys. But unlike previous encounters, I think the main reason we played poorly this time was that you are such a strong team now. I'll be amazed if you don't get automatic. It's about time!

I think we'll be alright, but it's definitely a reality check. You've been building a strong squad with a strong L2 budget for years now. We've just arrived and had a decent start, but the gulf class really showed against you lot. We just don't have the quality of depth to compete at the top all season, but playoffs could be possible depending on injuries. That would be more than fine with me.

[PedroTheFisherman66]

We made them look better as we had no natural left side in the team.! As we saw it made us easy to close down with no natural exit route down the left.!

[Stagnificent]

We made them look better as we had no natural left side in the team.! As we saw it made us easy to close down with no natural exit route down the left.!

You might be right, but I will say that we had a central midfielder on that right side of attack and a striker at RB. That side wasn't our strongest either. Think we just chased and chased in line with Clough's instructions and it paid off.

[Stagnificent]

OK it would cost but knocking down the old Bishop St stand and making it just standing only terracing for away support should be the cheapest option? You would have the option then to either cover it or redevelop it at some point in the future. You're allowed standing only terracing in L2 aren't you?

haha yeah that would seem the obvious choice. For some reason, it's not happened, although there are plenty of rumblings at the moment that it's imminent. There's an issue with houses behind it that are privately owned. I suspect the club have been unsuccessfully trying to buy them for years and putting off any redevelopment until they know they can build something decent. It might now just have to happen as a terrace or something with corporate boxes like Luton's old stand. Building upwards may also be an issue for those houses in terms of permission.

[countygump]

haha yeah that would seem the obvious choice. For some reason, it's not happened, although there are plenty of rumblings at the moment that it's imminent. There's an issue with houses behind it that are privately owned. I suspect the club have been unsuccessfully trying to buy them for years and putting off any redevelopment until they know they can build something decent. It might now just have to happen as a terrace or something with corporate boxes like Luton's old stand. Building upwards may also be an issue for those houses in terms of permission.

One of the reasons I suggested an open terrace is that not only would it be the cheaper option, but it would have very little "height impact" on the housing behind it. Ob it would need it's own facilities and an entrance on the South Stand end only. Thus keeping away fans away from the retail park and allowing home fans to reclaim the North Stand and the South Stand to become your "Family Stand". The moral of the story is to put the away fans exposed to the elements whenever possible.

Sorted, new stadium capacity @13-14,000, Jobzaguddenn...............