Posts Categorized: Opinion

Tottenham Chelsea Wembley groundshare – view from the Bridge

David Chidgey Chelsea Football FanCast

Chelsea and Spurs are set to start major ground redevelopment projects on their current sites which will see the clubs seeking temporary homes. Both sides have reportedly expressed an interest in using the National Stadium leading to talk of the possibility of a groundshare. We caught up with David ‘Stamford Chidge’ Chidgey from the Chelsea FanCast to get a view from Stamford Bridge… Groundsman: What do you think of the idea of moving to Wembley while your ground is redeveloped? David: Well obviously we’ll have to move somewhere. It’s not ideal but I think most supporters are prepared to put… Read more »

Qualifying for Champions League Proper: Arena Națională, Bucharest

against modern football graphite slogan.

After the Champions League qualification exploits in Macedonia, our search was ever further harder, more teams had been eliminated, and quite a few in the region we were traversing. We spotted that Steaua Bucharest were due to play Partizan Belgrade at the enormous Arena Națională. It wasn’t quite perfect, we would have to shift our expected twenty four hour train journey to Istanbul from Bucharest, but, alas, no problem, we wanted football, and the calendar had been unkind to us twice. The first time was in giving us no domestic football to see in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, when we… Read more »

Qualifying for Champions League Proper: Arena Filip II

Corner taken by APOEL

A blog as @MossInBerlin travels through eastern Europe to the early qualification games to the World’s biggest club competition: The Champions League (proper). Fresh from the adventure in Zagreb, we scoured the UEFA competitions fixture lists again, looking at our planned travel route, to find a suitable fixture. A tasty little 2nd Leg of the Second Round of Qualification between FK Vardar and APOEL Nicosia in Skopje fitted suitably and didn’t require a change to our travel plans, or a 400 km diversion like the Zagreb trip. The game was delicately balanced after the first leg resulted in a 0-0 draw,… Read more »

Football fans to have their say on Safe Standing

Ipswich fans on the away terrace at Huish Park

The Welsh Conservatives have this week launched a public consultation on ‘safe standing’ as they seek to build a case for a limited pilot in Wales. They want to hear the views of football fans throughout the United Kingdom. The consultation follows the success of a Conservative led cross-party motion in the National Assembly in July, which saw the Assembly becoming the first UK legislature to formally back safe standing. It is also backed by the Football Supporters Federation and the Safestanding Roadshow. Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, said: “Supporters are often described as the lifeblood of… Read more »

We want your views on rating the 92 league grounds

create your 92 and rate the 92 league grounds

You may have noticed a few changes we have made to make it easier to create your 92. Now you only have to select the ground you’ve ticked off and give your overall score – all other ratings are optional, making it quicker and easier to create your 92. For those that want to add a bit more detail there is the option to rate the grounds on 6 criteria; atmosphere, location, pie rating, pint rating, programme and value for money (pictured below). But have we missed anything??? We want to hear from you if there is anything else you… Read more »

Coventry City Return to the Ricoh Arena

Coventry city return home to the ricoh arena

After 17 months of being ripped out the heart of their city Coventry made a welcome return to their home, the Ricoh Arena. We catch up with Sky Blues fan and writer of the blog ‘A Club Without a Home’ Tom Murden to get his thoughts on the recent events. Groundsman: First of all it’s great to see Coventry return to the Ricoh and what an occasion it was – how did it feel from a fans points of view? Tom: It can’t be topped; it will go down as one of the greatest nights in our long history! I… Read more »

What the FA’s plans could mean for your club – Ipswich Town #sayNoToLeague3

Ipswich fans on the away terrace at Huish Park

As Greg Dyke refuses to give up on his plans to interfere with the English football pyramid we speak to Ipswich Town fan Tom Bloomfield about how the Portman Road club could be effected. Groundsman: Initially, what are you thoughts on the FA’s proposal to bring in B teams to the lower leagues? Tom: It’s a good idea, just not for this country. The people that point out the success it has had in other countries fail to realise that England has a rich professional league system unlike any other country in the world. Nowhere else will you find 18,000… Read more »

What the FA’s plans could mean for your club – Yeovil Town #sayNoToLeague3

Yeovil Town Huish Park

As we continue our look at how Greg Dykes possible plans could affect your club this time we take a look at Yeovil Town. Glovers fan Ollie Marsh gives his view on how League 3 and strategic loan partnerships could make an impact at Huish Park. Groundsman: Initially, what are your thoughts on the FA’s proposal to bring in B teams to the lower leagues? Ollie: I’m hugely opposed; I think Premier League clubs sending fringe and young players on loan to lower league clubs is a much more mutually beneficial way to give those players competitive experience. GM: How… Read more »

Do Leicester have what it takes to keep Premiership football at the King Power Stadium?

Leicester City's King Power Stadium formerly the walkers bowl

Leicester City fan Alex Waterfield previews the Foxes return to the Premier League. After convincingly romping to the Championship title will they have what it takes to keep top flight football at the King Power Stadium? Leicester City are officially back in the Premier League following Leicester’s other visit to the top flight in the 2004-03 season. Last campaign the Foxes greatly triumphed by winning the league with 102 points in total. The consistency of Nigel Pearson’s men was outstanding home and away. Each player from the squad was key and all played a role in promotion back to the… Read more »

Fans march on Premier League/Football League HQ demanding cheaper tickets

Stadium:MK

Hundreds of fans will march on Premier League and Football League headquarters this Thursday (14th August) demanding cheaper ticket prices throughout football. The march will be led by the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) with fans from scores of clubs joining them. Supporters say clubs should use multi-billion pound media deals to lower ticket prices for both home and away fans. The Premier League’s current media deal is worth £5.5bn, an increase of £2.1bn on the previous three years, but fans say there is little sign of anything being done to make life easier for match-going supporters. From the increase in… Read more »