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Post by a more piratey game on Feb 7, 2015 20:01:47 GMT
I snuck in among the corporate seats, courtesy of a mate of mine whose company is based there. It was an interesting day, not least since I imagine it was quite a lot like what the UWE will be like, come the day
We had to go in the Hilton Hotel entrance. As we walked up to it, about 20 82ers, none of them wearing colours, marched down the slight slope towards it singing their songs. Since it was much more like a hotel entrance than the entrance to a football ground, the mixture of people milling around barely took any notice. I'm sure this disappointed them, as it seemed to me that the one thing they wanted above all other (short of an opposition, perhaps) was to be noticed
So we waited in the lobby for our friends and tickets to turn up. Then we went up to one of the upstairs bars, which backed onto a big function room, all of which had TV screens showing Sky Sports (so a bigger version of the thing under our own Vertigo Towers stand). That was all very nice, although it seemed that 'hospitality' added up to access to this area, free teas and coffees, and the chance to buy drinks at the bars. There were just a few 82ers in there, all very relaxed
The crowd seemed to be a real mix of ages, sexes and races. In the row behind me were 3 kids under-4. This didn't seem atypical of the rest of the ground, although I didn't really look too closely. They sang along a fair bit, and got quite shouty in the last 15 minutes of so, but I barely heard a swear word all afternoon
The view in the stadium was fantastic, and the noise was contained within the 'all-round bowl' effect, with over 5 thousand from the Dark Side and a surprising amount of noise from, per their own chants, the 'MK Army'. Apparently the club own the surrounding land, and so get week-round rent from M&S, Nando's and all the others, as well as an income from the hotel. I don't like many of the identikit soulless pop-up modern places, but I think this ground is a belter
Which brings me to the day's major dilemma - could I bring myself to support Franchise FC, if only for a day. It was an invidious choice, but an easy decision really - of course I could
So there was a football match too. Annoyingly, I thought the quality of the football was much higher than what we see, and it was a pretty entertaining 0-0. The best bit of the day was seeing Alli (the bloke sold to Spurs this week) get the better of Freeman several times. A bit less annoyingly, since it seems to be the way we want to go, Stadium MK seems to me to be a pretty good model to head towards |
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aghast
David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395 
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Post by aghast on Feb 7, 2015 22:01:21 GMT
Very good little piece. I know the 82ers are very snooty in public about the stadium but secretly they'd love a soulless bowl of their own like the one wot we woz hopin for.
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danrory
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 171
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Post by danrory on Feb 8, 2015 9:12:43 GMT
I remember seeing us play there a few years ago... And losing
as I recall the parking was a bit of a nightmare but I remember being impressed that the food/drink concourse was in full view of the pitch so you did not miss a kick, unlike many other grounds.
had a full back making his debut that day who used to play for MK but can't remember his name. Think he and a couple of others had a fall out with players/management...What was his name!?
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Post by a more piratey game on Feb 8, 2015 9:44:19 GMT
Carl Regan?
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Igitur
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 2,294
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Post by Igitur on Feb 8, 2015 9:55:17 GMT
Piratey, anyone chanting, "You're not a real team, you never will be" to the franchise like we did?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 9:56:07 GMT
Watching the FL Show and all the shiny new stands everywhere is somewhat deflating but one day.............................
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Post by One F in Dunford on Feb 8, 2015 10:10:14 GMT
Piratey, anyone chanting, "You're not a real team, you never will be" to the franchise like we did? I don't understand why everyone has a go at MK Dons for the move. They should be having a go at The Football League and The FA for agreeing to it. Also Wimbledon fans for not supporting their team as their support was pathetic. Wimbledon were on the brink of bankruptcy when MK moved in. |
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Post by a more piratey game on Feb 8, 2015 10:23:09 GMT
Piratey, anyone chanting, "You're not a real team, you never will be" to the franchise like we did? the closest I heard was 'are you Wimbledon in disguise?'. I like the way that the odour never really goes away |
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irishrover
Global Moderator
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 3,372
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Post by irishrover on Feb 8, 2015 14:03:15 GMT
Piratey, anyone chanting, "You're not a real team, you never will be" to the franchise like we did? I don't understand why everyone has a go at MK Dons for the move. They should be having a go at The Football League and The FA for agreeing to it. Also Wimbledon fans for not supporting their team as their support was pathetic. Wimbledon were on the brink of bankruptcy when MK moved in. Because they violated the fundamental principle of English football which is everyone's right to dream the dream and to earn in it properly. Whether you are Manchester United or Keynsham Town you are in a system where in theory you could rise right to the top of Premiership. That's not the case in other sports or in other countries and it gives English football it it's special flavour and unique depth; we don't have a franchise system we have one grounded in communities. MK Dons took a short cut. There was nothing to stop the people who run MK Dons taking over or founding a club in Milton Keynes and rising them up through the leagues - it's what everybody else does. Instead they stole somebody else's club. I don't think people do let the Football League or the FA off but they also hammer the people who set up MK Dons for being selfish chancers who trampled all over English footballing tradition. There's this myth of Wimbledon fans abandoning the club - the club abandoned them first. They only stopped going on mass when it became clear that the owners were trying to move them out of London and they didn't want to put money in their pockets to help facilitate that. Steve Lansdowne wants a Premiership Club in Bristol and he is wealthy enough to buy one. So the equivalent would be if he bought West Brom, moved them to Bristol built a brand new stadium for his new club (Bristol WBA) and folded City. He doesn't do that, and nor does anybody else, because he has some respect for that culture of English football. That's the way it works in all Sports work in the US - that's why MK Dons will be forever Franchise FC. |
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Post by gasheadnaboo on Feb 8, 2015 14:19:56 GMT
2 vile clubs playing in a horrible town, I'm glad I'll probably never have to go there
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 14:47:52 GMT
I'd have gone to Bletchley Park instead.
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Igitur
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 2,294
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Post by Igitur on Feb 8, 2015 15:05:11 GMT
I'd have gone to Bletchley Park instead. Going by train once to the ground I visited Bletchley for the park and then walked to the ground to watch Ghana v Latvia to see your namesake years after he left us - it was a great day out with various stalls selling a range of food and bands inside going up and down the aisles. |
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Post by CountyGroundHotel on Feb 8, 2015 15:19:27 GMT
I don't understand why everyone has a go at MK Dons for the move. They should be having a go at The Football League and The FA for agreeing to it. Also Wimbledon fans for not supporting their team as their support was pathetic. Wimbledon were on the brink of bankruptcy when MK moved in. Because they violated the fundamental principle of English football which is everyone's right to dream the dream and to earn in it properly. Whether you are Manchester United or Keynsham Town you are in a system where in theory you could rise right to the top of Premiership. That's not the case in other sports or in other countries and it gives English football it it's special flavour and unique depth; we don't have a franchise system we have one grounded in communities. MK Dons took a short cut. There was nothing to stop the people who run MK Dons taking over or founding a club in Milton Keynes and rising them up through the leagues - it's what everybody else does. Instead they stole somebody else's club. I don't think people do let the Football League or the FA off but they also hammer the people who set up MK Dons for being selfish chancers who trampled all over English footballing tradition. There's this myth of Wimbledon fans abandoning the club - the club abandoned them first. They only stopped going on mass when it became clear that the owners were trying to move them out of London and they didn't want to put money in their pockets to help facilitate that. Steve Lansdowne wants a Premiership Club in Bristol and he is wealthy enough to buy one. So the equivalent would be if he bought West Brom, moved them to Bristol built a brand new stadium for his new club (Bristol WBA) and folded City. He doesn't do that, and nor does anybody else, because he has some respect for that culture of English football. That's the way it works in all Sports work in the US - that's why MK Dons will be forever Franchise FC. Sorry but your analogy falls down on costs. Why spend hundred million or more buying WBA instead of spending on the club you own? Wimbledon were picked up for a song and saved years in getting to the same level. The whole of football has sold its soul for the money, the MK Dons people are just the logical development of selling that soul. You and I may not agree with that but the MK Dons story is no more hideous than Abramovich buying Chelsea's place at the top of the table or the sheikhs at Man City. |
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Post by a more piratey game on Feb 8, 2015 15:27:44 GMT
Because they violated the fundamental principle of English football which is everyone's right to dream the dream and to earn in it properly. Whether you are Manchester United or Keynsham Town you are in a system where in theory you could rise right to the top of Premiership. That's not the case in other sports or in other countries and it gives English football it it's special flavour and unique depth; we don't have a franchise system we have one grounded in communities. MK Dons took a short cut. There was nothing to stop the people who run MK Dons taking over or founding a club in Milton Keynes and rising them up through the leagues - it's what everybody else does. Instead they stole somebody else's club. I don't think people do let the Football League or the FA off but they also hammer the people who set up MK Dons for being selfish chancers who trampled all over English footballing tradition. There's this myth of Wimbledon fans abandoning the club - the club abandoned them first. They only stopped going on mass when it became clear that the owners were trying to move them out of London and they didn't want to put money in their pockets to help facilitate that. Steve Lansdowne wants a Premiership Club in Bristol and he is wealthy enough to buy one. So the equivalent would be if he bought West Brom, moved them to Bristol built a brand new stadium for his new club (Bristol WBA) and folded City. He doesn't do that, and nor does anybody else, because he has some respect for that culture of English football. That's the way it works in all Sports work in the US - that's why MK Dons will be forever Franchise FC. Sorry but your analogy falls down on costs. Why spend hundred million or more buying WBA instead of spending on the club you own? Wimbledon were picked up for a song and saved years in getting to the same level. The whole of football has sold its soul for the money, the MK Dons people are just the logical development of selling that soul. You and I may not agree with that but the MK Dons story is no more hideous than Abramovich buying Chelsea's place at the top of the table or the sheikhs at Man City. I disagree. Chelski and Abu Dhabi FC lack taste, but what Franchise did was repugnant |
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Igitur
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 2,294
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Post by Igitur on Feb 8, 2015 15:29:43 GMT
Because they violated the fundamental principle of English football which is everyone's right to dream the dream and to earn in it properly. Whether you are Manchester United or Keynsham Town you are in a system where in theory you could rise right to the top of Premiership. That's not the case in other sports or in other countries and it gives English football it it's special flavour and unique depth; we don't have a franchise system we have one grounded in communities. MK Dons took a short cut. There was nothing to stop the people who run MK Dons taking over or founding a club in Milton Keynes and rising them up through the leagues - it's what everybody else does. Instead they stole somebody else's club. I don't think people do let the Football League or the FA off but they also hammer the people who set up MK Dons for being selfish chancers who trampled all over English footballing tradition. There's this myth of Wimbledon fans abandoning the club - the club abandoned them first. They only stopped going on mass when it became clear that the owners were trying to move them out of London and they didn't want to put money in their pockets to help facilitate that. Steve Lansdowne wants a Premiership Club in Bristol and he is wealthy enough to buy one. So the equivalent would be if he bought West Brom, moved them to Bristol built a brand new stadium for his new club (Bristol WBA) and folded City. He doesn't do that, and nor does anybody else, because he has some respect for that culture of English football. That's the way it works in all Sports work in the US - that's why MK Dons will be forever Franchise FC. Sorry but your analogy falls down on costs. Why spend hundred million or more buying WBA instead of spending on the club you own? Wimbledon were picked up for a song and saved years in getting to the same level. The whole of football has sold its soul for the money, the MK Dons people are just the logical development of selling that soul. You and I may not agree with that but the MK Dons story is no more hideous than Abramovich buying Chelsea's place at the top of the table or the sheikhs at Man City.
“Cecil Graham: What is a cynic?
Lord Darlington: A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
Cecil Graham: And a sentimentalist, my dear Darlington, is a man who sees an absurd value in everything and doesn’t know the market price of any single thing.”
― Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 15:31:20 GMT
Piratey, anyone chanting, "You're not a real team, you never will be" to the franchise like we did? Which franchise? Weren't there 2 on pitch yesterday? |
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irishrover
Global Moderator
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 3,372
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Post by irishrover on Feb 8, 2015 15:37:25 GMT
Because they violated the fundamental principle of English football which is everyone's right to dream the dream and to earn in it properly. Whether you are Manchester United or Keynsham Town you are in a system where in theory you could rise right to the top of Premiership. That's not the case in other sports or in other countries and it gives English football it it's special flavour and unique depth; we don't have a franchise system we have one grounded in communities. MK Dons took a short cut. There was nothing to stop the people who run MK Dons taking over or founding a club in Milton Keynes and rising them up through the leagues - it's what everybody else does. Instead they stole somebody else's club. I don't think people do let the Football League or the FA off but they also hammer the people who set up MK Dons for being selfish chancers who trampled all over English footballing tradition. There's this myth of Wimbledon fans abandoning the club - the club abandoned them first. They only stopped going on mass when it became clear that the owners were trying to move them out of London and they didn't want to put money in their pockets to help facilitate that. Steve Lansdowne wants a Premiership Club in Bristol and he is wealthy enough to buy one. So the equivalent would be if he bought West Brom, moved them to Bristol built a brand new stadium for his new club (Bristol WBA) and folded City. He doesn't do that, and nor does anybody else, because he has some respect for that culture of English football. That's the way it works in all Sports work in the US - that's why MK Dons will be forever Franchise FC. Sorry but your analogy falls down on costs. Why spend hundred million or more buying WBA instead of spending on the club you own? Wimbledon were picked up for a song and saved years in getting to the same level. The whole of football has sold its soul for the money, the MK Dons people are just the logical development of selling that soul. You and I may not agree with that but the MK Dons story is no more hideous than Abramovich buying Chelsea's place at the top of the table or the sheikhs at Man City. Yes - that's probably true but I don't have time for them either; have been living in Manchester for 5 years and wouldn't go to City or United if you paid me. But it is worse because they really did leave; made a total break. They were the logical development of that and I absolutely hate them for it; they are the epitome of a game that has lost its soul and become a commodity not a sport. Hence Franchise FC seems quite appropriate. The logic is indeed crystal clear - the principles and morality far more muddy with the tradition and soul of English football completely and totally trampled on. The costs were not particularly relevant in that hypothetical - it's perfectly possible for a Premiership club to get into deep financial trouble and be picked up pretty cheaply. Happened at Portsmouth a few years ago; it's happened at West Ham. Hell not all that long ago Alan Sugar famously picked up Spurs for a £1. Wimbledon were picked on at the time because they were an easy target; there was an earlier attempt to move them to Dublin by previous owners. |
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Post by falsenumber9 on Feb 8, 2015 15:42:45 GMT
I don't understand why everyone has a go at MK Dons for the move. They should be having a go at The Football League and The FA for agreeing to it. Also Wimbledon fans for not supporting their team as their support was pathetic. Wimbledon were on the brink of bankruptcy when MK moved in. Because they violated the fundamental principle of English football which is everyone's right to dream the dream and to earn in it properly. Whether you are Manchester United or Keynsham Town you are in a system where in theory you could rise right to the top of Premiership. That's not the case in other sports or in other countries and it gives English football it it's special flavour and unique depth; we don't have a franchise system we have one grounded in communities. MK Dons took a short cut. There was nothing to stop the people who run MK Dons taking over or founding a club in Milton Keynes and rising them up through the leagues - it's what everybody else does. Instead they stole somebody else's club. I don't think people do let the Football League or the FA off but they also hammer the people who set up MK Dons for being selfish chancers who trampled all over English footballing tradition. There's this myth of Wimbledon fans abandoning the club - the club abandoned them first. They only stopped going on mass when it became clear that the owners were trying to move them out of London and they didn't want to put money in their pockets to help facilitate that. Steve Lansdowne wants a Premiership Club in Bristol and he is wealthy enough to buy one. So the equivalent would be if he bought West Brom, moved them to Bristol built a brand new stadium for his new club (Bristol WBA) and folded City. He doesn't do that, and nor does anybody else, because he has some respect for that culture of English football. That's the way it works in all Sports work in the US - that's why MK Dons will be forever Franchise FC. Spot on. MK Dons are a disgrace to English football and should never get recognised as a genuine club. I really wonder how their 'fans' would react if Winkleman decided to move them over to Dublin as was speculated before the move to MK. We'd see a great deal of hypocrisy I bet. The fact they're still allowed to include the 'Dons' in their title is outrageous. |
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Post by CountyGroundHotel on Feb 8, 2015 15:45:50 GMT
Sorry but your analogy falls down on costs. Why spend hundred million or more buying WBA instead of spending on the club you own? Wimbledon were picked up for a song and saved years in getting to the same level. The whole of football has sold its soul for the money, the MK Dons people are just the logical development of selling that soul. You and I may not agree with that but the MK Dons story is no more hideous than Abramovich buying Chelsea's place at the top of the table or the sheikhs at Man City. Yes - that's probably true but I don't have time for them either; have been living in Manchester for 5 years and wouldn't go to City or United if you paid me. But it is worse because they really did leave; made a total break. They were the logical development of that and I absolutely hate them for it; they are the epitome of a game that has lost its soul and become a commodity not a sport. Hence Franchise FC seems quite appropriate. The logic is indeed crystal clear - the principles and morality far more muddy with the tradition and soul of English football completely and totally trampled on. The costs were not particularly relevant in that hypothetical - it's perfectly possible for a Premiership club to get into deep financial trouble and be picked up pretty cheaply. Happened at Portsmouth a few years ago; it's happened at West Ham. Hell not all that long ago Alan Sugar famously picked up Spurs for a £1. Wimbledon were picked on at the time because they were an easy target; there was an earlier attempt to move them to Dublin by previous owners. Seems to me a bit pointless blaming MK Dons story for epitomising the logical development of football selling its soul. But hey I also don't agree with clubs going bust and effectively keeping their place in the league ala Portsmouth who cheated the fans of clubs who were living within their means (I apply that very loosely ie really clubs that haven't gone bust), of course 'real' football are then expected to help bail out those troubled clubs. Don't particularly like what happened with MK Dons but why complain about the effect rather than the cause? |
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Post by CountyGroundHotel on Feb 8, 2015 15:50:19 GMT
I presume once West Ham relocate to the Olympic stadium trampling all over Orient's support that they will be equally reviled? Um, I doubt it. Who mentioned hypocrisy?
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