irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Feb 23, 2021 13:18:02 GMT
Good man. I'm going to need more of these in the "f*ck off Rovers til Barton and Wael are gone" period. Yes indeed - that cheered me up! On the other hand, it makes me feel a bit emotional for everything we've been missing out on. Definitely planning some kind of German football odyssy when all this is over. Maybe I can put the Rovers money I'll save from the Barton era into that!
As a slight aside I think (not certain) that I saw the previous iteration of this ground way back in 2004 (pre-renovation). Am I right in thinking it can be seen from the train as you come into Frankfurt from Cologne? If I'm right then it used to look like a classic Eastern European Communist style concrete bowl with massive overhang floodlights. Could have been somewhere else in that general Rhineland area though. I was 21 and doing the backpack thing round Europe......badly. It was a misspent misspent youth. Pretty much the only memorable night I had during that trip though was in Frankfurt though where me and my friend had one of those random nights on the piss with people we'd met at the hostel - a middle aged Aussie lawyer who wrote downmarket crime fiction in his spare time and an idealistic US sociology student who was doing a Masters dissertation on the political leanings of English football hooligans. He kept lecturing me on the ideological positioning of various hooligan firms - I can't say I'd ever noticed much in the way of deep political thought from our particular brand of meatheads. I always thought he'd be deeply dissapointed if he ever actually met any as I'm not sure they'd have been particularly up for a debate on the finer points of Marx, Nietzche and Ayn Rand......He also spent most of the evening trying to clumsily chat up my friend to both of our amusement since she has always been openly and obviously gay. Fun times - I need to go back, particularly to that part of the world. I'd do it much better this time! It's been too long.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2021 18:40:39 GMT
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Mar 2, 2021 15:10:56 GMT
Lovely. I've gone past that ground a few times.
A lot of English have quite negative views of Malaga - they associate it with club 18-30 holidays and it is true that many fly into Malaga to go on those. However, the City itself is fantastic and very interesting - a really underrated place and it's quite cheap as well.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2021 15:36:11 GMT
Lovely. I've gone past that ground a few times.
A lot of English have quite negative views of Malaga - they associate it with club 18-30 holidays and it is true that many fly into Malaga to go on those. However, the City itself is fantastic and very interesting - a really underrated place and it's quite cheap as well.
It's nice for a few days. Reasonably cheap to get to and stay in, also a good base for going onto the likes of Seville, Cordoba, Gibraltar, Cadiz and Granada. Oddly quite good for hopping! In other news I'm tentatively planning a qualifiers trip in November. Ideally Romania and Moldova but that's easier said than done at the moment! |
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eppinggas
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Post by eppinggas on Mar 2, 2021 16:07:07 GMT
I presume from a few years ago? Not read this one before, excellent write up. When football returns, hopefully I'll get something to write up from An der Alten Forsterei. Eisern. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2021 16:12:25 GMT
I presume from a few years ago? Not read this one before, excellent write up. When football returns, hopefully I'll get something to write up from An der Alten Forsterei. Eisern. November 2019. I will probably get round to doing a retrospective Union blog, was there in April 2017. |
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eppinggas
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Post by eppinggas on Jul 28, 2021 12:18:06 GMT
Bath City / Gloucester City pre-season (Sat 24th). First game for about 18 months. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Obviously very happy memories of Twerton from the early-mid 90's. I'm on the Bath City mailing list and have to say they do a great job in communication. They are fan-owned and still trying to get a redevelopment through. Fingers crossed for them. Gloucester were very lively first half, should have gone 3 or 4 up. Bath went into the break 2-0 up. Gloucester got it back to 2-2 (game finished 3-3). Had to leave early to get the start of the Lions game. Danny Leadbitter played as a centre back for Gloucester, had a good game. Spoke to him briefly as we walked out and wished him good luck for the season. Best player on the pitch was very quick Bath winger Mo Dobray. Asked around, bristol sh*tty development player. Hopefully more trips to Twerton whilst my self-imposed ban from Rovers continues.
Result as follows:
Bath City £18 (inc. 2 pints in the SC).
Bristol Rovers £0.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jul 28, 2021 13:51:34 GMT
I'm going to watch my little local club this evening - they are called Manchester United. Have you heard of them?
Playing Brentford in a friendly. Somebody offerred me a free ticket and I thought what the hell, it's only round the corner and I haven't watched a game in nearly a year now.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jul 28, 2021 13:53:12 GMT
Bath City / Gloucester City pre-season (Sat 24th). First game for about 18 months. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Obviously very happy memories of Twerton from the early-mid 90's. I'm on the Bath City mailing list and have to say they do a great job in communication. They are fan-owned and still trying to get a redevelopment through. Fingers crossed for them. Gloucester were very lively first half, should have gone 3 or 4 up. Bath went into the break 2-0 up. Gloucester got it back to 2-2 (game finished 3-3). Had to leave early to get the start of the Lions game. Danny Leadbitter played as a centre back for Gloucester, had a good game. Spoke to him briefly as we walked out and wished him good luck for the season. Best player on the pitch was very quick Bath winger Mo Dobray. Asked around, bristol sh*tty development player. Hopefully more trips to Twerton whilst my self-imposed ban from Rovers continues. Am I right in saying that Gloucester City have finally succeeded in returning to Gloucester after absolutely ages having to play home games out of the town? |
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eppinggas
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Post by eppinggas on Jul 28, 2021 14:00:23 GMT
I'm going to watch my little local club this evening - they are called Manchester United. Have you heard of them?
Playing Brentford in a friendly. Somebody offerred me a free ticket and I thought what the hell, it's only round the corner and I haven't watched a game in nearly a year now.
Enjoy. My daughter is up in Failsworth. Her other half went to FC United a few weeks ago. Said it was a cracking day out. Fan owned Club, embedded in the community. Rovers could learn a lot from them, Bath, Exeter, and of course Union Berlin... |
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eppinggas
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Post by eppinggas on Jul 28, 2021 14:18:37 GMT
Bath City / Gloucester City pre-season (Sat 24th). First game for about 18 months. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Obviously very happy memories of Twerton from the early-mid 90's. I'm on the Bath City mailing list and have to say they do a great job in communication. They are fan-owned and still trying to get a redevelopment through. Fingers crossed for them. Gloucester were very lively first half, should have gone 3 or 4 up. Bath went into the break 2-0 up. Gloucester got it back to 2-2 (game finished 3-3). Had to leave early to get the start of the Lions game. Danny Leadbitter played as a centre back for Gloucester, had a good game. Spoke to him briefly as we walked out and wished him good luck for the season. Best player on the pitch was very quick Bath winger Mo Dobray. Asked around, bristol sh*tty development player. Hopefully more trips to Twerton whilst my self-imposed ban from Rovers continues. Am I right in saying that Gloucester City have finally succeeded in returning to Gloucester after absolutely ages having to play home games out of the town? I had to google it. 13 years away from Gloucester before returning in the 2020-21 season. They were top of National League North before the season was truncated (2nd if you look in terms of PPG). Danny Leadbitter has to be too good for that league. They also has Bernard Mensah listed on the day, but he didn't feature. Seems a lot more 'fun' further down the leagues. I have no interest in the premiership... maybe tick off a trip to Spurs as the ground is supposed to be fantastic. But for me. Stood on a terrace in Bath will do for the time being... |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jul 28, 2021 15:46:05 GMT
Am I right in saying that Gloucester City have finally succeeded in returning to Gloucester after absolutely ages having to play home games out of the town? I had to google it. 13 years away from Gloucester before returning in the 2020-21 season. They were top of National League North before the season was truncated (2nd if you look in terms of PPG). Danny Leadbitter has to be too good for that league. They also has Bernard Mensah listed on the day, but he didn't feature. Seems a lot more 'fun' further down the leagues. I have no interest in the premiership... maybe tick off a trip to Spurs as the ground is supposed to be fantastic. But for me. Stood on a terrace in Bath will do for the time being... They are something of a non-league sleeping giant although I wonder if Cheltenham's rise might have swallowed their potential. |
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Jul 29, 2021 22:33:53 GMT
I'm going to watch my little local club this evening - they are called Manchester United. Have you heard of them?
Playing Brentford in a friendly. Somebody offerred me a free ticket and I thought what the hell, it's only round the corner and I haven't watched a game in nearly a year now.
Enjoy. My daughter is up in Failsworth. Her other half went to FC United a few weeks ago. Said it was a cracking day out. Fan owned Club, embedded in the community. Rovers could learn a lot from them, Bath, Exeter, and of course Union Berlin... Failsworth would be just up the road from Moston so very much their local club. I'm on the other side of the City but I am now the proud possesor of an FC United season ticket and I will definitely be making good use of it until the time when Rovers return to sanity and I can bring myself to go to away games in the North West again. That will not be happening while the coward in chief remains in place. |
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Post by eppinggas on Jul 30, 2021 8:20:29 GMT
Enjoy. My daughter is up in Failsworth. Her other half went to FC United a few weeks ago. Said it was a cracking day out. Fan owned Club, embedded in the community. Rovers could learn a lot from them, Bath, Exeter, and of course Union Berlin... Failsworth would be just up the road from Moston so very much their local club. I'm on the other side of the City but I am now the proud possesor of an FC United season ticket and I will definitely be making good use of it until the time when Rovers return to sanity and I can bring myself to go to away games in the North West again. That will not be happening while the coward in chief remains in place. I'll probably visit my daughter mid-late August - she's actually in New Moston. I didn't realise it's less than a mile to Broadhurst Park from there. So will let you know if I manage to weave a trip to FC United into the visiting arrangements. I don't recognise Bristol Rovers these days. That a decent percentage of supporters are still willing to give Barton backing makes me feel nauseous. Other Clubs are far more deserving of my money. |
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Jul 30, 2021 11:01:02 GMT
Failsworth would be just up the road from Moston so very much their local club. I'm on the other side of the City but I am now the proud possesor of an FC United season ticket and I will definitely be making good use of it until the time when Rovers return to sanity and I can bring myself to go to away games in the North West again. That will not be happening while the coward in chief remains in place. I'll probably visit my daughter mid-late August - she's actually in New Moston. I didn't realise it's less than a mile to Broadhurst Park from there. So will let you know if I manage to weave a trip to FC United into the visiting arrangements. I don't recognise Bristol Rovers these days. That a decent percentage of supporters are still willing to give Barton backing makes me feel nauseous. Other Clubs are far more deserving of my money. Hope you enjoy the ST at FC United and that they have a good season irish. Epping, I can easily agree with you over the situation with us but it will be significant to see the opening attendances and the atmosphere at those games, that could easily change what the club does. A volatile atmosphere, very small crowds could cause a change and any incidents would change minds. I don’t know if there is a “decent percentage” willing to give Barton backing, I don’t back Barton at all but I will always back us. I don’t know if that’s being pedantic or not. After the last week I would think that percentage has decreased considerably and is still likely to change. UTG! |
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Post by eppinggas on Jul 30, 2021 14:41:17 GMT
I'll probably visit my daughter mid-late August - she's actually in New Moston. I didn't realise it's less than a mile to Broadhurst Park from there. So will let you know if I manage to weave a trip to FC United into the visiting arrangements. I don't recognise Bristol Rovers these days. That a decent percentage of supporters are still willing to give Barton backing makes me feel nauseous. Other Clubs are far more deserving of my money. Hope you enjoy the ST at FC United and that they have a good season irish. Epping, I can easily agree with you over the situation with us but it will be significant to see the opening attendances and the atmosphere at those games, that could easily change what the club does. A volatile atmosphere, very small crowds could cause a change and any incidents would change minds. I don’t know if there is a “decent percentage” willing to give Barton backing, I don’t back Barton at all but I will always back us. I don’t know if that’s being pedantic or not. After the last week I would think that percentage has decreased considerably and is still likely to change. UTG! Hi Wareham - see my response to you in the other thread. You're not being pedantic. You can separate "the manager" from support of BRFC, and I respect that. For me (and others), we cannot separate the two things. It becomes an existential question - What exactly ARE you supporting? For me it's about my local Club reflecting my core values. The Club doing things 'the right way'. It's about honour, dignity, pride. Those sort of things. Right now, I'd take Union Berlin over Bristol Rovers every day of the week. But that's just me. As for the crowd - who knows. There are some people like me who won't go on principle. Maybe it's only a handful? There will be people nervous of crowds post Covid and won't want to attend. Look at the average age of the Blackthorn Terrace. I think we will lose a lot of this support. Covid regulations are necessary, but will put a fair few people off going. We may pick up a few Stone Island clad yobs, attracted to violence and characters like Barton. But I think that's minimal. I fear Barton being present in the dug out will cause problems with people that do attend. I fear supporters fighting amongst themselves. I fear a fanbase utterly divided with no chance of finding common ground. I fear for the future of Bristol Rovers FC. The appointment of Barton was a huge gamble. An act of monumental self-harm. It was predictably divisive. It has back-fired spectacularly. This was pointed out by many people. Many months ago. So predictable. So sad. I look forward to buying you a pint in a post-Barton world. Cheers, Epping. |
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Jul 30, 2021 15:42:44 GMT
Hope you enjoy the ST at FC United and that they have a good season irish. Epping, I can easily agree with you over the situation with us but it will be significant to see the opening attendances and the atmosphere at those games, that could easily change what the club does. A volatile atmosphere, very small crowds could cause a change and any incidents would change minds. I don’t know if there is a “decent percentage” willing to give Barton backing, I don’t back Barton at all but I will always back us. I don’t know if that’s being pedantic or not. After the last week I would think that percentage has decreased considerably and is still likely to change. UTG! Hi Wareham - see my response to you in the other thread. You're not being pedantic. You can separate "the manager" from support of BRFC, and I respect that. For me (and others), we cannot separate the two things. It becomes an existential question - What exactly ARE you supporting? For me it's about my local Club reflecting my core values. The Club doing things 'the right way'. It's about honour, dignity, pride. Those sort of things. Right now, I'd take Union Berlin over Bristol Rovers every day of the week. But that's just me. As for the crowd - who knows. There are some people like me who won't go on principle. Maybe it's only a handful? There will be people nervous of crowds post Covid and won't want to attend. Look at the average age of the Blackthorn Terrace. I think we will lose a lot of this support. Covid regulations are necessary, but will put a fair few people off going. We may pick up a few Stone Island clad yobs, attracted to violence and characters like Barton. But I think that's minimal. I fear Barton being present in the dug out will cause problems with people that do attend. I fear supporters fighting amongst themselves. I fear a fanbase utterly divided with no chance of finding common ground. I fear for the future of Bristol Rovers FC. The appointment of Barton was a huge gamble. An act of monumental self-harm. It was predictably divisive. It has back-fired spectacularly. This was pointed out by many people. Many months ago. So predictable. So sad. I look forward to buying you a pint in a post-Barton world. Cheers, Epping. And that’s all true. I think a few hard conversations are yet to come. And if it’s as divisive as you’ve described, and I don’t doubt you’re right, then things may change quicker than expected. The question then would be is WAQ strong enough to make what would be a very hard but correct decision to dispense with another manager. And his actions this week have been poor imo so I’m not sure he’ll make any decision but leave it to the courts which he’s entitled to do of course. Time will tell as ever. UTG! |
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eppinggas
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Post by eppinggas on Jul 30, 2021 16:10:52 GMT
Hi Wareham - see my response to you in the other thread. You're not being pedantic. You can separate "the manager" from support of BRFC, and I respect that. For me (and others), we cannot separate the two things. It becomes an existential question - What exactly ARE you supporting? For me it's about my local Club reflecting my core values. The Club doing things 'the right way'. It's about honour, dignity, pride. Those sort of things. Right now, I'd take Union Berlin over Bristol Rovers every day of the week. But that's just me. As for the crowd - who knows. There are some people like me who won't go on principle. Maybe it's only a handful? There will be people nervous of crowds post Covid and won't want to attend. Look at the average age of the Blackthorn Terrace. I think we will lose a lot of this support. Covid regulations are necessary, but will put a fair few people off going. We may pick up a few Stone Island clad yobs, attracted to violence and characters like Barton. But I think that's minimal. I fear Barton being present in the dug out will cause problems with people that do attend. I fear supporters fighting amongst themselves. I fear a fanbase utterly divided with no chance of finding common ground. I fear for the future of Bristol Rovers FC. The appointment of Barton was a huge gamble. An act of monumental self-harm. It was predictably divisive. It has back-fired spectacularly. This was pointed out by many people. Many months ago. So predictable. So sad. I look forward to buying you a pint in a post-Barton world. Cheers, Epping. And that’s all true. I think a few hard conversations are yet to come. And if it’s as divisive as you’ve described, and I don’t doubt you’re right, then things may change quicker than expected. The question then would be is WAQ strong enough to make what would be a very hard but correct decision to dispense with another manager. And his actions this week have been poor imo so I’m not sure he’ll make any decision but leave it to the courts which he’s entitled to do of course. Time will tell as ever. UTG! Indeed, time will tell Sir. Wael Al-Qadi. "strong". Nope. I fear (I fear a lot) that we will have Barton in the dug out and the next round of negative publicity will follow as sure as night follows day. Wael Al-Qadi has built a very weak senior management team around him. That has been proven beyond all doubt with the amateurish handling of events over the last week. He will continue to make mistake after mistake. That's it from me for today. Apologies if you took anything I've said today personally. You have maintained your faith, and I applaud that. I've lost mine. |
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Jul 30, 2021 19:58:30 GMT
And that’s all true. I think a few hard conversations are yet to come. And if it’s as divisive as you’ve described, and I don’t doubt you’re right, then things may change quicker than expected. The question then would be is WAQ strong enough to make what would be a very hard but correct decision to dispense with another manager. And his actions this week have been poor imo so I’m not sure he’ll make any decision but leave it to the courts which he’s entitled to do of course. Time will tell as ever. UTG! Indeed, time will tell Sir. Wael Al-Qadi. "strong". Nope. I fear (I fear a lot) that we will have Barton in the dug out and the next round of negative publicity will follow as sure as night follows day. Wael Al-Qadi has built a very weak senior management team around him. That has been proven beyond all doubt with the amateurish handling of events over the last week. He will continue to make mistake after mistake. That's it from me for today. Apologies if you took anything I've said today personally. You have maintained your faith, and I applaud that. I've lost mine. No worries epping. I’ve taken nothing personal, I asked a question you answered it. 👍 Have a good weekend. UTG! |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2021 21:52:12 GMT
One night in Dublin booked to hopefully see Shelbourne. Also looking to do a weekend in Scotland with Edinburgh City, Aberdeen & the Dundee Derby. Also tentatively planning the Holy War (Krakow Derby) in November. Baby, we’re back.
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