25/04/2000 Rant

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 04/08/2000

Where are Town going?

Martyn Bell asks where Town are going. The answer is nowhere - but we are at least (barring the sort of disaster that even Scunthorpe couldn't manage) staying in Division One. And that's a minor miracle, for which we ought to be grateful. Crowds of 6000, no money to buy players, injury to our two first-choice central defenders, forced to sell Jack Lester before he moves on anyway: a pretty daunting list. Alan Buckley has had three tasks as manager - 1. sign the right players, given the resources available; 2. pick the best team; and 3. get them to play. He has not done badly on all three.

1. At the moment Stacey Coldicott and Alan Pouton are two of the Mariners' most dynamic players: who would have thought that when they first played? 2. Pick the best team? From what? Just look in the programme at the squads available to visiting teams and compare with ours. 3. Home draws against Huddersfield, Man City and Blackburn. OK, no reason to get the flags out - but four and a half hours of nothing less than 100% commitment from the players. Hands up those people who predicted that Town would concede only one goal in those three games. Oh yeah?

The truth is that if the Mariners could afford to buy just one of the big-money strikers paraded by their recent opponents, then they would be challenging for the play-offs. But in this corner of North East Lincs that isn't going to happen, just as we aren't going to see crowds of over 10000 at BP. As I keep saying to my cynical son, "Have faith!" - by which I mean that we shall at least stay in Div One - where in all honesty we should at best expect to be.

At the moment of writing we are losing 2-1 to West Brom. Not mathematically safe yet. "Have Fath!"

Alison Burtle

Issues,attendances

Just read ed's idea on improving attendances at bp.To follow up your idea about differing prices depending on the oposition ed,i suggest you go to a man city site and contact them on their views about it.They have a similar policy to the one you suggested.Be nice to know how the fans took to it. The club should by now be offering reduced rates for the kids in all stands at this time of the season.Maybe even free places.Other clubs manage to do this to boost the gate towards the end of the season so why not us.Some times it would be nice for town to be the doer rather than the follower.Who knows,these kids might want to come again,future fans and all that.These things have been tried before,i know,but usually when where on the telly.

Nick Osborne

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