View From The Top

And any home games I attend would be the lowest category games. Now go and find the prices of the top cat games, there's a good chap.

You are aware aren't you that the BBC are doing the same as everyone else and are reporting a story.

No. If you had kids that had crossed the threshold from U11s you'd understand.

They were.

I've been doing the round trip for 20+ years.

Home and away nearly every week when we were on or way down and at the bottom of L1 and now picking and choosing away games now we are back in the BPL. Loyalty, it would appear, does have a price.

An awful lot of Stoke's following comes from Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Stone, Stafford, and the villages to the west, and traditionally has. These are affluent areas in the main. Stoke are very aware that families are stretched and have made a consorted effort to ensure that kids from the city itself aren't priced out and offer great deals for youngsters and their parents through children's centres, youth groups, schools and colleges. I'm off down to the Brit' at 15.00 for a meeting. The club are very aware that the city is in the Utd/City/Liverpool catchment area. I'm willing to bet that they have one of the youngest average fan age in the country due to their polices. West Bromwich isn't in Birmingham BTW.

Personally I've voted with my feet. We only do away games at grounds we've not been to, it's local or where it's priced sensibly. The rest I'll watch online.

Soton is hardly a wealthy city! Baggies and Stoke are well aware of future fans, something our club appears oblivious to.

When I asked the club why tickets for 12yo kids were so expensive compared to WBA & Stoke, my closest BPL teams, their answer was because the cost of living was cheaper in the north! The club is pricing families out as many on here will attest to.

They could be any more bitter if they tried. Bitter and very, very thick.

2 of us are booked into a hotel in Ghent and will do the medium route. The 3rd is going with his Mrs but will ride with us. Will give a proper focus to the winter training.

That would rather depend on whether local candidates were just that, locals, or as often happens, preferred party types parachuted in from Smith Sq or Millbank. Genuine local candidates may have something to say, pretty sure that the party minions will not bar the agreed party line.

I'm rather looking forward to it. However, The Greens should get the same platform as they also have an MP.

That was a proper winter ride this morning (at the 1st for 2 weeks for me). Full winter kit with a waterproof jacket was was dripping after 20km. Proper pea souper for nearly early one of the 100km we did. Only saw the sun at the top of Cannock Chase and as soon as we descended it disappeared again. Noticeable lack of weekend warriors out as well.

Yorkshire. Bridlington. Good help us all.

Whilst Wolves is an utter shiite hole the Black Country Living Museum, where they film Peaky Blinders, is well worth a visit.

Allen won't write anything derogatory though for fear for rocking the boat.

I'd add Bergkamp and Henry to that list. Was a privilege to watch them play.

The waste of Scholes's talent at international level is criminal.

That's the 22.26 from Stafford via Brum. The last train of the night. Thought there would have been a later one but obviously not!

We usually rent apartments. Damn sight cheaper.

I'm in a position to offer a lift to Stafford station which will offer better connections than Stoke if required.

As it says in the title can anyone recommend accommodation in central Paris for 6 people? If not central Paris somewhere close by that we can train in from. Looking at 3/4 days around 10th/11th April. Cheers David

Depends on what you want. York is a very nice place. I'd happily live there. Beverly, just down the road, is also great. If you want quintessential English countryside, quiet villages and quiet roads then Shropshire, especially to the south of the Seven is perfect. Want a proper northern city which also has lots of culture then Manchester it is, which also means you can visit Liverpool which, whilst not as good as Manchester, is still worth a visit.