Preparing my self to get shot down in a big way here.... I am a Saints fan and was lucky enough to be invited to the Director's box for this game and we stayed the night in the hotel at the ground afterwards. The chairman Pete Winkelman who made MK Dons happen is a top man, very down to earth friendly bloke. They are very passionate about the club and have worked incredibly hard to produce what I thought was a very good stadium. It needs more fans, true, but the attendance is not bad given how long they've been around.
To produce a ground considered worthy of a World Cup bid it has to be good... staff were great, hospitality boxes etc all great. A lot of the hotel rooms have a view onto the ground which was nice to wake up to. I was told all the seats were padded too, not just in the boxes.
Bizarrely the the decor throughout all the inside bits including hotel was red and white!
Anyway, I was prejudiced against them prior to Saturday but have changed my mind... they deserve respect for what they have done in an area with no football, have brought more fans to the game and play some good football.
By the way, were Saints fans singing 'Motty Give Us A Wave?' No idea how you saw him, his sheep skin coat must have stood out a mile (full length and orange), he was a guest there and I got to have a chat with him, Dave Bassett and Nicola Cortese (who is top man by the way). Apologies for name dropping.
Last bit, the 1500, 2,000 Saints fans comfortably out sung MK Dons 8,000, I was proud of that.
Worst bit of the day? Having to control myself for each goal.... especially the 3rd which was unbelievable... and not being able to brag about how its 4 nil Saints for the season.
Bring on Carlisle.
