Jump to content

A few photos from yesterday

Huffton

By Huffton,
in The Saints

 Share

Recommended Posts

CHAPEL END CHARLIE

CHAPEL END CHARLIE

Posted
Posted

Their level of support (home and away it would seem) is an embarrassment to the game - made all the worse by a overlarge stadium . So much of what it takes to become a proper football club is bound up in local history and tradition , qualities you just can't buy off the shelf as the MK Don's prove .

 

They're 20 years away from becoming a decent club I'd say .

Link to comment
Share on other sites
waggy

waggy

Posted
Posted

It beggars belief that the FA would even consider them as a world cup venue. I appreciate that people would travel from further afield for such an event but one of the prime consderations must be local support. We could easily have the required ground improvements to sms and fill it, that would be nailed on for the bigger league games and internationals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chez

Chez

Posted
Posted
it looks a dingy un-welcoming stadium with a bad atmosphere, would i be right with that assesment?

 

not sure dingy is the right word. Its impressive IMO, perhaps more impressive than SMS, though only half finished. The problem is that its way too big for them and what little noise their fans make can hardly be heard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kendo

kendo

Posted
Posted

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
doddisalegend

doddisalegend

Posted
Posted
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.

 

I have to say I hold no hate for them (I really couldn't give a **** about Wimbeldon, never liked them), well maybe I hate that tosser Ince. My in-laws come from MK, last year we used to go and watch the Dons when we where up that way (at the time we where in different divisions so I didn't feel to dis-loyal). They're starting from scratch with their fans, loads of them are just kids so its hardly a suprise they don't make much noise. The stadium isn't that bad although the roof is crap and it's to big. In twenty years they'll have some history and grown up fans and they'll be ok. Glad I'm a saints fan though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Huffton

Huffton

Posted
  • Author
Posted
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.

 

To be fair I think you make some very valid points. They are starting waht is basically a new team in a new city, and finding supporters is going to be difficult, especially with its proximity to London. The stadium itself I thought was excellent, as you say, padded, big seats all round, friendly helpful stewards, although the concourse prices are worse then SMS. The guy has got some big ideas and fair play to him, if they could finish the stadium and then fill it it would generate a hell of an atmosphere, just at the moment it sounds and feels weird, totally soulless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dune

dune

Posted
Posted
it looks a dingy un-welcoming stadium with a bad atmosphere, would i be right with that assesment?

 

It'll be a better stadium than St Marys when it's finished. The councourse looks directly onto the pitch and the seats are all padded. The best stadium in League 1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stud mark of doom

Stud mark of doom

Posted
Posted
It needs more fans, true, but the attendance is not bad given how long they've been around.

 

Every proper club is built on its fan base. If Saints had gone completely bust last summer I have no doubt we would have been back at our natural level well within a generation.

 

MKD are unique in having stolen someone else's club (or league position anyway) and moved it to an area with no football supporting tradition in the hope of making a nice profit. PW might well be a great bloke but I hope his business continues downwards through the leagues until they reach the natural level of MK to discourage similar ventures in future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kendo

kendo

Posted
Posted

yeah, I don't think anyone is comfortable with the franchise thing... but they've got themselves promoted, did well last season and I personally hope they do OK (not against us of course)... Have to say I can see them being up there in time... maybe Prem if the finance works out... At the moment Winkelman's dropping £2mill year and they're building an arena etc so no profit for a while... And in reply to doddisalegend, being soul less is a massive problem for the town in general but all the people living there say they love it. Thanks for not destroying me for speaking up for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fan The Flames

Fan The Flames

Posted
Posted

I predict in ten years time, if not sooner; Wimbledon will be back, MK Dons will be gone and and Pete Winkleman will be stealing a London/Reading/Watford based rugby team to fill his very empty stadium.

 

I would have admired him if he pumped money into the local MK side and got them into the league, they wouldn't be that far of where they are now. But to steal a team was disgraceful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crouch Ender

Crouch Ender

Posted
Posted
I predict in ten years time, if not sooner; Wimbledon will be back, MK Dons will be gone and and Pete Winkleman will be stealing a London/Reading/Watford based rugby team to fill his very empty stadium.

 

I would have admired him if he pumped money into the local MK side and got them into the league, they wouldn't be that far of where they are now. But to steal a team was disgraceful.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with the second part of your post. And this is precisely why Winkleman can't be considered a 'top bloke' in my book, no matter how decent and down to earth he appears.

 

But alas, I don't think you're right about them disappearing - as has been pointed out their attendances are the 6th highest in the division. They have arguably currently found their 'natural' level - being in the top half of L1 and either challenging for promotion or not being too far off that. I'm sure AFC Wimbledon will get promotion to the FL at some point soon but would they be able to match the MK crowds if they get to L1?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
niceandfriendly

niceandfriendly

Posted
Posted
it looks a dingy un-welcoming stadium with a bad atmosphere, would i be right with that assesment?

 

Not really no. It's actually very impressive and will be much better than SMS when it's finished.

 

The roof is cack though. It's too high and slopes up, allowing all the rain in onto the supporters. Clever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RedAndWhite91

RedAndWhite91

Posted
Posted

I think the stadium is a dingy un-welcoming stadium with a bad atmosphere. The second tier isn't finished and is just mass blocks of concrete, and the third tier is non-existant.

 

It doesn't matter what it will be like WHEN it is finished, the fact is it's NOT finished, and therefore for the time being, it is quite sh!t.

 

The seats are nice. That is all. It is open and feels empty, the lack of atmosphere is really apparent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...