Football in Manchester

Most of the fans which the big clubs generate the revenue from, I doubt care enough about football to go out in the freezing weather to pitches with no facilities or cover to watch football being played in the mud at a poor standard - if they didn't have the convenience of being able to watch and support whatever team by access through TV and global shirt sales etc, they'd probably watch some other sport that is equally accessible.

Even so, football does seem to have a somewhat over-inflated sense of self-importance about it, I imagine driven by the media coverage etc - i.e. the World Cup final was watched by a (pretty impressive) 15 million odd people in the UK. Impressive viewing figures you might think, but then that's 45 million people who didn't bother watching it...
 
Sagalout said:
I go to watch and support a Conference North team (Harrogate) and can see both sides. The problem is theres been a switch in society. Fans these days would rather watch Man U in a pub on Sky Sports than poorer quality football at the likes of Hyde. Its sad, but thats just life. Whats killing football is the fact that all the cash coming into the game at every level is going straight into the players pockets. Premier league clubs can cope, as we live in a world where advertising is king these days, and brings in far more cash than the turnstiles, but slip just a couple of leagues and sponsorship becomes almost negligible.

Harrogate are struggling to the point that they sold pretty much their entire first team and have gone from habitual play off contendors to 20th in the league with whats essentially a Unibond squad, as the wage demands of even average Conference North players are just not substainable. But at least the bills are paid so there will still be a club to support. It seems a lot of other clubs stuck their heads in the sand and hoped HMRC would go away - sadly they never do.
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Sadly, I fear that Harrogate will be one of the three games that I'm likely to miss. I know exactly what you're saying regarding the costs of success and believe me, Harrogate are doing the right thing. We came very close to getting wound up by the HMRC a decade ago and it won't be allowed happen again. It seems that Hyde won't be the last club to be their victims as they seem to be clamping down, however they've suffered through their own honesty and refusal to be taken into administration from what I can gather.
 
Rich_L said:
Most of the fans which the big clubs generate the revenue from, I doubt care enough about football to go out in the freezing weather to pitches with no facilities or cover to watch football being played in the mud at a poor standard - if they didn't have the convenience of being able to watch and support whatever team by access through TV and global shirt sales etc, they'd probably watch some other sport that is equally accessible.

Even so, football does seem to have a somewhat over-inflated sense of self-importance about it, I imagine driven by the media coverage etc - i.e. the World Cup final was watched by a (pretty impressive) 15 million odd people in the UK. Impressive viewing figures you might think, but then that's 45 million people who didn't bother watching it...
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Rich, the level of football that I'm trying to highlight simply doesn't have "no facilities". Clubs are forced to provide increasingly more seats and cover the nearer that they get to the Conference else they find themselves getting relegated. I do however understand your point about the type of person who will go and watch a game rather than sit in front of the TV. Personally I can't stay glued to TV football, I'll get bored and turn over but thats just me.

Sadly, our meagre crowds suffer on those freezing nights because it seems that every week during the winter theres Champions League football live on tuesdays and wednesdays which people who refer to Barcelona FC as "Barca" will always watch.
 
I live in Hallam :D Aren't they the oldest team in the world or thereabouts? My dad took me to watch them a few times about 10 years ago as he knew a couple of the players/staff
 
Jeff Lynne said:
Sadly, our meagre crowds suffer on those freezing nights because it seems that every week during the winter theres Champions League football live on tuesdays and wednesdays which people who refer to Barcelona FC as "Barca" will always watch.
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Barca is short for Barcelona, the same as saying Man U, Man City, Hibs, Ranger, Celtic, no?

As for this whole debate, its ********. If you don't get any fans on a freezing cold night don't bother playing stupid wages. Small businesses survive all the time, why can't small football clubs? Because the greedy ones start acting above their station and paying stupid wages. Will I go to a game like this just to 'help out' these teams? Will I ****.

As for this support your local team, I live closer to SJP than any semi-pro team's ground. Should I travel further to watch these teams because they struggle with money?

**** off. People should go back to watching the football for free and the players paying (yes, paying subs) to play, especially if they can't afford to keep their club afloat, how ******* hard is it?
 
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Jeff Lynne said:
I've never said that anyone here should go week in or week out but if all these football fans were to go and support their local club three or four times a season then the game would be so much better off for it.

I may sound like a broken record, but hey, in all the time I've been playing it I doubt any of you have actually taken the slightest interest in their local team.
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I think it's time to change the record tbh. You're trying to make a semi valid point but you're being a bit sardonic about it.
 
What kind of wages do you think clubs at this level pay out then?

As for Hyde's problems they stem from not paying their tax whilst a previous regime employed expensive ex-pro's on two year contracts, whilst the money man who signed them left after a year.
 
Linoge said:
I think it's time to change the record tbh. You're trying to make a semi valid point but you're being a bit sardonic about it.
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What should I change the record to then? I notice you have a reference to Manchester United in your signature. Do you live nearer to Hyde or Hythe?
 
Jeff Lynne said:
What kind of wages do you think clubs at this level pay out then?

As for Hyde's problems they stem from not paying their tax whilst a previous regime employed expensive ex-pro's on two year contracts, whilst the money man who signed them left after a year.
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It doesn't matter how high the wages are. If you can't pay them stop signing players who want money and get some local lads to play for free. What's the different between Shefffield Wednesday trying to pay extortionate wages to get in the PL and Hallam FC doing the same to get in the next league? One is allowed because its all part of grassroots footy and they've never been on the telly?
 
Jeff Lynne said:
What should I change the record to then? I notice you have a reference to Manchester United in your signature. Do you live nearer to Hyde or Hythe?
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I live inside Old Trafford, in the North Stand to be precise but don't tell the groundsman and my uncle is Edwin Van Der Sar.

On a serious note I live closer to Hyde between the two, but closer to Old Trafford than both of them.
 
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Visionary said:
It doesn't matter how high the wages are. If you can't pay them stop signing players who want money and get some local lads to play for free. What's the different between Shefffield Wednesday trying to pay extortionate wages to get in the PL and Hallam FC doing the same to get in the next league? One is allowed because its all part of grassroots footy and they've never been on the telly?
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I'm not sure what you're getting at in your last sentence, Hallam are at step 9 and I doubt they pay players more than £25 a game if they pay them at all.

If Sheffield Wednesday went pop, and they've had their share of troubles from what I've read then people would sit up and take notice because they've heard of them. Hyde United on the other hand? Well, ignorance is bliss....
 
Linoge said:
On a serious note I live closer to Hyde between the two, but closer to Old Trafford than both of them.
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In that case, if it hadn't been for my broken record playing, being local to Hyde would you have known about their troubles?

It seems that they need to guarantee £35k by monday, although they also need to prove to the high court that they are sufficiently solvent to continue to trade. What chance local boy Ricky Hatton helping out?
 
I don't understand why the location of where my parents chose/could afford to live when I was born should have any relevance to any decision I make as an adult
 
Even they go bust, why can't the fans just get some local lads to play for free, enter a Sunday league team into the local league and continue supporting the team? If it's just a love of football involved here why does it matter if it's a lower league? After all that's why you're preaching at fans of bigger clubs, saying they should support clubs lower down the pyramid.

Problem solved.
 
If they are unable to turn around the winding up order they will look to restart next season at probably the same level as Hallam FC or slighlty higher. They can use their current ground as it's council owned and not owned by the club but as for the players I think you're extremely niave as to the standard of footballer required to compete even at step 9 and certainly laughably wide of the mark to consider that for step 6 (BS North!)
 
Jeff Lynne said:
If they are unable to turn around the winding up order they will look to restart next season at probably the same level as Hallam FC or slighlty higher. They can use their current ground as it's council owned and not owned by the club but as for the players I think you're extremely niave as to the standard of footballer required to compete even at step 9 and certainly laughably wide of the mark to consider that for step 6 (BS North!)
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I only used Hallam FC before to illustrate a financial point, I don't know where they are in the league system.

You haven't answered my question though: what's the difference to the die hard fans of watching a team in a little stadium play semi-pro football or watching a new team under the same name playing on a field for no money at all? You're asking fans of bigger clubs to support smaller teams, why can't the die hard fans do this?
 
Jeff Lynne said:
Great isn't it?

Man Utd thriving, spenidng £Millions.

Man City thriving, spenidng £Millions.

And one of their own clubs is allowed to die with a whimper :rolleyes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/8272822.stm

I was at Ewen Fields a couple of weeks ago. Lovely club, lovely people. Such a shame for them.
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You probably didn't read about Utd playing Bishop Auckland in 2007 to raise funds for the cash strapped club and donated them some floodlights as well.
 
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