Play-off final venue

[eurogrecian]

Let's face it, they are not going to move it from Wembley due to its 'iconic' status as the home of English football.

Other venues are no guarantee of a big crowd if the clubs are not well-supported. When Torquay played Stevenage in the final at Old Trafford in 2011, there were only 11,484 there.....

The fact is, last Sunday was a bit unusual due to the Blackpool 'situation' (for which I tend to admire rather than blame the absent Blackpool fans).
In the circs, the atmosphere was OK for for a big and impersonal place. Must have been better than Burton-Fleetwood in 2014 - only 14,007 at that one!

 

[Andy Holloway]

Completley disagree. To only take 5k is a remarkable show of strangth and good on every one of them who resisted the day out. The footballing world doesn't revolve around Exeter City and they are perfectly entitled to not attend. Do you know anything about the Oystons and what they do to their fans?

They don't have a duty to show up for our sake. We have had bad owners in the past, if people didn't want to go because they didn't want Russel and Lewis to literally pocket their money you would understand wouldn't you?

The rest of your post is essentially just (being polite) nonsense.

And we got rid of those two thieves because they were just that, THIEVES and eventually got their just deserts! I really can't be ar**ed to argue about Messers Oyston and what they do or don't do to their fans, but if it's criminal, then the Blackpool fans should be taking legal action against them. If it's not then they, O & O are perfectly entitled to do what ever it is they do, they OWN the club, not the fans.
I can't remember how many ECFC took up to Bloomfield Rd, but obviously those people didn't agree with the Blackpool fans boycott or they'd have stayed at home as well and not 'lined' the Oyston's pockets!!

 

[paperclip]

And we got rid of those two thieves because they were just that, THIEVES and eventually got their just deserts! I really can't be ar**ed to argue about Messers Oyston and what they do or don't do to their fans, but if it's criminal, then the Blackpool fans should be taking legal action against them. If it's not then they, O & O are perfectly entitled to do what ever it is they do, they OWN the club, not the fans.
I can't remember how many ECFC took up to Bloomfield Rd, but obviously those people didn't agree with the Blackpool fans boycott or they'd have stayed at home as well and not 'lined' the Oyston's pockets!!

Just checking that this IS a wind-up, right?

 

[Legohead]

And we got rid of those two thieves because they were just that, THIEVES and eventually got their just deserts! I really can't be ar**ed to argue about Messers Oyston and what they do or don't do to their fans, but if it's criminal, then the Blackpool fans should be taking legal action against them. If it's not then they, O & O are perfectly entitled to do what ever it is they do, they OWN the club, not the fans.
I can't remember how many ECFC took up to Bloomfield Rd, but obviously those people didn't agree with the Blackpool fans boycott or they'd have stayed at home as well and not 'lined' the Oyston's pockets!!

Andy you have a point. The Oyston's own the club and not the fans so the fans are in no position to dictate to them how the club should be run. However, if they aren't happy with the way the club is being run and all attempts at trying to amicably resolve the situation with the Oyston's have failed then it is then down to each individual Blackpool fan to come to a decision about how they want to proceed. Do they withhold their support and money and hope for change or do they continue to go along and support the team and hope for change? Not one course of action is ultimately the correct one, it's just what each individual sees fit to do. I can imagine it's an impasse that causes great consternation and agitation amongst the fanbase up there and it's like a Brexit type scenario when clubs have split loyalties due to the owners running the club in an unprofessional manner. Fans ask themselves, "do I stay or do I go?".

Then you get infantile bitching and infighting within the fanbase about who is right and who is wrong when in actual fact neither are. Their choice of action is just a choice based on opinion. Like whether they voted IN or OUT of Europe during Brexit voting.

I am of the view that I support the stay aways and the fact that they didn't become hypocrites by attending the final thus missing out on a day of glory that they could and should have been a part of. This did impact on the whole day and the atmosphere like you said and ECFC will miss out on some income because of the reduced attendance but I fully support the boycott.

This doesn't mean I wouldn't go to Bloomfield Road to watch Exeter though as i'm an Exeter fan and although I have sympathy for Blackpool as a club, I go to support to my club and the problems Blackpool have aren't my problem with all due respect to them. I dare say that the Blackpool fans wouldn't begrudge away fans coming to Bloomfield Road, i'm sure they are understanding of this.

Whilst the boycott of Wembley clearly contributed to the lack of atmosphere, in reality it's got nothing to do with us. In effect i'm even more disappointed in the Exeter players given this fact. We clearly had outnumbered Blackpool for support both in terms of numbers and noise and yet our players couldn't take advantage of this favourable bias on the day. Chuck in the fact that the Blackpool players have had to try and win football matches all season amidst a backdrop of low crowds and fan protests then to achieve what they did was remarkable. I certainly am always criticising footballers for looking for that first sign of an opportunity to make excuses but I cannot level that at any of the Blackpool squad this season.

I think having read through the thread it's best to keep the finals at Wembley even though personally i'd be happier at say Villa Park or Pride Park but I can see why Wembley is the most special, iconic and desired place for fans to visit and for players to play at and therefore I think they should keep it as it is. Which they will obviously do. They do need to sort out the stewarding and get some proper segregation for those of a more 'involved' persuasion what with the singing and flags and things so that the singing lads can enjoy the day, get behind the team so as to not have any issues with either stewards or families / fans wanting to sit and observe.

The place is bloody well big enough to certainly have a huge block of flags / singers etc slightly away / above the rest of the fans!

If the teething issues can be sorted for next year then I might even think about going this time!

Doh, scratch that. It's automatics for us next season of course.

 

[geoffwp]

For my 6p worth i point the finger of blame for a 'poor atmosphere' clearly at the Blackpool fans who boycotted the game, to only take 5k+ fans to your clubs biggest day out in years, with such a prize on offer is totally pathetic. You can boycott your home games as often and for as long as you like, but don't spoil somebody else's 'big day out' with your petty squabbles with your owners.
Maybe we should be asking the organisers of the boycott for the equivalent cash remuneration of what ECFC lost out on from the lost gate receipts.

Obviously there were 5k+ Blackpool fans who DON'T agree with the boycott and good on them. Plus, i can't say i saw any of the Blackpool players buying into the idea of the boycott. So obviously they and the Manager are happy with Messers Oyston & Oyston's running of the club.

As has been said already i wonder if, had we played Luton instead, with a crowd closer to 40k and we'd won, Wemberleigh would have been the most perfect location in the World!

As an aside, The Aviva Rugby Premiership final at Twickenham was virtually sold out even BEFORE it was known which two teams would be playing, but there again that is considered to be the 'end of season' party game, regardless of who it's between. Maybe it's up to the EFL to make similar adjustments to the their marketing strategy of the day in order to increase the attendance and therefore the clubs, and their return, on the game.

Personally i had a great day out, despite the result, yes we could, and should, have performed better but that was how things panned out on the day. I was unable to go to either of ECFC's last two visits to Wemberleigh due to working abroad so, for me, it was interesting to see how much the NEW Wemberleigh and surrounding areas with it's restaurants and retail outlets, differ from the OLD Wemberleigh, with it's industrial estate feeling and scruffy burger van food outlets. For me there's no comparison, 2017 wins hands down.

Actually that was more like a few quid than 6p. Apart from a lot of other rather odd comments the one that really mystified me was the one about the manager and players not boycotting the final. What on earth has that got to do with it or am I missing an 'in joke' here??

 

[RebornKirtonRed]

They do need to sort out the stewarding and get some proper segregation for those of a more 'involved' persuasion what with the singing and flags and things so that the singing lads can enjoy the day, get behind the team so as to not have any issues with either stewards or families / fans wanting to sit and observe.

The place is bloody well big enough to certainly have a huge block of flags / singers etc slightly away / above the rest of the fans!

Agree with you completely legohead.......Wembley needs to chill for us smaller clubs

 

[DanceMagnet]

As far as I'm concerned, Wembley is a **** venue. It lacks atmosphere, whether full or not, access from anywhere is terrible, and the prices stink. The build cost of nigh on £800m is frankly embarrassing and the arch doesn't provide anything like the character of the old twin towers. The atmosphere would be so much better if fans were closer to the pitch, but in my view the national stadium should not have been located anywhere near Wembley.

The Principality (Millennium) Stadium cost a fraction of Wembley at just over £120m with a capacity about 5/6 of Wembley and a much better atmosphere.

 

[Colesman Ballz]

The Principality (Millennium) Stadium cost a fraction of Wembley at just over £120m with a capacity about 5/6 of Wembley and a much better atmosphere.

The Welsh, did not have Ken Bates bu@@erring things up !

 

[Antony Moxey]

As far as I'm concerned, Wembley is a **** venue. It lacks atmosphere, whether full or not, access from anywhere is terrible, and the prices stink. The build cost of nigh on £800m is frankly embarrassing and the arch doesn't provide anything like the character of the old twin towers. The atmosphere would be so much better if fans were closer to the pitch, but in my view the national stadium should not have been located anywhere near Wembley.

Have to say I couldn't disagree more with pretty much everything you written there, especially the access bit. I thought it a complete piece of p*ss to get to the ground and back and struggle to see how Sunday could have been any easier.

 

[Red Bill]

Why? Who cares how empty the stadium is? Just keep it as it is and enjoy.

Essentially this.

I couldn't go to the previous two Wembley appearances and had never been to Wembley for anything else, Wembley is still a very special place for me and I don't care how many people were there on Sunday. I was delighted to be there supporting my team and would be gutted if the PO finals were moved, as a day out at Villa Park or somewhere similar would mean nothing to me at all. Had there been no boycott from the Blackpool fans, they would probably have brought at least 30,000, so for someone unused to stadiums of that size, having the bottom and middle tiers looking full is quite enough in terms of atmosphere for me. Keep it at Wembley!