The 2011/12 Gary Speed Memorial Thread

[Dingle]

Shaking up the world of football they say? I look forward to that.

[Adam]

Yeah. It'd be part of the lower Holte - I think. We've had a large number of fans requesting it for years.

I thought standing areas at grounds in the top two divisions was still compltely banned?

[IAceI]

Well this is the thing, they're wanting to introduce safe standing areas to parts of the grounds in the top leagues now. And I assume it's just the Premier League that that rule applies to because Peterborough having terracing still?

Either way I'm all for it. I love standing at the matches and would welcome any chance to bring it back as long as it's safe. I realise Hillsborough is a very sensitive subject and obviously is put into discussions when the idea of standing is brought up but looks at places like the Bundesliga, Dortmund have that huge terrace behind the goals and plenty of the Bundesliga teams have these areas too. One of the arguments against it is that the Bundesliga teams haven't let their stadia get into such poor condition as some of the Premier League stadia are. Or perhaps not poor condition, but too archaic for them to be converted safely to allow standing areas, but I'm sure - and hopeful - that in the next few seasons an agreement can be reached over this.

Part of what I love about Carlisle United matches is the terracing and old fashioned stadium with the triple triangular above the Warwick Road end. It gives the ground some charm and personality, so their idea to move into a 12,000 all-seater in the near future is worrying because I just don't think it's the way forward to generate the atmosphere it could by doing this.

So fingers crossed an agreement can be reached in some way to bring standing areas back to the Premier League.

[jack95]

Terracing is banned in the Championship, but they give clubs like Peterborough something like three seasons to dismantle their terracing and replace it with seats. Obviously it's unrealistic to do it all over one summer, and it would also be annoying for a club to get rid of all their terracing only to get relegated back to League 1, which is why the three-seasons rule comes in.

I prefer sitting to standing anyhow, but obviously there is an appetite for the return of terracing, and the Bundesliga has proved it can potentially worked. Hopefully they'll give it a shot.

[Colly]

Having seen the model safe standing 'seats' (there is a foldy down seat too) as well as those at Munich I'm totally for it. Completely safe, or at least no more dangerous than normal seats, and allow clubs to get more fans in which gives them a monetary incentive too.

I wouldn't move, love my seat too much, but would love them to terrace the lower Gallowgate again.

[Adam]

I do prefer standing at away games (Peterborough and Scunthorpe have been the best away days in the past two seasons) but after all this time of converting everyone to all seater it seems silly to spend a load more money and rip out a section of seats at grounds now. It's better this way I feel.

[Lineker]

Joey Barton has been laying into Neil Warnock on Twitter, including the hastag #mikebassett.

What a bellend.

[Matt]

What a tool...

#colin would've been a better hashtag.

[Hobo]

Nothing new from Joey Barton then.

[IAceI]

I find this offensive to Mike Bassett. And since Mike Bassett is blatantly based on Graham Taylor, him too.

[jack95]

To be fair, Warnock is also a total knob, so they can trade insults with each other till the sun goes down for all I care.

[Adam]

It's a bit ungrateful of Barton though, having been made captain when he signed by Warnock. I usually like Barton but I see no need for him to act like he is doing. If anything he's proving Warnock right on this whole Twitter issue.

[Colly]

He's a twat, why would he change?

[IAceI]

Emmanuel Eboue @TheRealEboue 2m Reply Retweeted Favorite · Open

@Joey7Barton You need to stop talkin about Neil Warnock like that. he gave u a job when every1 rejected ur #burgerAss. keep quiet #youngfool

Emmanuel Eboue to the rescue! What a hero!

EDIT: Hmm, I think it's a fake apparently. Eboue_27 seems to be his real one I think but neither are verified.

Colour me disappointed, but you can imagine it could have been real from a man who does this:

http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs3/1479945_o.gif

EDIT 2: As an apology for possibly misleading you, here's some videos of Eboue:

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/a095b62ba601cdf2e9b5ff3d0e9c8069_eboueshellsuit.gif

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/eboue-the-joker_o_GIFSoup.com_.gif

Good God I love that man. Come back Eboue

Edited January 20, 2012 by IAceI

[Dingle]

I +1'd you, but it was actually a +1 for Eboue. What a guy!

[Lineker]

No matter how much of a dick Warnock might be, it's so disrespectful to the guy who brough you into the club and made you captain instantly, on massive wages no doubt. Barton seems to forget what an amazing job Warnock did to get QPR up!

Anyway.

City council bosses have said they will be appealing to the media to continue to refer to the Newcastle United ground as St James' Park.

In November it was announced the ground was being renamed Sports Direct Arena, after owner Mike Ashley's company.

Many fans reacted angrily but the club said it was a prelude to securing a new global sponsor.

Councillors agreed to write to media outlets "respectfully requesting" them not to use the new name.

The motion was debated, amended and carried unanimously at full meeting of the council.

It "requests that the city council write to the media and asks that they continue to use the name of St James' Park in all reporting and refuse to use the name Sports Direct Arena.

"We respectfully request that you take this approach."

The authority also decided not to change any signs bearing the name St James' Park and has called on the club to reconsider its decision.

Newcastle United refused to comment.

The BBC said in a statement: "As of 10 November, the Sports Direct Arena became the official name for the ground as chosen by the club.

"It is not the BBC's place, as an impartial public broadcaster to decide or debate on whether this is correct or not, rather to report on the matches which take place on the field.

"Changing the way we display the graphics or refer to the ground on our programmes ensures consistency with every other ground which has a sponsor, be it new grounds that came with a sponsor like the Emirates, or old grounds that have changed their names like Bradford City's Coral Windows Stadium (formerly Valley Parade)."

[Dingle]

I know people hate change, but does it really matter =\?

Edit: His happy little face brings joy to my life:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16661301.stm

Edited January 20, 2012 by Devil In Jouzy City

[Colly]

As I think I said at the time, at no point from my walk from my car to my seat in the East Stand did I pass a sign saying St James Park, and I don't pass one saying Sports Direct Arena now. They don't even mention it on the tanoy. It's all very silly.

[-A-]

"We respectfully request that you take this approach."

That's pretty inappropriate, I think. Elected officials shouldn't be pressuring people to avoid doing something that's perfectly legal.

[Adam]

Barton seems to forget what an amazing job Warnock did to get QPR up!

Forget? He probably never knew in the first place.