MATCHWATCH : Stevenage (a)

[From Despair To Where?]

Stevenage are a relatively young club, younger than me, so I'd imagine a lot of their potential fanbase over 40 would have grown up as Luton or Watford fans, They were playing at Conference National level within 20 years of forming. That's pretty good going.

[katweslowski]

Can people please stop referring to other clubs as "tinpot". It's ignorant, embarrassing and disrespectful.

Came here to say this. From Reading fans it's ridiculous and we should know better.

Especially as we're still scrambling around iwth 10,000 fans at a home game in League One whilst some of our fans talk about how "massive" we are. Whilst Wrexham, Huddersfield and many others are getting more fans than us.

[Clyde1998]

Can people please stop referring to other clubs as "tinpot". It's ignorant, embarrassing and disrespectful.

Came here to say this. From Reading fans it's ridiculous and we should know better.

Especially as we're still scrambling around iwth 10,000 fans at a home game in League One whilst some of our fans talk about how "massive" we are. Whilst Wrexham, Huddersfield and many others are getting more fans than us.

Agreed. We're "massive" in the sense that we've been in the Championship for most of the past thirty years or so. Our fan base isn't massively largely than most clubs in League One, it's just Stevenage are relatively new to the Football League and haven't built up a big fanbase yet.

In our last few Championship seasons, we had a below average home attendance. We've certainly grown as a club in the past thirty-odd years, but we're still probably an fairly average Championship side in terms of fanbase (possibly lower).

[WestYorksRoyal]

Yeh, we're pretty tinpot. Obviously more success and promotion would bring back more fans, but I'm interested to see how we do simply if Dai fcuks off and we're not facing existential crisis. Some stability, decent signings and a team with genuine ambitions of promotion could get us up to averaging 15k on Saturdays in my view, and perhaps up to 18k or so in the Championship.

[From Despair To Where?]

Calling anyone tinpot is bullshit, in my opinion. Different clubs have different trajectories and just because your club only averages 4,000 or play in a 6,000 capacity stadium, doesn't mean the fans care less about their club.

[Sutekh]

Can people please stop referring to other clubs as "tinpot". It's ignorant, embarrassing and disrespectful.

Came here to say this. From Reading fans it's ridiculous and we should know better.

Especially as we're still scrambling around iwth 10,000 fans at a home game in League One whilst some of our fans talk about how "massive" we are. Whilst Wrexham, Huddersfield and many others are getting more fans than us.

Agreed. We're "massive" in the sense that we've been in the Championship for most of the past thirty years or so. Our fan base isn't massively largely than most clubs in League One, it's just Stevenage are relatively new to the Football League and haven't built up a big fanbase yet.

In our last few Championship seasons, we had a below average home attendance. We've certainly grown as a club in the past thirty-odd years, but we're still probably an fairly average Championship side in terms of fanbase (possibly lower).

Largely getting around 12-13k when Pardew was managing in the third division so wouldn’t expect much different with another manager. Think 18-20k+ would only be achieved if the club was flying in the promotion places towards the business end of the season.

[Hendo]

Calling anyone tinpot is bullshit, in my opinion. Different clubs have different trajectories and just because your club only averages 4,000 or play in a 6,000 capacity stadium, doesn't mean the fans care less about their club.

MK:Dons?

[From Despair To Where?]

Calling anyone tinpot is bullshit, in my opinion. Different clubs have different trajectories and just because your club only averages 4,000 or play in a 6,000 capacity stadium, doesn't mean the fans care less about their club.

MK:Dons?

I'd call them an aberration.

I hate MK Dons as much as the next fan but everyone hates them so to support the most hated club in the lower divisions takes some nerve. What other club should a kid born and bred in MK support?

I think also, if you look at football history, it's not entirely unprecedented. Arsenal uprooted across London in 1913. Liverpool and Chelsea were both formed because another team moved and left the owners with an empty stadium.

[Hendo]

Yeah, that's fair.

Was the closed club I could think of, re: tinpot.

[WestYorksRoyal]

As a thought experiment with MK Dons, I often wonder if they could have achieved more had the owners with the bright idea done everything organically. Started a club at the bottom and pushed them through the leagues at AFC Wimbledon ultimately did. It would create more of an identity as Milton Keynes' club.

As it is, the club is tainted and it holds them back in a place as populated as MK. It will take >50 years for people to forget how they came into existence, and true football fans in the area may well default to supporting a north London club or Watford/Luton.

Put it this way, if I had kids around where I currently live I'd give them a day out to see Bradford or Huddersfield (not Leeds). If I lived around Milton Keynes, there's no way I'd take them to see MK Dons.

[From Despair To Where?]

As a thought experiment with MK Dons, I often wonder if they could have achieved more had the owners with the bright idea done everything organically. Started a club at the bottom and pushed them through the leagues at AFC Wimbledon ultimately did. It would create more of an identity as Milton Keynes' club.

As it is, the club is tainted and it holds them back in a place as populated as MK. It will take >50 years for people to forget how they came into existence, and true football fans in the area may well default to supporting a north London club or Watford/Luton.

Put it this way, if I had kids around where I currently live I'd give them a day out to see Bradford or Huddersfield (not Leeds). If I lived around Milton Keynes, there's no way I'd take them to see MK Dons.

There's a lot of Burnley fans in Keighley.

[Hound]

Agreed, the whole thing was a PR disaster. No doubts they had a non league MK club who they could have built up. It’s a big catchment area and they’d have had some goodwill rather than everyone hating them

Also agreed re:tinpot . Pointless insult - actually more fun being tin pot imo and mixing it with the ‘big boys’

[From Despair To Where?]

It's an insult of last resort. It's also an insult by people who forget where we've come from.

[Sutekh]

Agreed, the whole thing was a PR disaster. No doubts they had a non league MK club who they could have built up. It’s a big catchment area and they’d have had some goodwill rather than everyone hating them

Also agreed re:tinpot . Pointless insult - actually more fun being tin pot imo and mixing it with the ‘big boys’

It was the fault of the FA/FL for consenting to it (after the stupid decision think they quickly agreed that it would never be allowed again which is why they’re quite hot on ground share rules) and the move largely contributed to the demise of the local non league side, Milton Keynes City

[Dirk Gently]

As a thought experiment with MK Dons, I often wonder if they could have achieved more had the owners with the bright idea done everything organically. Started a club at the bottom and pushed them through the leagues at AFC Wimbledon ultimately did. It would create more of an identity as Milton Keynes' club.

As it is, the club is tainted and it holds them back in a place as populated as MK. It will take >50 years for people to forget how they came into existence, and true football fans in the area may well default to supporting a north London club or Watford/Luton.

Put it this way, if I had kids around where I currently live I'd give them a day out to see Bradford or Huddersfield (not Leeds). If I lived around Milton Keynes, there's no way I'd take them to see MK Dons.

But they'd never have done that. The overall aim of the project wasn't to get league football there - that was just what was needed to provide an "enabling development" under planning rules at the time to get a retail park built. The whole thing was about property, not football.

[bcubed]

As a thought experiment with MK Dons, I often wonder if they could have achieved more had the owners with the bright idea done everything organically. Started a club at the bottom and pushed them through the leagues at AFC Wimbledon ultimately did. It would create more of an identity as Milton Keynes' club.

As it is, the club is tainted and it holds them back in a place as populated as MK. It will take >50 years for people to forget how they came into existence, and true football fans in the area may well default to supporting a north London club or Watford/Luton.

Put it this way, if I had kids around where I currently live I'd give them a day out to see Bradford or Huddersfield (not Leeds). If I lived around Milton Keynes, there's no way I'd take them to see MK Dons.

But they'd never have done that. The overall aim of the project wasn't to get league football there - that was just what was needed to provide an "enabling development" under planning rules at the time to get a retail park built. The whole thing was about property, not football.

I'm not sure that's true, not completely anyway. No doubt Pete Winkelman is a shrewd businessman but I do believe he wanted to manage a local football team. And to begin with the Dons played at the now demolished National Hockey Stadium, not their current home. So if he only wanted the development, it was quite a long term plan. (Doesnt mean that wasnt the case, I agree). But I also believe the development would have happened without the stadium anyway. MK are not shy of new development, to say the least!

Odd fact, that I don't shout about. Winkelman went to the same hairdresser as me....

[dontbedaft]

Odd fact, that I don't shout about. Winkelman went to the same hairdresser as me....

So that's why you never had a profile pic on your excellent website

[bcubed]

Odd fact, that I don't shout about. Winkelman went to the same hairdresser as me....

So that's why you never had a profile pic on your excellent website

If I had a website I certainly wouldn't have a profile pic!

[The Cube]

bcubed and me are different people. And I have no need of a hairdresser...

[stealthpapes]

As a thought experiment with MK Dons, I often wonder if they could have achieved more had the owners with the bright idea done everything organically. Started a club at the bottom and pushed them through the leagues at AFC Wimbledon ultimately did. It would create more of an identity as Milton Keynes' club.

As it is, the club is tainted and it holds them back in a place as populated as MK. It will take >50 years for people to forget how they came into existence, and true football fans in the area may well default to supporting a north London club or Watford/Luton.

Put it this way, if I had kids around where I currently live I'd give them a day out to see Bradford or Huddersfield (not Leeds). If I lived around Milton Keynes, there's no way I'd take them to see MK Dons.

There's a lot of Burnley fans in Keighley.

While there is a moor in the way, they're basically next to each other. Guess the trains don't quite make it over. Ilkley is probably just nearer to Leeds, but even railway man here can't work out how I'd get to Burnley from there. EDIT Leeds - Burnley on a rattler.