Anyone bothering going to Cheltenham?

[AustrianAndyGull]

Just been on the Cheltenham OS and it is £12 for adults ( £5 to £10 max it should be IMO ) and under 16's are £5 ( should be free or £1 ) to get the young ones in, maybe they will buy a programme, a pie and a bottle of pop and more people throught the turnstiles. The prices they are charging are not acceptable and seems designed to deter people from going thus reinforcing the JPT as a mickey mouse pointless exercise. If i wanted to go and take my kid it costs me £17 before i have even started. Cheers Cheltenham for making meaningless games like these even more meaningless and inaccessible to fans on low incomes or with families and who are having to prioratise which games to attend. Its nice to know you are encouraging fans old and new. Bearing in mind these games are perhaps for the ultra die hards (especially away games in the JPT ) then the ticket pricing strategy of CTFC does absolutely nothing to change this, even for the home fans. I just hope and pray that Ling plays a load of kids and reserves and not hardly any of the first team and gives the competition what it deserves, total contempt.

[MidDevon]

There is actually a "Watching Paint Dry Cup" rule that teams must play 7 players who played in the last game or face a fine. I am not sure if any team has ever been fined mind you.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Does that mean we can't play Danny Stevens then? The only time i am desperate for him to be in the starting line up and he doesn't automatically qualify! Typical. Hopefully Ling will play him anyway.

[Awayday]

I don't think even a majority of the die hard fans are bothering with this one.

As for Ling "rotating the team" surely that is him saying "bollocks am I chancing my 1st team on this crap, I am putting out the youth team".

MidDevon - Does that rule apply for the JPT? They bought it in for the Carling Cup to stop the likes of Arsenal (pmsl), Man Utd and such puting out their reserve teams. Didn't think it applied to this tin pot cup.

As for Stevens, he was on for a hat trick last we were here for the JPT :P

It is a great chance for the smaller clubs reaching Wembley, but surely they should skip all the neadless games and just draw 4 teams out of a hat and go straight in to the semi final stages.

Good luck for those going tonight, sorry the drum and I won't be there, but we will be there at Northampton (well I will, the drum isn't allowed).

[AustrianAndyGull]

I'll be there at Sixfields too singing my bollocks off at a game that means something.

[monkeyboy]

Seems like it wouldn't be cool to go to the game tonight! Still it's local to me and I support Torquay so I'm going (what a saddo!)

Hopefully I'll see plenty of goals and some excellent performances by peripheral players. I hope we can go far in this competition, it will mean competitive football for those players outside the first team and a good experience for the younger players.

[Glostergull]

It'll me on m'own then.

Brett, please post your picture from MyFace, you know the one.

Matt.

Hi matt. If you can pick me up I will gladly go with you. Despite the few who seem to think this is a waste of time, if we get anywhere near the finals it will be worth a decent amount of money and the club really does need the money. You all expect the good delivered. This is one way that we will be if you support it. For those who really can't go, and I know money is part of the reason. We will do our best to keep you all up to date. I know you will all be cheering in your hearts.
We will be raising the roof as well as two of us can. I bet we ain't gonna really be on our own.

[AustrianAndyGull]

The opportunity to give a few kids and reserves a run out is one plus but i just hope that none of our key first teamers get injuries. Thats my worry as we have a small squad. Good on you for going monkeyboy. I think if lived 5 or 10 minutes from the ground (like i do Chesterfield and Mansfield and the ticket prices were reasonable then i'd consider going despite my protestations that i would never go to a JPT match. But any game where i couldn't be home in that time no way in the JPT. It just ain't woth it. Anyway i hope the kids and reserves that get a start tonight do well to give em some confidence.

[Awayday]

Hi matt. If you can pick me up I will gladly go with you. Despite the few who seem to think this is a waste of time, if we get anywhere near the finals it will be worth a decent amount of money and the club really does need the money. You all expect the good delivered. This is one way that we will be if you support it. For those who really can't go, and I know money is part of the reason. We will do our best to keep you all up to date. I know you will all be cheering in your hearts.
We will be raising the roof as well as two of us can. I bet we ain't gonna really be on our own.

I am not sure if the other 221 fans who were there on Saturday with me would agree, but I think puting our efforts, time, money and everything else that goes into running a club would be better suited on a better league performance rather than this cup game. However if we get to Wembley I will be there PMSL!!!

[AustrianAndyGull]

I think my hatred of useless cup competitions comes from the time in our second BSP season when i went to an FA Trophy game in January away at Southport and we were mullered 3-0. I remember thinking, 'what the f**k am i doing here?!'. So i can't be labelled as someone who has not at least tried the atmosphere of games like this where you get an atmosphere of nobody wanting to be there. If i'm going to be depressed i might as well stay at home and watch back to back editions of Casualty.

[Awayday]

There were many games like that in the BSP where we wished we were somewhere else LOL

[Glostergull]

It'll me on m'own then.

Brett, please post your picture from MyFace, you know the one.

Matt.

this site is playing games with me. I posted my last post and it seemed to disapear. Apologies to anyone who saw the subsequent one which I have edited to rub it out . don't want you to think i'm senile. I have enough with the wife who thinks I am.

[AustrianAndyGull]

There were many games like that in the BSP where we wished we were somewhere else LOL

Yeah like Northwich Victoria. Their club shop was open but had nothing in it bar a few scarves, their programme looked like it was made by schoolchildren and their ground didn't have any fans or stands behind either goal. Haha. They were the days. It brings it all back when you stop some random local and ask where the Vics ground is and they say, 'where?'. We won 3-1 though thanks to a sillsy double. The terracing at Kettering was also a laugh. It was basically one large concrete slope that had no steps! There are some grounds in league 2 when i wished i was somewhere else, especially Accrington. I think grounds like ours, although small have a homely, comforting feel which is great for an away fan but not really great for us when trying to make others teams intimidated.

[Awayday]

My worst league 2 ground is Hereford, been there the once never again (unless they open up that end behind the goal).

[Glostergull]

Yeah like Northwich Victoria. Their club shop was open but had nothing in it bar a few scarves, their programme looked like it was made by schoolchildren and their ground didn't have any fans or stands behind either goal. Haha. They were the days. It brings it all back when you stop some random local and ask where the Vics ground is and they say, 'where?'. We won 3-1 though thanks to a sillsy double. The terracing at Kettering was also a laugh. It was basically one large concrete slope that had no steps! There are some grounds in league 2 when i wished i was somewhere else, especially Accrington. I think grounds like ours, although small have a homely, comforting feel which is great for an away fan but not really great for us when trying to make others teams intimidated.

I do so hope that problem can be addressed when our new stand is open. I think it would make perfect sense to put all away fans in a segregated portion of the new main stand and make the away end a home end. That would answer a few questions and possibly even enourage a few more fans to attend knowing we have a decent home end from which to cheer us on. There would be nothing to stop our fans still cheering from the pop side if they wanted but i bet it would help the atmosphere if we used the babbacombe end for our guys. One other spin off. the seats in the grandstand would probably be a little dearer and so a good attendance fromaway fans would swell our coffers. If they brought a lot then we could always make part of the babbacombe end for away supporters if we really had to.
I would also be in favour of moving that box in the corner of the away end to one of the corners therfore increasing our capacity. it can be done but is the will there?.
If anyone can gis a lift up to Cheltenham tonite I would be gratefull.I can meet at Junc 16 or 14 of M5. can contirbute to costs. many thanks me old muckers