Ok i know we are all blue blood thru and thru but could Scally's coffers take a battering next season? Dover Ebbsfleet Maidstone Leyton Orient Dagenham & Redbridge Bromley Aldershot Loads of short mileage fixtures, and some of them parings will happen around Christmas and New Year for sure. After all we are a lower league club and we are lower league supporters for a reason, local fixtures attract in our game, there is going to be far more passion when Maidstone meet Ebbsfleet than there has been in Kent for a while. Ok we got AFC Wimbledon, Charlton and Portsmouth but as long has fixtures don't clash, and if we have a bad season, trouble could be brewing for us on the financial front. I always remember back in the day, where fans would watch us at home and then the following week go to Maidstone, if we were having a bad spell then Maidstone benefited from our failings. Interested in your views, purely as lower league supporters...
brb You suggest that National League fixtures will have passion therein - and express a preference for watching these type of fixtures - instead of, [perhaps], games in the Premiership. ( I'm sure a few of these games have plenty of passion ). Why don't you take things even closer to home - and confine your attendance to Sunday morning pub team games -- no shortage of passion in these games ( especially after much alcohol on Saturday night )................ you might have to bring Mrs brb and a dog to swell the audience to double figures ! If the National League games were THAT good, then SKY & BT would be full of them........................ These fixtures do not have the technically gifted players that are in 'higher' leagues. You might be happy to go and watch kick and rush and some dodgy tackling - where a fight might get interrupted by a bit of hoofball,- but - by and large, you are in the very small minority. You know how passionate I am about the Gills .I don't travel 100 miles just for a home game expecting to see silky skills - I do it because I am passionate about my team. In returnI expect passion from the players - in every game - not just when the opponents haven't had a long journey. I don't mind if we win, lose or draw - as long as I have seen some pride and passion from the side in every game - any silky skills would be a bonus. Whether or not you like it - we live in a world where people are not really interested in passion - they want to see skills and ' quality football ' ---and endless replays from every possible angle !............................ now - if you don't mind - I'm off to watch the Germany v Mexico game.
You know i hate the Premiership, you know my views on SKY...would i rather watch National League football than a lot of other games, yes i would, I'm a different breed mate, mongrel maybe, but a different breed nonetheless. I want to go to the pub, pick up a few cheap bevvies on the way, turn up, piss the stewards off, annoy every other supporter by having a different opinion, cause a fight then sod off home, puffing on my cigs, laughing and thinking to myself that was a great crac today
Don’t just confine this to the National league. There are loads of local non league sides out there that can really do with extra support. So if you can’t make a Gills game, try your local team instead. Last season, I spent more time watching non league football than ever before. Mainly at Chatham (not great – 18 defeats in 23 home games!), but at least I could decide on the day whether I wanted to attend (without the need of buying a ticket in advance to get a discount!). And, more importantly, I can sit/stand/have a pint wherever I want in the ground. You also seem to get a warm welcome from the clubs officials as well. Great example of this was on a visit to watch Snodland Town in the Southern Counties East Division one (yes... Living the dream!) on a very cold January afternoon. Although there were only 32 attending the match, I got the feeling the club REALLY appreciated all those who turned up. Indeed I had an interesting conversation with the guy sat in front of me, who told me all about the development of the club and ground (new floodlights and a new 50 seat stand for this season). Also turns out he was a director of the club, and his nephew was playing centre back! That was a great day out all for £3 entry fee. That is something sadly missing now from the corporate SKY ruined game we know today.
As I said in another thread I often pop down to watch Ebbsfleet if we are away from home, I think on this occasion alwaysright is definitely wrong, I like that so much I'll say it again "alwaysright is definitely wrong" "alwaysright is definitely wrong" "alwaysright is definitely wrong" "alwaysright is definitely wrong" Oh! I feel so much better now.
grumpygit - I have no problem with not being always right - it makes a refreshing change ! - and sometimes I deliberately get it wrong - so as to stop others depending on me ( all the bloody time )......... BUT..... In what way am I 'definitely' wrong ? I took the suggestion by brb -( that there is more passion in National League fixtures ) - and went a stage further. I know that brb is not interested in SKY or BT. He acknowledges that the technical aspects of the game, ( including the TV coverage ), is better in the EPL - but brb - and a minority of people do not place much emphasis on the 'beautiful' side of the game - but would rather watch a more 'blood & guts' style of match - where kicking the opponent is considered more skillful than kicking the ball ! brb ( and the minority of others ), are perfectly entitled to their viewing preference - but my point was that he wasn't being so noble and loyal to lower league football - because I happen to know that Gillingham isn't his 'local' team. In view of this lack of appreciation for his 'local' side, I suggested that brb could show passion at an even lower level than the National League. -- hence my suggestion that he watch Sunday pub team football -- after all, these teams could easily complain that people like brb should be coming to watch them - rather than at such exalted places as Priestfield. (( it's all a case of scale - and relative to ones' opinion as to where our loyalty lies )). brb knows that I was trying to wind him up by saying that he wasn't loyal to his local team - in the same way as the many thousands of people in Medway who watch football on Sky or BT instead of going to see the Gills. I may not have been totally right - but, with all humility, I don't believe that I was 'definitely' wrong.
Definitely a case for 'hoofball' - and could well stop all the 'diving' that goes on. The pitch was only marginally worse than the old Baseball ground - --- ask brb - he regrets the day that jumpers were replaced with wooden posts - and as for floodlights - well you played until it was pitch black.
