OK firstly I should point out that, due to financial restraints I wasn't at the Reading match so before anyone else says it, no I wasn't at the match. However I was, as always, listening from first to last minute on the radio. I have had some concerns and nasty niggles about things happening off the pitch in recent weeks. I haven't posted them in the past because with everyone on a high due to the signings and early form, I didn't want to start attacking the club when things were going well. However I do think two things have to be addressed with regards the stadium refurbishment and the pre-match malarky. Firstly, the stadium. When I went to the Real Madrid match I was pretty angry that they had chosen to take down the huge Gary Lineker + legends poster on the edge of the Family Stand and replace it with a bland, KP Stadium advertisement. For me, one of the things about that poster was that it gave us a clear reference point that showed despite the move from Filbo to the then Walkers Stadium, our heritage stayed with us, even if it was just in the form of a poster. I also use to have a tingle go down my spine every time I went past it on my way to the ticket office or megastore, and even have a picture of it on my phone. Then we have the heroes banner that went around the roof of the stadium, also taken down and also replaced with a boring, blue advertisement. I haven't been around the Kop and West Stand side of the ground so don't know if anything else has gone but I am going to the ground later for some tickets. But now, from being a stadium where you could clearly indicate it was LCFC's ground, it now has a blank canvas look and it could literally be any clubs ground. Now, I understand that following the renaming of the stadium (which I support) there would of course be the editing of parts of the stadium where Walkers was heavily branded, but was there any need to take down these key reminders of our past? When Walkers changed it's logo, we had to edit those parts as well, but no posters or banners were taken away. So why have the new owners done this now? I must admit that in my ultra skeptical mind, part of me thinks they are delibrately trying to erase our history, for whatever reason this may be. Because ultimately, when every concourse and outside advert has 'King Power Stadium', do you really need to promote it any more, and at the expense of heritage? For me this has been the new owners worst mistake and I personally feel we, as fans, have every right to demand the reinstallation of our posters and banners so that our stadium still feels like our stadium, and not some blank, overgrown advertising board that the owners seem to want it to become. Secondly, and not quite as serious, the pre-match and half-time entertainment. Now against Real it was a carnival atmosphere and I don't think we minded some dodgy opera singers and a bizarre Thailand exibition, because at the end of the day, it was against Real and it was the owners who arranged it and fair play to them. But was there any need to carry this on against Reading? Again the Thai dancers were there, again we had a pretty poor cabire singing trio and not to mention another X Factor contestant, Jamie Archer. Now, as something of an XF expert (yes, I know, sad), I know from history that Archer was pretty dire on XF and didn't get too far (even finishing below Jedward) and, unlike the superb Ruth Lorenzo, cannot control a crowd. The reception he got makes me think that fans have also had enough of this; XF singers cannot control football crowds for ten minutes or so unless they have a powerful voice. The whole pre and half time experience, I believe, is starting to become trivial, embarassing and OTT. We don't go to football matches for the singing and dancing, we go to watch football. As far as I'm concerned, watching little kids run around the side of the pitch while Birch commentates is fine! We don't need all this malarky and I think the owners ought to put a stop to it, otherwise we'll have magicians and dog acts next! Just to clarify, I firmly support the investment and intent that the owners have for this club, and I thank them for putting their money where their mouth is. But IMO, they risk losing some support if they continue to demolish our heritage and subject us to dismal 'entertainment' that none of us has asked for. Get on with the football, guys, and leave everything else alone. Rant over.
If you didn't like it at Real you would have hated the entertainment at Reading. SOme big haired dick sang songs and got booed
I have had enough of X factor rejects and opera singers coming on to the pith. We now have thai dancing aswell, as much as I like the owners, its a football match for crying out loud. If you want to get signers on the pitch get Kasabian no one else. If there is another X Factor reject at the Bristol match I going to have to commit suicide
The Thailand promo is over the top as well. You're from Thailand, and want to promote it, fair enough WE GET THE PICTURE! As for XF acts, I hear this one is booked for Wednesday..... please log in to view this image
It is a shame that the posters of old players have gone because I thought they were superb too. I don't think it is a deliberate attempt to erase history though, more a case of King Power getting as much exposure for their and their partner's brands as possible. So while it is a shame, I personally see it as a small price to pay for the investment and support we receive from the owners. Part of the new owner's vision is to extend the experience of visiting the stadium. This is always going to grate with the traditionalists who yearn for Filbert Street and singing players names before kickoff. I cannot see a problem with the fan village at all. If it gets kids to want to visit the KP stadium rather than watch Man U on TV then it has to be a good thing. We could probably do without the singing at half time unless it is someone any good or a special occasion. It will get old pretty quickly and probably already has done. I feel a little uneasy criticising our owners because they have, in a short time, put more of their own money into Leicester than any other owner in the history of the club. But maybe they need to be careful of 'throwing the baby away with the bathwater' in their efforts to modernise and improve the club.
But this is my worry, Stour; that despite all the money they have invested, the erasing of our heritage is inevitably going to lead to disillusionment for a section of our fans, especially if our results don't pick up.
I can see your point but isn't there a 'natural wastage' of fans anyway? Some people keep going until they are 80 but many stop before this. If there wasn't this natural wastage, our attendances would keep increasing as new fans came along and no-one stopped coming. The club IS going to change, and there might be some discomfort in this. But we have handled big change before, including all seating, knocking down the main stand, and the big one, moving to the new stadium. There are people out there who say they haven't attended since this or that but it hasn't effected the attendances in any great way. |I think the owners are absolutely right to try new things to attract new supporters. I'm happy standing on a crumbling terrace and finding bone in my pie but new fans probably have higher standards. The hype surrounding the Premier League is astounding and this is what we have to compete with. We have to create some glitz and glamour. The biggest danger is not losing some crusty old bugger (like me) who doesn't like that football is not how it used to be, it is not changing with the times and getting left behind and falling into obscurity. This looked a real possibility pre-Mandaric. I'm sure that most people would chose a club which seems more glitzy and superficial rather than a good old, traditional club that used to be in the top flight but is now crumbling away in the lower leagues. Am I wrong?
All this razzle dazzle is a pile of **** and it's costing the club money. Hope Top puts an end to it all. I too dislike the removal of the posters of our gratest players, however, the owners will be judged on sucess
Contact the football club and tell them your grievances. Owners look like that they are trying to connect with the fans by having the carnivals and the like and having some entertainment at half time - admittedly crappy entertainment - so if you contact them and say that you want the posters back, I bet that they will be back. Very likely with the King Power logo on them but fair enough for the money that they spent.
On the banner running around the top of the stadium where all the legends pictures where. It has so many King Power logos on it its gone over kill.
Am I the only one who likes the new banners and posters? I think they look sleek, smart and modern whereas the ones we used to have just looked like a kid had used an old magazine, scissors and pritt stick.
I am sure that the 20-30,000 Man U regulars in the eighties are not too concerned about the other 50,000 that turn up evry week now! Not saying we will ever be as big as them but the same applies, the more succesfull you get the more will follow, and they will not all live within 5 miles of the ground, they will not all be males age between 16 & 35, but they will support the club in their own way and spend money in the shop and the concourse areas. With the aspirations of the owners and the players they are looking at buying then I am sure we will soon need to extend the ground to fit these new supporters in, this club is going to change further than it has in the past 20 years since the old main stand was pulled down and the carling was built. We will get to the prem & we will fill the ground every week, we are the only big club in our county, that is maybe the reason they chose to buy us? big catchment area. We can stand still and moan about not getting support and owners not caring/backing the club like we have done since time begain(remeber Shipman!) or we can back the owners with a smile on our faces and enjoy the ride! Rant over!
Jamie whateverhisname is was completely flat. The Rat Pack tribute were excellent (Mafia connections remember guys - we cant say owt else). I quite like the stadium the way it is now. At my age, you see a picture of Jim Melrose, forget his name, and spend 30 minutes trying to remember it. The screens are excellent, but would be helpful if the time is shown on them when they are doing the advertisements as well. Whatever happened to the Thai boxing we were promised ? Was really looking forward to that.
nope- me and my dad actually commented on how classy they looked! as for jamie archer... why was he booed? The owners try and entertain us. I dont care whether its madonna or a small local band, the fact the owners have made an effort to entertain us during half time i think is great effort and appreciate it.
I didnt boo anyone one but didnt clap or cheer either. I prefer they do crossbar challenge or something, we have 2 massive teles i think the club need to try something more creative and get the fans involved
Thai dancing ... understandable, bringing a bit of eastern culture over. Opera/Jazz singers ... fine, they are there to sing a few well known songs. but the X-Factor contestants that are looking for crowd interaction are just not going to get any! Why sing your new single, no-one in the stadium cares! Overall though, the free rides, the free entertainment (although not to everyones taste) shows that the owners care and are making it a match-DAY rather than just a match. It could be like down at Cov, turn up, watch your team lose, go home... zero entertainment.
It is the start, most things are pretty ****y when they start! It will move on and get better, it will take time but they listen to comments and it will change.
I actually agree, I never really cared about the old banners and I think the new ones look so much smarter. I can understand people not liking the old banners going but I disagree that it erases our heritage or makes our stadium unidentifiable. It still says 'Leicester City Football Club' on it and in it, doesn't it? In fact did the old banners even say that? It is still the same stadium, it's blue, says our name on it, etc, etc. There is a point where I would say the owners have gone too far but they haven't reached that yet. We are no different to any other club in this day and age, the football experience has completely changed since the days of terracing - even Filbo wasn't the same when they put all the seats in. I was not happy about the renaming of the stadium at first but now I realise why it is necessary after all this 'financial fair play' bollocks. The main thing is to get promoted this season and my only gripe at the moment is ticket prices resulting in a lower attendance and yet not paying over the odds for a striker we desperately need. It is that kind of thing that we need all this money for and it won't be acceptable to be tight on the playing budget if we don't go up at the end of the season, especially when they are gaining all this advertising from us. The XFactor singers are **** though, they need to **** off. That bloke with the Afro was shocking, hilarious when he was booed off
Not too fussed about the changes myself it comes with taking the money, agree about the X Factor losers thats why they lost! although the winners are not much better. One thing my lad pointed out to me on Saturday and not sure if it's been mentioned before but why on the adds for Singha Beer does it have to show the bloody 'Theatre of Dreams' in the background? This is in the concourse of the South Stand could have at least put the City badge in the middle to cover the welcome to Old Trafford sign. Imagine plenty of piss taking going on in away concourse if same is in there.
