Anybody else noticed in their pre match build up yesterday against Stoke how much in the community they do. They'd sent Whelan to a school for a presentation and invited 5-6 Sunday League teams to be flag bearers at the game and gave them free tickets. Plus a penalty shoot out for those kids at half time pitchside. This will have such an impact on those kids involved and cost relatively little to do. I know myself and TigerFILEY particulsrly and becoming broken records on this subject but isn't this something our club should try to do? Is it worth bringing up at the fan meetings etc? (Also, how can Stoke let their smoking fans go out the stadium at half time but ours can't? Surely this helps relieve some of the stress between fans if they can have a smoke at half time. Smoking areas would also stop people having a quick cig in the toilets at half time (I'm a non smoker so this isn't a personal desire but s general one for fans)).
They're a proper old school club - founder members of the league, a rich history with, I'm guessing, no overseas/home counties support - they're owned by (pinching a quote from elsewhere) a rich fan and not just a rich man. As a club that gets 99.9% of it's support from the potteries it's great PR for them.
One thing you have to credit the current management with. I don't smoke so not bothered either way but for years it was supposedly an insurmountable problem but under the Allams it has been possible. Who knows one day it might be possible for smokers to be allowed to risk all sorts of mayhem by taking a plastic container with beer in it with them like at West Brom.
They did at Stoke as well. The burger van outside was doing great biz niz @ HT. But good for them and it is not that hard to arrange. Not much else sporting wise in Stoke mind.
Still I think we should get tonnes of kids come down and be flag bearers from schools and Sunday League sides.
