I have just seen the story that Argyle have been fined £45,000 by the FA for a pitch invation on the last day of last season versus Hull. I am almost speechless having read that. I have never invaded a pitch even on the last day is my opening statement. However, this was the game that decided our fate in relegation or staying up. We stayed up and it was squeaky bum time for most of the game. I would say that even those clubs who weren't waiting for the final whistle to decide something in the EFL playing at home would have had some sort of pitch invation. The FA seem hell bent on sucking as much cash out of clubs as they can. What exactly do they expect to happen on the final game? It is almost a given whether it is right or wrong and clubs have no control over a mass invation. Have they fined the other 35 clubs? Not one sign of it anywhere. This is disgusting.
Ermm I "invaded" the pitch and so did my entire family, who started it. It was an overwhelming felling of warmth and comradeship. The stewards made no attempt to stop us and rightly so, they couldn't stop an avalanche and, anyway, they had a plan. I'd spoken to a steward in the way in and asked if he was ready for what might come. He said "yeah, we know, we know what to do". It was clear the security staff had been well briefed and they didn't attempt to stop an inevitable incursion. No player or official was threatened. They merely formed a cordon in the dressing room corner. allowing players and officials a safe haven. I wasn't going to do it but as it became clear that a) we were staying up and b) it was all entirely safe, families with kids on shoulders. and a bit of dancing and c) in my elder years, it was perhaps a chance in a lifetime. It was clearly entirely harmless and good natured. When the time was up, the stewards formed a line, from the dressing room corner, locking arms, and swept the crowd off the pitch without any opposition. The players were then able to come back on with their wives and kids. A military operation couldn't have been better organised. An invasion is opposed. This wasn't and rightly so. It was well managed, safely, and with no provocation that might have caused trouble. This is bollocks. Nothing could have been more appropriate and better planned.
45,000 divided by 16,000 equals roughly £2.80 that you owe the club for going on the pitch notDistant....pay-up your share of the fine promptly please.....hooligan.
I’m furious about this. By the time we went on, there were several thousand on the pitch and it was clearly al very good natured. Otherwise we wouldn’t have done it. I didn't jump a fence. I didn’t have to. The gate was open in the Demport/Lyndhurat corner. There was a steward manning it. He was ushering people through the gate instead to avoid the risk of people going over the fence and we just strolled on. I appreciate I’m potentially incriminating the club and the stewards here but the alternative could have been far, far worse. They merely accepted the inevitable and managed it in the safest possible manner. The first few may have gone over the fence but as soon s it started, it seemed to me that the stewards went into a pre-planned operation to control it rather than oppose it in vain. I didn’t see a single act of violence or aggression. It was more like a summer fete outside the village hall. People were laughing and hugging each other. It’s our pitch not the bloody FA’s. I have a cunning plan. Someone outside the club but with the right bona fides should start an online charity appeal to raise £45,000 for local good causes. I’ll chuck in a tenner each for the 4 of us. It could be donated to Project 35. That way, we do good and stick two fingers up to the FA at the same time.
The price for staying up £45,000......cheap at twice the price. Seriously The FA are no better than that Swiss idiot who eventually came a cropper.....I expect Birmingham would have willingly paid the fine if it had kept them up.
I didnt see any harm, i was there but didnt gpo on the pitch but i have done it when i was younger, we all knew this would happen, what do they expect . have a loo kat all the clubs who got into the playoffs or promoted? have they been fined. im happy to throw some cash in to support the fine if its all done properly also. Are the FA related to Blatter as they are the criminals not the pitch invaders..
I regret the fine but it was all entirely harmless……. Who’s running PASOTI now? Someone like that who’s well known to fans butt not directly connected to the club would be an ideal person to start a crowd-funding page. Get the ‘Erald involved……
I see that some autumn games have been rescheduled by Sky Sports: all remain on the days specified but with different kick off times. Whilst updating the schedule that lives in the kitchen and is intended to prevent rival attractions (or duties) being arranged, I see our last home game is Leeds United on 3rd May. I hope we aren’t desperate for points from that one……
We only beat teams towards the top if we need to survive notdistant so no worries. As for bloody Sky I wish they would just feck off. Football is for Saturday 3pm.
At least no games have been moved from Saturday and 12:30 isn’t too bad. In a way the most irritating changes are 7:45 to 8 pm. Fifteen minutes? Why mess around for 15 minutes? Certainly the quality of the punditry outside the EPL shows is something we could well do with less of. It’s awful. The Argyle TV stuff is low budget by comparison but actually of better quality! And they don’t take up half the car park doing it either!
More on the fixture list https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/plymouth-argyle-sky-home-games-9706827
And sadly, more on Joe Edwards. Quite a bad injury by the sounds of it. https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/plymouth-argyle-joe-edwards-injury-9707198
