Cracking night at Sedgefield Racecourse last night with Niall. He was accompannied by SAFC Chief Executive Steve Walton. In the first half Niall and Steve mapped out their vision for the future of the club. Headlines: He wants to cut season ticket prices by half - but only if the Government reduce the massive amount of tax they grab from us. ( Niall says they take a bigger cut than the players and agents) Why it is important to fill the ground: to attract oversea investment and take the club onto the next step - Europe No reason why we can't overtake clubs like Villa and Everton. Owner Ellis Short is a passionate guy who wants to win. Everytime Darren Bent scores we get more cash, if he stays in the England team we get more cash and if Villa stay up - guess what - we get more cash. Up to ã24 million. Of course Niall went to great lengths to explain why he wants more fans at the match and not watching "illegally" on the telly. In the second half Niall and Steve took questions from the several hundred fans who were there. Are we going to get better screens at SoL - like the ones at Arsenal? New screens coming in next couple of years but very expensive ( seven figure sum). Will Jordan be sold? Not if Quinny has anything to do with it. He sung the praises of Jordan, who has been at the club since the age of 8 and in an England shirt before he was 21. Said he was the future of the club. New signings? Actively looking for new signings - might not be a direct replacement for DB - might go for a target man. Probably need a bigger squad. Biggest disappointments this season apart from the obvious was the match against Notts County in the cup. Do we the credit we deserve? Quinny said he was just as annoyed with the rest of us when we only get a couple of minutes on Match of The Day. Cut price tickets? Steve said apart from one-offs - like the Liverpool game - he didn't think cheaper tickets were the answer as it would be unfair on the club's 30,000 season tickets holders. Joke of the night? Too many tweets make a twat A great night which confirmed to me why we are lucky to have Niall running our club.
Cheers for the update!! alot of good things to hear!! I had my fingers crossed i would receive my ticket for Rainton Meadows arena on 23rd yesterday...seems i have been overlooked again....any spares???
Thanks for the update, it's great to hear that our chairman shares the same passion as the rest of us.............................Hope you were well enough to make it Syd!
Great job Durhammackem, sounds like a good night and thanks for the insight. Our club is in good hands for sure.
Whenever I feel a little down in the dumps I think of Steve Bruce, Niall Quinn & Ellis Short & the roles they play at the club, it never fails to cheer me up a little, long gone are the days of severe stress, I hope they never come back, all thanks to the holy trinity, mind I them sometimes think of Brucey being given the England job next year, I would'nt hold it against him, but I hope it does'nt happen
A bitter sweet report Durham, sweet because it all sound good but bitter because I missed a great night, did not make it becuase was grounded, even been forced into a doctors appointment on Thursday. I know that sitting at home, seeing the team put in a poor performance, hearing about one more injury its very easy to think we are doomed. Easy to forget what we have and what is going on behind the scenes and these road shows are a way of getting back i touch with that magic carpet. I wonder how many more club chairman and CEO's would spend a week doing what ours are doing.
Just got home to my ticket waiting on the mat...over the mon can't wait....if anyone is attending the Rainton Night on 23rd..let me know and i'll get ya a pint!
thanks for the info . its guys like yourself that helps people like me, who seem so far away from the club and left out but , articles like this help us to feel that little bit closer to what is going on at our club .
Thans for the up-date Mate. Sounds like a good night and two passionate guys running the club and keeping the supporters up-to-date with whats going on now, and their future plans. Does anyone know if any other clubs do similar things? I like to think we are unique, but not too sure. Anyway, the future is sounding (and looking) good.
For what it's worth, I know that Charlton do, so I imagine it's probably done by others, too. I believe that Ashley frequently meets Mugs - in Greggs.
