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WMN interview with James Brent (23rd November)
- Thread starter L G
- Start date
Its an interesting interview. I wholeheartedly agree with Brent that if Argyle were well run, the club could be sustainable in the Championship with home attendances in the late teens. And that could lead to a lucky promotion to the Premier League- in fact that could have happened under Holloway.
What I disagree with is that the proposed grandstand will be adequate to support all this success if it ever happened. And why cant it happen? Once built, the grandstand will be there for decades- probably for most PASOTI readers lifetimes. Realistically, it wont be extended- so now is the time to get it right.
What I disagree with is that the proposed grandstand will be adequate to support all this success if it ever happened. And why cant it happen? Once built, the grandstand will be there for decades- probably for most PASOTI readers lifetimes. Realistically, it wont be extended- so now is the time to get it right.
To be fair Gaspar there is no current proposed Grandstand. The previous designs have been admitted to not happening and we've been told revised plans are being drafted with potentially a third party coming in to fund its development. We were promised an update at the end of October, but we're approaching the end of November and still no solid updates have been produced.
Brent comes across pretty well in that interview and I agree with him on most points throughout it. Like you Gaspar I struggle to understand how his previous plans mirror his words in the article, hopefully the eventual update will be more satisfactory for Argyle.
Brent comes across pretty well in that interview and I agree with him on most points throughout it. Like you Gaspar I struggle to understand how his previous plans mirror his words in the article, hopefully the eventual update will be more satisfactory for Argyle.
If the third party is indeed PCC I would not expect any increase in capacity for the replacement stand. Indeed, in view of the Council's original minimum seating requirement for the stand it could conceivably decrease in size. Whilst it would be nice to hope for something larger than previously planned I would think the odds are against it.
http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/James-B ... story.html
Seems to have picked up on the 'growth of core fanbase' thus rendering any argument for a sub 20k capacity based on crowds when we were previously a Championship club utterly redundant. Even the chairman has worked out the correlation between a period of success and an increase of interest / core fanbase.
Don't get the finger of blame pointing to streaming websites though, seems a bit of a flimsy mitigation against a poor marketing performance at the club.
Seems to have picked up on the 'growth of core fanbase' thus rendering any argument for a sub 20k capacity based on crowds when we were previously a Championship club utterly redundant. Even the chairman has worked out the correlation between a period of success and an increase of interest / core fanbase.
Don't get the finger of blame pointing to streaming websites though, seems a bit of a flimsy mitigation against a poor marketing performance at the club.
IJN":7oo2wv83 said:
Yeah, it is interesting isn't it, how one club prepares for success rather than having to faff about extending their ground should they ever reach the Premier league again (not entirely unlikely for Coventry)
Get off your high horse matey.
My point is that Coventry will be doomed at that big stadium it's impossible with crowds of under 15,000 to get any atmosphere going.
I'm not against big grounds, that would be stupid, but a system of perhaps 20k then 25k and then...... Would be far more desirable in my opinion.
I know we played in a Mickey Mouse cup at the Ricoh but that night's 'atmosphere' is one of the memories that I will retain as a football fan.
It wasn't good when we played them in the Championship either and that was with 18,000 fans there.
You can continue to repeat your argument, but it doesn't necessarily make it right. I'd debate with you until the cows come home that building a big ground and hoping is NOT the answer.
My point is that Coventry will be doomed at that big stadium it's impossible with crowds of under 15,000 to get any atmosphere going.
I'm not against big grounds, that would be stupid, but a system of perhaps 20k then 25k and then...... Would be far more desirable in my opinion.
I know we played in a Mickey Mouse cup at the Ricoh but that night's 'atmosphere' is one of the memories that I will retain as a football fan.
It wasn't good when we played them in the Championship either and that was with 18,000 fans there.
You can continue to repeat your argument, but it doesn't necessarily make it right. I'd debate with you until the cows come home that building a big ground and hoping is NOT the answer.
2004-05 3 x 20,000 plus crowds. Leeds 20555 on a Tuesday night and West Ham 20220 on a Saturday. In the Third Round of the FA Cup we had Everton who stood 4th in the Premier League, 5 points clear of Liverpool in 5th place. We could only attract 20112. Since then there has been just one 20000 plus crowd, in 2006-07 for the Watford 6th round FA Cup tie. The average crowds for the most recent championship seasons were 16419, 13776, 13011, 13000, 11533 and 10314. I know the capacity was cut to 18500 at some stage but even that looks plenty in this day and age. The two Manchester clubs and perhaps Spurs and Liverpool would attract large crowds for a home cup tie, but if you balance the extra receipts against building costs then it is a no brainer to go for something affordable that suits us every week and not just once in a while. The days of 20000+ week in week out are gone.
B
Baby Face Johnson
Guest
To be fair Ian, no-one is realistically expecting a 32000 capacity seated stadium, in the here and now, most would settle for something in the low 20s with the possibility of sensible future expansion.
However, that said, Swansea have still not begun work on their stadium expansion, despite this being their fourth season in the Premiership and having established themselves there far more than they could have possibly hoped for, hence this 'expand when we get there' argument is not necessarily always as straight-forward as it might seem.
However, that said, Swansea have still not begun work on their stadium expansion, despite this being their fourth season in the Premiership and having established themselves there far more than they could have possibly hoped for, hence this 'expand when we get there' argument is not necessarily always as straight-forward as it might seem.
G
Greenskin
Guest
memory man":13qwpu0f said:
They certainly aren't gone at clubs like Cardiff, Hull or Swansea and they wouldn't be gone at Home park should Argyle enjoy the same level of success as those clubs, who without exception started out from fanbases similar to or worse than Argyle's current one.
Baby Face Johnson":39niglal said:
Thankfully BFJ, the Grandstand now seems to be outside JB's remit (as he is the tenant of PCC) so I can now argue without being encumbered by the rabid 'Oh you're Brent's mate' brigade.
I'm not for one minute saying that anyone would suggest 32,000, but what I am saying is a completed 22,000 stadium with 7,000 crowds in it will still be a less than perfect scenario.
Perhaps a 17,000 with two corners not filled in (as an example) would be a better option, so the vast acreage of empty green seats wouldn't be a problem like a lot of these (more than) half empty stadia present at the moment.
I haven't checked my facts or have any knowledge but I would have thought Bournemouth's stadium is rammed at the moment with a smaller capacity than certainly the Ricoh is.
I know it's a problem and I agree with Patrick that we need to future proof the ground, but the interim period would be awful. Not quite as awful as it is at the moment, but awful none the less.
B
Baby Face Johnson
Guest
IJN":2ml72wz0 said:
Just don't agree sorry, not if we have ambitions higher than faffing about in the middle-reaches of the Championship. I know I keep harping on about Swansea but they will have missed out on 5000-10000 extra bums on seats x 19 games x 4 seasons which is an awful lot of money. The trouble is once any expansion is finally built, you may have already missed out should you only spend a season or two in the top league. It's a difficult one for sure.
You make a very good point, one that is difficult to argue with. Indeed, I would be as pleased as the next man to be proved wrong. Perhaps I just cannot get away from the historical facts, most specifically the lack of decent support towards the end of 1961-62 campaign when we were winning almost every week and were third in what is now the championship. Nationally more people were inclined to go to games then than do now and yet we still could not get the people through the turnstile.Greenskin":1mli2xxp said: