Gary Andrews and I went back into the studio last night to attempt the difficult second album podcast. Ably aided by Terry Duffelen, of Some People Are On The Pitch and The Onion Bag fame, I think we did a pretty good job.
Unsurprisingly, we again covered a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, (deep breath) Major League Soccer, the weekend internationals, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Lewes FC, terracing, refereeing appeals and the Bundesliga.
As always, your feedback is very welcome and, from this week onwards, I invite you to vote in the poll on the debate Gary and I had on the Professional Game Match Officials Board and the possibility of re-appealing rescinded cards. That's here (and feel free to let Terry's verdict sway you). Winner will be announced in next week's pod.
As with last week, you can listen in the weird little player thing below. But this week, you can also download the MP3 by right-clicking here and doing the usual thing, or - get this - find us on iTunes. It's definitely on there but I don't think it's searchable just yet. This is the link you need. By the way, it's a bit on the hefty side this week - apologies for that. And for forgetting where Forest were when Brian Clough took over.
Posted by Chris Nee
8 comments:
Given Agbonlahor's recent form I think it's pretty shocking Davies wasn't given a punt.
Re: football films, I remember rather enjoying When Saturday Comes (Sean Bean goes from non-league to the dizzy heights of playing for Sheffield Utd. Rewatched Fever Pitch recently and it's pretty dire, and a touch misogynist. Saw a bit of 'Zidane: A 21st Century Portrat' recently - bizarre idea for a film, simply 90 mins following Zidane alone playing for Real Madrid, soundtracked by Mogwai. Did hold my attention for 20 mins or so but I doubt I could last the entire duration. Looking forward to this of course: http://bit.ly/IzIa Green Street 2 on the other hand...
re: Lewes - they somehow offered Danny Cullip a better contract than the Gills could in the pre-season. So, I don't know where the money for that came from. So what does that say about us?
re: terracing - having been to a game in Germany (Werder Bremen v. Eintracht Frankfurt a couple years back) and standing in the ridiculously crowded home end (which had seats which no one used) I can see that if standing terraces are not properly stewarded and there aren't rigid restrictions on numbers they can easily prove dangerous (several fans were knocked about when Bremen scored, a couple even looked mildly injured and I spilt half a bloody pint down some poor bloke's neck).
At Priestfield the stewards spend the entire match telling fans to sit down in the Rainham End, which obviously is futile and a eats up their time which could and should be spent elsewhere. It's a fallacy that seating means there's no atmosphere at all, but it's ridiculous that it's restricted as it currently is.
Anything that reduces ticket prices is good - but would it increase attendance (i.e. are fans dissuaded from attending games because they cannot stand - I'm not so sure, such fans still attend, but do so and grumble incessantly about not being able to stand) for teams such as Gillingham? I somewhat doubt it, and therefore it may actually be a financial misstep for some given the costs that would have to be incurred to install 'safe seating', and the fact that it may not increase attendances in the short or long term...in summary, I'm not sure!
Great second edition, very much enjoyed it.
As one of your American listeners, I should be the one to give you an update on Michael Bradley; unfortunately (without digging), all I really know is that his form as been fair, but the team itself continues to wallow at the bottom of the table.
The terracing discussion is fascinating to me, as we've never had anything like it come up here in the States. "Standing room only" is probably about as close as we get, and that's generally limited to concourse-type area where there is a static elevation. Perhaps it's something in the nature of our national sports; baseball is obviously a ponderous game (which I love, but will be the first to point out its flaws) that doesn't lend itself to standing in the slightest (save for those tension-filled critical moments), and American football has too many stops and starts, despite the general energy in the stadium, for constant standing to make much sense either.
Unfortunately, I think our built-in American attitudes about watching a sport in person has carried over to MLS, sucking some of the potential atmosphere out of the league. Only in recent years has that changed, but it's clear that terracing will never be a part of the sport here, even if implemented in a saftey-conscious way.
Babbled on as usual, apologies. Keep up the great work, can't wait until next week.
NOTHING is more exciting than the prospect of a night of passion with Scarlett Johansson.
Are you speaking from personal experience Ginge? :)
A night of passion with Scarlett Johansson and Kirsten Dunst?
I'll get me coat.
Duffman...I wish I was speaking from personal experience.
I don't ever to get worked up over celebrities but Scarlett has become my one exception. My girlfriend even gave me a "get out of jail free card" if I ever got the chance, lol.
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