For several years now, there has been a level of consensus among Blackpool fans that the Oystons should go. I think it's safe to say that whether you are a NAPM advocate or a reluctant fan that shuffles into Bloomfield Road on a Saturday afternoon, you want the Oystons to sell up.
In the interest of transparency, I will tell you that I put money into the Oyston coffers. I subscribe to Tangerine Player that allows me to listen to match commentary and watch videos of interviews etc. For the most part, these are things that people living on the Fylde Coast can 'enjoy' without spending a penny. Also, for the record, when I am back in Blackpool every 12-24 months, I attend a match; I'll be at a game in a few weeks from now.
Over these past several years, there has been one BFC constant in my opinion. The values and characteristics of the Oystons have not changed. Sure, they have continued to do awful things (suing fans, not investing into the club, doing nothing about Squires Gate - I could go on) but I think it is safe to say there is nothing surprising to any of us about these behaviours. It's the way they've always been.
If you subscribe to what I just said (i.e we've known about the Oystons all along), remember what has happened over the years. We made it to the Championship and then the Premier League. Heady times indeed. And what did we do? We went to Bloomfield Road and Wembley in droves even though I knew ( and I assume you knew) what the Oystons were all about. Then of course, the team lead a race to the bottom of league football. In reading this board for years now, it's my take that many on here think that we got to the Premier League in spite of the Oystons and we hit rock bottom because of them. I can't argue with this.
Which brings us to today. The question I have (and I don't have the answer) is: are we staying away from Bloomfield Road because of the Oystons' values, characteristics, and behaviours or are there other possible reasons? Again I emphasize I don't know the answer to this.
But I want to take a look at attendances for a minute. Firstly, I have no idea if the Oystons are 'faking' this year's published attendance records or not. The 'story' I'm telling myself is I don't know. Take a look at a couple of games. On March 4th, we played Morecambe and the published attendance was 3453. We also know that the Shrimps brought about 1500 supporters with them. Now take a look at yesterday against Hartlepool. The published number was 5374. Again, according to Radio Lancashire, the Monkey Hangers brought about 1500 with them. So why an increase of about 2000 fans in attendance. There are a couple of possible reasons. Firstly, Blackpool were only charging five pounds to get in and secondly the team is playing well and taking a run at the playoffs.
Again, I don't know why there was a spike in yesterday's attendance. But let me posit a possibility. It is possible that what happens on the pitch trumps our thoughts about the Oystons. I know, two games in Division Two in March prove nothing. But we do have form. When we were riding high, we gladly filled Bloomfield Road and most of Wembley.
For what it's worth.............
In the interest of transparency, I will tell you that I put money into the Oyston coffers. I subscribe to Tangerine Player that allows me to listen to match commentary and watch videos of interviews etc. For the most part, these are things that people living on the Fylde Coast can 'enjoy' without spending a penny. Also, for the record, when I am back in Blackpool every 12-24 months, I attend a match; I'll be at a game in a few weeks from now.
Over these past several years, there has been one BFC constant in my opinion. The values and characteristics of the Oystons have not changed. Sure, they have continued to do awful things (suing fans, not investing into the club, doing nothing about Squires Gate - I could go on) but I think it is safe to say there is nothing surprising to any of us about these behaviours. It's the way they've always been.
If you subscribe to what I just said (i.e we've known about the Oystons all along), remember what has happened over the years. We made it to the Championship and then the Premier League. Heady times indeed. And what did we do? We went to Bloomfield Road and Wembley in droves even though I knew ( and I assume you knew) what the Oystons were all about. Then of course, the team lead a race to the bottom of league football. In reading this board for years now, it's my take that many on here think that we got to the Premier League in spite of the Oystons and we hit rock bottom because of them. I can't argue with this.
Which brings us to today. The question I have (and I don't have the answer) is: are we staying away from Bloomfield Road because of the Oystons' values, characteristics, and behaviours or are there other possible reasons? Again I emphasize I don't know the answer to this.
But I want to take a look at attendances for a minute. Firstly, I have no idea if the Oystons are 'faking' this year's published attendance records or not. The 'story' I'm telling myself is I don't know. Take a look at a couple of games. On March 4th, we played Morecambe and the published attendance was 3453. We also know that the Shrimps brought about 1500 supporters with them. Now take a look at yesterday against Hartlepool. The published number was 5374. Again, according to Radio Lancashire, the Monkey Hangers brought about 1500 with them. So why an increase of about 2000 fans in attendance. There are a couple of possible reasons. Firstly, Blackpool were only charging five pounds to get in and secondly the team is playing well and taking a run at the playoffs.
Again, I don't know why there was a spike in yesterday's attendance. But let me posit a possibility. It is possible that what happens on the pitch trumps our thoughts about the Oystons. I know, two games in Division Two in March prove nothing. But we do have form. When we were riding high, we gladly filled Bloomfield Road and most of Wembley.
For what it's worth.............
