Cricket Field Stand turnstiles

[Goliath]

Honestly, i think it looks decent and frees up a decent amount of previously wasted space

You have low expectations if you think that looks decent for a Premier league club

[Loyalclaret]

Honestly, i think it looks decent and frees up a decent amount of previously wasted space

Not sure where they'll fit the fencing, individual search and dog run without the entrance to the pen coming down towards Belvedere Road.

[dougcollins]

It looks like the gates to a scrapyard.

[ŽižkovClaret]

You have low expectations if you think that looks decent for a Premier league club

It's a patched up stand, It's not gonna look like Spurs' ground anytime soon is it?

[Goliath]

It's a patched up stand, It's not gonna look like Spurs' ground anytime soon is it?

Doesn't change the fact that it looks crap

[Rainhamclaret]

It’s all a patch up. No long term plan to replace what is a dilapidated facility. Pace’s comments re selling one of his clubs if both in Europe shows he is not intending keeping players to improve the team, just using the promotion/ relegation cycle to skim off profits and provide salaries for the owners and investors, once they don’t achieve promotion at one of the clubs that one will be jettisoned. A new facility would provide a much improved revenue stream by increasing lucrative away hospitality and set us up for the long term. The stand (and the Bob Lord) is 56 years old and built in a different commercial era, what they’re doing is going to make it very difficult to build a new stand. The scatter gun gamble approach to player purchases seems to be the priority and eats up money which could be used for long term legacy of a modern football ground and would make us more interesting to future owners. We are just a vehicle for profits on players.

[ClaretTony]

Honestly, i think it looks decent and frees up a decent amount of previously wasted space

That previously wasted space was there for the away team coach when it used to be the players' entrance and in more recent years it has been needed because of all the security checks for away fans. Without that area, it would have all but blocked Harry Potts Way. With home fans going in there now it's no longer an issue.

[ClaretTony]

The stand (and the Bob Lord) is 56 years old and built in a different commercial era, what they’re doing is going to make it very difficult to build a new stand. The scatter gun gamble approach to player purchases seems to be the priority and eats up money which could be used for long term legacy of a modern football ground and would make us more interesting to future owners. We are just a vehicle for profits on players.

The cricket field stand is indeed 56 years old, opened in July 1969 for a friendly against Middlesbrough. The Bob Lord is only in its 52nd year having opened for the first time when we played Villa in the FA Cup in 1973/74.

People often refer to the other two stands as the new stands - they are both approaching 30 years now.

[ŽižkovClaret]

That previously wasted space was there for the away team coach when it used to be the players' entrance and in more recent years it has been needed because of all the security checks for away fans. Without that area, it would have all but blocked Harry Potts Way. With home fans going in there now it's no longer an issue.

Well yes, i was talking about the present / recent past whereby it was wasted space. The move of the away fans and their coaches has provided this extra space which can now be used for home fans. i can see the build there being separate to the stand structure, so that it can eventually remain in place when they remove / replace the main body of the CFS.

As ever, my idea would be to retain the Bob Lord stand, given its character, and replace the other 3 stands with a U shaped modern wrap around stand

[martin_p]

Think it’s probably worth waiting until it’s finished before claiming it looks like a scrapyard or otherwise.

[ClaretTony]

Think it’s probably worth waiting until it’s finished before claiming it looks like a scrapyard or otherwise.

It's just the start of the work - a few weeks ago there was a big hole there that needed to be filled in ahead of the last home game.

[elwaclaret]

Well yes, i was talking about the present / recent past whereby it was wasted space. The move of the away fans and their coaches has provided this extra space which can now be used for home fans. i can see the build there being separate to the stand structure, so that it can eventually remain in place when they remove / replace the main body of the CFS.

As ever, my idea would be to retain the Bob Lord stand, given its character, and replace the other 3 stands with a U shaped modern wrap around stand

Not sure how changes over the years have effected the plan but originally the space between turnstiles and stand in the Bob Lord was created so another tier could be added at a later date, if it was ever needed (though obviously the stand itself has been there for some time itself now, so might not fit modern regulations).

[Leon_C]

It's just the start of the work - a few weeks ago there was a big hole there that needed to be filled in ahead of the last home game.

Exactly. The renders suggest a much smarter appearance. Given that we have a home match in around 48 hours, I guess it's important to have a functional exit gate, regardless of its appearance.

[ClaretTony]

Exactly. The renders suggest a much smarter appearance. Given that we have a home match in around 48 hours, I guess it's important to have a functional exit gate, regardless of its appearance.

Must be hard work doing this work during the season

[Elizabeth]

The scatter gun gamble approach to player purchases seems to be the priority and eats up money which could be used for long term legacy of a modern football ground and would make us more interesting to future owners. We are just a vehicle for profits on players.

Building stands before investing in players to improve the squad is never a good thing really. I'm struggling to support your description of recent player recruitment as 'scattergun'

[Big Vinny K]

Building stands before investing in players to improve the squad is never a good thing really. I'm struggling to support your description of recent player recruitment as 'scattergun'

Whilst by definition “scattergun” is not an exact science I’m guessing that buying 64 players since Kompany was made manager is what the poster was referring to.

[Elizabeth]

Whilst by definition “scattergun” is not an exact science I’m guessing that buying 64 players since Kompany was made manager is what the poster was referring to.

I'm guessing that as well. I wonder when some will stop judging the club in Kompany terms. We are in a new era with a different managerial and club approach to recruitment

[Big Vinny K]

I'm guessing that as well. I wonder when some will stop judging the club in Kompany terms. We are in a new era with a different managerial and club approach to recruitment

Not sure we are really. We spent £99m in this summer alone and we have brought in a lot of players under SP (and I know that’s partly due to the many we sold after relegation).

I understand that Parker has a different approach and style to how he wants to play and also the type of player he wants but there has still been a massive turnover of players.

And one of the issues with this kind of level of turnover is the amount of agents fees and signing on fees. I’d conservatively estimate these to be between £30m and £40m under the new owners and that does not include the signing on and agents fees when you renew or extend an existing players contract.

As an aside Brownhill’s contract had a renewal fee (if he signed) of £500k directly to his agent. We put a very good offer to Brownhill but his agent wanted a £2m fee instead which was a non starter for the club.

The problem with the amount of money in football is the now ludicrous demands of footballers and their agents. For a club like ours it leaves virtually nothing left to invest in infrastructure, ground improvements etc. This makes the decision by Dyche and Garlick to build the new training ground all the more important than ever. I’m not sure the current owners would have made the same decision.