I'm In The Club!

I was recently surprised to receive mail from BCFC. “Great”, I thought, “I've finally got a trial.” I knew I was the answer to our right wing problems.

Sadly, Scott Murray I am not. To my surprise it was a letter from Colin Sextone to say thanks for my recent application to join the Fans' Consultancy Committee and confirming that it was indeed a successful one. Blimey! Now I know at the time of writing out the application form I was hopeful that I might be in with a chance, but here I am an official member!

And so it brings me onto my thoughts about the first meeting. What three points would I like to see discussed at the meeting? I'd like to think that you out there reading this could provide me with some as I don't want to air the views of just myself. Obviously I want to air the thoughts of most fans, both old and young!

So I'll share my thoughts with you and then perhaps you can email feedback.

1. Catering. It will be no surprise to me or probably anyone else if this is the number one topic on the list of each F.C.C. member. Let's face it, the catering at Ashton Gate seems to be very poor. When we did PieWatch back in Issue Two we thought we saw signs of improvement. Well personally I think the standard is rapidly going downhill. I don't like the prices, I don't like the slow and confusing service and I don't like the quality. If Lindley Catering are to have their contract renewed then I really must ask why.

2. Atmosphere. Anyone seen it lately? Since the closure of the East End almost ten years ago the atmosphere at Ashton Gate has gradually got worse. I remember when the Atyeo first opened and the atmosphere wasn't too bad. It may sound controversial, if a little harsh, but since the band pitched up in H Block it has almost coincided with the decline. The simple solution that springs to mind is to find an area of the ground where the club can have unreserved seating to create a ‘Singing Area'.

3. Finally, half-time entertainment. God-awful if you ask me. All I want is the half-time results, the half-time draw and a penalty competition between five City fans and five away fans. It works so well elsewhere, so why don't we do it? Tell the Pop Idol wannabes to bugger off elsewhere. Football grounds are not the place to pick up record contracts!

So those are my initial thoughts. Email me yours to tomarse@theincider.com and I will hopefully be able to provide some feedback on the first meeting in next month's column.

In the meantime, may I wish everyone a merry Christmas & very happy New Year. Let's hope for a better January this time around!