Short Changed!

For the hundreds of Sky Blue fans who made the trek to Coleraine yesterday for the annual derby match against the 'scum', I have nothing but sympathy. You witnessed a credible display by both teams on a pitch that was not worthy of the name, but you had a pathetic view afforded by the only viewing point, apart from the stand, the covered terracing behind the goals. Cliftonville, Coleraine and Portadown are three of the clubs who will probably feature in the new 12 team league being proposed for next season. What have they all got in common (nothing to do with Marty Quinn I assure you)? They each have banished the majority of visiting supporters to watching the match from behind the goals. Portadown had allowed us to enter their terracing in the last couple of seasons, but that facility has been flattened and we will be banished to a stand that is 50 yards from the goal-line for our next visit. I had a stand ticket for yesterday's game which I didn't use, but may in future have to avail of that option as I didn't enjoy the action in yesterday's game, as I couldn't see most of it. If someone was to tell me now that United didn't score an equaliser, I couldn't argue the point as I didn't actually see the ball enter the net and as for the scorer, neither I nor my fellow supporters could tell for sure who it was. All this talk by the I.F.A. about grounds being of a certain standard seems to ignore the most important people, the fans. If the fans can't see the action from a decent viewpoint, they will soon lose interest and as I have witnessed from past experience, once you lose fans, it's bloody hard to get them back. Admittedly our own ground wasn't always the best place to watch a game from, as we had wire mesh all round the ground. Now that has been removed and we have a first class stand and are going to extend the visiting stand's capacity, we are definitely moving forwards, but I'm afraid most other clubs and especially the aforementioned three, are actually going backwards. So I.F.A. take note, get your collective fingers out and get this sorted, give the 'fans' value for money, if you short change us, you may well pay a heavy price!