Old Gripe!

I know I´ve said it many times before but it needs saying again, we, spectators get a raw deal when it gomes to ´spectating facilities´ at most league grounds. I was one of the few Sky Blue fans who was at the Oval on Tuesday night to witness our first away victory for 44 weeks. I say witness, but I say it tongue in cheek, as the view was to say the least, pathetic. In fact I finally went down to the edge of the terracing to get a better view, well at least I could see along one touchline from there. Car parking is never easy at away grounds anyway, but it is almost non-existant at the Oval now as the area is so built up by new houses, in fact the houses are now almost on top of the ground at the visitors end of the park. Surely the time has come for the authorities to get their act together and give spectators a better view, in fact to make that their number one priority. We are somewhat spoiled at Ballymena, as any seat in the ´new´stand affords a decent view of the whole park, surely then this should be the yardstick for all other clubs. Glentoran keep promising us that they´re just about to move to a new stadium and if this is true let´s hope they provide us with decent viewing facilities, anything else would be a waste of revenue. Cliftonville have just opened a new stand at Solitude and of course it is at the ´home´end of the ground and as much use as a ´chocolate fireguard´if you get my drift. Would the fact that the present President of the I.F.A. is a director of Coleraine have any bearing on the jaundiced view at most league grounds, for the sake of our wee game, I hope not!