Return of the Macc - Division 4 2018-19

[Giggler]

Nicky Adams left Bury yesterday, Ryan Lowe leaves today - and the slow dismantling of one of the greatest Bury teams I've ever seen continues.

[Giggler]

Weirder and weirder at Bury. Is this guy the full ticket? One for the WTF? thread.


https://www.buryfc.co.uk/news/2019/m...-the-chairman/

Evidently not. The campaign to get him out has gone into overdrive. Who the replacement is... well, your guess is as good as mine.

[slackster]

Weirder and weirder at Bury. Is this guy the full ticket? One for the WTF? thread.


https://www.buryfc.co.uk/news/2019/m...-the-chairman/

[Simon G]

Hoping Tranmere absolutely stuff FGR tonight. They can do with being taken down a peg or two.

[Patrick Thistle]

1-1. County are still in this.

[HORN]

Mansfield are kicking our arses. I'm watching this through my fingers.

[Bermuda Iron]

Just to note that my "effing Scunthorpe" was a blunt rhetorical aside aimed at breezing-through Lincoln fans, not at Scunny itself, a team I always want to win unless it's against Lincoln. One of my plans if I ever become a multi-billionaire is to buy the town and rebuild The Old Showground brick for brick on its original site.

You won't need to be a multi-billionaire to buy the town, several thousand might do it.

[Crusoe]

We're down another manager. Plus the goalkeeping coach and kit man have either been canned or walked. The new owner, and his brother the sporting director, continue to win friends.

Retained list due Thursday and expected to make grim reading - all of the better players will either to be released or sold.

[imp]

The barking mad Norman Smurthwaite has sold Port Vale.

Vale's new owners are long-standing fans, local business people with a few quid in their back pockets. The hope is they can steer the club into calmer waters, hopefully establishing some income streams along the way.

I will miss Smurthwaite's pantomime villainy. He was a total clown, full of bluster, lies, amateurish antics and bizarre decisions. His Wikipedia entry will live long in the memory.

Just to note that my "effing Scunthorpe" was a blunt rhetorical aside aimed at breezing-through Lincoln fans, not at Scunny itself, a team I always want to win unless it's against Lincoln. One of my plans if I ever become a multi-billionaire is to buy the town and rebuild The Old Showground brick for brick on its original site.

[Simon G]

Notts County was the last I read - he also owns Nuneaton's ground.

[Snake Plissken]

Wasn't he rumoured to be buying some other club?

[HORN]

The barking mad Norman Smurthwaite has sold Port Vale.

Vale's new owners are long-standing fans, local business people with a few quid in their back pockets. The hope is they can steer the club into calmer waters, hopefully establishing some income streams along the way.

I will miss Smurthwaite's pantomime villainy. He was a total clown, full of bluster, lies, amateurish antics and bizarre decisions. His Wikipedia entry will live long in the memory.

[Simon G]

A close friend of mine who grew up closer to Lincoln than I did went to Sincil Bank once all the years we were at school together. He lives in London and came with me to a pre-season friendly against Leicester four years ago, and this seemed to tweak his interest, just a year after refusing to come and watch them with me at Barnet because "I'm not watching fifth division". This interest was suddenly fired up a year later when the Cowleys arrived and he started coming up for home games and following them away when they played down south. It's bizarre.

Another friend of a friend who's lived in Lincoln the past 30 years always refused to go because "I'm not watching that shite" (he's a Man. United fan). I hear he's quite the regular these days too, including away games.

I'm not really knocking it because it happens to every successful club, and at least it's temporarily extra income as a reward for success. But as Simon points out, we all know they'll be gone as quickly as they came once the inevitable struggles return.

What the hope has to be is that enough of the glory hunters get it so ingrained in their blood that they stay for the normal times.

We're averaging around 2,000 home fans for this season (winning 4 home games in a year will do that to a club) but when I started going we were getting an average attendance of 750-900. By 2002-2006 we were averaging over 3,500 home fans, in some cases over 4,000, so half have dumped us in the last 10-12 years or so. That's not too bad when you consider how lean (15/16 aside) the past 6-7 years have been.

[jwdd27]

The good thing about returning to this level is an easier match day experience for the few "fucking Scunthorpe" games I'll make - turn up at 2.55, breeze through a turnstile and spend all of 30 seconds scanning a 3/4 full terrace to locate your group.

Success is overrated.

[imp]

A close friend of mine who grew up closer to Lincoln than I did went to Sincil Bank once all the years we were at school together. He lives in London and came with me to a pre-season friendly against Leicester four years ago, and this seemed to tweak his interest, just a year after refusing to come and watch them with me at Barnet because "I'm not watching fifth division". This interest was suddenly fired up a year later when the Cowleys arrived and he started coming up for home games and following them away when they played down south. It's bizarre.

Another friend of a friend who's lived in Lincoln the past 30 years always refused to go because "I'm not watching that shite" (he's a Man. United fan). I hear he's quite the regular these days too, including away games.

I'm not really knocking it because it happens to every successful club, and at least it's temporarily extra income as a reward for success. But as Simon points out, we all know they'll be gone as quickly as they came once the inevitable struggles return.

[Simon G]

That's the issue with hangers on - we had it when we first won promotion. They believe it's going to be like that all the time and the moment there's a struggle, they're nowhere to be seen.

Booing after a shite 45 mins though is something else.

Regarding the Div 4 playoffs, I'm hoping for a Mansfield-Tranmere final, and after that I don't care who goes up. I don't want FGR up because I want us to get the title of top Gloucestershire club back next season, and I don't want Newport to go up (sorry Horn) because I still haven't been yet and I'm determined to go to a game there at some point in the next couple of years!!!

[RobW]

Three trophies and an FA Cup quarter-final in three years at Lincoln City, and some cunts are booing already. Hopefully they'll go and watch fucking Scunthorpe next season.

It's been really weird. My mate and I bought these 'Final Four' tickets for the last four home games in the Stacey West, and as if by magic were sat next to each other. However, I honestly haven't recognised any other regulars around us, maybe the club just sold two in total. Some right oddballs turning up to games now.

[imp]

Three trophies and an FA Cup quarter-final in three years at Lincoln City, and some cunts are booing already. Hopefully they'll go and watch fucking Scunthorpe next season.

[RobW]

It was retro day in Lincoln, with supporters encouraged to wear their old shirts. Was nice of the players to commemorate it by playing like Lincoln of old and being 3-0 down by half time. Some twats even booed them (booing the champions! fucking hell). Fortunately I was drunk enough not to give a shit, but iirc the third goal was worthy of the crap90sfootball account on twitter. A month since our last win, three defeats and two draws - magnificent form.

I knew the Scabs would fuck up, hopefully Newport can go up in the play-offs.

Congrats to Sol Campbell and Macc, that's some achievement

[HORN]

Yay.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

It was an extremely long shot but Carlisle could really have given it a bit more of a go against the already relegated bottom team.

See you all next season, thread title to be determined, probably by the winners of the play off.

[tee rex]

It's sad because of Notts County's history, but let's be honest, whenever there's a correlation between woeful ownership and relegation, that isn't terrible for football. It's much worse when that ownership gets rewarded. And County have been a basket case for years.

Like Yeovil, whose ownership was similarly deluded (a guy from Louisiana who said he would deliver the most exciting football in England - yes, really), they have invited their fate, and like many others in the past, they now have that choice between long and short term, building and buying. If they play Billy Big Boys who don't "deserve" to be in the National League, they'll be there a while.

[Gangster Octopus]

I found myself shouting "come on you Scabs" at one point this afternoon...

[Diable Rouge]

So, as discussed by a recent WSC issue, the oldest Football League club next season will either be Stoke (who can't document having played a match before 1868), or Forest, whose records appear more extensive.

[Guy Profumo]

Bother.

not that I wish ill upon Macc.

But PLT Notts County relegated at the expense of NLS.

And FC Franchise promoted.

Balls.

Edit:

Ill.

ILL.


Not fucking I'll.


Thank you.