www.altyfans.co.uk

I think we should really be in the Southend thread, but this does highlight one of the problems with the current enforced arrangements.

 "Colourful" language, up to a point as Hashtag says, is tolerated, say, in the Golf Road End,  when it would not be acceptable in the Family Stand, but everybody is crammed in together and can't really choose where  to go.  I think you have to give a bit of leeway for now, or turn a deaf ear, I am afraid, but the sooner this is sorted out, the better it will be for everyone.

I'm guessing the 3rd round draw is on Monday. Does anyone know what time it's scheduled for ?

1pm according to Ollie Bayliss.  It should be regionalised in two zones.

Given that a certain amount of work has been done, but the capacity remains unchanged, although, understandably, Southend have a larger proportion of the ground than  Gateshead did, it seems as if the new work has not been checked for whatever, if any, reason. If so, that's very poor on the council's part.

I had a suspicion this was coming. It's not down to the club, but if the person who contacted the council in the way they did is connected to the football club, they really have a lot to answer for.

Great performance and yet another late comeback for a well deserved point.

On the substitutions, Digie was very unfortunate to go off. I am not convinced that A-Jay Leitch-Smith is fully fit, although he was certainly lively enough in his cameo performance, while I really struggle to see why Ben Pringle is not starting each match.

Good stuff tonight, though,

I’ve emailed Trafford BC tonight, on their website (if it’s up to date), a Councillor Amy Whyte of Broadheath is listed as the Chair of the Safety at Sports grounds Sub-Committee so assume it’s her committee who are currently making the decisions about Moss Lane.

https://democratic.trafford.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=129

I did send an email to council leader Andrew Western late on Monday which got a very prompt reply on Tuesday morning (he is also a councillor in my ward, as I mentioned earlier in this thread).

His first response was that there was nothing vindictive about this, as safety was paramount, which is fair enough, but that he would consult the  council officers for more information, as he wasn't on the relevant committee.

Soon, he came back with the response from the officers. Firstly he said that the inspection was the result of a routine visit when it was noticed that there were structural deficiencies and trip hazards. This obviously conflicts with the theory that there was an inside jealous snitch or whistleblower. I can't make any informed comment on this, but the two can't both be true.

The officers also made the point that they had not reduced the capacity at that point (to 2300 or so on Tuesday morning) but they were considering doing so - not because the ground had deteriorated over the weekend, but because access to the questionable areas was not properly controlled. I assume or surmise that the club may have voluntarily reduced the ground capacity, perhaps to show willing and to avoid a further reduction, but this proved to be in vain. This may just be speculation on my part, though.

I do appreciate Andrew Western's speedy response.

I am glad I opened this thread, and didn't expect so many knowledgeable answers! I do enjoy reading about the old players, and can remember Tony Webber playing for us, and, possibly, Dave Roberts playing against us (I may have confused Dave Carrick and Mike Roberts as ex-players whom I saw play against us, though, I fear).

Now Geoff Street has been identified, I can see that in recent years, he has worked as a match host at Morecambe, where he probably had his most successful period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky6dCAxR_Hs

A strange request, but somebody I know who supports Crewe Alexandra and tries to get complete details of lineups has asked if I know the first name of this player who played in our defeat to  Crewe in 1968.

I wasn't there (my excuse being that I was three years old), John Liaidlar's list of players from that season only has him by surname, while the Cult's piece about the later match in 1979  in "When we were kings" does refer to the earlier game in some detail, but doesn't mention Mr Street. If the Cult or one of our older supporters knows the player's first name, my friend would be very grateful, I am sure.

I don't think we have ever had any problems at Gateshead, nor at Wrexham for that matter.

My comment was more to hope that our away support won't be crammed into too small an area, as we don't yet know which part pf the stadium we are going in.

PS My woolly hat was out for the first time this winter yesterday, and probably will also be out for the next few months!