Comments for The Washbag

Comment on Twenty Years Since Wembley ’93: Swindon 3 Tranmere Rovers 1 by Steve Hall

Steve Hall — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:35:43 +0000

Sadly I missed all that as the games weren’t televised in Australia, there was no Internet to listen to the broadcast on. The only way to get the results soon after the game was to call a premium voice phone line that cost heaps. The results started at Division One and went realllllyyyy slowly – Ar-se-nal two – pause – Tot – ten – ham three bigger pause – so by the time they got to Swindon I’d been on the phone for 5 minutes at dollars per minute.

But the alternative was waiting for Monday’s paper which clearly wasn’t on.

The final wasn’t shown here and I called the line several times and it wasn’t ready – they recorded it around 7am i think. When I finally got through I heard “Leicester three” and almost had a fit, to be followed by “Swindon 4″ and massive relief/celebrations.

I later got two copies of the game on video (I’d asked my parents and my aunt to record it just in case one went wrong) – I must get a copy on DVD and watch it again as my video player is long gone.

I got married shortly afterwards (after 12 years living together, so we count it as having been together 32 years, not 20) and distinguished myself in my wedding speech by mistakenly referring to my wife Susan as Swindon. Oops, she still reminds me occasionally. My two true loves.

Comment on Twenty Years Since Wembley ’93: Swindon 3 Tranmere Rovers 1 by Brendan

Brendan — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:44:46 +0000

Ha! I sometimes see people around the town who I used to be Level 3 regulars, The Doc Martins and Neds Atomic Dustbin t-shirts replaced by acceptable middle aged wear….. Had some great days at Level 3, Symonds bitter 89p a pint – what more could you want?

Comment on Twenty Years Since Wembley ’93: Swindon 3 Tranmere Rovers 1 by TheWashbag

TheWashbag — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:44:03 +0000

Great seeing these videos and reading Brendan’s excellent memories as I never went to the semi-finals. A perfect way to continue our celebration of that play-off campaign.

Comment on Twenty Years Since Wembley ’93: Swindon 3 Tranmere Rovers 1 by beaumo

beaumo — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:46:02 +0000

Great days. When we went 3 up it was the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced at the Country Ground. Oh, and I probably saw you down Level 3 in those days Brendan!

Comment on Podcast Episode 12: An Unsustainable Penalty… by Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:08:31 +0000

Tranmere’s total wage bill for 11-12 was £2.2m; an educated guess would suggest the majority of that is on the playing budget rather than the 61 mainly part-time staff (stewards, ticket office staff, community coaches etc). Brentford’s football wages for 11-12 was £4.9m. It’s hard to see how either of them have slashed their wage bill dramatically from one season to the next, looking at the players in/out over the course of the year.

These are easily verifiable figures just by doing a simple Google search. How on earth does one arrive at £800k and £2.5m-£3m respectively? I do not see any evidence for that whatsoever.

Comment on Twenty Years Since Wembley ’93: Calderwood Play Off Preview by Will Bryant

Will Bryant — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:22:04 +0000

Mark Lawrenson with the punditry skills that endear him to the nation……

Comment on New T-Shirts Range to Celebrate Twenty Years Since Wembley ’93 by Graeme Watkins

Graeme Watkins — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:20:17 +0000

Worst pair of jugs ever

Comment on Jed McCrory and the youth of today by Mike McQueen

Mike McQueen — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:07:31 +0000

How long before the Premier and Championship suggest fewer teams should be promoted / demoted each year because clubs going upwards will struggle to compete with those already there

Comment on Jed McCrory and the youth of today by TheWashbag

TheWashbag — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:31:53 +0000

While the budget is being cut, the amount which the club can contribute towards the playing budget probably isn’t – given the extra £2m or so was provided by Andrew Black’s funding. Semantics I know, however what is clear is that the proposed budget for 2013/14 does remain competitive and that ultimately, if Jed is lucky and secures further investment (which is what he is seeking), an increase above this figure could be possible, even next season.

Nonetheless, the baseline should always remain at what the club itself can afford and as the shift towards a youthful approach is one issue that Town along with the entire Football League will have to manage, no club is at a disadvantage per se.

What is important is quick investment to improve the youth setup to raise its standing and (hopefully) see an improvement in the quality of players who are ready for first team action.

Interestingly…with Salisbury City being promoted to the Conference National hopefully they could offer a stage for some of the youth teamers / fringe players next season to gain vital experience at a local club and in a very competitive league, which can only benefit us.

Comment on Jed McCrory and the youth of today by Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:15 +0000

This is all part of the ongoing strategy to completely hive off the lower leagues from the Premier League(s). If we are not careful, football as we know and love it is going to disappear, and the ‘powers-that-be’ will be interested only in the Premier League clubs – no plans apparent to manage their finances. No-one would dare! It is money and ,brand’ dominated now. Traditional supporters mean little or nothing. There are so many other alternative models which could have been explored…. Sad – but I will never be anything but an STFC supporter, even if we end up playing all our matches on the Liddington training ground pitches!!!