Tag Archives: Hull City

Hull City v Arsenal – The Big Ticket Con

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I am fuming this morning. Absolutely seething. I am foaming about the mouth. And it is for the usual reasons. Ticket prices.

Like many people, I budget monthly. All of my monthly bills went out yesterday, it was time to work out today what I would be paying out throughout April. My biggest expense is football. Tickets and trains. So I log onto Arsenal.com to see if any of the upcoming games prices have been announced yet, and they have, Hull City v Arsenal. £50.

£50. Surely that has got to be a mistake. An error. Maybe I misread it. I refresh the page. There it is, in black and white;

Adults: £50Hull City v Arsenal 2014-15Wow! I thought. That is a bit expensive. More than I was expecting. Especially after remembering some research I did earlier this season.

So I looked into further, and through the brilliance of Google, was able to find an article on Hull City’s website advertising last years game:Hull City v Arsenal 2013-14

£35. Now that is more reasonable. Still not £20,. But reasonable. But wait a minute, we are being charged £50 this season!

That is a 42% increase. A disgrace. Sickening. Greed.

But here is the problem, I will still go. I will still pay my £50. I am a mug.

It will be interested to find out Hull City’s justification on the rise. Maybe I will email them.

In the meantime, it is time for action:

It is time for fans to unite. Fans of Arsenal,fans of other clubs, put rivalries aside and start making your voices heard. A 42% increase in a single season is a disgrace. Hull City should hang their heads in shame.

But there is no point moaning if you are not willing to take action. It is easy to sit behind blogs and twitter complaining, but never doing anything – which many do. If you have previously moaned on twitter about ticket prices, and are going Saturday, get down to Bear’s Roundabout at noon. Get involved. Make your voice heard.

Football Without Fans is Nothing

Keenos

 

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon – 1 day to go

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Tomorrow is Christmas Day. Tomorriw is Hanukkah. Tomorrow is Diwali. Tomorrow is Eid. Tomorrow is Guru Nanak’s birthday. Tomorrow is your birthday. The FA Cup Final is every celebration, and more. It is the most important day in the English football calender. It is the day hero’s are made. And I am absolutely buzzing.

It has been 9 years since our last trophy. 9 painful years. 9 years filled with near misses and not so near misses. To say it has been tough to have been an Arsenal fan is an understatement. And the 9 trophyless have led to divisions within the fanbase, fights on the terraces, disagreements between friends. But all that is forgotten tomorrow. As the most important thing is the Red & White. The Arsenal.

The FA Cup Final has a massive place in the heart of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. As fans will know, the blog is based on the Arsenal song of the same name. The name of the blog came about by an agreement by the message board users at the time when they were forced to move network due to Sky. And how we have grown since then – thanks to all the readers / contributors.

Anyway, back to tomorrow. Buzzing. Yes, the magic of the cup has been lost a bit. I miss the days when the entire week leading up to the cup focused on the two teams involved. The TV coverage starting early on a Saturday, interview players by the pool of whatever sunny destination they went to for a pre-cup training camp. Following the players from their hotel, onto the coach to the ground. The ‘Road to the FA Cup Final’ montage. Red and white flags, balloons, bunting, on almost every house in Islington. 3pm KICK OFF. Sadly things change.

The press – unsurprisingly – are already digging Arsenal out. Having a go at us for organising the bus parade on the Sunday. Yes, it might look cringey, but the fact is, due to red tape, you must organise road closures in advance and warn residents. I work in Twickenham, and the yellow signs indicating road closures  before a rugby international go up about 10 days before.

Hull City also have plans for an FA Cup Final parade. There signs are also up, but where is the press commenting on them? They aren’t, because in reality, Hull City are not a story, they do not sell papers.

It is not just Arsenal though, the press have previously ran similar stories on Chelsea and Manchester City. The fact is, if you are a successful club, a club worth writing about, the press will write about you. So ignore it.

As for the bus, that is an indication of the world we live in, where everyone with a smart phone is now a private investigator. A journalist. The bus would have always had to have been prepared in advance. Only now, it is easy to take a picture and stick it up on twitter.

As for everyone wanting Hull to win (bar Arsenal fans), this is normal. It is not a bias against Arsenal. Last year, we all wanted Wigan Athletic to win. When it comes to football, the neutral will always supports the underdog, so do not fret about it.

Rant over. Let’s focus on tomorrow. Enjoy yourself, have a few beers before, and hopefully have a part after. Back the team for 90 minutes (or 120 minutes and penalties if that’s whats needed) and remember, we are The Arsenal. Back the boys in red and white.

Keenos

Sky TV – Ruining every Gooners April

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So yesterday lunch time, Sky TV and BT Sport announced what supporters they will be fucking over with their latest schedule of TV games for April – and the result was a big fuck you to Arsenal fans. The travelling support have been well and truly shafted.

March was bad enough, with only one 3pm kick off in the month – away to Stoke tomorrow. After that, Everton (Sat 12.45), Spurs (Sun 16.00 – what happened to ‘Health and Safety?), Chelsea (Sat 12.45) and Manchester City (Saturday 17.30). Luckily for Arsenal fans, the fucking about with the fixtures in March has little effect as the two main away games moved are against London clubs. All it means is plenty of drinking after Chelsea Away, and Plenty of drinking before Spurs Away (and plenty of sore heads at work Monday morning).

April, however, is a complete and utter fuck up for The Arsenal.

We start off with an away trip to Goodison Park. Sunday 13.30. That gives Arsenal fans 2 realistic choices. An 8.15 or 9.15 train out of Euston. Thanks Sky TV you utter cunts for the early start.

Next on the agenda is West Ham at home. A noon kick off on a Sunday. Not too bad, on the face of it. Two London clubs. Not far to travel. OK, so it means no beers before the game. But it means you can have a session after and still be home to grab some dinner before the Chinese closes. Until you notice that Sunday 13th April is the day of the London Marathon.

So not only have Sky TV said a big ‘Fuck You’ to one of the countries most important sporting days by scheduling a TV game at the same time the majority of fun runners will be on the streets of London (taking away important viewers from the charities) but they have also created a logistical nightmare for the police, who will now be stretched as they have to manage the millions who take to the streets to support the runners, as well as police a London Derby.

It was not too long ago that the police had the final say in fixtures. Based on safety grounds, games would get moved to an early kick off (I remember we once played Spurs at 11.45am) and made to ensure they would not clash with other big events in the capital. It seems nowadays, however, that it is the TV stations who are the king makers.

Have the police not questioned the scheduling of both the West Ham and Spurs match’s? Has some money been paid elsewhere by the TV companies to get their way? Or do the police just not really give a fuck and the previous excuse for awkward kick off times was just that, an excuse.

I feel for the London Marathon, I really do. Attention will be taken away from the once a year charity event for a football game. That is not right. I guess it is probably Sky TV throwing their toys out the pram knowing the London Marathon get’s a lot of viewers, and it is shown on BBC.

To make matters worse, The FA have also schedule the FA Cup Semi Final’s for the same weekend. So if Arsenal fail to beat Everton, you could end up with a scenario where Arsenal play West Ham, the London Marathon, and an FA Cup Semi Final are all on the same day. Add in the other FA Cup Semi Final the day before, plus Crystal Palace and Fulham playing at home, the police are going to have a field day with overtime and cancelled leave. Good job schedulers.

Next up is Hull City away. And just as you thought we had been fucked as much as the Everton game, Hull is scheduled for 17.30 on a Saturday. Ok, so we get a lay in. But wait for it, the last train leaves Hull City that gets you back into London the same day at 18.30. The game kicks off at 17.30ArsenalvHull

So fuck you Sky TV. Who will be picking up my hotel bill? It certainly won’t be you will it? Even the 6 hour, 3 changes and a bus journey is impossible. And £96.80 for that? Fuck off. Of course, I know I could take the ‘No booze, no fun’ club coaches, but fuck that.

Lastly we have Newcastle at home. This is where I feel for the away fans. It has been moved to a Monday 8pm kick off. So all the Geordies now have to take a day off work and like us with Hull, have no way of getting home (last train leaves King Cross at 20.00). Well done Sky TV again. You show you do not care about the true football fans. You show TV viewing figures are more important. To make this even better the club sold junior gunners tickets the day before this was announced, leaving a lot of fans with kids too young for games on school nights out of pocket.

And well done to the Premier League. Their recent campaign is #YouAreFootball. If we are football, then put your foot down. Protect the fans. Or do the Premier League only care about the bank balance?

So whilst all those who sit in front of the TV with their popcorn and Diet Coke will not give a fuck, those who travel up and down the country, the loyal supporters of Arsenal Football Club, are shafted.

Sky TV – You are a disgrace

Keenos