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Young footballers upset after York City chief Martin Foyle vetos their games before Minstermen’s FA Cup tie


PARENTS have reacted angrily after their children’s dream football day out at Bootham Crescent turned sour.

Youngsters from several local primary schools were due to play on York City’s pitch, ahead of the club’s FA Cup tie with Bedworth United on Saturday, only for City manager Martin Foyle to veto the games.

He said that, due to the rain, he did not want youngsters playing on the pitch before the big match but the move left children and parents’ furious.

Jack Daniel, ten, a striker for Lakeside Primary School, said: “Someone just came out and said our matches were off because they did not want us to ruin the pitch. I was heartbroken.”

He said he and his team-mates were told a week before that they would be playing at Bootham Crescent, and said they had been excited all week.

The matches have been re-arranged for December 5, before City’s home match against Wrexham, but Jack’s mother Rebecca said Mr Foyle should have told the children personally that the games were off.

“They had been standing there in the rain waiting to play. Parents asked for him to come out, but he refused.

“I am told some parents from Skelton+Primary+School%22">Skelton Primary School had even cancelled half-term holidays to be here – it was a big thing for the kids.”

Another Lakeside parent Paul Moll, whose son, William, was also due to play, said: “I said ‘get the manager out – get him to say why the lads cannot play’. There were nine kids from each school, plus parents and grandparents. I thought what a disgrace it was.”

Sophie Hicks, the football club’s communications and community director, said: “There were two games that were going to be played in the CPP Challenge Cup. The games were called off at about 1.30pm and it was a managerial decision taken by Martin Foyle.

“He looked at the pitch and felt it was not suitable for young players to play on it as there was water on the pitch.” She said all children and parents were given free tickets to the FA Cup tie, or refunded their admission fee, and said the games had been rearranged.


Away fans arrested

TWO supporters were arrested after a fight broke out following Saturday’s FA Cup match at Bootham Crescent.

They were both Bedworth United fans, who had seen their team lose 2-0 to York City in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round.

There was also trouble inside the ground, with York goalkeeper Michael Ingham appearing to be struck by an object thrown from a visiting fan, but no police action has yet been taken.

Comments(42)

addynuff says...
9:09am Mon 26 Oct 09

be very careful city.you need all the friends/supporters you can get.

Garrowby Turnoff says...
9:26am Mon 26 Oct 09

These York kids will never forget the disappointment and disenchantment with their local "professional" team. Never!

NoNewsIsGoodNews says...
9:32am Mon 26 Oct 09

Sunday morning kids league games get cancelled all the time at the last minute because of the weather.
I don't see that this is any different
Its hard on the kids involved but it doesn't help when the parents get involved and start demanding to see the manager.

AngryandFrustrated says...
10:36am Mon 26 Oct 09

NoNewsIsGoodNews wrote:
Sunday morning kids league games get cancelled all the time at the last minute because of the weather. I don't see that this is any different Its hard on the kids involved but it doesn't help when the parents get involved and start demanding to see the manager.
If you can't see any difference, then you don't have the brains you were born with!

How can you compare a freezing cold muddy pitch at school on a Sunday morning with a few parents hanging around the side line with playing football at a professional stadium in front of a proper crowd?!! Whilst York City may not mean much to some people in the city, I am sure these youngsters could have popped with excitement at the prospect of playing at a professional venue, potentially whilst some of their idols were in the dressing room.

For me, the interesting side to this story is what the position would have been if they had been at the "Community Stadium" that everyone keeps bleating about and which YCFC expect the tax payers of York to fund, and which worryingly the Council appear to be considering (along with the Minster, Exhibition Square, Central York Development, the Barbican etc etc etc). This is just one example of how there can be no such thing as a "Community Stadium" that houses a professional team at the same time as serving a community because the interests of the professionals will always come first to the detriment of joe public. That I understand, but to me it just shows why, if YCFC want a new home, they should pay for it themselves and not expect us to subsidise their professional activities.

Phantom1974 says...
10:37am Mon 26 Oct 09

Having spent the last 2 years getting the pitch right after a couple of years of having a terrible surface, are these parents seriously saying that calling the games off so as not to wreck the pitch was unjustifiable? Playing on the hallowed surface of Bootham Crescent is a privilege not a right and these parents are brewing up a storm in a tea cup. What does it matter if the game had to be rearranged? It's not like they have been postponed indefinitely - although I wouldn't blame the club if they scrapped the whole thing if these people are going running to the local paper about something so minor.

AdmiralNN says...
10:53am Mon 26 Oct 09

Phantom1974 wrote:
Having spent the last 2 years getting the pitch right after a couple of years of having a terrible surface, are these parents seriously saying that calling the games off so as not to wreck the pitch was unjustifiable? Playing on the hallowed surface of Bootham Crescent is a privilege not a right and these parents are brewing up a storm in a tea cup. What does it matter if the game had to be rearranged? It's not like they have been postponed indefinitely - although I wouldn't blame the club if they scrapped the whole thing if these people are going running to the local paper about something so minor.
Well said phantom, when i were a lad i had the pleasure of playing on the hallowed turf many times. If any of our games had got cancelled with good reason we wouldnt have been that bothered - we'd have still had a day out at the footy with our mates.

Happy days!

NoNewsIsGoodNews says...
11:23am Mon 26 Oct 09

@AngryandFrustrated, I can compare a freezing cold muddy pitch at school on a Sunday morning with a few parents hanging around the side line with playing football at a professional stadium in front of a proper crowd very easily indeed.

All the kids want to do is play football, whether its at the park, or for their local team, or at Bootham Crescent.

As I said earlier, it must be dissapointing for the kids involved but that doesn't change the fact that the pitch was not suitable for them to play on, any kid that plays on a Sunday morning will have experienced this before and take it on the chin.

Sadly its the grown ups that spoil kids football these days, take a look at the FA's website and you will see what I mean.

York Nomad says...
11:25am Mon 26 Oct 09

We had an FA Cup game worth £12,500 to win, the fact the pitch was cutting up during the game proves Foyle was justified in his stance.
I can see why the kids were gutted, but theyve got free tickets and another chance to play at Bootham Crescent, City have been very reasonable.
Games get called off every season and fans get caught out and left out of pocket, generally it's just something you accept, these things happen.
City have a responsibility to the local community, but their priority is winning football matches, and thats what happened.
Theres nothing remotely newsworthy here, just more signs of the Press's decline and their obsession with posed 'look sad for the camera kids' photos

Mr Tee says...
12:13pm Mon 26 Oct 09

What a ridiculous story by The Press. An extension of the 'newspaper's' vendetta against Martin Foyle?

The football club did the right thing and called the games off ASAP when it didn't look like the rain was going to stop. All those involved were compensated despite there being no need to give them anything. Maybe this particular family is just trying to get some more 'compo'.

The main event was far more important and the manager was right not to get involved in an inevitable argument with a handful of parents, who probably don't know what this club has been through in the last few years. As a supporter, I would be furious if I discovered that the manager was being diverted from preparation for an important match. The club has other staff (although not enough due to financial pressures), who deal with such issues.

I'm sure that there were far more kids at Bootham Crescent who were genuinely upset (not told to be upset by media hungry parents) by the vile behaviour of the Bedworth fans.

Get a life and get over it. Pathetic!

Eric says...
12:21pm Mon 26 Oct 09

I had a schools final at Bootham Crescent cancelled on the afternoon of the match due to the rain and yes I was gutted but as NoNewsIsGoodNews says you come to expect it when the weather is bad. The re-arranged game wasn't even at the Crescent so we missed out completely that year. Luckily we made the final the following season and managed to get on the pitch that year!
It would of been a nice touch for Foyle to go out and tell the kids himself but he isn't paid for that so why should he? They could maybe of compromised and let them play after the game though? I cant see the situation getting any better in December and the Wrexham game is much more important than Bedworth IMO so could be another cancellation?

AngryandFrustrated says...
12:34pm Mon 26 Oct 09

NoNewsIsGoodNews wrote:
@AngryandFrustrated, I can compare a freezing cold muddy pitch at school on a Sunday morning with a few parents hanging around the side line with playing football at a professional stadium in front of a proper crowd very easily indeed. All the kids want to do is play football, whether its at the park, or for their local team, or at Bootham Crescent. As I said earlier, it must be dissapointing for the kids involved but that doesn't change the fact that the pitch was not suitable for them to play on, any kid that plays on a Sunday morning will have experienced this before and take it on the chin. Sadly its the grown ups that spoil kids football these days, take a look at the FA's website and you will see what I mean.
Well I'm glad that the children you have and are experienced with have exactly the same excitement about Sunday league football as they do going to Bootham Crescent to play - I am clearly not lucky enough to have the same experience as you.

However, please do not misconstrue my remarks. I am passing no comment either in this posting or my last as to whether or not the decision was right or wrong to call off the games or indeed whether or not it is a worthy news story. I was picking up on what I considered to be an unfair comparison in your posting in respect of the excitement children feel when approaching big occasions. I was also pointing out why, in my view, this story highlights why there is no such thing as a "community" stadium when one of the main tenants will be a professional sports team as ultimately, the needs of the professionals will always be put before community events and arrangements. In my view (and this is what the comments section is for!) YCFC have demonstrated why they alone should be responsible for the costs associated with moving grounds and builing a new stadium that they want to call home because they will expect their needs to be put first.

Phantom1974 says...
12:59pm Mon 26 Oct 09

If anything York City does too much for the community as it is and look at the way the club is treated in return! And now the argument is being put forward that because York City are a professional sports club who restrict use of the pitch the community has no part to play in a new stadium? I've heard many arguments for weaseling out of using tax contributions but that is the farthest fetched one yet! Can you simply wander in and use Council-owned Huntington Stadium whenever you feel like it? Seeing as it was paid for by the people of Ryedale?

bigbobert says...
1:23pm Mon 26 Oct 09

People are missing the point here, it was not the fact that the game was called off that caused their anger, it was the way it was announced after the kids had been hanging around in the pouring rain the manager could have sent a couple of players out to meet the kids and sign a few autographs to cheer the kids up, but no obviously he didn't value the kids enough. And when the announcement was made that the game was off their was still an hour and half for the kids to wait around in the pouring rain to watch the city match, Nowhere to dry off they were just supposed to hang around whilst the drunken away supporters started arriving and misbehaving. The best thing to do would have been to call off the game earlier (as it had been raining heavily all day), make a few phone calls and saved the of kids from turning up so early.

AngryandFrustrated says...
1:43pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Phantom1974 wrote:
If anything York City does too much for the community as it is and look at the way the club is treated in return! And now the argument is being put forward that because York City are a professional sports club who restrict use of the pitch the community has no part to play in a new stadium? I've heard many arguments for weaseling out of using tax contributions but that is the farthest fetched one yet! Can you simply wander in and use Council-owned Huntington Stadium whenever you feel like it? Seeing as it was paid for by the people of Ryedale?
No you can't wander in to Huntington Stadium and use it as and when, which totally reinforces my point - it was paid for by the people of Ryedale and yet it is no more of a community stadium to them than Bootham Crescent is!

The fact is that you cannot have a "community" stadium and have professional tenants in occupation because their needs take priority over the needs of the community - this story and Huntington Stadium being prime examples. What I am saying is, if a professional club want the ability to have exclusive use of say a pitch, then they should pay for it themselves - they are not a charity and their only goal in life (pardon the pun) is to make profit for to satisfy the overall owners of the business. YCFC are not in business just to take a few people off the street by employing them - they strive to be a top class football team MAKING MONEY FOR THEIR OWNERS!! As a resident of York, I see no reason why we should subsidise their request for new facilities when there are many more worthy projects in the locality that deserve funding.

Alan Fetish says...
1:56pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Am I right in thinking that all the kids - and all the parents - were given free entry to the game on Saturday, and the assurance that the kids' match would be rearranged for less than a month and a half off, in front of a bigger crowd in a higher-profile fixture, on the same pitch?

Get over it, perhaps?

Phantom1974 says...
1:57pm Mon 26 Oct 09

I'm afraid therein lies the flaw of your argument - you cannot make money out of football through making a profit, and certainly not at a club like York City. I would say the business premise is more along the lines of "Make enough money to survive" rather than "Make the owners rich". Only a fool would run a football club in the hope of making money, especially one like YCFC.

yorkshiremum says...
2:14pm Mon 26 Oct 09

mr tee i feel that you are not seeing the childrens point of view they had been stood for 45 mins in the pouring rain waiting to play their game only to be told it was being called of they were truly gutted yes mr foyle did not have to come out to explain however with an hour and a half left till the city game kicked off he could have spared 5 mins after all they invited them to play there. also as to your comments regarding the "media hungry parents"
i asure you we are not and have not asked or would accept any "commpo" we had already been offered free tickets for the city match before this but after the upset my son refused to stay in the rain for another hour and a half also a lot of rowdy away supporters had arrived who were lets say already well oiled and voicing there opinion about york city in a not so polite way i hope you can reflect on this and your own comment and see we were merely pointing out the club could have done a few things differently considering the children are the future supporters who will keep the club going in years to come. all these children wanted to do was play football and yes they can play on the park or a field or even the street but the chance to play on a proper football pitch was a first for many of them and they were left very upset by the way they were treated we are not lying blame on any one person but the club have a duty to look after the interest of future supporters and players i do hope that this will be recognised.


AngryandFrustrated says...
2:14pm Mon 26 Oct 09

I don't just mean football, I mean all sports. And you are wrong if you think that football cannot make money for the owners of clubs, be it York City or Chelsea. The owners of the clubs use them in the most tax-efficient way possible - by claiming every tax relief and allowance possible as well as offsetting tax payable. By doing this, the owners can save £1000s of personal or corporate taxation which means that the owners MAKE money from the club or should I say more accurately, the clubs allow them to make money by reducing their burden of taxation.

Look at Abramovich at Chelsea - he didn't buy Chelsea because he was a big fan of them. He didn't buy them because he wanted to take his fortune and throw it down the sink. He bought the club because by doing so he realised just how much a clever accountant could save him in taxation.

If you think it can't happen at York - think again, because it already has. That Batchelor character is a prime example - he used the club, made his money and moved on.

Phantom1974 says...
2:22pm Mon 26 Oct 09

In other countries state organisations fund football clubs and can you imagine the outcry if that happened in this country? So they have to be privately-owned. However, just because they are privately-owned doesn't mean they are not a community asset and it certainly doesn't mean they should be immune from assistance through taxation. Like it or not, having a half decent professional football club is a badge of honour for every city in the country, so why should York be the exception? Clearly the club needs help and I think most York citizens are (and should be) only too happy to help to make a new stadium a source of pride for the city, just as it is in other local places like Hull, Doncaster, Huddersfield etc.

Mister Sheen says...
2:57pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Mr Tee! - ex Kingsway????

doomandgloom08 says...
3:39pm Mon 26 Oct 09

shame on Foyle...no wonder YCFC can't get a crowd (unless the mighty Oxford are in town!),I have a free child ticket to use but I won't be taking my son.

Vauxhall Viva says...
3:44pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Why on earth did they schedule the kids game before a home game anyway? What appalling planning. Its a shame cos these kids would have probably put in a far better performance than Foyles pathetic York team.

AngryandFrustrated says...
4:03pm Mon 26 Oct 09

To Phantom1974:-

Firstly, I wouldn't call York City a "half decent professional football club" or at least that's not the description I would give to one that's outside the 1st 4 divisions of English football - a "clinging on for grim death" to try and avoid part-time status is nearer the mark.

Secondly, if you think that having York City FC gives York a "badge of honour", you are either deluded or on drugs. There are many, many cities up and down the country that do not have any sort of footballing link and survive very nicely without the "badge of honour" to which you refer. Furthermore, as much as I hate to break it to you, if YCFC disappeared tomorrow, York would continue to prosper without them and I'd wager a bet that there would be no evidence of widespread desertion of the city as a place to live or visit.

Phantom1974 says...
4:23pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Angry&Frustrated - it's a vicious circle though isn't it? If you don't support what you have then it won't prosper, and your ignorant comments are sadly indicative of the attitude of too many people in this city. If there are so many cities in this category - name them. There are very few cities who do not have some kind of professional sporting institution as part of their fabric. If they knocked the Minster down tomorrow there would also be no exodus from York, do you think that's a good idea too. I am not on drugs my friend but I would suggest you take a course of anti-depressants as you are dragging your fellow citizens down.

ArnDaddy says...
4:26pm Mon 26 Oct 09

This thread has made me so angry I felt the need to create a profile!

At best this must be a minor inconvenience to the parents. With £12,500 at risk the club made the correct choice.

Oh, and Angryandfrustrated is an idiot.

AngryandFrustrated says...
5:26pm Mon 26 Oct 09

To Phantom1974:-

Gateshead, North Shields, Redcar, Washington, Durham, Salford, Canterbury, Dover, Margate, St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, Gainsborough, Morpeth, Belford Northallerton, etc etc etc. Need I go on? Whilst these may not all be "cities" in the true sense of the word, they are all relatively large conurbations with no well known football team and your original point was about the badge of honour arising from a FOOTBALL team and not as you then changed it to, "some kind of professional sporting institution".

I'm sure there would be no exodus from York if the Minster were demolished - however, you could bet that there would be a few thousand less tourists visiting - somehow, however, I'm sure that the demise of YCFC (if it were ever to happen)would not drastically effect the tourism figures!

Anyway, I'm off to take my anti-depressants so I can cope with the fact that there is never anything easier to wind up than a football fan with rosy tinted glasses on. Oh and by the way, I had a season ticket at YCFC for 15 years - I gave it up in despair having watched the club be mismanaged for years and slide further and further into debt. My comments are therefore, not "anti football" or anti YCFC - I'd trust my money more in the hands of the Lib Dums than any football team, wherever they were based, and that's saying something!

Phantom1974 says...
5:44pm Mon 26 Oct 09

I said "sports" team so you have proved my point by mentioning the likes of St Helens, Widnes, Warrington - there is nothing in these place BUT a famous sports team!! As for the other ones, I meant places of some kind of significance not backwaters like Northalleron for crying out loud!!!!! Sad to see you walked away from City but it does explain a lot about your attitude, we'll have to agree to disagree.

Mr Happy says...
6:23pm Mon 26 Oct 09

AngryandFrustrated wrote:
To Phantom1974:-

Gateshead, North Shields, Redcar, Washington, Durham, Salford, Canterbury, Dover, Margate, St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, Gainsborough, Morpeth, Belford Northallerton, etc etc etc. Need I go on? Whilst these may not all be "cities" in the true sense of the word, they are all relatively large conurbations with no well known football team and your original point was about the badge of honour arising from a FOOTBALL team and not as you then changed it to, "some kind of professional sporting institution".

I'm sure there would be no exodus from York if the Minster were demolished - however, you could bet that there would be a few thousand less tourists visiting - somehow, however, I'm sure that the demise of YCFC (if it were ever to happen)would not drastically effect the tourism figures!

Anyway, I'm off to take my anti-depressants so I can cope with the fact that there is never anything easier to wind up than a football fan with rosy tinted glasses on. Oh and by the way, I had a season ticket at YCFC for 15 years - I gave it up in despair having watched the club be mismanaged for years and slide further and further into debt. My comments are therefore, not "anti football" or anti YCFC - I'd trust my money more in the hands of the Lib Dums than any football team, wherever they were based, and that's saying something!
You said you could name many cities, well, how many of those you name are cities? Most are, at best, small towns and can in no way be compared with a city the size of York.

bigbobert says...
7:19pm Mon 26 Oct 09

NoNewsIsGoodNews wrote:
@AngryandFrustrated, I can compare a freezing cold muddy pitch at school on a Sunday morning with a few parents hanging around the side line with playing football at a professional stadium in front of a proper crowd very easily indeed.

All the kids want to do is play football, whether its at the park, or for their local team, or at Bootham Crescent.

As I said earlier, it must be dissapointing for the kids involved but that doesn't change the fact that the pitch was not suitable for them to play on, any kid that plays on a Sunday morning will have experienced this before and take it on the chin.

Sadly its the grown ups that spoil kids football these days, take a look at the FA's website and you will see what I mean.
So having a kick about on the local park is the same as playing at Bootham Crescent....What a complete load of rubbish. These kids were hanging around for 45 mins in the rain...sunday morning fixtures do not have the same prestige and are usually canceled the day before not at the last minute.

bigbobert says...
7:35pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Mr Tee wrote:
What a ridiculous story by The Press. An extension of the 'newspaper's' vendetta against Martin Foyle?

The football club did the right thing and called the games off ASAP when it didn't look like the rain was going to stop. All those involved were compensated despite there being no need to give them anything. Maybe this particular family is just trying to get some more 'compo'.

The main event was far more important and the manager was right not to get involved in an inevitable argument with a handful of parents, who probably don't know what this club has been through in the last few years. As a supporter, I would be furious if I discovered that the manager was being diverted from preparation for an important match. The club has other staff (although not enough due to financial pressures), who deal with such issues.

I'm sure that there were far more kids at Bootham Crescent who were genuinely upset (not told to be upset by media hungry parents) by the vile behaviour of the Bedworth fans.

Get a life and get over it. Pathetic!
Do you have children? If so i feel sorry for them. And if the story is that pathetic to you why trouble yourself to comment. Also the game was not called of ASAP as you stated, that is the main issue that people were angry about. It should have been called off when the kids arrived not let them stand around to freeze in the rain for 45 mins

NoNewsIsGoodNews says...
7:47pm Mon 26 Oct 09

@bigbobert. I never said that having a kick about on the local park is the same as playing at Bootham Crescent.
What I said was that kids that who play football on a Sunday morning are used to games getting canceled at the last minute.
Also if you had anything to do with Junior football, then you would know from experience that games can get called off at anytime because of the good old British weather, including 1 minute before kick off.

The point I was making is that the kids will be gutted not to play, I know mine would be, but it doesn't help things when the parents start demanding to see the manager.


Phantom1974 says...
7:59pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Things must have changed since my day when I was of school age because since when is it such a big deal for a kid to be waiting around for 45 minutes? Is this in the Children's Act now or something? And it wasn't even that cold, were the kids waiting in the stands under the shelter or stood on the pitch in the light rain? All these crocodile tears, sounds like this kids and their parents need to harden up and stop being so soft!

NoNewsIsGoodNews says...
8:10pm Mon 26 Oct 09

Wonder how long they were stood about waiting for the Press photographer, and if that had been called off whether they would have complained to Sky News?.

carterjason says...
9:19pm Mon 26 Oct 09

As a parent of a child that was suppose to be playing that day, I totally agree with the reason behind postponing the match to a later date, afterall it was pouring with rain when the kids were ment to be playing then they were suppose to be sat in their wet clothes afterwards watching the game, i am sure these parent who felt hard done by would then have good reason to moan.......afterall the game will get played at some point in the season and their kids can still have the time to show "their skills" in a professional stadium!!!

Zetkin says...
10:01pm Mon 26 Oct 09

What a storm in a teacup!
`
As well as potentially spoiling the game for nearly 2000 paying customers, playing the kids' games could have been dangerous.
`
Therefore it was right to postpone the games. Note: POSTPONE not cancel, so the kids still have their moment to look forward too.
`
Secondly, why on earth should Mr Foyle take time out of a very busy working day to get involved in a slanging match with a gang of angry parents?
`
He was, quite rightly, focusing on doing the job he's paid to do.
`
York City bends over backwards to enhance its links with the community, and doesn't deserve to be pilloried in this fashion.

yorkie81 says...
11:35pm Mon 26 Oct 09

I’ve also just registered to this because I’m totally outraged at some of the comment raised. Please, get real. Kids playing on Bootham Crescent is a privilege and if for any reason this privilege will jeopardise the condition of the pitch for York City then the correct decision has been made. Why should Martin Foyle walk away from his job to prepaid his players for a FA Cup game which is worth over 12.500 pounds to speak to some kids and angry parents who don’t care about York City, just to see there kids run on the pitch. Do you think Alex Ferguson of Man Utd would do the same????? NO
AngryandFrustrated:- Since you claim you WAS a season ticket holder for York City, you’ll understand that York City servers the community with Football. If the club went bust, thousands of people would be devastated. If we get into the 3rd round of the cup and get drawn against a premiership club, will you be going? They are many community stadiums (Doncaster, Hull, Rochdale) but do you really think the public are allow to rock up and use the pitch!!!

It’s no wonder York City struggle to generate fans. With the type of Citizens that live in York!! I’m from England so support England. I’m originally from Yorkshire, so I support Yorkshire. I’m originally for York so I support York City FC and York Knights. It’s a shame more York Citizens don’t do the same. They rather go down to the Dump of Leeds and support a city they don’t have any ties too. Incredible......

H8r says...
12:07am Tue 27 Oct 09

This non-story is great. A kickaround for some kids was cancelled due to the bad weather. It's been re-arranged for later in the season. The kids got the chance to see the game for free and will no doubt later in the season. They won't have to run about in the rain and cold.

If that's the worst thing to happen to these kids then they're very lucky.

yorkie81 says...
6:07am Tue 27 Oct 09

Also like to add to "AngryandFrustrated comments" Since Doncaster and Hull have had there community stadiums built. Doncaster are in the Championship getting crowds of 15k and Hull City are in the Prem selling out each week
York were playing these teams 5 years ago. It just goes to show what a bit of community spirt and backing can do!!!!

Southern Exile says...
10:08am Tue 27 Oct 09

The Press you have sunk to a new low in journalism, hang your head in shame...

sciencefan says...
12:53pm Tue 27 Oct 09

Phantom1974 wrote:
Having spent the last 2 years getting the pitch right after a couple of years of having a terrible surface, are these parents seriously saying that calling the games off so as not to wreck the pitch was unjustifiable? Playing on the hallowed surface of Bootham Crescent is a privilege not a right and these parents are brewing up a storm in a tea cup. What does it matter if the game had to be rearranged? It's not like they have been postponed indefinitely - although I wouldn't blame the club if they scrapped the whole thing if these people are going running to the local paper about something so minor.
"Hallowed Turf" I think you need some perspective! It's a bit of grass belonging to a half rate business, and that business is professional football for entertainment. They are no more a community asset than any other business.

Tax payers money should not go to to bailing them out of poor financial decisions which has left them unable to afford new facilities. I don't like the fact that banks have tax payers money but you can't suggest the national economy will fail if York City go under. In fact who will care? Out of Yorks total population less than 2% go to see York City play. Should the other 98% fund the activities of that 2%? Not on your life.

yorkie81 says...
10:12pm Tue 27 Oct 09

sciencefan wrote:
Phantom1974 wrote: Having spent the last 2 years getting the pitch right after a couple of years of having a terrible surface, are these parents seriously saying that calling the games off so as not to wreck the pitch was unjustifiable? Playing on the hallowed surface of Bootham Crescent is a privilege not a right and these parents are brewing up a storm in a tea cup. What does it matter if the game had to be rearranged? It's not like they have been postponed indefinitely - although I wouldn't blame the club if they scrapped the whole thing if these people are going running to the local paper about something so minor.
"Hallowed Turf" I think you need some perspective! It's a bit of grass belonging to a half rate business, and that business is professional football for entertainment. They are no more a community asset than any other business. Tax payers money should not go to to bailing them out of poor financial decisions which has left them unable to afford new facilities. I don't like the fact that banks have tax payers money but you can't suggest the national economy will fail if York City go under. In fact who will care? Out of Yorks total population less than 2% go to see York City play. Should the other 98% fund the activities of that 2%? Not on your life.
What percentage of people use public swimming pools, the barbican centre (when it was open)? Very small I’d expect. My point is, you need entertainment in the City. Are you telling me the City of York would be better without professional clubs like York City FC and York City Knights? If you're not interested in football or rugby then that’s fine. but they are plenty of people who are. When the Huntington stadium was built, the Ryedale Council spent thousands of pounds on a running track. I hate running but I don't think it’s a waste of money. People get enjoyment out of it.

sciencefan says...
10:04am Wed 28 Oct 09

yorkie81 wrote:
sciencefan wrote:
Phantom1974 wrote: Having spent the last 2 years getting the pitch right after a couple of years of having a terrible surface, are these parents seriously saying that calling the games off so as not to wreck the pitch was unjustifiable? Playing on the hallowed surface of Bootham Crescent is a privilege not a right and these parents are brewing up a storm in a tea cup. What does it matter if the game had to be rearranged? It's not like they have been postponed indefinitely - although I wouldn't blame the club if they scrapped the whole thing if these people are going running to the local paper about something so minor.
"Hallowed Turf" I think you need some perspective! It's a bit of grass belonging to a half rate business, and that business is professional football for entertainment. They are no more a community asset than any other business. Tax payers money should not go to to bailing them out of poor financial decisions which has left them unable to afford new facilities. I don't like the fact that banks have tax payers money but you can't suggest the national economy will fail if York City go under. In fact who will care? Out of Yorks total population less than 2% go to see York City play. Should the other 98% fund the activities of that 2%? Not on your life.
What percentage of people use public swimming pools, the barbican centre (when it was open)? Very small I’d expect. My point is, you need entertainment in the City. Are you telling me the City of York would be better without professional clubs like York City FC and York City Knights? If you're not interested in football or rugby then that’s fine. but they are plenty of people who are. When the Huntington stadium was built, the Ryedale Council spent thousands of pounds on a running track. I hate running but I don't think it’s a waste of money. People get enjoyment out of it.
I would suggest the users of the public swimming pools are more than the couple of thousand a week that watch York City play, but the issue for me is one of whether it is appropriate to subsidise a private limited company which is frankly, not well run, with public money. In my opinion it isn't a suitable use of public money.

Unfortunately for York City Bootham Crescent is now worth an awful lot less than it was three years ago which means with the loans that the club has they are going to struggle to pay for a new ground or a move themselves. So yes unfortunately I think that they should be left to their own devices and if that means administration then so be it. If the company is not viable then they will go to the wall. Thats just life.


Rebecca Daniel with her son, Jack, left, and his team mate, Will Moll, of Lakeside Primary School, who were left, disappointed that their game at York City was postponed at the last moment Rebecca Daniel with her son, Jack, left, and his team mate, Will Moll, of Lakeside Primary School, who were left, disappointed that their game at York City was postponed at the last moment

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