SEASIDERS' TALKBACK

I WRITE in reply to the email by Mr Eliffe (Talkback, Mar 6).

Although as he says he has enjoyed this season in the Championship, wouldn't he have enjoyed it more with a completed ground.

Take this Saturday's derby game for example. The attendance will be approximately 9,800. The attendance at the corresponding game at Deepdale was 17,000, which probably meant receipts of £200,000 more than Blackpool will make next Saturday.

See tomorrow's Gazette for our special PNE derby supplement

Given the season Pool have had, they could have averaged between 12/14,000. Compared to other clubs Pool must be losing £50 to 100k in gates receipts every home game due to the lack of facilities.

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If they had the extra money from gate receipts, instead of being mid-table they could have pushed the boat out for a few extra players and had a dart at the play-offs.

In respect of next Saturday's game if results work out the two clubs could actually be level on points, highly unlikely but a possibility.

One final point in Mr Eliffe's email. Although he is quite correct that North End would not fill the new stand in League One, they would probably only fill it for certain matches in the Championship but at least they have a completed ground, with the NHS reputed to be paying between £5 to 7m rent for using the ground floor of the new stand.

So you can have a laugh at our expense but what will North End fans see next Saturday? A two-sided ground, a stand probably only fit for the Royal Lancs show and behind one goal a car park.

If that is what you want Mr Eliffe than you deserve my sympathy as do other Pool fans.

Andrew Mackay, via email

FIRST some positives. Simon Grayson, his management team and the players have been terrific. New contracts have been awarded to the management, and that is fully justified.

However, let's not get complacent. There are plenty of things that could go wrong. The manager and his team could go, our best players could go through their escape clauses. What would help them to stay? They could go to a perceived biggerclub. How can we stop this?

It's up to the fans to continue their fantastic support this season. If we want another stand we have to make sure the chairman knows that he is stopping lots of supporters from watching.

Ring up the office and make your point. The chairman must show ambition too. We do not look like a club that can attract the best players.

We will always remain a smaller club unless we can improve the stadium, training facilities and also the fans turn out in bigger numbers – when they can get in the ground.

I suppose the other issue is what happens if next season we get promoted and we still have only two stands?

There are a few other questions too:

Is the letting of the hotel making money?

If so where is it?

We were led to believe Mr Belokon was financially helping the football side. Why then does Mr Oyston say by building a new stand Simon would lose players?

We should all pull together and make this club bigger and ambitious so that the best management team and players we have had for years feel they want to stay here – otherwise we could end up going backwards.

Gordon Stewart, Stafford Avenue, Poulton

IT makes me laugh when people write in saying how the Oystons have built us a nice stadium (well two stands) do these people not forget more than 50 per cent of the money raised for the stands was given by the Football Trust?

They would probably not be up today but for this.

It makes me cringe when I drive past the stadium and see the state of the place. So much culd be done to that ground.

I completely agree with Brian Charlesworth and Joel Hatton's comments in Talkback and am glad that these people and many others are passionate about BFC.

I, along with other fans, completely support the demonstrations after the games.

With regards to the fans who slate the goading of away fans and chants of 'Oyston out' from the North Stand, I sit in the North Stand and if it wasn't for the atmosphere generated by us, then there wouldn't be one – the West is like a graveyard.

D Thompson, Watson Road, Blackpool

Letter-writer Malcolm Eadie asks where were the supporters when gates were around 3,000?

The majority of the 5,000 supporters you are talking about are new supporters and teenagers who are the future of the club and are no less or more important than you, so please come down from your pedestal.

Paul Eliffe you said 'let's see if PNE fill their stand in League One?'

I don't see what your argument is with that question unless you are suggesting we will be going to League One in the near future? Y

et you claim to have watched every home and away game. Who have you been watching, Colchester?

BFC need to increase turnover by any means possible to be able to compete consistently at this level and that's why I question Karl Oyston's motives behind selling the hotel instead of retaining it as a source of income for the club.

Christopher Woodend, via email

THE Deepdale revisted event at Bloomfield Road last Thursday, was a success. We raised £2,650.

I would like to thank The Gazette for its help in publicising the event and I would also like to thank Tony Parr who did a great job of running it.

Mick Page, via email

*Steve Canavan writes: And well done to Mick, who organised and pushed the event from the very start and deserves a great deal of credit for seeing it through. It has raised plenty of money for Brian House, an excellent charity, and also brought back some nice memories for a lot of Blackpool fans.