The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[Superhursty7]

Ross Dohhan to James all sit down may be the greatest football song of all time.

 

 

[eez-eh]

Bit of an out the blue thought here spurred on by some posts on the St Johnstone match thread, but we really need some movement on the stadium over the next few years.

I love Somerset but when you take the blinkered glasses off you realise that the terracing is crumbling around you and far too shallow to see what’s happening at the other end of the pitch, there’s pillars everywhere bar the North Terrace and the atmosphere from one end to other doesn’t travel at all.

It’s not something that will be sorted out until we have a new owner which we could be waiting another 10 years for, but until it is it will just carry on costing us tens of thousands each year to patch up as well as potentially putting off new fans - I mean there can’t be many neutrals who look at the place while driving down Somerset Road and think it looks an enticing place to spend their Saturday afternoon.

I’m not advocating building some soulless Lego shithole on the outskirts of town but we can’t keep plodding along with what we have for another decade.

[1nickydevlin]

I see your point .when driving past the sre it could be mistaken for an abandoned prison . As much as I love the place it really is a dump .sadly I don't see any major improvements in the future .

[Tam_O_Shanter]

Bit of an out the blue thought here spurred on by some posts on the St Johnstone match thread, but we really need some movement on the stadium over the next few years. I love Somerset but when you take the blinkered glasses off you realise that the terracing is crumbling around you and far too shallow to see what’s happening at the other end of the pitch, there’s pillars everywhere bar the North Terrace and the atmosphere from one end to other doesn’t travel at all.

It’s not something that will be sorted out until we have a new owner which we could be waiting another 10 years for, but until it is it will just carry on costing us tens of thousands each year to patch up as well as potentially putting off new fans - I mean there can’t be many neutrals who look at the place while driving down Somerset Road and think it looks an enticing place to spend their Saturday afternoon.

I’m not advocating building some soulless Lego shithole on the outskirts of town but we can’t keep plodding along with what we have for another decade.

 

Most games the crowd could be housed in the Main Stand and enclosure, that doesn't inspire anyone to chuck seven figures at a rebuild.  

 

 

[Iain]

1 hour ago, Tam_O_Shanter said:

Most games the crowd could be housed in the Main Stand and enclosure, that doesn't inspire anyone to chuck seven figures at a rebuild.  

 

 

If you build it, they will come.

[pandarilla]

Bit of an out the blue thought here spurred on by some posts on the St Johnstone match thread, but we really need some movement on the stadium over the next few years.
I love Somerset but when you take the blinkered glasses off you realise that the terracing is crumbling around you and far too shallow to see what’s happening at the other end of the pitch, there’s pillars everywhere bar the North Terrace and the atmosphere from one end to other doesn’t travel at all.
It’s not something that will be sorted out until we have a new owner which we could be waiting another 10 years for, but until it is it will just carry on costing us tens of thousands each year to patch up as well as potentially putting off new fans - I mean there can’t be many neutrals who look at the place while driving down Somerset Road and think it looks an enticing place to spend their Saturday afternoon.
I’m not advocating building some soulless Lego shithole on the outskirts of town but we can’t keep plodding along with what we have for another decade.

I'm torn, but i think I'm still on the side of retaining Somerset.

The devil is in the detail obviously, and so do we have financial breakdowns of the repairs, and a direct comparison with a new stadium? A kind of feasibility study. It could probably done voluntary by a fans group.

I love Somerset, and particularly the atmosphere on games like Saturday. The wind ruined it a bit and kept another 500 out so home fans away. That would've made a big difference i reckon. In the end it was a bit meh.

The other point i'd make is where is the money coming from? And even then it would have to be a cheap option - lego-like and soulless. To suggest anything else seems a bit fantasy land at the moment.

As much as he's an idiot sometimes chick young has a point about our ground being one of the last great stadiums. It is a monument to old style football and maybe there's something there we can monetise? I don't have any ideas though, but many away fans do like coming to us. That's for sure.

[jagfox]

[rb123!]

Is Graeme Miller out of a job yet lol

[ayrunitedfw]

7 minutes ago, jagfox99 said:

Ian McCall going to extreme lengths to get one over his former employers imo.

[paulbrucerick]

7 minutes ago, jagfox99 said:

Why didnt they just say that they had been hacked? 

[rb123!]

3 hours ago, eez-eh said:

Bit of an out the blue thought here spurred on by some posts on the St Johnstone match thread, but we really need some movement on the stadium over the next few years.

I love Somerset but when you take the blinkered glasses off you realise that the terracing is crumbling around you and far too shallow to see what’s happening at the other end of the pitch, there’s pillars everywhere bar the North Terrace and the atmosphere from one end to other doesn’t travel at all.

It’s not something that will be sorted out until we have a new owner which we could be waiting another 10 years for, but until it is it will just carry on costing us tens of thousands each year to patch up as well as potentially putting off new fans - I mean there can’t be many neutrals who look at the place while driving down Somerset Road and think it looks an enticing place to spend their Saturday afternoon.

I’m not advocating building some soulless Lego shithole on the outskirts of town but we can’t keep plodding along with what we have for another decade.

That hideous grey perimeter wall on the Somerset Road behind the SRE for starters is a horrendous sight, not helped by the rusty and collapsing metal looking chicken wire above to obviously stop balls going onto the road, that does resemble a prison perimeter lol.

Surely we could paint that wall black and white or get an artist to put murals up of our best moments in the clubs history, similar to what QOTS have outside their ground. However all it would take is some pleb to come along and put graffiti over it to ruin it all.

[D'Jaffo]

Mental that someone went to the bother of faking that and folk are actually believing it.

[paulbrucerick]

3 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

Mental that someone went to the bother of faking that and folk are actually believing it.

Happy to he whooshed here. I dont do twitter. Not real then!

Edit. It's just the second one is kinda believable 

Edited February 10, 2020 by paulbrucerick

[HeathrowAUFC]

If you’d asked me 10 years ago, I’d have bitten your hand off for a soulless Lego stadium on the edge of town but, my views have changed.

There’s a certain “charm” to Somerset which appeals to a great many but has obvious disadvantages at times, for both home & away supporters.

In the fullness of time, I’d love to see the main stand brought back to life and restored to its modern glory. I think there’s a case to be made for covering & seating the North terrace, perhaps raising the terrace at the Railway End to offer away supports a better vantage point, certainly increasing the incline to match the Somerset Road end.

As someone else has mentioned, the view of the ground from Somerset Road isn’t great, my wife thinks it’s a prison. That needs attention, maybe an Ayr United themed render but I don’t how that would go down with the residents on the street every time they opened their curtains each morning.

We want to retain the “charm” but offer a better experience for all. As ever, it all comes down to cash flow and it might not happen in the next 20 years but you’d like to think that the St Johnstone’s of this world will still generate one of their biggest away followings in years at the prospect of visiting the old lady for generations to come.

[LeodhasXD]

I saw that.

Point was aye, takes about a minute to fake.

Edited February 10, 2020 by LeodhasXD

[D'Jaffo]

I saw that.
Point was aye, takes about a minute to fake.

You saw my rash?

[LeodhasXD]

1 minute ago, D'Jaffo said:

You saw my rash?

Think it needs a professional opinion

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, HeathrowAUFC said:

If you’d asked me 10 years ago, I’d have bitten your hand off for a soulless Lego stadium on the edge of town but, my views have changed.

There’s a certain “charm” to Somerset which appeals to a great many but has obvious disadvantages at times, for both home & away supporters.

In the fullness of time, I’d love to see the main stand brought back to life and restored to its modern glory. I think there’s a case to be made for covering & seating the North terrace, perhaps raising the terrace at the Railway End to offer away supports a better vantage point, certainly increasing the incline to match the Somerset Road end.

As someone else has mentioned, the view of the ground from Somerset Road isn’t great, my wife thinks it’s a prison. That needs attention, maybe an Ayr United themed render but I don’t how that would go down with the residents on the street every time they opened their curtains each morning.

We want to retain the “charm” but offer a better experience for all. As ever, it all comes down to cash flow and it might not happen in the next 20 years but you’d like to think that the St Johnstone’s of this world will still generate one of their biggest away followings in years at the prospect of visiting the old lady for generations to come.

I'm sure we've had all these discussions on numerous occasions but the fact remains that there's nobody breaking their necks to appear with the candy to build a 6000+ all seated stadium.

Somerset is what it is, it's an old decaying football ground with history and character that serves the needs of a second (and sometimes third) tier Scottish football club who average under 2,000 of their own home supporters each week.

The view from either end behind the goals isn't great, however find me any ground that is. I've been in the bottom tier of the Broomloan at Ibrox and couldn't see a thing up the opposite end of the pitch and the same goes for EEP and any other ground in the country.

The facilities maybe aren't the greatest for modern standards, however we're only spending just over 1 and a half hours every fortnight there, so surely people can just accept it for what it is ? (Personally I'd always choose to stand anyway, when given the choice).

I suppose there's always the option of covering the NT and sticking in seats, similar to Fir park, EEP, Palmerston etc which could make a big difference but for me I'm happy with how it is and the state of the stadium would NEVER deter me from attending a match. 

I believe when you're at that stage then you're actively looking for reasons NOT to attend and as such are just using the stadium facilities / or lack of, as a convenient excuse............

[rb123!]

34 minutes ago, D'Jaffo said:

Mental that someone went to the bother of faking that and folk are actually believing it.

I believed it lol

[diegomarahenry]

Somerset is easy to get to for away fans, standing is a novelty to most club at this level and Ayr isn't a bad day out for fans. 

There has to be a happy medium though,having an old rustic ground with charm doesn't mean you have to piss in a hole in the ground, where the only flush mechanism is fresh urine pushing old urine away. The main stand is suitable to sit in up to 5'6" and 12 stone. The car park has massive pot-holes in it. 

You have to offer a decent match day experience, comfortable seating, covered standing etc. I've often wondered why the disabled fans are housed where they are (other than the obvious access) and not in front of hospitality for example. 

There is room to improve Somerset without losing the rustic charm but it would take a lot of funding. The whole banking where the toilet portacabin is, is wasted space that could be developed in some way, the main stand could be modernised or re-built not the Newton yard is shut. 

Unless there is a sports grant or a fan wins Euromillions it can't happen. There would need to be a return, a way of making money out of development.  Like Kilmarnock and the Park Hotel. But we have Western House and the Racecourse across the road so there would be no market for one. 

I think it may be small improvements year after year.