As promised here is Barry McKenzies view on the debacle at Rodney Parade on Saturday evening.

I made the trip up from London with 3 others. We stayed in Cardiff and had a few beers in the Walkabout on Saturday before making our way to Newport at about 4.

First impressions of Newport. Not very good. Whole place looked a bit run down and the river would make the Thames look clean.

Ground itself. Rodney Parade looks NOTHING in person like it does on photos!! Millenium Stadium, ANZ, SFS...this place is definately nothing to write home about. We sat in the Hazell stand. To our right was the 'hospitality boxes' ....a structure that looked like it should have been condemned in 1943. The Pitch looked in good condition and the playing surface was good.

The announcer told everyone to prepare themselves for the 'loud pyrotechnic bang' from the pre match fireworks. This involved some bloke with a trolley with what looked like a mortar on the back wheeling it onto the pitch and setting it off when the Crusaders ran on.

That was as good as it got.

Leeds scored soon after kick off. Then they scored again. And again. And again. And....well I think you get the picture.

The crowd...I suspect it was well short of the 7000 plus that people promised. In front of us were about 20 Welsh fans chanting 'Sheep Sheep Sheep Shaggers' ....for about 15 mins. Then like the rest of the crowd...they got bored.

We got talking to a few Newport Gwent Dragons Union fans that had been given free tickets to swell the crowd a bit.

None of the ones I spoke to would want to come back again.

As everyone expected Celtic got a horrendous flogging. It reminded me of a typical Australia v England/GB test. So incredibly one sided.

If the idea of this was to make people turn up again....it wont happen.

This game has effectively finished Celtic as a footy club.

Shame really, but there it is.


The weekend wasn't wasted though as I pulled a cracking sheila from Magor

And what a good review it was to barry top marks

Barry, how did you discover the cure to loving off and dying?

Good review bazza.....
One thing though. The RFL will continue with the Welsh experiment and as we have shown in London...crowds aren't as important as getting a production line in place. The only way The Crusaders will fold is if LS gets bored of throwing his cash at them and nobody else steps in.

Even then the SL could always pass the hat round for Celtic , they had a tarpaulin muster for London some years back to see them through (another) difficult time.

I was only stating a way that had been used before to keep a club afloat.

Celtic can only be fairly assessed after their first 3 year franchise.
It was obvious things would not be easy to start and then sustain a club in a 'non heartland' area.

I remember the geniune excitement at the start of Fulham and their opening victory over Wigan , though these sentimments have not been quite so replicated with Celtic and their entry into SL.

wow what a bullshitter you are. I kinda hope our club does collapse so we dont ever get visited by you again. It would be worth it.

Barry_McKenzie wrote:As promised here is Barry McKenzies view on the debacle at Rodney Parade on Saturday evening. I made the trip up from London with 3 others. We stayed in Cardiff and had a few beers in the Walkabout on Saturday before making our way to Newport at about 4. First impressions of Newport. Not very good. Whole place looked a bit run down and the river would make the Thames look clean. Ground itself. Rodney Parade looks NOTHING in person like it does on photos!! Millenium Stadium, ANZ, SFS...this place is definately nothing to write home about. We sat in the Hazell stand. To our right was the 'hospitality boxes' ....a structure that looked like it should have been condemned in 1943. The Pitch looked in good condition and the playing surface was good. The announcer told everyone to prepare themselves for the 'loud pyrotechnic bang' from the pre match fireworks. This involved some bloke with a trolley with what looked like a mortar on the back wheeling it onto the pitch and setting it off when the Crusaders ran on. That was as good as it got. Leeds scored soon after kick off. Then they scored again. And again. And again. And....well I think you get the picture. The crowd...I suspect it was well short of the 7000 plus that people promised. In front of us were about 20 Welsh fans chanting 'Sheep Sheep Sheep Shaggers' ....for about 15 mins. Then like the rest of the crowd...they got bored. We got talking to a few Newport Gwent Dragons Union fans that had been given free tickets to swell the crowd a bit. None of the ones I spoke to would want to come back again. As everyone expected Celtic got a horrendous flogging. It reminded me of a typical Australia v England/GB test. So incredibly one sided. If the idea of this was to make people turn up again....it wont happen. This game has effectively finished Celtic as a footy club. Shame really, but there it is. The weekend wasn't wasted though as I pulled a cracking sheila from Magor http://draggedup.co.uk/chat/viewtopic.php?t=1294 It seems more Dragons fans enjoyed their experience than not, but we'll believe you if it makes you feel important and all conquering.

Barry_McKenzie wrote:As promised here is Barry McKenzies view on the debacle at Rodney Parade on Saturday evening. I made the trip up from London with 3 others. We stayed in Cardiff and had a few beers in the Walkabout on Saturday before making our way to Newport at about 4. First impressions of Newport. Not very good. Whole place looked a bit run down and the river would make the Thames look clean. Ground itself. Rodney Parade looks NOTHING in person like it does on photos!! Millenium Stadium, ANZ, SFS...this place is definately nothing to write home about. We sat in the Hazell stand. To our right was the 'hospitality boxes' ....a structure that looked like it should have been condemned in 1943. The Pitch looked in good condition and the playing surface was good. The announcer told everyone to prepare themselves for the 'loud pyrotechnic bang' from the pre match fireworks. This involved some bloke with a trolley with what looked like a mortar on the back wheeling it onto the pitch and setting it off when the Crusaders ran on. That was as good as it got. Leeds scored soon after kick off. Then they scored again. And again. And again. And....well I think you get the picture. The crowd...I suspect it was well short of the 7000 plus that people promised. In front of us were about 20 Welsh fans chanting 'Sheep Sheep Sheep Shaggers' ....for about 15 mins. Then like the rest of the crowd...they got bored. We got talking to a few Newport Gwent Dragons Union fans that had been given free tickets to swell the crowd a bit. None of the ones I spoke to would want to come back again. As everyone expected Celtic got a horrendous flogging. It reminded me of a typical Australia v England/GB test. So incredibly one sided. If the idea of this was to make people turn up again....it wont happen. This game has effectively finished Celtic as a footy club. Shame really, but there it is. The weekend wasn't wasted though as I pulled a cracking sheila from Magor http://draggedup.co.uk/chat/viewtopic.php?t=1294 It seems more Dragons fans enjoyed their experience than not, but we'll believe you if it makes you feel important and all conquering.

Have you actually read any of those threads??

Looks like most confirm my points.

1. There was a big explosion before the game

2. Crusaders got flogged

3. The Union crowd generally were not impressed

4. Newport is run down and in need of regeneration.