Match Preview/Thread - Airdrieonians vs Morton (Playoff Final 18th/21st May)

[so72]

57 minutes ago, LargsTON said:

Great performance but myself and a mate decided to leave at HT after being continually harassed for not wearing our mask in the WDE whilst sitting down, socially distanced, outdoor and as I pointed out being vaccinated too.  Maybe petty on my part for being so stubborn but no offence was being committed and I like to have principles that I stand by.   It's been a pretty horrific year for the country and last night should've been enjoyable but thanks to the appalling attitude of the stewards it's left me disliking the club even more than I do already.  Fuck off Morton.

Were the club not just following the guidance laid out to them? Have seen masks at the other clubs' games too.

[LargsTON]

2 minutes ago, so72 said:

Were the club not just following the guidance laid out to them? Have seen masks at the other clubs' games too.

I don't give a shit what guidance they were or weren't following.   It was needless and no offence was being committed.  Anyone trying to endorse or defend such actions is just as bad.  I certainly won't be at games next season if this is the new norm.

[AyrshireTon]

I did wonder why masks were needed for fans sitting in an open end of the ground.

Anyway - did not see that coming after the defeat at Montrose. Airdrie were poor and clearly knackered. Great to be back at Scapa.

The behind the scenes stuff needs to happen ASAP before we're left hoovering up the players that the other full time teams don't want.

[The Bewilderedbeast]

I just watched the game back, fast forwarded to interviews and goals.

What a strike for the first goal, when you see it from the different angles it gets better every time.

I noticed from the bits I did watch that the commentary was about 50/50 Gaelic and English which was a lot better. Maybe something Alba should consider for the future. However, I'm aware that the channel is there to promote the language, so maybe not.

 

[EanieMeany]

On 5/19/2021 at 4:41 PM, EanieMeany said:

The only excellent thing Muirhead will do for Morton is leave.

Credit where it’s due...a very excellent performance indeed from Robbie last night, and from the team overall.

[SpoonTon]

2 hours ago, LargsTON said:

Great performance but myself and a mate decided to leave at HT after being continually harassed for not wearing our mask in the WDE whilst sitting down, socially distanced, outdoor and as I pointed out being vaccinated too.  Maybe petty on my part for being so stubborn but no offence was being committed and I like to have principles that I stand by.   It's been a pretty horrific year for the country and last night should've been enjoyable but thanks to the appalling attitude of the stewards it's left me disliking the club even more than I do already.  Fuck off Morton.

I think you're being a bit too proud for your own good there, to be honest. 

The rules are strong, and are very general so look especially strong when you're out in the open like in the WDE, but what choice does the club have but to enforce them? The club would be silly to be shown to openly allow fans not to follow the rules, especially in the first game back with fans. 

I have to wear a mask every day when I do the school runs. It's completely unnecessary, I don't come anywhere near anyone else most of the time, but who cares? It's no skin off my nose. I could make a stand on principle, but it's not going to make me any happier or change anything. 

I mean, fair enough, it's your choice. If that's what brings you contentment, then I get why you'd stand by that. And stewards can often by overeager and less than sensitive, so it's easy to get annoyed. But I wouldn't let that get in the way of enjoying a rare recent Morton moment to be enjoyed - that's me, not you, I suppose.  

[irnbru]

2 hours ago, LargsTON said:

I don't give a shit what guidance they were or weren't following.   It was needless and no offence was being committed.  Anyone trying to endorse or defend such actions is just as bad.  I certainly won't be at games next season if this is the new norm.

The offence of going against league rules to have games on? 

[GiGi]

4 hours ago, LargsTON said:

I don't give a shit what guidance they were or weren't following.   It was needless and no offence was being committed.  Anyone trying to endorse or defend such actions is just as bad.  I certainly won't be at games next season if this is the new norm.

The car park looked a better laugh anyway.

[Mr.Blue]

5 hours ago, LargsTON said:

I don't give a shit what guidance they were or weren't following.   It was needless and no offence was being committed.  Anyone trying to endorse or defend such actions is just as bad.  I certainly won't be at games next season if this is the new norm.

Yeah and if we all decided to adopt that stance then the club would have no doubt gotten into bother. Also the guidance is in place for a reason. Why should you be an exception to the rules?

[LargsTON]

47 minutes ago, Mr.Blue said:

Yeah and if we all decided to adopt that stance then the club would have no doubt gotten into bother. Also the guidance is in place for a reason. Why should you be an exception to the rules?

Gotten into bother with whom exactly?  If the SFA tried to impose some kind of fine or the like it'd be laughed out of court.   I wear a mask at work all day and in any enclosed spaces as everyone should but asking people to wear one outdoors, in the open air should've been at the discretion of the individual.  You honestly think anyone watching last night would've given a shit who was wearing one anyway?  Course not.  Most folk I saw had them under their chin or below their nose anyway which is basically the same as pulling your pants up to your balls and leaving your cock hanging out.  It was far more enjoyable watching the second half in the pub/hill than inside the ground.  

[vikingTON]

At the moment the stewards are going to have management ready to give them a bollocking for not imposing it, and the government with its psycho advisors trying to enforce it as well. For one game only I can put up with it, but all of the measures last night (other than sanitiser being there, which is a token effort but better than the old freezing water/no soap setup) are unsustainable on a regular basis.

The question is whether they can just be chucked in the bin from the off next season, or whether like standing at an all-seater ground it will take years of attrition and confrontation until everyone involved in policing fan behaviour chucks in the towel. 

[LargsTON]

1 minute ago, vikingTON said:

At the moment the stewards are going to have management ready to give them a bollocking for not imposing it, and the government with its psycho advisors trying to enforce it as well. For one game only I can put up with it, but all of the measures last night (other than sanitiser being there, which is a token effort but better than the old freezing water/no soap setup) are unsustainable on a regular basis.

The question is whether they can just be chucked in the bin from the off next season, or whether like standing at an all-seater ground it will take years of attrition and confrontation until everyone involved in policing fan behaviour chucks in the towel. 

Without getting too political all restrictions should be chucked in the bin as soon as the country is vaccinated.   Wearing a mask on the WDE shouldn't have even been in force at the height of covid, let alone last night.  You won't get a scientist on the planet believing there was even a miniscule risk not doing so.  Common sense has to prevail at some point and that time has long since passed.  The pandemic is over in this country and its time those in power acknowledged that and stopped acting like it's still May 2020 and we don't have vaccines that have exceeded all expectations.  A vaccine that has smoked all these so called variants despite the continued hysteria across the various media platforms.  There's ZERO justification for mask wearing in grounds next season. 

[astuartm]

24 minutes ago, LargsTON said:

Gotten into bother with whom exactly?  If the SFA tried to impose some kind of fine or the like it'd be laughed out of court.   I wear a mask at work all day and in any enclosed spaces as everyone should but asking people to wear one outdoors, in the open air should've been at the discretion of the individual.  You honestly think anyone watching last night would've given a shit who was wearing one anyway?  Course not.  Most folk I saw had them under their chin or below their nose anyway which is basically the same as pulling your pants up to your balls and leaving your cock hanging out.  It was far more enjoyable watching the second half in the pub/hill than inside the ground.  

Did you not sign up to it when you bought your ticket?

[LargsTON]

6 minutes ago, astuartm said:

Did you not sign up to it when you bought your ticket?

Yeah I skimmed over it but I expected a bit of common sense to occur.   There's a flimsy arguement for wearing one in the stand but in the open air where there's zero threat of transmission?  Give me a break.  I wore one when going to the toilet etc which is still too much but sitting beside my mate who I work with and travelled with?  

[vikingTON]

There are plenty of things that you 'sign up to' under the regulations in a normal league game, that are correctly filed in the bin. Such as the all-seater pish that took years to hound out of the practice of stewarding. 

I don't think that the club can do much about it, other than to lobby for the SPFL to make a much stronger stand on this going forward. It's in the vital interests of the clubs to get these restrictions panned though because if they're still in place next season then it's going to pose a genuine threat to their business model. 

[pink_panther]

I'm sure somebody would have been delighted to take your place last night. Yes the rules are shit but its the rules they had to adhere to

[LargsTON]

2 minutes ago, pink_panther said:

I'm sure somebody would have been delighted to take your place last night. Yes the rules are shit but its the rules they had to adhere to

They could've turned a blind eye and nobody would've batted an eyelid.  You know that and I know that.  

[HamCam]

Given the lack of flexibility from the powers that be over fans attending sport, I suspect the club did not want to give anyone the opportunity to point the finger at a lack of compliance with the rules. For me it was a price worth paying to allow more folk to watch in the WDE. I do however think it is over the top to insist on masks, in the open air, when folk are socially distanced. 

[Mr.Blue]

2 hours ago, LargsTON said:

Gotten into bother with whom exactly?  If the SFA tried to impose some kind of fine or the like it'd be laughed out of court.   I wear a mask at work all day and in any enclosed spaces as everyone should but asking people to wear one outdoors, in the open air should've been at the discretion of the individual.  You honestly think anyone watching last night would've given a shit who was wearing one anyway?  Course not.  Most folk I saw had them under their chin or below their nose anyway which is basically the same as pulling your pants up to your balls and leaving your cock hanging out.  It was far more enjoyable watching the second half in the pub/hill than inside the ground.  

Maybe better staying in the pub/ hill then.

[TRVMP]

2 hours ago, HamCam said:

Given the lack of flexibility from the powers that be over fans attending sport, I suspect the club did not want to give anyone the opportunity to point the finger at a lack of compliance with the rules. For me it was a price worth paying to allow more folk to watch in the WDE. I do however think it is over the top to insist on masks, in the open air, when folk are socially distanced. 

That's my take on it too. Of course there'll be some jobsworths who just like to tell people what to do. But the club may well feel like they need to dot the i's and cross the t's to show the government they're taking it all seriously. 

But LT's broader point is correct. It's madness, utter madness, to have folk masked up in an open-air environment. We need to acknowledge that from a public health perspective it is better, way better, to have people out in the fresh air than cooped up in their houses (or the pub, for that matter.) And the mask fixation is getting in the way of that.