The Ultimate Super Ayr Thread

[BukyOHare]

11 hours ago, WATTOO said:

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............

You've basically answered your own question. 

My gut instinct would be to stay where we are and make any improvements required from there, depending on where we find ourselves in the next season or two, could have a major bearing on our direction of travel. 

Plenty of regrets from teams that move up and out to new builds, it rarely works out for the better. 

Anyway without any construction background or experience, here's my David Smith led and funded blueprint for the future:

I always wondered if a rail halt of some sort could have been incorporated behind the railway end. Used only on matchdays and make things a bit easier getting into and out if the ground for home and away fans. 

Our  e-ticket option could be included along with the travel ticket for one price and we arrange with Scotrail how they get their percentage. 

The North terracing has plenty of scope for a structure of some sort, perhaps incorporating the hospitality suite and upper level seats above it, keeping the terracing or part of it, currently there and having the stand roof meeting both terracing roofs from behind both goals to avoid having gaps at the corners.

Seating in behind both goals but incorporating the current roofs that are in place. 

I don't know the ownership of the land that used to be Walkers yard or what's currently there but always thought there were options there for a leisure facility and/ or business / office units / workshops. Especially if you can get NHS, the council or other major bodies along with others on board to take up residence. Regular income and just a busier area generally on non matchdays is vital. People working there might be encouraged along for home games. 

Get some additional car parking in there, new toilet blocks around the ground and a proper club office that could back onto the North side of the ground. 

Old grounds can be upgraded but without the need for soulless lego bricks in their place, Luton, Brentford or Fulham prime examples.

That would be my hope, along with a purpose built training facility on the edge of town that could incorporate the Academy sides and help build ties with local clubs of all levels in the game by providing them with top notch training facilities.

If people train at our branded  facilities and build up a regular affinity then they're likelier to attend at home games as well, certainly opportunities to target. 

Kids games and/or club coach led training late morning / early afternoon, a bit of lunch laid on and then minibus them and their parents to home games. Adults games as well if there's a demand. All priced attractively for all concerned and helping to promote a healthy lifestyle and attendance at home games. 

A new direction and breath of fresh Ayr is definitely required, a semi drastic makeover and new facilities can go a long way to making up for lost time, but certainly get us heading in the right direction. Opportunities that Somerset, sadly in its current guise, can't give us as it stands. 

The club can even have the marketing slogan for free as well.

"Where old meets new. United." 

Edited February 11, 2020 by BukyOHare

[eez-eh]

Staying at Somerset is definitely the preferred option. There’s been a bunch of wee improvements made over the last few years but nothing near the scale of what will be needed at some point in the not too distant future.

Pretty much the entire ground would need revamped. I think ideally you’d revamp the main stand, extending it along the whole side of the pitch and moving the pitch north to give room for more seating and stuff like hospitality (it’s really bizarre that our hospitality is in its own stand-alone building opposite the main stand).

That would still leave you with 3 sides of terracing but they’d need to be steeper and in a far better state of repair and actually have proper toilets (what a luxury that would be). Not to mention some work on the perimeter walls to get rid of the prison look. A lot of people talk about getting a roof over the north terrace but that doesn’t really bother me as I like being out there on a dry day.

f**k it, let’s all start a syndicate for the lottery.

[RandomGuy.]

12 hours ago, HeathrowAUFC said:

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.

We've taken more to Aberdeen and Dundee recently...

Regardless, if you got promoted for instance, I doubt youd see our support be near that size by the end. It was nothing more than a novelty to be behind a goal in terracing with a huge cup support. Most Saints fans missed half the action as they couldnt see the pitch, the "facilities" in terms of the toilets were dreadful, and the wee burger van is proper diddy stuff.

I loved the day out to Somerset, but 95% of that was the crowd I was in, and 5% was due to it being my first visit. 

I dont know what your answer is, I dont visit your ground nearly enough to have any real opinion on it, but from a visiting fans view, it's not a ground I'd go out my way to go to a couple of times a season.

[Richey Edwards]

[super_carson]

Fake tweet bants, top quality stuff.

[Guest]

14 hours ago, BukyOHare said:

You've basically answered your own question. 

My gut instinct would be to stay where we are and make any improvements required from there, depending on where we find ourselves in the next season or two, could have a major bearing on our direction of travel. 

Plenty of regrets from teams that move up and out to new builds, it rarely works out for the better. 

Anyway without any construction background or experience, here's my David Smith led and funded blueprint for the future:

I always wondered if a rail halt of some sort could have been incorporated behind the railway end. Used only on matchdays and make things a bit easier getting into and out if the ground for home and away fans. 

Our  e-ticket option could be included along with the travel ticket for one price and we arrange with Scotrail how they get their percentage. 

The North terracing has plenty of scope for a structure of some sort, perhaps incorporating the hospitality suite and upper level seats above it, keeping the terracing or part of it, currently there and having the stand roof meeting both terracing roofs from behind both goals to avoid having gaps at the corners.

Seating in behind both goals but incorporating the current roofs that are in place. 

I don't know the ownership of the land that used to be Walkers yard or what's currently there but always thought there were options there for a leisure facility and/ or business / office units / workshops. Especially if you can get NHS, the council or other major bodies along with others on board to take up residence. Regular income and just a busier area generally on non matchdays is vital. People working there might be encouraged along for home games. 

Get some additional car parking in there, new toilet blocks around the ground and a proper club office that could back onto the North side of the ground. 

Old grounds can be upgraded but without the need for soulless lego bricks in their place, Luton, Brentford or Fulham prime examples.

That would be my hope, along with a purpose built training facility on the edge of town that could incorporate the Academy sides and help build ties with local clubs of all levels in the game by providing them with top notch training facilities.

If people train at our branded  facilities and build up a regular affinity then they're likelier to attend at home games as well, certainly opportunities to target. 

Kids games and/or club coach led training late morning / early afternoon, a bit of lunch laid on and then minibus them and their parents to home games. Adults games as well if there's a demand. All priced attractively for all concerned and helping to promote a healthy lifestyle and attendance at home games. 

A new direction and breath of fresh Ayr is definitely required, a semi drastic makeover and new facilities can go a long way to making up for lost time, but certainly get us heading in the right direction. Opportunities that Somerset, sadly in its current guise, can't give us as it stands. 

The club can even have the marketing slogan for free as well.

"Where old meets new. United." 

Good post and some very good ideas, I just can't help but think that we're also a victim of macro and geographic economics with South Ayrshire not exactly being perceived as a hive of activity or attractive investment location at the moment.

The likes of North Lanarkshire, Lothian and parts of Fife would appear to be the popular areas and again that's something hugely against us and one which we have little control over.

God knows Ayr and Ayrshire could do with some major regeneration and it would be ideal if our football club could play a major role within this, but as I say I just can't see it happening anytime soon with either private or public money being spent..........

[ayrunitedfw]

Ross Docherty out for up to 6 weeks with Hamstring injury. 

[D'Jaffo]

Ross Docherty out for up to 6 weeks with Hamstring injury. 

He was doing quite well this season in avoiding injuries. It’s a blow for us as he’s done well despite the pre contract situation.

[BukyOHare]

15 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Ross Docherty out for up to 6 weeks with Hamstring injury. 

Not as big a blow with Malley, Gillespie, Kerr and two returnees (dependent on their rehab) in Murdoch and Geggan to also play in there. 

If it is 6 weeks that also means a fit and energised Doc coming back for what could be a vital stage of the season. 

[Thumper]

the only thing wrong with Somerset (other than its poor access to public transport, shops and beer) is that the hospitality is limited and the north terrace is a wasteland after August. Neither of these things are remotely easy to fix, but doing so would be far more valuable than nonsense like e.g. putting seats in the SRE.

[rb123!]

1 hour ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Ross Docherty out for up to 6 weeks with Hamstring injury. 

Ffs

[itzdrk]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

the only thing wrong with Somerset (other than its poor access to public transport, shops and beer) is that the hospitality is limited and the north terrace is a wasteland after August. Neither of these things are remotely easy to fix, but doing so would be far more valuable than nonsense like e.g. putting seats in the SRE.

Being able to stand out there away from most of our support is not to be sniffed at. 

[UpInTheAyr]

Shoulda sold Doc last month.

[Trogdor]

6 minutes ago, UpInTheAyr said:

Shoulda sold Doc last month.

[Trogdor]

10 minutes ago, itzdrk said:

Being able to stand out there away from most of our support is not to be sniffed at. 

Yep, I quite enjoy being out on the north terrace. Only time I get frustrated with the north terrace is when some knob chucks chips and you get dive bombed by seagulls! 

[ayrunitedfw]

12 minutes ago, UpInTheAyr said:

Shoulda sold Doc last month.

Not for me. I don’t want to be helping McCall in any way, shape or form. 

[itzdrk]

2 hours ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Ross Docherty out for up to 6 weeks with Hamstring injury. 

Blow to our title challenge 

[UpInTheAyr]

15 minutes ago, ayrunitedfw said:

Not for me. I don’t want to be helping McCall in any way, shape or form. 

He'd have ended up injured under McCall at some point too, so not much of a help.

[RedEd]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

the only thing wrong with Somerset (other than its poor access to public transport, shops and beer) is that the hospitality is limited and the north terrace is a wasteland after August. Neither of these things are remotely easy to fix, but doing so would be far more valuable than nonsense like e.g. putting seats in the SRE.

Poor access to public transport? Couple of minutes walk to Whitletts Road, which has loads of buses going up and down it, and fairly close to Newton on Ayr station. Come to think of it Ayr station is a lot closer to Somerset than other grounds are to the stations in their respective towns.

[HMIP]

3 hours ago, BukyOHare said:

Not as big a blow with Malley, Gillespie, Kerr and two returnees (dependent on their rehab) in Murdoch and Geggan to also play in there. 

If it is 6 weeks that also means a fit and energised Doc coming back for what could be a vital stage of the season. 

Gillespie looked miles off the pace on Saturday.  Hopefully he can find some match fitness and quickly.  We obviously haven’t seen Malley, but suggestion is he is an attacking midfielder.  Geggan was quoted as being out for 3 months which would put him out until the beginning of April.  News on Murdoch is encouraging, but initial expectation was that he’d be out for the season and I would be surprised if that has really changed.

To put it another way, losing Docherty for 6 weeks is a huge blow.