Keeping the faith
Date published: 16 February 2011
LATICS may have suffered a blip last night in their quest for the play-offs, but fans are still confident Paul Dickov can steer the club to glory by the end of the season.
In a bid to give the team a much-needed boost, local businesses donated money to allow the club to charge £2 for entry to last night’s clash with Carlisle.
Reporter DAWN MARSDEN spoke to fans to see what they thought of the cut-price admission fee.
Paul Scholes (no — not that one!) — brought his 11-year-old son Ryan to Boundary Park, even though the pair are Manchester United fans.
He said: “My son plays for Heyside Angels.
“They are going on the pitch at half-time so I decided to come along and watch Latics.
“I am a United fan and this is my first time at Boundary Park.
“If I see some decent football tonight I’ll consider coming back in the future.
“The £2 offer is definitely a good way of getting more people to come to the game.”
Nathan Paddington, Steven Thompson and Anthony Williamson attend every home game.
They said: “We are all regulars but the £2 entry is good for the club and the community. I hope people like what they see and the lads put in a good performance. I think we’ll get more coming to home games.
“I think we’ll end up in a play-off place. We are taking it slow and steady and making our way to the finish line.”
Cricketer Cec Wright, a regular at Boundary Park since 1959, dyed his trademark silver hair blue for the occasion.
He said: “The £2 entry is a brilliant idea. I think it will encourage lots of people to come and then hopefully come back.
“I wouldn’t like to guess where we’ll end up at the end of the season but I’m hoping for a play-off place. Fingers crossed.”
The Fielding family braved the cold to take advantage of the cut-price admission fee.
Boundary Park regulars Andy, who’s been watching Latics for 40 years, and daughter Kathryn (a fan of 18 years) said: “They can’t do £2 entry every week but it’s great as a one-off.
“It’s a good way of getting people to come and watch the boys. It’s brilliant to fill the place up especially when we’re doing so well. I hope it will encourage more people to come to home games in the future when they have to pay £20 to get in.”
Mum Jan and daughter Alison don’t come to Boundary Park very often but say they could be persuaded to make it a regular family outing.
They said: “We’ve been before but we don’t come every week. If it wasn’t £2 we wouldn’t be here to be honest. It’s a really good idea and should definitely get a few more people through the turnstiles.”
