Long Distance Rep

NUFC Fans' Forum rep for Long Distance Fans. Stadium & Matchday Focus Group rep. Debut thriller #TheBigFix shortlisted in Best Adult Fiction London Book Fair 22

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

Right #nufc fans, I need some positive vibes from you all today. My 1st ever novel is up for a national award at #LondonBookFair

Send me some luck please!! It’s amazing to be shortlisted, but would be INCREDIBLE to win.

🤞🤞🤞

[Jill Morris - Author @JMorrisAuthor]

The day has arrived! En route to London for the @LondonBookFair & this afternoon’s #selfiesawards2022 with @BookBrunch

Excited ✅ Nervous ✅ Eagerly anticipating ✅

Keep everything crossed for me & my debut #TheBigFix

#thriller #footballfiction #debutauthor

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@colinwashbourne John Terry maybe?

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@colinwashbourne @jimscottphoto Springtime in the south of France 😀

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend It doesn’t open until 4pm. So I watched the 2nd half, had another pint, and then a quick change before heading out for the night. So almost!!!

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend Final night in south of France. So obviously I’m watching el Classico 🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend Ha ha, that looks class, but I’ve never seen it before.

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@stevewallwork Currently watching karaoke in the sun with the locals. It’s entertaining at least but I think they could do with a rendition of the Blaydon Races…. 🤣🤣
Hopefully for their sake, Barjoe opens soon 🤣🏴🏳️

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

After 12 games on the trot, today’s the first game I’m missing since Man City away. At which point, I couldn’t even walk after my accident in Baku.

Nottingham v south of France?
Still think I’m winning 🤣
Although the sports bar doesn’t open til 4pm (& ko is 3pm) ☹️
#NUFC 🏴🏳️

[WH Fan Place @WestHamPlace]

Neutral fans - VOTE NOW!

Who do YOU want to win on Sunday?

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@stevewallwork Enjoy!!!

Barjoe in Beziers for me.
Will be hammering the door down at half time 🤣🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@Mr_Perrins13 @northumbriana @NUFC But, if I remember correctly, Bobby didn’t want to play him? Was this the World Cup where Wilkins sending off changed everything?

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@bensprattjourn Jesus, I’ll get on the gin now 🤣🤣🤣

[Aston Villa Updates @avfcbreaking]

There was a time when a European final belonged to the supporters who dragged their club there.

Not anymore.

When Aston Villa were handed roughly 11,000 tickets for a Europa League final in a 70,000-plus stadium, the number itself told the story. UEFA can package the event however it likes — “festival of football”, “European showpiece”, “global celebration” — but the modern European final is no longer built around supporters. It is built around clients.

The supporters fund the journey. The corporates inherit the destination.

Villa fans will have spent thousands following the club across Europe. Flights, hotels, time off work, loyalty schemes built over years. Yet when the final arrives, huge sections of the stadium are reserved for sponsors, hospitality guests, executives, delegates and “neutral” allocations that often end up on resale sites within hours.

And supporters are expected to accept it.

UEFA’s defence is familiar. Sponsors fund competitions. Broadcasters need space. Hospitality drives revenue. All true. But football crossed a line when the event surrounding the final became more important than the supporters inside it.

The optics are awful because fans can see it themselves.

A finalist gets 11,000 tickets while corporate packages costing thousands remain available. Genuine supporters scramble through ballots with lottery-like odds, while neutral areas fill with tourists taking photos during the warm-up.

And UEFA wonders why resentment grows.

Supporters are constantly called “the lifeblood of the game” until ticket allocations are discussed. Then they become an inconvenience to work around premium inventory.

Football did not become Europe’s dominant sport because sponsors created atmosphere. The noise, colour and emotion UEFA sells globally every season is generated by match-going supporters — the same people increasingly pushed aside at the biggest games.

The “neutral fan” concept is perhaps the biggest fiction of all. In theory it promotes access. In reality it fuels resale markets, inflated prices and thousands travelling ticketless out of desperation.

UEFA could change it tomorrow. Finalists could receive 70 per cent of the stadium combined. Corporate sections could shrink. Hospitality would still exist.

But that would mean sacrificing revenue.

And modern football has shown repeatedly which side wins that argument.
#AVFC #scfreiburg

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend And now the kids are completely baffled 🤣🤣🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend Such a loss to the younger generation 🤣🤣🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend Is that in the loft?!!

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend I don’t think I’ve heard of that.
Although Wor Kev was a right old crooner back in the day 🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend Here you go! 🤣🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend I’ve probably got it in my photo library 🤣 bear with me until I finish my meal!

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend I’m currently in the south of France, so can’t dig mine out until I get home! 🤣

[Long Distance Rep @NUFC_Exiles]

@carl_greener @NE5westend I’ve still got the single 🤣