Archived News from July 2005
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ROTHERHAM PREVIEW
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STAGS VOW: NO REPEAT OF TICKET DEBACLE
Evening Post, 29 July 2005 MARK ROACH Mansfield Town are confident the ticket problems which affected this week's friendly against Sheffield Wednesday will not be repeated tomorrow. Even the Stags' official website referred to Wednesday's ticket arrangements as a "debacle" and apologised to fans affected by the fiasco. Safety officer John Sidney expects the ground to be back to capacity in time for the first home League Two game of the season, against Rushden & Diamonds on August 9. "Wednesday night was a one-off," he said. "Fearing it might be a sell-out, the local authority and police requested that it was all ticket and we agreed reluctantly. "The day before, ticket sales had only reached 1,300 so we asked to be able to sell on the night. "The police stepped in and said they didn't want disgruntled fans outside the ground. "At the 11th hour, the local authority let us sell tickets on the night. "I asked what the position is with tomorrow's game and they told me that the attendance restrictions are still in place. "But we can run the match as normal. We don't feel we'll get near capacity, so tickets can be purchased on the turnstiles. "We won't have the same problem tomorrow as we did for the Sheffield Wednesday game. "We haven't got restrictions on tickets. It's not an all-ticket game. "If we do get to capacity for the away end, we've got a contingency plan. There's an overspill area we can use." Player-manager Carlton Palmer is able to select from a near full-strength squad for Mansfield's final pre-season game before the season kicks off at Stockport on August 6. Hamstring injury victim Des Walker is expected to be the only absentee. Palmer is looking forward to having selection problems this season. The Stags boss said: "I want to have the same problem I have now which is that, with one or two exceptions, I really don't know my starting line-up yet. "It's a lovely headache to have and there will definitely be some very disappointed people come 3pm at Stockport. "Myself, Peter Shirtliff and the chairman have worked really hard to put us in this position. "Now I have to pick 11 of them for Stockport which is going to be a very close call. "We will pick a team to beat Stockport rather than what is necessarily our best XI. "All 20 players will travel up to Stockport together on the coach. That's how we are doing it." |
Latest | July 2005