The big screen

The piece in Saturday's programme about the Big Screen shows just how parlous the club's financial situation still is, although it is understandable that resources should be concentrated on the pitch which is where it really matters. Incidentally, nothing that follows represents a criticism of the Bream Team and the excellent work done by them and their feesh (who I haven't seen recently so perhaps they are victims of financial cutbacks).

It appears that the big screen has been there for about ten years and is showing its age, as has been evident for some time. The cells in it are particularly vulnerable to cold weather and are expensive to replace. Hence the idea of closing down the bottom part of the screen and using spare cells from there as replacements. It also soumds a bit desperate, but needs must.

One wonders if a commercial sponsor could not be found for the big screen, but this is not easy in a recession. One could also ask fans to sponsor a cell, but probably the costs of organising such a scheme would be too great. Moreover, one consequence of the staff cutbacks at The Valley is that we don't have the staff to organise sponsorship any more.

Looking back on Saturday's match, the most exciting event was the arrival of David Gold in his Rolls which I witnessed, not realising who was inside. Could he be our saviour? A controversial figure but he and Karen Brady did a decent job at the Blews. They didn't exactly splash the cash, but that has never been the Charlton way.