How Would You Feel If Myfootballclub Pulled Out?

[Del_Boy]

Hello all. Just wanted to judge current feeling towards the proposed takeover with a quick question...

 

Now people are getting used to the takeover, and beginning to realise the potential on offer, how would you feel if the deal fell through now? Dissapointed? Relieved? Something else?

 

 

[David Holden]

Absolutely delighted

[Hempstead Gaz]

Mixed feelings now. The club will have gained some useful training ground equipment, and the "regular" fans who opposed the deal will feel fully justified.

As we have had nothing really tangible from the deal yet in terms of hard cash, we will have lost nothing.

The worry is, who is going to pay for the debt the club appears to have?

[PatMan]

Why? Are they thinking of this?

 

I doubt very much that will happen. All that I expect will happen is that MyFC will be very aware of the resentment most of the 'normal' Fleet fans feel towards some of the ideas put forward. Hopefully this will mean that MyFC re-think some of their more stupid ideas, but in all honesty all I think will happen is the ideas get get delivered with greater 'spin'.

[Stu M]

Originally Posted By: Chatham Gary

As we have had nothing really tangible from the deal yet in terms of hard cash, we will have lost nothing.

I'm not so sure about that. The directors clearly can no longer sustain the club at its present level and they may even consider their positions untenable if MyFC pulled out, leaving us in even choppier waters. Liam would have his playing budget pulled out from under him and wouldn't be hanging around very much longer. Then hello Conference South. It would be inevitable within a few years on a much smalller budget. Yes, we held our own as a part-time team for a while, but I reckon much of that was treading water.

[John Pearce]

ELATED !

[BustaGut]

If they pulled out now, I think that even the board may well pull out to,As they stated they were unwilling to carry on paying out the monies they are at the moment. so it could possibly destroy the club as we know it.

[Hempstead Gaz]

Originally Posted By: Stu M

Originally Posted By: Chatham Gary

As we have had nothing really tangible from the deal yet in terms of hard cash, we will have lost nothing.

I'm not so sure about that. The directors clearly can no longer sustain the club at its present level and they may even consider their positions untenable if MyFC pulled out, leaving us in even choppier waters. Liam would have his playing budget pulled out from under him and wouldn't be hanging around very much longer. Then hello Conference South. It would be inevitable within a few years on a much smalller budget. Yes, we held our own as a part-time team for a while, but I reckon much of that was treading water.

I did add the caveat about the level of debt, Stu.
Without a huge input of reinvestment, and the board seemingly unwilling to service the debt any longer, the club could fold.
it could happen - I am not saying it would happen.
People said Dartford, Dover and Maidstone were safe but they hit rock bottom too.

[Lord Horn]

Funnily enough, as a MyFC Member I would be absolutely gutted - not only because I've just received my car sticker in the post (thanks for the link to the online shop). I am not a long standing Member (phnarr, phnarr) and had no pre-conceptions about which team should be negotiated with. Judging from my forays onto the MyFC forums only a few f***wits seem to be complaining that it wasn't a team up North or further west or on the Isle of Man etc etc. Most seem well pleased even the foreign legion, most of whom couldn't have had a clue where Gravesend or Northfleet were. I have to confess to some local knowledge as the man who introduced me to the delights of Carrow Road was my departed (and greatly missed) Uncle Des who had the misfortune to spend most of his life in Erith after WWII. Far too close to Dartford for comfort I know! Since the 'deal'was announced I've been very happy with the choice and can certainly understand the reservations of many of the contributors on here. I know what I'd be thinking if a bunch of interlopers considered purchasing my beloved Norwich City (ecstatic...the current board are sh*te)...no, seriously I'd want to be assured of the honour of their intentions. All I can say is that all the MyFC members I've had contact with are delighted (many in East Anglia very pleased with the proximity of the team as well as away trips to Cambridge Utd..too late this year I know..and Histon). If MyFC did pull out of The Fleet, I would seriously reconsider rejoining next year as I already feel some form of strange affinity to the club and would definitley miss the inspirational Lord Chas on the radio and would be rooting for the team anyway. From my perspective, here's hoping that they don't pull out and to the sceptics be assured that the majority out there are of the same mind as me. As for things like picking the team, I wouldn't ever consider undermining the wishes of the Manager/Head Coach/whatever and see my input as more of a supportive role in whatever capacity I can mange be it financial or otherwise.

 

C'mon The Fleet! .....(and On The Ball City!)

[Unrecognized Genius]

Originally Posted By: Stu M

The directors clearly can no longer sustain the club at its present level and they may even consider their positions untenable if MyFC pulled out, leaving us in even choppier waters. Liam would have his playing budget pulled out from under him and wouldn't be hanging around very much longer. Then hello Conference South. It would be inevitable within a few years on a much smalller budget. Yes, we held our own as a part-time team for a while, but I reckon much of that was treading water.

Reflects my view exactly. Busta's prediction of things more serious than relegation doesn't look that outrageous either imho.

EC

[Jeff]

Originally Posted By: Lord Horn

C'mon The Fleet! .....(and On The Ball City!)

How may times do I need to say it.

it's UP THE FLEET!

[jc]

The trouble is that the board have stated that the Club under its present conditions is 'unsustainable', but only they know just how unsustainable. We know the debt is around £350,000-£375,000, but we don't know for sure who this money is owed to, or how far away the club could potentially be from administration/liquidation (months? a year or more?). As such, supporters with reservations about MyFC (which must include nearly all Fleet fans to at least some extent) may feel almost unqualified to say whether MyFC is preferable to the future under the status quo.

 

All I know is that if the option existed to continue under the current administration but with scaled back costs (perhaps even a return to part-time football) suiting our modest attendances of late, most probably meaning a slide down the division, I'd be quite willing to accept that.

[Richard C]

Happy Birthday JC!!

 

I would be gutted if they pulled out now. We simply cannot survive without investment and i see these as the safest option??!!

[Lord Horn]

Originally Posted By: Jeff

Originally Posted By: Lord Horn

C'mon The Fleet! .....(and On The Ball City!)

How may times do I need to say it.

it's UP THE FLEET!

Sorry.... forgot it's only C'mon The Fleet at matches.....excuse us novices!

[behindthegoal]

...personally I think the deal is the lesser of all the evils that might be the choices. I would have to say that if the basic choice is between this route or the club effectively going bust like so many others have done, then this seems to be the best deal.

[JimGNFC]

Originally Posted By: BustaGut

If they pulled out now, I think that even the board may well pull out to,As they stated they were unwilling to carry on paying out the monies they are at the moment. so it could possibly destroy the club as we know it.

Has no-one ever asked the Board why the Club was allowed to go Full-time when it clearly didn't have the revenue streams to support a full-time team? Any debt of 350k+ is simply "mis-management" at the highest level. To then come out and say the Club is "un-sustainable" is beyond belief, in view of the fact its the Board that have allowed this debt to accumalate.
Sorry but the situation really does suck!

To answer the original question, MYFC appears to represent a "get out of jail option" (I don't mean that literally) to the Board. Without MYFC money, what are the options? Bankruptcy, sliding down the non-league pyramid?

In fact, MYFC could be the best thing the Board has ever done for the Club. It will give the Club the opportunity to move forward and compete on a level playing field with bigger teams. Whereas once, we only dreamed of the Club playing in the football league now its a very real possibilty. I've always felt the architect of Stonebridge Road built the ground to host Football League games given its large terraces etc. Hopefully the ground will now get to see Football League games. Wouldn't that be great?

[Stu M]

Originally Posted By: JimGNFC

To then come out and say the Club is "un-sustainable" is beyond belief, in view of the fact its the Board that have allowed this debt to accumalate.

The actual quote was that the "current situation" was no longer sustainable, not the club itself.

You could argue that while it may have been irresponsible as you say to go full-time without appropriate revenue streams (though the budget wasn't grossly over-exaggerated as it was fixed as far as we've been told around what we can take to be modest enough attendance assumptions), that the board were taking responsible steps to nip it in the bud now, with a budget cut to Liam's squad, a return to part-time football, etc.

Many clubs have been pushed to the absolute limit of their existence by much more unscrupulous and irresponsible business practices. I don't think we were at the brink of our very existence, just our existence in this division perhaps.

While I'm not applauding a perceived debt of £350k, of course, many more football clubs and thousands more businesses operate at much higher debt levels.

[American FLEET FAN No1]

You all know my views on this, from the start!

 

I would rather Myfc walk away now, and The Fleet slide down the leagues, than they walk away in a couple of years time, having raised the wage bill, without raising attendances to pay for it, leaving the club in a bigger hole than it is now.

 

Talk of a new Stadium, when the Club can't manage their budget, in a Stadium they pay little rent for, is plainly ludicrous!

 

There is possibly a chance of saving the Club now, but will there be the same chance further down the line?

 

Why would they walk away later? Many theories have been bandied about, but the one that is most probable(imo), is that when the people who signed up to pick the team and run the club( the greatest piece of mis-representation ever), get dis-enchanted because they are not getting their way, and don't resign next year, the amount of available funds will diminish!

 

New recruitment won't be as easy, as they would have you believe, because, new prospective members will ask themselves why there has been a sudden drop in current membership, realise the promises made are not being met, and not sign up!

 

Plenty has been made about the sudden rise in sales in the Club shop, but once you have bought a shirt, and a hat, and a scarf, you have all you need, so what then?

Maybe they have already thought this out, in talking about changing the sponsorship, therefor making new shirts a reality. This won't hit the newbies in the pocket(as they seem to have money to burn), but will the regular supporters that spend their money every week by going to the ground, and cheering on their team.

 

The large increase in home gates hasn't materialised,(I know they will say it is early days yet, but how long does the Club have to wait before realising it is not going to happen, and this is just another one of Myfc's pipedreams)so the increase in revenue isn't there.

 

Any increase in away support(if there is any) just puts money into the away Clubs coffers, and in no way helps the Fleet!

 

Jim has hit the nail on the head, why go full time if the Board knew the Club couldn't afford to do so, with the debt they were carrying! Depending on which story you read and believe, this is either a small, or a large debt!

If the Club were in this much trouble, why didn't the Board approach the Fleet Trust(conflicting statements/non-statements from/not from The Trust, have muddied the waters here), and talk things through, instead of (allegedly), grovelling to Myfc(If you believe their spin on things), cap in hand?

 

 

[Slartibartfast]

Originally Posted By: Del_Boy

Hello all. Just wanted to judge current feeling towards the proposed takeover with a quick question...

Now people are getting used to the takeover, and beginning to realise the potential on offer, how would you feel if the deal fell through now? Dissapointed? Relieved? Something else?

Why not make it more interesting?

How would people feel if the deal fell through and MyFC gave £750,000 pounds a year to Dartford instead?

Unless we timed our relegation to match their promotion we would have to play them in the league in the next couple of seasons, we would be getting crowds of 4-500 they would be getting 1500-2000. I don't think I would like that very much.

One club will get their money, I hope it is us.

[JimGNFC]

The thing that really upsets me about "football" generally, is there are too many "buisness people" in it at whatever level, that claim they know what they are doing.

 

Yet time and again, they screw things up, accumalate debt and spoil it for the rest of us. MYFC may not be the ideal solution but at least its something different from the "suited figures" presiding over a Football Club.

 

Of course, I'd much rather see the Football club run by the Fleet Trust, with each of its members donating say a £1000 a year to subsidise the Club but that scenario seems unlikely.