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Pipers Exclusive


Ian_Sanderson

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Margate director Keith Piper believes more signings are on their way to Hartsdown Park.

And he expects them to be announced as early as the weekend.

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    Keith Piper expects more signings

He said: "Preparations for the new season are already underway. The lads and the managers have started to make progress.

"We've signed a couple of players and another couple will be coming in this weekend. The managers are gradually building a new team."

 
 
 

Piper also admitted that things have to change on the pitch after a disappointing end to the last campaign, during which the Blues faield to win any of their last eight games in the Ryman League Premier Division.

He added: "We are still trying to come to terms with what happened at the end of last season, that feeling of disappointment has not disappeared yet.

"The managers know we have got to do better than we did in the last ten games of last season."

 

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More important is todays article in IOTG regarding the ground redevelopment and a main sponsor.

 

Basically Travelodge have sorted their financial difficulties out and are still on board with the development. Mentions extented leases etc too.

 

Also we have a main sponsor who are putting in a six figure sum but not for another year as they are coming into the area and want to get a foothold here before its announced (a Leisure company it seems). Keith still hopeful of getting a sponsor for this season too.

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Its an article, from the IOTG  Guernsey Tom as mentioned in my post,  an interview with KP so no I am not speculating!

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Margate FC sponsor delays deal as club steps up stadium rebuild
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By Isle of Thanet Gazette


Friday, June 07, 2013

  Follow  

ALL ROADS lead to the new stadium for Margate Football Club.

It has been a long journey for the Hartsdown Park club with a number of obstacles and issues to overcome since they first set out plans to redevelop.

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    BACK ON? Hartsdown Park has been waiting for redevelopment for so long, could it be taking a step closer to happening?

And there are further complications in their way, with new sponsors putting back their six-figure deal with the club for another year.

Director Keith Piper said: "We have secured a main sponsor for three years, but they are not going to be able to take their place this year.

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"They are a major leisure business moving to the area and they had planned to be here and announced by now, but it's been delayed so we have decided, because they need the impact to be right, that deal will start next year.

"That's a six-figure deal, but that's their decision, they don't want to be announced as our main sponsor before they've got a main foot in the area, they want to hit the ground running so we will bridge that gap with another sponsor between now and then and we are talking to one or two people about that."

Plans to redevelop Hartsdown Park were approved by Thanet District Council in 2011, but it has been a tumultuous couple of years since that happened.

But Piper sees light at the end of the tunnel, finally.

He said: "Hopefully the big move is going to start this year. It's been a hell of an experience really and one I wish I had never started, but all you can do is keep going and trying to make things work and not give up, because all the time there's the reality that it can be built, you have got to continue to give it everything.

"But the council have agreed to issue the leases on the redevelopment. The stadium lease, the five-a-side pitches' lease and the car park lease will all be 25 years and it has been agreed that they will issue the length of lease required for the Travelodge once they submit a letter to them showing the financial evidence necessary for that.

"We are taking over the two pitches at the back, behind the stadium and bringing the youth section across, so that everything comes under the management of Margate Football Club. We have everything we need."

Hotel chain Travelodge pulled out of plans to be part of the redevelopment following problems with the lease last year and then the Blues' main sponsor went into liquidation halfway through their sponsorship deal last season.

But now it appears things could be back on track, with Travelodge back in the picture.

Piper added: "We are very much still at the races with Travelodge. The delay on the stadium was with Travelodge.

"They hoped they would be back with us by March this year but they had substantial financial problems, they've come through that now, they've restructured and they've been in touch this week to say they are committed to the Margate project.

"We are putting a couple of things together and when that's achieved it will put us in a position to move forward."

Piper revealed how much was weighted on the new stadium.

He said: "We have got a lot resting on the redevelopment, there's been massive investment in it already and until we get the new stadium there's no hope of us moving forward to the levels that we want to play at.

"We can get into the Conference South if the side is good enough, but beyond that we have got to have the proper facilities in place to allow us to go on.

"When we get them we will be able to do that, which I suppose is what keeps us all going."

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I think KP deserves a knighthood for keeping going through all of this-notwithstanding the fact that he seems to be running day to day matters single handedly in the absence of a CEO.

 

That given-as it stands-in the absence of a main sponsor for this season-money and funding the team short term looks extremely short.

no marquee signings then-probably a good thing-and as ever-mid table in current circumstances will do for me next year, whilst praying for a run in the cups

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So, the Ramsgate obsession with Thanet's premier club continues. Not that I think Margate fans need prompting from the other side of the island to see what's going on at the club, but it's always fun to notice how little attention we give them, and how much they look look up to us.

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And there are 1 or 2 major announcements coming your way - watch this space.

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"as ever-mid table in current circumstances will do for me next year, whilst praying for a run in the cups"

 

I thought last year Michael you stated that this coming season was the one for a concerted promotion push! now its mid table, again ! No ambition there then ?

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absolutely right GT under CK ,but it takes more than a year to build a team, and we have subsequently' enjoyed' a change of manager-and imo; they need more than one year to get  a championship winning side. 

Continuity of management is so important.

 

Not helped by the fact that it does seem funding is probably tighter than ever.

 

So yep-would now expect SOHO to win the league in 2014/15

(play-offs are of little use simply-win the league outright in 2014/15 please.

I just hope in 9 months time, we don't have another management change as that will simply set us back another 12 months.

 

AS KP mentions in his statement though ,frankly the club is not really going to grow overall until the ground development gets properly under way and that now seems like 2014/15 as well.

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  • 2 months later...

Prince William has had a baby

 

Most of the world is in recession

 

Disney have bought the rights to Star Wars

 

Peter Capaldi is the new Dr Who

 

Suarez wants to leave Liverpool

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Prince William has had a baby

 

Most of the world is in recession

 

Disney have bought the rights to Star Wars

 

Peter Capaldi is the new Dr Who

 

Suarez wants to leave Liverpool

A lot of the world is not in recession.    Don't think Prince William has had a baby either unless medical science has made new strides forward.  If you want to make money then open a tattoo parlour in Ramsgate

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