Club Announcement 03-01-2020

[Curtis]

‘As the club enters 2020 it does so with great excitement, flying high in the National League South playoff positions and looking forward to a possible return to the top tier of Non-League football after an absence of 22 years.

Neil and Jon continue to deliver fantastic football and results in only our second season back at this level and are ambitious to continue – and the club needs your support off the pitch to help achieve this too!  

During this exciting time, we urge all Rebels to come together and get behind the club in whatever way possible - bring a friend to a home match, consider volunteering your time or invest/donate to support the club we love as we push for promotion to the National League.

Following Steve stepping down last year The Steering Committee, in the role of custodians and more recently owners of the club, have been leading the club in the absence of any new investors/owners. The Steering Committee comprises John Porter, Kay Lathey, Mike Lightfoot and Craig Edwards.

The Steering Committee wishes to make clear that our ambitious club remains open to approaches from potential owners/investors who share our vision to take it to the next level. We are continuing to plan for the future as you would expect from a board of directors.’

Senior club representatives, including The Steering Committee and First Team Management Team, will host a fans forum in the next month to talk with supporters about the future and to answer questions.

The club is in a great place - together let's help it get to an even better one!’

[3spirit]

It's more than 22 years since we were in the top tier of non league football.

Wasn't it 1995, the last time?

Fans forum sounds good.

Edited January 3, 2020 by 3spirit

[Matt]

Summer of ‘98 and all that!

[3spirit]

14 minutes ago, Matt said:

Summer of ‘98 and all that!

I just looked at the fixtures and reports history on the Slough FC website and the team from 1998 was the hastily put together one when Slough had financial issues but maybe I'm wrong.

1995 was when Dave Russell was manager and Steve Bateman was playing for us!

It's hard to remember last week, let alone all them years ago! ha ha!

Edited January 3, 2020 by 3spirit

[Matt]

9 minutes ago, 3spirit said:

I just looked at the fixtures and reports history on the Slough FC website and the team from 1998 was the hastily put together one when Slough had financial issues but maybe I'm wrong.

1995 was when Dave Russell was manager and Steve Bateman was playing for us!

It's hard to remember last week, let  alone all them years ago! ha ha!

It was the team hastily put together after we were chucked out of the Conference following a creditable 8th (I think) place finish and a run to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy in 97/98.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Matt

[3spirit]

1997-98 we had a bloody good side then,with Brian McDermott as manager.Yes it was the Conference. It seems ages ago,now.

98-99 was a real challenge,as we lost our manager and nearly all our best players and had to assemble a very cheap looking line up to keep the club/team afloat.It really was a backs to the wall season, as we went from being title challengers in 97-98 to being relegation fodder and I think we got demoted to the Isthmian Premier? [before the days of Conference South/North]. It was a strange season but there was something immensely rewarding about having no pre season and getting a hastily assembled squad of hopefuls and making a team out of players who were not rated. We had about  2 or 3 Conference players ie Paul Wikerson in goal from previous season, and 3 or 4 good quality Premier players ie Richard Pierson-centre half but the rest was a real mixed bunch. A few were good finds but some were dreadful.

Sorry if I've gone off topic, after all the thread is an important one. On the statement above from the steering committee - it sounds optimistic but with the caveat that the club may need to get funds in, to help with any possible promotion.     

Edited January 3, 2020 by 3spirit

[GlenSTFC]

Ok enough nostalgia... let’s focus people! Lets use this thread on ideas on how to grow our attendances, how to get local businesses interested (including our places of work) and increase the awareness of the club around the town.

[sdelaney]

I am terrible at putting names to alot of slough supporters who I know over so many years so would I know who Craig Edward's is who is on the steering committee.

[GlenSTFC]

Craig is the commercial manager but although I’ve seen his photo somewhere I wouldn’t recognise him either although I’d presume he’s at home games.

[GlenSTFC]

You would think of the 700 odd Slough fans there would be a sprinkling of rich people? But I guess any cash injection is a donation as you can’t expect it back, certainly at this level. But you look at most clubs and they all have benefactors putting varied amounts of funds in. 

[PaxtonLee]

Craig was in the photos in the recent thread about 10 years ago, and he was working behind the outside bar today. A top man.

[3spirit]

Just listened to the very good podcast/interview with Bakes and Unders by Dave Anderson. As usual you have to admire the straight talking and honest appraisal our managers always give , the only reticence on my part being that the ambitions of our managers may lead to a parting of the ways from Slough Town FC, if the club cannot find a wealthy investor to take over from Steve Easterbrook's superb stewardship, and if our crowds don't grow significantly.

I would be gutted to see Bakes and Unders leave,as the vast majority of our supporters would also, and I would wish them every success were they to do that, however the club are going to have to 'cut their cloth accordingly' to what they can afford. To me it's not a priority to go up in the National Premier and then full time, if Slough Town FC were to go bust again. We need to be realistic and sensible to what is possible and what our club can cope with.     

Edited January 7, 2020 by 3spirit

[Reading Rebel]

1 hour ago, 3spirit said:

Just listened to the very good podcast/interview with Bakes and Unders by Dave Anderson. As usual you have to admire the straight talking and honest appraisal our managers always give , the only reticence on my part being that the ambitions of our managers may lead to a parting of the ways from Slough Town FC, if the club cannot find a wealthy investor to take over from Steve Easterbrook's superb stewardship, and if our crowds don't grow significantly.

I would be gutted to see Bakes and Unders leave,as the vast majority of our supporters would also, and I would wish them every success were they to do that, however the club are going to have to 'cut their cloth accordingly' to what they can afford. To me it's not a priority to go up in the National Premier and then full time, if Slough Town FC were to go bust again. We need to be realistic and sensible to what is possible and what our club can cope with.     

I think it's only natural for our managers and supporters to be disappointed that now we are having some success to expect our attendances to have got bigger accordingly.

I always look at a club like Maidenhead who's crowds only got above the 1,000 mark once they got promoted and I'm sure it would be the same for Slough.

The only difference is that to get into the NL Maidenhead had a Chairman who put some money in to achieve it.

They are in the minority but there are clubs in the NL that are not full time so it's not essential that we would have to and certainly not at the risk of going bust.

[Irishadrian]

Anyone tell me how the Steering Committee recently became owners of the club as per the statement

[GlenSTFC]

I would guess Steve who did own the club has handed it over to these 4 to run.

[Reading Rebel]

The 1,000 + crowds are there, Wealdstone and Billericay this season, it's just that at the moment those extra people are picking and choosing their games.

Of course it helps when the oppo bring 200/300 unlike some of the clubs who only bring about a dozen. 

 

[GlenSTFC]

But when we talk about getting an average of 1,000 at home, that’s home fans not including any away as we’d of course achieve that easily in the National with the massive away support. We need at least 1,000 home fans to have a chance in the National and that’s just as a part time club! There’s no way we can think of turning professional unless a wealthy imvestor(s) come on board or we average 2,000+. 

[3spirit]

2 hours ago, GlenSTFC said:

But when we talk about getting an average of 1,000 at home, that’s home fans not including any away as we’d of course achieve that easily in the National with the massive away support. We need at least 1,000 home fans to have a chance in the National and that’s just as a part time club! There’s no way we can think of turning professional unless a wealthy imvestor(s) come on board or we average 2,000+. 

I understand the ambitions of Bakes and Unders to get into the full time game, I also understand Slough Town FC fans wanting to get promotion, what I don't understand is why there is such a rush for it all to happen asap.

Obviously avenues need to be explored in seeking someone to take over from Steve Easterbrook but why this obsession with being promoted straight away. It won't make our club any better.

I would have thought it would be a more sensible approach to stay in the Conference South for a few years and slowly adjust to what it takes to run a non-league football club properly. Bigger sponsorship deals might be a better way to go, than getting another wealthy businessman at the helm.The main thing is to keep our club afloat. Have we learn't nothing from those twenty something years being without a home ground? 

A community club doesn't have to be under the guise of full time and professional.

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by 3spirit

[3spirit]

11 hours ago, Reading Rebel said:

I think it's only natural for our managers and supporters to be disappointed that now we are having some success to expect our attendances to have got bigger accordingly.

I always look at a club like Maidenhead who's crowds only got above the 1,000 mark once they got promoted and I'm sure it would be the same for Slough.

The only difference is that to get into the NL Maidenhead had a Chairman who put some money in to achieve it.

They are in the minority but there are clubs in the NL that are not full time so it's not essential that we would have to and certainly not at the risk of going bust.

It's always about money and finding someone with big pockets to fund supporters and managers lofty ambitions.

Slough are never going to get bigger than average crowds, as there are too many other teams to follow ie  in London/other Berks and Bucks clubs, and the general public in Slough and surrounding areas have proven time and again not to be interested in football in Slough. However, I believe our club has gone from strength to strength since we got into Arbour Park and it shouldn't be too much of a leap to be able to sustain playing in the National Premier, at some point soon or in the near future but as I said in my post above, our club needs to be canny in the way they do it.   

[Neil Baker]

Just to be clear on this and nip It in the bud, we were asked would we like to go full time at some stage, and the answer was yes.... however as has been mentioned we are in no rush to do this, or leave the club.... and we are 100% not asking for Slough to go full time, as if we went up we would expect to stay part time...

What we are trying to get across (which is with the clubs blessing), is that for us to even try and push to get to the next level (which is where our next aim to get to) or even keep properly competing at this level we have to try and raise the awareness even more than ever in the local area, try and improve the crowds (which mark has started and doing a great job of) and making it known that the club is in a position that if someone wanted to come in and were the right fit for the club they would want to talk (or as mentioned more sponsorship)

By the way just off the back ofthe recent statement myself and Jon have been approached by someone we know who may be willing to get involved on a sponsorship side of things which is only a psotive thing.

Clubs are not cheap to run, and the club is just doing everything they can for us to keep trying to improve, and is just asking for everyone's help in trying to achieve this.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Neil Baker