AFC Hornchurch v EnfieldTown

[behind-the-goal]

Personally I'm getting a bit fed up with the constant wingeing. I don't like AL, either as a manager or as a conversationalist whenever I've spoken to him. I remember posting that he should go when I got fed up at how he failed to 'get' Mickey Parcell. But what's the point of keep moaning?

I remember being behind the goal in the days before the Ultras and the atmosphere was dead. Lee posted a brilliant, rallying message on this forum before an away friendly against Potters Bar. We met up in a pub there before the game and, to cut a long story short, the Ultras were born. They've evolved and now have a life of there own. 'From mighty oaks...' and so on. The point I'm making is this, if people feel strongly enough, CREATE something. Mobilise. Form a grassroots group within the grassroots. Just stop w***ing off on this forum, please. It's getting boring.

[littlehampton]

1 hour ago, Wildlife rescue said:

And the board member tasked for raising sponsorship which in the last 6yrs he has been on our board has resigned.

He raised approx £600k for us.

He did an amazing job a true town supporter imo he will be very big shoes to fill.

That's a worry and also the crowds are approx 100 down on our budget target that's a bigger worry.

 

WR if you are referring to SR then yes he did a superb job whilst a board member. Town will greatly miss his personal contribution.
He needs to be replaced. If you, or anyone else, with a sales & marketing background can assist, speak to one of our board members.
Yes, falling attendances are a big worry for non-league clubs like ourselves. Enfield Borough is a key catchment area for Spurs and Arsenal, as well as ourselves, and Tottenham's new 60,000+ capacity stadium will definitely have affected our attendances, and it is a big worry.

[behind-the-goal]

I should perhaps have clarified my previous post as far as "From mighty oaks..." is concerned. It is of course, wrong. It was supposed to be wrong. What I meant to convey (and failed to) was that Lee was/is a mighty oak and from him acorns have been created, which have grown into the mighty Ultras!!!

[behind-the-goal]

Let's say, for argument's sake, that from the 1st minute until the 12th minute of the match against Bognor (in terms of the alphabet A = 1, L = 12) everyone behind the goal (which is where all the noise comes from) turned their backs to the pitch and kept quiet. That would be a massive  message from dedicated fans and the sort of thing which could be escalated. I"m not suggesting this SHOULD happen. I'm just saying that if enough people felt strongly enough, a movement for change could be created in some way or another. Rather that than whinge, whinge, whinge.

[andyetfc]

Falling attendances shows a lot about the problem we have at the moment"

[djwilf]

406 last year.

 

This year 364.

 

Haringey Boroughs has gone up by a small number.    Frustrating all round.   

[MbrunoB]

Why obsess about Haringey when a large percentage of their's are free season tickets?

[lovely stuff]

Some non-league attendees will be Spurs season ticket holders.They attend a local non-league game when Spurs are playing away from home.As Haringey have had their fixtures arranged to coincide with Spurs playing away this season, haringey now get the benefit of some of these 'casual' Spurs supporters that may well have to come to see Town in the past on 'Spurs away days'.

Edited February 5, 2020 by lovely stuff

[Wildlife rescue]

Lovely stuff 

Totally agree and Harringey open there carpark on Spurs match days which brings them in extra Pennies.

[andyetfc]

Must remember that football supporters will follow a team if they believe the product is good. It makes sense for Haringey FC to play their home games when Spurs are away so why are we bringing them into the debate?

[djwilf]

No obsession whatsoever.

 

Just casual comparison as they're down the road are probably our closest competitors.....could equally compare Cheshunt and PB however don't think we're in the same boat.

 

Doesn't take away at all from some good football we've played this year......and equally some of the tat we've seen recently compared with when attendances were much healthier 3 or 4 years ago.

[4wembleyfinals]

Dj, It could be that 3/4 years ago our ambitions were set higher. Partly due to some success our revenue has had to be distributed differently since the increase of our overheads; ie. New Stadium, Travel expenses etc.

In addition, if my understanding is correct, the Football Supporters Society appears to have now move into having a Charitable Trust Foundation status. This may have some affect on the Football Club finances, as in law, all donations received will have to be used in connection with the Charity's declared aims which I believe includes some community projects. Although we may benefit by the tax exemptions currently in place.

So we are back to square one. Unless we cannot encourage more people through the gates we are going to struggle even more financially. Like any other business the best way to do this is by improving ones product. This means considering how best this can be achieve. I, for one, think this could begin by looking into with how the administration playing side of the club is being run and whether it can be improved. 

If some people want to call this whingeing and others an obsession so be it, I call it logic.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2020 by 4wembleyfinals

[Theodopolous]

To be honest 4WF even I’m getting sick of going on about it.... we are in the middle of a very important time for the whole club if supporters are staying away with the play offs still in sight what’s going to happen once the play offs are gone... they won’t come back ... by continuing down this path I really believe this could set the club back years ... any hope for future success could be gone but at least we will be able to  blame the reduced budget....

[4wembleyfinals]

Point taken Theo, I too agree that enough has been said. So I will let it go and just take each game as it comes and and see what transpires. Deep down I still have hope.

Edited February 5, 2020 by 4wembleyfinals

[behind-the-goal]

We've certainly covered a fair amount of ground on this thread! I'm not going to go over the same ground, but I will pick up on one element - the falling attendances - and offer an alternative perspective. I'm not suggesting that other reasons are wrong - I'm sure they're not, but what hasn't been mentioned on this forum is something which was highlighted on Twitter the other day by Beveren: all their players did what only Ryan Blackman currently does here: shake hands with/hug fans after the game. 

I can remember when I first started following ETFC (when they moved to Donkey Lane) I loved the fact that there was genuine interaction between players and fans: hugs, chats, recognition from players of fans. It felt like a genuine community. If Kirbs had a bad game, you could feel it. If he scored the winner with a trademark header, you celebrated WITH him. Hopey and Kirbs will go down in history as legends, not just because of what they achieved, but because of what they achieved WITH us. Billy is a great goalscorer, but he will never be an ETFC legend. For him it's a job and he makes that abundtantly clear. He's employed by us, just as he could be employed by any other team in our league. He does his job, end of. But maybe there are too many players like that now. They do their job. They dutifully clap us fans at the end of a game (but heaven forbid they shake our hands like Town players used to and Beveren players still do). Surely, at our level of football we fans want to feel really connected with our players, and not just clapped at as if we were Liverpool fans graced at having been lucky enough to have witnessed another win.

I think it's interesting that the slow decline in support seems to have coincided with the gradual decline of contact between players (and manager) and fans. Brad was absolutely great at this part of the manager's job. AL is shite.

What I'll say in conclusion is that while I still care about the club as a whole, I care less and less about individual players. Ryan Blackman, yes. Mo was good at face-to-face contact with fans too. Nathan is goid. But apart from that, I would have to go back to Mickey P.

[lovely stuff]

One of the big concerns at this level is the vast turnover of playing squads .Caused by players mostly not being contracted/7 day approach rule/the lack of loyalty of modern day players..etc..All this adds up to a lack of connection and shared bond between playing squads and supporters.It effects most clubs,not just ours..I believe this  plays a part in falling attendances.As does having traditional fanbases moving away from their home towns in large numbers as communities become more mobile.

[Theodopolous]

If I was a isthmian premier standard player I would want to play for Enfield... they are still the biggest name in that league with a great ground and great support... Hornchurch last week was awful... the pitch atmosphere the lot... we need to bring in players like Sam Youngs... talented and seemingly loyal not these two clubs every season types that have no connection to the club or town which Leese seems to love....with some it’s all about the money but not all... give them a great atmosphere and working environment with the chance of some success we will keep the players at the moment I’m not sure the players feel happy on the pitch it certainly doesn’t look like it at times.....

[Theodopolous]

Just to add on previous post I’ve seen a bit of Ware and the Abbey this season and there is a lot of really good young talent at these local clubs... is AL aware of this and maybe they are the type of players that we should go for I’m sure many would love a bigger stage to play on. ( certainly no disrespect to Ware or Abbey intended)