THIS CLUB IS DYING

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

WAKE UP, YOU FOOLS.

 

 

[Iron Webbo]

Bad day at the office Comrade Zeal?

 

P.S. Greetings from the firm's Braintree office.

[CANV EFM]

being an albans fan in the mid to late 90's must have been great

[Iron Webbo]

Yes, it was!

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

Yes, it was indeed.

 

Maybe I was spoilt as I became a City fan in 1997, and the first 3-4 seasons were absolutely ace - great atmosphere, top fans, superb days out, decent league positions, and progress beyond the first round in cup competition.

 

These days, it's the most depressing place I can think of. Crap crowds, crap football, people running the club who haven't got a friggin' clue...

 

 

[GHA EFM]

It's been going downhill for a long, long time, CANV.

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

People still like to have a go at the former Chairman, GHA, but I don't think he can be held responsible for the current regime's complete incompetences.

 

 

[Iron Webbo]

Well, since Bob over spent his budget anyway!

 

How's student life Tom?

[Iron Webbo]

Naah, you're wrong there Comrade Zeal.

 

Do as you're told. Tow the part line! Blame the former chairman ...

[AFF]

Hi Zealadan.

 

What has the 'former Chairman' got to do with anything? And when did you last hear anyone 'have a go' at Buzz Lightyear. It's nearly 3 years since his, let's be kind, unique style of leadership, took the club to suspension from the League and the company to the brink of extinction and that's ancient history.

 

He did very well to 'find' Gibbo, because, if he hadn't, he, and the other Directors of the company at the time, would be somewhere other than where they are now, if you see what I mean.

 

Look to the future, Zealadine.

[YB941 5thD EFM ~soul~]

Quote:

What has the 'former Chairman' got to do with anything?

Yes, AFF. That is precisely my point.

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

This club died December 2002 when a certain person saw fit to break up the partnership that had taken the club to the top of the league!

 

It was great 92-95 and 98-00 and for about 3 months in 2002!

[GHA EFM]

The programme. The stewarding. The ticket and season ticket prices. The state of the ground. The invisible board of directors. The not-too-friendly chairman. One of the worst managers in the Saints' history. The minimal playing squad. The lack of strikers. The performance in the league last season. The blind faith.

 

It's gonna be great next season!

 

I'd love to hear the views of some of those that tend not to partake in threads such as these but post in others...

[CANV EFM]

2002 i think you were 14 points clear of us after 6 games

[Laz]

You'll soon be four divisions clear of us, CANV?

[Wilf Woodend]

I think GHA is being a bit hard on Steve Cook, having watched the club since the early 70's there are many worse managers than him.

 

It was a miserable season last year, and the whole of 2003 was awful but we did, I believe, improve in 2004 having rid ourselves of expensive dead wood and got to where we needed to be, although some people would have preferred the failure as that is what enthuses them.

 

As for Steve Castle this season will be his own with the players he obtains and keeps. I would suggest he be more fairly judged as from now.

 

It is today that the released lists come out and contracts end, plenty of players available from today.

[Bald_Eagle]

Quote:

THIS CLUB IS DYING

 

Zeal, come off it. Remember it could be a lot worse, you could have gone back 5 years as a result of a crazy 45 minutes like my beloved BTFC. If it's all going a bit crazy at the moment then at least it's doing so in the correct league instead of the village boys pi55 pot league which we've ended up in.

 

You lot just have to avoid going down, it could take us another 5 years to get back up where we belong.

[AFF]

Who on earth do you think would have "preferred the failure", Wilf?

 

As I said on another thread a few weeks ago, winning the play off games and retaining our position in the pyramid was the only thing that prevented last season being considered to be an unmitigated disaster.

 

Oh, by the way. GHA can speak for himself but I think you will find that he was referring to Steve Castle rather than Steve Cook. You are right, of course. The Manager can be judged on his 'own' team this season rather than one that he inherited.

 

More players available today, Wilf? So my services are unlikely to be required, then. Oh well. The offer is there if we are really short.

[Rob_the_Saint]

Quote:

GHA EFM said:
The programme. The stewarding. The ticket and season ticket prices. The state of the ground. The invisible board of directors. The not-too-friendly chairman. One of the worst managers in the Saints' history. The minimal playing squad. The lack of strikers. The performance in the league last season. The blind faith.

It's gonna be great next season!

I'd love to hear the views of some of those that tend not to partake in threads such as these but post in others...

OK GHA, I'll give you my views, at the risk of being torn to shreds!

The programme: Adequate at best, seems to be one chap putting it together who's heart clearly isn't in it anymore. Needs to be addressed and pronto.

The stewarding: Have you seen the advert on the website? Don't know how many have applied, but it is a step forward.

Ticket and Season Ticket prices: They seem reasonable to me compared to other Nationwide South clubs. Friendlies shouldn't be seen as a way of raising money, charge a fiver to get in unless it's someone really good.

The state of the ground: This is a concern to me too. The Chairman's business is renovating buildings so do you not think he would have got a team in to do the place up by now unless there is some other motive? A new stadium perhaps?

The invisible Directors: Agree.

The not-too-friendly Chairman: Never met the chap but he is a Geordie after all.

One of the worst managers in the Saints' history: Not sure about this. His record since mid-Feb is W7 D6 L7 and by the end of the season we were 3rd in the form table. Signs of improvement definitely.

The minimal playing squad: Probably a necessity because of the minimal crowds.

Can't be *rsed to asnwer the rest, have a ripping good time!

[AFF]

Hi Rob.

 

I have been troubled by some if the exchanges on here over the past couple of weeks when, to a casual reader, there may appear to be two opposing camps, one of which says 'doom, gloom amd despondency', and the other says 'it's going to be great next season'.

 

It is not that extreme, of course. You have expressed concern at the anonymity of the board, the matchday programme and the state of the ground, views probably shared by the vast majority of fans.

 

As far as Steve Castle is concerned, I have seen a table of the points/game record of the 42 managers in the Club's history and Steve would not want it to be reproduced, mounted and hung in his Trophy Room. However, he inherited a team assembled by someone else, and then, presumably, he was on the receiving end of budget cuts as gates plummeted and, perhaps, in fairness, he shouldn't be judged on those stats. In any event, our views are irrelevant as he has been given a two year contract. Get on with it, Steve.

 

Your views of PSF's are diametrically opposed to Gibbo's. It is not a case of right vs. wrong, but we shall see if The Chairman's expectations are met over the coming weeks.

 

I am astonished that you 'haven't met the chap', by the way.

 

In most areas of The Club there is a staleness. The attendance virtually halved during last season. The number of people using the clubhouse before and after games was a fraction of the number from a few seasons ago. Few people seem to recognise these things and there appears to be little or no effort to make changes to reverse the position. Perhaps some people care 'too much'. Perhaps those who do should only be concerned at what happens on the green bit for 90 minutes.

 

A Non League football club is not like your local pub. If a staleness developed there, you would simply drink somewhere else. It's not quite that simple at the football club, not for me anyway.

 

In contrast to the Buzz Lightyear years, the bills have been paid since William Verry Ltd acquired the club and I, for one, never forget that. However, in my view, a number of mistakes have also been made in the past couple of seasons and I am not confident that the powers that be are prepared to acknowledge and learn from them. There's still time, but not too much time.

 

This thread is entitled "This club is dying". My own view is that it has a very, very serious illness and it should be in intensive care if it is to pull through. I am concerned that the illness has not yet been spotted and diagnosed by the medical team in charge. I see few signs of medical treatment being administered, in any event. And then, I think "Chesham!".

 

Finally, I don't lose sight of the fact that it's 'that' time of year. No football and very little news. Roll on August 14th [and 4-4-2, for Heaven's sake]!