Remaining fixtures

[Alan W (GNFC)]

Looking at Confguide says it all - Results against top 6, 1 win 3 draws 6 defeats.

 

Results against bottom 6 - 4 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat.

 

Of our remaining fixtures, 7 are against sides currently below us, and only 3 are against sides currently in top 8 (albeit that would potentially change as Exeter and Stevenage could be in top 8 if they win games in hand).

 

I still think we'll potentially end up only 2 or 3 points short of last season.

 

Disappointing that maybe after the start we had, but again, looking at this years table compared to last years table, they're not far different and most of those sides who finished in the bottom half last year are in the bottom half again this year.

 

I honestly dont know if a change of manager will bring results as I've said elsewhere, the squad has been stretched and the team almost picks itself at the moment.

 

Andy had a signing lined up dont forget, only for injury to strike that player and delay the deal. This guy may not be the player we want - I havent a clue who he is - but he might be. I dont think sacking Andy at this point is the answer,

[FleetFanatic]

The question is.....

 

.....is it true that certain managers can only attract certain players?

 

Perhaps a change of personnel would bring in fresh faces to take us on another level?

 

Look at the 'back catalogue of rumoured player-related incidents in the dressing room'. Whilst, certainly, not all of those rumoured incidents may be true, I am beginning to think that there's no smoke without fire.

 

Look at Leigh RMI - their first couple of seasons were ok (very first season was exceptional, I seem to recall) now they are almost certainly down (and should be already after last season). What future do people see under the current management? Whilst not wishing to recreate last years anti-Andy threads on here, just how much further are we going to go as we are?

 

Full-time football? Behave.

Play-offs? Realistically..... no.

 

The reality?

There are plenty of up and coming teams in conference north & south ready to replace the poor performers in our division over the next few seasons. The conference will only become harder, especially with full-time teams such as Grays almost certainly joining this division next season. If we're still here, that is.

 

Like I said a few weeks ago - REMEMBER SOUTHPORT.

[jc]

Of the two views espoused above, I've got to go with Alan on this one.

 

I just feel that if you take everything into consideration (i.e. attendances, players, finances), we really haven't got the potential to be a consistent top-half Conference side, and I don't see how anyone could do a better job with the resources available than Andy can.

 

Also, what bemuses me somewhat is how everyone's mood has changed so dramatically in just a few days. In the week, many were praising our run of clean sheets and looking at our unbeaten run of half-a-dozen games or so. But now, everyone is so much more downhearted - and the spark for this? A defeat to a side who are third in the Conference, in a game that it was very likely we would lose, looking at form and respective league positions.

 

I can't really understand this. I'm not saying that everything is hunky dory and we will definitely escape relegation, but it just seems to me that there are too many fickle people on this board. Indeed, Aldershot have had the same problems with people praising Terry Brown one week and calling for his head the next.

 

To FF's credit, while I don't agree with him on this, he has aired his concerns both on here and to me (and others) for quite a while now, and so is being somewhat more consistent with his views.

 

And as for those who either left early or booed the team at the end of the game - a disgrace, the lot of you.

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

Quote:

Perhaps a change of personnel would bring in fresh faces to take us on another level?

 

To be honest to get to another level we need fresh faces off the field. A bit of forefight in the boardroom might help.

 

We have said on numerous occasions about our full time aim, with no actions to back any of this up. The policy appears to be keep our fingers crossed, try and keep in the top half and all of a sudden watch the locals come flooding in. We are need to be exetremely fortunate to pull that off.

 

On the pitch we are still punching above our weight, all be it the slump is a cause for concern, but off the pitch we appear to be a shambles, this concerns me more.

 

 

Up the Fleet

[jc]

Quote:

On the pitch we are still punching above our weight, all be it the slump is a cause for concern, but off the pitch we appear to be a shambles, this concerns me more.

It's been mentioned many times before, but this really is a chicken-and-egg situation. The only way we're going to 'tap into new fanbases' or whatever way one wants to put it is by actually winning football matches. Of course, to do this on a regular basis, better players are needed, which is achieved by greater income streams, which is achieved by higher attendances...

Realistically, there's only so much you can do to attract people to a club at the fifth level of English football when they could just go to Bluewater instead. In the cold light of day, that is the way most football 'fans' in the area are going to see it.

[ColtheJock]

I think in the first instancwe we just need to concentrate on securing our future for next season. I believe the start to the season deluded quite a few people and I still think that Andy Ford deserves alot of credit for what he has done for the club. Money is always going to be a problem for a club like Gravesend. I did not manage to get to Saturday's game and was disappointed to see the crowd was under 1,500. I know that our average crowds have increased a little since last season, but I still think that the club becoming full-time is out of reach at the moment unless an injection of money can be found. The Chairman, Board, Sponsors and Manager deserve credit for getting the club on a sound financial footing. I agree with one of the comments above that the only way to get more fans through the gate is for the team to be winning. We can only hope for an up-turn in form soon, or it could be a hard road to the end of the season.

[jc]

Quote:

I did not manage to get to Saturday's game and was disappointed to see the crowd was under 1,500.

If you think about it in contrast to last season, though, Saturday's crowd is a reasonably good one, even though it was against a relatively local side.

Look here

A 25% or 30% increases in league attendances from last season, depending on whether you take the figure at this stage last season or the overall average attendance for 2003-2004.

[Harry J Allstars]

Leigh managed more against Carlisle than we did

[jc]

Could that possibly be because Leigh is one of Carlisle's shortest away trips in the Conference, Harry, and their trip to Stonebridge Road is one of the longest?

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

Quote:

Leigh managed more against Carlisle than we did

 

I would imagine that may have something to do with them being closer to Carlisle than we are !!

 

 

 

Up the Fleet

[Harry J Allstars]

Okay fair point but I still feel dissapionted