A bit off-topic : Southern League

[Chris]

Just been looking at the Southern league results this year and looking at the likes of Salisbury, who I don't think have added many to their squad from last season in the Ryman and are topping their league.

 

Now last season we played them four times, and never lost. In fact in the Bryco we battered them. Just got me thinking, if next year we had the opportunity to move to the Southern (providing we stayed up, this year, which we will have to work bloody hard to do!), would we do well in the Southern?

 

If you also look at what Aylesbury did last year after finishing rock-bottom of the Ryman Prem the year before, and mid-table Cheshunt this year (who could hardly win a match in the Ryman at the end of last season) - adding to that our record against ex-southern league sides could it be a good thing?

 

Despite the increased travelling and costs it could be more enjoyable and see us play better and move away from some of the kick and rush sides in this league, which we seem to struggle against?

 

Discuss if you like!

[BFR]

One word - NORTHWOOD

[Chris]

A sentence...

 

Nothwood lost good players over the summer and were not too hot in our league

[BFR]

A response

 

We lost good players over the summer and are not too hot in our league

[Chris]

a thought

 

I think if the defence was sorted and we added another striker we'd be OK

[BFR]

Obviously.

 

Anyway, rather than worry about which league we shall be playing, there are more pressing matters of concern such as which ground we shall be using

[Barry Scott]

hate to say it, but according to Tuftley Rebel who has seen a lot of Southern League football since moving out that way but that League is even more hoof it and hope than our league.

[BFR]

Would also add Chris that Cheshunt are in the bottom 3

[Don Juan DeMarcus]

Opinion:- Good.... Bastards

[GarySTFC]

The only problem with moving into that league as was said would be the increased travelling. Not only are there increased costs for the club, but who's to say the players are able to do this with work commitments?

 

If you're increasing costs, something has to give. We've seen our past record on attracting sponsorship through the club, which is quite frankly awful unless the companies are approaching us, so we're not going to raise revenue to cover this, so where does that extra money come from?

[Guest]

...On my own then!

[GarySTFC]

The other thing was, look at their form in the last ten or twelve games from the Ryman, they were one of the form teams in the league and finished comfortably above us if I recall.

[DaveT SCFC]

Hello Slough fans, thought it might be worth a response on a Southern v Ryman debate.

 

I think you'd find that we're a very different team than the one that we saw in our first 6 months of the Ryman - and certainly no comparison with the one you deservedly stuffed in the Bryco.

 

As mentioned in the thread above, we did finish the season as one of the form sides in the last 12 games, which included us playing all the play off sides, so our form this season has been a continuation of that.

 

Plus we've re-signed our old striker Paul Sales from Eastleigh - him and a rejuvinated Matt Tubbs have scored over 30 goals betweeen them. Oh, and we've rescued a rather good left sided player from his Eastleigh nightmare and he's doing pretty well too!

 

So, it could be that if we'd stayed in the Ryman we'd be having a similar season. I'm not sure that there are the number of decent sides in the Southern though, and as mentioned above, yes, it is more kick and rush and physical. In fact, when we came in to the Ryman we struggled to adapt to the more passing style of play, and yet now we are very much a footballing side but with a solid backbone, so I think our Ryman experience may have done us good.

 

Best of luck for the rest of the season. Miss our trips to Stag Meadow :-)))

[Martin]

It is an interesting thought. It comes down to how well you build on your side over the summer and how quickly you adapt. Personally I am of the view that an improving Salisbury side added quality players and I suspect that they would at least be challenging for promotion in our division. Look at how much Hampton have come on from last season.

 

I also think the move to the Southern - would kill us. We have a small budget which would be eaten up by an increase in expenses. One of the few positives about our club is that we take decent away support to all games and that would definately be reduced by a move to the Southern league.

[ollytheowl]

Is it really good for the growth of a club to get promotion through a weak league? You may convince yourselves that you are good enough to survive in the higher league - in this case the Nationwide South.

 

Except for this season, Maidenhead have been the better non-league team in Berkshire and they have struggled for 2 seasons in the higher league.

 

I would have thought that it would be better to build a strong team and have more chance of survival in future years.

[Roger Rebel]

Your point about attracting sponsorship is a good one Gary, but is that not more about the people running the club.

[GarySTFC]

Roger, yes it is. People have offered to help out in the past (Andrew S) only to be given quite a stern rebuffal, which is quite disappointing.

[Staines-upon-Thames Rebel]

I belive that this lack of action by those allegedly running the club has had a knock on effect to the poor performance on the pitch.

 

With poor performances and a lack of will to get any sponsorship the club will continue to struggle and go downwards.

 

The case of the sponsorship of the shirts is a clear example of the incompetance of those managing the finances of the club.

 

Unfortunately the Trust is more concerned with giving donations to other organisations than building a fund to manage the finances of the club so the finacial future of the club is still in a total mess.

[Martin]

Agree with the post entirely Staines.

 

I personally don't think the trust will ever be capable of supporting a football club at anything like this level.

[Burnham Lad]

Quote:

Staines Rebel1 said:
I belive that this lack of action by those allegedly running the club has had a knock on effect to the poor performance on the pitch.

With poor performances and a lack of will to get any sponsorship the club will continue to struggle and go downwards.

The case of the sponsorship of the shirts is a clear example of the incompetance of those managing the finances of the club.

Unfortunately the Trust is more concerned with giving donations to other organisations than building a fund to manage the finances of the club so the finacial future of the club is still in a total mess.

It seems to me there are a number of problems:

1. The club is still dependent on Mr Deaner for funds and he is still as erratic as ever.

2. The new management team as as uncommunicative as he was, e.g the issue over shirts and the sponsor, the fact that the Press releases are not produced and the website is not used as a means of letting fans know what is going on.

3. It seems to me that without the efforts of devoted fans such as Chris and Gary, who seem to produce EVERYTHING on the website, either writing items, or wringing information out of a very reluctant to communicate Club, there would be little to read. And there would be little to sell with the efforts of Gary and Emma.

3. The Club Board do not appear to be very focussed or proactive in developing the club, or its profile. We should not be relying on Gary Chappell for information about the club, which he wangles by the various ways that journalists do - what about a Commercial Manager developing lots of smaller sponsorship and actually selling the commercial stuff mentioned on the web, and a PR person making sure that the message about the club is broadcast?

4. The Trust is doing its best to replace this Club inactivity, but will never be able to speak FOR the club as it is a separate entity, no matter how committed, loyal and hardworking the members and the Trust Board are. As a result, they are not in a position to generate the larger sponsorships necessary, as evidenced by the fact that the only recent flutter of interest in the club was generated by fans who met the guy form the Russian bank, and had to hand over to the club, who hardly used it as an ideal opportunity to develop a valuable commercial relationship.

5. It seems that as long as Mr Deaner controls the purse strings, the new Board of the Club are dancing to his tune and cannot go and get sponsorships or develop the club without his approval.

So sit tight for YET ANOTHER summer of wondering if an STFC team will emerge to play on who knows what pitch and in which league and of feeling totally frustrated and helpless. Pessimistic? I quote the last eight or nine summers as evidence!

Martin is right, the money required to run a club at this level is too much for the fans of even a well supported club like Slough. There will always be a need for the money men BUT we will always be totally at their mercy - just look at the Gladwish thread.