Off the pitch next season?

[EUFC FAN]

Quote:

FleetFanatic said:
It's all very well saying what players we need,etc.
But what's needed off the pitch?

Entrance REDUCED back to £10 adults / £5 child
We can't compete with Charlton / Gillingham as it is,
especially when Charlton have been reducing some matches down to £15 for an adult!

Agreed. I buy a season ticket so it does directly affect me, but I know it does affect people that attend occasional games.

Quote:

FleetFanatic said:
MORE FRIDAY NIGHT MATCHES. Like them or loathe them - they would appear to work. It is essential that ANY match that clashes with Charlton or Gillingham should be moved, obviously subject to the agreement of the opposition side.

I think this attendance figure for these games are some what false, as they also coincide with the school promotions. I have heard it said that the one or two adults (teachers?) pay and the rest are free. How does this help the club specially when it is obvious that they are not coming back! For the same reason I expect a higher gate v Tamworth as it's kids for a quid deal time. (I.e. kids dumped at the footy while parents go to Bluewater shopping).

Quote:

FleetFanatic said:
Consider changing the club name to Ebbsfleet, with or without the United/City/whatever gets decided, IN TIME FOR NEXT SEASON. Get the ball rolling in advance & hopefully eradicate the most blatantly non-league aspect that puts people off supporting The 'Fleet.

My granddad will be spinning in his grave at this! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> He was upset when Gravesend was put before Northfleet in the current name! Good money spinner though. New hats, scarves, shirts, mugs…

Quote:

FleetFanatic said:
Northfleet end issues rectified, be it the all seater that was announced previously.

Amen to that!

[Stu M]

Quote:

jc said:But it is the form of a lower-mid-table side, and so isn't a lot worse than our form over the whole season.

Andy Ford's Conference sides seemed to be characterised by months of being reasonably good, and then months of being awful. Daish's sides, by contrast, seem to do this in a period of weeks, so we have six weeks or so when we're performing well and getting points on the board, and then six weeks of playing abysmally, and getting knocked out of cups. It's a consistency things, and one can only hope that as this squad matures, it learns how to hang on to results. If we'd beaten Scarborough and Crawley and, say, drawn against Hereford, very few of us would be moaning even though the performances would still have been diabolical.

[Stu M]

Quote:

Stu M said:

Quote:

jc said:But it is the form of a lower-mid-table side, and so isn't a lot worse than our form over the whole season.

Andy Ford's Conference sides seemed to be characterised by months of being reasonably good, and then months of being awful. Daish's sides, by contrast, seem to do this in a period of weeks, so we have six weeks or so when we're performing well and getting points on the board, and then six weeks of playing abysmally, and getting knocked out of cups. It's a consistency thing, and one can only hope that as this squad matures, it learns how to hang on to results. If we'd beaten Scarborough and Crawley and, say, drawn against Hereford, very few of us would be moaning even though the performances would still have been diabolical.

[Hempstead Gaz]

Quote:

jc said:
We've actually got nine defenders and eight midfielders on our books at the moment, so it's not that lopsided.

And only 4 strikers.
Of whom only 2 are contracted, 2 on loan. Oh, and 2 are not yet 18.
And young Luke has only started in a few games and is yet to score in the Conference.
The funny thing is, to me, 9 defenders, 8 midfielders and 4 strikers has a lopsided look <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

[EUFC FAN]

Quote:

Chatham Gary said:

Quote:

jc said:
We've actually got nine defenders and eight midfielders on our books at the moment, so it's not that lopsided.

And only 4 strikers.
Of whom only 2 are contracted, 2 on loan. Oh, and 2 are not yet 18.
And young Luke has only started in a few games and is yet to score in the Conference.
The funny thing is, to me, 9 defenders, 8 midfielders and 4 strikers has a lopsided look <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Not if you play 4-4-2! It's twice the cover for each section!

[Hempstead Gaz]

Apart from the fact that 3 of the 4 strikers have only scored 4 league goals between them. And Charlie has been absent for a while. And so was Sodje.

Mind you, it could be worse - we could still have Coleman!

[kmj]

Why not go the full hog and call ourselves E F Franchise ( add your sponsors name here ) FC. Let's sell our soul for a fast buck and then keep changing it every other season ( or more often if the board can get away with it ).

[FleetFanatic]

Bit of an extreme comparison there kmj?

No mention of naming the club after a sponsor in my posts.

So it isn't a question of selling our soul.

Ebbsfleet will be the club's conurbation in the years to come - it will be a lot closer than Gravesend.

 

I don't object to having a ground named after a paying sponsor though.

[David Holden]

That rather depends on how far along the new ground is.

 

It's more likely to be in Northfleet (Gravesham) than Ebbsfleet.

[FleetFanatic]

Granted, the new ground is likely to always be in Northfleet,

but to compete one has to look at the wider issues.

Ebbsfleet would no doubt be the higher-profile name.

 

Dartford's new ground will technically be in Stone,

although they are justified in taking the higher profile name as it is already the name of the club anyway.

 

Take Bluewater - not the greatest of comparisons, but I suspect a greater percentage of the population know of Bluewater as opposed to Greenhithe.

[jc]

You're right - it's not the greatest of comparisons, since Bluewater is the name of a shopping centre rather than a town.

[FleetFanatic]

The point is more people know of Bluewater than they do Greenhithe!

 

Ebbsfleet will be more 'on the map' than Northfleet.

 

There IS the comparison.

 

So what would you like to see jc?

[American FLEET FAN No1]

Quote:

Harry J Allstars said:
First rule of building a good team, build a good defence.

Sorry to speak out of line a little in defence of Daish but this is well known in football management.

But the best defence is attack........If you want to make trite (obvious)statements!

[Lager Top]

Quote:

FleetFanatic said:
Dartford's new ground will technically be in Stone

Still talking crap I see Super Daz! The ground for Dartford is technically in Dartford. See here for an update!

http://dartfordfootballclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1418

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/applaus.gif" alt="" />

[FleetFanatic]

OK I stand corrected, it's Dartford side of the M25.

 

http://www.princespark.co.uk/directions.htm

 

I must confess I thought it was being built on the old Fantasea site - still, being a lower league side I don't take much interest.

 

Still, our club's situation is / will be an entirely different ball game.

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

For once I tend to agree with the fanatic Fleet fan.

 

As far as I can see the only purposes for the reporter story was twofold i) To create debate about a name change and test the water for fans feelings and / or ii) to alert potential sponsors that we are open minded to change. What other reasons could there be ?

 

I personally think its more important where we are situated than having an emotional tie to merged name, that sounds [****!!****].

 

So on that ground, I fully support the move to a new ground only a stones throw away from Stonebridge Road and am willing nay encourage the debate about the name change, as I do think that Ebbsfleet is a better name for our club and our location.

 

 

Up the (Ebbs) Fleet

[kmj]

But Greenhithe doesn't have a semi or full time football team. It is also much smaller than either Gravesend or Northfleet. People hear, see or read our name in the media. We already have a profile albeit quite a low one at present. I'm not convinced a name change would make any real difference.

[FleetFanatic]

You're missing my point - it isn't about the size. It's about the name.

 

Mention Gravesend or Northfleet and I doubt very much that the first thing in people's minds is the football club named after both.

 

In years to come, Ebbsfleet will be huge, based on the current plans. It will also be more 'high profile' than either Gravesend or Northfleet. People all over the country will have heard of Ebbsfleet.

 

This is all about having the vision to look way into the future.

 

Most people have been quick to dispute my calls for an immediate name change - very few have made any other suggestions as to ways to take the club forward next season and get the attendances back up.

 

I'll ask you the same question - what do you think is needed 'off the pitch'?

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

 

I think the point that FF is making is, you can ask probably anyone in the country where Bluewater or Dartford ( due to tunnel and bridge) is , and they would have heard of it and have some idea where it is.

 

Gravesend is not as well known as either and Northfleet even less so. ( Cue the list of things Gravesend / Northfleet are famous for )

 

No one knows what the future has in store, but it would seem that the name of Ebbsfleet is going to get a lot of use and will get a prominent national identity due to the international station.

 

There is no need to rush into a name change yet, and I am sure that that is not the idea, but the story does plant the seed in all of our minds so when the day comes in a few years time, we will all be very familiar with it and will not be shocked.

 

Personally I would have no qualms about changing our name already as I believe it does correctly reflect our location, but to do so now is just change for change sake as it would not have an positive immediate impact and indeed it could have negative effect as some will protest and I assume stay away .

However I think the question will gain momentum in the years to come, and will be inevitable, if our new ground is built within a stones throw of Stonebridge Road.

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

Quote:

I'll ask you the same question - what do you think is needed 'off the pitch'?

 

Top priority - Flashy disco lights around the home burger stall rather than the away one .

 

Secondly - The 50,000 pound giveaway to me appears to be a flashy headline dreamt up by some PR dickhead, but is in effect a damp squid. Rather than thinking of a flashy title , we should look at more ways of getting more kids / adults to keep coming to Stonebridge Road.

The current targeting is on the under 11's , we need to widen it.

I know the feeling from the board is that having too many unaccompanied young teenagers in the crowd can be more trouble than they are worth, but they are our future and it at this age where we are losing out on them to the other clubs / activities in the area.

Also if they are in the ground, they can't be vandalising and breaking into the cars outside the ground so everyones a winner.

 

Thirdly - Plough end reopening is a must

 

Fourth - Cheap beer in the club house, with live bands before the game and lap dancing at half time.

 

Fifth - Free fondant fancy with every hot drink purchased

 

sixth - Live on the pitch flogging of Fleet player named man of the match if the crowd don't agree with it. Brian K could sit emperor like in judgement, with a thumbs up or down dependant on crowds reaction.

 

if you need any more just shout

 

Up the Fleet