Spencer Knight

[Gate Watcher]

Signed for Margate. Can't find too much info about him but found out he played for you. Could anyone give us a little bit more info or opinions on his ability please guys?

[YELLOW]

Decent player. Played for Canvey for a time and did well for us. Nice bloke as well.

[Laz]

I see you had a big crowd at home to FGR on Saturday, Yellow, 420! What's going on?

[YELLOW]

426 is a pathetic crowd at Conference level and 36 of those were from FGR. Not sure what the excuse was this time to be honest. Weather was fairly decent, Southend were away and West Ham not playing on the Saturday.

 

There's a whole thread dedicated to the poor attendance and how we can increase crowds on our forum. Lots of decent ideas but none of them ever get put forward.

 

No doubt if you go up you'll get far bigger crowds than ourselves.

[Rob_the_Saint]

Reasonably nice day, schools broken up, I expect everyone was down on the, er, 'beach' enjoying a candfloss and a jellied eel or two.

[Laz]

I've seen the thread. I also noticed some rumour about a "Mr King" supposedly taking over Chelmsford City. What's that all about?

[YELLOW]

Just a rumour, not helped by Kingy’s comments regarding low crowds and also a rumour going around on the Chelmsford message board that someone is going to be putting serious money into the club in the summer.

 

Kingy was saying in the local paper today that Saturday’s crowd didn’t help the rumours resurfacing. I got a feeling the local MP who happens to be our club president has started a rumour to get a bit of publicity. I know one of the guys who reports on the local paper and he has no idea where the rumour came from.

 

Just have to wait and see what happens.

[Laz]

I can't see it happening myself. I don't think you need to worry.

[YELLOW]

Don't see it happening either. Kingy has been very loyal to Canvey for years and despite our success crowds were poor even when we were top of the Ryman League. I think now we're in the Conference with a bigger spotlight the low crowds have become more noticeable.

 

Back to St Albans, the title race between you and 'muff' is definitely the most exciting and tense since us and Gravesend were doing battle at the top all those years ago.

[Laz]

My dream scenario would be for us to win it in dubious circumances and for Muff to lose the play-off final against Havant, prefable with a goal from that player that caused all the controversy.

[YELLOW]

I can see you losing to Weymouth on Easter Monday but 'Muff' seriously blowing it like we did against Gravesend in 2002.

 

Would love a trip to Weymouth next season but they seem to have the 'big time Charlie' mentality about them so wouldn't be too dissapointed if they messed up in the play offs.

[Laz]

They are @rseholes!

 

I really hope we win down there! I'd love to see Costello giving Garry Hill some abuse in the bar afterwards.

[YELLOW]

Weymouth seem to think they have a God given right that they should be playing in the Conference. Have never really taken to Hill. No denying he's a good manager but would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Hornchurch had not gone bust. Would he have taken them up?

[Laz]

Probably. They were top at the time.

 

As soon as he wasn't being paid though he didn't want to know.

 

When there was a similar situation here Gary Roberts stuck with it and managed to keep 95% of the team without wages.

 

Mind you Gibbo sacked him a little way into the next season.

[YELLOW]

As soon as the money run out and HX were out of the Cup and Trophy and floundering in the league he buggered off.

 

Could see a similar thing happening if it all went wrong at Weymouth.

[AFF]

Err... hang on a minute Yellow.

 

As I understand the situation, Garry Hill was a full-time employee at Hornchurch. When, for want of a better form of words, the money was no longer available to pay the wages, he sought and was offered alternative employment. Full-time, as I understand it. And most, if not all of the players were in the same situation.

 

That is hugely different from someone like Gary Roberts who, no doubt, was/is paid the going rate as a part-time Non League football club manager. I have no idea of his salary from football but let us say that it made up 10 or 15% of his monthly income. It's one thing to 'stick it out' and forego, hopefully temporarily, 10/15% of your income for 2 or 3 months - you will still be able to feed the family, pay the mortgage etc - it's quite another to forego 100% of your income.

 

What would you have done?

[YELLOW]

Gary Hill is hardly skint though, is he?

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

358 at Park Lane today!!!

 

Getting smaller!

[Laz]

You beat me to it! Perhaps this is the beginning of the long slide back to the Essex pub league.

[YELLOW]

It's not quite Hornchurch proportions yet!!!