Today's Reporter

[Graham S]

Nothing we didn't know already, but still makes depressing reading seeing it in print, especially Jay's bit & Liam Daish's words about not being able to afford to keep Bobby Bowry & the admission that the budget has been cut significantly.

 

Graham S

[Hempstead Gaz]

Not on-line yet, Graham, could you expand on the Jay story,please?

[Jimmy]

Something along the lines off that he couldn't be offered the same terms he was offered last year?

[Hempstead Gaz]

At a guess, that would probably be the same for all the payers out of contract.

[Graham S]

Quote:

Chatham Gary said:
Not on-line yet, Graham, could you expand on the Jay story,please?

Basically that he actually feels a bit sorry for Daish trying to cope with a budget that he understands has been cut "quite severely;" that we did well to bring in players like MacDonald, Bowry & Slatter on the old finances, so with a reduction all we will be able to do is bring in youngsters who will find it very hard to compete against teams who already had much bigger budgets to work with.

Graham S

[Hempstead Gaz]

A player of Jay's ability, experience and committment will never have trouble getting another team.

It's a bit strange that he feels for LD - particularly as it it the style of play adopted by Fleet last season as opposed to results that have brought about the criticism and dropping off of attendances.

 

I don't think we will get back to regular crowds of 1400+ in a hurry, unless we start playing some attractive football.

 

At the end of the day it is crowds through the turnstyles that dictate playing budgets, not relying on the board to dip into their pockets.

 

Getting the crowds back will increase the budgets for players.

[Gally221263]

According to the kent messenger on line Jay still didn't want to go full-time as he has just had another kiddie and the money offered wasn't enough for him to think about giving up his full time job. Shame

[fleet_4_life]

if we want more of a budget we should reduce ticket prices, because people are saying i would go if it was still a tener

[Stu M]

Quote:

fleet_4_life said:
if we want more of a budget we should reduce ticket prices, because people are saying i would go if it was still a tener

The club have floated that idea, I think, and claimed the maths don't really add up, ie. you might get x amount of people through the door, but it wouldn't necessarily make any more money (and might even make a loss) than adding the £2 to the admission price.

People assume that everyone who doesn't come now would come if it was reduced to a tenner. They wouldn't.

[Gally221263]

some wouldn't come in if it was a fiver. The club has to budget for the core 700 and accept that with the standard of football being played at the minute that anything more than that is a bonus. If the standard improves then the crowds should grow....wishful thinking

[jc]

Quote:

Gally221263 said:
According to the kent messenger on line Jay still didn't want to go full-time as he has just had another kiddie and the money offered wasn't enough for him to think about giving up his full time job.

And herein lies the problem with there being so many full-time clubs at the fifth level of English football. It's quite common for a Conference player to be offered a salary that he may well be able to trump outside of the game, which makes you recognize that a number of sides go full-time simply to attempt to keep up with the Joneses, rather than because they are actually set up properly to do it.

It would be interesting to know whether Jay would have been willing to stay on as a part-timer if there wasn't the need for our part-timers to commit to extra training sessions next season. If the answer's yes, it again leads one to ask why we need to push through this transition to full-time football so aggressively.

[Vera]

It would be very sad if going full time is our downfall. I would hate to be in the position where I could say even if only to myself "I told you so", but I really felt that we needed another couple more seasons of part time. Unfortunately there were people on this forum who kept harping about needing to be full time. I sincerely hope we can survive, and I would be more confident of us doing that if we were part time, but I guess we can't put the clock back. Please let Jacko stay as he brings stability to the side and would set an example to younger players of how to give 100% and importantly how to pick one's self up quickly after injury. I really do hope we can survive, because it would be so difficult to get back again into the conference. We even have lower than conference level paying full time players so it does look pretty desperate, but I think we will do it.

[Gally221263]

WE WILL STAY IN THIS LEAGUE, but I agree that the rush to full-time has put a spanner in the works. In a way I can understand that the manager wants to work with the players on a full time basis but, surely, if a part-time locally living player can commit to a pre-ordained number of training sessions a week, then if he's good enough keep him at the club. To let Jackson leave would, to me, be the thin end of a very thick wedge.

[Vera]

I agree on your first point (in capitals) and also on your last point (very important)

[Bill Kent]

Yes Vera, we went down the fulltime route a number of years ago, and that didn,t work. We almost went skint that time.