Players

[Guest]

I see in the non-league paper that supporters of Nuneaton have clubbed together to bring a player in and pay his wages until the end of the season by various means, is this a way we can help Andy get in some players we do need experienced conference players quickly, i am prepared to put £50-£100 towards the signing of a new player, if we got 100 of us to put in £50 each that will raise £5000.

Anybody else prepared to help out the club, your views please.

[Guest]

nuneaton fans are paying for carl alford released by yeovil. must be paying his wages

[Guest]

Yes they are, well thats what the paper said, but it's a start, if the board cannot afford to give Andy any money the true supporter's must help out, it does happen at many clubs, Andy seems to lose out so many times, it would be nice to keep Chris Giles if he was prepared to leave Yeovil which he may be re. his interview in the Reporter.

[JimGNFC]

I have to confess my heart really does sink to read that Andy has to bring players in from lower leagues because we cannot compete on a level financial playing field with many other clubs i.e. the Tim Cole scenario being a case in point.

 

Recruiting players from lower leagues does involve a certain "element of risk", especially at this level of football. Andy is an excellent manager and given time I'm sure he will get the best out of these players BUT in view of our current situation do we have time?

 

Look at it this way:-

 

1) Its 22 years since G&N last played in the Conference. Do you want to wait another 22 years before seeing them play in the Conference again?

 

2) Andy is an excellent manager who has so far assembled a pretty good squad of players on a shoe string budget. If he feels the need to spend some money (20 grand odd) on a couple of quality Conference players - that money should be made available - no questions asked.

 

3) Relegation from the Conference may have wider implications for the future of the Club? i.e. the Club would surely no longer be entitled to the £400,000 grant that all Conference clubs are entitled too in order to get their ground up too league criteria. (I realise the issue of ground grading generally is slightly confused at present due to different reports in the media).

 

4) North West Kent as an area is growing rapidly. The area needs a Club of G&N F.C.'s current stature - if only to keep the youth off the streets.

 

Personally I'm fairly confident the Club will be OK but the recent postings on the board do reflect a genuine concern that the Club may be "gambling its Conference future" by recruiting lower league players out of financial necessity.

 

As supporters we may feel our concerns go unheard but if the Club really does have very little money for players then why not contemplate:

 

a) Asking for 20 or so fans to donate a £1000 each raising a total of

£20,000.

 

In return members would receive a free season ticket for next

season, a framed team photograph autographed by Andy Ford and

the opportunity to appear in a group photograph to be published in

the Reporter. A representative could also be allowed to sit on the

Board as a sign of good faith.

 

The scheme could be called "The One Thousand Pound Club".

 

As already suggested a "Fund A Player Scheme 2003" could be

organised to appeal to the wider fan base. This could raise at least

another £5000.

 

However, its no use asking people to come forward - you need to

hand them an envelope containing a form requesting they donate some

money together with a SAE for ease of reply.

 

Telford United organised a similar scheme a couple of seasons ago that financed the purchase of Mark Quayle i.e.:

 

http://www.telfordunited.com/pages.asp?areaid=tuisa&pagetoshow=about

(paste as 1 line into a browser)

 

The point of this rant? Well, a lot of supporters would feel a whole lot better if they were at least given the opportunity to raise some money towards transfer fees ... as opposed to a general acceptance that we simply can't compete in the transfer market.

 

As the Honda advert proclaims, instead of OK, What if? What if the fan's

could raise the money for a player? . . .

 

[Guest]

I would be happy to give £100 to a transfer fund for andy to buy some

players.

[Guest]

Well come on Fleet fans, i dont know how we can get this started but there is £200 pledged already, over to you Dave perhaps you can put the feelers out to Andy, i dont know that many people at the Fleet anymore although i have been a supporter since the early sixties the majority of the people i used to go with have dropped out, but perhaps we can arrange a meeting somewhere to get this going and get Andy some money available for players, Andy is a great manager with a lot of potential and he can take this club forward with our backing, as mentioned earlier we cannot go back to the Ryman.

[Guest]

Put me down for £ 100. Dave knows who I am. Only another 47

donations required.

 

Could any money raised not used to pay for a loan player ?

 

Raising the transfer fee is one thing, but then you have the

wages etc.

 

I have no doubt if we had a full squad to choose from for

most of this season, our league position would be much

better. Steve McKimm and Francis Duku are quality players

and to be robbed of their services for so long has been a

massive loss. We must get Liam back and 'up for it' sooner

rather than later. Kevin Budge will come good as will young

Mr Evans. It is a big step up for them so they need us all

to get behind the them (and the rest of the Team for that

matter).

 

 

[Jessica]

I would be happy to get involved and help organise. I am always at the ground ( in the hut next to the Club Shop) taking away travel bookings.

 

See you all on Sat 4.

 

 

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

[Nols1974]

I know years ago the supporters club used to pitch in , I don t know the financial state of the supporters club now but maybe if there was to be a donation it could be through them? People might be more willing if its through an official source?. Also I don t beleive the club should go overboard , how ever much i would want us to stay in the conference . You only need to look at some of the relegated clubs to realise how hard it is to recover when you have to let players go if relegated to rebuild on a lower budget .

[David Holden]

Quote:

Well come on Fleet fans, i dont know how we can get this started but there is £200 pledged already, over to you Dave perhaps you can put the feelers out to Andy,

Andy thinks it is a good idea, so let's run with it and see what happens.

Mind you if just 50 people were to go out and buy 10 year season tickets then that would raise £7,000 straight away, and these people would have something to show for their money. I like to think that the money raised from those of us who brought these last year went a long way towards helping us get the players that we needed for promotion.

[Guest]

 

Dave,

 

Not sure about the maths on this one. Do you mean 5 not 50 ?

 

Anyway, if Jessica is serious, let's turn these 'pledges' into

'hard' currency. If the supporters Club are willing to accept

donations, it is up to us to respond accordingly.

 

At the very least we can afford some shirts with proper names

names on them. Chris Giles black 'tape' and Toss's black lettering

(as opposed the the white lettering you cannot read) looked

very 'un-prefessional' at Dagenham. I digress.

 

 

Any chance of having an official pledge page to see how many people are prepared to help Andy ?

 

 

 

[David Holden]

Quote:

Dave,

Not sure about the maths on this one. Do you mean 5 not 50 ?

That's what comes of changing your mind half-way through a sentence. I was going to put if 50 people brought season tickets then changed my mind and put 10 year tickets instead, but still had the 50 and the £7,000 in my head.

So let's split the difference and say that 10 people buying 10 year tickets would raise £14,000, which could make the difference between staying up and going down.

I can create a pledge page, but I think it would have to be on the Supporter's Association forum, so that only registered members of the Forum could use it, otherwise there is no way to tell if the pledge is genuine or not.

With the exception of your Lordship, most of the supporters are registered so this won't create too much of a problem. If anyone is not registered, but wants to pledge, they can e-mail me with their real name and amount of pledge, and I will enter it on their behalf.

You can reach me on: dave@gnfc.co.uk

[Ronnie]

Count me in for £100 and don't worry Dave, this will not mean I won't be reducing my debt level with you.

Seriously though, I think this may just be what the club needs to turn the corner. We should aim for 100 people at £100 = ten grand.

Andy is a fantastic manager with bugger all to spend. Lets at least try and give him some cash to compete with the big boys.

[JimGNFC]

Dave

 

The Pledge Page is a great idea but its only going to appeal to online users.

 

I'm sure the Club could raise a lot more money if the appeal was to be broadened to the wider fan base that turn up on matchday.

 

Is it not worth:

 

a) Having a meeting in the Club Bar after the Yeovil match to discuss

how best to raise the most money? (I'm sure we all have different

opinions about how this could be best done and Jessica could keep

Order! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

 

OR

 

Meeting up at half time of the Yeovil Game by the Club hut to put

forward a few idea's.

 

I'm just thinking that some things are better organised *in person* rather than via a darned PC.

 

Its just a thought . . . and I'm putting my offer on the pledge page now!

 

Cheers!

[David Holden]

I'm sure you are right Jim, but my role with the club is running the website, and whilst it may seem selfish <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> that's all I have time to do.

 

How are you going to advertise a meeting at the next home game because the offline people have no way of being told until the next home game (Catch 22?).

 

So if anyone has any ideas then let's hear them!

[JimGNFC]

Dave

 

Wasn't meaning to sound like I was knocking your efforts (for the record I wasn't). Maybe I just let my enthusiasm get the better of me for a moment!

 

By the way, I wasn't referring to a general meeting of *all* fans.

 

All I meant is that if a few of the Online readers felt strongly enough then perhaps it would be worth popping along to see Jessica in the Club hut at half-time of the Yeovil game to see how best we could get *most* of the fleet fans to give something to the scheme.

 

The more money that gets raised the more money Andy has to spend - well thats how I see it at least.

 

This could involve distributing a few leaflets to fans at the Stevange game for example. Anyway, I will see Jessica about this on saturday - if she doesn't like my idea's she can always tell me where to go! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

 

Thanks

 

Jim

[Jessica]

Message for Jim and all other's who wish to donate!!

 

 

Easy to arrange a meeting we just get a message put through on the tannoy ( I am in close contact with the announcer) also go round the bar and by word of mouth, if you are going to Margate tomorrow, lets try and met, I can easily get some handouts done ready for Saturday.

Also as Dave has said please only pledge what you can afford, all donations will help the Fleet in the long run.

Thanks for getting things going Jim and also thanks to Dave, you are doing a great job.

[Guest]

Okay Jessica, as i started this off i will call in the club shop at the Yeovil game around 2pm and donate my £100 to get the ball rolling, perhaps a meeting in the club house after the game will generate some interest, have to rush off from Margate family commitments etc, thanks Dave for approaching Andy and great that he supports us.

[David Holden]

Pyramid Portal news

[Wobbly Wayne rides again]

This is a good idea, and I have made my pledge on the page accordingly.

 

We also need to rack our brains , on how we can get more through the turnstiles, and once we have them through the turnstiles how we can get more out of their pockets than we do already.

A consistent income is what Andy and Brian are after..

 

Getting more thru' the turnstiles :

1) Free tickets to respective kids teams / school teams in the area. Kids invariably bring a few paying adults, they buy programmes etc etc.. They may even enjoy it and come back again, the next time being paying customers. Even if they don' t come back we haven't lost anything.

 

2) How about a similar scheme for local youth clubs - A constant complaint of the teenagers around the area is that there is nothing to do. Even if we don't give them free tickets , we could focus in on this group with an advertising campaign. ( ie.Get the clubs to stick up a few of our posters etc )

 

3) I recognise many faces on the terraces from my old playing days in the North Kent Sunday League. How about getting involved with a bit of sponsorship of this, ie. pick out a team of a week and offer them 11 or so free tickets for the next home game, as well as a plug for their team over the tannoy. ( To get in they must show their Sunday league registration card to ensure tickets don't get passed on to people who would be paying customers already).. This would have the benefit of potentially getting in excess 300 - 400 different faces down at the Road each year ( all of whom have an interest in footie) , with hopefully a percentage coming back again as paying customers.. It would also have the benefit of i) Knowing most of the Sunday league players as I do, the bar takings going up & ii) The name of Gravesend and Northfleet being spoken about in Sunday League circles....

All publicity is good publicity..!! (I know that alot of Sunday league players also play Saturday afternoons so they might not all take the offer , but if they don't we ain't lost anything, just gained extra publicity !)

 

Getting more out of peoples pockets:

when travelling away, I usually drink in the aways team social club before the game ( as long as they let away fans in ) , and in every case in the conference I am asked several times if I want 50/50 / golden goal tickets etc.

However, I don't think that I have ever been asked in the Fleet bar, and usually bump into H' as he is making his way around the ground during the first half.

How about getting our 50/50 going earlier and get tickets sold in the bar.

 

 

These are just a few thoughts off the top of my head, which I am sure have been discussed before, and with a crowd as intelligent as ours , there must be some cracking ideas out there.

Lets all let our thoughts and ideas flow.....

 

time now to stop thinking and start drinking.

 

Happy New Year to one and all