NOTHING SHORT OF A DISGRACE

[American FLEET FAN No1]

Originally Posted By: Stu M

I feel like one of those really popular revolutionary councils in The Plough again...

Time to bring back Wolfie Smith!

[Eastside Urchin]

Originally Posted By: David Holden

Because changing your name part way through a season is such a clever idea.

no not really but announcing it is being changed 3 days after the season ends is cowardly imo,surely they could of announced it in the programme for your last home game

[Harry J Allstars]

How would we have done that when we didn't get the go ahead from the Conference and the Kent FA until last week and the FA this week. All coming after our last game.

 

What's the next reason for you not liking our name change?

[Alan W (GNFC)]

Originally Posted By: urchin_mentalist

Originally Posted By: David Holden

Because changing your name part way through a season is such a clever idea.

no not really but announcing it is being changed 3 days after the season ends is cowardly imo,surely they could of announced it in the programme for your last home game

No - None of the Kent FA, Conference or the FA had approved the change at that time.

[Stu M]

Originally Posted By: Harry J Allstars

What's the next reason for you not liking our name change?

Harry, you're just still bitter about that FA Cup defeat etc etc etc etc etc forever and ever amen.

[Eastside Urchin]

All i am saying is that it is convenient that this news came out when it did,with 3 months of the close season to run so any outcry can die down.People running business can be very clever and make sure things come out at certain times.All i have been doing is following the story for a couple of days now and now am airing my comments,as i have said it seems that they are doing this to gain more support from a town/area that is not yet developed and the reason they are doing it is because imo they feel that gravesend & northfleet towns are dead as a footballing town.Your gates are not that poor,every fan would love more people through the gates,just seems that it is being rushed

[Hempstead Gaz]

I'm sure you're not far off the mark, Urch, but whilst you may consider average gates of 1165 as not bad, it is WAY short of the 1500+ needed for a sustainable full time Conference side, more so when you want to build a new ground and push for a play off spot.

It IS broke, the directors are fed up with baling the club out, all other measures have failed.

A name change does appear to be last resort.

My only problem is that we were not given the chance to discuss it before the meeting, by which time the paperwork had already been signed, sealed, delivered and approved by the FA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[John Pearce]

I keep reading that those that attended the meeting on Tuesday were supportive of the name change and the reasons for doing so. That may well be the case, but to be honest being faced with what amounts to a 'fait accompli' what else could they have said or indeed done?

 

I wonder just how many actually did turn-up at the meeting and exactly how many now support the change? In truth, I wonder how many of the 1200 or so supporters the club get at home matches even knew about the meeting, after all not everyone could get to the Dagenham game. It does seem very strange that the meeting was announced at very short notice with notes being handed out at an away match and taking place on a night when there was Champions League football on the TV. Was this done so as to restrict any possible desent? I am sure if the meeting had been announced at the St. Albans game for instance, perhaps advertised in The Distorter and/or Kent Massager more would have been at the meeting and many would have voiced there disapproval to the change.....not as it would seem that it would have made the slightest of difference!

[Eastside Urchin]

maybe you need 2-3 seasons around the play offs,no offence but you haven't exactly been pushing the top two over the last few years,while i will appreciate you have done well in the conference results and tables don't lie.Imagine you are 2nd in the conference at christmas next season,playing well,the crowds will start to come through the gates but while you are just outside the play offs the floating fans are yet to be convinced.

Its not just getting people through the gates but once they are there giving them a reason to come back again,success does this.

[Stu M]

Originally Posted By: John Pearce

I am sure if the meeting had been announced at the St. Albans game for instance, perhaps advertised in The Distorter and/or Kent Massager more would have been at the meeting and many would have voiced there disapproval to the change

I'm not so sure. Given the difficulties the club have in attracting people to matches, the usual blind eye that testimonial games and other functions are treated even by loyal supporters, and the poor turnouts at many other club-related functions, I doubt you'd have added a significant number on the door with much extra publicity.

[KShep]

Originally Posted By: Aaronl

having felt physicaly sick for 24 hours some questions need answers!!
4. If the board were so confident that this was the right thing to do why did they not put a proper poll in place for fans to decide on the clubs future?

Originally Posted By: John Pearce

Of course it won't make the slightest of difference, for the forseeable future the name will be linked to the largest construction site in Europe and will be utterly meaningless to anyone outside of the area. Another post above this one, has been made by someone from Hornchurch (hardly miles away) and he hasn't even heard of Ebbsfleet and that with the Channel Tunnel Raillink running almost past his front door.

They could change there name to Real Timbuktoo Thursday and it still wouldn't attract the larger crowds the club are looking for. All this name change has done is alienated the club against many of the supporters that have kept the club in existence since 1946!

John, you've answered Aaron's question. Whilst I don't agree with you, I understand why you're so angry about this. But supporters were presumably not given a say in this due to the hot-headedness of a minority's opinion. Your opinions, valid as they are, are biased. I'm not criticising this, we're all biased, as far as I'm concerned every decision given against us this year has been a farce , but when decisions like this have to be made, they have to be made objectively. The club have to weigh up alot of options, not least the pride of supporters, before making a decision that will have a huge impact on the club.

'They could change there name to Real Timbuktoo Thursday and it still wouldn't attract the larger crowds the club are looking for. All this name change has done is alienated the club against many of the supporters that have kept the club in existence since 1946!'

This isn't true. It's only alienated a small minority of fans, and the name change, together with the Thames Gateway regeneration, is planned to draw in a huge addition to our fanbase. If the club would have let supporters have a say in this, unrealistic opinions like this would have obstructed the club as they try to build towards something bigger than anything we've ever seen as fans of GNFC.

[luckypierre]

This is what will probably happen first of all the supporter outrage of which is very justified which will lead to crowd attendances to fall which will lead to us falling into more debt which will lead us to sign insufficient players and if you start to lose games in this league you are trouble because you will be relegated , this is why at this moment in time this is a very bad decision , you only have to remember where margate have gone or was it thanet .. we as a team are just embedded ourselves in this league and building together with the support of the fans we dont need a change , look at canvey and hornchurch both destined for the league there fans told us , lets just hope in 2,3 or 5 years time we still in gravesend and northfleet have not gone into administration and playing kent league football....

[Stu M]

Originally Posted By: luckypierre

look at canvey and hornchurch both destined for the league there fans told us

And both in the palm of money men who pulled out of the club, leaving it high and dry and sold down the river. Our board aren't messing with finances, they're not overspending and everything is - we are led to believe - within some sort of manageable budget.

I do wish people would stick to the facts, as this situation resembles neither Canvey, Hornchurch or MK Dons!

[JimGNFC]

Quote:

This isn't true. It's only alienated a small minority of fans, and the name change, together with the Thames Gateway regeneration, is planned to draw in a huge addition to our fanbase. If the club would have let supporters have a say in this, unrealistic opinions like this would have obstructed the club as they try to build towards something bigger than anything we've ever seen as fans of GNFC.

I disagee - how do you know how many fans it has alienated? Most weren't even at the consultation evening. In the short term I feel the decision is more likely to lose the Club fans rather than add to the fanbase.

The Name change isn't what bothers me. Its the fact the fans were not given an opportunity to vote on such an important issue and the Club had the audacity to call it a "Consultation" evening.

The Club has shown that only 2 people matter at the Club.
The Board have always claimed "first and foremost" to be fans yet the irony of the matter is the fans have been denied the chance to "properly" voice their opinion on the matter.

As for Ebbsfleet United F.C. improving the image of the Club - I've so far had a taxi driver taking the p*ss out of me for supporting a Club where there's nothing but a Train Station and some over-priced flats!

[John Pearce]

[quote=KShep It's only alienated a small minority of fans

 

How do you know? Certainly reading through the posters on this forum, I would certainly not use the words "small minority"

 

The arguements are however irelevent, the decision has been made....and to those that have supported the club for 40 odd years, through the good times and the bad times, the club and more importantly the board are saying TOUGH!

 

The idea that Tuesdays meeting was to be a consultation was/is quite frankly a bloody joke!

[Alan W (GNFC)]

At the end of the day, the Directors were not required to consult with us - if they consult with us over this, what else should they speak to us supporters about? Perhaps we should all be involved in the interviewing process for the Managers job? After all, we'd have, in the main, sacked Daish last summer - the Directors stuck with Liam, despite our complaints & look what developed.

 

As supporters, we can help the club in many ways, but the ultimate decisions have to come from those people who are the main financial backers of the club - yes, we all pay our gate money, and many people put additional funds into the Trust, whilst a few have also purchased some shares, but all this is relatively small fry comparede to the Directors Funding, I guess.

 

The other issue would be - Would you expect a say in the way your employer runs his business? For the most part, the answer will be "No", although I accept some areas do get employee input.

 

And in any event, the better analogy is probably to the suppliers you buy from - for the most part, the businesses concerned will not ask all their customers which they prefer - when the "Marathon" chocolate bar became a "Snickers", there may have been some Market Research done, but the ultimate decision will have been made by the businesses directors.

 

If everyone was involved every time a decision needed to be made, nothing would ever get done, as arguments would drag on & on, and that would be far more detrimental to a business than the change itself.

[Hirsty]

This forum seems to have gained a few new members this week !!!

How strange.....

 

Cheers,

 

[Hempstead Gaz]

And for the first time ever (and probably the last) we agree on things , Hirsty!!!

[Hirsty]

Think positive CG.....this may be the first of many agreements.

 

Cheers,

 

[JimGNFC]

Originally Posted By: Alan W (GNFC)

At the end of the day, the Directors were not required to consult with us - if they consult with us over this, what else should they speak to us supporters about? Perhaps we should all be involved in the interviewing process for the Managers job? After all, we'd have, in the main, sacked Daish last summer - the Directors stuck with Liam, despite our complaints & look what developed.

As supporters, we can help the club in many ways, but the ultimate decisions have to come from those people who are the main financial backers of the club - yes, we all pay our gate money, and many people put additional funds into the Trust, whilst a few have also purchased some shares, but all this is relatively small fry comparede to the Directors Funding, I guess.

To pick you up on a couple of points:

The Directors should have consulted with the Supporters Trust over the "Name Change". Did this happen? If so, why was the news not relayed to its members? I suspect no such consultation occurred.

As you say, the Board should generally not need to consult with fans over things such as Managerial Appointments. However, something as fundamental as a name change required greater democracy. Fans should at the very least have been given the choice to vote on a "preferred" name for the Club.

True, the directors may own the Club financially and its essentially a business. That entitles them to have the final say. However, a football club is slightly different from your typical business. Fan's care passionately for a football club, so when their opinions are not requested it hurts. This leads fans (some at least) to ask if they really want to be a part of a club where their opinions appear to be of no real value to those running the Club.

The Supporters Trust should be a mechanism the Club uses to communicate with the fans. I'm not convinced the Club value the Supporters Trust after this episode - if no consultation occurred between the 2 parties beforehand. This is purely my opinion.