Ups and Downs (Thread Sponsored by Snoop Dogg)

[FGRJC]

Don't be jealous of the little guys as some point you will eventually get out of this league. Enjoy the conference north when you do.

If you're a small club you can't have success apparently, that's why football is fucked these days and why grass roots football is a thing of the past. Very depressing all this bertie big bollocks shit.

 

[doveranddover]

Hungerford & Poole have been tweeting pics of their works going on
https://twitter.com/HungerfordTown
https://twitter.com/PooleTownFC

 

[yellow]

 

[EnglishRed]

If you're a small club you can't have success apparently, that's why football is fucked these days and why grass roots football is a thing of the past. Very depressing all this bertie big bollocks shit.

What had pumping money into a village club and buying hordes of mercenary players got to do with Grass roots football?

Dagenham had a fantastic rise into the league and to maintain themselves there for the best part of a decade on tiny crowds (understandably given they are surrounded by big clubs.) Is impressive. Not sure why he thinks Wrexham are destined for conference north though. Wind your neck in.

 

[GTFCfish]

I'm already looking forward to Newport coming back down.

You won't be when you see the state of their fucking pitch.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

What had pumping money into a village club and buying hordes of mercenary players got to do with Grass roots football?

...

That'd be the grassroots football that got the village club to the Conference National, a Vase win and two Trophy finals making them an attractive project for a local moneybags.

 

[Silver Stone]

At last Chippenham isn't too far! Right?

 

[Chris FGR]

Be great to see Chips get up to Conference South, I used to keep an eye on them when Darren Perrin was manager there.

 

[EnglishRed]

That'd be the grassroots football that got the village club to the Conference National, a Vase win and two Trophy finals making them an attractive project for a local moneybags.

Yeah you used to have a great club. Shame what's happened to it.

"that's why football is fucked these days and why grass roots football is a thing of the past"

 

[Chris FGR]

Yeah you used to have a great club. Shame what's happened to it.

"that's why football is fucked these days and why grass roots football is a thing of the past"

Funny how when a club with a bigger fanbase gets heavy investment, everyone says "good for them, they deserve it."

We've had a lot of people work their bollocks off for free to get us to where we've got to, and years of struggle to put up with. Our crowds weren't great, but we were still getting more then quite a few clubs are getting in this league now, despite being in the bottom half, usually fighting relegation pretty much non stop for over a decade.

Why are we not worthy of having a rich benefactor come in, help us grow and become more successful?

 

[EnglishRed]

Who said you aren't worthy? FGRJC started banging on about the death of grass roots football as if Forest Green and clubs like them are the be all and end all when it comes to grass roots football. I just found it funny as teams bankrolled hugely beyond their means by the largesse of a single individual (put aside all the good and hard work that came before as that's largely irrelevant now) are the antithesis of traditional grass roots football.

 

[Silver Stone]

I don't think it's wrong to be against financial doping. When you're losing seven figures a year in a league where many club still operate part time, it's not quite fair is it?

 

[Luke Imp]

Speaking off losing 7-figures sums, I notice Barrow lost £1m last season. I've not actually read the whole thread so whether that ended up being a bollocks figure I'm not sure!

http://www.barrowafc.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24716&sid=8840b2985e87bb0e5fff2b3fb39bf944

 

[Gibber_McGee]

If you're a small club you can't have success apparently, that's why football is fucked these days and why grass roots football is a thing of the past. Very depressing all this bertie big bollocks shit.

So in your view grass roots football will be enhanced by gazillionaires buying up small clubs and loading them up with millions of pounds of debt, endangering their long-term future and making it almost impossible for every other club to compete with them on a level playing field?

 

[Swedes]

I've yet to see a rich benefactor invest solely into the infrastructure of a club, and encourage it to grow slowly over time. The tendency is for them to chuck a shit-load into the playing budget, creating Johnny-come-lately fans who think success is a given and won't stand by the club in hard times. The former would help grass roots football, the latter ruins it.

 

[Chris FGR]

I've yet to see a rich benefactor invest solely into the infrastructure of a club, and encourage it to grow slowly over time.

Doesn't apply to us. Our planned new stadium complex will not only include on site facilties for our academy and ladies teams, but also facilities for several local sports clubs as well.

Eastleigh also seem to be investing a fair bit in their infrastructure, as are Ebbsfleet.

 

[Swedes]

Doesn't apply to us. Our planned new stadium complex will not only include on site facilties for our academy and ladies teams, but also facilities for several local sports clubs as well.

Eastleigh also seem to be investing a fair bit in their infrastructure, as are Ebbsfleet.

You seem to not understand the word "solely". All the clubs you have mentioned have chucked money at the playing budget too.

 

[Joe.]

You seem to not understand the word "solely". All the clubs you have mentioned have chucked money at the playing budget too.

Whilst a lot of our owner's money has gone into the infrastructure, I'd agree with the chucking money at the playing budget. Daryl McMahon appears to be a little bit more reserved than Jamie Day though, when it comes to chucking money at a player/club. Only paid money for Nathan Ashmore and Andy Drury, both of whom were playing in non-league at the time.

If we fuck it up again this year, then something needs to be done. Really tight at the moment with just one point separating Maidenhead and ourselves with 10 to play.

If we come up, I'd like to see Kiddie or Stockport go up seen as it looks like Fylde have already won it.

Bottom two in League Two don't look like changing unfortunately, been to both of them and not too arsed about going back!

 

[GTFCfish]

Funny how when a club with a bigger fanbase gets heavy investment, everyone says "good for them, they deserve it."

I don't mean to be argumentative here but at which clubs has this happened?

The 2 obvious ones with big investments completely changing their fortunes being Man City and Chelsea but I've never seen or heard anyone saying that they deserve it, good on them etc, quite the opposite in fact.

 

[Solihull Mooron]

I was hoping Fylde were going to rot in the conference North after we beat them to promotion last year.

 

[CrazyImp]

I was hoping Fylde were going to rot in the conference North after we beat them to promotion last year.

They'll be up there next season. Not title calibre, but certainly knocking about in the 5th-7th place area.

 

[GuiseleySteve]

We were con north play off merchants every year but still struggled up here. Fylde seem to have plenty of funds though so have a better chance.

 

[Semi-skimmed Silk]

They'll be up there next season. Not title calibre, but certainly knocking about in the 5th-7th place area.

Oh good, they won't be competing with us for those coveted 8th-12th slots then.

 

[chipmunx]

I was hoping Fylde were going to rot in the conference North after we beat them to promotion last year.

thats what we said the season before when we did the same

 

[chipmunx]

Oh good, they won't be competing with us for those coveted 8th-12th slots then.

No - they'll just go out and spend £100,000 on whoever ends up this seasons top 2 scorers - they don't do defending - They have Steve Williams at the back.....

 

[DontBringBertie]

You seem to not understand the word "solely". All the clubs you have mentioned have chucked money at the playing budget too.

Why would you invest solely in infrastructure though? To please fans of other clubs for not 'splashing the cash'?

Only better players and improved on pitch performances will attract the floating fans.

 

[Greenacres]

For some reason I can't add quotes at the moment but I would go with what Chris posted above and hope for Maidenhead, Hungerford, Fylde and Kiddy to join us if we don't go up. Coming down, would it be wrong to hope for Newport and Cheltenham? At least then we would have a few games a bit closer to home than those we have at the moment.

 

[Chris FGR]

Why would you invest solely in infrastructure though? To please fans of other clubs for not 'splashing the cash'?

Only better players and improved on pitch performances will attract the floating fans.

This.

What attracts bigger crowds first and foremost is results. Why build great facilities and then put a crap team on the pitch that no one will want to pay to watch?

Building up a club successfully needs to happen on and off the pitch. What I don't like is clubs who spunk loads of money up the wall on players but do nothing about improving the facilities. The likes of Fleetwood, ourselves, Easteigh, Fylde and Ebbsfleet all have owners who already have or are planning on investing heavily in the infrastructure of their club, as well as putting quality teams out on the pitch. Which is great for their local communities and football in general.

 

[GTFCfish]

Building up a club successfully needs to happen on and off the pitch. What I don't like is clubs who spunk loads of money up the wall on players but do nothing about improving the facilities. The likes of Fleetwood, ourselves, Easteigh, Fylde and Ebbsfleet all have owners who already have or are planning on investing heavily in the infrastructure of their club, as well as putting quality teams out on the pitch. Which is great for their local communities and football in general.

Hmmm.........

 

[Swedes]

Why would you invest solely in infrastructure though? To please fans of other clubs for not 'splashing the cash'?

Only better players and improved on pitch performances will attract the floating fans.

This.

What attracts bigger crowds first and foremost is results. Why build great facilities and then put a crap team on the pitch that no one will want to pay to watch?

Building up a club successfully needs to happen on and off the pitch. What I don't like is clubs who spunk loads of money up the wall on players but do nothing about improving the facilities. The likes of Fleetwood, ourselves, Easteigh, Fylde and Ebbsfleet all have owners who already have or are planning on investing heavily in the infrastructure of their club, as well as putting quality teams out on the pitch. Which is great for their local communities and football in general.

Indeed, floating fans are attracted by initial results on the pitch first and foremost. Floating fans are also usually the ones not seen when a club is struggling - Rushden & Diamonds were a good example of this. Wigan Athletic's attendances have been on a gradual decline too. Telford FC had an increase in attendances when bankrolled and had a nice ground developed, and people stuck by AFC Telford as they rattled their way up the leagues. Their attendances have since gone back to their pre-bankrolled level as things have finally leveled off.

There are other clubs at all levels who haven't chased the dream but have built good facilities and community links, and appear to be in much better positions than previously both in terms of fan base and league position, for example, Swansea City, Stoke City, Burton Albion, and Rochdale. Granted, the first three have yet to face any further hard times compared to where they have been previously, and there may be other demographics at work (e.g large working class cities for the first two), but all are in much better places than 15 years ago.

People are fickle, and tend to be loyal to habits only. If winning is a habit they won't stick around when their team isn't as successful. If going to the match through thick or thin is a habit, a club will be more robust and a bigger part of the community long-term, hence why the likes of Man City, Wrexham, Stockport, and Yeovil have all survived when down in the dumps.