Future funding of GTFC - is this possible?

How about charging people for a kick around on blundell park in the summer I no I'd pay to do that. The food really does need soughting out. The choice is steak and kidney,chicken and mushroom pie and sausage roll in the upper findus. Hardly inspiring weres the cottage pie.

Quoted from 1600

At least the people fighting WWII had a strategic long-term plan.

I agree save the club but for how long and what's the PLAN for recovery or sustainability ?
Cutting our cloth is the obvious one but it's not ovely inspiring and can it last long term ?

So far there's a distinct lack of ideas, leadership and inspiration from all quarters - board, GTST, fans.
At the moment the only plan seems to be to "put your money in, cross your fingers and hope things on the pitch improve."

I also feel most people are too wrapped up in the structure and democratic workings of supporters groups they've taken their eye off the ball.
I'm all for democracy but have we even got time to implement all that ?

When are people(moreso those in the positions of power) gonna put their thinking caps on for actual ways to get to out of this mess and start to take the initiative ?

that top line is so so  true, a couple more seasons in this league and our great club will be reduced to nothing more than a brigg town

Quoted from 1600

So far there's a distinct lack of ideas, leadership and inspiration from all quarters - board, GTST, fans.
At the moment the only plan seems to be to "put your money in, cross your fingers and hope things on the pitch improve."

I also feel most people are too wrapped up in the structure and democratic workings of supporters groups they've taken their eye off the ball.
I'm all for democracy but have we even got time to implement all that ?

When are people(moreso those in the positions of power) gonna put their thinking caps on for actual ways to get to out of this mess and start to take the initiative ?

JHC!

Are you being deliberately negative?

Of course the Trust hasnt come out with a strategy simply because the members havent had the chance to communicate their views. The Trust as I understand it only had an initial re-launch meeting at the weekend! They have now asked for everyone to come and discuss their opinions(not just Trust members) and views, to elect a board and to decide on the things that the supporters see as important

You seem to make a habit of shooting everyone elses posts down in flames whilst setting yourself up as the only one with constructive points and idea's but you arent prepared to discuss them in an open forum (only from behind a keyboard).

i think everybody would have  aslightly different view as to what the long term plan would be.
here's my own thoughts ,and even my own thoughts are probably contradictory and a complete mish mash.
i'd like town be like crewe, or burnley in the 70's or like norwich and ipswich have been over the years. all have similarities i suppose; generally well run off the park in their hiatus with a strong accent on young players being brought through, given their chance, allowed to move on to better things when the time was right, but all done with footie being played the right way. ipswich and norwich are both out on a limb geographically, but still attract a stream of talented youngsters.
i'd go and see how little hamilton acciesa chieved so much, how valencia and villareal have survived and prospered, how the smaller portuguese clubs, who are have worse support than us, manage to compete with the big 3. i'd have alook at ajax and i'd particularly look at the situation in belgium where they have a small league but for the last few years have been churning out some excellent players.
i'd investigate geir'ss uggestion of a link up with norwegian clubs and have alook at similar set ups with clubs in eire or belgium etc
off the pitch i'd go and look at smaller clubs who are punching above their weight and also at other sport. went to watch perpignan - agen rugby union on friday night- was very impressed. loads of catering outlets, from nice quality hot dogs to a range of restaurants and bars. the shop was impressively well stocked and the USAP brand was highly visible throughout the city with bars, shops etc procliming their allegiance.
at the end you'd come away with thinking that 90% at each club wasn't relevant, but the 10% that was would form the basis for a coherent vision of how the club could move forward

for me crewe should be our minimum aspiration.

the amount of players they keep bringing through is an inspiration, as are middlesbrough and west ham.

but for me barcelona have to be every clubs role model. obviously they have far more money than us, they can sign any young player in the world, but we can emulate their philosophy.

the business side of the club is important, but attendances are our bread and butter and the one thing that will effect that is performances on the pitch. facilities, food etc arent really important. yes if the bogs are manky you might not get many women coming more than once, but with a mcdonalds right outside the ground its almost impossible for the club to achieve anything from the food kiosks.

if and when we get a new ground im sure it will be designed to have all sorts of ancillary revenue streams, proper food, offices, blah blah blah, but there is nothing we can do about that stuff now.

the question we have to ask is, how on earth do we have a youth system that isnt producing players good enough for the conference?

out of last seasons batch we have charlie ianson and andi thanoj sort of around the first team squad, sam mulready with about 3 months left of a contract and nowhere near the first team and connor marshall who isnt even on a contract.

are all of our youth team graduates below conference standard? if that is the case we are an absolute disgrace. or are we not giving them a chance in the first team, because managers need success yesterday and cant afford to take a risk with the kids? personally i think its a mixture of both.

if GTFC are ever going to be a good championship side, we need our youth system to come through.

Quoted from pleasegoup

for me crewe should be our minimum aspiration.

the amount of players they keep bringing through is an inspiration, as are middlesbrough and west ham.

but for me barcelona have to be every clubs role model. obviously they have far more money than us, they can sign any young player in the world, but we can emulate their philosophy.

the business side of the club is important, but attendances are our bread and butter and the one thing that will effect that is performances on the pitch. facilities, food etc arent really important. yes if the bogs are manky you might not get many women coming more than once, but with a mcdonalds right outside the ground its almost impossible for the club to achieve anything from the food kiosks.

if and when we get a new ground im sure it will be designed to have all sorts of ancillary revenue streams, proper food, offices, blah blah blah, but there is nothing we can do about that stuff now.

the question we have to ask is, how on earth do we have a youth system that isnt producing players good enough for the conference?

out of last seasons batch we have charlie ianson and andi thanoj sort of around the first team squad, sam mulready with about 3 months left of a contract and nowhere near the first team and connor marshall who isnt even on a contract.

are all of our youth team graduates below conference standard? if that is the case we are an absolute disgrace. or are we not giving them a chance in the first team, because managers need success yesterday and cant afford to take a risk with the kids? personally i think its a mixture of both.

if GTFC are ever going to be a good championship side, we need our youth system to come through.

which is probably why it is franchised out - make £x with very little effort or use up a lot of manpower and have alot of hassle for slightly more profit
i notice my local tecos has franchised out its cafe to costa coffee which indicates to me that gtfc might be on the right track with letting the catering out to outsiders

Charity or annual donations are fine but I definitely think the ideas to generate income are the right way to go as they are more sustainable.

What has not been mentioned that would bring more money in and improve the match day experience for all is quite simply more people turning up to watch the games. How do we get more fans through the gate?

I believe Hartlepool had an excellent season ticket sales system whereby the price was dependent on the number sold. So the more people who agreed to buy one, the cheaper they became. They sold about 3 times as many as in the previous year. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd so I suspect their match day sales are up too.

Or how about something creative on a game by game basis. How about increase prices a little but if we lose then you get half the cost back? Perhaps not feasible but it feels like there needs to be some kind of incentive other than the actual match results.

What if BP was a better place to go to? How about the toilets and bar are refurbished by local decorators who get "paid" simply by advertising their work in the locations with a promanent sign with their business name and contact info.