Legacy of our FA Cup run?

A step too far today unfortunately but surely our cup run will leave a lasting legacy.

Bigger budget for players next season for starters and easier to attract players after all the publicity I would suggest.

Today was always going to be a step too far but what an amazing journey, so proud of the whole club and fans for giving us back our pride and our passion, promotion push starts at Mansfield. UTM

I agree with you, especially about the publicity. It will show any future potential signings what Grimsby is about, particularly our fans. Hopefully, they will think of us as not just a league 2 club, but a league 2 club that are on a journey. A journey which they can be part of.

Not sure why Spurn Boy got marked down for the comment but I agree with the comment
UTM
Onwards and upwards.
PH will build these players up and tell them how well they have done on this Cup run.

shame we didnt have a go instead of sitting on the edge of our box admiring them thought we gave them far too much respect.  Still a fantastic effort.

Cup run has been nothing short of brilliant.

We should now concentrate on our bread and butter. Not likely but playoffs still a possibility.
Focus on the job in hand and rejoice the cup run at the end of the League season.

My personal legacy was being able to get a cracking pay on the day seat in the lower for the Burton game. I'd never have thought it would have meant so much before this season. Impossible for every home league game.

Yes,  can reach the playoffs.  If we have the energy.  Twice today on TV it was mentioned that we should avoid relegation. Well, yes!

£250 × 4000= 1 million quid , so 4000 ST ish if you average out juniors and adults . So its worth that from one perspective before next season has even started ; some head start .

The money is great, over a million by all accounts, but I think the way that our profile as a community based club with an incredible fan base will make players who might have turned their noses up at us a year ago want to come and play.

It will be interesting to see how the summer transfer window goes, but I think we now have have the resources and reputation to attract some quality players at L2/L1 level.  

I would like to think we have also increased our standing in the eyes of Premiership managers looking for a club to send out the next crop of upcoming youngsters on loan

Your legacy is the example you have made as decent, fervent and honest supporters of your club, that's from a personal point of view. You'll have made some good cash on your way and you will have made your club more attractive to players.

Jonathan Pierce said our players were worth a collective 354 mill and yours was 1.4 mill. That's just crazy. We were the 1.4 mill 20 years ago. It takes time, but with the right direction and the right owners all can aspire to be like us. Believe me, we still find it hard to understand where we are now. I would say we still have our past first and foremost ( I'm 58 ) and although we support a Prem club we still keep our mentality truly humble from our past. When I think that we have 11 internationals on duty this week, 2 who should be in the England squad if Southgate wasn't such a ******* (Dunk and March), one world cup winner, it's complete madness for a Brighton supporter. I wouldn't have dreamt this even 10 years ago, I'd have had to given my head a wobble. It is possible guys, you just have to dream that dream.

I wish you all the best and will lurk here every now and then and watch for your results.

Quoted from Brighton Lurker

Your legacy is the example you have made as decent, fervent and honest supporters of your club, that's from a personal point of view. You'll have made some good cash on your way and you will have made your club more attractive to players.

Jonathan Pierce said our players were worth a collective 354 mill and yours was 1.4 mill. That's just crazy. We were the 1.4 mill 20 years ago. It takes time, but with the right direction and the right owners all can aspire to be like us. Believe me, we still find it hard to understand where we are now. I would say we still have our past first and foremost ( I'm 58 ) and although we support a Prem club we still keep our mentality truly humble from our past. When I think that we have 11 internationals on duty this week, 2 who should be in the England squad if Southgate wasn't such a ******* (Dunk and March), one world cup winner, it's complete madness for a Brighton supporter. I wouldn't have dreamt this even 10 years ago, I'd have had to given my head a wobble. It is possible guys, you just have to dream that dream.

I wish you all the best and will lurk here every now and then and watch for your results.

You’ll be welcome and I hope you have an FA Cup win to add to your club’s journey.

Quoted from Simon

I would like to think we have also increased our standing in the eyes of Premiership managers looking for a club to send out the next crop of upcoming youngsters on loan

I think this is important. I'm not sure about what Southampton are building, but they have had a decent conveyor belt of youth talent for a number of years (Ward-Prowse, Walcott, Bale).

I think Luton is a good business model to aspire to and we seemingly have a bit of a relationship there anyway, but Brighton seem to do a lot of good on and off the pitch; Mitoma a steal at £2.5m. Hopefully, Messrs Stockwood and Pettit have built some good relationships, that would have been otherwise impossible, during this cup run to help shape what we do going forwards.

Where do we start? Money, profile, engagement, unity, good will, improved attention from agents, kudos from opposing supporters, there’s probably a few other things.

Maybe the biggest thing is that it shows that we’ve moved on and now GTFC is something positive to be involved with.

I hope that GTFC can enhance their sweep for new rough diamonds to develop, and young footballers who don't get taken on from the Premier and Championship teams after YTS or apprenticeship schemes.

We won't have huge amounts for signing on schemes, so the way forward will revolve around the player trawl that the Head of Recruitment can put in front of Paul Hurst.

My question would be how far afield this Head will be searching?

Are we considering the Scottish, Irish and Welsh Leagues, and would Town consider players from Europe, Iceland etc?

We've got a New Zealand keeper, and previously had an assistant from Australia, so how far will Town be searching?

The guy who stuck two past us today was found in Ireland as a 16-year-old.

It's one thing spotting talent; it's another improving it so they can realise their potential. I think that's where we've fallen in the past. We've had one or two really promising youngsters but not had the training facilities or the coaching set-up to take them onto the next level.

We just can't give youngsters like that everything they need to really push on. It's true that a lot of it is pure ability, but the game is full of stories where talent ends up in non-league while less talented players act like true pros and enjoy a good career in the FL.

The legacy for me is that Hurst will know the players in this squad inside out. They’ve been tested against better teams. He’ll know their attitude, who the leaders are, who can develop, who can improve, who can maintain standards and all those other cliches we hear.

He’ll know who he can base the team around next year. It might be 2, it might be 10. I’m totally guessing but seeing who’s been trusted to do media stuff recently  I reckon he’s got a lot of trust in Waterfall, Holohan, Maher, Clifton and maybe Michee as a minimum.

Quoted from acko338

I hope that GTFC can enhance their sweep for new rough diamonds to develop, and young footballers who don't get taken on from the Premier and Championship teams after YTS or apprenticeship schemes.

We won't have huge amounts for signing on schemes, so the way forward will revolve around the player trawl that the Head of Recruitment can put in front of Paul Hurst.

My question would be how far afield this Head will be searching?

Are we considering the Scottish, Irish and Welsh Leagues, and would Town consider players from Europe, Iceland etc?

We've got a New Zealand keeper, and previously had an assistant from Australia, so how far will Town be searching?

You would naturally think that a Head of Recruitment at our level would be covering the UK and Ireland, but knowing where we got him from, you would like to think that he may have contacts further afield that may be utilised.

Quoted from Lord Gadiform

The legacy for me is that Hurst will know the players in this squad inside out. They’ve been tested against better teams. He’ll know their attitude, who the leaders are, who can develop, who can improve, who can maintain standards and all those other cliches we hear.

He’ll know who he can base the team around next year. It might be 2, it might be 10. I’m totally guessing but seeing who’s been trusted to do media stuff recently  I reckon he’s got a lot of trust in Waterfall, Holohan, Maher, Clifton and maybe Michee as a minimum.

I'd like to think that the players have bonded with the supporters as well more than in a typical season. It's been an astonishing 12 months. I know they all have their own careers to think of, but I hope they'll want to stay here if they get the opportunity and see if the next chapter is half as exciting as the last one.

I can't wait for Season 2 (or it is 3?)

Quoted from acko338

I hope that GTFC can enhance their sweep for new rough diamonds to develop, and young footballers who don't get taken on from the Premier and Championship teams after YTS or apprenticeship schemes.

We won't have huge amounts for signing on schemes, so the way forward will revolve around the player trawl that the Head of Recruitment can put in front of Paul Hurst.

My question would be how far afield this Head will be searching?

Are we considering the Scottish, Irish and Welsh Leagues, and would Town consider players from Europe, Iceland etc?

We've got a New Zealand keeper, and previously had an assistant from Australia, so how far will Town be searching?

Why would we look at players from these country’s when the top 2 divisions discard loads of kids with talent and ability at the end of the season? Glennon who played really well today is one example of how we can benefit.

For me, the legacy isn’t just about the players. It’s about the club being the epicentre again of the community. How many were watching on tv or even lucky enough to be at the game thinking they’d love to watch town week in week out. Brighton are great examples of what can be achieved and how a club can make huge strides via engagement within their own back yard.

Instead of kids talking of Man Utd, liverpool etc in the playgrounds at school today, hopefully it’ll be Town that will be the topic of conversation.

The legacy has to be about how the club embeds itself fully in the community.

We’ve just visited a club whose stadium is essentially out of town and yet still had a community vibe about it. I understand that being in the premier league and sellouts every week probably help but I can be scaled down and there’s plenty of room for ambition and aspiration.

Sadly, for a fair fee the legacy will be every transfer window when we don’t sign Haaland and all we’ll hear is ‘where’s the FA cup money’…

I know it sounds bonkers
But will Hurst even want this bigger budget?
He loves to operate as the underdog ,and keep 'us shape' with budget much like his setup on the pitch .
Did great with Shrewsbury and us
Not so well with Ipswich where I assume he had a bigger warchest and bigger egos to manage .

Bigger budget still doesn't mean big. Whatever figure it is will still be dwarfed by other teams in our division. I'd still like him to splash out on a number 9 you can build the team around rather than get loads of players and cobble a team from the squad. The fact is we have one of the worst home records in the EFL. Winning away is fun but we need to do better in front of our own fans.

Quoted from aldi_01

The legacy has to be about how the club embeds itself fully in the community.

We’ve just visited a club whose stadium is essentially out of town and yet still had a community vibe about it. I understand that being in the premier league and sellouts every week probably help but I can be scaled down and there’s plenty of room for ambition and aspiration.

Sadly, for a fair fee the legacy will be every transfer window when we don’t sign Haaland and all we’ll hear is ‘where’s the FA cup money’…

It was a nice ground, but it being out of town made it a bit excrement, or would do if you had to go every week. I think Brighton fans are quite happy with having a ground that isn't the Withdean, but the travel and organisation was a ballache (I think they're making the best of it).
Spoke to a bloke on the train on the way to Falmer and he was kitted out in all the Brighton gear, old fella, I was chatting to him about my visit to the Withdean and he knew very little about it. Told me he used to follow Swindon. I did speak to some proper fans as well, but I thought it was telling when they started streaming out from about 80 minutes that having an out of town stadium causes issues.

They've an absolutely class team.

I think the legacy for us has to be kicking on, we've had a bit of success, but can we capitalise on it?
I think the next 5 years might be amazing for Town fans. I don't agree with everything they do but I actually feel like our owners have genuine aspirations to improve us both on and off the pitch.
Be amazing if they can redevelop Blundell park.

Quoted from Brighton Lurker

Jonathan Pierce said our players were worth a collective 354 mill and yours was 1.4 mill. That's just crazy. We were the 1.4 mill 20 years ago.

£ 1.4m ?? I think he must have included the players cars and watches to come up with that figure of worth 😂

The one thing that supporters have to be mindful of, is that although the owners have committed to putting the FA Cup money into the playing budget, this cannot be solely blown in one season. The clue is in the word "budget".

First and foremost, as supporters we have to understand that this "football fortune" is very unlikely to occur again next season, and that prize money like this does not come around very often for small lower league clubs. So it can't be blown in one season in such a way that it makes our playing budget unsustainable for subsequent seasons.

So the sensible way forward in applying the prize money to the normal budget, is to carefully amortise the additional amount over the length of any new contracts. So for instance, a new player comes in on a two year contract. The money has to be used in such a way that it sustainably supports that wage bill over the two years of the contract. And that has to apply to every contracted player. We have to afford ourselves the "get out" of the wage commitments when the contracts expire, in the knowledge that we may not have accumulated any more "football fortune" over above what we earned in the 2022/23 season for it to continue at those levels.

Not putting a downer on the money we've earned by any means. It is a real bonus, but as supporters we have to manage our expectations too in terms of how this can be used sustainably.

Quoted from DaleH

The one thing that supporters have to be mindful of, is that although the owners have committed to putting the FA Cup money into the playing budget, this cannot be solely blown in one season. The clue is in the word "budget".

First and foremost, as supporters we have to understand that this "football fortune" is very unlikely to occur again next season, and that prize money like this does not come around very often for small lower league clubs. So it can't be blown in one season in such a way that it makes our playing budget unsustainable for subsequent seasons.

So the sensible way forward in applying the prize money to the normal budget, is to carefully amortise the additional amount over the length of any new contracts. So for instance, a new player comes in on a two year contract. The money has to be used in such a way that it sustainably supports that wage bill over the two years of the contract. And that has to apply to every contracted player. We have to afford ourselves the "get out" of the wage commitments when the contracts expire, in the knowledge that we may not have accumulated any more "football fortune" over above what we earned in the 2022/23 season for it to continue at those levels.

Not putting a downer on the money we've earned by any means. It is a real bonus, but as supporters we have to manager our expectations too in terms of how this can be used sustainably.

Thats too sensible
It needs copy and pasting for when some of our less thoughftul posters on twitter are saying 'where is the million pound striker ?' in the summer .

Quoted from GrimRob

Bigger budget still doesn't mean big. Whatever figure it is will still be dwarfed by other teams in our division. I'd still like him to splash out on a number 9 you can build the team around rather than get loads of players and cobble a team from the squad. The fact is we have one of the worst home records in the EFL. Winning away is fun but we need to do better in front of our own fans.

I get what you mean , we should have one of the biggest based on crowds and this cup run .
BUT  you will have teams like Salford , FGR and Colchester with double our budget probably .

Would love the transparency that you could see all the teams playing budgets ,it would be interesting to see where we are ,and how much these clubs that are bankrolled are overspending beyond their long term means .

Build from within. I feel the reason why the ‘home’ atmosphere is never as good is because the ones that do want the songs etc are dispersed around the ground. Also, going back to points made before, any noise that the pontoon does make, gets lost either side of the stand. Let’s get something added to the sides to keep that noise in (and create advertising space too). Bournemouth have done it and am sure it certainly ups the ante on match day.

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

Build from within. I feel the reason why the ‘home’ atmosphere is never as good is because the ones that do want the songs etc are dispersed around the ground. Also, going back to points made before, any noise that the pontoon does make, gets lost either side of the stand. Let’s get something added to the sides to keep that noise in (and create advertising space too). Bournemouth have done it and am sure it certainly ups the ante on match day.

I was thinking the same about Bournemouth reading the No New Stadium thread. When you see that picture - that is no bigger than a Main Stand rebuild would be.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

I was thinking the same about Bournemouth reading the No New Stadium thread. When you see that picture - that is no bigger than a Main Stand rebuild would be.

I was thinking more Dalymount park for redevelopment would be more our size/infrastructure but Bournemouth are certainly a great blueprint to use. That stand goes the full length though and from what I remember, the ground is quite open from each side. Although, last time I went was 10 plus years ago

https://m.independent.ie/sport.....vealed-37409975.html

Also, when considering transfer budget for next season, it’s looking likely that Wrexham will be up. And they will go bananas in the transfer market.

Quoted from Mappers

I get what you mean , we should have one of the biggest based on crowds and this cup run .
BUT  you will have teams like Salford , FGR and Colchester with double our budget probably .

Looking at attendances is a bit misleading as there are more ways to earn income other than bums on seats. Especially with those clubs with new stadiums. Some clubs undoubtedly do overspend but we just reported a big loss. We still have catching up to do.

I sincerely hope the TV exposure has put Grimsby on the footballing map, as opposed to being another league 2 club. The cup run has shown we can mix it with any league 1 side, take on a very good championship side and beat a downtrodden prem side.

All those performances showed the passion and acumen of the team and, of course, let's not forget the travelling fans. The Brighton game was one too many but the team showed what they could do in the first half, a £1 million squad and a £300 million squad and there is only going to be one winner.

I think just under the play offs this season and promotion next season. We have the £1 million cup run money to bolster the squad with better players. I think future targeted players will now see what playing for Grimsby means and where we are going.

Looking to move to a new stadium is not going to happen, so it's improvements to BP that we are going to get. What we can look forward to is the new training ground, eventually, and it has been said before this is where the players do most of their work; so it has to be attractive to future signings.

So to me, the legacy of the cup run is the creation of optimism in the future. Lastly, I see THE FISHY has about 50 new members since the Southampton fixture was announced. Welcome to you all to this fantastic fans forum.

Quoted from GrimRob

Looking at attendances is a bit misleading as there are more ways to earn income other than bums on seats. Especially with those clubs with new stadiums. Some clubs undoubtedly do overspend but we just reported a big loss. We still have catching up to do.

Correct. A stadium with good facilities will draw in conferences, business meetings, even exhibitions and concerts. The ideas is that the stadium generates revenue on non match days. Also superior catering options will bring in more revenue, and it's possible that a better match day experience will attract bigger crowds too.

It works for other clubs why not us?  The key is to secure funding, but I am sure there are various grants available, and a new stadium location with enabling retail partners might well provide significant capital contributions towards construction costs. I am sure our owners will be on it when they think the time is right.  

Quoted from moosey_club

£ 1.4m ?? I think he must have included the players cars and watches to come up with that figure of worth 😂

I’d imagine that’s purely the loan players’ parent clubs valuations!

I'm slightly concerned people are expecting too much for next season, I've seen and heard people mention promotion. We need to be realistic. Ideally this season if we can push on and finish top 12 then we've done well. Next season for me it's about progression and aslong as we're close to the play offs with a couple of games to go it's progression. Ideally I'd love for us to be in the play offs and with the way PH works I can genuinely see that as a possibility. But, as we all know, play offs are a lottery.

Quoted from lukeo

I'm slightly concerned people are expecting too much for next season, I've seen and heard people mention promotion. We need to be realistic. Ideally this season if we can push on and finish top 12 then we've done well. Next season for me it's about progression and aslong as we're close to the play offs with a couple of games to go it's progression. Ideally I'd love for us to be in the play offs and with the way PH works I can genuinely see that as a possibility. But, as we all know, play offs are a lottery.

We'd better make sure we're in the top 3.

Quoted from lukeo

I'm slightly concerned people are expecting too much for next season, I've seen and heard people mention promotion. We need to be realistic. Ideally this season if we can push on and finish top 12 then we've done well. Next season for me it's about progression and aslong as we're close to the play offs with a couple of games to go it's progression. Ideally I'd love for us to be in the play offs and with the way PH works I can genuinely see that as a possibility. But, as we all know, play offs are a lottery.

Are they though ?
Carlisle are having a good go at top 3 and they wont have a massive budget ,just a good manager .
Sutton are flirting with the play offs to and we gave them a lesson last week .
I am all for incremental gains ,but much like the NL league 2 is going to get more and more difficult to get out of over the coming years .

Quoted from lukeo

I'm slightly concerned people are expecting too much for next season, I've seen and heard people mention promotion. We need to be realistic. Ideally this season if we can push on and finish top 12 then we've done well. Next season for me it's about progression and aslong as we're close to the play offs with a couple of games to go it's progression. Ideally I'd love for us to be in the play offs and with the way PH works I can genuinely see that as a possibility. But, as we all know, play offs are a lottery.

I think we’re allowed to have high expectations, I’m tired of a total lack of ambition from our fans .
A club of our size with our support should be at least a league higher

We should be ambitious and to be honest, I’d imagine that the playoffs are the ambition within the cub for next year. That not to say they’ll lose their minds and sack Hurst in October if we’re not top 3. He’s here for the long haul and it most definitely part of the bigger project.

We need some years of stability and development, development which doesn’t necessarily mean on field.

It’s clear the ambition is more that just to survive like we’ve had for the last 20 years. The ambition is more than just making do and we actually have a plan and vision for the club. Perhaps that’s where the slightly hyperbolic ambition is coming from? We know the people in charge know what they’re doing?

That said, the disparity between clubs and wages will only increase next year should Reynolds FC come up...

All I'm saying is back the boys regardless... I'm hoping for play offs next season, it would be great (if not this!) But if we don't quite make it, aslong as we've progressed and taken more points than this year then it's a positive.

Quoted from lukeo

All I'm saying is back the boys regardless... I'm hoping for play offs next season, it would be great (if not this!) But if we don't quite make it, aslong as we've progressed and taken more points than this year then it's a positive.

I honestly think we have to grab this opportunity with both hands and have the ambition and the determination to make it happen.

The club us on the up,we are in a good place, we have committed fans and have got good income.

Now is the time to strike hard. If we fail then fair enough, but we should be aiming for promotion next season.

Football is so unique; once you get on a roll events seem to take over and as long as the club, and perhaps Hurst in particular recognise that better players will demand more in wages whether we like it or not we should have a great season.

I'm not expecting marquee signings but am expecting more recognised high end league 2 talent.

Legacy is an interesting word as it can mean a negative scenario, but looking at the current leadership and their desire for the overall betterment of the club rather than their personal gain I'm 100% sure it will be positive.

Maybe the legacy is just proving the theory that when the leadership, staff, manager, players and supporters are on the same page then you can achieve some notable success on the pitch, for a legacy to be truly meaningful all the stake holders mentioned above need to do their bit.

Leaders need to be trusted to lead, managers to manage, players to play, staff to deliver and most important of all to every contributor on the board supporters "support" - be mindful that as an individual supporter just because you don't like it that "it" might not be wrong.

Will we get promoted next year? Possibly, but it will be really hard as it's a competitive division and you would expect the NL promoted clubs if it's the current top 2 to have big resources and the clubs coming down will want to get back up. Will we be better than this season in the league? Yes I'm sure we will and year on year improvement is pretty much the expectation I have.

All I know is that the owners, players and staff will do the best job they can as the culture and mindset is changing from one of subsistence to one of growth.

Legacy......for the remainder of all time we were the first club to achieve beating higher opposition in every round to the quarter finals.
You can't spend that or squander that. It's in the record books...and should a league two club make a similar attempt pound to a penny "emulating Grimsby" will be a term used.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I honestly think we have to grab this opportunity with both hands and have the ambition and the determination to make it happen.

The club us on the up,we are in a good place, we have committed fans and have got good income.

Now is the time to strike hard. If we fail then fair enough, but we should be aiming for promotion next season.

Football is so unique; once you get on a roll events seem to take over and as long as the club, and perhaps Hurst in particular recognise that better players will demand more in wages whether we like it or not we should have a great season.

I'm not expecting marquee signings but am expecting more recognised high end league 2 talent.

THIS.

This is a genuinely once in a lifetime opportunity to capitalise on an awful lot of a) good will, b) good publicity, c) momentum and, more importantly, d) resources.

We won't get an opportunity to push the club forward like we've got now. Everything is there, it's not like last year given next season won't be handicapped by a short preseason and, probably, a budget that needed more to compete if we're really honest.

I don't think we'll storm the league. Wrexham, Gillingham and then all but one of Stockport, Salford, Northampton and Bradford are still going to be able to chuck more money at it than us in all likelihood. I'm hoping the benefits of the exposure and momentum and no short close season will mitigate that to some extent.

Quoted from Mariner_09

THIS.

This is a genuinely once in a lifetime opportunity to capitalise on an awful lot of a) good will, b) good publicity, c) momentum and, more importantly, d) resources.

We won't get an opportunity to push the club forward like we've got now. Everything is there, it's not like last year given next season won't be handicapped by a short preseason and, probably, a budget that needed more to compete if we're really honest.

I don't think we'll storm the league. Wrexham, Gillingham and then all but one of Stockport, Salford, Northampton and Bradford are still going to be able to chuck more money at it than us in all likelihood. I'm hoping the benefits of the exposure and momentum and no short close season will mitigate that to some extent.

Agree with everything you've said except to add that if notts come up you can probably add them to that list the way they run beyond their means plus possibly selling langstaff to boot. We still need to aim for playoffs tho with our budget boost.

The legacy will be that the club isn't going to lose as much money as JS mentioned . I can't see a massive shift in wage structure either tbh . The club needs millions spending on it .

another way of describing the legacy of the cup run, of last years play off, of 1878's influence is that it is now fun to support Town, it's easy to support Town, it makes you proud to support Town
Under Fenty it was a drudgery and a duty

Quoted from forza ivano

another way of describing the legacy of the cup run, of last years play off, of 1878's influence is that it is now fun to support Town, it's easy to support Town, it makes you proud to support Town
Under Fenty it was a drudgery and a duty

Comedy at times though
Maybe our current custodians can arrange 'a night with '
Peter Swann & GetYourFacts right at Mcmenemys ,I would pay to see that show .

Quoted from Mappers

Comedy at times though
Maybe our current custodians can arrange 'a night with '
Peter Swann & GetYourFacts right at Mcmenemys ,I would pay to see that show .

Can Mike Newell be the support act

I think the club need to seize the initiative while the cup glory is fresh in the mind - for example get season tickets on sale sharpish and use the cup run for marketing. People have short memories, especially if this season fizzles out with  as series of drab home performances

Quoted from buckstown

I think the club need to seize the initiative while the cup glory is fresh in the mind - for example get season tickets on sale sharpish and use the cup run for marketing. People have short memories, especially if this season fizzles out with  as series of drab home performances

I agree that we need to move quickly on this not only to take the opportunity to ride on the back of the cup run but also just to give people some time to find the money.

We have momentum. Once you have it, keep it going because it is very difficult to get back if you let it slip. That was why we ended up back in non league under Fenty. He went for stability and consolidation rather than keeping it going.
don't for a minute think that the current owners will make the same mistakes that the old owner did.

Quoted from mimma

We have momentum. Once you have it, keep it going because it is very difficult to get back if you let it slip. That was why we ended up back in non league under Fenty. He went for stability and consolidation rather than keeping it going.
don't for a minute think that the current owners will make the same mistakes that the old owner did.

You’re being generous with saying he went for consolidation and stability, that implies there was a plan. There wasn’t. We got back up and he sat back and literally did all the things that got us relegated in the first place…

Quoted from Mariner_09

THIS.

This is a genuinely once in a lifetime opportunity to capitalise on an awful lot of a) good will, b) good publicity, c) momentum and, more importantly, d) resources.

We won't get an opportunity to push the club forward like we've got now. Everything is there, it's not like last year given next season won't be handicapped by a short preseason and, probably, a budget that needed more to compete if we're really honest.

I don't think we'll storm the league. Wrexham, Gillingham and then all but one of Stockport, Salford, Northampton and Bradford are still going to be able to chuck more money at it than us in all likelihood. I'm hoping the benefits of the exposure and momentum and no short close season will mitigate that to some extent.

Quite right. The Stars Have Aligned This Season, we must Carpe Diem. Seize the opportunity.

Quoted from grimps

I think we’re allowed to have high expectations, I’m tired of a total lack of ambition from our fans .
A club of our size with our support should be at least a league higher

I don't disagree but I think the balance point is how realistic the ambition is against the level of competition.

Like many on here, I supported Town through the 90s when we were often a Championship team and my early away days were at fantastic grounds, so I agree that all things considered L1 should be our level. But since we were in the Championship there have been a lot of Clubs that have surpassed their reputation and standing of that era and progressed, whilst we declined. That isn't to say that it means we should now be happy to simply be in L2, but that more teams are realistically competing to play at that L1, meaning reputation and history aren't the markers they were 10/20 years ago.

Our ambition should certainly be to be playing in L1 within the next few years, but if we as fans try to expedite that ambition and expect too much too quick, we risk re-creating the discord between team/manager/owners/club that existed under Fenty, despite the fact everything about what we're doing right now is geared towards improvements in every area. After all the good that has happened in the last 18 months, I would be so downhearted to see fans turning away because they held the same ambitions as the Club but were too impatient/too demanding of the timescales to see it happen.

Quoted from aldi_01

You’re being generous with saying he went for consolidation and stability, that implies there was a plan. There wasn’t. We got back up and he sat back and literally did all the things that got us relegated in the first place…

His plan was to finish 3rd from bottom every season with spending as little as possible ( he failed twice )

This is what gets me mad when people say we shouldn’t expect too much , we should be demanding top 7 every season as a minimum and after this season I’m expecting that

I’d say it’d be pretty defeatist to justify anything other than a good run at the play-offs next year. I’ve seen more reasons on here for why we can’t as opposed to why we can.

Stevenage and Carlisle were battling relegation last season and are 2nd/3rd this season, it’s not like they’ve absolutely splashed the cash either. We have made probably the equivalent of close to a years budget from the cup run, that doesn’t even take into account the McAtee money either. From what I’ve seen of this league, it’s not that high in quality & everyone is beatable. I’ve also seen Salford, Mansfield, Bradford & Northampton cited as reasons we can’t keep up, those sides have been trying & failing to go up for years. All whilst Cambridge, Morecambe and FGR surpassed them and went up.

If we can wisely spend even a fraction of the probable 1.5m we made then there’s no reason next season can’t be a play-off season and if go so far as to say I’d be disappointed if we didn’t. The summer window is absolutely vital to that and the club needs to capitalise on such an opportunity.

Quoted from pontoonlew

I’d say it’d be pretty defeatist to justify anything other than a good run at the play-offs next year. I’ve seen more reasons on here for why we can’t as opposed to why we can.

Stevenage and Carlisle were battling relegation last season and are 2nd/3rd this season, it’s not like they’ve absolutely splashed the cash either. We have made probably the equivalent of close to a years budget from the cup run, that doesn’t even take into account the McAtee money either. From what I’ve seen of this league, it’s not that high in quality & everyone is beatable. I’ve also seen Salford, Mansfield, Bradford & Northampton cited as reasons we can’t keep up, those sides have been trying & failing to go up for years. All whilst Cambridge, Morecambe and FGR surpassed them and went up.

If we can wisely spend even a fraction of the probable 1.5m we made then there’s no reason next season can’t be a play-off season and if go so far as to say I’d be disappointed if we didn’t. The summer window is absolutely vital to that and the club needs to capitalise on such an opportunity.

I think back to Hurst’s time at Shewsbury. When he joined, they were bottom of League One after 15 games, 6 points short of safety with the worst goal difference in the league.

He had relatively little room to manoeuvre, making just three permanent signings in the January window - Toto, Alex Rodman and Bryn Morris. And yet they finished the season strongly and finished 18th.

The following season was totally different - they properly kicked on, finishing 3rd having been in the automatic positions for most of the season, before losing in the play-off final to Rotherham. They really should have gone up, but that was some turnaround nevertheless.

That’s a good barometer of what Hurst can do with the right set of circumstances. I think most would agree that last summer was difficult with something daft like a 6 week turnaround between the end and start of the season. Beyond that, the Fenty shadow was still looming large over the club, at least in the eyes of prospective signings.

I think events in recent weeks will have gone a long way to reminding those in the football world that Fenty is no more and that we a different proposition altogether. Reinvigorated, reinvented - a good place to be. Still, I see real value in finishing as high as possible. 11th or 12th looks eminently doable, and would be a great platform to build on for next season.

And I’m genuinely excited for what’s to come next season. We will go into it quite likely on the back of our highest league finish since 2006. We will have the biggest relative budget we’ve had also since 2006, with the club’s image and reputation in the best shape I can remember for such a long time. Improved infrastructure, a head of recruitment - all that good stuff.

And then we have the manager, a man with a great track record of building teams over time. He’ll have learned a lot about us and this division this year and I think we all agree, we have the best version of him yet.

I’d also like to think, with some positive early signings, we can maintain similar ST levels again this summer, which might have looked unlikely a few weeks back.

I do think we’ll see some significant squad turnover, with few out of contract players making the cut. I expect Amos, Cropper, Pearson, Morris, Wearne and Taylor will go. Some decent players in there, no doubt, but I think we need to evolve and I imagine Hurst will feel he can do better with the tools now at his disposal.

All the signs point to exciting times ahead. Work to do this season still of course, but looking beyond May I think it’s fair to say the good times are just beginning.

Happy to go with an approach of stats on players and look at being sustainable of buying them from lower leagues and sell them on for profit. Brentford and Peterborough have made good examples of this, the latter not being as successful as Brentford but you get the jist.

As the saying goes, things happen in threes.

Last year promotion via the play offs

This year was the F A Cup run to the quarter finals

Next year is for automatic promotion.

UTM

Has anyone looked at the age profile of teams that do well at this level? Is it normally experienced pros or hungry young’uns?

Looking at only contracted players and their age at the start of next season we’ve got:

Over 30- Waterfall 33, Holohan 32

27 to 30- Maher 28, Khan 27, Orsi 27

24 to 26- Green 26, Efete 26, Clifton 25, Glennon 24

23 and under- Hunt 23, Khouri 20

We’re neither a Dads army nor a bunch of kids. There’s room to add in all areas without getting unbalanced. Hopefully for me a bit more budget will let us take a chance and add some younger ones too. It seems the step from academy football to mens isn’t easy so would be happy if these have been playing a chunk of games, whether that be in the league or down to NLN and NL South. The problem if they are any good is they won’t be with us long (Mcatee, Pollock, Dembele etc.) but then again that benefits the finances and we might get a couple of years out of them.

Also might be an opportunity to offer year extensions to some now which gives continuity and avoids a total rebuild any time soon.

Quoted from GtfcGarner

Happy to go with an approach of stats on players and look at being sustainable of buying them from lower leagues and sell them on for profit. Brentford and Peterborough have made good examples of this, the latter not being as successful as Brentford but you get the jist.

I think there should be a little bit of this but at this stage it should not be the full operating model, you have to have infrastructure to be able to bring players along at the same time as making sure that things go in the right direction on the pitch, we're in better shape but I sense the leadership may want more stability.

The legacy may be better player coming in, I hope so, but also it might just be a confirmation that when all stake holders are on the same page a club can achieve some great things.

Quoted from gtfc_chris

I don't disagree but I think the balance point is how realistic the ambition is against the level of competition.

Like many on here, I supported Town through the 90s when we were often a Championship team and my early away days were at fantastic grounds, so I agree that all things considered L1 should be our level. But since we were in the Championship there have been a lot of Clubs that have surpassed their reputation and standing of that era and progressed, whilst we declined. That isn't to say that it means we should now be happy to simply be in L2, but that more teams are realistically competing to play at that L1, meaning reputation and history aren't the markers they were 10/20 years ago.

Our ambition should certainly be to be playing in L1 within the next few years, but if we as fans try to expedite that ambition and expect too much too quick, we risk re-creating the discord between team/manager/owners/club that existed under Fenty, despite the fact everything about what we're doing right now is geared towards improvements in every area. After all the good that has happened in the last 18 months, I would be so downhearted to see fans turning away because they held the same ambitions as the Club but were too impatient/too demanding of the timescales to see it happen.

This.
From now on instead of posting I will PM Chris my view and let him write it up 😄
Seriously though, this is kind of where I was trying to go with it. I am very excited for the present and future of OUR club. Utm

Just one legacy bit, I hope the extra cash allows us to put in a position to make a serious bid for Andy Smith.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Just one legacy bit, I hope the extra cash allows us to put in a position to make a serious bid for Andy Smith.

Agreed. And I think Khouri will be like a new signing next season, he’ll step up.

Even with the cup money we will still not have a top 6 budget .If county and Wrexham come up they will outspend us as will a couple of those coming down especially the vegans .Then there will be some of the bigger spending teams who will still be in this league
Salford
Stockport
Northampton
Doncaster
So I think we need to accept the cup money is great but still leaves us way behind the spending power some of these clubs have or the risks they will take for success

The issue with Wrexham coming up is that they will literally Spaff cash…they can talk about community and the likes but when it comes to wages they’ve definitely not looked at a sustainable, nor have they looked at it pragmatically. They just Spaff it…this won’t help. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if they have the highest budget in the league next season, assuming Parkinson’s archaic style doesn’t see them intercourse it again.

We know Hurst works wonders with a tight budget, bringing in players that want to play for him, for the club and the team. We’ll do well, people just need to have some patience…

Quoted from Norseman

Even with the cup money we will still not have a top 6 budget .If county and Wrexham come up they will outspend us as will a couple of those coming down especially the vegans .Then there will be some of the bigger spending teams who will still be in this league
Salford
Stockport
Northampton
Doncaster
So I think we need to accept the cup money is great but still leaves us way behind the spending power some of these clubs have or the risks they will take for success

One of Wrexham or Notts County are going to finish the season with well in excess of 100 points and still not go up automatically. That must be some kind of record.

Whoever doesn’t win the league (County most likely) will bottle the play-offs, imo.