|
gary_elton |
|
Vodka Drinker
Posts: 7,173
Posts Per Day: 1.20
Reputation: 79.43%
Rep Score: +23 / -6
Location: Grimsby
Approval: +1,243
Gold Stars: 6
|
First match next season please... away..... 😀
|
| All my pictures , Seem to fade to black and white.... (Reg Dwight) |
|
|
|
|
crusty ole pie |
|
Whiskey Drinker
Posts: 3,108
Posts Per Day: 0.54
Reputation: 89.09%
Rep Score: +16 / -1
Approval: +3,383
Gold Stars: 66
|
Hope they get Leeds in one of the cups now that would really test the capabilities of both the ground and the stewards
|
|
|
|
|
rancido |
|
Posts: 7,528
Posts Per Day: 1.26
Reputation: 80.3%
Rep Score: +41 / -10
Approval: +6,655
Gold Stars: 100
|
I know this won't go down well judging by previous posts but good luck to them. I have never seen so much arrogance and envy directed at one club from so many posters. If we had an owner who was using his company to finance the club we would think it was great. In a way it is only like companies sponsoring a club to promote their products. We have brewing companies sponsoring teams and competitions but this goes against the principles of Methodists and Muslims but it doesn't prevent them from supporting their teams. You might not agree with his vegan ways but they are his principles and he sticks by them. The world of football clubs is full of eccentric owners but why deny the fans of those clubs the opportunity for success based on the behaviour of their owners. Owners come and go but the clubs are a constant and as the original poster pointed out FGR is only ten years younger than us and older than a lot of " traditional established " football clubs.
|
| The Future is Black & White. "The commonest thing on this planet is not water , as some people believe, but stupidity ". Frank Zappa |
|
|
|
|
HertsGTFC |
|
Posts: 14,114
Posts Per Day: 4.25
Reputation: 75.4%
Rep Score: +29 / -10
Location: Stevenage
Approval: +22,993
Gold Stars: 228
|
What does concern me is that for next season at least the 2 clubs that have come up potentially have more financial resources than we do.
|
| "Crombie you would have got to that if you weren't such a fat ba%$@rd" - George Kerr, inspiration from the dug out 70s style |
|
Logged |
Online |
|
|
|
Mallyner |
|
Cocktail Drinker
Posts: 1,790
Posts Per Day: 0.59
Reputation: 80.9%
Rep Score: +9 / -2
Location: New Waltham
Approval: +2,515
Gold Stars: 23
|
With a population as small as theirs, let us hope if the money runs out, they will be able to make ends 'meat.'
|
| Supporting Town for 65 years. |
|
|
|
|
Mariners_15 |
|
Cocktail Drinker
Posts: 1,631
Posts Per Day: 0.31
Reputation: 80.6%
Rep Score: +17 / -4
Approval: +538
Gold Stars: 1
|
Just out of interest how will the financial fair play stuff affect them? Haven't they been making some really big losses and I'm sure in the FL you can only spend so much on wages depending on the income. They average just over 2k don't they so surely they're in trouble? Might not be able to chuck money at it like they have the last 5 years or so..
|
|
|
|
|
TheRonRaffertyFanClub |
|
Posts: 7,638
Posts Per Day: 1.34
Reputation: 79.65%
Rep Score: +43 / -11
Location: Norfolk
Approval: +8,658
Gold Stars: 23
|
Gregor Robertson has this to say in today's Times.
Forest Green Rovers, the Football league’s newest member, may be the smallest of the 92 but they are a club bristling with zeal and ambition. Their thrilling win over Tranmere Rovers in the National League play-off final at Wembley yesterday was graced with goals worthy of this or any level, in what was a reverse of last year’s scoreline against Grimsby Town in the same final.
As the Forest Green players held aloft the trophy in the royal box, their 3,000 fans in bright green roared with delight — half the population of Nailsworth, in Gloucestershire, home to their solar powered, eco-friendly, all-vegan football club.
“I’m really chuffed for the chairman because he’s a wonderful guy,” Mark Cooper, the manager, said. “He’s not your conventional chairman but he’s so good to work for. And that was the reason I came here: he gave me the opportunity to have full control of the football side and I’ve never had that.”
Dale Vince, the owner, is certainly not one to follow convention. The owner of Ecotricity, a green energy business, is a self-professed “hippy drop-out” with a fortune of more than £100 million, took over the moribund club in 2010. He was given special dispensation to sit in the royal box without a tie yesterday afternoon, such is his dislike of formal attire.
Football League chairmen may have to relax their rules for boardroom entry next season, and their visits to the New Lawn will be a new experience too. The all-vegan catering at the club and the sight of a solar-powered “mow-bot” lawnmower may leave a few rubbing their eyes.
They are all part of Vince’s vision of creating the world’s most environmentally friendly club, and he is not short of ambition. A brand new carbon-neutral stadium built from ethically sourced wood is on the way to be the centrepiece of the £100 million, 100-acre Eco Park development at junction 13 of the M5. Their attendances may only average 1,800, but there is hope that as the club grow so will their following.
Forest Green finished nine points behind Tranmere Rovers in the National League but, on yesterday’s evidence, they are well deserving of taking their football and Vince’s message to a bigger stage. The deadlock was broken in the 11th minute through the outstanding Kaiyne Woolery; the Wigan Athletic loanee drifted in from the right and with time and space fired a fierce left-footed strike in to the bottom corner from 25 yards out.
Ten minutes later, however, Tranmere were level with another goal worthy of this arena. When James Jennings controlled Lois Maynard’s layoff 20 yards from goal, the ball sat up perfectly and his half-volley rocketed into the roof of the net to send 15,000 supporters from the Wirral wild.
There were further chances in a half full of attacking effort; James Norwood, the Tranmere forward, perhaps had the best but his shot was hit straight at Sam Russell after he was sent clean through with only the Forest Green goalkeeper to beat.
At the other end, Keanu Marsh-Brown controlled a beautifully weighted pass by Liam Noble before lobbing Scott Davies, but the Tranmere goalkeeper somehow recovered to swipe the ball off the line. Norwood was inches from meeting Jennings’s cross along the six-yard line before a third bolt from the blue arrived in the 41st minute.
Christian Doidge, the striker, collected the ball on the left, drifted inside and struck a bullet in to the far corner for his 27th of the season.
FOREST GREEN FACTS 5,794 Population of Nailsworth — the smallest place with a Football League club 5,147 Capacity of the New Lawn — their home ground. They have plans to move to a new stadium, a £100 million development with 90 eco-homes close to the M5 19 Successive seasons in the fifth tier of the pyramid £107m Estimated worth of Dale Vince, the owner who has funded their rise to the Football League £25,000 Record transfer fee that they paid to Bury for Adrian Randall in 1999 Two minutes later, Tranmere were left with a mountain to climb. Liam Ridehalgh miscontrolled to allow Woolery to steal in and coolly slot past Davies for his second of the half.
Tranmere rallied early in the second half: Cole Stockton was denied by Russell’s brilliant save from a Jeff Hughes corner; then, the striker let Russell off the hook after the goalkeeper tried to beat two players on the edge of his penalty area. But on the turn, Stockton could only lift the ball over the empty goal.
“I thought we were brilliant today, the young players were really mature,” Cooper, the former Peterborough United and Swindon Town manager, said. “It is an unbelievable achievement to put a village team in the Football League. People talk about the lack of fans, but you’ve got to remember we’re on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere.”
For Tranmere, however, a third season in non-League beckons. Micky Mellon, the manager, rued the “killer” third goal before the break but was magnanimous in defeat. “On the day, I totally believe that the better team won; we have to take our medicine for that,” he said. “Every credit to Forest Green. We feel for the supporters, though, it’s no place for runners-up.”
Cooper confirmed that there would definitely be room in the vegan ethos for several celebratory beers. Coventry City, Notts County and Swindon will be welcomed at The New Lawn next season. “Get ’em up that hill,” Cooper said.
I'm not passing comment on Gregor's analysis of the game but as for the club, I suspect they are a legend in their own cow pat.
|
| “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.” ― John Stuart Mill, On Liberty." |
|
Logged |
|
|
|
|
diehardmariner |
|
Vodka Drinker
Posts: 5,982
Posts Per Day: 1.00
Reputation: 84.65%
Rep Score: +36 / -6
Approval: +17,698
Gold Stars: 540
|
Don't quite get the 'they're too tin pot for the league' thinking.
Yes they're relatively poorly suppported but since when did football become about how many fans you've got rather than best performing over a season, or indeed on the day?
Burton average just over 10% of what Newcastle have done in the Championship and just over half of the next lowest supported side, are they undeserving of their place in that league?
Bournemouth in the top flight get gates that should put them in the lower reaches of the Championship/Top 7 of League One, albeit somewhat hampered by their stadium capacity. But they were bankrolled by a rich benefactor as they were promoted from the Championship - just like FGR who shouldn't be able to compete on revenue alone. The football ladder is full of sides who rely on money from a sugar daddy, or even by not paying their bills in the first place.
Much, much closer to home, Town's home gates were absolutely urine poor in what is now the Championship for many a year as we bloodied the nose of the far better supported sides like Wolves, West Brom, Derby etc. For a couple of years we were, in my opinion, a striker to support Super Clive away from having a promotion side. We had a really, really good side. Thankfully we were placed in the league at end of the season based on that rather than our gates.
Vince is a total tool but he's going to be in great company in the Football League as there's a host of them running football clubs...
|
|
Logged |
|
|
|
|
Grim74 |
|
Cocktail Drinker
Posts: 1,849
Posts Per Day: 0.56
Reputation: 61.1%
Rep Score: +16 / -13
Approval: -1,909
Gold Stars: 1
|
sorry but this vegan bigot is gonna turn football into a laughing stock he's set a precedent now and I'm sure we'll have more of these rich tree huggers to follow. Forgetting the premiership, league football is still working class just about, and it's about the only thing that some of our shithole towns have to shout about. What's next Caistor town? they might have a club that's over 100 years old for all I know so would it right with a rich benefactor that they could potentially replace a traditional league club? No is it bollox. I'm all for a small non league teams reaching the dream of league football on merit with the likes of Fleetwood, Stevenage, Accrington, Morecombe and lincoln no problem, but how can we have a situation when poxy little villages teams can replace our traditional clubs I know it's not all about attendances but it is about large communities as a whole, I think to be a league club should now be based on towns population say at least 50/60 thousand.
|
| Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Promise a man someone else's fish and he votes Labour. |
|
|
|
|
diehardmariner |
|
Vodka Drinker
Posts: 5,982
Posts Per Day: 1.00
Reputation: 84.65%
Rep Score: +36 / -6
Approval: +17,698
Gold Stars: 540
|
sorry but this vegan bigot is gonna turn football into a laughing stock he's set a precedent now and I'm sure we'll have more of these rich tree huggers to follow. Forgetting the premiership, league football is still working class just about, and it's about the only thing that some of our shithole towns have to shout about. What's next Caistor town? they might have a club that's over 100 years old for all I know so would it right with a rich benefactor that they could potentially replace a traditional league club? No is it bollox. I'm all for a small non league teams reaching the dream of league football on merit with the likes of Fleetwood, Stevenage, Accrington, Morecombe and lincoln no problem, but how can we have a situation when poxy little villages teams can replace our traditional clubs I know it's not all about attendances but it is about large communities as a whole, I think to be a league club should now be based on towns population say at least 50/60 thousand.
Fleetwood were in the North West Premier when Andy Pilley took over about thirteen years ago. He's bankrolled them to about eight promotions since. FGR were at least an established Conference side by the time Vince took over, Pilley just used his vast resources far better than Vince has. If a team has won enough games to be promoted it deserves their place in the ladder, equally so if a team loses enough games it deserves to go down - irrespective of size, population and history. If we're going down this path we might as well just look at a list of the best populated cities and towns in the country each weekend and not bother with the charade of a season at all. Surely the appeal of football is the fact that it's 11 v 11 come game day and whilst resources (including fanbase) have an impact, it's what happens in the 90 minutes that count really?
|
|
Logged |
|
|
|
|