Non League Bound?

Not this Season but unless previous lessons are learned we could easily find ourselves heading back out the league within 2-3 years. We have signed a massive squad of mainly journeymen pro`s who offer little/nothing we have a Manager who has no previous success and a rapidly dropping fanbase.

OP massive success and this Club in footballing terms had the whole world in there hands why oh why are we back here again facing the abyss?

The on field stuff this season has been poor and to give RS the benefit of doubt he needed a massive turnover of staff to free up any funds or get his stamp on the side. However what are we doing it`s not even hoofball?What are we hoping to achieve short term/long term FFS?

I suspect but obviously have no proof the short term remit for RS is keep us safe whilst this new ground/white elephant gets built and then he will move into a director of football role.However due to the style of play on offer by the time the new ground comes around between 2020 and 2120 their will be nobody left who gives a fcuk.

Based on what has been witnessed so far on the field is there anybody out there who will be prepared to renew their season tickets for 2018/19 ?

Off the field

From bad to worse the whole GTFC set up seems to have had a ruck with the fans at one point or another whilst all the while wagging the finger and blaming us.

Were in a right mess on and off the field and we need a clear direction if we are to progress.

I think the state of the boardroom and their acts cause disillusion amongst the fan base has exacerbated the apathy and frustrations towards a poor performing team. Fenty in particularly seems to do something or say something to alienate the fan base just when things seem to pick up.

Sladeballs over reaction at the fans forum has also made people dislike him, with his statement of trying to build something for us without laying the foundations is also galling.

Like it has been said many times but it constantly falls on deaf ears, GTFC needs professional PR and a chairman, we have neither and it shows, just look at that tinpot club down the M180, they show us how amateur our boardroom is.

To put it simply, we have no class from the very top downwards....and it shows. My God how it shows, we're up the proverbial creek paddleless.

I will be renewing my season ticket next season whoever's in charge, I respect other people's viewpoints but the board and manager are temporary, the club and its history should be permanent and I for one will keep supporting and hoping that we can still do something to make the playoffs

Fenty's next appointment better be a good one, as there's a real chance this could end badly.

I just want some clarity and a real statement of intent from the Football Club on where we are going? If they come out and tell me they expect to tread water for a couple of years whilst the ground gets built I don`t really like it BUT I would support it because it`s for the greater good long term.

Keeping the fans in the dark with pish poor player recruitment and an awful brand of football on offer most games whilst squabbling over things that don`t matter off the field is driving the fans away.

Large swathes of the support are angry,frustrated and worst of all fed up with what`s going on.Somebody please step up and tell us what the masterplan is for the next 3-5 years?

I think the board are so focused on the financial aspect of running the club and Slade is so focused on results at the expense of everything else, that they have forgotten that football is supposed to be enjoyable; an entertainment. There is a disconnect between those running the club and the fans and i don't think they can see it, or if they can, they think we are being ungrateful to complain at what they see as them working hard to achieve something. There is a feeling of them and us; it's why we have guff like unity day. The fact that we have a loyal fan base keeping the club afloat keeps perpetuating the same old mediocrity on and off the pitch. In short, we are seen as ungrateful scrotes, when in reality, we are the club. It's nothing without the fans and every single one of us should be cherished, not chastised, which is what i feel at the moment.

The board is too one dimensional. They are all middle aged (middle class?) white men of a certain mindset, from similar backgrounds and probably have similar political and business beliefs. There is no diversity and none of them have any background in football. They may know business, but none of them know any more about football than any handful of fans picked at random from the stands. I'm sure they are doing their absolute best to achieve success, but if the product on the pitch is turning people off, then they are flogging a dead horse frankly.

Now to get to the point of the thread, i don't enjoy what is being served up but i don't sit there thinking we are doomed and heading back to non league. I think that fans have become jaded because of what i have said in the first part of my post and all they can feel is negativity toward the club and the team. It's all too easy to think we are going in the same direction that got us into non league last time and that it is going to happen again.

Over myriad seasons watching Town, i have seen many poor sides and many poor managers; it goes with the territory of supporting a small provincial club like ours. I'm far from happy at the moment, but as ever there is always the hope that keeps you going. We are not in a perilous position in the league and i am choosing to take the optimistic view that the team will be improved in the January window and we will start to move back up the league. This time last season, Notts County had just racked up a club record tenth straight defeat and look where they are now.

Nurse! Where's my happy pills?

I also fear for the future ML , all it needs is for the board to have a proper relationship and engage more with the fans and when fans ask questions answer them in a polite manner and not see it as fans having a go, there are a lot of fans passionate about this club (my lad and me being two of them) I feel it’s only fair that the issues raised are answered because these issues are very valid points.

Not this season.

Generally, last 2 games apart, we are set up too solidly to lose that many games that we could get outstripped by the 10 or so clubs below us    ....

Who knows next season...who will be in charge ? Lost track of who will still be under contract from the current deadwood in the squad so we may still be largely restricted in what we can do in terms of replenishing the squad.

This window is key for us now in many ways....can we offload some of the 10 or so players that Slade doesn't use at all ? Will he sign players on 18 months contracts or remainder of season loans ?

Will he recall, Osbourn, Tombola , Wright , Hall Johnson (? was that his name) to pep up the squad ?

Quoted from ginnywings

I think the board are so focused on the financial aspect of running the club and Slade is so focused on results at the expense of everything else, that they have forgotten that football is supposed to be enjoyable; an entertainment. There is a disconnect between those running the club and the fans and i don't think they can see it, or if they can, they think we are being ungrateful to complain at what they see as them working hard to achieve something. There is a feeling of them and us; it's why we have guff like unity day. The fact that we have a loyal fan base keeping the club afloat keeps perpetuating the same old mediocrity on and off the pitch. In short, we are seen as ungrateful scrotes, when in reality, we are the club. It's nothing without the fans and every single one of us should be cherished, not chastised, which is what i feel at the moment.

The board is too one dimensional. They are all middle aged (middle class?) white men of a certain mindset, from similar backgrounds and probably have similar political and business beliefs. There is no diversity and none of them have any background in football. They may know business, but none of them know any more about football than any handful of fans picked at random from the stands. I'm sure they are doing their absolute best to achieve success, but if the product on the pitch is turning people off, then they are flogging a dead horse frankly.

Now to get to the point of the thread, i don't enjoy what is being served up but i don't sit there thinking we are doomed and heading back to non league. I think that fans have become jaded because of what i have said in the first part of my post and all they can feel is negativity toward the club and the team. It's all too easy to think we are going in the same direction that got us into non league last time and that it is going to happen again.

Over myriad seasons watching Town, i have seen many poor sides and many poor managers; it goes with the territory of supporting a small provincial club like ours. I'm far from happy at the moment, but as ever there is always the hope that keeps you going. We are not in a perilous position in the league and i am choosing to take the optimistic view that the team will be improved in the January window and we will start to move back up the league. This time last season, Notts County had just racked up a club record tenth straight defeat and look where they are now.

Nurse! Where's my happy pills?

Good post Ginny and I don`t think Town will go up or down whilst Slade is at the helm but neither do I trust him to stay if an alternative offer comes his way given his previous?  I want to know his remit and I strongly believe it`s tread water with the carrot of director of football when the new ground comes about for his efforts. That is a plan albeit not a very exciting one for my ears but like I say I can buy into the reasoning and can see the long term thinking. What I can`t accept is being expected to pay good money to watch the crap on offer in the hope we may win the odd game. I have enjoyed 2 games this Season Chesterfield away and Swindon at home from around a dozen I have gone to and my enthusiasm is lower than for ages probably the last time Slade was here and I gave my season ticket away.

Quoted from moosey_club

Not this season.

Generally, last 2 games apart, we are set up too solidly to lose that many games that we could get outstripped by the 10 or so clubs below us    ....

Who knows next season...who will be in charge ? Lost track of who will still be under contract from the current deadwood in the squad so we may still be largely restricted in what we can do in terms of replenishing the squad.

This window is key for us now in many ways....can we offload some of the 10 or so players that Slade doesn't use at all ? Will he sign players on 18 months contracts or remainder of season loans ?

Will he recall, Osbourn, Tombola , Wright , Hall Johnson (? was that his name) to pep up the squad ?

If RS played his strongest available team and went for the win at home or against teams at the bottom like Crewe people would support that but that`s not his way. He likes to defend and hopefully score from a set piece then defend some more.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

If RS played his strongest available team and went for the win at home or against teams at the bottom like Crewe people would support that but that`s not his way. He likes to defend and hopefully score from a set piece then defend some more.

  He had alot of injuries to deal with at Crewe so the thinness of the squad showed through......the fact Slade has largely used the same 16 players in the matchday squad all season shows that the depth just isnt there.....no one is pushing the starting 11 now....we have a right back playing left back who has massively improved that position, that just shows how thin we are in quality and cover.

Is that Slades fault ...partly so
Bignot ....partly
Hurst ...partly

Quoted from ginnywings

The board is too one dimensional. They are all middle aged (middle class?) white men of a certain mindset, from similar backgrounds and probably have similar political and business beliefs.

So is the fanbase...

That's patently ridiculous.

A goal or two would be nice now and again.

We won't go down this season. Next season we alongside possibly 10 -15 teams could be contenders for the drop but I doubt it.

Fenty recruited Slade for 2 reasons,

1 He's a safe pair of hands

2. It was an easy appointment

Mid table forever whilst we have the current regime unless we suddenly unearth some gems in the window and the summer.    

Quoted from HertsGTFC

We won't go down this season. Next season we alongside possibly 10 -15 teams could be contenders for the drop but I doubt it.

Fenty recruited Slade for 2 reasons,

1 He's a safe pair of hands

2. It was an easy appointment

Mid table forever whilst we have the current regime unless we suddenly unearth some gems in the window and the summer.    

That's great then - let's see if Slade can produce Accrington's level of results on Accrington's gates.

People keep saying the Board-what Board-we have 1 cockrill and 6 hens but no goose to lay the golden egg

Quoted from ginnywings

I think the board are so focused on the financial aspect of running the club and Slade is so focused on results at the expense of everything else, that they have forgotten that football is supposed to be enjoyable; an entertainment. There is a disconnect between those running the club and the fans and i don't think they can see it, or if they can, they think we are being ungrateful to complain at what they see as them working hard to achieve something. There is a feeling of them and us; it's why we have guff like unity day. The fact that we have a loyal fan base keeping the club afloat keeps perpetuating the same old mediocrity on and off the pitch. In short, we are seen as ungrateful scrotes, when in reality, we are the club. It's nothing without the fans and every single one of us should be cherished, not chastised, which is what i feel at the moment.

The board is too one dimensional. They are all middle aged (middle class?) white men of a certain mindset, from similar backgrounds and probably have similar political and business beliefs. There is no diversity and none of them have any background in football. They may know business, but none of them know any more about football than any handful of fans picked at random from the stands. I'm sure they are doing their absolute best to achieve success, but if the product on the pitch is turning people off, then they are flogging a dead horse frankly.

Now to get to the point of the thread, i don't enjoy what is being served up but i don't sit there thinking we are doomed and heading back to non league. I think that fans have become jaded because of what i have said in the first part of my post and all they can feel is negativity toward the club and the team. It's all too easy to think we are going in the same direction that got us into non league last time and that it is going to happen again.

Over myriad seasons watching Town, i have seen many poor sides and many poor managers; it goes with the territory of supporting a small provincial club like ours. I'm far from happy at the moment, but as ever there is always the hope that keeps you going. We are not in a perilous position in the league and i am choosing to take the optimistic view that the team will be improved in the January window and we will start to move back up the league. This time last season, Notts County had just racked up a club record tenth straight defeat and look where they are now.

Nurse! Where's my happy pills?

Could not agree more our board is too small in terms of numbers, investment, expertise and thus proper consensus in its decision making process.
Sadly it's a boys club for the grey & retired, possibly all conservative in it's politics but defiantly conservative in it's outlook and ideas......classless, drab, unimaginative and stale.

Evidently from the debacle that was the fans forum their reason for existence is to off load the club, well that is what they told us then but next week we'll trumpet out a bright new future in a pipe dream of a new stadium.................at best the three stooges are armatures, some may say charlatans.  
  

If we stay in this division indefinitely we're bound to go down eventually. With four promotion places though we should be challenging at the other end some if not most years.

Quoted from GrimRob

If we stay in this division indefinitely we're bound to go down eventually. With four promotion places though we should be challenging at the other end some if not most years.

I agree with this - sooner or later we'll have a shocking transfer window where after a mid table season our best players don't sign new deals. We don't land our targets. The ones we do get get injured. We get unlucky in our first few games and then were rock bottom and it's hard to survive from that position. We may get away with it but new players will be reulctant to join us the following season as they view us as "going backwards". This is why next season we need to actually have a proper go at going up.

Quoted from horsforthmariner

I agree with this - sooner or later we'll have a shocking transfer window where after a mid table season our best players don't sign new deals. We don't land our targets. The ones we do get get injured. We get unlucky in our first few games and then were rock bottom and it's hard to survive from that position. We may get away with it but new players will be reulctant to join us the following season as they view us as "going backwards". This is why next season we need to actually have a proper go at going up.

With what? A budget based upon 1500 season tickets and average home gates of nudging 3000?

A club that looks like it's going backwards on and off the pitch to prospective signings?

With a disenchanted dwindling fanbase whose patience has already been stretched to the absolute limit?

With Slade, who seems like he can't keep our most skilful players happy or even at the club?

With 37 year old centre backs? With Hooper, Kelly and Dixon?

If this is what we've got this season based upon last season's attendance figures, how are we going to attract anyone decent next season?

Would we be more attractive than Accrington for geographical location, Yeovil, Cheltenham for the surroundings etc etc?


The bigger picture is we are in the crapp already. It's just a question of how long it takes for every fan to realise it. We can look at it game by game but it's pretty pointless. Anyone think that five wins in a row (it's never gonna happen) would get BP bouncing and packed to the rafters again? We've got inherent problems much deeper than crossing our fingers for a seventh striker on the books in this January window..

As we stand at present as a club, we haven't got a hope in hell of going for it next season..

If home gates continue on trend to stumble around 3k, being pragmatic, we'll be gripping on for our dear lives with a budget 30-40% less than this season..

Well I know it's only the 4th day of the transfer window but plenty of our opponents have already signed or lined up new players.

We can't seem to sort out the ones who are already contracted never mind getting new ones....worrying

Quoted from Bigdog

With what? A budget based upon 1500 season tickets and average home gates of nudging 3000?

A club that looks like it's going backwards on and off the pitch to prospective signings?

With a disenchanted dwindling fanbase whose patience has already been stretched to the absolute limit?

With Slade, who seems like he can't keep our most skilful players happy or even at the club?

With 37 year old centre backs? With Hooper, Kelly and Dixon?

If this is what we've got this season based upon last season's attendance figures, how are we going to attract anyone decent next season?

Would we be more attractive than Accrington for geographical location, Yeovil, Cheltenham for the surroundings etc etc?


The bigger picture is we are in the crapp already. It's just a question of how long it takes for every fan to realise it. We can look at it game by game but it's pretty pointless. Anyone think that five wins in a row (it's never gonna happen) would get BP bouncing and packed to the rafters again? We've got inherent problems much deeper than crossing our fingers for a seventh striker on the books in this January window..

As we stand at present as a club, we haven't got a hope in hell of going for it next season..

If home gates continue on trend to stumble around 3k, being pragmatic, we'll be gripping on for our dear lives with a budget 30-40% less than this season..

I feel depressed after reading that!

We both know where the blame lies for our struggles over the last 15 years or so, but how do we address it is the problem.

If he wont commit to "walking away" under a controlled set of circumstances that sees a compromise on the money he feels he is owed, meaning that other interested parties would be tempted, then what do we do?

One answer is that he ups the anti by paying for players that we actually want. First choice players who will be swayed by some ambition and of course wages. I don't agree about we cannot get good players to come to this area. Very few actually live here anyway, it is just a commute.We have had plenty of great players in the past and we will in the future - if the wages are right.

It is a chicken and egg situation for Fenty. Does he do little or nothing proactively and keeps letting football fortune keep kicking him in the teeth, or does he do something about it? It is his responsibility to either put more investment in or move aside.  

If we had 18 decent players on decent money and a few youngsters it would be far better than having 30 odd mediocre or cast offs in the main with 3-4 you could look to use as a base.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

I just want some clarity and a real statement of intent from the Football Club on where we are going? If they come out and tell me they expect to tread water for a couple of years whilst the ground gets built I don`t really like it BUT I would support it because it`s for the greater good long term.

Keeping the fans in the dark with pish poor player recruitment and an awful brand of football on offer most games whilst squabbling over things that don`t matter off the field is driving the fans away.

Large swathes of the support are angry,frustrated and worst of all fed up with what`s going on.Somebody please step up and tell us what the masterplan is for the next 3-5 years?

I doubt they'd tell us they have the intention of treading water for a few years as nobody would buy a ticket.
Your right about what their intent is though , If we had  a statement saying where they expected us to be in the next couple of years we'd be able to hold them to account and tell them that they had failed if they did not achieve their aims

Quoted from grimps

I doubt they'd tell us they have the intention of treading water for a few years as nobody would buy a ticket.
Your right about what their intent is though , If we had  a statement saying where they expected us to be in the next couple of years we'd be able to hold them to account and tell them that they had failed if they did not achieve their aims

15 years ago being told we were going to crash through the divisions and spend 6 years in non league would have been unthinkable to compound it with Lincoln doubling our gates with ease in the same division 2 years after getting back Unforgivable.