In your opinion, the biggest problem at GTFC is?

It's all about getting the right manager at the end of the day. Wins and success make for a much happier camp.

I think the status of our club has changed and we need to accept that. We are a small time club in a small town that is going nowhere. Look around the non league now and there are plenty of clubs who you wouldn't have dreamt would be out of the league a few years ago now look to be there permanently.  I fear we have had our time, I wish I had enjoyed it more when I could.
Football clubs need a very rich benefactor to improve, not one that drip feeds just enough to keep the administrators away

Quoted from realist

I think the status of our club has changed and we need to accept that. We are a small time club in a small town that is going nowhere. Look around the non league now and there are plenty of clubs who you wouldn't have dreamt would be out of the league a few years ago now look to be there permanently.  I fear we have had our time, I wish I had enjoyed it more when I could.
Football clubs need a very rich benefactor to improve, not one that drip feeds just enough to keep the administrators away

We are not in a small town! There are 120,000 within spitting distance from BP. Christ on a bike with that attitude we are never going to get anywhere are we? You can be a "realist" without being totally pessimistic.

Where is the vision, the drive, the desire to put us back where we belong? I feel like having a Davey Boylen type gee up to some on here and in the boardroom!

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

We are not in a small town! There are 120,000 within spitting distance from BP. Christ on a bike with that attitude we are never going to get anywhere are we? You can be a "realist" without being totally pessimistic.

Where is the vision, the drive, the desire to put us back where we belong? I feel like having a Davey Boylen type gee up to some on here and in the boardroom!

The NEL pop is around 158,000. But people use clubs like Barnsely, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Reading as benchmarks as to where we should be. All have bigger populations in terms of catchment. We used to be a bigger club than all of them. They've got better at harnessing their resources. We've at best stood still and when we were moving forward (growth in attendances up to last season) the ruling regime go and intercourse it up.

Quoted from realist

I think the status of our club has changed and we need to accept that. We are a small time club in a small town that is going nowhere. Look around the non league now and there are plenty of clubs who you wouldn't have dreamt would be out of the league a few years ago now look to be there permanently.  I fear we have had our time, I wish I had enjoyed it more when I could.
Football clubs need a very rich benefactor to improve, not one that drip feeds just enough to keep the administrators away

Scunthorpe is smaller or not far off us population wise, and they are in the top 5 of league one, it's down to ambition, drive and determination, we on the other side have is abject failure and man who seems to alienate anybody with cash. People who believe we are small time club in a small town need to get out of their shed and look around at the smaller clubs doing far better than us.

Quoted from 120790

Maybe there should have been an option to vote for "all of the above".

Isn't it arguable, that the issues at GTFC is a culmination of a number of things, even things in addition to the options in this poll.

The Fans
Yeah the issue is some fans. Always will be even in the good times. Not all but some.

The Manager
Yeah for sure a big part of the issue.

The Board
Again, yes the board will be at fault for some of the issues. But, like it or not we wouldn't be here now if JF hadn't of supported the club.

Lack of Investors
Clearly we do not have access to anybody in our area, or further afield, that wants to invest in our  football club. That is why we are stuck with John Fenty as our financial crutch.

The Facility
Our lack of a decent stadium and probably a decent training facility, is certainly a massive factor. Players will consider all of this when making choices. Ask Lincoln, who are on route to provideding better training facilities. The stadium facility also prevents us from taking advantage of other revenue streams that can be available to football clubs.

Location
Like it or not, some players won't want to live in the Grimsby area, even though there are some really nice locations on our doorstep. It is a long way from anywhere deemed to be popular places to reside. Being on the coast, it is also a hell of our journey to get here.

I could go on. Sadly we are what we are. A very small football club, struggling, with supporters that have to lap up and enjoy an highs when they seldom come along. Suffering from a big list of things that limit us.

The bit about not being here without Fenty, you state this as a like it or not fact. It's not, it's an opinion that many disagree with. There is far more evidence to suggest we would still exist than there is that we wouldn't.

Based on last years attendance average we had the 65th highest which would of been bottom 4 of division 1. The main reason that i think our attendances have never really increased over the last thirty years is prominently down to Blundell Park and the whole match day experience.    The clubs that have at least doubled the attendance of the period in question have general have new facilities or have significantly improved facilities, seating views, parking all form part of the match day experience.

Football now has to fight to be a place in people's expenses (not helped by this area being lowly paid and high unemployment), but in the modern age you should be made to feel welcome to be a customer.  At our ground you fell like an inconvenience, whilst the trust has tried hard to improve certain things within this area, i still feel unwelcome at BP.  The one thing i hoped when we went down to non-league was how well they looked after home fans with little or poor facilities.  Most clubs at that level maximised its income from every customer by providing better experiences, from better Food, Beer Festivals, most had good bar areas which were well attended before and after with man of the match awards which a child/Supporter could present (not a corporate no body).  Some after the game had both sets of players in the bar mixing with fans.

Sorry for ranting, but a major problem is that the club for a extremely long time has forgotten about the basic and that is treat the customer with respect and you will get more money in the long run.  I bet that over 50% of the crowd only purchase their ticket on a mach day and do not spend a single £1 on anything.  I think in the first season in non-league I remember reading an article in Southport's programme that they got approximately an additional £7.50 per man, women and child in food/drinks, that attended a game.

Quoted from Grimsby69

Based on last years attendance average we had the 65th highest which would of been bottom 4 of division 1. The main reason that i think our attendances have never really increased over the last thirty years is prominently down to Blundell Park and the whole match day experience.    The clubs that have at least doubled the attendance of the period in question have general have new facilities or have significantly improved facilities, seating views, parking all form part of the match day experience.

Football now has to fight to be a place in people's expenses (not helped by this area being lowly paid and high unemployment), but in the modern age you should be made to feel welcome to be a customer.  At our ground you fell like an inconvenience, whilst the trust has tried hard to improve certain things within this area, i still feel unwelcome at BP.  The one thing i hoped when we went down to non-league was how well they looked after home fans with little or poor facilities.  Most clubs at that level maximised its income from every customer by providing better experiences, from better Food, Beer Festivals, most had good bar areas which were well attended before and after with man of the match awards which a child/Supporter could present (not a corporate no body).  Some after the game had both sets of players in the bar mixing with fans.

Sorry for ranting, but a major problem is that the club for a extremely long time has forgotten about the basic and that is treat the customer with respect and you will get more money in the long run.  I bet that over 50% of the crowd only purchase their ticket on a mach day and do not spend a single £1 on anything.  I think in the first season in non-league I remember reading an article in Southport's programme that they got approximately an additional £7.50 per man, women and child in food/drinks, that attended a game.

All valid points and all coming under the umbrella of a complete lack of vision from those running GTFC. Everything was put on hold till the new stadium came about, and you simply cannot run things down in the hope that one day there will be an upturn and it will all be magically better within a new stadium.

If we ever move, although unlikely, it would be very similar to the current match day experience once the novelty had worn off if the same people are still in charge.

Quoted from Grimsby69

Based on last years attendance average we had the 65th highest which would of been bottom 4 of division 1. The main reason that i think our attendances have never really increased over the last thirty years is prominently down to Blundell Park and the whole match day experience.    The clubs that have at least doubled the attendance of the period in question have general have new facilities or have significantly improved facilities, seating views, parking all form part of the match day experience.

Football now has to fight to be a place in people's expenses (not helped by this area being lowly paid and high unemployment), but in the modern age you should be made to feel welcome to be a customer.  At our ground you fell like an inconvenience, whilst the trust has tried hard to improve certain things within this area, i still feel unwelcome at BP.  The one thing i hoped when we went down to non-league was how well they looked after home fans with little or poor facilities.  Most clubs at that level maximised its income from every customer by providing better experiences, from better Food, Beer Festivals, most had good bar areas which were well attended before and after with man of the match awards which a child/Supporter could present (not a corporate no body).  Some after the game had both sets of players in the bar mixing with fans.

Sorry for ranting, but a major problem is that the club for a extremely long time has forgotten about the basic and that is treat the customer with respect and you will get more money in the long run.  I bet that over 50% of the crowd only purchase their ticket on a mach day and do not spend a single £1 on anything.  I think in the first season in non-league I remember reading an article in Southport's programme that they got approximately an additional £7.50 per man, women and child in food/drinks, that attended a game.

I've never felt unwelcome at Blundell Park. The facilities are not up to modern expectations but I wouldn't use the word 'unwelcome'. Staff are by and large friendly. I suspect that the biggest group of people affected by poor facilities are potential players. I did the stadium tour 13 years ago and quite frankly the changing rooms were shocking then.

I think those non-league clubs do marvels with their low attendance. It shows what can be done to maximise revenue and minimise cost. These clubs are much closer to their fanbase and a higher % of fans get involved in helping out. They're often seen as less the property of one or two rich people so there's more of a sense of ownership. Now I wonder how we can generate that sense of ownership?  

It is a little unfair to compare the non-ticket match day income with Town's however because the ticket prices at GTFC are high relative to the disposable income of people, so they'd have less to spend on (overpriced) drinks and snacks. Our ticket prices are higher than most non-league clubs to start with.

The post match mixing of players and fans in the bar is perhaps less likely as you go higher in the leagues at any club.

MOTM awards presented by fans - great idea but don't forget we get more commercial match and match ball sponsorship so these people are more likely to understandably present awards.

Quoted from Grimsby69

Based on last years attendance average we had the 65th highest which would of been bottom 4 of division 1. The main reason that i think our attendances have never really increased over the last thirty years is prominently down to Blundell Park and the whole match day experience.    The clubs that have at least doubled the attendance of the period in question have general have new facilities or have significantly improved facilities, seating views, parking all form part of the match day experience.

Football now has to fight to be a place in people's expenses (not helped by this area being lowly paid and high unemployment), but in the modern age you should be made to feel welcome to be a customer.  At our ground you fell like an inconvenience, whilst the trust has tried hard to improve certain things within this area, i still feel unwelcome at BP.  The one thing i hoped when we went down to non-league was how well they looked after home fans with little or poor facilities.  Most clubs at that level maximised its income from every customer by providing better experiences, from better Food, Beer Festivals, most had good bar areas which were well attended before and after with man of the match awards which a child/Supporter could present (not a corporate no body).  Some after the game had both sets of players in the bar mixing with fans.

Sorry for ranting, but a major problem is that the club for a extremely long time has forgotten about the basic and that is treat the customer with respect and you will get more money in the long run.  I bet that over 50% of the crowd only purchase their ticket on a mach day and do not spend a single £1 on anything.  I think in the first season in non-league I remember reading an article in Southport's programme that they got approximately an additional £7.50 per man, women and child in food/drinks, that attended a game.

The bit about the facilities and therefore the match day experience is something I agree with 100%. It is precisely why I'm so behind the need to move to a new ground with 21st century facilities. I have more difficulty with the views about the match day experience at non-league grounds. The experience from my perspective as someone who went to the vast majority of non-league away days was at best patchy. There is a lot of truth in what you say about certain clubs out of necessity maximising their income but some of those clubs (I'm thinking the likes of Welling and Bath City) were on a completely different trajectory to us. I met literally hundreds of people who "were" their respective clubs. People at places where nobody who worked for the club on match days were paid-volunteer programme sellers, turnstile operators, snack bar attendants. People who did it for the love of their club and out of a love affair with the game itself. After a visit to Bath I managed to lose my programmes so I thought I'd ring up on the Monday to get some sent out and replaced. When I got through I was speaking to the groundsman who advised me without a hint of irony that I needed to ring back on Thursday when there would be someone in the office. I was full of respect for those people but, invariably, those clubs knew that they had reached their level (in fact neither of the two I mentioned are still in the Conference). I suspect that the powers that be probably knew the first names of the vast majority of their fan base of about 800. Kidderminster excepted I wouldn't say that in general food/drink etc. were any better. In fact I was at Histon where they ran out of any sort of food in the away end before half time. We were a bit of a cash cow for some of those teams. Some made a bit of a fuss of us (Eastleigh and Bath spring to mind) but some were totally unprepared for the extra work needed to accomodate us. Once you get into the Football League the whole business becomes by necessity more professional in its outlook. Towncould let fans select the MOM but why would they commercially when it is a job given to the sponsors who pay handsomely for the privilege?
I love the idea of a beer festival and it's something that would be well worth exploring...