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Quoted from MuddyWaters

One of those situations when someone can't wait to tell you something. Came from someone with no allegiance to GTFC, said that they had been told that there was a 'big announcement' from GTFC regarding the club as soon as the season ends. Certainly came from someone who had no reason to bullsh1t.

JF to announce that he is stepping down from his non-chairman role to a new non-director role. His car will still be seen at BP every day, but he'll only be there to ensure his loan will remain as benign as possible. SM, PD and MC to strengthen their grip on the club by doubling their own shareholdings, which will boost the club's 2018/9 playing budget by £4.5k..

Quoted from MuddyWaters

One of those situations when someone can't wait to tell you something. Came from someone with no allegiance to GTFC, said that they had been told that there was a 'big announcement' from GTFC regarding the club as soon as the season ends. Certainly came from someone who had no reason to bullsh1t.

J.S.F. to name himself as our new manager with a 4 year contract of £138K and bringing back Slade as assistant with the aim of being a Premiership team in 3yearsxxxxx-2years

It does feel like something is going on. I have never known our non chairman remain silent for so long. Remember he did not do the intro when MJ was appointed.

Quoted from Bigdog

JF to announce that he is stepping down from his non-chairman role to a new non-director role. His car will still be seen at BP every day, but he'll only be there to ensure his loan will remain as benign as possible. SM, PD and MC to strengthen their grip on the club by doubling their own shareholdings, which will boost the club's 2018/9 playing budget by £4.5k..

Surely you mean £4.50p !

JF has been a footballing disaster for us but he has put some money in and I still think is a huge fan. I am no great supporter but be careful what you have wished for unless one of you is taking over in which case I apologise because I ignorantly thought that there were some next steps in place. It is a great opportunity, a loss making business in a rotten ground that has had 90 minutes of success in 10 miserable years. Stockport who I see as a similar club seem to have disappeared. I do not compare with York/ Darlington, great clubs but with much smaller fan bases. I would like to see an "OUT" thread with some sort of next step. JF has stated he would get out and not threaten the club and so the path is relatively clear for the line of investors.
So looking forward to a bright future
UTM

I am sure the future is for the fans to take over appoint a proper chief executive to run the club.
And agree a repayment schedule with Fenty say 100 grand a year for ten years.

Quoted from mariner83

We're getting hot water in the toilets?

What do you think that fire was all about last week? ;)

I can't see there being any big news in the summer about Fenty, I want there to be but I personally can not see it myself

Quoted from ginnywings

Left his seat at 1-1 today and went inside. Seemed odd to me with the game in the balance.

Well, he must have gone back to the directors' box because he followed me down the steps towards the board room after the final whistle, but then got lost, maybe he still hasn't got an exit strategy.
(100)

Quoted from Barrattstander

Well, he must have gone back to the directors' box because he followed me down the steps towards the board room after the final whistle, but then got lost, maybe he still hasn't got an exit strategy.
(100)

Maybe just went for a wazz then. ;D

Quoted from Yoda

I am sure the future is for the fans to take over appoint a proper chief executive to run the club.
And agree a repayment schedule with Fenty say 100 grand a year for ten years.

More like 10 grand a year over 100 years.

Quoted from ginnywings

Maybe just went for a wazz then. ;D

Middle aged man in need of micturition shock!

Quoted from 75

Hope so. I don't hate the bloke, he's been spot on whenever I've met him to be fair. But his record is appalling, please let someone else have a go.

Spot on nothing to hate about John Fenty in regards to GTFC he just hasn`t despite his own tireless work done us any good. I don`t hate him but sadly I don`t rate him either and unlike most other Town fans my main gripe with him is the lost momentum after the FGR win and the reappointment of RS.The bloke tried his best he put money in when others would not but now he needs to go for the good of the Club and his own health.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Spot on nothing to hate about John Fenty in regards to GTFC he just hasn`t despite his own tireless work done us any good. I don`t hate him but sadly I don`t rate him either and unlike most other Town fans my main gripe with him is the lost momentum after the FGR win and the reappointment of RS.The bloke tried his best he put money in when others would not but now he needs to go for the good of the Club and his own health.

After the Wembley victory we lost a golden opportunity in terms of marketing but marketing costs money so was it nobody at the club as any experience in such things or the board wouldn’t authorise such a campaign based on we didn’t need it ?? I think it was the latter because winning football matches is the pr our club uses (wallbash)(wallbash2)

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

After the Wembley victory we lost a golden opportunity in terms of marketing but marketing costs money so was it nobody at the club as any experience in such things or the board wouldn’t authorise such a campaign based on we didn’t need it ?? I think it was the latter because winning football matches is the pr our club uses (wallbash)(wallbash2)

You and I are two of many who despite not formally knowing each other have said til we are blue in the face about the Club needing to have a complete overhaul of marketing and ticketing on matchdays and over how they flog season tickets.The MT should be kicking the door down for real dialogue on this issue after the Notts County home game.Even now no reason whatsoever (ASSUMING WE RETAIN LEAGUE STATUS) with a bit of thought and a lot of effort from those that can that GTFC could not start the next Season with 4-5k STH . All it would take in my opinion is GTFC eating a huge chunk of humble pie and admitting they never did enough after Wembley in a statement and then offering to put that right via some real offers.Blundell Park deserves to see out it`s remaining years with near full houses and when you are only talking a maximum of 7k home fans the Club should be exploring ALL possibilities. Like shift workers how many more times do geezers like us have to bring this up before Steve Wraith or Dave Smith or whoever is responsible actually take heed?

My biggest issue/problem is who takes over and where do we go from there unless there is a major investor coming in from abroad or somewhere with loads of money who understands football and how to run a football club day to day then I can’t see locally who could possibly run the club and takeover, fenty is a die hard Grimsby town fan but he has also failed massively in his time here and in my opinion has to be replaced but by who is my biggest concern thoughts please UTM ⚫️⚪️

Unless a fan, why would anybody want to run GTFC?

Quoted from Mendonca1995

My biggest issue/problem is who takes over and where do we go from there unless there is a major investor coming in from abroad or somewhere with loads of money who understands football and how to run a football club day to day then I can’t see locally who could possibly run the club and takeover, fenty is a die hard Grimsby town fan but he has also failed massively in his time here and in my opinion has to be replaced but by who is my biggest concern thoughts please UTM ⚫️⚪️

Hands up those who had ever heard of Fenty before he became involved in the Mariners?

Of course there are people out there; ideally 3 or 4 people which enough money between them, but no one will touch the club whilst Fenty is there or his loans hang over us, unless he makes it clear that he is prepared to negotiate and probably write some off. I wouldn't hold my breath on that score though.

I wonder what would happen if JF gave his shares to the MT?

Quoted from 1mickylyons

You and I are two of many who despite not formally knowing each other have said til we are blue in the face about the Club needing to have a complete overhaul of marketing and ticketing on matchdays and over how they flog season tickets.The MT should be kicking the door down for real dialogue on this issue after the Notts County home game.Even now no reason whatsoever (ASSUMING WE RETAIN LEAGUE STATUS) with a bit of thought and a lot of effort from those that can that GTFC could not start the next Season with 4-5k STH . All it would take in my opinion is GTFC eating a huge chunk of humble pie and admitting they never did enough after Wembley in a statement and then offering to put that right via some real offers.Blundell Park deserves to see out it`s remaining years with near full houses and when you are only talking a maximum of 7k home fans the Club should be exploring ALL possibilities. Like shift workers how many more times do geezers like us have to bring this up before Steve Wraith or Dave Smith or whoever is responsible actually take heed?

Why have I got a picture of a bloke in a leather jacket never being able to get the words out that he was wr..., wro..., wron...

A five letter word beginning with F and ending with Y

That's right...Fonzy! ;)

Quoted from 1mickylyons

I wonder what would happen if JF gave his shares to the MT?

Hell would freeze over..

Quoted from 1mickylyons

You and I are two of many who despite not formally knowing each other have said til we are blue in the face about the Club needing to have a complete overhaul of marketing and ticketing on matchdays and over how they flog season tickets.The MT should be kicking the door down for real dialogue on this issue after the Notts County home game.Even now no reason whatsoever (ASSUMING WE RETAIN LEAGUE STATUS) with a bit of thought and a lot of effort from those that can that GTFC could not start the next Season with 4-5k STH . All it would take in my opinion is GTFC eating a huge chunk of humble pie and admitting they never did enough after Wembley in a statement and then offering to put that right via some real offers.Blundell Park deserves to see out it`s remaining years with near full houses and when you are only talking a maximum of 7k home fans the Club should be exploring ALL possibilities. Like shift workers how many more times do geezers like us have to bring this up before Steve Wraith or Dave Smith or whoever is responsible actually take heed?

Personally feel theirs too much dead wood within the club even if fenty walks id consider a good clear out, nothing against individuals but fresh eyes and ideas all over would help us to move forward. I hate bringing Lincoln in to it but they’ve embarrassed us big time in terms of how to market your club to the community we are light years behind these.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Personally feel theirs too much dead wood within the club even if fenty walks id consider a good clear out, nothing against individuals but fresh eyes and ideas all over would help us to move forward. I hate bringing Lincoln in to it but they’ve embarrassed us big time in terms of how to market your club to the community we are light years behind these.

Totally agree to move forward the whole behind the scenes lot need a good shake up.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Personally feel theirs too much dead wood within the club even if fenty walks id consider a good clear out, nothing against individuals but fresh eyes and ideas all over would help us to move forward. I hate bringing Lincoln in to it but they’ve embarrassed us big time in terms of how to market your club to the community we are light years behind these.

Agreed, until 2 years ago Lincoln were a club on its bottom, in long term, potentially terminal, decline and down to around 2500 ish hardcore support. How they have turned it around and harnessed their suport and community after one great season, is very impressive unfortunately. Even if they dont go up this season and the cowleys leave (and their is a fair chance of neither of those happening) then they are in a better longer term position thanks to the way they have increased their pool of support, and they are sensibly investing some of their money into improved training facilities. This is something that pays dividends to a club for years to come as it makes them more attractive for recruiting players.

Even when we have had success we havent capitalised on it in the same way, in particular the lack of impetus after promotion was criminal. If the roles had been reversed and it had been us having that season do we honestly believe we would have made those huge increases in season tickets and investment in training facilities. Personally i would be amazedif we even saw out the season with the manager still in charge as Fenty would have insisted on a 6 month rolling contract and the Cowleys would have long since been snapped up. The only reason they are still there is that the length of their contract preclues any team who isnt in the championship affording them.

Though this was pertinent from the Lincoln chairman "What they have achieved in 20 months is nothing short of a miraculous for a club which was struggling with its finances – basically looking at waiting for investment, waiting for our luck to change"

waiting for luck - who does that remind you of? Nothing proactive about Fenty's running of our club. Just waiting for football fortune, with his fingers crossed, penny pinching and sniping at the clubs magnificant support.

Remember how the most proactive thing done was the clubs own fans organising op promotion and raising £110k. The level of goodwill towards the club is shown there that this was done without any effort from the club, and at the same time lincoln attempted to copy us and if i remember rightly raised less than 20k - that shows the level of support and good will the club COULD harness easily outways Lincolns, it is just chronically badly run and the people in charge have no idea how to do it.

When something like op promotion happened Fenty didnt just not understand it, he didnt just not utilise it or build upon it, he actually resented it. We are going nowhere under him. Fenty out.

Are the Lincoln board really that forward thinking, or did they just get lucky by picking the right manager? Winning leagues and big televised cup games does tend to swell crowds somewhat, and capture the public imagination. They were not doing particularly well until Cowley appeared were they? There's no better attraction for the paying public than success on the pitch, especially those big juicy televised cup games, and you need a certain amount of the luck of the draw to get those. Not underplaying what they have done, but they were bumbling along in mid table non league with Moyses in charge not so long ago. If Jolley can do for us what Cowley has done for them on the pitch, our crowds will increase also.

yeah but there is no chance of fenty having the foresight to
a) sign an equivalent to cowley to a long term contract, instead of a 6 month rolling one (push the boat out, if he had cowley maybe he wouldve made it a 12 month rolling, if we are being generous)
b) invest when promoted e.g. when we promoted last time Hurst was promised things such as S&C coach and then fenty changed his mind (penny pinching that proved far more expensive in the medium term). He also stuck us rigidly to a low budget hence the players Hurst could sign were not of the caliber he wanted, when far more fans came than fenty had budgeted we had spare cash in January Fenty said, too late by then Hurst had left. If Hurst had had the chance to sign players with a realistic budget then we would have almost certainly been higher and crowds would have been even bigger. The momentum from promotion was generated by tyhe fans themselves not the club which leads me to
c) work with the fans to generate good atmosphere and momentum and encourage the maximum possible season ticket sales, instead of creating disharmony and ill feeling when there was no need.

We have had opportunities with big crowds, 15k town fans at wembley 2016, more town fans there than lincoln fans at any match lincoln played in last season i'll wager, and we won. Its what the lincoln board DID with the success they got i am talking about, not the getting of that success. We simply didnt build on our success in the same way, and i'm quite sure we never will whilst Fenty is in charge.

Good points, well made, but we all know that Hurst left because of the toxic fans. ;)

Quoted from ginnywings

Good points, well made, but we all know that Hurst left because of the toxic fans. ;)

I know your most gas the 'smiley' but would add that I don't think JF would have been calling anyone toxic IF they all genuinely felt part of the club.

It has been said before that the club needs to liaise with the supporters properly, not a club statement full of telling us to 'get behind the lads' type platitudes, but a statement saying what the aims are( I.e. Targeting the play offs) that we have asked the manager to produce an attractive style at BP but what we would ask the fans to try and do is to buy season tickets because every penny brought in will go directly to Michael Jolley to bring the best players he can to the club. Then give a list of incentives from kids free/cheap entry. A small section of unreserved seating for up to 500 shift workers, vouchers for club shop, buy a shirt and get in free to all friendly games pre season. Get the squad into factories and schools on a regular basis and tell the media about it beforehand, milk the publicity. Others will be able to think of many more ways to get the enthusiasm up and drive the club forward. At least try different things, tell us that maybe not everything will work but we are in this together and this club is yours, the fans, please help us make GTFC. a force again. We can do this if we pull in the same direction and are honest and open!

The club is being run some 20 years in the past, and under the presumption that fans will turn up regardless of league position etc. Basics are not even done right (port vale aftermath) and there is a distinct lack of respect being shown to the supporters of this club.

*matchday and ST do not reflect the wealth/wage of the area
*games should be categorised and pricing structure implemented to reflect that
*communication needs to be remedied after a horrific season in terms of PR

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

The club is being run some 20 years in the past, and under the presumption that fans will turn up regardless of league position etc. Basics are not even done right (port vale aftermath) and there is a distinct lack of respect being shown to the supporters of this club.

*matchday and ST do not reflect the wealth/wage of the area
*games should be categorised and pricing structure implemented to reflect that
*communication needs to be remedied after a horrific season in terms of PR

For sure charging twenty quid for Barnet at home doesn’t represent value for money

Quoted from toontown

yeah but there is no chance of fenty having the foresight to
a) sign an equivalent to cowley to a long term contract, instead of a 6 month rolling one (push the boat out, if he had cowley maybe he wouldve made it a 12 month rolling, if we are being generous)
b) invest when promoted e.g. when we promoted last time Hurst was promised things such as S&C coach and then fenty changed his mind (penny pinching that proved far more expensive in the medium term). He also stuck us rigidly to a low budget hence the players Hurst could sign were not of the caliber he wanted, when far more fans came than fenty had budgeted we had spare cash in January Fenty said, too late by then Hurst had left. If Hurst had had the chance to sign players with a realistic budget then we would have almost certainly been higher and crowds would have been even bigger. The momentum from promotion was generated by tyhe fans themselves not the club which leads me to
c) work with the fans to generate good atmosphere and momentum and encourage the maximum possible season ticket sales, instead of creating disharmony and ill feeling when there was no need.

We have had opportunities with big crowds, 15k town fans at wembley 2016, more town fans there than lincoln fans at any match lincoln played in last season i'll wager, and we won. Its what the lincoln board DID with the success they got i am talking about, not the getting of that success. We simply didnt build on our success in the same way, and i'm quite sure we never will whilst Fenty is in charge.

Whilst I can see that chances have repeatedly been missed to build on the success of 2016 I am extremely uncomfortable with the continuing comparison with our neighbours down the A46. Ginny is right in my view. There was a bit of luck attached to the beginning of Lincoln's re-birth in that they took a gamble and appointed the Cowleys. Their recent history of appointing managers was not much better than ours. A good comparison would have been our appointment of McMenemy or even better Buckley Mark 1. Once they kicked on the appointment was the gift which kept on giving. I'm no expert on Lincoln's finances but the F.A. cup run must have made them millions. It is true that they adopted a more positive policy towards getting the city behind them and through the gates but they were on a roll. That cup run not only made them lots of money but it established the club in the conscience of a whole new section of the population and a new generation of fans. By comparison we stumbled over the line with no cup cash. Their cup run and league form united the fan base at Lincoln- a unity that Paul Hurst for all the reasons we've gone over on here ad nauseum never engendered. That shouldn't exonerate the club from blame for not seizing the opportunity presented by the feelgood factor but the basic facts are that without the back up of a small (large?) fortune any substantial budget increase would have needed to be funded by other means..and we all know what that means. I've always found it a bit bizarre that there are a lot of people on here who hate the level of control that J.F. has over all things GTFC but are then calling for him to invest more of his personal fortune to move us forward which could only serve to increase the reliance-never mind making it less likely that he would eventually walk away.

Dont think reducing prices to 'reflect income of tje area' is a goer tbh.
As a club we need to increase our income so that we can attract the right players. We need to find ways of getting more increnental income from every fan and to do that the fans must feel part of it because this season I have never felt less attached to GTFC .

We MUST see significant change if we are to get close to our potential but i fear things will move too slowly once the season is over

Barralad. I hate the control JF has over the club but certainly do NOT want him loaning any more!

The way forward has to be for you, I and every fan to find an extra few quid a month to attend ganes buy merchandise, buy a share or whatever. That is how we increase our budget but it onky happens with leadership

Quoted from Cloudy

Barralad. I hate the control JF has over the club but certainly do NOT want him loaning any more!

The way forward has to be for you, I and every fan to find an extra few quid a month to attend ganes buy merchandise, buy a share or whatever. That is how we increase our budget but it onky happens with leadership

I deliberately didn't single anyone out because there is an enormous variation of opinion on the subject.
I'm afraid though that the way forward you describe makes us hostages to "football fortune" because it does what many on here criticise the club for-relying on (a dwindling?) fan base to dig deeper.

Quoted from toontown

Remember how the most proactive thing done was the clubs own fans organising op promotion and raising £110k. The level of goodwill towards the club is shown there that this was done without any effort from the club, and at the same time lincoln attempted to copy us and if i remember rightly raised less than 20k - that shows the level of support and good will the club COULD harness easily outways Lincolns, it is just chronically badly run and the people in charge have no idea how to do it.

When something like op promotion happened Fenty didn't just not understand it, he didnt just not utilise it or build upon it, he actually resented it. We are going nowhere under him. Fenty out.

I agree I think then you could outweigh Lincoln, but you certainly can't now, and I think it will take time to do that, but undoubtedly your a big club in a very big slump.
Whats happening here is nuts really, I have watched City for the past 40 years and I have never seen anything like it. We have sold out tonight in the home areas for a Tuesday night game. I think the fact the Cowley's are going to sign new contracts has boosted that a bit, but I never thought I would see this day.

I think if you carry on declining that is really sad, I love the rivalry between our clubs and its always a game to enjoy. Undoubtedly we were lucky, with the cup run etc, but I think the biggest appointment bar the Cowley's was appointing Liam Scully as chief Executive - He has transformed things behind the scenes, I think he see's parallels between us and Doncaster.

On a separate issue, there is no way you will go down - Those two penalties have come at good times for you, without them I think it would have been a different story.

I would love you relegate FGR - and that helmet Cooper.

We will have to disagree (again)

If promoted correctly we CAN make this work.

TBH, you come over as totally risk adverse, just like the club. There are no guarantees and i am not talking about gambling with the future of the club but i am totally convinced that with the right 'sales' pitch and full engagement the fans would rally. The initial budget would be conservatively set with the promise of all season ticket money boosting that budget. Put it in the fans court

Quoted from Cloudy

Dont think reducing prices to 'reflect income of tje area' is a goer tbh.
As a club we need to increase our income so that we can attract the right players. We need to find ways of getting more increnental income from every fan and to do that the fans must feel part of it because this season I have never felt less attached to GTFC .

We MUST see significant change if we are to get close to our potential but i fear things will move too slowly once the season is over

Income needs to go up for sure but having a little foresight especially with kids tickets needs to be addressed. Gtfc can have their money when they get to work having been hooked at a earlier age

Quoted from nealeardleyscrossing

I agree I think then you could outweigh Lincoln, but you certainly can't now, and I think it will take time to do that, but undoubtedly your a big club in a very big slump.
Whats happening here is nuts really, I have watched City for the past 40 years and I have never seen anything like it. We have sold out tonight in the home areas for a Tuesday night game. I think the fact the Cowley's are going to sign new contracts has boosted that a bit, but I never thought I would see this day.

I think if you carry on declining that is really sad, I love the rivalry between our clubs and its always a game to enjoy. Undoubtedly we were lucky, with the cup run etc, but I think the biggest appointment bar the Cowley's was appointing Liam Scully as chief Executive - He has transformed things behind the scenes, I think he see's parallels between us and Doncaster.

On a separate issue, there is no way you will go down - Those two penalties have come at good times for you, without them I think it would have been a different story.

I would love you relegate FGR - and that helmet Cooper.

You are experiencing what we did with McMenemy and Buckley. McMenemy galvanised the team, the town and the fans. Buckley wasn't loved as much as him, but as a manager producing incredible football, he couldn't do anything wrong.

The point you make about the chief executive is a good one. Many of us feel that we should go down the same route and it would be money well spent if we got a good one.

Appointing Slade was an absolute disaster as many feared when he came in. The fact that the club brought him back just shows how poor their judgement is, that they couldn't see how divisive he would be. He had lost it as a manager too since the last time, which just compounded the problem ten fold. He undid everything we had spent 7 seasons building and was presented with a mid table league 2 side, which needed a bit of tweaking. He threw all that away with his arrogant, i know best attitude. The fact the club didn't spot this sooner and remove him, again showed their lack of judgement and football nous.

It’s catch 22 though isn’t it? The way to increase revenue is to increase the crowds.
To do this we have to first spend money (we haven’t got) assembling a squad worth watching.
So if JF does fund it initaly we are more endebted to him (which virtually no-one wants).
The crime is that the promotion and Bogle money could have and should have done this. But
It was frittered away through bad management.

Should we stay up, I believe JF has two viable options. Dig deep but stay well in the background regarding PR etc. Or somehow find a way of getting out without leaving us totally in the sh1t !!

The fans will no longer stand for the constant bumbling along with a vague promise of a new ground and a prayer to the footballing gods for a cup run !! So something somehow has to change. And well before the start of next season.

Agree with all of that Civvy, but you don't have to spend massive amounts of money to have a decent side, plenty of other clubs have shown that to be the case. We are a big player in this league and should have enough income to compete easily, even with an average manager at the helm. Get a good manager and we should be at the top end of the league. It's not just about income.

Quoted from ginnywings

Are the Lincoln board really that forward thinking, or did they just get lucky by picking the right manager? Winning leagues and big televised cup games does tend to swell crowds somewhat, and capture the public imagination. They were not doing particularly well until Cowley appeared were they? There's no better attraction for the paying public than success on the pitch, especially those big juicy televised cup games, and you need a certain amount of the luck of the draw to get those. Not underplaying what they have done, but they were bumbling along in mid table non league with Moyses in charge not so long ago. If Jolley can do for us what Cowley has done for them on the pitch, our crowds will increase also.

Then Jolley will be gone unless the board decided to give him a decent contract instead of a 6 month one.

Quoted from barralad

Whilst I can see that chances have repeatedly been missed to build on the success of 2016 I am extremely uncomfortable with the continuing comparison with our neighbours down the A46. Ginny is right in my view. There was a bit of luck attached to the beginning of Lincoln's re-birth in that they took a gamble and appointed the Cowleys. Their recent history of appointing managers was not much better than ours. A good comparison would have been our appointment of McMenemy or even better Buckley Mark 1. Once they kicked on the appointment was the gift which kept on giving. I'm no expert on Lincoln's finances but the F.A. cup run must have made them millions. It is true that they adopted a more positive policy towards getting the city behind them and through the gates but they were on a roll. That cup run not only made them lots of money but it established the club in the conscience of a whole new section of the population and a new generation of fans. By comparison we stumbled over the line with no cup cash. Their cup run and league form united the fan base at Lincoln- a unity that Paul Hurst for all the reasons we've gone over on here ad nauseum never engendered. That shouldn't exonerate the club from blame for not seizing the opportunity presented by the feelgood factor but the basic facts are that without the back up of a small (large?) fortune any substantial budget increase would have needed to be funded by other means..and we all know what that means. I've always found it a bit bizarre that there are a lot of people on here who hate the level of control that J.F. has over all things GTFC but are then calling for him to invest more of his personal fortune to move us forward which could only serve to increase the reliance-never mind making it less likely that he would eventually walk away.

"Invest more of his personal fortune..." He hasn't invested any of his personal wealth into the club so far as I can see. He has given us loans which he wants back. For his initial "investment "all those years ago he has has had unfettered control of a famous club, has had all the perks of the position of chairman / non chairman, has had all the benefits of being high profile and low risk and in the time he has been in charge the fans have paid millions more into the club than he ever has. The difference between him and us is that we don't expect to get our admission fees back at some future point when footballing fortune strikes.

Where has the "investment of his personal fortune" gone, because all I can see are Conference level players, playing in a wonderful old stadium that hasn't had as much as a lick of paint since he has been in charge and no improvements in customer comforts, match day experience, feel good factor, involvement with the community, and of course the much heralded appalling PR and a list of gaffes so long it would take all day to type.

What is the point of having a multi millionaire non chairman who doesn't use that wealth to good effect? Why cannot he attract other wealthy people to share his vision for GTFC? We all know the answer to that, but what some people still refuse to accept is that Mr. Fenty will not change. He is what he is, it is in his DNA and we will go nowhere with him at the helm, apart from perhaps to the Conference. I don't blame him for that, we all are who we are, but if the club is ever to have a decent future it must be under new ownership.

Fenty out.

Quoted from ginnywings

Agree with all of that Civvy, but you don't have to spend massive amounts of money to have a decent side, plenty of other clubs have shown that to be the case. We are a big player in this league and should have enough income to compete easily, even with an average manager at the helm. Get a good manager and we should be at the top end of the league. It's not just about income.

Quite possibly it isn't.  But I do wonder if one look around Blundell Park is enough to put off any player with any other offer on the plate.  I did the ground tour about three years ago and nothing had improved since the one I did 10 years before that.  I don't know where new signing negotiations etc take place but I would only let any half decent prospect near BP once the deal was done.  Whatever we may think, imagine driving up to BP, firstly, taking in the surrounding area, then you pull into a car park smaller than your average local shop car park, Then you gaze up at the filthy Findus Stand.  The pitch is nowhere near as good as it used to be. The floodlights that used to be black and white are now just different shades of rust. You then make your way to the disgusting changing rooms and the last of your moral is finally done for.
A young player with aspirations is hardly likely to have his head turned and the older players must finally realised just how far they have dropped. Paul Hurst should be given credit to be able to motivate a team the way he did in those surroundings.  I have no idea what the facilities at the likes of Accrington Stanley are, but they would struggle to be worse than ours.  We all know that just out of Town are some cracking areas to live.  But the first impressions of any potential new signing can't be very good I'm afraid.

Hopefully not soulless, but a new Stadium is a must in so many ways if we are ever to progress.

Quoted from Civvy at last

Quite possibly it isn't.  But I do wonder if one look around Blundell Park is enough to put off any player with any other offer on the plate.  I did the ground tour about three years ago and nothing had improved since the one I did 10 years before that.  I don't know where new signing negotiations etc take place but I would only let any half decent prospect near BP once the deal was done.  Whatever we may think, imagine driving up to BP, firstly, taking in the surrounding area, then you pull into a car park smaller than your average local shop car park, Then you gaze up at the filthy Findus Stand.  The pitch is nowhere near as good as it used to be. The floodlights that used to be black and white are now just different shades of rust. You then make your way to the disgusting changing rooms and the last of your moral is finally done for.
A young player with aspirations is hardly likely to have his head turned and the older players must finally realised just how far they have dropped. Paul Hurst should be given credit to be able to motivate a team the way he did in those surroundings.  I have no idea what the facilities at the likes of Accrington Stanley are, but they would struggle to be worse than ours.  We all know that just out of Town are some cracking areas to live.  But the first impressions of any potential new signing can't be very good I'm afraid.

Hopefully not soulless, but a new Stadium is a must in so many ways if we are ever to progress.

Yes but just think how much it would be worth on Salvage Hunters. ;)

Quoted from barralad

Whilst I can see that chances have repeatedly been missed to build on the success of 2016 I am extremely uncomfortable with the continuing comparison with our neighbours down the A46. Ginny is right in my view. There was a bit of luck attached to the beginning of Lincoln's re-birth in that they took a gamble and appointed the Cowleys. Their recent history of appointing managers was not much better than ours. A good comparison would have been our appointment of McMenemy or even better Buckley Mark 1. Once they kicked on the appointment was the gift which kept on giving. I'm no expert on Lincoln's finances but the F.A. cup run must have made them millions. It is true that they adopted a more positive policy towards getting the city behind them and through the gates but they were on a roll. That cup run not only made them lots of money but it established the club in the conscience of a whole new section of the population and a new generation of fans. By comparison we stumbled over the line with no cup cash. Their cup run and league form united the fan base at Lincoln- a unity that Paul Hurst for all the reasons we've gone over on here ad nauseum never engendered. That shouldn't exonerate the club from blame for not seizing the opportunity presented by the feelgood factor but the basic facts are that without the back up of a small (large?) fortune any substantial budget increase would have needed to be funded by other means..and we all know what that means. I've always found it a bit bizarre that there are a lot of people on here who hate the level of control that J.F. has over all things GTFC but are then calling for him to invest more of his personal fortune to move us forward which could only serve to increase the reliance-never mind making it less likely that he would eventually walk away.

They also took key steps to take advantage of it. They were selling thier season tickets whilst the successful season was still happening and put loads of effort into marketing them. They tied the succesful managers into long and improved contracts.

Contrast that with our succesful season
The season tickets were on sale later than usual and the marketing was hugely disappointing.
Our manager left for an unfashionable, struggling club of a similar size after publically lambasting the lack of support he'd recieved in terms of backroom staff.

The way the club dealt with a rare success is even more damning than the way they manage to produce conssitent failure.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

"Invest more of his personal fortune..." He hasn't invested any of his personal wealth into the club so far as I can see. He has given us loans which he wants back. For his initial "investment "all those years ago he has has had unfettered control of a famous club, has had all the perks of the position of chairman / non chairman, has had all the benefits of being high profile and low risk and in the time he has been in charge the fans have paid millions more into the club than he ever has. The difference between him and us is that we don't expect to get our admission fees back at some future point when footballing fortune strikes.

Where has the "investment of his personal fortune" gone, because all I can see are Conference level players, playing in a wonderful old stadium that hasn't had as much as a lick of paint since he has been in charge and no improvements in customer comforts, match day experience, feel good factor, involvement with the community, and of course the much heralded appalling PR and a list of gaffes so long it would take all day to type.

What is the point of having a multi millionaire non chairman who doesn't use that wealth to good effect? Why cannot he attract other wealthy people to share his vision for GTFC? We all know the answer to that, but what some people still refuse to accept is that Mr. Fenty will not change. He is what he is, it is in his DNA and we will go nowhere with him at the helm, apart from perhaps to the Conference. I don't blame him for that, we all are who we are, but if the club is ever to have a decent future it must be under new ownership.

Fenty out.

This.

Quoted from Civvy at last

Quite possibly it isn't.  But I do wonder if one look around Blundell Park is enough to put off any player with any other offer on the plate.  I did the ground tour about three years ago and nothing had improved since the one I did 10 years before that.  I don't know where new signing negotiations etc take place but I would only let any half decent prospect near BP once the deal was done.  Whatever we may think, imagine driving up to BP, firstly, taking in the surrounding area, then you pull into a car park smaller than your average local shop car park, Then you gaze up at the filthy Findus Stand.  The pitch is nowhere near as good as it used to be. The floodlights that used to be black and white are now just different shades of rust. You then make your way to the disgusting changing rooms and the last of your moral is finally done for.
A young player with aspirations is hardly likely to have his head turned and the older players must finally realised just how far they have dropped. Paul Hurst should be given credit to be able to motivate a team the way he did in those surroundings.  I have no idea what the facilities at the likes of Accrington Stanley are, but they would struggle to be worse than ours.  We all know that just out of Town are some cracking areas to live.  But the first impressions of any potential new signing can't be very good I'm afraid.

Hopefully not soulless, but a new Stadium is a must in so many ways if we are ever to progress.

It doesn't make for pretty reading and once again the blame lies with the man at the top.

That grubby facade at the front - how much would it cost to give that a good clean and paint? The floodlights ditto. How about a new PR system that doesn't look like a disco at a wedding - but these are the things you get when the man at the tops idea of ground maintenance / improvements is him doing it himself to save a few bob.

We know what has caused this - the holy grail of the new stadium, but it is rank bad management off the field to think Blundell Park could just be abandoned when we still have many seasons there yet. This is the place where, as you say, current possible signings have to sign and play, and call me old fashioned but if the club cannot be arsed to clean the main entrance and facade then why should they be bothered to sign?

All small things add up to one almighty mess and for Gods sake somebody get hold of that club and give it a bloody good shake.

Quoted from Civvy at last

Quite possibly it isn't.  But I do wonder if one look around Blundell Park is enough to put off any player with any other offer on the plate.  I did the ground tour about three years ago and nothing had improved since the one I did 10 years before that.  I don't know where new signing negotiations etc take place but I would only let any half decent prospect near BP once the deal was done.  Whatever we may think, imagine driving up to BP, firstly, taking in the surrounding area, then you pull into a car park smaller than your average local shop car park, Then you gaze up at the filthy Findus Stand.  The pitch is nowhere near as good as it used to be. The floodlights that used to be black and white are now just different shades of rust. You then make your way to the disgusting changing rooms and the last of your moral is finally done for.
A young player with aspirations is hardly likely to have his head turned and the older players must finally realised just how far they have dropped. Paul Hurst should be given credit to be able to motivate a team the way he did in those surroundings.  I have no idea what the facilities at the likes of Accrington Stanley are, but they would struggle to be worse than ours.  We all know that just out of Town are some cracking areas to live.  But the first impressions of any potential new signing can't be very good I'm afraid.

Hopefully not soulless, but a new Stadium is a must in so many ways if we are ever to progress.

It does make a difference been told before of players not impressed. Places around Town are dirt cheap buy or lease a building Old House of Holland for instance. Make it offices a massive club shop, with meeting a room a community area etc. It doesn't take much to do anything like that.

Quoted from grimsby pete

Then Jolley will be gone unless the board decided to give him a decent contract instead of a 6 month one.

I have to disagree with you there Pete, MJ has not proven anything yet but you only have to look at where Braintree are now and to where the Cowley's got them.

MJ may well decide that he cannot work with JF and leave because of that but to give him a long contract at this point in time is not the Holy Grail to having a successful team.

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated
2003/4 Division Three Relegated
2004/5 Division Four 18th
2005/6 Division Four 4th
2006/7 Division Four 15th
2007/8 Division Four 16th
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction
2009/10 Division Four Relegated
2010/11 Non League 11th
2011/12 Non League 11th
2012/13 Non League 4th
2013/14 Non League 4th
2014/15 Non League 3rd
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff
2016/17 Division Four 14th
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated?

Quoted from arryarryarry

I have to disagree with you there Pete, MJ has not proven anything yet but you only have to look at where Braintree are now and to where the Cowley's got them.

MJ may well decide that he cannot work with JF and leave because of that but to give him a long contract at this point in time is not the Holy Grail to having a successful team.

I was replying to if Jolley got us success like the Cowleys got Lincoln,

The difference is Lincoln then gave them a 5 year deal so will keep them for a while.

Fenty kept Hurst on a 6 month deal so he was gone.

I agree Jolley has not proved anything yet but if he did get us promoted I hope he would get rewarded with a longer deal.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

It doesn't make for pretty reading and once again the blame lies with the man at the top.

That grubby facade at the front - how much would it cost to give that a good clean and paint? The floodlights ditto. How about a new PR system that doesn't look like a disco at a wedding - but these are the things you get when the man at the tops idea of ground maintenance / improvements is him doing it himself to save a few bob.

We know what has caused this - the holy grail of the new stadium, but it is rank bad management off the field to think Blundell Park could just be abandoned when we still have many seasons there yet. This is the place where, as you say, current possible signings have to sign and play, and call me old fashioned but if the club cannot be arsed to clean the main entrance and facade then why should they be bothered to sign?

All small things add up to one almighty mess and for Gods sake somebody get hold of that club and give it a bloody good shake.

You forgot to mention when the player is shown the delights of Cheapside. ;)

Quoted from 75

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated
2003/4 Division Three Relegated
2004/5 Division Four 18th
2005/6 Division Four 4th
2006/7 Division Four 15th
2007/8 Division Four 16th
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction
2009/10 Division Four Relegated
2010/11 Non League 11th
2011/12 Non League 11th
2012/13 Non League 4th
2013/14 Non League 4th
2014/15 Non League 3rd
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff
2016/17 Division Four 14th
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated?

:o not good reading is it :o

Quoted from 75

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated
2003/4 Division Three Relegated
2004/5 Division Four 18th
2005/6 Division Four 4th
2006/7 Division Four 15th
2007/8 Division Four 16th
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction
2009/10 Division Four Relegated
2010/11 Non League 11th
2011/12 Non League 11th
2012/13 Non League 4th
2013/14 Non League 4th
2014/15 Non League 3rd
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff
2016/17 Division Four 14th
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated?

Everyone who has read that will shake their heads and give out an audible groan. I know I have and I knew all that before I read it!!!

It is beyond satire that somebody with such an appalling record, the worst in the country I should think, would still think he is the man for GTFC. How he could sit there at that fans forum and act like he hadn't a care in the world beyond trying to get revenge on one of our biggest media supporters is quite beyond me.

And all that is just ON the field... ;D

If you keep on doing what you've always done you'll end up getting what you've always got.

Doesn't matter who said it but it's been the GTFC way for far, far too long. It might work with fish but it doesn't work with football.

But can you name the managers from memory I cant seem to remember many and just guessed lol

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated - PG
2003/4 Division Three Relegated - KS?
2004/5 Division Four 18th - AB?
2005/6 Division Four 4th - RS
2006/7 Division Four 15th?
2007/8 Division Four 16th?
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction - NL
2009/10 Division Four Relegated - NW
2010/11 Non League 11th - NW
2011/12 Non League 11th - PH & RS
2012/13 Non League 4th - PH
2013/14 Non League 4th - PH
2014/15 Non League 3rd - PH
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff - PH
2016/17 Division Four 14th - PH - MB - RS
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated? - RS & MJ

Quoted from Meza

But can you name the managers from memory I cant seem to remember many and just guessed lol

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated - PG PG
2003/4 Division Three Relegated - KS? PG & NL
2004/5 Division Four 18th - AB? RS
2005/6 Division Four 4th - RS RS
2006/7 Division Four 15th? GR & AB
2007/8 Division Four 16th? AB
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction - NL AB & MN
2009/10 Division Four Relegated - NW MN & NW
2010/11 Non League 11th - NW NW & PH/ RS
2011/12 Non League 11th - PH & RS PH & RS
2012/13 Non League 4th - PH PH
2013/14 Non League 4th - PH PH
2014/15 Non League 3rd - PH PH
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff - PH PH
2016/17 Division Four 14th - PH - MB - RS PH, MB, RS
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated? - RS & MJ RS & MJ

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

It doesn't make for pretty reading and once again the blame lies with the man at the top.

That grubby facade at the front - how much would it cost to give that a good clean and paint? The floodlights ditto. How about a new PR system that doesn't look like a disco at a wedding - but these are the things you get when the man at the tops idea of ground maintenance / improvements is him doing it himself to save a few bob.

We know what has caused this - the holy grail of the new stadium, but it is rank bad management off the field to think Blundell Park could just be abandoned when we still have many seasons there yet. This is the place where, as you say, current possible signings have to sign and play, and call me old fashioned but if the club cannot be arsed to clean the main entrance and facade then why should they be bothered to sign?

All small things add up to one almighty mess and for Gods sake somebody get hold of that club and give it a bloody good shake.

Its all been a victim of the search for the elusive new ground.

How much was it the club wrote off when it abandoned hope of Great Coates (long after some i the know were saying it was a dead duck).

Quoted from Mendonca1995

My biggest issue/problem is who takes over and where do we go from there unless there is a major investor coming in from abroad or somewhere with loads of money who understands football and how to run a football club day to day then I can’t see locally who could possibly run the club and takeover, fenty is a die hard Grimsby town fan but he has also failed massively in his time here and in my opinion has to be replaced but by who is my biggest concern thoughts please UTM ⚫️⚪️

Why do we need one? We have crowds 1-2000 higher than Exeter and God knows how much higher than Accrington. We should be sustainable to competitive at this level.

Quoted from barralad

Whilst I can see that chances have repeatedly been missed to build on the success of 2016 I am extremely uncomfortable with the continuing comparison with our neighbours down the A46. Ginny is right in my view. There was a bit of luck attached to the beginning of Lincoln's re-birth in that they took a gamble and appointed the Cowleys. Their recent history of appointing managers was not much better than ours. A good comparison would have been our appointment of McMenemy or even better Buckley Mark 1. Once they kicked on the appointment was the gift which kept on giving. I'm no expert on Lincoln's finances but the F.A. cup run must have made them millions. It is true that they adopted a more positive policy towards getting the city behind them and through the gates but they were on a roll. That cup run not only made them lots of money but it established the club in the conscience of a whole new section of the population and a new generation of fans. By comparison we stumbled over the line with no cup cash. Their cup run and league form united the fan base at Lincoln- a unity that Paul Hurst for all the reasons we've gone over on here ad nauseum never engendered. That shouldn't exonerate the club from blame for not seizing the opportunity presented by the feelgood factor but the basic facts are that without the back up of a small (large?) fortune any substantial budget increase would have needed to be funded by other means..and we all know what that means. I've always found it a bit bizarre that there are a lot of people on here who hate the level of control that J.F. has over all things GTFC but are then calling for him to invest more of his personal fortune to move us forward which could only serve to increase the reliance-never mind making it less likely that he would eventually walk away.

Regardless of Lincoln's 'football fortune', you've got to admit the club missed out on the opportunity of capitalising on promotion, Op Promotion and did intercourse all to market season tickets over two seasons (even sinking back down this season - 'oh but it's bound to happen' is the usual cry in acceptance of urine poor performance), and has done its best to urine off supporters.

If there's ever a course for football clubs on how to galvanise a town and the support, in the 'problem reversal' bit where they get participants to jot down 'how to fail spectacularly', they can quote GTFC practice.

Quoted from 75

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated
2003/4 Division Three Relegated
2004/5 Division Four 18th
2005/6 Division Four 4th
2006/7 Division Four 15th
2007/8 Division Four 16th
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction
2009/10 Division Four Relegated
2010/11 Non League 11th
2011/12 Non League 11th
2012/13 Non League 4th
2013/14 Non League 4th
2014/15 Non League 3rd
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff
2016/17 Division Four 14th
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated?

I can't wait for the 2025/26 season. Should be a good one.

Quoted from barralad

Whilst I can see that chances have repeatedly been missed to build on the success of 2016 I am extremely uncomfortable with the continuing comparison with our neighbours down the A46. Ginny is right in my view. There was a bit of luck attached to the beginning of Lincoln's re-birth in that they took a gamble and appointed the Cowleys. Their recent history of appointing managers was not much better than ours. A good comparison would have been our appointment of McMenemy or even better Buckley Mark 1. Once they kicked on the appointment was the gift which kept on giving. I'm no expert on Lincoln's finances but the F.A. cup run must have made them millions. It is true that they adopted a more positive policy towards getting the city behind them and through the gates but they were on a roll. That cup run not only made them lots of money but it established the club in the conscience of a whole new section of the population and a new generation of fans. By comparison we stumbled over the line with no cup cash. Their cup run and league form united the fan base at Lincoln- a unity that Paul Hurst for all the reasons we've gone over on here ad nauseum never engendered. That shouldn't exonerate the club from blame for not seizing the opportunity presented by the feelgood factor but the basic facts are that without the back up of a small (large?) fortune any substantial budget increase would have needed to be funded by other means..and we all know what that means. I've always found it a bit bizarre that there are a lot of people on here who hate the level of control that J.F. has over all things GTFC but are then calling for him to invest more of his personal fortune to move us forward which could only serve to increase the reliance-never mind making it less likely that he would eventually walk away.

Fair play to you Barra - you are always consistent with your insistence in towing the party line.

GTFC has been badly run for a long time, stop making excuses for a penny-pinching regime that is always looking to cut corners and fails miserably to accept that, without the fantastically loyal fanbase, there probably wouldn't be a professional football club in NE Lincs.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

Fair play to you Barra - you are always consistent with your insistence in towing the party line.

GTFC has been badly run for a long time, stop making excuses for a penny-pinching regime that is always looking to cut corners and fails miserably to accept that, without the fantastically loyal fanbase, there probably wouldn't be a professional football club in NE Lincs.

Sorry, which part of my post which was intended to show why a comparison between us and Lincoln wasn't a fair one don't you agree with? When you've sorted out that bit perhaps you will share which part, in your view, is actually making excuses. I'll give you a clue....it isn't the bit where I say that the club have missed numerous opportunities to capitalise on the feelgood factor of 2016. Neither is it the bit where I say that Lincoln's spectacular good fortune shouldn't exonerate the club. I actually don't think you even bothered to read what I wrote- just saw an opportunity to pigeon hole someone who rarely agrees with you. I suppose I should be grateful that you didn't accuse me of being part of the inner circle.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Regardless of Lincoln's 'football fortune', you've got to admit the club missed out on the opportunity of capitalising on promotion, Op Promotion and did intercourse all to market season tickets over two seasons (even sinking back down this season - 'oh but it's bound to happen' is the usual cry in acceptance of urine poor performance), and has done its best to urine off supporters.

If there's ever a course for football clubs on how to galvanise a town and the support, in the 'problem reversal' bit where they get participants to jot down 'how to fail spectacularly', they can quote GTFC practice.

I think the first sentence of my post might be the one you are looking for...

Quoted from barralad

Whilst I can see that chances have repeatedly been missed to build on the success of 2016 I am extremely uncomfortable with the continuing comparison with our neighbours down the A46. Ginny is right in my view. There was a bit of luck attached to the beginning of Lincoln's re-birth in that they took a gamble and appointed the Cowleys. Their recent history of appointing managers was not much better than ours. A good comparison would have been our appointment of McMenemy or even better Buckley Mark 1. Once they kicked on the appointment was the gift which kept on giving. I'm no expert on Lincoln's finances but the F.A. cup run must have made them millions. It is true that they adopted a more positive policy towards getting the city behind them and through the gates but they were on a roll. That cup run not only made them lots of money but it established the club in the conscience of a whole new section of the population and a new generation of fans. By comparison we stumbled over the line with no cup cash. Their cup run and league form united the fan base at Lincoln- a unity that Paul Hurst for all the reasons we've gone over on here ad nauseum never engendered. That shouldn't exonerate the club from blame for not seizing the opportunity presented by the feelgood factor but the basic facts are that without the back up of a small (large?) fortune any substantial budget increase would have needed to be funded by other means..and we all know what that means. I've always found it a bit bizarre that there are a lot of people on here who hate the level of control that J.F. has over all things GTFC but are then calling for him to invest more of his personal fortune to move us forward which could only serve to increase the reliance-never mind making it less likely that he would eventually walk away.

Hi Barra, i didnt say that Fenty should have invested more of his money in the club. I said that he had deliberatly stuck us to a low budget (penny pinching). If he had given Hurst a realistic budget from the start we would most likely have been doing even better and have got even bigger crowds and possibly have been more likely to hold on to Hurst if he had felt backed and if we had been doing better. As it was the money was only allowed to be spent in January when Hurst had already left after being let down on expenditure including the S&C coach (which fenty had to cough up for anyway as he realised that all managers in the league were going to expect one). In the end the penny pinching cost Fenty (and us) far more. In fact the fact Hurst was shopping in the bargain bucket to some degree is still hurting us to some degree to this day and we could pay a very high price indeed.

I do want to amend what i said about the momentum we did have being generated by the fans, i should have acknowledged the manager and players for playing their part in creating it too obviously!

Quoted from barralad

I think the first sentence of my post might be the one you are looking for...

Sorry for misreading your post. I came away with the impression it was more of an excuse for the club. My mistake.

Do you agree that the club "did intercourse all to market season tickets over two seasons ..... and has done its best to urine off supporters."?

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Sorry for misreading your post. I came away with the impression it was more of an excuse for the club. My mistake.

Do you agree that the club "did intercourse all to market season tickets over two seasons ..... and has done its best to urine off supporters."?

My personal view is that a lot more should have been done and earlier in the run up to the 2016/17 season-although in mitigation because of the play off final and the uncertain nature of where we would be playing our football it would have been difficult to have been definitive much earlier. Again personally speaking I'm in favour of tickets for the following season being available before the current season has finished and when asked for my views I have articulated as such be it to fellow Trust Board members or the club. I am not in favour of ridiculous offers price-wise and think that a season ticket at GTFC represents a good example of competitive pricing.

Quoted from toontown

Hi Barra, i didnt say that Fenty should have invested more of his money in the club. I said that he had deliberatly stuck us to a low budget (penny pinching). If he had given Hurst a realistic budget from the start we would most likely have been doing even better and have got even bigger crowds and possibly have been more likely to hold on to Hurst if he had felt backed and if we had been doing better. As it was the money was only allowed to be spent in January when Hurst had already left after being let down on expenditure including the S&C coach (which fenty had to cough up for anyway as he realised that all managers in the league were going to expect one). In the end the penny pinching cost Fenty (and us) far more. In fact the fact Hurst was shopping in the bargain bucket to some degree is still hurting us to some degree to this day and we could pay a very high price indeed.

I do want to amend what i said about the momentum we did have being generated by the fans, i should have acknowledged the manager and players for playing their part in creating it too obviously!

I know you didn't and am sorry if you took that from my reply. I'm in danger of becoming a Codgeresque stuck record but I was only trying to point out that the comparison between us and Lincoln given the respective events leading up to promotion isn't really fair. Lincoln have done amazingly well and have kept the momentum going but I do wonder how hard they had to work as a club on the back of spectacular on field displays where the cup run had fans wanting more. It's no exaggeration to say that there is a significent part of their fanbase who have yet to experience a "low".

Quoted from barralad

I know you didn't and am sorry if you took that from my reply. I'm in danger of becoming a Codgeresque stuck record but I was only trying to point out that the comparison between us and Lincoln given the respective events leading up to promotion isn't really fair. Lincoln have done amazingly well and have kept the momentum going but I do wonder how hard they had to work as a club on the back of spectacular on field displays where the cup run had fans wanting more. It's no exaggeration to say that there is a significent part of their fanbase who have yet to experience a "low".

I know several Lincoln fans who feel more 'in contact' with their club than ever before despite experiencing several lows in the past. In the meantime, GTFC board has adopted a 'divide & rule' policy alienating fans and dissing Operation Promotion and demoralising several key figures of the Trust.

Yes, the comparison is fair. Lincoln respect their fan base while GTFC don't.

Quoted from barralad

My personal view is that a lot more should have been done and earlier in the run up to the 2016/17 season-although in mitigation because of the play off final and the uncertain nature of where we would be playing our football it would have been difficult to have been definitive much earlier. Again personally speaking I'm in favour of tickets for the following season being available before the current season has finished and when asked for my views I have articulated as such be it to fellow Trust Board members or the club. I am not in favour of ridiculous offers price-wise and think that a season ticket at GTFC represents a good example of competitive pricing.

This I agree with,
I posted in March time of our promotion season that the following season ST's should be available for purchase and obviously there were certain posters who disagreed because we didn't know what what league we would have been in, which is true but then that never stopped Bristol Rovers did it? And then surely if the club really thought about it they could have come up with an idea to counter this and include the promotion price increase they lazily slapped on.

Didn't John Fenty say at the fans forum that they didn't release season tickets early to avoid fans expressing ill feeling or something? What kind of answer is that!

The fact the marketing of tickets is so poor it makes me dread the sales for next season, they will be very very low regardless what league we are in, but I get the feeling that Fenty and the rest of the board don't believe there will be so they will be in for a shock.

Quoted from Meza

But can you name the managers from memory I cant seem to remember many and just guessed lol

I believe Mr Fenty has been involved at GTFC since 2003. Have a gander at this:

2002/3 Championship Relegated - PG
2003/4 Division Three Relegated - KS?
2004/5 Division Four 18th - AB?
2005/6 Division Four 4th - RS
2006/7 Division Four 15th?
2007/8 Division Four 16th?
2008/9 Division Four 22nd Saved by Luton 30 points deduction - NL
2009/10 Division Four Relegated - NW
2010/11 Non League 11th - NW
2011/12 Non League 11th - PH & RS
2012/13 Non League 4th - PH
2013/14 Non League 4th - PH
2014/15 Non League 3rd - PH
2015/16 Non League 4th Promoted via playoff - PH
2016/17 Division Four 14th - PH - MB - RS
2017/18 Division Four 20th to 24th Relegated? - RS & MJ

Hasn't Ian Fleming been Chief Executive since 1996 and Company Secretary for 10 years prior to that. Could there be some connection?