New Direction?

Quoted from pen penfras

I think almost everybody is completely missing my point and saying I'm trying to defend Fenty, I'm not talking one single bit about him, just the future and how it will go. I'm actually saying the exact same thing as a lot of you, that a change in image and investment in facilities WILL make a big difference. Initially. Success has to follow, or else we will be back where we are now, or at least last season. I'm well aware that since December the outlook has changed and there's no going back for Fenty. I'm also well aware that there hasn't been enough investment in the club since the 80's, long before Fenty was on the scene.

There are lots of clubs that have had a boost from things that are being talked about, but when results turned, so did the fans. One of the prime examples I can think of is Middlesbrough, they used to chant the chairman's name at almost every game for what he did for them. But when improvement stagnated, attendances slightly dropped and when they regressed they dropped by 50% of the peak and only go up when they're winning.

In the case of Middlesbrough, attendances back to where they were before the millions were pumped into the team.

It is too early to start a campaign for 3 or 4 clubs to be promoted from NL to the EFL?

Quoted from Fillipe Noche

Jason is a founding member of B Corp UK

Jason will be like a breath of fresh air running through the club, very professional, forward thinking and everything you read about him is positive so fingers crossed he can put a heart beat back into the club because we have been flat lining for so long under the current custodians

I genuinally enjoy reading the banter on your board - And as I have stated previously I am hopeful you will remain in the football league - I think that will be tough, but still see Southend and Colchester dropping out.

This thread pricked my ears though, obviously being a Lincoln fan since 77' I am aware of the enormous changes our club has seen - So if you were to have a similar change in fortunes and direction - I would see all of these things, gradually being key to success.

1. Cheif executive - We took ours from Doncaster and he has been integral to our success on and off the pitch.
2. The right manager - Personally I would always go on the up.
3. Training Facilities - Our performance centre on the A15 has definitely helped us recruit better calibre players - Man City/Forest/West Brom/West Ham/Fulham/Spurs happily loan us players knowing their players are well looked after and have great facilities. Appleton engaged with Power point presentations to these and many more clubs so we could get the cream - Our strike force is probably on paper worth 10 million.
4.As a visitor to BP over 10 times - It is tired and you need either reloaction or it making more attractive to visit for both home and away fans - When I used to go in the 80s I was with my mates and didn't care, but now with my 11 year old I wouldn't go - Not only is it tired but it also feels hostile. The fanzone at Lincoln is fantastic - Good food, beer - but also my son can have a game of football , see his mates and have a laugh. It can be done - Lincoln hasn't always had this atmosphere but the club have worked hard to change the atmosphere.
5. Investment - Looks like this could be sorted for you - But clealry it has helped us , with multiple investors covering losses and improving the team. We have also been savvy in tying down our assets and I would imagine we have players that would comfortably raise 7 figures so if we needed to resource this way we could too.
6.Club shops - We now have a superstore in the centre of Lincoln and this has hugely helped attract supporters but also increase revunue.
7. We also fix - upgrade anything that is tired. People who visit SB will be aware we own the 4g at the back of the stadium - It was tired - It has just been completely replaced with a state of the art 4g - It is always full of kids (Pre - Covid).

There are probably other important things but these are the things I would want and do - Good Luck for the remaining games and I hope you avoid NL - I know what it is like - Guisley on Boxing day was the coldest I have ever been, and we lost too...

Grimsby is an area where people have not much money , people on minimum wage or zero hours contracts if we dropped ticket prices to £5 for kids ,o.a.ps ,  £10 for adults i think we would get a hell of a lot more people through the turnstiles, ticket prices are astronomical and a few years ago it was 2 quid more to watch leeds United in the championship than paying for a ticket at £21 to watch town struggling in league 2

Quoted from nealeardleyscrossing

I genuinally enjoy reading the banter on your board - And as I have stated previously I am hopeful you will remain in the football league - I think that will be tough, but still see Southend and Colchester dropping out.

This thread pricked my ears though, obviously being a Lincoln fan since 77' I am aware of the enormous changes our club has seen - So if you were to have a similar change in fortunes and direction - I would see all of these things, gradually being key to success.

1. Cheif executive - We took ours from Doncaster and he has been integral to our success on and off the pitch.
2. The right manager - Personally I would always go on the up.
3. Training Facilities - Our performance centre on the A15 has definitely helped us recruit better calibre players - Man City/Forest/West Brom/West Ham/Fulham/Spurs happily loan us players knowing their players are well looked after and have great facilities. Appleton engaged with Power point presentations to these and many more clubs so we could get the cream - Our strike force is probably on paper worth 10 million.
4.As a visitor to BP over 10 times - It is tired and you need either reloaction or it making more attractive to visit for both home and away fans - When I used to go in the 80s I was with my mates and didn't care, but now with my 11 year old I wouldn't go - Not only is it tired but it also feels hostile. The fanzone at Lincoln is fantastic - Good food, beer - but also my son can have a game of football , see his mates and have a laugh. It can be done - Lincoln hasn't always had this atmosphere but the club have worked hard to change the atmosphere.
5. Investment - Looks like this could be sorted for you - But clealry it has helped us , with multiple investors covering losses and improving the team. We have also been savvy in tying down our assets and I would imagine we have players that would comfortably raise 7 figures so if we needed to resource this way we could too.
6.Club shops - We now have a superstore in the centre of Lincoln and this has hugely helped attract supporters but also increase revunue.
7. We also fix - upgrade anything that is tired. People who visit SB will be aware we own the 4g at the back of the stadium - It was tired - It has just been completely replaced with a state of the art 4g - It is always full of kids (Pre - Covid).

There are probably other important things but these are the things I would want and do - Good Luck for the remaining games and I hope you avoid NL - I know what it is like - Guisley on Boxing day was the coldest I have ever been, and we lost too...

Very interesting post, I didn't know much of that.

There aren't many brands that are strong enough to live by the mantra 'build it and they will come' — it certainly won't work for Town just now — but if we can get our act together off the pitch, re-establish ourselves as a community club, rebuild our reputation, heal a few wounds, become a team to be proud of (irrespective of our place in the league), work with schools, then, for example, you could build a superstore in the town centre and people would spend their money there.

I honestly didn't think Lincoln had 9,000 crowds in them. There's a huge crowd laying dormant in Grimsby. We've long talked about this 'core' 2-3,000 fanbase we have, who'll be there come rain or shine.

Winning games does draw bigger crowds, no matter the level. I understand that argument, but being a sustainable, proud community club that builds relationships with kids, parents and grandparents through all sorts of ethical and innovative initiatives means that, over time, that 'core' 3,000 becomes more like 5 and 6,000 and a new generation of Town fans is born.

You have to do something seriously bad to lose a core fanbase. Ours has dwindled for sure. Winning games brings in large crowds temporarily; being a well-run club over years and years brings more people back - winning games just speeds it up.

Quoted from RichMariner

Very interesting post, I didn't know much of that.

There aren't many brands that are strong enough to live by the mantra 'build it and they will come' — it certainly won't work for Town just now — but if we can get our act together off the pitch, re-establish ourselves as a community club, rebuild our reputation, heal a few wounds, become a team to be proud of (irrespective of our place in the league), work with schools, then, for example, you could build a superstore in the town centre and people would spend their money there.

I honestly didn't think Lincoln had 9,000 crowds in them. There's a huge crowd laying dormant in Grimsby. We've long talked about this 'core' 2-3,000 fanbase we have, who'll be there come rain or shine.

Winning games does draw bigger crowds, no matter the level. I understand that argument, but being a sustainable, proud community club that builds relationships with kids, parents and grandparents through all sorts of ethical and innovative initiatives means that, over time, that 'core' 3,000 becomes more like 5 and 6,000 and a new generation of Town fans is born.

You have to do something seriously bad to lose a core fanbase. Ours has dwindled for sure. Winning games brings in large crowds temporarily; being a well-run club over years and years brings more people back - winning games just speeds it up.

Yep. I have a mate who lives in Lincoln but supports somebody completely different (hometown club) and he is always very complimentary and admiring of the way that The Imps go about things.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

Yep. I have a mate who lives in Lincoln but supports somebody completely different (hometown club) and he is always very complimentary and admiring of the way that The Imps go about things.

Which is a far cry from where they were only a matter of years ago. They finished 13th in the National League the season we went up and were pretty dreadful by all accounts. They were, it seemed, a million miles behind us.

As frustrating as that is, there is some solace to take from that - when a club is competently run, transformation can come quickly. Not that we should take such a thing for granted, but it's possible.

Taking my black and white tinted glasses off for a moment, they've had a phenomenal few years.

Quoted from nealeardleyscrossing

Appleton engaged with Power point presentations to these and many more clubs so we could get the cream

Slade IN.

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

It is too early to start a campaign for 3 or 4 clubs to be promoted from NL to the EFL?

I think it should and not because we are about to end up there. It's more akin to a division 5 now, despite it being run by a different board. There are more professional clubs in there now and it's almost on a par with league 2 in standard. It wouldn't be as daunting for clubs that ended up there if it was a little easier to secure promotion back out of it. The days when clubs had to be vetted as to their structure and facilities before they were allowed into the football league are long gone, and most of them could easily make the leap to the EFL, so I can't see why there shouldn't be the same promotion and relegation places.