37 games to make the grade? : Tue Jul 05, 2022 10:50 pm  

OK. I know we have 10 games left, but the fact that Rimmer has confirmed no change in 2023 makes me think we have 37 league games (10+27) to either get ourselves into the top 20 spots across the 2 divisions to have a valid claim for inclusion in the much mentioned "2x10" scenario or to make a very valid case for inclusion regardless of finishing position.
Currently, we are achieving neither and I can't help but think that without a new coach, we will be hard pressed to make a plan to either recruit to hit the top 20, and without a joined up marketing commercial plan, we won't attract enough fans to warrant IMG pi55ing off everyone else by including us regardless.

Hughes silence on the matter is worrying, as I believe he has cast the die and we will run on the budget he allocated when he first moved us to SW London and Part Time.

This is even though we sit 24th and with fewer than 1,000 fans. If he is waiting for IMG to find an investor, he's repeating the mistakes of old, especially given the IMG GLOBAL Head of Golf was fired by his CEO and fielding supremo He needs to prioritise finding a class coach now, even if that be from the NSW/QLND Cup. Failing this, he needs to open his wallet and attract a class coach from the UK.

In terms of marketing, the club need to make a call now on 2023 home Venue and stick to it. I think it is evident we've attracted no new fans and no lapsed fans back with the move, but if they persevere then they MUST make sure that we are not booted off the pitch at Plough Lane for the period when the football isn't on. It is sheer lunacy and not one of those who will visit Ebbsfleet from curiosity will be at Plough Lane next year....

Of the 9 games we have left, I'd target one, Workington, as a game to promote heavily (not just the DH ego massaging Gold Lounge), but other than that, start concentrating on collating data from old lists and determining what we can use under whatever regulations have come in since we collected it. We can also continue to work with the schools in the area as well as with the amateur clubs. I'd also look at partnering with a local hotel to offer discounts for visiting fans and putting together weekend packages (sightseeing Saturday/game Sunday). Regardless of the cost, I would ensure we have 13 EVENTS planned for 2023. Once the fixtures are out (mid November), they have 11/12 weeks. This is the period where they either need staff or volunteers to be working the phones etc....and stop putting adverts in the London free sheets.....just stop it.
Volunteers on game day will be key to this, including Buck'n'Dusty and look into an electronic programme. Make sure there is something for the Kids (bouncy castle type stuff) and face painters. A band post every game and I am sorry, but the presentations post match should be open to everyone.
Match day raffles for Club gear, a decent MC, a half time kicking comp....all the stuff the club used to do. There are enough out of work actors about who would gladly take such a role on.......atmosphere and a welcoming ambience....make the away fans enjoy it and the local ones come back.

Still. 10 games to go and I reckon 2 more points to make us safe, but if Loubser isn't thinking along these lines already, then he bloody well should be!

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 5:16 am  

I wonder if Hughes is seeking potential new owners or part owners of the club as part of a succession plan.

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 1:35 pm  

Can't see anyone wanting to pay Hughes the millions he has invested back in order to buy the club. Of course he has also shown how difficult he is to work with so co-owners would seem unlikely.

In any event, what would they be buying? A 2nd/3rd tier club whose only assets are some part time players, shirts & goalposts. You could argue that's not much better than what Roy & Barbara had when they bought the club in 1984.

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 3:38 pm  

David Hughes has no chance of getting anything for the club. He will be lucky if he can find someone to take it off of his hands.

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:02 pm  

we will only survive this season owing to the fact that we have two clubs worse than us, and that Dewsbury and Workington can't buy a win right now...

I don't see us being much better next year, so the question is, will we be better than whitehaven, keighley or swinton or NW crusaders or Rochdale (on who comes up) to avoid relegation next year

Future does not look that bright, even with a new coach coming in

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 5:29 pm  

Deadcowboys1 wrote:

Can't see anyone wanting to pay Hughes the millions he has invested back in order to buy the club. Of course he has also shown how difficult he is to work with so co-owners would seem unlikely.

In any event, what would they be buying? A 2nd/3rd tier club whose only assets are some part time players, shirts & goalposts. You could argue that's not much better than what Roy & Barbara had when they bought the club in 1984.

I’m sure we own the shirts DC but the problem is they aren’t in the club’s colours and they have the names of players who, to a large extent, will be long gone come next season. Not an easy sale.

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 8:58 pm  

BigTime wrote:

I’m sure we own the shirts DC but the problem is they aren’t in the club’s colours and they have the names of players who, to a large extent, will be long gone come next season. Not an easy sale.

Big Time. Aren't the sponsors to receive these shirts at the end of season event?
Victor is right.....nobody will pay a cent for the club as it is. Dead cby is correct, Hughes doesn't play well with others.
Crash.....I suspect we will be slightly better next season but only if we can keep the core of this side together. Many are on 2 yr deals, so we will probably let them all go in October
Wire-Q.....you are probably right and Hughes is awaiting an investor to help him, but he's been waiting since 2007.

I know I can be down on the club most times, but I have to say, you 5 make me less like victor meldrew and more like Northern Bloke

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 9:34 pm  

orangeman wrote:

Big Time. Aren't the sponsors to receive these shirts at the end of season event?
Victor is right.....nobody will pay a cent for the club as it is. Dead cby is correct, Hughes doesn't play well with others.
Crash.....I suspect we will be slightly better next season but only if we can keep the core of this side together. Many are on 2 yr deals, so we will probably let them all go in October
Wire-Q.....you are probably right and Hughes is awaiting an investor to help him, but he's been waiting since 2007.

I know I can be down on the club most times, but I have to say, you 5 make me less like victor meldrew and more like Northern Bloke

Yes Orange I’d forgotten about that.

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Wed Jul 06, 2022 9:45 pm  

[quote="orangeman"]
Crash.....I suspect we will be slightly better next season but only if we can keep the core of this side together. Many are on 2 yr deals, so we will probably let them all go in October

Slightly perhaps. Remember though that Keighley appear to be throwing money about and only Whitehaven look like they might be on the downturn. The real test OM is how many of the better players are on 2 year contracts. I’m not sure and then, of course, who will be our new coach and will he recruit in the style of JC or more effectively from the Championship player pool.
Who of our ‘projects’ or younger players has obviously developed significantly. Many are improving which is great but game changers? I’m not sure.

My gut feeling is if we know we are going to be a Championship side in 2023 a few weeks before end of season we’ll be OK if not I think we may struggle- remember we came into this season as consistently one of the best teams in this league and still struggled to get much traction as a fully PT outfit. Next season it will be off the back of a really dodgy season. We’ll have to do some pretty fancy talking and planning to get in players, supporters and sponsors to previous levels I think. Definitely possible but we’ve consistently shown ourselves to be slow learners and error prone so if we haven’t learnt from this season how not to do it, it could get messy.

Re: 37 games to make the grade? : Thu Jul 07, 2022 2:21 pm  

I wonder how seriously Hughes looks for other investment though ? I'm sure it's not easy to find but I hope he is trying hard. We need someone who can take us forwards not backwards.