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Post by 61666 on Jan 21, 2019 9:01:04 GMT
There were about 1800 home fans for Saturday's game, around 1500 of whom had left before the final whistle. Doubt if there was more than 100 or so in the main stand. Terry Casey's comments about reduced budgets may well be based on the expectation that gates are going to go down considerably for the rest of the season. We don't look like winning, haven't done so for five months in the league and our cup run will no doubt end at Salford. Throw in some cold, wet match days and who is going to turn out to see us bullied by the likes of Fylde, Halifax etc? Had we been doing reasonably well, gates of 2500 or more; as we are, wouldn't be surprised to see them drop to 1500 or less. That is a loss of around £30 000 a month in income. Win a couple of games and a bit of hope is created. If we still have a chance of avoiding the drop by mid March, gates could even go up. Another thought is the overall standard of football this season. When we get beaten, I try to get something from the game by trying to at least enjoy what the opposition do. In our first two seasons, there were some decent sides who came to the G and played good football. Boreham Wood, FGR, Macclesfield, Aldershot were just a few who were good to watch. Have seen most home games this season, but have yet to see a team who beat us through good football. If this is what the NLP is becoming, maybe we are better off in the NLS, where skilled players, albeit part timers, play for fun? Just a thought...
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Post by jakeyboi on Jan 21, 2019 9:01:26 GMT
Sorry mate I missed this because I had a bad turn an was laid up in bed, is there any way I can hear it again?
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Post by jdl on Jan 21, 2019 9:02:45 GMT
Bog standard is a bit harsh we are more than that,if you look what we have achieved over the last 25 years it is phenomenal. We went out of business and got placed at level13 of the football pyramid when we reformed and we have made it all the way back to step 5 whilst virtually evey other kent club has stood still for 25 years and we have passed them all and that is not the feat of a bog standard non-league club. We were never ready for this division ,it all came to quickly and although we still have a chance of escaping the drop it is a very small chance but even a division down is still a remarkable achievement from where we began. The EFL is a million light years away for us ,something that i and most knowledgeable fans knew already it now just remains for the rest of the fan base to come to terms with that,it is not going to happen for many,many years if at all. Most sensible post on this thread. Our problem is that some fans insist on thinking of Maidstone as an ex-League club, trying to return to our 'rightful' position in the EFL. Whilst this is technically correct, is is, in reality, bollocks. We were only briefly in the League and we only got there by buying our way in by selling our ground, and bankrupting ourselves and Darford. We are, what we always were - one of the top non-league sides in the country. We're a small-town club from a non-football part of the world - being the best we can be is pretty good. Occasionally getting higher than that is just icing on the cake. For those of us who were there, back in the 80s and 90s, this is not a drop down from the League, it is a vast improvement on those days. Who amongst us would seriously go back to London Road and the old Conference? No one wants relegation, but it could be a lot worse. And, personally, I'm looking forward to enjoying my football again next season.
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Post by jakeyboi on Jan 21, 2019 9:08:17 GMT
Most sensible post on this thread. Our problem is that some fans insist on thinking of Maidstone as an ex-League club, trying to return to our 'rightful' position in the EFL. Whislt this is technically correct, is is, in reality, bollocks. We were only briefly in the League and we only got there by buying our way in by selling our ground, and bankrupting ourselves and Darford. We are, what we always were - one of the top non-league sides in the country. We're a small-town club from a non-football part of the world - being the best we can be is pretty good. Occasionally getting higher than that is just icing on the cake. For those of us who were there, back in the 80s and 90s, this is not a drop down from the League, it is a vast improvement on those days. Who amongst us would seriously go back to London Road and the old Conference? No one wants relegation, but it could be a lot worse. And, personally, I'm looking forward to enjoying my football again next season. Whilst we can all sit back an see the benefits of playing in the NLS next year it,s very difficult for the average fan to grasp that there club has no dreams or ambition to play in the "Big Boys League" imagine all the kids who watch the stones growing up knowing that NL is as good as it gets as far as directors are concerned. Every little club like ours has fans that dream every pre-season, that this season is going to be the special one that gets them into the big time. Now apparently them dreams are no longer.
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Post by jdl on Jan 21, 2019 9:13:03 GMT
Our problem is that some fans insist on thinking of Maidstone as an ex-League club, trying to return to our 'rightful' position in the EFL. Whislt this is technically correct, is is, in reality, bollocks. We were only briefly in the League and we only got there by buying our way in by selling our ground, and bankrupting ourselves and Darford. We are, what we always were - one of the top non-league sides in the country. We're a small-town club from a non-football part of the world - being the best we can be is pretty good. Occasionally getting higher than that is just icing on the cake. For those of us who were there, back in the 80s and 90s, this is not a drop down from the League, it is a vast improvement on those days. Who amongst us would seriously go back to London Road and the old Conference? No one wants relegation, but it could be a lot worse. And, personally, I'm looking forward to enjoying my football again next season. Whilst we can all sit back an see the benefits of playing in the NLS next year it,s very difficult for the average fan to grasp that there club has no dreams or ambition to play in the "Big Boys League" imagine all the kids who watch the stones growing up knowing that NL is as good as it gets as far as directors are concerned. Every little club like ours has fans that dream every pre-season, that this season is going to be the special one that gets them into the big time. Now apparently them dreams are no longer. Valid point, but we are where we are - we don't have the money to get into the League, or perhaps even survive in the NL. But we can still dream. Maybe dropping back into the NS and winning promotion again will be different, we'll be better prepared, at least. Maybe we'll find that special manager who can win us promotion without breaking the bank? Maybe we'll even find that elusive 'investor'! Recognising reality doesn't stop us dreaming. As a Hammer I know this only too well!
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Post by davec on Jan 21, 2019 9:15:06 GMT
Can’t we be open to some sort of investment, like another shareholder. There’s no long term plan if we have to keep cutting the budget. If they can’t afford it which they clearly can’t at this level do something about it, no club should have to put up with the shit we’ve seen the last 2 seasons at the Gallagher.And who’s in charge of recruitment, cause we seem to have the worst recruiting system in the leagueWhat’s the point in a one month loan pathetic At the moment my reading of the situation is both owners have 50%. If they introduce a new shareholder with voting rights and they disagree about anything the new shareholder would hold the balance of power effectively sidelining the other partner. If i had pumped millions into this i wouldn't risk being sidelined and also if i had loads of spare money i wouldn't invest without voting rights. That looks like an impasse to me. 10 years ago we didn't have much of a club and now thanks entirely to these two brave men we have a club to be proud of. Anybody moaning about their commitment obviously didn't experience the deep joy of getting beaten by people like Snodland FC
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Post by pieman1982 on Jan 21, 2019 9:19:43 GMT
Terry did point out Torquey’s match attendances this season. It appears they are up 25% ish from last. This is obviously because they are winning most games now. You could hear in his tone although he said several times they have not accepted religation and can’t yet, he is also by no means worried about religation. We had over 3000 for Dover at home a few weeks back.
We have to accept as a club we could play League football, but not with our current owners. They will not rip that pitch up even if we some how managed to put together a playoff charge at some point. I personally would not swop our Owners for a Tamplin who could flash the cash and then bugger off leaving the Gallagher to be made into Flats! COYS
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Post by shamstone on Jan 21, 2019 9:22:53 GMT
Sorry mate I missed this because I had a bad turn an was laid up in bed, is there any way I can hear it again? Nothing special. Just in reference to the Black Knights wind up
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Post by daveu on Jan 21, 2019 9:29:35 GMT
The problem arises because you can't just sit in the NLS and not try for promotion. That really would be a sign of a club with no ambition. So at some point we need to address the issue of not being ready for promotion and stop using it as an excuse. A couple of seasons in the NLS as fine, but if we show no signs of wanting promotion I can see crowds falling off to less than 1500, maybe even lower. Do we really want to become a mid-table NLS club like Hemel Hempstead? What do their supporters have to look forward to?
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Post by pieman1982 on Jan 21, 2019 9:34:42 GMT
I could cope with having the feeling of the playoff final win every other season as a yo-yo team 🤪
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Post by sword65 on Jan 21, 2019 9:51:44 GMT
Pretty sensible but a million light years away from the EFL ? One step actually but admittedly may be 2 steps by next season. Even if we do go down as Terry said our finances and ambition will see the club pushing hard for promotion again. No guarantees but we will be there or there abouts. Whether it takes one season, two seasons or three seasons, we will do it and be stronger and fitter for the experience. Interesting to note that Woking attendances have increased 20% this year following relegation and that is after the drop in away fan support. But assuming Woking and Torquay get promoted we will be by far the biggest and best financed club in the Naional South. Just such a gulf between the leagues ! I am pretty sure Aldershot will have a similar budget should they not avoid the drop. I think Billericay will still be there but is Tampon still willing to give the clown the financial backing? With the relegation places overloaded with southern clubs there could be a bit of a shuffle from north to South so we may inherit Hereford Or even Kidderminster Harriers possibly Leamington all of which are playing in the tougher northern section,admittedly Hereford may themselves yet get relegated so it will not be as straight forward as Terry hopes. You mention Wokings improved attendances well yes that could happen to us but if we gain 20% then we will only be clawing back the 20% that the clown has cost us this year.
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Post by Better things to do in life on Jan 21, 2019 9:54:45 GMT
I could cope with having the feeling of the playoff final win every other season as a yo-yo team 🤪 Good to see a healthy dose of reality checks in this thread. I was guilty of being one of those caught up in the rapid growth of the club and seeing us as "restoring" our position as an EFL club. However, at the same time I actually enjoyed the experience of following the semipro Stones in the days of IL and NSL much more than the pro game in NL. Yes, we are a semipro NLS club really and have been punching above our weight. Yo-yo? at least we'd have some championship winning or promotion seasons! Also if next time around in NL we stayed part-time with a plucky NLS winning team instead of jumping into the funless pro world of mercenaries, EFL has beens and overpaid EFL wannabees, we may go down, but it may be more fun. We would need a bigger benefactor, bigger (grass) stadium to fulfil bigger dreams of competing at pro NL level. The worse scenario would be becoming mid tanle NLS but I think are owners are good enough to stop that happening, just not good enough to play in the pro world of EFL/NL. Not a criticism, just a reality check. Anyone going to Dartford? Now that could be more fun!
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Post by sword65 on Jan 21, 2019 10:01:34 GMT
The problem arises because you can't just sit in the NLS and not try for promotion. That really would be a sign of a club with no ambition. So at some point we need to address the issue of not being ready for promotion and stop using it as an excuse. A couple of seasons in the NLS as fine, but if we show no signs of wanting promotion I can see crowds falling off to less than 1500, maybe even lower. Do we really want to become a mid-table NLS club like Hemel Hempstead? What do their supporters have to look forward to? A fortnightly escape from Hemel Hempstead😀
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Post by jdl on Jan 21, 2019 10:08:00 GMT
The problem arises because you can't just sit in the NLS and not try for promotion. That really would be a sign of a club with no ambition. So at some point we need to address the issue of not being ready for promotion and stop using it as an excuse. A couple of seasons in the NLS as fine, but if we show no signs of wanting promotion I can see crowds falling off to less than 1500, maybe even lower. Do we really want to become a mid-table NLS club like Hemel Hempstead? What do their supporters have to look forward to? Of course we'd try for promotion - that's like saying we play games not expecting to win. But at least we've have a much more realistic idea of what that promotion entails. Last time we went up unexpectedy early, with entirely unrealistic expectations. That isn't going to happen again.
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Post by toonarmy on Jan 21, 2019 10:11:20 GMT
Pretty sensible but a million light years away from the EFL ? One step actually but admittedly may be 2 steps by next season. Even if we do go down as Terry said our finances and ambition will see the club pushing hard for promotion again. No guarantees but we will be there or there abouts. Whether it takes one season, two seasons or three seasons, we will do it and be stronger and fitter for the experience. Interesting to note that Woking attendances have increased 20% this year following relegation and that is after the drop in away fan support. But assuming Woking and Torquay get promoted we will be by far the biggest and best financed club in the Naional South. Just such a gulf between the leagues ! I am pretty sure Aldershot will have a similar budget should they not avoid the drop. I think Billericay will still be there but is Tampon still willing to give the clown the financial backing? With the relegation places overloaded with southern clubs there could be a bit of a shuffle from north to South so we may inherit Hereford Or even Kidderminster Harriers possibly Leamington all of which are playing in the tougher northern section,admittedly Hereford may themselves yet get relegated so it will not be as straight forward as Terry hopes. You mention Wokings improved attendances well yes that could happen to us but if we gain 20% then we will only be clawing back the 20% that the clown has cost us this year. more likely teams being pushed out of the south into the north, I believe Oxford City could go north again
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