What happens to the money?

[Deleted]

It needs a correction but it's never going to happen. More people than ever are watching non league footie.

The National League is slowly becoming fully full time clubs. They may as well call it League 3. It is leaking into the NLS and NLN now.

If everyone just paid what they can afford, the league system would reach an equilibrium. The clubs who make loss upon loss would drift down, the clubs with bigger followings would move up to replace them. The one factor that stops this is the sugar daddy.

[Deleted]

It would be interesting to know the range of pay in our league - and if they are paid for the whole year or just the playing season?
If, say 40 weeks for a season, then £600 a week only equates to £24k per year - not a fortune in this part of the world, so no wonder if they have second, or third jobs.
Compare that to the starting salary of a 21 year old teacher, straight out of college, which is about 30k these days and about the same as a player on £600 a week over a full year.
Considering what the cup run has done for the club, would say any bonuses accrued have been hard earned and likewise offers from other clubs. They only have a few years to cash in on such opportunities, so why not, because if the club pen their contracts properly, they ought to be earning a fee too.

[Deleted]

If people think me crazy then here is an example of pure non league lunacy. I'll credit a friend for this information. When Paul Booth signed a 3 year deal for Havant and Looneytuneville he was given a brand new kitchen and conservatory plus a £20,000 signing on fee. He never played a single game for them. Now that is unbelievable Jeff!

[Deleted]

Crazy indeed but it pro0bably was not the club that paid. I suspect it was the equivalent of a sponsor such as Britelite providing the goodies and whip round in the boardroom for the fee. That is certainly what happened when Jim was the owner.
Following your argument why not go the whole way and be an amateur club and just pay expenses? That didn't work though did it.
I have no problem paying players good wage at our level providing it does not jeopardise the club. The clubs need to be prote3cted against irresponsible owners hence the new legislation although how effective it is we have yet to see.

I am shocked at how much players in the Kent league are getting though.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 16:55:03 GMT pigbag said:

Crazy indeed but it pro0bably was not the club that paid. I suspect it was the equivalent of a sponsor such as Britelite providing the goodies and whip round in the boardroom for the fee. That is certainly what happened when Jim was the owner.
Following your argument why not go the whole way and be an amateur club and just pay expenses? That didn't work though did it.
I have no problem paying players good wage at our level providing it does not jeopardise the club. The clubs need to be prote3cted against irresponsible owners hence the new legislation although how effective it is we have yet to see.

I am shocked at how much players in the Kent league are getting though.

I accept the days of £20 and petrol money are over but I don't like players and agents ripping clubs off,I never have and never will. The cup run means that we have only one profit less season and I don't think the loss was to bad,its just the future that concerns me and with supporters almost demanding promotion and success then the wage bill is only going to get higher.

[Deleted]

There's bugger all we can do about it. As with everything, the market will take its natural course.

At the top, more and more clubs will become foreign owned, international 'entertainment' organisations, until the top two tiers (at least) will efectively be a separate entity, not really connected to domestic football, or anything we might experience on a Saturday afternoon.

At the bottom, it will probably just chug along like it always has - there just isn't the money for anything more than that - with the occasonal sugar-daddy club donning its wax wings and flying sunwards.

And, in the middle, it will be chaos, with clubs trying (and probably failing) to match the dreams of their suporters, and a constant rain of failed clubs drifting down to the depths.

But, where we are - above the bottom, but not having the finance or support to get involved in the financial fuckwitery of the clubs above us - it will be just business as usual.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 17:05:46 GMT sword65 said:

Jan 31, 2024 16:55:03 GMT pigbag said:

Crazy indeed but it pro0bably was not the club that paid. I suspect it was the equivalent of a sponsor such as Britelite providing the goodies and whip round in the boardroom for the fee. That is certainly what happened when Jim was the owner.
Following your argument why not go the whole way and be an amateur club and just pay expenses? That didn't work though did it.
I have no problem paying players good wage at our level providing it does not jeopardise the club. The clubs need to be prote3cted against irresponsible owners hence the new legislation although how effective it is we have yet to see.

I am shocked at how much players in the Kent league are getting though.

I accept the days of £20 and petrol money are over but I don't like players and agents ripping clubs off,I never have and never will. The cup run means that we have only one profit less season and I don't think the loss was to bad,its just the future that concerns me and with supporters almost demanding promotion and success then the wage bill is only going to get higher.

When did you start watching the Stones Swordy?

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 19:11:44 GMT pwoodstone said:

Jan 31, 2024 17:05:46 GMT sword65 said:

I accept the days of £20 and petrol money are over but I don't like players and agents ripping clubs off,I never have and never will. The cup run means that we have only one profit less season and I don't think the loss was to bad,its just the future that concerns me and with supporters almost demanding promotion and success then the wage bill is only going to get higher.

When did you start watching the Stones Swordy?

My first game was a Kent Messenger floodlit game in the 1972/3season. I watched sporadically after that as a lot of my time was spent in the Northeast watching Newcastle and Whitley Bay and Blyth Spartans. I started watching us full time a the beginning of the 1981/2 season.

[Loftus Road Stone.]

I know lots of people are saying we really don't need ground improvements because we are not selling out on a regular basis!
But my argument to that is any crowd of over three thousand isn't a great match day experience for everyone especially families.
Yes great in the seats.
But the view in the town end isn't great unless it's half empty.
Along the sides you really need to arrive early to avoid spending the whole time looking over peoples shoulders.
The Genco becomes overcrowded and even dangerous like at the Stevenage match.
Yes we need a new pitch and we could do without a new stand but wouldn't it be a great fa cup legacy to entice the so called plastics to come and enjoy an improved match day experience every week?

[Deleted]

We definitely need a TE 'Genco' as soon as we can afford it. That would make a huge difference to the fans' game experience - and not just for the sell-out games.

But I can't see that happening until we get more 'investment' - or we make the 5th round every season!

So, I guess that means, if anything does get built, it's more likely to be the riverside stand. After all the fuss about buying the land (did we actually buy it in the end?), I think they would feel they have to finish the job. And we DO need more seats.

But, even that is still going to cost a fair bit, as we'd need to move the fence back, extend the foundation, etc - even before building a stand. So we probably won't have enough left from the Cup money even to do that.

New toilets at the TE and a new pitch is probably all we can expect. And a giant, gold-plated FA Cup on top of the main stand, of course!

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 19:37:44 GMT sword65 said:

Jan 31, 2024 19:11:44 GMT pwoodstone said:

When did you start watching the Stones Swordy?

My first game was a Kent Messenger floodlit game in the 1972/3season. I watched sporadically after that as a lot of my time was spent in the Northeast watching Newcastle and Whitley Bay and Blyth Spartans. I started watching us full time a the beginning of the 1981/2 season.

Over 50 years. Great stuff. You’ve been on a rollercoaster ride of ups and down then!

Our demise in 1992 must have impacted your current take as well, seeing us over spend to get promotion and lose it all.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 20:54:33 GMT Loftus Road Stone. said:

I know lots of people are saying we really don't need ground improvements because we are not selling out on a regular basis!
But my argument to that is any crowd of over three thousand isn't a great match day experience for everyone especially families.
Yes great in the seats.
But the view in the town end isn't great unless it's half empty.
Along the sides you really need to arrive early to avoid spending the whole time looking over peoples shoulders.
The Genco becomes overcrowded and even dangerous like at the Stevenage match.
Yes we need a new pitch and we could do without a new stand but wouldn't it be a great fa cup legacy to entice the so called plastics to come and enjoy an improved match day experience every week?

Agreed. If you spend it on players you’ll be back where you started in a few years with nothing to show for it. If you can’t get to then next level by spending you “usual” budget then it’s folly.

Agree that we should be trying to develop the ground and I think the owners are of the same opinion

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 21:34:54 GMT @johndaubneyslegs said:

We definitely need a TE 'Genco' as soon as we can afford it. That would make a huge difference to the fans' game experience - and not just for the sell-out games.

But I can't see that happening until we get more 'investment' - or we make the 5th round every season!

So, I guess that means, if anything does get built, it's more likely to be the riverside stand. After all the fuss about buying the land (did we actually buy it in the end?), I think they would feel they have to finish the job. And we DO need more seats.

But, even that is still going to cost a fair bit, as we'd need to move the fence back, extend the foundation, etc - even before building a stand. So we probably won't have enough left from the Cup money even to do that.

New toilets at the TE and a new pitch is probably all we can expect. And a giant, gold-plated FA Cup on top of the main stand, of course!

The riverside stand has to be built first. A new town end stand would take away the access required to develop the river side.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 22:37:12 GMT daveu said:

Jan 31, 2024 21:34:54 GMT @johndaubneyslegs said:

We definitely need a TE 'Genco' as soon as we can afford it. That would make a huge difference to the fans' game experience - and not just for the sell-out games.

But I can't see that happening until we get more 'investment' - or we make the 5th round every season!

So, I guess that means, if anything does get built, it's more likely to be the riverside stand. After all the fuss about buying the land (did we actually buy it in the end?), I think they would feel they have to finish the job. And we DO need more seats.

But, even that is still going to cost a fair bit, as we'd need to move the fence back, extend the foundation, etc - even before building a stand. So we probably won't have enough left from the Cup money even to do that.

New toilets at the TE and a new pitch is probably all we can expect. And a giant, gold-plated FA Cup on top of the main stand, of course!

The riverside stand has to be built first. A new town end stand would take away the access required to develop the river side.

Good point!

Maybe there'll be enough FAC cash left over to make a start - moving the fence back and laying the hard standing?

The only problem with that is that there isn't much to be gained by being able to stand 10 deep instead of 5 deep - you still can't see the game!

So, perhaps there'll even be enough money left for some basic terracing/steps that can be included in the full stand, or repurposed, when the stand is built?

Which makes me wonder what Dorking are doing about this. They are averaging nearly 2,000 this season, and got over 3,400 at one game. I wouldn't want to be in that sized crowd in that ground!

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2024 22:27:57 GMT pwoodstone said:

Jan 31, 2024 19:37:44 GMT sword65 said:

My first game was a Kent Messenger floodlit game in the 1972/3season. I watched sporadically after that as a lot of my time was spent in the Northeast watching Newcastle and Whitley Bay and Blyth Spartans. I started watching us full time a the beginning of the 1981/2 season.

Over 50 years. Great stuff. You’ve been on a rollercoaster ride of ups and down then!

Our demise in 1992 must have impacted your current take as well, seeing us over spend to get promotion and lose it all.

Exactly! Which is why I do not want to see us go down that same road again. I loved the wilderness years and am sad that so many fans missed out on what was a true footballing education. I do worry about our future spending on players and chasing the dream as we did before the only difference this time is we have our own ground so even if things go horribly wrong we can just rebuild without having to play elsewhere .