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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2024 8:57:56 GMT
It is interesting to see the different aspirations. My own take is that Maidstone are unlikely to be more than an NL club, unless there is mega investment and a new out of town stadium capable of hosting league football. Experience of NL football in recent years leaves me cold, apart from that first season under Jay - when we were still part time. Which, rightly or wrongly, I think is still our best option. A backwards step? Don't know, but staying as we are makes us a yo-yo club at best and miserable seasons like last year should not be the future. Nobody can win every game, but winning most homes, and doing so attractively with cup runs thrown in, makes for a decent season most years and even that cannot be guaranteed. So, use the spare cash to secure the ground, create some seats and narrow terracing on the riverside, then sort out proper access and facilities at the Genco end (it can be done), so that the Town End goes to away support. A well filled Genco is probably worth up to a dozen points a season anyway, while space on all four sides will make the Gallagher look much better too.
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Post by Loftus Road Stone. on Feb 1, 2024 9:36:05 GMT
So it's basically stand still until new investment comes along?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2024 9:41:52 GMT
So it's basically stand still until new investment comes along? That's been the case all along - you can't beat the statistics, we basically don't have the gates or the money to go much further than the NL. And, after the Thompson years, no one wants to go through that again. But, while we've been 'standing still, the club's come back to the town, we've had a new stadium built - and then extensively improved, we've got promoted four times - and we've had a fairly decent cup run or two! That's pretty quality standing still.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2024 9:58:21 GMT
So it's basically stand still until new investment comes along? You still try and go up and stay up but you do it within your usual means. It's like wining £20,000 and putting a deposit down for a house you cant afford the mortgage payments on - it'll only end in tears and you've nothing to show for it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2024 14:48:27 GMT
It is interesting to see the different aspirations. My own take is that Maidstone are unlikely to be more than an NL club, unless there is mega investment and a new out of town stadium capable of hosting league football. Experience of NL football in recent years leaves me cold, apart from that first season under Jay - when we were still part time. Which, rightly or wrongly, I think is still our best option. A backwards step? Don't know, but staying as we are makes us a yo-yo club at best and miserable seasons like last year should not be the future. Nobody can win every game, but winning most homes, and doing so attractively with cup runs thrown in, makes for a decent season most years and even that cannot be guaranteed. So, use the spare cash to secure the ground, create some seats and narrow terracing on the riverside, then sort out proper access and facilities at the Genco end (it can be done), so that the Town End goes to away support. A well filled Genco is probably worth up to a dozen points a season anyway, while space on all four sides will make the Gallagher look much better too. All massively hypothetical but a big NO ! to a soulless out of town stadium from me. Where we are now is perfect for us, ( close to stations and car parks, walkable for many and could if the time came ( +investment) easily be built up to league standard. When we get into the champions league 😁 maybe we'll have to move.
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Post by stonesforlife on Feb 1, 2024 15:09:47 GMT
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.[/quote I know of a club that was kent div 1 that was paying some players £200 a week, that's crazy money for that level, that's not fiction either that is fact.
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Post by patm on Feb 1, 2024 19:45:35 GMT
I thought we was led to believe the club was run sensibly, new pitch is 250k, have they really lost that much money, or they taking back money for themselves? I've no idea what to think, what are peoples thoughts on that. Have a read of my post this evening or listen to the N-L Podcast and plasma dont shoot the message (yet!) Oliver is a QS, Chartered Eng. and worked for my competion for some years (Im retired now) and clearly has good-grounding in what things cost.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2024 22:08:35 GMT
Interesting piece comparing Lincoln with Maidstone. They are very similar. Same ethos of growing the club without putting it in jeopardy, finding talent early and selling on, improving the ground when finances permit. Apart from climbing the pyramid they have tripled their support from an initial 3000. At 176,600 the population of Maidstone is twice that of Lincoln so the potential is there. www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13035063/WONDERS-PYRAMID-magical-Cup-run-club-map.html
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2024 20:43:53 GMT
Seems the club has made it clear that the prize money, tv money and gate receipts will go towards the new 3G, tv gantry toilets and covering debts. Forget any suggestion of new stands, however modest.
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Post by Harry on Feb 2, 2024 20:46:21 GMT
So no great legacy, just maintenance and small improvements. At least places the club in a stronger position.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2024 22:19:54 GMT
Seems the club has made it clear that the prize money, tv money and gate receipts will go towards the new 3G, tv gantry toilets and covering debts. Forget any suggestion of new stands, however modest. New pitch and better TE loos, and a bit of financial security are good enough for me! I hadn't realised until today, when I saw a recent drone photo of the ground, that the TV gantry is actually outside the fence. I wonder if that indicates the extent of the width of the land we bought, or if it's more than that? At least it's a good indicator that we did actually buy the land!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2024 4:23:40 GMT
We should move the fence and claim our land. Even if it’s just the bit around the new gantry.
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Post by Loftus Road Stone. on Feb 3, 2024 8:05:48 GMT
It appears few are prepared to invest in non league football these days.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2024 9:39:32 GMT
It appears few are prepared to invest in non league football these days. More than ever before. It’s. It really an investment. You have more clubs making a loss than ever before which means more than ever people are “investing” in those clubs (propping them up).
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Post by stones1 on Feb 3, 2024 14:18:51 GMT
All the BELTS and Hollywood moneybags that have found their way into the NL seems to have distorted the wages players want and out of step with what Maidstone can offer. Think when Terry and Oliver took over and built the ground being a solid NL team was realistic but in the decade since the hyper inflation coupled with brexit and a pandemic to change the landscape probably ruined that.
Don’t really care where the money goes but a good setup would seem more likely to attract long term investment than chucking a few grand a week at a striker.
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