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Post by silverfox on May 22, 2007 9:28:10 GMT
As usual information from the club dries up in the summer months. Does anyone know how the work is progressing on the new pitch.
As we are only about 6 weeks away from the pre-season friendlies lets hope its all on target.
Bit odd that we have no news on the pre-season friendly front either, one would assume that matches have been arranged by now and while I know all the reasons for not playing the bigger clubs it would be nice to get a prestigeous team to play instead of Hassocks!!!!
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Post by drummerboy on May 22, 2007 10:35:52 GMT
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Post by markcritchlow on May 22, 2007 14:12:48 GMT
Prestigeous my bottom
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Post by maz on May 22, 2007 18:51:31 GMT
I see that Silverfox is starting his pre season rants early this year
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Post by silverfox on May 23, 2007 13:29:25 GMT
RANT?? Hey Maz, that was hardly a rant was it? Just a request for information, and as no one has replied does that mean that no one knows or that no work has started yet?
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Post by Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart on May 23, 2007 19:31:47 GMT
As usual information from the club dries up in the summer months. Does anyone know how the work is progressing on the new pitch. As we are only about 6 weeks away from the pre-season friendlies lets hope its all on target. Bit odd that we have no news on the pre-season friendly front either, one would assume that matches have been arranged by now and while I know all the reasons for not playing the bigger clubs it would be nice to get a prestigeous team to play instead of Hassocks!!!! Give the web guys a break silverfox.... If you looked at the mani website you will see that is under going major re vamp thru summer, so hey, why not let them get on with and I have no doubt we will have a bigger and better news service soon... |
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Post by silverfox on May 24, 2007 11:15:51 GMT
Hey Convertedeagle, I know the (mani) main web site is being redone. Thats why I asked via this forum if anyone knows how the work on the pitch is going. I guess all these stupid replies confirms that no one knows??
DB, we have always managed a sensible debate on this site, I am genuinely interested as I suspect many others are. Do you know how its going and whether the grant was successful?
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Post by goonerboy on May 24, 2007 21:17:27 GMT
chill out boys he,s only asking if anyone has some news on the new pitch,if you do reply if not don,t its simple really...
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Post by Jim "Convertedeagle" Stewart on May 24, 2007 22:05:59 GMT
Hey Convertedeagle, I know the (mani) main web site is being redone. Thats why I asked via this forum if anyone knows how the work on the pitch is going. I guess all these stupid replies confirms that no one knows?? DB, we have always managed a sensible debate on this site, I am genuinely interested as I suspect many others are. Do you know how its going and whether the grant was successful? Just a thought, and he may know nothing, but Plumton helps with the forking at half time in season, so could be worth sending him a PM or see if he posts on here  Wasnt being flippant in my previous reply, but it did start some fresh chat didnt it... we seem to be stale on in recent weeks so i thought if i was sarcastic it would prompt some more chat.... which it did!!! |
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Post by vern on May 25, 2007 6:54:45 GMT
You lot don't listen! I already told you some info' on the pitch. If you want to hear some gossip about the pitch.... The Club didn't receive all of the funding...Olympics in London have leached a load of funding so that the FA couldn't meet half the bill, as originally thought. So enter the anonymous benefactor "rumour" who will help with the costs of carrying out the work. As I said, this source of assistance has been suggested and is only a rumour, so it could be embarrassing to name them, especially if this rumour is tosh and the pitch is simply patched up, as rumours are obviously unreliable.....yet, where there is smoke....   |
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Post by SHABBA! on May 25, 2007 12:55:49 GMT
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Post by silverfox on May 25, 2007 15:27:42 GMT
Oh dear. So if all this is true its just another bodge up. Loads of vertidraining was done before, I would have thought this season was evidence enough that it hasn't worked. I guess the club have decided not to follow the expert advise it has received. Now OK, it may be that a compromise had to be met with the availability of funding but it doesn't bode well if we have another rainy winter.
There, I suppose you will all now tell me how unfair I am being. I will sit back and wait for you all to moan about the fixture build up again next season, at which point I can say 'told you so!!'
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Post by SHABBA! on May 25, 2007 15:41:59 GMT
well the fee is simply way over the top and with the rent well  but silver fox the pitch was not vertidrained at the start of last season it was done for the england games so hopefully things should be ok ;D |
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Post by vern on May 25, 2007 17:08:38 GMT
Let us all hope that something more holistic is carried out than simply patching the pitch up and hoping that all is going to be ok.
I think that we will have to consider that Eastbourne has more than one football side and that Eastbourne Non - League fans are likely to float, meaning that Town are in Rymans now and if Borough can't get a game on, cause of flooding, the supporters will catch a game down the road at the Saffrons, if Town are playing at home. Being a level up the ladder means a better quality of football. So, let's hope that we keep the pressure up to produce the best football possible, and not to give anyone the excuse to go down the road to catch a game!!!!!! Let's not get complacent.
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Post by shadwellarmy on May 25, 2007 18:18:52 GMT
Agree 100%, but if the money isn't there, then it is hard to see what else can be done.
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Post by vern on May 26, 2007 9:17:05 GMT
Agree 100%, but if the money isn't there, then it is hard to see what else can be done. What can be done to keep us competing and challenging in this increasingly tough and expensive League? sacrilegious though it may be, if the Committee system can't raise the necessary funds by itself, then it will have to, I would guess, try another method of organising itself so that it can borrow, invite a wealthy outside concern into the Club to make sure that our season doesn't stall because of i.e. the pitch failing. It begs the question, if we are truly ambitious to move up in to what is really a professional League - Blue Square Premier, then I would hope that Boro will preparing itself now to think, organise and act like a Blue Square Premier side. Eastbourne Borough FC has a top draw set up - infrastructure (not including the pitch) so it would attract, I'd guess a lot of interest from those willing to invest. This is a tipping point and will truly test whether the Club is satisfied to remain here, having found our true level in the pyramid - Blue Square South, the ceiling has been reached and we can go no further, if so I'd wish and hope the loyal fans are told and we're not living a dream that will never be realised - above and then into the League? It seems that the shortcomings of the pitch, loss of revenue as a result and small squad will be repeated next season, at best, if nothing changes close season. Communication and information is strangulated, hence the rumours and close season gossip. I have a certain sympathy with SilverFox's frustration about the lack of info' coming out of the Club. It makes me think that I'll take next season on a game by game basis and hold back from buying a season ticket. It's a lot of money to watch Non - League football and if The Sports are satisfied that they're not going to thrust onwards, that they're going to be careful, then I'll not invest £150 + on a likely tepid campaign and also be careful with my money and pay on the turnstile, on a game by game basis. |
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Post by vern on May 26, 2007 9:39:38 GMT
I have the answer to the financing and upkeep of the pitch.....
pay the rent and tell the LandLord (Eastbourne Borough Council) to carry out its obligations as the Freeholder to pull its finger out of its A*se and get its Groundsman from the Devonshire Park Tennis Courts down to Priory Lane and maintain this equally important sporting venue....NOW! Or have I got this rent / Landlord thing all wrong? Maybe EBC want us to pay pay pay and get nothing in return? If so, then this is not a relationship....it sounds like a mugging.
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Post by silverfox on May 26, 2007 11:49:35 GMT
Thank you vern, at last someone can see where I am coming from. None of my comments have meant to have been cynical criticism, it is just this frustration of supporting a club that makes a lot of noise about where it wants to be but seems too nervous to actually commit to it.
The landlord thing is a good point but do you remember what happened at Brighton. The club have to rent their ground (I think at some £25,000 per game!!)and initially the council, or their franchised parks and gardens contractor, looked after the pitch. The pitch was a bog & like Priory Lane, numerous games were cancelled to the extent the league took an interest. First of all the club/council tried their own thing (familiar!!), extra drains were laid but no proper professional advise was sought and the problem continued. Then, the club (not wealthy by any means) took the bull by the horns, employed their own groundstaff over and above that provided by the council. The pitch was dug up, land drainage was installed, new robust turf was laid and since then the pitch has looked superb (shame about the team!!!). All through this winters spell of bad weather the pitch remained very playable.
So here is a lesson I think. Vern is correct (although DB will of course correct us) the club need to look elsewhere or risk loans within a structured business plan, to be able to progress. I have the feeling that either the Chairman or perhaps whole committee have a fear about a certain four letter word. Those that jump off a mountain with a small parachute get 10/10 for 'risk'. Those of us who wouldn't of even got out of bed to look at the mountain get 0/10 for 'risk'. I reckon the club are at best 2/10.
It would be really good to have a proper statement from the club to the supporters laying out the clubs true plans and ambitions along with a brief business plan of just how they will fund it and within what timescales.
As Vern said, if we are just playing at staying where we are, as best we can, I am not sure thats for me, trouble is I enjoy supporting Boro and really do not want to drift away to the Town.
So, is it just me and Vern who feel this way?? Come on now, lets have some structured debate on this.
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Post by shadwellarmy on May 26, 2007 19:58:15 GMT
My two cents' worth is that the club is ambitious, but rather cautious. I would say that our greatest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses, and that the pitch situation (if we have another wet winter) could well be a tipping point.
The club has a great strength in that it is cautious with money, well managed and hasn't gone and invested heavily in risky projects, nor had to rely on single wealthy donors - and so gone the way of teams like Farnborough, Crawley, Hastings Town and Stamco St Leonards, plus several others. However, this means that the club is always short of cash and is extremely dependant on what comes through the turnstile and several relativly minor local sponsorships are talked up as being major news that will ensure the club's future for years to come, which is, unfortunately, propoganda at best and total rubbish being nearer to the mark. The club definately needs a new new stream of income if it is to compete at a higher level (even become a League team at some future point? At least half the squad could probably play at that level, if they went full-time, imo). Of course, it is very easy to say we need someone to come along and give us lots of money, thank you very much, but a lot harder to find that person, and there will always be a very real risk of going the way of St Leonards' Stamco, or ending up with the Majeed's ugly cousin in charge! But money is, as per norm, the sticking point (or rather, the lack of it).
The club, imo, is at a position where it needs to be seriously thinking about getting more professional. I think I am right in saying that Lorna is the only paid employee the club has, on a full-time (or is that part-time?) basis. At this level, let alone any higher, it simply isn't enough. Again, Borough has a great strength in that it has come this far, and proven itself to be one of the better teams in the division, on the back of local volunteer support. I am sure that nobody has anything other than the greatest respect for all our volunteer groundsmen, programme sellers, tea-makers and the rest. That the club can rely on so many people shows the depth of support that the club has. However, it is a structure that is more suited to a couple of divisions below where we are, and certainly not to Blue Square National status. We need full-time professionals in key positions, including pitch maintenance (and, if promotion is achieved, we need to be looking at getting full-time playing staff as well, but that is another topic entirely!). We all accept that our pitch maintenance bods are doing a sterling job with the time and resources they have, but they simply don't have enough of either when the waste collides with the extraction apparatus, as it did this year, and the response from the top level, of giving half a programme to heaping abuse on people for using the forum to ask what is going on, was childish and irresposnisble in the extreme, and showed a complete lack of knowledge as to what a forum is for. But once again, our passionate volunteer support is a great strength, our lack of real professionalism a great hinderance.
The same can be said about our support base. The great majority of people are very local, Langney people. It is great to have a good local base, but for a team which is far and away the best in East Sussex, our lack of any sort of visible presence outside of the very local area must be reducing our crowds. At the recent EBFCSC AGM it had to be said how surprised people were when talking to people outside of Langney (even in Eastbourne town centre) how few even knew of the existence of EBFC, or thought that Boro, Town and UNited were the same club, or, if they knew about Boro, had no idea where we played, what league we were in, or anything else! Again, strong local roots, good community club, but somewhat blinkered.
Overall, yes, I think that the pitch situation last season may well be forcing isues, and I have said on the forum before that I feel that the team and the ground are both capable of going up a league, but that our internal infrastructure is lagging behind. We need a few full-time people in place, professionals who can promote the club and maintain the ground and so forth, and we need quality people. These don't come cheap and, as has also been pointed out, a lot of clubs with a lot more resources than us have not got any better infrastructure than us, and several are worse. It is also hard to see where the money to pay for these improvements would come from, unless it was by selling players and reducing the team even further, which is not, I am sure, a solution that would find much favour here!
I am sure that there are alternative sources of income, but all are likely to entail some risk, and as (apart from the playing surface) things are currently going pretty well, how much of a possible improvement to the club is worth how much risk? Is getting a masive loan that could sort out all our problems for the next three years, that would give us a 60% chance of promotion (and remaining in the National), worth a 20% chance of us going bust and being relegated two divisions and losing all players under contract?
I don't have any solutions, and unless I win the lottery this week I will be unable to assist the club with anything other than good wishes, but as I have made clear, several times, I think that the solution, whatever form it may take, lies in changing the club at the behind-the-scenes level. The stadium, the players, the fans are all capable of going up a league, at least. I really don't think that the present club structure would survive; in fact, it would be so stretched that that alone would probably be enough to take us straight back down the Blue Square South.
And as a parting thought, I have to agree that EBFC is one of the worst clubs for giving out information, as well as one of the slowest. Again, it is partly because we rely on volunteers, who have jobs, families and other responsibilities and so have to fit updating the website and such like around that, but also partly the club 'culture' of don't say anything, about anything, until it is confirmed, guaranteed, in writing and approved by the powers that be, by which time the rumour mill has run its course and the news has been printed in the local papers anyway!
But, just about regardless of what the future holds, I won't be going over to see the Town - Boro wil do for me!
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Post by silverfox on May 27, 2007 7:50:08 GMT
What an excellent post Shadwellarmy. Looks like a familiar theme emerging here, it will be interesting to see how the club react, assuming anyone there is awake!!!
I think what has really shocked me with your post shadwellarmy is that it is even longer than the previous record post from DB!!
He has commented before on the clubs risk profile to spending so I think we can all sit back and wait for a mega post from David which as we know will have a political bias towards the club.
I wonder whether when it comes down to it we are no different to Chelsea (well ok apart from a few billion pounds, great players, a huge stadium, big crowds etc etc - but apart from that!) in that the club really belongs to one person and no matter what others may think or want to do ultimately its his ball and no one else can play.
So come on David, put down your next project and lets have a few hundred words of wisdom.
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