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This is a great idea I am running a similar scheme with mcc at the moment

I presume that would depend on who the manager will be

To take a line from one of Hughesy's post the planning for next season should start now. The management situation should be sorted out asap and then a full assessment of the playing squad and recruitment put into place ready to start pre-season with a bang. But also the close season sees an opportunity to completely rebrand the club. Since the start of last seson we have lost a talismanic Chairman, a manager that love him or hate him was a big influence at the club and a main club sponsor in Go Goodwins. if Kenny does go then we start with a new chairman in Grahame Rowley, a new management team and an almost new playing squad as well as a new club sponsor. The PR machine should be put into overdrive that the club is going to have a real go at returning back to the Blue Square Premier at the first attempt and that it wants the community to be a part of it. The club has criticised the town and the local community in the past for not supporting its football club, although when the town has shown an interest and turned out in numbers often the playing squad havent turned it on as was evident on Saturday. However I believe that the club should be doing more for the local community and show the town what the club can do for it rather than the other way round. Recently the board appealed for the supporters to help financially in any way they could and provided a long list of ways that we could help and by all accounts they were disappointed with the response they got. This may be in part because they were asking the same people to dig deep in their pockets that have been asked countless times over the last 16 years.

I was at a conference several weeks ago where Andy Walsh from FC United was one of the keynote speakers and he was detailing how FC United operates and how the potential new ground will be financed. He explained that they have a community programme that works with a wide variety of community groups and has a turnover of £500,000 per annum. The new ground will be financed parly by the sale of community shares through a community share scheme - in 5 months they raised £1.3 million and 25% of investors were not MUFC or FC United fans, and the majority had no real interest in football. They also received £20,000 from an ethical investor who had an interest in the community but no interest in the football club.

Now I am not saying that we can compete with FC United, but I asked Andy Walsh whether he felt that FC United were an extreme example but his point was that no matter how big or small you were that you will get back any investment that you put into the community.

Community involvement isnt difficult and it isnt costly what it does take is hardwork, manpower and the patience to see it through. This isnt a criticism at the board and the small group of volunteers just my viewpoints on where we should be looking to head.  

Any thoughts.
 

and clubs have been rushing in to appoint him since September havent they? oh wait they havent

Ken McKenna was kept on as a cheap option for the club and board who didnt want to take a risk. A man who as a player is an alty legend but as a manager has no real experience of managing a club with low resources or in England, never mind Conference level. Yes he has done well to get us to this point but that doesnt mean to say he is the right man for the job in the long term. As Hughesy states elsewhere we need someone with proven Conference North experience and who has no affinity or connection with the club.

I think the manager whoever it will be has got bigger fish to fry to be honest. There were many reasons this season was a disaster - a lack of pace is very low on the list though.

That would definitely reduce the sales!