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Quote from: hsmith1 on February 21, 2024, 12:41:14 PM

Ollie,
is better than matt

You’ve got to be joking here right?

Ollie Byrne isn’t quite Andy Dawber bad but he’s not far off. I’d play an outfield player in goal if Ross and Gould were both injured

This is all a bit too far, for me he is better than Gould just on the basis he's similar skill level, but larger human.

I'd still not play him when his bottom lip might trip him up at any moment.

Our starting 10 outfield players are a way in front of the bench and squad players

James Jones CB
Justin Donowa RB
Mooney RW

All as good I think as the starting option.

Wilson CM
Roscoe CB
Angus CF

All better than some previous recent starters for the club.

I think this year we have some depth that is Conference starting standard. A rarity in all our years in this league to be honest. Our performances are a mix of skill, atmosphere, and attitude. I think this goes deeper than our starting lineup. I wouldn't be against starting 9/11 first-teamers each game in the name of rotation.

Are we all delusional?? What crowds have we got over the past 10 years or beyond?Every club has an ultimate crowd potential. Why have we not got more crowds over the years? I fear we are being bamboozled. If we do not get promoted how many will we get next season? Not 2500 for sure even week..Mark my words. Nice ambition but  not realistic

Plenty will come back next year if we don't get promoted because they will be coming because of the product and the continued optimism they have experienced this year. Only a catastrophic drop in form will see the crowds drop hugely.

The increase in fans is not an Altrincham exclusive thing. The growth of lower league football crowds is all over the pyramid; however, if you want to keep the floating fans longer term, they will want a few things we just don't offer with current facilities, and that will be why they don't come week in and week out.

Also, if you think the club isn't doing new things to gain awareness than they were doing 10 years ago you are missing a beat. Radio Alty, Alty TV, Altrincham Today, Great Social Media Presence, and High Street store are all essentially worlds away from the 1990s club site and black and white match photos outside the ground we had before then.

If the town isn't capable of drawing 3.5k crowds with it's catchment area I'd be surprised honestly.

We're only just now really managing to raise town center awareness and better facilities would certainly draw in those expecting a more premier league feel to ameneties etc.

2.5k I think is realistic while the product is as good as it is and the ground is what it is. The advantages of bigger crowds are obviously more money in the bank for Alex Newby types when we already have Olly Crankshaw on the books out of action.

Quote from: Mick on February 08, 2024, 01:12:26 PM

Quote from: Amsterdam Alty on February 08, 2024, 11:19:48 AM

Big disadvantage we have is we do not own the land. Some clubs did and it financed their new home.

I may be wrong on this but my understanding is that, although we don't own the freehold, we do own the lease on the land. Is this not similar to owning a leasehold house or flat? i.e. You pay an annual ground rent to the freeholder (TMBC) but you can still freely sell the leasehold property for only slightly less than it would fetch as a freehold.

There is a sporting covenant on it, so I think it renders the land nearly useless for resale.

The number might be a little large, but if you notice my suggestion is for a ground share as being part of why Trafford might get on board. While Sale is currently only getting 7k averages they will want to be able to hold more for big games and tbh if you moved them out of a Rugby League town we'd possibly see an increase in in their crowds.

Also, the move from National League to League 1 is short when the team is set up right. Wrexham and/or Notts will go up at the first attempt. Chesterfield will do the same next year, what's to say we won't as well if we go up? If the stars aligned we could be knocking on the championship before we even get past the plans stage.

End of the day though it's time to decide how serious the board is about actually being a league club. Moss Lane is a dinosaur of a ground with nowhere good to sit and watch the game, and very few decent places to stand either. We might be griping about the pitch but half the mainstand miss play in a quarter of the pitch (more if they sit close to the "windows", the standing home fans don't know from week to week where will be available to stand to them. Not to mention away fans and how much money we throw away because we can't host them for ale sales. We could test the water with planning permission for the away end, see it rejected then move on to more hospitable locations... or we can still be here in 10 years wondering why the pop side is only open to halfway because Trafford has found more decrepit bits, and we'll still be wondering why the f**k water comes from beneath us on a moss land.

We need a bigger solution than just fixing the pitch.

Trafford Council should have been bending over backwards to bring Sale home, now is the time more than ever with a future football league club in the borough.

The new hybrid turfs that are at old Trafford, Wembley etc. can easily handle the rigours of rugby and football.

Time to get serious about a new home. It's already not going to happen overnight.

Thank you, everyone, for the information.  It happened when my wife was seriously ill and subsequently passed. My mind was not on Altrincham at the time.

One other thing. How do I get the grey background when I insert someone else's text?

Thanks again.

Click quote or use [ quote ] & [ /quote ] without the spaces with the quote filled inbetween.