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General Category => Altrincham FC First Team => Topic started by: TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe on September 09, 2007, 02:02:31 PM
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I think that the main reason that a lot of Alty supporters are so frustrated at present is that we are dropping points that have been there for the taking:
Stafford Rangers (A): a silly defensive lapse gifts them an equaliser and then we have plenty of possession in the second half but no cutting edge whatsoever;
Aldershot Town (H): a hatful of chances created but not taken.....and what could have been a win - and should have at least been a draw - turns into another defeat;
Oxford United (H): the opposition were unimpressive but we fail to test their reserve keeper enough. A positive approach later in the second half brings a deserved equaliser but then yet more defensive chaos presents Oxford with two 'soft' goals.
It's glaringly obvious that we need to enhance our attacking options if we are ever to register a victory.
We read last week that GH had tried to recruit an unnamed striker on loan but that the proposed deal had fallen through due to financial restraints.
Seriously, is there not any way that the Board could help GH by releasing some funds to help him to bring in a much-needed forward?
Yes, I know the limited budget mantra off by heart but if we take no action, relegation will surely ensue.
The impression I get when talking to various Alty fans is that there is a perception (which may be incorrect) that the Board aren't really that concerned about whether we are relegated.
Yes, I'm sure that a new toilet block will look lovely.....but there will be far fewer people to use its facilities in the BS North!
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The impression I get is that the board steadfastly refuses to put the club into debt and will not spend money that is not there. However, I also get the impression that if the money is there, it will be spent. I do think the board cares whether or not we are relegated, but Conference National is not to be achieved at any cost. I honestly don't think the money is there for players short of getting us back into debt. Hence we are struggling.
I think that the club is absolutely spot on in terms of spending money on new floodlights, toilet blocks, catering etc. These are long term investments on infrastructure that have been sadly lacking in the past. We are light years behind many clubs at this level in terms of our facilities.
GH made an interesting remark at the forum the other week. "Does anyone think that how we are going about things is wrong?" And nobody said no... If we don't want a sugar daddy, or want financial stability, then we are going to struggle in this league with the club in its current financial state. Simple as that.
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Having loadsamoney doesn't stop players making genuine mistakes. The higher paid players can still make the same mistakes.
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I'm certainly not advocating a return to the profligate days of the Gerry Berman empire!
Plus, I don't know how far beyond our reach the terms of the recently mooted loan deal were.
However, can we not help GH out just a little here?
Has the recent departure of Rod Thornley reduced our budget?
I realise that signing any player is a gamble and carries no guarantees....but a little short term investment could well reap long term dividends if it improves the prospect of us surviving in the BS Premier.
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I'm certainly not advocating a return to the profligate days of the Gerry Berman empire!
Plus, I don't know how far beyond our reach the terms of the recently mooted loan deal were.
However, can we not help GH out just a little here?
Has the recent departure of Rod Thornley reduced our budget?
I realise that signing any player is a gamble and carries no guarantees....but a little short term investment could well reap long term dividends if it improves the prospect of us surviving in the BS Premier.
I agree that we'll need to spend more to improve our chances of survival. My point is that the money has to come from somewhere, and somebody has to guarantee it. If it isn't there, where does it come from? If the debt is called in, who pays it off? Are you saying the board should put their hands in their own pockets?
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A new centre forward would help certainly, but I really do believe that we have a better squad than last year - opposition managers/fans seem to think so. Therefore, why are we struggling? Is GH getting it wrong? Is there trouble from within. It's all a little perplexing.
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I agree that we'll need to spend more to improve our chances of survival. My point is that the money has to come from somewhere, and somebody has to guarantee it. If it isn't there, where does it come from? If the debt is called in, who pays it off? Are you saying the board should put their hands in their own pockets?
I'm merely talking about the possibility of recruiting one player on a one-off deal for one month...not a huge investment in several players on ludicrous wages.
The Chequers End development money has reportedly been received, so all I am saying is that can a small supplement be given to GH to acquire a striker at this time?
I suspect the answer will be no...
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I agree that we'll need to spend more to improve our chances of survival. My point is that the money has to come from somewhere, and somebody has to guarantee it. If it isn't there, where does it come from? If the debt is called in, who pays it off? Are you saying the board should put their hands in their own pockets?
I'm merely talking about the possibility of recruiting one player on a one-off deal for one month...not a huge investment in several players on ludicrous wages.
The Chequers End development money has reportedly been received, so all I am saying is that can a small supplement be given to GH to acquire a striker at this time?
I suspect the answer will be no...
I guess it would all depend on how much of that Chequers money is left - information which I doubt the board would divulge. I would suspect that if there is any money left, it will be spent. But unless we know the figures there's little point speculating on what money is available.
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When you look at the number of people who came in the Noel White Suite both before and after yesterday's game I think it's ludicrous to suggest that the board would not want to be in this league or that they wouldn't be bothered if we were relegated.
I doubt we'd have been bought a nice new plasma screen telly to show the England game to a few Alty fans and 5 die hards from Solihull Moors.
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All very true. I think the fact we're investing in the future is great; if the bar gets extended, which I had heard was the plan, it'll be great for earning money in the week. However, I do think our lack of willing to invest money in the club is going to hurt us.
I won't pretend to know how to run a football club, or know what's best, so I won't criticise. I'm sure everyone's doing as good as they can on the board, and I'm very proud of the fact we're run properly and aren't in debt. But it would be nice to see a little money made available. Surely the 85k sentanta money can help towards that?
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Even if we raised the funds and resources, we still have to actually find a player, we all know how hard it is to attract players to this club on part time wages and when we havnt won a game and reside in the relegation spaces. Graham does a top notch job attracting the players he does to this club and it would be great if we could get that striker but theres more than just gathering the funds.
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When you look at the number of people who came in the Noel White Suite both before and after yesterday's game I think it's ludicrous to suggest that the board would not want to be in this league or that they wouldn't be bothered if we were relegated.
But our Chairman has aired this view publicly, hence my concern.
I doubt we'd have been bought a nice new plasma screen telly to show the England game to a few Alty fans and 5 die hards from Solihull Moors.
Alas, I fear that your quoted scenario will become horrible reality unless things change.
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It's glaringly obvious that we need to enhance our attacking options if we are ever to register a victory.
We read last week that GH had tried to recruit an unnamed striker on loan but that the proposed deal had fallen through due to financial restraints.
Seriously, is there not any way that the Board could help GH by releasing some funds to help him to bring in a much-needed forward?
Yes, I know the limited budget mantra off by heart but if we take no action, relegation will surely ensue.
The impression I get when talking to various Alty fans is that there is a perception (which may be incorrect) that the Board aren't really that concerned about whether we are relegated.
We do posses a good looking quality striker at the moment - he's on international duty. Hopefully with berkely back in the next couple of weeks will offer a more positive attacking option. Looking at the results, we have not scored in ONE match (Grays). Thats better than this time last season. attackingly (?) weve not really seen the best of either potts or logan (theyve not played 90 mins yet). Im sure with a bit of tinkering this squad is perfectly capable of securing another season in this league. Whether GH is capable of playing the guys in their best position at the right time is another discussion.
As for money, it is my understanding that most of the sultana money has been spent on the new lovely floodlights, and it seems that the wage budget has been increased (surely lane, tinson, clancy, logan, berkely, whalley, sedgemore, senior are on more money than those players who have left?). However if we do get a new forward (another rabbit out of the hat perhaps?) then who would be dropped/ released? The squad IS better than last season. Jim Smith said so, so it must be true!!!
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We can talk all we like about the Chequers money, the Setanta money etc. All I will say is that the board will know this club's financial situation better than anyone on the terraces, and I am 100% certain that if there is money available for players it will be spent on players. If its not being spent on players it probably isn't there.
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We can talk all we like about the Chequers money, the Setanta money etc. All I will say is that the board will know this club's financial situation better than anyone on the terraces, and I am 100% certain that if there is money available for players it will be spent on players. If its not being spent on players it probably isn't there.
100% agree. It's all very well saying things like "until things change", but realistically what things can change? The only way we're going to make any money is by having a cup run, but in order to do that you need to win games. It's a vicious circle isn't it.
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When there is not enough money some things have to take priority. A goalscorer should be top of the list. Floodlights and new toilets can wait. A big target man is urgently needed. Senior is too small and Joe doesn't score enough goals. It would be worth sacrificing both of them for someone who can guarantee 20 goals a season.
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Well, I know GH wants player rather than floodlights and toilets to be honest. I do too but I suppose we have to look at ourselves and say that Moss Lane is looking a bit dilapidated, we've barely improved it for a decade. Although for me I'd be as happy just getting the back of the Golf Road pannelled up properly and leave it at that.
Remember too that the floodlights were a means to an end, i.e. we had to improve them if Setanta were going to show our games and give us what was rumoured at the time to be £10-20k per home game. As it is, a) we've been paid up front b) they're not arsed about actually covering our games anyway and c) Carole Nash and fmaily made an extremely generous donation that has covered part of the cost of the flodliglights (perhaps all of it?)
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Given the state of the roof on certain parts of the popular side and the age of the roof and back of the Golf Road end, how much longer can they last realistically? Surely there will come a point in the not to distant future when some parts of the above are deemed to be unsafe? It's worth thinking about because they are not things which can be replaced cheaply and we would surely be better off being prepared for their eventual replacement rather than panicking if and when certain areas of the ground became "uninhabitable".
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A big target man is urgently needed. Senior is too small and Joe doesn't score enough goals. It would be worth sacrificing both of them for someone who can guarantee 20 goals a season.
....... and would be on the way to another team for more money.
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Has anyone thought that the money from land is not ours, we owe it out so therefore its gone in the right direction. We're better off debt free in BSN if you ask me.
Has anyone thought that the reason we can't bring in a top striker for this league is because we average 1,000 at home and that isn't enough to bring in the cash to compete in this league?
It just isn't possible without spending money we currently don't earn. That is the one real reason we cannot bring in more top players. I'm sorry but its obvious and I can't believe nobody has mentioned it in the midst of all the absolute rubbish being banded around!
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Has anyone thought that the money from land is not ours, we owe it out so therefore its gone in the right direction. We're better off debt free in BSN if you ask me.
Has anyone thought that the reason we can't bring in a top striker for this league is because we average 1,000 at home and that isn't enough to bring in the cash to compete in this league?
It just isn't possible without spending money we currently don't earn. That is the one real reason we cannot bring in more top players. I'm sorry but its obvious and I can't believe nobody has mentioned it in the midst of all the absolute rubbish being banded around!
You're right. Do people honestly think there's some stash of money at the club that the board are just sitting on and are refusing to spend? Its the easiest thing in the world to say we should be spending this, spending that - but the money has to come from somewhere.
I also think that its quite right that the money is going on new facilities. The floodlights were old and unreliable, the toilets are generally antiquated and in poor condition. The shabby cladding on Golf Road and the Popular Side has already been mentioned. These things needed to be addressed as they would have caused major issues in the long run had they not been. Sometimes when spending money you need to look long term too.
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The club are always trying to attract more supporters with various ideas but the only way to attract bigger crowds on a long term basis is to be successful. A goalscorer is desparately needed. He could be paid for by offloading Joe and Senior, they will never get enough goals to keep the club in the BSP. Ground improvements are important but they are not as urgent as improving the team.
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The club are always trying to attract more supporters with various ideas but the only way to attract bigger crowds on a long term basis is to be successful. A goalscorer is desparately needed. He could be paid for by offloading Joe and Senior, they will never get enough goals to keep the club in the BSP. Ground improvements are important but they are not as urgent as improving the team.
Get rid of Senior? Let the ground decay?
And just out of interest, all of these hoards that will arrive to see our very own George Weah bang them in left, right and centre, where will they piss? Where will they get a beer? How will they feel watching the match on Tuesday night in the dark?
And if super striker proves to be a waste of space, or plays well but never scores (2 major alty striker syndromes) and we go down anyway, that'll be great for the club, we'll have a BSN ground to play our BSN games in, with BSN crowds trying to pay for our swollen 'throw the kitchen sink at it squad'.
There is no money, end of. This current predicament is possibly a thousand times better than the one that included financial mismanagement and about 2 hours short of not actually having an Altrincham FC. It wasn't that long ago.
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A goalscorer is desparately needed. He could be paid for by offloading Joe and Senior, they will never get enough goals to keep the club in the BSP. Ground improvements are important but they are not as urgent as improving the team.
I really dispair sometimes.
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Remember what happened when we splashed the cash to sign keith Russell. Strucure has to be the priority, conference or not I still want a footie team to go and watch in 5 years time.
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I think it's a bit early to have a go at the team anyway. With 9 new players we're obviously not going to get the best from them immediately, Carlos in particular looks like I'd expect a player to look like in a completely new team, when he learns to find his team mates, he will make a lot of goals for us. And we haven't played any bottom half team at home yet, Grays was the closest, when an injury and sending off didn't help. We are going in the right direction though with a decent wing player (Logan, who I reckon has the potential to be as good as Clayton Donaldson) and (presumably) a proper left back (Clancy?) at last. Little is still scoring when fit, and O Neil was player of the season last season. I think we can still get out of this. Especially if we get some cup money for once.