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[Ballers]

Interesting! 

PRESS RELEASE FULL TIME

SANDGROUNDERS MAINTAIN AMBITION

PORT LOOKING TO ACHIEVE BOUNCEBACKABILITY

Southport Football Club announced on Tuesday that they will be retaining full time playing status next season. This is a highly ambitious decision at Haig Avenue and shows the clubs determination to be highly competitive as they kick off next season. Manager Peter Davenport finished the season with an impressive run of performances and the former Manchester United and Nottingham Forest star has now been given the go ahead to build his full time squad for the Blue Square North next season. Davenport’s last Conference home match saw a record home league attendance at Haig Avenue in 33 years and with that amount of enthusiasm in the town the hope is there will be a winning habit at Haig Avenue next season.

Chairman Charlie Clapham and Vice Chairman Sam Shrouder have given the go ahead to be full time for a second season and the intention is to return to the Blue Square Premier as quickly as possible. Supporters in the town will be impressed by the clubs decision to start the season as possibly the only Blue Square North club operating as a full time club. Kettering Town are currently full time and are now in the play offs aiming to achieve Blue Square Premier status.

Chairman Charlie Clapham stated “ Following what has been a very difficult transitional season from Part Time to Full Time to reverse this after one season could be seen as a negative policy, the manager believes that to remain Full Time gives the club the best chance of regaining our National status at the earliest opportunity, the club will operate on an affordable budget which the manager is fully supportive of. We believe our supporters will see our course of action as being very positive laying down our marker that we must get back in the National division as a priority”

[Jenga]

It is this situation that will make it harder for us to bounce back.

[Red N White Dynamite]

I think they're mad personally.

One way of looking at it is this:

At Blue Square Noth level there are mainly part time players who are

a) Not good enough to go full time

b) Not able to go full time

or, in some cases

c) Do not want to go full time

Most full time players who drop into non league football are likely to seek Blue Square Premier football. Many top part time players are not able to commit themselves to full time football and competing with clubs in a higher division for full time players is going to be difficult to say the least. Surely this represents a huge gamble on their part? Also, what happens if Southport are not challenging for the title at the turn of the year? With low crowds and little to compete for, what happens then?

It is a big statement of intent to return at the first time of asking but there are serious questions to be asked about it.

[radcliffe alty]

It is this situation that will make it harder for us to bounce back.

It won't make them any better. They will not have the best full time players by any stretch, and as we know the better part time players are better than the worse full time players. They were full time this season and we finished above them, beating them once.

This is a dangerous game they are playing, already talking about bouncing straight back and clearly going all out to do it. We are being far more sensible and cautious as we would expect.

I can see this ending in tears for the Sandgrounders.

[Saughall Robin]

Good luck to them. Hope it turns out nice for them.

Personally, I'm convinced it will all go pear-shaped when their early challenge fades away and the crowds falling make it totally uneconomic because Clapham's wallet is tighter than a duck's a**e.

Having said all that, it's not going to affect us in any way so who cares?

[markecky]

I agree....imagaine if they don't get off to a flyer next year.

Pressure increases...supporters frustrated...

And we can saywhen we lose to them that we are only part time you know.

Bad move but it wouldn't be the first bad move they have made.

[Jezza]

When will clubs ever learn....so one good gate when they are pl;aying well and look like escaping forms the basis of a years full time budget?

Southport...that's one away game I aint going to next season..now way I'm subsidising lunacy like this.

Did Scarboro stay full time last year?

[Red N White Dynamite]

That one good gate was also against York on a sunny day and they needed to win to be in the playoffs. You're not telling me York had less than 1000 there.

[hsmith1]

If the chairman can afford to keep them fulltime then good luck to them,will make our job that bit harder though and to be honest i think they need to plan for more than one season and need gates of at least 3000 to be fulltime

[T.A]

When will clubs ever learn....so one good gate when they are pl;aying well and look like escaping forms the basis of a years full time budget?

Southport...that's one away game I aint going to next season..now way I'm subsidising lunacy like this.

Did Scarboro stay full time last year?

no

[altyf]

It is this situation that will make it harder for us to bounce back.

I dont know if this is true. We've just had two seasons playing full time opposition week in week out with just a couple of exceptions. And we got 51 points! and came 4th bottom which is no shame if you ask me. Think about the teams we contended with for relegation...Halifax, Cambridge, Grays. There are no easy games in the conference North. To be honest I dont think the full time status of Southport will affect us much at all

[T.A]

It is this situation that will make it harder for us to bounce back.

we have beaten a lot of full-time teams in the conference

[lukealty12]

certainly have tim

[Jimmy Hill]

What's more interesting is that they seem to be offering full-time contracts with only part-time wages.

As this <a href="http://www.portchat.net/viewtopic.php?p=249592#249592>post[/url] on Port Chat seems to suggest we could well be in for a few of their players who want to earn the same money but on a part-time basis.

So who do we fancy then?

[Ballers]

I'll take that post with a huge pinch of salt, can't start taking conjecture on Portchat seriously. The only player I'd really like is Baker who's off to a higher level. If the post was to be true, I suppose of those apparently leaving that Blakeman seems to make them tick and GH is a fan of Mark Boyd and tried to sign him last year. We're actually overloaded with midfielder tho I think, maybe Chris Lane who is a decent right back might be useful.

Anyway, bit of a gamble this for Southport in my view, teams can easily raise their game for a full time outfit and compete very easily once or twice a season. Kettering finished second and you have to remember they were a decent conference north outfit before the full time switch. In the confnat it's different, fulltime gives you a chance as it's hard to consistently raise your game v ft sides.