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Post by smokeyjoe on Jun 26, 2019 19:09:19 GMT
Adams words re pre season are spot on , as for the rest - totally agree with Diamonds words . It doesn't fill me up with excitement , comes across as " let's see where we end up . We might get a couple of good youngsters to fill a couple of positions , but I'm sure if there any good they will move on . Was this in our 5 year plan ?
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Post by vertigate on Jun 26, 2019 19:33:16 GMT
Although they may not admit it publically, I think you will find that the reality is that the club cannot afford to get promoted any higher so what is the point in Adam coming out with over ambitious statements along the lines of building a team to win the division. Less than 5% chance of winning the league on paper, then the lottery of the double play-offs meaning a 4% chance of winning those if you are fortunate enough to qualify in the first place.
To put a bit of perspective on it, St Albans City had an average attendance similar to ours in Conference South, made massive losses despite having the most expensive admission prices in the division and are now having to set their admission prices at an eye watering £18 for next season to try and be competitive. Football league prices for the second tier of non-league football is absolute madness.
If that is what the future for Worthing looks like, then thanks but no thanks. To remain a viable and sustainable club, it is far better off in the Isthmian League and knowing its limits.
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Post by diamond1973 on Jun 27, 2019 7:25:06 GMT
I absolutely hear your comments Vertigate and I do understand. But, do you wish for the club to continue to bob around in the top half for the rest of time because it is safer?
If they’re were to say “we need to build stable base and consolidate for 4-5 years before a big push” then I think we’d all have to understand - but the comments just deflated me slightly.
Yes, I do appreciate how far we have come - but the sky is the limit and we should continue to be excited, as a long time fan - I know where we were, but I’m also excited about where we could get!
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Post by virgs1 on Jun 27, 2019 8:11:36 GMT
And there's no double play-off next season. We've got a good squad (albeit young) and the sky really is the limit as echoed above.
Let's see where we are mid-season!
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Post by vertigate on Jun 27, 2019 12:22:16 GMT
I absolutely hear your comments Vertigate and I do understand. But, do you wish for the club to continue to bob around in the top half for the rest of time because it is safer? If they’re were to say “we need to build stable base and consolidate for 4-5 years before a big push” then I think we’d all have to understand - but the comments just deflated me slightly. Yes, I do appreciate how far we have come - but the sky is the limit and we should continue to be excited, as a long time fan - I know where we were, but I’m also excited about where we could get! The only way the club would reach the football league level would be if George sold the club to someone with more money than sense. George is the main reason why the club is now in a much better position than it was previously but does not have anywhere near the resources required to get to and then sustain national league football, let alone the Football League. You only have to look up the road at Crawley to see that there is a very much a limit to where you can go - they are still punching above their weight but their inevitable fall back into non-league circles is only a 2 or 3 years away in my opinion. I have said many times on here, all I expect from a team of non-professionals is effort, commitment and a willingness to try and play attacking and entertaining football. The division that it is played in is completely irrelevant to me. The other main aspect as to why people return is the friendly and welcoming community spirit of the supporter base. If other want something different, then I would suggest that they are out of touch with what non-league football is all about and they should probably go back to supporting the professional clubs in the EFL/EPL where their expectations are more likely to be met. |
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Post by vertigate on Jun 27, 2019 12:26:40 GMT
And there's no double play-off next season. We've got a good squad (albeit young) and the sky really is the limit as echoed above. Let's see where we are mid-season! Are you sure about that? 3 down from both Conference North and South with 4 feeder divisions. 8 into 6 doesn't go so I would expect the super-play offs to remain for the foreseeable future. As far as I am aware, the National League refused to relegate 4 teams from its 22 team North/South divisions. |
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Post by vertigate on Jun 27, 2019 12:37:24 GMT
Unless of course the Conference North/South divisions are expanding to 24 team divisions the following season which would mean only 4 down and 8 up across steps 2 and 3.
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Post by Kenty in Weardale on Jun 27, 2019 18:48:43 GMT
Being a sad person far removed from Woodside I spend many an hour looking at other clubs forums. Several Hamlet supporters known to me are now questioning just how worth it promotion was to Connie South; segregation, over policing, exorbitant entry prices etc etc etc. I also note that while our average crowd has gone up to 900+ further increases are not necessarily a given. In fact I believe that Dover are still getting the same 1,000 or so average that they has in Isthmian South when they were promoted. Food for thought in my opinion.
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Post by chairboy on Jun 29, 2019 19:10:45 GMT
I have followed Wycombe Wanderers(hence the chairboy name) since I was a kid and they were playing in the conference South.....we must keep on believing because it is possible. We have a town the size of Burnley so I believe we can do better things.
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Post by vertigate on Jun 29, 2019 21:32:20 GMT
Sustainability is the key and there just isn't anyone with the club's best interest at heart, that would have enough personal wealth to realistically deliver this. As you mentioned Wycombe Wanderers, I seem to recall they were the subject of a winding up petition not that many years ago so its not all a bed of roses when football league status is achieved.
Another club similar to Wycombe have just been relegated back into non-league, seemingly to be back on their way down to their natural level - Yeovil Town. If it wasn't them, it would have been Macclesfield Town. Both clubs that have an average attendance around the maximum size Worthing could realistically attract at that level.
For the resources our club currently has, we are most likely as far up the pyramid as could be reasonably expected. Moving up to Conference South would have serious financial implications to both the club and supporters (a 50% price hike on prices would be required as a minimum). How many people would be interested in that proposition every week to watch the dross that is served up in Conference South? It was only a couple of weeks ago when people were moaning on here about the increase of a couple of quid for certain categories for next season despite them not going up since we reached the Premier Division. You can't have your cake and eat it.
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Post by charliesb on Jun 30, 2019 7:10:32 GMT
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Post by diamond1973 on Jun 30, 2019 9:03:50 GMT
Vertigate, I do understand your points... but do you expect us as fans to be happy with that approach. In an ideal world, we win every game! Unless the club set up to purposefully drop points!
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Post by vertigate on Jun 30, 2019 12:10:22 GMT
Diamond, this is non league football where work commitment and other things get in the way for players. The club is clearly not set up to drop points, but there are 21 other clubs in the league, all at a similar level trying to achieve a victory every week. With players not being available every week, you are always going to win some and lose some. It cost Billericay Town over £1million pounds to win this division by a single point! Dorking Wanderers achieved it by throwing lots of money at it making huge losses along the way - it is not sustainable
If you are unable to accept the fact that semi-professional clubs cannot be run in the same way as professional clubs, then perhaps you should probably be going off to watch the Albion struggle in the Premier League every other week.
The big draw of non league football is the relaxed atmosphere created by the fact that progression up the leagues is no the be all and end all. Once progression becomes the absolute priority, all of the bad sides to the professional game start creeping in - the vicious circle of a tribal culture, aggression from supporters towards the opposition/club owners, the need for invasive stewarding/policing, clubs then treating the support base with contempt. These are the very reasons why I now follow Worthing and non league football in general and I'm in no rush to return. If Worthing did progress up the leagues, I am pretty sure I would very quickly find myself disappearing off to other local clubs on match days and I am sure a lot of others would follow suit.
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Post by Keithsson on Jun 30, 2019 12:48:19 GMT
Vertigate, I do understand your points... but do you expect us as fans to be happy with that approach. In an ideal world, we win every game! Unless the club set up to purposefully drop points! No club would set up to do that, every club hopes to win every game. It boils down to this, clubs need to balance ambition with caution and fans need to balance hope with expectation. When both a club and it's fanbase find the sweet spot in the middle of their respective ranges then you get a happy ship. Be over ambitious, you go bust. Be over cautious, you lose your fans. For me you make the primary ambition solvency and then after that, aim for the stars. |
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Post by tiptoes on Jun 30, 2019 14:48:38 GMT
I’m a firm believer that Worthing don’t want to go up. Who’s gonna put all the money in that’s requied if they did?
As far as promotion goes half the fans wouldn’t even know what league we’re in. It would be interesting to ask 200 people randomly.
Like Vertigate said people head along for a relaxing atmosphere, laid back attitude and to see 11 players running around representing Worthing.
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