Relegation

Well it looks as if we are safe but could we be losing a couple of local teams as well as Yeovil going the other way. Today's results seem to indicate that Taunton look to be in trouble football and financial wise. One worry is Chippenham seem to be in freefall.
Might be irrelevant anyway as we might well be in league above.

Yes not looking good for Taunton. Salisbury and Merthyr still in contention in the league below, both would be good away games.

Torquay dropping like a stone as well. Four consecutive defeats with fifteen conceded.

Surely not! Thinking really positively we could be making a trip over to Nailsworth

Merthyr.....surely they would be in the north.

It is concerning that there still seem to be people that think promotion is some sort of viable option for the club.
It would be a complete disaster, it only goes to show that there are people out who still do not appreciate the situation.
The lack of appreciation of reality is one of the reasons I will not go anymore, and just to add I met someone last week who is still connected with club and who I have not seen for some time. They said 'you are missed, you told it as it is'.

Looks a matter of time for Taunton. Other clubs will surely pick up points, and difficult to see where Tauntons points will come from. Highlights of their St Albans game were so woeful difficult to assess how good St Albans are !

SteveS wrote:It is concerning that there still seem to be people that think promotion is some sort of viable option for the club.
It would be a complete disaster, it only goes to show that there are people out who still do not appreciate the situation.
The lack of appreciation of reality is one of the reasons I will not go anymore, and just to add I met someone last week who is still connected with club and who I have not seen for some time. They said 'you are missed, you told it as it is'.

Interesting news from Maidstone who have recently released their financial figures for last year and includes...

During this period the club was promoted to the National League. The budgeting at the time was carried out based on a hypothesis of the men’s first team achieving a lower mid-table position in the National League. In reality the club was bottom of the division for most of the season and was relegated.

The loss was due to several factors: poor recruitment of players, resulting in poorer performances, lower attendances and relegation; a terrible run of player injuries requiring costly hospital treatment, which the club contributed considerably towards; reduced customer spend on beer at matches due to drinking laws applying at National League level and above; additional transport costs in a nationwide league; increased repair and maintenance costs in a 10-year-old stadium; worsening financial conditions in UK affecting supporters’/customers’ ability to attend matches so often.

This underlines the increasing challenge presented by promotion to the National League, where the competition is intense and most clubs are well-funded by owners obliged to regularly subsidise losses.

https://maidstoneunited.co.uk/2024/02/16/maidstone-united-release-financial-results/

kermit wrote:Merthyr.....surely they would be in the north.

Don't make me get the map out again!

SteveS wrote:It is concerning that there still seem to be people that think promotion is some sort of viable option for the club.
It would be a complete disaster, it only goes to show that there are people out who still do not appreciate the situation.
The lack of appreciation of reality is one of the reasons I will not go anymore, and just to add I met someone last week who is still connected with club and who I have not seen for some time. They said 'you are missed, you told it as it is'.

Actually Steve I think a lot of us are well aware of the implications of promotion, and the fact that the likes of Maidstone, Ebbsfleet and Dorking have all found survival difficult after winning the NLS easily - some people have likened the gap to the National League as being on a par with that between the Championship and Premier League. A few of us have joked that defeat in the playoff final (if we got that far of course) wouldn't be the worst outcome, although of course our present bubble might burst and along with a difficult March we might end up finishing 8th and solving the problem! I think we should try and enjoy the present run of success and see where it takes us.

I also wonder if perhaps we are a bit better prepared than we were last time? I think I am correct in saying that we didn't get into the playoffs - only 2nd to 5th in those days - until the last game and nobody really thought that we would get through (I tend to think that we  got promoted 'by accident'!). Contrast that with now when our stated aim for a couple of seasons has been to make the playoffs, and this season we have been in the top 7 or just outside virtually the whole time. Your ear is no doubt closer to the ground than mine, but it must have crossed the minds of those running the club that if we do make the playoffs the same thing could happen again.

Steve will correct me if I’m wrong but I think his concerns are not to do with what might happen on the pitch following a promotion but whether the Club are prepared off the pitch for the significant step up and whether it could adjust. Despite the progress made by the team this season I’m not aware of  any positive news on issues which have affected the Club for many years. Key players behind the scenes have recently moved on and they will be followed by others come the end of the season. Hopefully others will step into their shoes and carry on the great work…

Read the warnings for clubs at our level outlined in that Maidstone statement I posted above. I think much there is very pertinent to our position.

I assumed that Steve was referring to the off the pitch infrastructure, and I understand his concerns which I think we all share. I just think it leaves us in a bit of a strange position- - we want the club to be successful, but just not be too successful and win promotion. With 14 games left - just under, a third - and all of the top seven but Yeovil still to play we could potentially end up anywhere from 3rd to 10th but I think we should be disappointed if we don't finish in the playoffs.

For me, good runs in the FA cup are vital. Our run to round 2 (including the Grimsby win) helped fund players needed for the subsequent promotion. I recall when Exeter dropped into the Conference, a cup run that included 2 games v Man Utd made them around 250k and helped push them back into 'the league'.
Personally, I would rather stay where we are until the future of TP is sorted and/or some significant Dosh comes our way.

SteveS wrote:It is concerning that there still seem to be people that think promotion is some sort of viable option for the club.
It would be a complete disaster, it only goes to show that there are people out who still do not appreciate the situation.
The lack of appreciation of reality is one of the reasons I will not go anymore, and just to add I met someone last week who is still connected with club and who I have not seen for some time. They said 'you are missed, you told it as it is'.

Love someone who tells it how it is. Best way. No beating around the bush. Miss you Steve. Meeting your son tomorrow down Havant. Your missing great football at the moment mate. Can you watch and not worry about the money and enjoy the game. Can't tell the future and what happens happens. All clubs are in debt.

2weirdtown wrote:For me, good runs in the FA cup are vital.  Our run to round 2 (including the Grimsby win) helped fund players needed for the subsequent promotion.  I recall when Exeter dropped into the Conference, a cup run that included 2 games v Man Utd made them around 250k and helped push them back into 'the league'.
Personally, I would rather stay where we are until the future of TP is sorted and/or some significant Dosh comes our way.

We all love a good cup run but when you have 100s of non league teams striving to do a Maidstone the odds are stacked against you. 1 off cup games aren't like a 46 game season. Look at Greece winning Euro 2004. One day will get a decent FA Cup run just annoyingly we have to be patient. Remember every non league team are so up for the FA Cup so no easy games. That's why its the best cup competition in the world. Also we go up this year, we start in the 4th qualifying round of FA Cup so more chance of getting a few decent ties.

Paul1978 wrote:

SteveS wrote:It is concerning that there still seem to be people that think promotion is some sort of viable option for the club.
It would be a complete disaster, it only goes to show that there are people out who still do not appreciate the situation.
The lack of appreciation of reality is one of the reasons I will not go anymore, and just to add I met someone last week who is still connected with club and who I have not seen for some time. They said 'you are missed, you told it as it is'.

Love someone who tells it how it is. Best way. No beating around the bush. Miss you Steve. Meeting your son tomorrow down Havant. Your missing great football at the moment mate. Can you watch and not worry about the money and enjoy the game. Can't tell the future and what happens happens. All clubs are in debt.

To be fair I felt Steve was poorly treated at the last AGM. He wanted to ask difficult questions but was shut down. I don't think AGMs should just be about ratifying the status quo. It should be an opportunity to scrutinise whether things are running as they should. You only need to look at Chester to see what happens if members don't ask difficult questions.