The Next 6 Months?

Radio 5 Live c.0555 hours to 0600 23 September interview with Chairman Nick Blofeld.

Would someone like to find it and post a transcript?

From my memory Nick said:
Club would have to be "mothballed" by Christmas.
Club would need £10k a month.  This seems low given Turnover is c.£750k.
Club has two employees.  Presumably this is off field such as Carol and Bob.
Club had a board meeting on Monday and will have another on Friday.
Club hoping Government will have a support package.

I have just remembered something else: Nick mentioned live streaming from the empty stadium.

Hopefully the National League are contacting all clubs about this and trying to formulate a plan whereby the home club could broadcast on matchday.

City have some very savvy people with technical expertise so must other clubs.  The play off fiasco, with all the technical problems, would need to be avoided.

The cost of providing this is probably not the biggest problem;  rather the price charged to viewers is difficult to set, too high and it will put a lot of people off, especially those who usually pay reduced admission costs to live games.

For some people watching a live stream may not be convenient for various reasons so a subscription for a recording, at a lower price, would be beneficial.

On iplayer Nick can be heard from around 48 minutes. The programme is called Wake up to money.

City 'til we're relegated wrote:On iplayer Nick can be heard from around 48 minutes. The programme is called Wake up to money.

Thank you. Well worth a listen.

Here’s the link...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000mr9m

Rob, just to point out that Bob Chester is not an employee - everything he does for the Club is as a volunteer.

I believe any streamings will be provided by the clubs and assume that the NL would avoid the services of Sportradar. And before you ask,  no I never received any acknowledgement or reply to the complaint or follow up reminder I sent to the NL’s CEO about the streaming of the Dorking match.

comrade powell wrote:...Rob, just to point out that Bob Chester is not an employee - everything he does for the Club is as a volunteer.

So who is the other one, Nick said TWO?  I assume Jerry, Jim, other player support staff and the players are not classed as employees.  

comrade powell wrote:I believe any streamings will be provided by the clubs and assume that the NL would avoid the services of Sportradar. And before you ask,  no I never received any acknowledgement or reply to the complaint or follow up reminder I sent to the NL’s CEO about the streaming of the Dorking match.

Would the NL have to approve or allow due to some sort of "ownership" of live or recorded "broadcasting rights".
The NL should be ashamed and admonished for not replying to you;  hopefully further involvement by them can be avoided.

I think Nick meant 'around two’ - as well as Carole there’s cleaning and bar staff. And obviously all the football staff, playing and non playing, are employees.

Yes, I’m sure the NL would have to give permission for live streaming of their matches. Not sure about friendlies and FA matches.

And Nick Blofeld followed up my streaming complaint by contacting the NL but I don’t believe got very far.

Nick actually said......"I think we've got 2 permanent members of staff".
I'm sure Jerry and Jim would come under the playing budget.

For what it's worth, in my opinion there is very little point in starting the season if we have to play with no crowds.
The National League was pushing for 1000 to be allowed in....that's now been ruled out.
Step 3 and below are currently allowed 600, but I reckon that will be stopped once the government realise / remember that fairly large numbers are allowed to watch sport but only 6 people can meet up anywhere other than inside a football stadium.
The next round of the FA Cup will be a tester. If we are drawn away to a Step 3 or lower team we might as well play the game, but if we are drawn at home we might be better off pulling the plug on the whole season.
Depressing times ahead.

Can't help but feel the irony that in order for the playoffs to take place the powers that be had to be persuaded that Steps 2 and 3 are 'elite' and that has now come back to haunt us! Hindsight always having been my favourite science perhaps we should have gone along with Havant and York's 'promote 2' campaign.

I think Rob might be right about Step 3 and below - seems ridiculous that grounds much smaller than ours can have fans in but we can't. I see on twitter that Larkhall are inviting our fans to their cup game this evening.

The F A cup does highlight how ridiculous it is - hopefully we can get drawn away to a side from Step 3 and below and at least get some gate receipts! And we will also get some money from it even if we lose.  

Will be interesting to see what comes out of tomorrows National League board meeting. With the league due to start on Saturday week they don't have the luxury of waiting to see what happens elsewhere like they did before and so are going to have to make a decision, not something they are renowned for. Previously they had said that the league wouldn't start without fans, presumably in the hope that things would have improved, but some of the NL teams are lobbying for them to change their mind.

kermit wrote:
The next round of the FA Cup will be a tester. If we are drawn away to a Step 3 or lower team we might as well play the game, but if we are drawn at home we might be better off pulling the plug on the whole season.
Depressing times ahead.

Yes, interesting. If we are drawn at home to say Frome could we request switching venues to at least get some gate income? The FA clamped down on venue switches a few years back but this time it may be permitted. But as you say it seems unlikely the levels below us will be permitted to admit up to 600 fans for much longer.

The F A has issued the following statement this afternoon:

We understand the Government's position as the health of the nation is a priority. However, it is important to recognise that the impact on football will be huge.
Clubs up and down the country are really struggling, and many will have been looking forward to crowds coming back in order to provide much-needed income during these difficult times. Many, at all levels of the game, are battling to survive.
We welcome the Government's commitment to provide financial support to clubs and will continue to work together on a return of crowds as soon as it's safe to do so.
We also welcome the continuation of the grassroots game, and the elite game behind closed doors, to help support the physical and mental wellbeing of millions of players across the country, with outdoor exercise more important now than ever.  

If step 3 and below can show safe ways of admitting fans then they may well continue. No one can afford to see the shambolic scenes at the Hashtag Cup match this week. Compliance is key, people continue to die of Covid, football has a key role to play. Act sensibly, show responsibility, and accept football may well be about life and death this time.

I'm more optimistic than Rob. Clubs need to find a solution. What could work, how much revenue from streaming? Is the club getting more merchandise to sell? Push the on line draw. Make opportunities for fans to contribute big and small to add to Rishis support. Mothballing will be the route to no return for clubs.

Here's an excellent article on the Eastbourne website by our friend Kevin Anderson...

https://www.ebfc.co.uk/news/bonar-we-are-staring-over-the-brink-2571091.html

comrade powell wrote:Here's an excellent article on the Eastbourne website by our friend Kevin Anderson...

https://www.ebfc.co.uk/news/bonar-we-are-staring-over-the-brink-2571091.html

Thank you.

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/six-months-no-fans-see-4540513

When a club the size of Bath Rugby has these reservations about its future we can only hope Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak will announce a rescue package later today.

A comment - “Yeovil's match last night was against Bath City, a match completely ignored by, so-called, Bath Live. Not only last nights match but Bath City FC itself seems to be completely off limits to "Bath" Live.” - is an accurate reflection of how the standard of local journalism has fallen since the “retirement” of Andrew Kerslake and the cessation of the Bath Chronicle website.

Someone who clearly agrees with Luton Roman...

https://nonleaguedaily.com/notts-county-ceo-joins-calls-for-behind-closed-doors-start/

Something very similar from Solihull yesterday. Would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at today’s League meeting. As always self interest rules and I guess those above see a golden opportunity to win promotion with many clubs simply not having the resources to play a season without gate and hospitality income.

comrade powell wrote:Someone who clearly agrees with Luton Roman...

https://nonleaguedaily.com/notts-county-ceo-joins-calls-for-behind-closed-doors-start/

Something very similar from Solihull yesterday. Would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at today’s League meeting. As always self interest rules and I guess those above see a golden opportunity to win promotion with many clubs simply not having the resources to play a season without gate and hospitality income.

Further from that Notts County statement:

"Uefa have relaxed Article 48 which has given clubs a great opportunity to raise important revenue by streaming their home matches. By allowing home clubs to retain all revenue from their games, the league have potentially helped the clubs who attract lower crowds to achieve a greater return from away supporters than had they been allowed to attend in person, as a live stream has greater scope to reach more people."

Just reading that a joint statement signed by 20 National League North clubs has been released ahead of today's NL meeting:

"The majority verdict of 81% of clubs in the National League North would be to NOT start the season, unless there was a financial support package in place"

The 81% doesn't include York City apparently.

I see that our game against Torquay on Saturday has been cancelled because of the number of injuries we have, so perhaps a delay to the start of the season might not be a bad thing for us.

Les, what happens to our FA Cup match on Saturday week if the league is postponed?

kermit wrote:Les, what happens to our FA Cup match on Saturday week if the league is postponed?

Good question! Things I have read on twitter suggest that nobody knows the answer, but with 43 Step 2 teams in the draw tomorrow somebody needs to come up with one! I am sure that today's NL board meeting will clarify everything!

The League of Ireland (LOI) has a Summer season, so has been back at competitive football for the last couple of months now to finish the 2020 season.

A very small number of fans have been allowed into stadia at times, but I think only one Premier Division club has bothered with the hassle of organising a lottery for the spaces.

Every game in the top tier is being streamed live by a company that already existed as it was streaming GAA (Gaelic Games - company called GAA Go). They've done a very good job of the LOI games by widespread opinion, and should be looked at as a model for any NL streaming IMO.

You can either pay per game (I think it's €5) or buy a season pass at €55 in Ireland, or €69 outside (the difference being that the latter gets you the stream of a few games that are on subscription TV in Ireland). Which is good value to watch dozens of football matches live. They then offered half-season pass for €45.

Link to it all is here : https://www.watchloi.ie/

comrade powell wrote:

kermit wrote:
The next round of the FA Cup will be a tester. If we are drawn away to a Step 3 or lower team we might as well play the game, but if we are drawn at home we might be better off pulling the plug on the whole season.
Depressing times ahead.

Yes, interesting. If we are drawn at home to say Frome could we request switching venues to at least get some gate income? The FA clamped down on venue switches a few years back but this time it may be permitted. But as you say it seems unlikely the levels below us will be permitted to admit up to 600 fans for much longer.

Away to Larkhall Athletic would be the dream draw all round

I've been going to see a lot of lower league games since the restrictions were eased, and the gates have definitely been up. Both Cadbury Heath and Brislington in the Western League have been regularly getting around the 150 mark - and even more in the FA Cup – while even Gloucestershire County League sides like AEK Boco have been topping the 100 on a regular basis.

However, I rarely see anyone other than me in a mask, and the lower down the leagues you get the less people seem to care about social distancing (although when you're watching Made Forever FC in the fifth tier of the Bristol & District League that's slightly less of a worry).

But if, for instance, we draw someone very local like Larkhall at Plain Ham or Manor Farm down The Creek in the FA Cup draw tomorrow, that could lead to all sorts of crowd issues, 'cos as smashing as both their grounds are, we could fill them twice over on our own.

I get a horrible suspicion that our overlords are just making this up as they go along and reacting to any issues that arise, rather than planning ahead for any eventuality.

Roy D Hacksaw wrote:
I get a horrible suspicion that our overlords are just making this up as they go along and reacting to any issues that arise, rather than planning ahead for any eventuality.

You don't say!