Friendly at Dorking

So it appears we are playing a friendly at Dorking on Saturday. While I understand the manager’s desire to keep the squad match-fit, in the current crisis it seems absurd to travel to the other side of the country when no points are at stake. I assume it also means that we won’t be supporting those clubs which have called for an immediate end to the season.

Jerry said in his interview on Radio Bath on Saturday that the team was going to carry on training and that he was hoping to arrange a friendly - this was before the announcement that games were to restart on 6th Feb. Interestingly there was also an interview with Paul Williams in which he said that he supported the two week suspension and thought that perhaps it should have been longer to allow time to sort out the funding issue. Could be some interesting discussions going on behind the scenes!

I spoke to Jerry in-depth about it this morning, transcript should be on the website later.

I would upload the audio but it was a horrible line.

My feelings if this is true

ABSOLUTELY DISCGRACFUL BY EVERYONE CONCERNED
Any respect I had for those agreeing to this has gone completely
Ashamed of the club this evening and for a long time to come.
This cannot happen
Completely idiotic , shameful and inconsiderate to every poor sod fighting for their lives, those no longer with us and all frontline workers. Shame on you

If the two week break had been because of Covid I could understand the reaction on here and social media against this game, but it wasn’t. It was because a number of clubs had refused to play until the funding was sorted out, and the league took the easy way out.

I don’t see how travelling to this game and the risks involved are any different to if we had been going much further to Maidstone for a league game today.

The reactions that I have seen unfortunately prove what I said in another post about how divisive the present situation is.

My response to your response LB and indeed to Dave who appears to agree with you is really quite easy from my point of view.
I don't agree with any of these games being played, be it League, Cup, or whatever. But to hear that a large squad are travelling across country for a friendly kick about is beyond belief.
Hopefully they will be stopped, turned back and if possible fined.
I know this will not happen , but i really would love this to be the outcome. With Mr Gill picking up the fine as it comes down to him. as it was his wish
NO NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL
Still disgusted with this terrible move

Presumably any Club would face sanctions from the League if it refused to travel to an away fixture - and that assumption may well be put to the test if the programme restarts next week. However today’s trip to Dorking cannot be considered an essential journey and it should come as no surprise that so many supporters are upset by the decision.

As Jerry explains in his interview with Junior he is looking for the best for our Club and if his Board are happy for the trip to go ahead then so be it. Personally I’m annoyed, but not surprised, if the League are encouraging its clubs to make non-essential journeys.

This really is a Club issue and just a reminder that supporters have access via their liaison officer. If you want to contact Cheryl....

https://www.bathcityfc.com/supporters-liason/

Playing devil’s advocate here.

Isn’t it the case that if you have to travel to work because you aren’t able to work at home that is an essential journey? Whether we like it or not, by virtue of playing at Step 2 we are taking part in an ‘elite’ sport and I am pretty sure that travelling to take part in it constitutes an ‘essential journey’ to undertake work. That is why sports like rugby union, horse racing etc have continued during the pandemic. I don ‘t think the fact that the game is a friendly should make any difference to that. I will wait to be shot down.

Saying this doesn’t mean that I agree that any sports should have continued during the pandemic - I have stuck rigidly to the rules since last March - I was just trying to put things into perspective, particularly in view of SASCHA’s suggestion about a fine etc.

Don’t let us use this as a stick to beat the club with at a time when it is likely to need our support more than ever.

Consider yourself shot down!

If we had a training session then players, including those who do not live locally, would be making essential individual journeys to attend. As LB has pointed out we have, (rightly or wrongly) Elite  status and the advantages/disadvantages that come with it.

The league could have not decided on the 2 week break son that would have meant us being on the road  today anyway.

Any criticism of the Club has to take account that  we are always keen to state our community club status and therefore we are the Club!

NLS is at elite level,like, it or not, its a fact. The league has indicated games start again next week, so we need to be ready for that. Ebbsfleet are full time and has already played Dorking in a friendly. If we turned up next week without preparation and got thrashed, what price the moral high ground when we are in a relegation fight? Which we are until or unless the levels below are voided and there is no relegation.

That said, I would have preferred the game to be a lot nearer and it appears we tried but got no takers, so if this was a last resort, so be it. Like others here I comply to the rules to the enth degree and get annoyed when others don't. But in this instance no rules are being broken and the resumption of fixtures next week leaves us no choice.

The Board has by inference agreed the game, the Society is the major shareholder, so collective cabinet responsibility means the Society supports it. Of course the forum allows views from all perspectives but would be good to keep it reasonable, level headed and not vindictive imo.

Yes there are some who break the rules. But there are possibly many more who do what they are allowed to rather than what is advisable. For me this playing of the system is as big a problem.

For anyone who cares it is 3-3 at half time, neither side apparently able to defend.

And finished 4-3 to City - four well taken goals.

LB wrote:For anyone who cares it is 3-3 at half time, neither side apparently able to defend.

And finished 4-3 to City - four well taken goals.

Thank you for the info for non-watchers. I agree about the goals.

Brilliant score and entertaining match. It was good of Dorking to put it on YouTube so that we didn't have to pay to watch .

At first I was sorry that there was no commentary from our own BCIR but I have to admit that Dorking's commentators were hilarious . . . . .for instance  when they were so busy chatting that they did not notice for several minutes that Dorking had scored another goal . . . . . . . . . . .
that all added to the entertainment   .

Manchester Romans wrote:So it appears we are playing a friendly at Dorking on Saturday. While I understand the manager’s desire to keep the squad match-fit, in the current crisis it seems absurd to travel to the other side of the country when no points are at stake. I assume it also means that we won’t be supporting those clubs which have called for an immediate end to the season.

To return the thread to the main point about whether we play on in the current climate without fans and therefore with loans, what do people think? Personally, I think it's a mistake to add further debt to the club without any prospect of financial gain from events to large gates or trophy winnings, or have the grounds for further funding changed?

I don't think the basis of the further funding has changed, and I agree that the club shouldn't be burdening itself with a 20 year loan just to see this season through.

It does though seem that some clubs are moving towards thinking that loans are better than ending the season now, and both Eastbourne and Welling have come out today with statements to that effect. Welling are owned by Marc Goldberg, so I think like Dorking and a few others they don't perhaps have the financial pressures that most clubs do. Interestingly, Eastbourne suggested that there should be a separate vote for each of the three divisions!

It seems our silence on the matter indicates consent to continue. At least, it hasn't been discounted. If so I wonder on what basis they are making that calculation.

Midsomer-chris wrote:Brilliant score and entertaining match. It was good of Dorking to put it on YouTube so that we didn't have to pay to watch .

At first I was sorry that there was no commentary from our own BCIR but I have to admit that Dorking's commentators were hilarious . . . . .for instance  when they were so busy chatting that they did not notice for several minutes that Dorking had scored another goal . . . . . . . . . . .
that all added to the entertainment   .

I was half tempted to commentate on it from home in case I'm required to do so this season depending on restrictions, but stuck to the tweets instead.

Usually I can't stand such glaring errors with me being the most intolerant person in the universe, but I surprised myself by enjoying it. I thought Gary's player identification for us was very good. Obviously I don't get to hear many other commentators in our league but at least he made every effort in saying who was on the ball for us, when I heard clips from Oxford and Hampton they barely made any. Only thing missing from their stream was not having a timer on there, but it didn't cut out once an I was impressed with the camera work.

stillmanjunior wrote:

Midsomer-chris wrote:Brilliant score and entertaining match. It was good of Dorking to put it on YouTube so that we didn't have to pay to watch .

At first I was sorry that there was no commentary from our own BCIR but I have to admit that Dorking's commentators were hilarious . . . . .for instance  when they were so busy chatting that they did not notice for several minutes that Dorking had scored another goal . . . . . . . . . . .
that all added to the entertainment   .

I was half tempted to commentate on it from home in case I'm required to do so this season depending on restrictions, but stuck to the tweets instead.

Usually I can't stand such glaring errors with me being the most intolerant person in the universe, but I surprised myself by enjoying it. I thought Gary's player identification for us was very good. Obviously I don't get to hear many other commentators in our league but at least he made every effort in saying who was on the ball for us, when I heard clips from Oxford and Hampton they barely made any. Only thing missing from their stream was not having a timer on there, but it didn't cut out once an I was impressed with the camera work.

His commentary in the league game was a bit more focused than today, but compared with some of the ‘home’ commentators I find him very balanced and he does seem to know who our players are and give them credit when it is due. In the league game though he constantly referred to Donovan Wilson as Donovan as if that was his second name!

The other thing that stood out was the refereeing. I know it was only a friendly so you can’t really judge but it was the best I have seen this season, not that that is a particularly high bar!

stillmanjunior wrote:

Midsomer-chris wrote:Brilliant score and entertaining match. It was good of Dorking to put it on YouTube so that we didn't have to pay to watch .

At first I was sorry that there was no commentary from our own BCIR but I have to admit that Dorking's commentators were hilarious . . . . .for instance  when they were so busy chatting that they did not notice for several minutes that Dorking had scored another goal . . . . . . . . . . .
that all added to the entertainment   .

I was half tempted to commentate on it from home in case I'm required to do so this season depending on restrictions, but stuck to the tweets instead.

Usually I can't stand such glaring errors with me being the most intolerant person in the universe, but I surprised myself by enjoying it. I thought Gary's player identification for us was very good. Obviously I don't get to hear many other commentators in our league but at least he made every effort in saying who was on the ball for us, when I heard clips from Oxford and Hampton they barely made any. Only thing missing from their stream was not having a timer on there, but it didn't cut out once an I was impressed with the camera work.

Agree 100%

We should not play on the basis of loans.

We have very significant existing debt and I thought our objective was to reduce it.

Very entertaining comedy commentary

“So at half time it’s Dorking 3 Bristol City 3”

pete mac wrote:We should not play on the basis of loans.

We have very significant existing debt and I thought our objective was to reduce it.

And 2022 is the deadline for existing loans to be repaid. The original schedule for the redevelopment would have provided the Club with light at the end of the tunnel. With all the uncertainty over that at present taking on further loans, whatever the terms, seems very unlikely.

Well done to all concerned for providing what football there has been since October, but finances aside it should not continue unless testing is in place for all.

The voting on this is going to be very interesting I reckon.

Dulwich have put out a statement saying that having only recently got the club on an even keel, and getting less than they would have done from the National Lottery funding if it had been on the basis of attendances, they are reluctant to put the club in jeopardy again. It finishes by saying:
“We completely understand and sympathise with the clubs who can continue regardless as they have the independent means to do so or they received more than they expected from the last grants. We understand those clubs may be frustrated by the situation of other clubs such as ours who are owned by their communities or who received less than expected from the last grant fundiing allocation but our primary responsibilities are as the temporary custodians of clubs who have been here long before us to ensure they are here for a long time to come.”

And then there is Chorley. Having made I would think a six-figure sum from their F A Cup exploits this season their view perhaps not surprisingly is different:
“Having been granted the status of an elite club, it is our opinion that we need to act as such and respect the integrity and outcome of the current season. With the utmost appreciation we will be applying to Sport England for the loans being made available to help us finish this season with pride that we are part of a great competition.”