to complete a hat trick of local Sussex sides in trouble this week looks like Worthing may possibly reform as a new club due to their horrendous debts, even their fans are not sure what's happening....
Pat, yes we do need to remind ourselves constantly of the financial real world. Some of those who post negative and aggressive comments about the current ownership of our club appear to believe that change would inevitably bring about a better situation. If that is so, they are wrong. It is so easy to undervalue stability and to look to some new regime that has 'ambition'. But ambition without the resources to back it up and the acumen and integrity to make proper decisions is not just useless, it is potentially disastrous.
Sorry Geoff but unless you have a crystal ball how do you know we will be worse off, we are losing money in large amounts and going downhill fast. We cant secure proper sponsorship, the council wont help us, we are only solvent because of an fa cup run, it wont last long. I suggest you take a reality check and look at the whole picture.
I'm not sure if GeoffM is quite right - I don't see many aggressive comments on here. And it is precisely that resistance to change that worries me. Of course there are no guarantees of future success whoever is in charge. But you simply cannot dismiss the position we are in. There is no doubt that the Cup run has underpinned everything over the last two years. I can't help but compare us to Blyth Spartans, who have invested wisely since their Cup runs and are continually looking upwards. We haven't - we're in a worse position football-wise. It's great having money in the bank, but who wants to be a rich County League team? Also, it depends on how you define ambition - for example, wanting to play at a higher level, be part of the community, build strong relationships with local stakeholders, be open to suggestions and constructive criticism, and build a football club to be proud of - that is ambition, and there is absolutely no reason why that cannot be done without large injections of cash from a wealthy individual. If you think that's wrong, so be it. What I am saying is that with strong and focussed leadership, you don't have to be swimming in cash to be ambitious and achieve. Finally, I simply do not get the stability argument - we are probably better off than Horsham, Peacehaven etc, but no less unstable. Loads of different managers and players is no demonstration of stability. We have little support from our local council, attracting local sponsorship is difficult and the on-field product is not great by any means. I like 300 odd others am desperate for success and want to see us rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dover, Dartford, Maidstone, as we used to do. From where we are now to there seems a million miles away and that's a massive disappointment.
After further consideration, I've decided not to post on here for the time being. My views are too far detached from fellow posters and I don't think they carry any relevance. I'm wasting nervous energy in getting wound up by my club's plight and it's not good for me at my age. So I'll leave it to others.
-- Edited by Overthehill on Friday 23rd of January 2015 09:35:56 PM
Chris and Overthehill how can you say that we can't secure sponsorship? Chris you would of noticed, Overthehill you won't of because you've not been to a game this season from what I understand, but you only have to look around the ground at the vast amount of advertising boards to see we have probably got more business partners than we've had in a long time. Every game I understand has a sponsor until the end of the season. That in itself shows that we can attract sponsorship!
To be fair to the main complaint we get about the program is too many adverts, that alone is a good thing for the club in a way as showed that local businesses are still involved. I think the last thing DW can be critisised for is his ability to attract local businesses to the club. Think sponsorship wise we are one if the healthiest in the Ryman League right now.
also Overthehill IMO I think you should carry on tbh as although I may disagree with some of your views, you present them very well and provide a good balance here.
Chris as you seen to have inside knowledge of the clubs finances perhaps you can put them on here as I am sure we would all like to see where "we are losing money in large amounts"
I still remember what happened the last time Hastings had a so called "benefactor" a Mr MG who spent lots of money then bailed out and the club very nearly folded, does anyone want to go through that again ?
I don't have inside knowledge, just the ability to understand thee published accounts of the company. Perhaps I worded proper sponsorship wrong, and should have said main sponsor for shirt. Cant say that we don't do well for small sponsors, as we appear to do ok.
None of us want the club to fold, but if we get relegated we are on the way to oblivion. And the last 3 years have seen the club take many steps backwards even though We have money.
It seems to me that someone can't have a different opinion without being told to take a " reality check". How rude is that ? There's no denying of course that we have spent more this season but to use words like "oblivion" seems to maybe be over dramatic. You mention that the Fa cup money is all that's keeping us afloat Chris but there was life before that money as well. I can't recall meeting you until the FA cup run so I'm not sure if you were around in those days or not. The days when we stayed afloat by simply not spending more than we earned. Days when we got to the Ryman Premier on what we could afford. Of course there are those that have more right to comment on further past than me as I have only been following the team since I moved here in 2002, but I suspect the further back we go the less it becomes meaningful - especially as wage bills were not the factor they are now . My point is that we showed during real austerity that we could be run on an even keel. Some Supporters at the time wanted the chairman to either invest or get another in who could -yet in the same breath would say " we don't want to go back to the Gardiner days".
It is frightening how many clubs have gone to the wall financially since the current chairmanship tenure and yet even this achievement gets ploughed over in the purpose of point scoring. That's a real shame. I guess I'm to blame for turning this thread as I posted the comment about how lucky I felt we were. I should have realised that I was just teeing the same old clapped out argument up again- apologies to all for that!
We have had numerous chairmen in the past and will do in the future of the club I'm sure but I really think we should be careful what we wish for.
Isn't it funny that out of the 10 years or so under the current chairman we have lost money just once and that was last year! The reason for that? Investment in the playing squad, plain and simple, if that wasn't done then how many would of complained that we weren't prepared to pay for decent players to get out of this league? One thing cannot be said and that is the chairman has not given the managers money to support a promotion challenge.
Because soon after I posted it I read Doeboys comment about threads degenerating due to infighting which made me realise that he was right and decided that I didnt want to get into a tit for tat argument with you again Chris that would take us further down the path we previously trod. Happy?
Any one of us can delete our own post whether we are a moderator or not. We can edit or delete if we wish. Good on Dan for explaining - you had nothing to explain as its nobody else's business. Really pointless stirring.
I did not say there had been a bid made? I thankfully would be the last to know if there was one. There has been talk of it on here from Chris with the 'hidden but public' PM's before involving talk of his friends. Was just a reference to that.
The post was a response to Chris's 'everything is greener on the other side' style arguments. As mentioned I thought better of provoking more arguments and deleted it but ironically him bringing it up has done that once again.
Not sure what you are saying Chris? If you are accusing me of lying in my answer just now, then say it straight.
If your insinuating that I was asked to remove it for some reason then you are 100% incorrect, certainly myself and to my knowledge all the other mods have never removed or been asked to remove posts by the club.
Chris why is it you always without fail have to see that whatever some of us post on here there's always a hidden agenda? No matter what you or any of the other one single minded individuals believe from that poor excuse of the other ' forum' this board is not governed by the club or its directors and never has been. I think your idiotic last post re coming up on the down train sums you up completely, pathetic.
This is the post on the other 'forum' which Chris has obviously taken inspiration from.....
''I went on the other forum early this morning - possibly before the gestapo were up - and saw a posting (strangely enough on a subject entitled 'Worthing') which said that a consortium of long time supporters were willing to buy our club. There were comments about whether these supporters would have funds available for the future. Within no time at all the posting was removed.
The fact is that these potential buyers would indeed be able to inject more capital, as opposed to the present directors who take money out!
Someone also suggested that new owners would get rid of Simon the groundsman. Why would anybody think that.
In another posting, which is still there, hammerfan is critical of "Mr MG". Can I remind him that in 1997 the club was £200,000 in debt and on the verge of folding when Mr MG came in, paid off the debts and saved the club. What selective memories some people seem to have.''
My answers
1. My own post was deleted for the reason I have already mentioned although wish id just left it now.
2. The comment about the current board taking money out is easily a potentially libellous comment but that's their choice
3. Simon isn't just the ( exceptional ) groundsman, he's a director and part of the board that the blokes just slagged off and wants to replace.
4. Roy knows this club as good as anyone I know and whilst it was before my time I've not heard many comments in favour of the previous MG regime to say the least.
I think what we have to realise is that in the ask the chairman forum a few weeks back someone asked the chairman if he'd had any offers to buy the club, he answered honestly that he'd had an offer not long ago and said he turned it down because he doesn't want to sell his stake. So all this potential new owners talk irrelevant, the chairman has quite openly said he has no intention of selling.
Lenny you might think I'm pathetic but I can assure you the feeling is mutual. Dan put on about a bid for the club, surely a topic as important as this deserves its own thread, especially when it comes from someone involved with the club. But what I would also add is that the post on the other forum was accurate about MG without him there would probably have been an housing estate on the PF now. Though as Roy said he did some damage in his latter time at the club. Perhaps its a scenario our current chairman should look at now and the damage he is doing.
