So Redhill have put in a 7 day letter for Sam Adams. Someone please tell me he has no intention of going. How is it that a club our size has now got to a stage that a club like Redhill feel they have a chance of prising away our best player. Are we putting in cheeky bids for other teams best players? Tom Vickers to Horsham, Charlie Farmer to Redhill, not impossible Sam could follow.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry anymore. I guess we should just be hopeful that Rye are no longer existence otherwise we may have no one left.
baffles me to john,why do players go to a lower club that look more likely to be relegated unless they see promise,and if they do go down tom I would think would be on his travels again hopefully back to us.had to re.register as dave aa new computer.
If their wage has been cut, with a dozen or so games to go, and us being right in the relegation mire, I would find that surprising and unnecessary, particularly Sam, who is one player that deserves every single penny he earns. If they have to do it next year then fair enough but at this stage of the season you do not want to be demotivating players. On the other hand, some may argue that some of the players should be ashamed to take a wage based on some of this years performances.
The point I was making also Roy is that if Horsham have the cheek to put in a letter for Tom and Redhill for Sam would we ever consider doing the same for say Draycott at Folkestone or Smith at South Park or Hutchings at Merstham?
After the recent Chairman's forum, New Manager appointment, player walkout, new signings etc. I find it very hard to accept that wages would be cut now.
Yes John we can put in letters, is Nigel interested in these players ? Unless we double their money they probably would not come because of the traveling involved. (According to a post on here Tom Vickers was offered a huge wage increase to leave for Horsham)
How can Horsham and Redhill offer much larger wages than Hastings?? Redhill average 100 home attendance and Horsham are skint. It does appear that some teams will do whatever is required to stay in this division, lets hope we do the same.
I see Sean Loft is at Redhill. Wonder if he is having some influence on Hastings players?
Redhilll are throwing money about and putting in 7 day letters for lots of players. From what I understand they have extension plans next season and staying up is a massive part of that. Horsham as we all know are seeking to build a new ground subject to an appeal however if they go down then county league rules say that they can't ground share which in theory could quite possibly be the end of them, so to see both clubs trying to get better players in by offering silly money isn't surprising to me.
In my opinion Sam will stay, he's a local lad and gives 110% every time he pulls on the Hastings shirt.
I understand that Barry but there is a very strong possibility that we could also be relegated, is that any less important than it is at Redhill or Horsham? as it would also be the death of this club. Should we not be throwing money about like others to ensure we stay in this league and then start the cuts and rebuilding next season?
We seem to be losing all our players to our relegation rivals at the moment. Has Ashley Robinson had any kind of opportunity to impress? why has he gone? is he worse than Pogue on current form? the only decent run we have given him was at Hythe on new years day when we played him right wing, obviously to take advantage of his blistering pace, another managerial masterstroke. No supporter can say he was not good enough because he never had a chance.
Perhaps I am the only one concerned but u21 players will not get us out of this mess, we need some quality and more importantly, experience, along side them.
-- Edited by johnw on Friday 30th of January 2015 02:19:06 PM
I totally agree John, we need to do what we can to get as far up the table as possible. I didn't know about Ashley Robinson going, only Monday night he was playing for the U21's in which he played well, good vision, able to pick out a pass and won the ball back well when procession was lost.
It's been said many times already this season about how big a budget we have and I'm certain that we will still be paying more than almost if not every club in the league. I'm not aware on any potential signings Nigel has in mind but that's not to say he's not looking, I'd like to think that he's actively looking to improve the current squad.
I watched Ashley Robinson play the full 90 minutes for the reserves on Monday he was playing central midfield and was skillful, neat and tidy but never got above a slow jog, it looked as if he moved more that 5 yards he had to stop for a rest ! Overall he looked totally unfit and a very long way from playing 90 minutes for the first team. As such what is the point of him staying ?
What is the point of keeping him? i keep forgetting we have a squad full of super fit athletes and certainly don't need any quality in the squad. I'm sure Jordan will be delighted to read your comments.
i got told by one at the Worthing game the budget was cut by 20% after dipaolo took over from Terry
i do wonder why this hasn't been announced by the club given we pay more than most to get in to home games?
it might explain why Frankie sawyer was not replaced!
oh and Lenny the lion you are utterly deluded and living in cloud cuckoo land if you believe our budget is that big. According to who is our budget bigger than most teams in this league? I would say we are around halfway at best especially as one average player takes up a large chunk of it!
just sums us up as a club, tell everyone one thing and do another!
Most of us know what's going on, I would like some of our players past and present to tell us if they have had wages cut, not been paid at all, been given false promises etc. If that is true about tom then perhaps some of you will start to believe that what we have been saying is the truth, about our clubs reputation.
Well it clearly looks like there may be some truth in these rumours but not so sure on a 50% reduction for Tom but who knows. But why would you cut the players wages at a time when you need everyone pulling together and team unity. We are knee deep in a relegation battle with a dozen or so games left and whilst other teams are spending money and signing OUR PLAYERS, we are getting rid, cutting budgets and cutting wages whilst relying on some teenagers to save the day. With Merstham, Folkestone and Guernsey away coming up you cannot help but be worried of the state we are in. If Sammy does go then you really do have to start fearing the worst.
With regards to the highest budget in the league, I know for sure what the figure was, because I make the effort to talk to the chairman, and I have no doubts it was the highest in the league, but with the East Preston boys gone, and there were about 7 of them, and probably an element of 'mates rates' and over paying players, there is no way that can be the case now can it?
So what's wrong whith the structure of the club we at least have a wage budget players leaving left right and centre. worthing have no budget dont see players their jumping ship. make's you wonder ?
DJ with all respect being involved in the interview process to appoint a new manager I was given an insight into what budget each manager would get us promotion and that what was actually being paid. So I think that cloud cuckoo land as you put it is more living in the real world and not pure speculation.
I don't claim to know what each individual player earns and nor would I come on here saying if I did know so regards a certain player getting a large chunk of it then you're more informmed than I am.
This is my first comment on this forum having only recently moved to the area and starting to attend matches at the Pilot Field. I am the first to admit that I no knowledge of internal issues at the club but I have a small amount of knowledge of football at this level. Firstly, having attended the recent chairman's forum after the East Grinstead game I was surprised by the comment of the chairman that two recent sides (including EGTFC) claimed they were only paying "expenses" to players. It does not matter what each club calls it (expenses or wages) money is paid to players at this level. Worthing FC have a particular reason why they have cut the budget but it looks as though that will change in the near future.
It would be a concern if the better players were leaving for more money especially when you look at the travelling distance between the clubs. It is vital that the club remains in the Ryman league next season and if that means paying more than usual than perhaps that needs to be considered in the short term. I would of thought relegation to the Sussex County league would have longer term effects than 4 months of a higher playing budget.
On a separate note, every away supporter I have spoken to has commented on how impressed they are with the ground and facilities. Surely playing at a ground like the Pilot field must attract players at this level or am I just being naive!!
That's good to hear dead ball. Sam only has to read comments like Windy's to see how important he is to the fans. He's the fans favourite and player of the season by a country mile. lets hope the club do everything to make his decision an easy one.
I honestly wouldn't pay much attention to the 7 day letter put in for Sam, Redhill put in 7day letters in for a number of our players this season including one of our equally well respected and thought of players like Sam. Sam is loved by all of us at the club, he's fully aware of that and I know as John has pointed out that goes a long way in a players loyalty for a club.
No from what it sounds its not us that needs to get behind the players, its the chairman and his attitude to paying the players as if money is being cut its hardly surprising they don't always appear to be giving 100%.
Perhaps the club could issue a statement along the lines of... 'The club is able to confirm that it has received a 7 day letter of approach from Redhill FC in relation to Sam Adams. We are delighted to also confirm that Sam has declined to discuss a transfer, and has committed his immediate future to Hastings United. This is obviously fantastic news, as everybody connected to the club knows how important Sam's contribution is in helping the club to move away from the lower reaches of the table. The club hopes that this demonstration of loyalty will galvanise players and supporters as we reach a very crucial stage of the season, and send a message to other clubs who wish to approach valuable members of our first team squad.'
Well said Overthehill...more communication from the club would stop the rumours and put a more positive and upbeat spin on things.Also heard Aerron Hopkinson playing for Ringmer perhaps would be a player who could add speed to our attack...played a few games for us earlier.
Is see the comment now is that the budget was cut when Don joined - Question - Was the playing budget cut to allow Don to bring his 3 staff in and pay them instead ?
The budget was cut not long after Dom arrived and that is when Toms wages were cut. As Pat has stated the budget is set by the board and it is then the managers job to decide how much each player gets and no one else!
One final thing I am reliably informed that Sam is staying and going nowhere. Clubs put in 7 day letters for players very frequently so it's not really anything new, and in my opinion has been blown out of proportion a bit although I do understand people's views.
Chris -I am not a club official and not privy to such information. The reason I knew about the budget and how it's apportioned is because I have asked. The manager - as far as I am aware- uses the budget as he sees fit. I cannot comment on individual cases because I'm rightfully not privy to that info.
Well if we are cutting the budget, it must mean money is running low, so perhaps this enhances the need for new owners as it would appear the current one can't afford to keep paying what we were. Lots of important issues answered on this post, thanks Pat and Lenny.
I think it's more a case of not throwing money away with nothing able to come from it, the budget was set to win the league. That was obviously never going to happen even when Dom took over. It's basic business sense, any business would cut its budgets if it was under achieving.
You can also look at it as reducing any potential loss as best you can. Not everything is black and white and sometimes other things influence decisions that are made.
As I've stated in a previous post our budget is probably still amongst the higher budgets in the league even with a cut. I'm sure some of those fighting for promotion would like the same as us.
Surely cutting the budget for underachieving is very different to cutting the budget with relegation to obscurity looming! The very time we should be increasing wages to encourage better players to make the effort to travel to Hastings to play for what should be a Premier league club.
We aren't the only team to have ever cut a budget and we won't be the last. What disturbs me is this...at the start of the season, people are encouraged by talk of 'marquee signings' and 'push for promotion' and buy season tickets or pay money on the gate. Then word gets out that 3/4 months into the season, budgets are cut, players money is reduced, players leave and are at risk of being picked off by other teams who are prepared to do whatever it takes to survive. And what comment has come from the club...it seems to me to be nothing but a stony silence unless you were fortunate enough to be able to attend and take anything away from the much-heralded director's forum. No explanation, no background, nothing to say, no rumours put to bed. That is disrespectful to loyal fans. It also encourages criticism and speculation. Once again, this club does not appear to cover itself in glory, or give the impression that it has the slightest clue what will happen next. Luckily for the club, 300-odd loyal souls will part with their hard-earned cash on Saturday hoping for better. Let's face it, better for these people is richly deserved.
Overthehill: I have great respect for your views as a supporter of much longer duration than me and plainly you have the best interest of the club very much in your heart. I appreciate too that you are unable to attend Pilot Field regularly and that you were unable to be present at the recent Chairman's forum. We are all very unhappy with the position in which we find ourselves and are searching for answers to how we have managed to get into this awful situation when optimism at the start of this season (and at the start of the last one, and the one before that) was so high.
That said, the Chairman to my mind was brave in putting himself forward as he did - it was a genuine opportunity for supporters to ask all the questions you and others would like answered. What was disappointing to me was that the discussion did not get very far. But, as I commented in an earlier thread, that was not the fault to my mind of the Chairman (and certainly not of Steve who acted admirably as chair); unfortunately the discussion became pre-occupied with the startling revelations of the inadequacies of first team training. There were some questions that sought to go further, all of which the Chairman sought to answer with courtesy and frankness. I regret that I didn't pursue my question about the club's ambition further (the Chairman said he thought the best we could aspire to with the present facilities was Conference South) ; but, as said, the blame for that rests with me.
I believe you said in an earlier thread that you intended writing to the Chairman with your concerns. Have you any update on that? I would emphasise that I personally have no connection with the administration of the club. But I do have respect for the very difficult task that the directors and those others directly engaged with the club - paid and unpaid - undertake.
The important thing for me is that we should all try to work to support the club. I know there are those who will accept nothing less than 'regime change' as a prerequisite for success. I think that view is wrong and foolish, because apart from anything else the club is not a democracy - it will remain under the control of the Chairman until he decides otherwise. But, I hope that those of us who want to work with the grain - whatever differences we might have - will prevail and that the club will for its part recognise that that some of the depth of unhappiness that long term supporters feel can in part be alleviated by a regular flow of information and a repeat of events such as the Chairman's forum.
I always enjoy reading your posts, GeoffM. I'd rather have a sensible debate with different views expressed than a petty, name-calling waste of time. I have drafted a letter to the club and will probably send it next week. I will not publish any contents of the reply unless the club says it is happy for me to do so. I have a stack of questions which the club probably has no duty to answer but I can only ask the questions that I feel are relevant. I think this is only fair and equitable.
