NEWS
30 July 2006
I dunno about anyone else, but this has to be one of the most underwhelming pre-season campaigns going. So much so that I can't be arsed to write even a brief report on Grays yesterday. But in a nutshell : we lost, they were better than us and the ref/4th officials were cunts for not allowing a rotating substitution. What did they think it was, the FA Cup final?
For some reason, things feel flat. Whether it's DA on holiday (which gives a slightly less than proper feel to proceedings, if that makes sense), whether it's the lack of glamour ties - and I include FCUM in that - or whether it's just the fact that we've only won once, it's hard to pinpoint down.
It could be of course that we need a break from football and we haven't really had it. The World Cup was in our faces all summer, and might have managed to put a lot of people off football. After all, what's your most abiding memory of that tournament? Bet "cheating" comes top of most peoples' list. Oh yeah, and those WAGs types, which does at least prove that it is possible to have a life after prostitution.
Are people bored by football? Or indeed AFCW? I don't think people will get bored of going and meeting their mates, having a laugh or two etc. But there's a feeling that it doesn't really matter right now. Mind you, when Carshalton comes around...
This all said, the cost doesn't help. You can dress it up under guises of "we need to fund this place", but £7 for terracing is a bit of a pisstake. That's not much cheaper than a standard RP game, and for something far less competitive. Would it really hurt AFCW to make it £4 or £5? Are we in such a perilous financial state that we simply have to charge £2/3 extra per person than what the game is worth?
It may be impossible to prove, but I wonder how many people decided to save their money yesterday? Quite a few I bet. That's potential merchandise sales gone there. OK, it's a couple of quid, although as we all know this "couple of quid" can build up a bit. I'll leave you to do calculations as to taking a family of four to a game, offset against your hourly wage and household budget, and how a "couple of quid" can end up being more than that..
Also, and this is one of these psychological things that is hard to explain but very true, paying £5 just feels a lot better than £7. Despite the £2 difference, it seems far less of a rip-off for an unimportant game. And as the golden rule of consumerism proves, if you feel you're getting a good deal, you'll spend more on other things. Goodwill is something that football clubs generally don't seem to grasp, and I do include AFCW in that. I hope notes are being taken for next summer. Not holding my breath though.
Finally, and this is in relation to the Grays game, what the fuck was that "Form Follows Function" banner about yesterday? It reminded me of those subliminal Commie party slogans you got in pre-glasnost Eastern Europe. Perhaps this is a new line of AFCW marketing? Coming soon on the Tempest End: "Womble Youth and the CFS say yes". "Brothers for the Back Bar". "Toil for the Club in the new home shirt". "The Ground Fund is your heartbeat". Although I'm sure that last one is actual AFCW policy...
18 July 2006
Bloody hell, it's the hottest day of the year and I'm writing about football? Oh well...
Since my last update, a lot has happened. You know by now the comings/goings etc, you've probably digested the fact that we made a big profit last season and that we might dip our fingers into Morden Park. And as SW19 Towers is a couple of Dave Beasant goal kicks away from said site, more on that as and when we know more.....
But it's events within the last 24-48 hours that have made me get off my arse and update. Firstly, and mercifully briefly, I went to RPV last night, and I can't really say I was overly awestruck. I know that people were gushing over beating Leyton Orient, and it was practically a reserve side, but I did expect a bit more. Then again, if it was predominately reserves, is it any wonder that they're not breaking through to the first team....?
Second, and probably more importantly, this is heating up the already baking internet wires. Basically, some businessman wanted to do some commercial stuff with us, thought that he could take us over and was basically told to foxtrot oscar.
Now, the response to this has been pretty predictable, and apart from "the board should have let us decide" type comments, it's been pretty unaminous in its condemnation.
TBH, I'm not in the least bit surprised that somebody's made even the most speculative of speculative approaches. We are pretty high profile, after all. OK, the guy came in as a commerical venture (no bad thing IMO) and later stated that he wanted a club to buy - as opposed to the club to buy - so he clearly wasn't in it for the good of AFCW.
But consider this : what if it's "one of us" who comes in at some point? What if one of us won the lottery, or robbed a bank and wanted to invest? And - this is the crux of the matter - what if you didn't like some aspects of how the club is run and wanted to change them? And found that despite your dough, you couldn't? Or, Satan forbid, you didn't get on with Kris/Ivor/Erik etc? You have to be seriously naive to think that everything will be happy families, especially when money becomes involved.
Now, you may think that none of this matters. Or if it does, you're glad that nobody can have that amount of power. OK, the DT has all the power in the world, and certainly has the authority (whether it has influence is another matter, and has the potential for a looooong debate).
And right now, it doesn't matter. We've got money in the bank, we're doing schemes that help raise money for the playing staff (1889 Club, anyone?), all is grand, right? Yeah, suppose it is. But this is RP. We're a club that wants Conference football at a minimum, that's what we're gearing towards.
Now, should we get into the Conference, some very hard decisions will need to be made. The wage bill in the Conference is staggering (off the top of my head, it's about £300k bare minimum), and puts our financial aim from the 1889 Club into brutal perspective (about £40k isn't it? Haven't got the programme to hand). That money will need to come from somewhere...
And let's face it : right now, we can rebuff these approaches pretty easily, together with a few Fans Club™ catchphrases thrown in for good measure. But imagine us working hard to get into the Conference. Then finding in the Conference that it's pretty tricky. We'll be languishing down the bottom, fearful of relegation and struggling to keep our semi-pro ideals going. Then suddenly, a local businessman comes in and offers a six-figure cash injection......
Personally, I think a compromising of ideals is inevitable, especially considering this not-entirely-unlikely scenario above. OK, we've got to get to the Conference in the first place, but if anything that could speed up the change in ethos. You'd be surprised just how pragmatic people suddenly become when a financial issue hits them square on the mush. The idealism is going out of AFCW slowly but surely, as the softening of attitudes towards playing MK is showing.
Am I saying that a Pete Wankelmann type figure should be taken under our wing? Not at all, and I seriously doubt his type would last too long at AFCW anyway. But if somebody far more sympathetic comes along...
One final thing on this : I note that the approach was done on a majority decision, which meant that at least one person wasn't against the proposal. So, shall we cue a witch hunt, hound out the person(s) in question, kidnap their wife and kids, sell their dog to a Korean restaurant and force them to wear a Franchise shirt for ever more? Or shall we consider that maybe, just maybe, they've pre-empted a bit of what I've written above?
Anyway, I'm not at FCUM on Saturday. Anyone who wants to write it up, please let me know. Just remember to clear your hangover first.