Which sides do you want to see come up from the Connie?

[Chris FGR]

A fair idea but unfortunately it relies on the EFL showing some common sense. A fairer solution would to expel any club from the National League who decides to play with understrength teams and play on with whatever clubs are left. They can sort the mess out in the summer.

Harsh to expel clubs who are having to do that to stop themselves going bust tbf. NL have totally fucked up by starting a season without the guarantee of grants to complete the season, you'd be mad to take on a loan at this point.

 

[AdamStag]

Harsh to expel clubs who are having to do that to stop themselves going bust tbf. NL have totally fucked up by starting a season without the guarantee of grants to complete the season, you'd be mad to take on a loan at this point.

agree with you, clubs shouldn’t be penalised for trying to not go out of business

 

[Robshep]

agree with you, clubs shouldn’t be penalised for trying to not go out of business

Wycombe and Northampton were rewarded for the complete opposite last season.

 

[jacobncfc]

Harsh to expel clubs who are having to do that to stop themselves going bust tbf. NL have totally fucked up by starting a season without the guarantee of grants to complete the season, you'd be mad to take on a loan at this point.

I agree to be honest, and I actually think teams furloughing some players for financial reasons would be basically fine.

Dover are going to have to be chucked out, though. They’ve been laying the ground for this for months and their chairman was on the National League board that got us into this mess in the first place.

I still don’t expect any others to follow them, and I’m not sure (m)any will go down the weakened teams route either. King’s Lynn’s statement very much seemed like ‘we’ll wait and see what you do with Dover first’.

The other thing that isn’t really mentioned is that clubs have had some money coming in since the start of the season. The majority sold season tickets at regular prices (Notts and Chesterfield being notable exceptions here) before the start of the season. We all then got three months’ worth of money to make up for lost gate receipts, which I don’t think took into account that clubs had actually kind of sold tickets even though people weren’t allowed in. For a number of clubs, that grant was then way beyond what they would’ve taken on the gate had fans been allowed in. Then clubs are bringing in some revenue still by streaming the games.

 

[E10rifle]

Speaking as a supporter of the last legitimate winners of the National League, I have to say that I’m fully against promotion based on PPG or some such nonsense unless the team in question is a proper ex-League club. Otherwise we’ll be left in the same mess as this season, what with Barrow being so unbelievably canine faeces that Southend might not get relegated. Truly unacceptable,

 

[Gibber_McGee]

''and I definitely don't want Wrexham back yet now that they're going to be bankrolled like anything (and that's not because I hate the bankrolled teams, but because I hate the hypocrisy people express in being happy that Wrexham are bankrolled but raging that the upstarts like Solihull Moors have the audacity to have a bit of money to give it a go)''

This ^

Well said Atavistic. Bravo.

Further more, people seem to disregard the fact that clubs such as Wrexham are well supported. It has always been my opinion that a club that can get 4000-5000 for home matches (pre covid times of course) should win promotion to the FL without resorting to outside help. If they're unable to then in my book that would only mean they're not a well run club.

The Wrexham fans are taking exception to them being called the New Salford. Personally I think they're even worse. The two Hollywood celebs do not have any links at all with the club and they have also admitted they were looking at a few other clubs (apparently one of those clubs was Hartlepool) before the takeover.

The fact they had never showed the slightest bit of interest in the club before buying it is the very definition of a hobby club IMO.

Strange post. Wrexham are a very, very well run club. We came from a position of having all of our assets stripped from us, including our ground and our training ground which were worth many millions, significant debts, losing £750k a year, to now where we have no debt at all, a 90+ year lease on our ground, and are run at break even/small profit. And we’ve done it all by ourselves under fan ownership with no help at all. Our fan owned structure meant we couldn’t take on debt and gamble like other sides - that is ultimately what held us back


in that time we’ve finished on 98 points and missed out to Fleetwood by two points, we’ve reached a play off final losing to Newport with a couple of late goals. Bad luck for sure stretched over many years. Yet we’re still pulling in 5,000 fans a week and would in my humble opinion be a welcome addition to the EFL.

I can’t see why anyone would begrudge us a break, but each to their own.

 

[Gladders]

Strange post. Wrexham are a very, very well run club. We came from a position of having all of our assets stripped from us, including our ground and our training ground which were worth many millions, significant debts, losing £750k a year, to now where we have no debt at all, a 90+ year lease on our ground, and are run at break even/small profit. And we’ve done it all by ourselves under fan ownership with no help at all. Our fan owned structure meant we couldn’t take on debt and gamble like other sides - that is ultimately what held us back


in that time we’ve finished on 98 points and missed out to Fleetwood by two points, we’ve reached a play off final losing to Newport with a couple of late goals. Bad luck for sure stretched over many years. Yet we’re still pulling in 5,000 fans a week and would in my humble opinion be a welcome addition to the EFL.

I can’t see why anyone would begrudge us a break, but each to their own.

His point is that people have a go at FGR, Fleetwood etc for being bankrolled but then are happy Wrexham are now bankrolled by people with no connection to the club

 

[Gibber_McGee]

His point is that people have a go at FGR, Fleetwood etc for being bankrolled but then are happy Wrexham are now bankrolled by people with no connection to the club

Still seems a strange point. Not sure who the bloke supports, but most clubs are bankrolled one way or another.

The new Wrexham owners have been pretty open about not throwing money at the first team by the way. The plan is to bring in more sponsorship thanks to their profile, make money from the documentary etc. and then put the money generated back into the infrastructure. So the club will still pay for itself without the need for someone to put in large sums of their own cash.

 

[Gladders]

Haven't they already put in 2m? That's already a large sum for that level.

 

[GTFCfish]

Been in favour of that for a while, well for about four years. Just makes sense.

I’ll let you know in May if I’m in favour.

 

[FGR Stroud]

FGR won Wembley 2017 play-off final.
Scott Lindsey was FGR assistant manager at the time and talks about planning for the game and tactics.
I doubt there has been a better public analysis of any game by a coach.

Scott had to leave club suddenly a year later when his wife fell ill and his was the biggest loss that season.

 

[Vanni]

Strange post. Wrexham are a very, very well run club. We came from a position of having all of our assets stripped from us, including our ground and our training ground which were worth many millions, significant debts, losing £750k a year, to now where we have no debt at all, a 90+ year lease on our ground, and are run at break even/small profit. And we’ve done it all by ourselves under fan ownership with no help at all. Our fan owned structure meant we couldn’t take on debt and gamble like other sides - that is ultimately what held us back


in that time we’ve finished on 98 points and missed out to Fleetwood by two points, we’ve reached a play off final losing to Newport with a couple of late goals. Bad luck for sure stretched over many years. Yet we’re still pulling in 5,000 fans a week and would in my humble opinion be a welcome addition to the EFL.

I can’t see why anyone would begrudge us a break, but each to their own.

Sorry for the late reply Gibber, but I've only just realised that I hadn't responded to your post.

I'm a Cambridge fan so I do know a thing or two about spending an eternity down there; it was 9 years in our case. As Gladders has already correctly pointed out, the problem I have is with all the hypocrisy of your average footy fan. It could be however that my interpretation of a hobby club is different to yours. Some say FGR et al do fall into this category but personally I don't have a problem when some well-to-do fan puts money into the club they've been following for years, and it doesn't matter to me if the club is a well supported one or a pub side. But it's an entirely different scenario when people with no ties at all to some club suddenly decide they want to buy it. It's like me winning the lottery and, instead of investing money into the U's or some local NL side, I decide to buy say Carlisle or Barrow.

I'm not begrudging you anything because I don't have anything against your club, and why should I; we're not rivals or anything. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter to me if it's Notts or Torquay, Pools or Wrexham coming up from the Connie. I do draw the line at Bwood and Fylde though

 

[GTFCfish]

The new Wrexham owners have been pretty open about not throwing money at the first team by the way.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Torquay and Notts purely for drinking reasons.

 

[Trapdoor]

Torquay for the booze (and locality) and Chesterfield for the bitter petty squabbling amongst they myriad of midlands teams on TFF.

 

[chipmunx]

I'm a Cambridge fan so I do know a thing or two about spending an eternity down there; it was 9 years in our case.

9 years.... try 48 years only to get back during a pandemic so most fans never get to see the team play a game...
as a season ticket holder i'm one of the lucky few that actually got to see 3 games.

 

[Bottega Don]

9 years.... try 48 years only to get back during a pandemic so most fans never get to see the team play a game...
as a season ticket holder i'm one of the lucky few that actually got to see 3 games.

I don't think you can count it as being stuck down there if you're pretty much always a non league side.

It's like saying I cant believe we're stuck in L2.

 

[chipmunx]

I don't think you can count it as being stuck down there if you're pretty much always a non league side.

It's like saying I cant believe we're stuck in L2.

1921-72 we were a Football League club though....

 

[Railway Blue]

Like to see Wrexham back in the League as it is a top away day Stockport wouldn`t be too bad either . We could give them their goalposts back from our last visit. However seeing Notlob (the backwards Mancs) in the Conference would be better or maybe Forest Gump back there were they truly belong.

Forest Gump WILL probably exit L2 this season.

 

[Railway Blue]

In the article above Matt Gray says we’re three quarter full-time. We do train during the day, but ‘only’ 3 days a week, which we’ve been doing since we were in the Conference South. In terms of playing staff the squad is a mix of young talent signed from feeder league clubs (Ajiboye, Wyatt), players who’ve been at this level a while (Bugiel, Randall), returning players who’ve not had the success at higher level one would have hoped for (Beautyman, John), loan players (Olafe) and random signings who are just happen to be in the area (Bouzanis whose partner is at Arsenal Women, Barden who was playing in the US before coming home to the London area).

We also never stay anywhere overnight if we can help it, for cost reasons we travel to away games on the day of a match.

We had a few overnight's when we were at Step One, but don't remember anything other than defeats in those occasions.

 

[Carver]

Shoddycollins why do you want to see Torquay, a Southern coast club come up?

Have you forgotten what a horrible trip it is all the way down there and how awful we did the last time we played down there?

 

[Grumpy Grecian]

Shoddycollins why do you want to see Torquay, a Southern coast club come up?

Have you forgotten what a horrible trip it is all the way down there and how awful we did the last time we played down there?

Easy drive. Virtually motorway all the way! It's those long east-west cross country trips that are the worse. (Exeter to Cambridge for example)

 

[Stringy]

I think of a lot of these teams still as league sides. I forget Barnet, Aldershot, Dagenham etc. have been relegated. Out of everyone in that division Wrexham and Stockport are my picks for returning, based on how long they have been gone. I would like County and Chesterfield back but not yet.

 

[Back in the DHSS]

York and Chester back please, although the former just won’t be the same without Bootham Crescent!

 

[Carver]

Easy drive. Virtually motorway all the way! It's those long east-west cross country trips that are the worse. (Exeter to Cambridge for example)

They knocked us out of the FA Cup 3rd round down there about 10 years ago at a time when we were high up in L1 and they were at the bottom of L2.

We had hoped to get drawn against a big Premier league club but no we got them away and in the draw we were the last 2 clubs to be drawn out.

Also we had a full back on loan from Arsenal called Tom Cruise and he was atrocious!

 

[Boz]

York and Chester back please, although the former just won’t be the same without Bootham Crescent!

I'd have Southport back too

 

[chipmunx]

I'd have Southport back too

York, Chester and Southport need to get out of National League North 1st

 

[shoddycollins]

Shoddycollins why do you want to see Torquay, a Southern coast club come up?

Have you forgotten what a horrible trip it is all the way down there and how awful we did the last time we played down there?

If I get the chance it's a place I'd like to go to.

I don't think a FA cup tie from ten years ago was really playing on my mind when thinking of who I'd like to see come up.

 

[Carver]

If I get the chance it's a place I'd like to go to.

I don't think a FA cup tie from ten years ago was really playing on my mind when thinking of who I'd like to see come up.

It was possibly one of our worst ever defeats.

 

[Railway Blue]

Easy drive. Virtually motorway all the way! It's those long east-west cross country trips that are the worse. (Exeter to Cambridge for example)

That would be a 400 mile drive with 399 of it on motorways