Expectation & Sustainability

[VanessaYeltz]

We’ve been stuck in the doldrums for quite some time and have finally got back to a level which imo is natural for the club to be at, however, I think the supporters, especially those relatively new ones who have only seen us battling for promotion, take a step back and manage our own expectations for the coming season.

It may sound pessimistic, but I’d consider staying up the minimum and a solid mid table finish a really good achievements as we continue on the long road back from near extinction.

Before we think about another promotion I think it’s important we stabilise and re establish ourselves in this step, organic growth is important - not too fast. Especially considering the cost implications of going up again.

I honestly believe that given time we could compete another level higher, especially if we keep the crowds coming in and average north of 1000, but it’s got to be managed and sustainable. The last thing I want to see is a burst of growth only to find we can’t fund the level we find ourselves - it’s killed many a good club and every year there’s one who simply give up and more or less deliberately get relegated so they can go down to a step they can fund.

The owners have done brilliantly adding little investments often to continually improve and develop the club, I’m all for this approach and as responsible fans we need to bring ourselves down from the high and set new, managed targets for where we want to be.

I’ve every faith the ownership have a long term plan and I’m fully on board with it, however long it takes.

[drummyb]

Spot on. Id happily accept mid table next year and build on it yearly however long that takes. Id rather we establish ourselves than go all guns blazing. Off course it would be great to finish top 5, but im not expecting that.

Non league can be very fragile. Easy to go from boom to bust.

[VanessaYeltz]

Spot on. Id happily accept mid table next year and build on it yearly however long that takes. Id rather we establish ourselves than go all guns blazing. Off course it would be great to finish top 5, but im not expecting that.

Non league can be very fragile. Easy to go from boom to bust.

It’ll also mean parting with players who’ve served us well as age catches up with them, it’s important they get the respect they deserve but also that we don’t become too attached - no room for passengers and nobody is bigger than the club.

Some tough decisions to make.

[MichaelGrove]

100% staying in tier 3 should be the aim for this season and not trying to stretch to far too quickly. The fact that there are some fairly local derby’s to looks forward too should keep the attendances buoyant (thinking Stourbr*dge, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Alvechurch, Telford etc)

If the attendances remain consistent we should if financially managed well be able to be competitive.

I know most of the clubs even at step 3 would love the budget our support gives the club. For example Alvechurch made around £60k for their fa cup run last year whereas we probably made that in the last 3 games alone.

[Yeltzbaby]

Top 6 for me, not an expectation but that is what I think we are capable of doing. We are in it to win it, nothing to fear and we are starting to build a squad capable of that finish, with some more very decent signings to come sssshhhhhh

I have seen quite a bit of football at step 3 over the last few years and we have nothing to be overly fearful of. Trust me LOL

[VanessaYeltz]

100% staying in tier 3 should be the aim for this season and not trying to stretch to far too quickly. The fact that there are some fairly local derby’s to looks forward too should keep the attendances buoyant (thinking Stourbr*dge, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Alvechurch, Telford etc)

If the attendances remain consistent we should if financially managed well be able to be competitive.

I know most of the clubs even at step 3 would love the budget our support gives the club. For example Alvechurch made around £60k for their fa cup run last year whereas we probably made that in the last 3 games alone.

An appearance in the first round proper is my personal aim over the next couple of seasons. That would be more memorable and historic than promotion.

I’d love a televised Friday night home tie against a league 2 side, what an occasion it would be.

With bar sales included I wouldn’t be surprised if the last thre games bought in nearly £100k.

[VanessaYeltz]

Top 6 for me, not an expectation but that is what I think we are capable of doing. We are in it to win it, nothing to fear and we are starting to build a squad capable of that finish, with some more very decent signings to come sssshhhhhh

I have seen quite a bit of football at step 3 over the last few years and we have nothing to be overly fearful of. Trust me LOL

Oh I’d love that and we are looking like we’ve really done our homework and got things going early to boost the squad.

However, I would still take a solid mid table finish as progress. Anything else is a bonus.

[YeltzDoc]

In my self-appointed role as contrarian (if Typhoo put the T in Britain, I put the c*** in c*ntrarian etc...) I'd have a slightly different take.

It's been a (fortunately) long time since the near-extinction of the Brothers Grimm and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, and even under slightly awkward ownership thereafter, we weren't in any more trouble than other Step 4ish clubs, just not very good.
Crowds will come and go, I suspect our natural level is about 750ish at Step3, or with a following wind, a grand or so at the top end of 3 or even Step 2.

There's some mediocrity at best in the new league, most (all) of our players have played there before and are plenty good enough. The signings of Miracle and Wynter look ambitious, and why not.

I've no worries that K&K would ever risk it and take us down the Colne Dynamos route, or who were that mob from Barnsley named after a plumber's?

So, a decent punt at top half to flirting-with-playoffs should be planned for. No real terrors coming up or down, and no reason why we can't sustain it with c1000 coming down fortnightly.

Some of the newbies will wander off if we go a bit average, but equally they might just stay, the atmos is unbelievable currently and Marine have managed to keep their post-Spurs bump off the back of mid-tableness.

Undoubtedly some of our friends from down the A458 and elsewhere will already be claiming that we have "the biggest budget in the league" - I must keep missing the email where everyone publishes their wage bill - and we probably are better funded than most, but I'm sure that our Chairs manage it conscientiously and would cut back if the wheels fell off.

Let's dream for a little longer.

[VanessaYeltz]

Nothing wrong with any of that, it’s realistic - at times last season we were flat track bullies, sweeping away teams for fun with facilities and crowds that many of our peers couldn’t dream of. No reason not to believe we’ve got the core of a team more than capable with the right recruitment.

Just a bit of caution on my part and a bit of grounding should we hit a sticky patch at our new level.

[MichaelGrove]

Specifically on attendance’s I think a lot will depend on how the fixtures land compared with Wolves, Villa, West Brom etc. The more times those clubs are on tv and not 3pm Saturday games the better IMO.