WHERE TO FROM HERE?

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I write the day before going to Oxford – a trip which is undertaken more in hope than expectation given the truly sorry state of affairs that we now find ourselves in. Frankly it’s a good job that we picked up those points early on because without them we’d have been joining Plymouth’s fall from promotion contenders of 12 months ago to relegation candidates now. Picking up on the Editorial in the last issue I wouldn’t wholly disagree with Dave Espley that a season of consolidation wasn’t too bad a thing.  However I believe that the last few weeks haven’t seen a consolidation but rather a rapid decline. I would suggest the team now is indisputably the worst that has turned out since Hartford’s era and what is more disappointing given the weight which is placed on five year plans and so on Is the seeming lack of any corrective action being taken to rectify this situation. When it comes down to it the standing of the club is measured solely by its performance on the field – all other activities are secondary, albeit vital and supportive.

There seems to be a concerted campaign in the various media outlets to explain away the disappointments on the field by reference to progress in other areas. Taking the programme for the York match as an example it contained a number of articles which were apologist in tone.  Bergara’s comments bemoaned his lack of success in the transfer market where he reported he was being asked scandalous fees for ordinary players.  Just a pity then that we were able to knock out our star attraction at a ludicrously low price – witness Barry Fry’s comments in the Sun, (27/2/95), that “I got him, (ie Francis), for peanuts”. Elwood was reported in the MEN  saying that there is money available. How much money, and when, is open to conjecture,  but giving Bergara his due and looking at his relative success in the transfer market over the years, the answers are probably not much and preferably not now, if he’s unable to make a positive signing. After all we’ve got the new stand to finance!

The pages of TTP over recent months have centred around three main issues –  the new stand; the Francis move; and Friday football. Each of these seen a club statement of sorts over the last week. The new stand is loudly proclaimed in issue 10 of  IO County with Mike Baker giving a blow by blow description of the construction programme and the benefits that will accrue when it opens. Sadly we’re still none the wiser about the pricing policy next season.  Maybe Dave Jolley was wise to keep his powder dry at the GMR Fans Forum last October when he suggested it was impossible to determine the prices until we knew which division we would be in in 1995/96.  although I suspect that he thought it would be between Divisions 1 and 2 rather than 2 and 3!

in the context of the debate about new stands and so on there was an interesting exchange I heard the other day.

There’s no point in having a new stadium if there’s no players on the pitch.

But that’s a manager’s point of view.

It’s the point of view of anyone with common sense.

Not as you might think a conversation at EP but on the Granada Match Live with Macari, (and it’s galling to admit that he can come out with anything sensible),  Honest Lou putting Rob Palmer in his place. We know it, but the board don’t seem to want to face it.

Bellis’s column in the York programme contain two more examples of the party line. Firstly the assertion that in times of hardship on the field it was imperative that the commercial activities continue apace. It’s hard to disagree with that as long as the profits from those activities are ploughed back into the team –  if not then it may become a self fulfilling mockery. Putting it into context it’s worth recounting that in the world of Rugby League the only truly self sufficient and profitable club isn’t it Wigan or Leeds but Highfield, an outfit that’s won once in two seasons and regularly goes down by 60+ points. There are laughing stock yet measured against the sort of parameters that the County board seem to set are eminently successful. Surely they must realise soon that this administrative bureaucracy that has been put in place with more Chiefs than Indians should be the means by which they footballing side of the club is supported rather than being an end in itself.

Secondly Bellis’s column put the totally illinformed case as to why Friday football cannot be entertained  – stating that the benefits of the clubs work in the community would be negated since youngsters would not all be allowed to come to night matches. This is a totally unsustainable argument but undoubtedly comes from Dave Jolley’s analysis of our lack of support in the 15 –  30 age bracket (ie that Friday football had meant that a whole generation of children had not got into the County habit and was nothing at all to do with the fact that during the years of Friday matches County were nothing but a joke!).

Elwood’s appearance on Sportsnight on the issue of the legality of transfer fees at the end of players contracts which will shortly come before the European court was a reasonable analysis of the impact of the possibilities of the Court case on smaller clubs. What was unspoken is undoubtedly the impact that this had on the Francis deal. It’s quite easy to see that the fear of getting nothing for the Big Man at the end of the season was the reason for the indecent haste in accepting the first offer that came along. Sadly there was no reference either to the fact that if they had given him a reasonable contract last year then the negotiating position would have been far stronger.  But there again it seems to be that the employment of more and more backroom staff is of far greater importance than the team. Incidentally since the Francis move and with it the shortage of goals average crowds have fallen by anything up to 2,000. At £7.50 a time the club are £15,000 a game down.  Not only would this have more than paid for a decent contract for Francis, there would have been more to play around with in the transfer market.

Running the club on sound business principles is common sense and after the Kirk and Lukic years what has occured has been a fundamental improvement. Elwood and his associates are successful businessmen – but there has to be a question as to the extent of their knowledge of football as a business. Aside from the three publicly quoted clubs, (United, Spurs and Millwall), shareholders don’t invest in football clubs with the aim of making a financial return, it’s done for the purpose of making a contribution towards success on the field. The primary objective of club directors should be to ensure that the business trades legally and this will only come about by an accurate market analysis. As I’ve written previously this is achieved by recognising the competition; maximising assets and knowing who the customers are, the product they want and when they want it.

As Dave Espley has often written, people come to County to watch the team and everything else is ancillary – the club shop; the lottery and all the other commercial ventures. In this context what is required is a team that is successful.  What we have at the moment is far from that with little prospect of things improving and given the declining gates it can’t be long before the commercial operation feels the pinch too. There won’t be much demand for replica shirts and other souvenirs if the current situation continues for much longer. I can only come to the conclusion that there has to be a rethink board level about the relative importance of the playing side of the club.

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48 hours have passed the Oxford debacle has come and gone and those who were there know that we were lucky to get away with four. A truly dismal performance with just one reasonable effort on goal all night. Another month of this and we will truly be in the sticky smelly stuff. Action has to be taken and quickly but rather than a short term solution the planning should be for next season. On the basis that another dozen points should secure safety, and that these are just about attainable, Bergara should be going to the Board demanding to know what his budget is for next year. This should incorporate a salary budget which gives the chance of them employing a squad with a sufficient mix of experience and youth, on basic salaries which are enough to attract the right type of player. In order to achieve this there should be a transfer fund which enables him to direct his attentions to the right area. We know we can’t afford top level fees so how about taking a leaf out of Dario Gradi’s book. Look where Crewe are now – that’s the product of a well thought out youth policy, allied signing of non League players. Now and again I go to Ashton United  – obviously Gradi does too because for £25,000 not he’s just picked up two good players and there’s no doubt at all that they’ll be part of his team next season.

Who was the last non League player we signed?   Without checking I reckon it was Tommy Sword all of 18 years ago. Does the club ever check out any of the recommendations it gets about these type of players. I suspect not. David Eyres is a prime example of someone who was suggested and totally ignored when he was at Rhyl. As a suggestion why not eat some humble pie and pay Eric Webster to look around – there are few finer judges of the capacity required to make the grade.

What we don’t want is a series of pre-deadline day signings tied to 15 month contracts who aren’t going to improve things next season. Whilst I firmly believe that the current malaise is a direct product of the contract disputes that beleaguered the club last summer and autumn It is incumbent on the board to take positive corrective action now and let Bergara plan for next year. Forget about new stands – because if financial planning for that hasn’t been finalised now it’s a disgrace – and concentrate on on field matters. In the hope that the spectre of relegation can be avoided quickly the Board will soon see what the 2,000 hardcore support will recognise, and the 3,000 who have come and gone with the advent and disappearance of success won’t know about, – the meaningless end of season game. What has to be avoided is a whole season next year of being satisfied with more of the same.

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March 1995