Andrew Howard and The 5 Year Plan
There were very few people who took Howard's 5 year plan seriously, but look at how much more stable we are now compared to when we lost the play off final.
We may or may not go up this year, but it's been a hell of a ride so far and we are stronger now than any time since Gorman IMHO.
There has been on field success, but the club has also smartened up commercially and is unlikely to get itself in trouble anytime soon.
Thank you Mr Howard, you've done this little club a great service.
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Whilst Howard has done an excellent job in stabilising the club, he has been helped to a huge degree by the Ibe money, a fact that should not be ignored.
Can we refrain from using terms Like this little club. I grew up thinking we were a sleeping giant.
For the longest time we were at the top of the non-league game and could've regarded as a sleeping giant in those terms.
Since we've been a league club, and going on attendances alone for the last 15 years, we are a little club. Nothing wrong with that.
Would rather us be that than do what Oxford, Luton and possibly Swindon do and live off past fleeting glories...
I don't care about that. I hate the term.
I hate the term fat c&@t.
But I still am one.
One good thing about Donald Trump compared to him no one is a c..
Ainsworth called us little again in his 3CR interview...fed up
I know the 'we're a little club' narrative is tiresome, but it's not actually that far from the truth. It was only 30 years ago that we won the Isthmian League for the last time, in the same league as Windsor and Eton and losing at home in the FA Cup to VS Rugby. We should all be proud of what we've achieved in that time, but we shouldn't forget where we've come from.
Can we refrain from using terms Like this little club. I grew up thinking we were a sleeping giant.
@Onlooker Why does it bother you so much?
It's patronising, that is all.
Not necessarily. I've never been offended by other club's fans calling us non league, or some other variation. We have a proud non-league history, our background is nothing to be ashamed of.
Ok fair enough but I think we might attract some more casual support if we portrayed ourselves as at least League 2+ pacesetters
Absolutely ridiculous to suggest we would gain more casual support by portraying us as bigger than we are.
Sorry but the relentless PR saying we are a small club just about surviving in league 2 is hardly going to bring in the masses is it?
Well said @Onlooker I am with you on this.
Nah, we know what we are! I started supporting in the eighties, away to Kidderminster Harriers and the like. We are a small club with dreams. Fifth in the league and still in two cups, as has been said earlier, we've come a long way.
Back to the five year plan which has received so much derision on this forum earlier, it is looking more and more probable and I dare say the most positive since the days of Saint Martin!
I don't even mind being called a yo-yo club as we were that but it now looks as if we are shaping up for a real go at promotion and consolidation in League 1, just like the plan says.
May GA and AH stay with us to see it through and more!
Well said @NorsQuarters
It's fine. But I won't and will never be comfortable with it.
It also hard to argue against being a small club when for a fairly key game against local ish rivals, during a brilliant run of results and with the clubs profile as high as it's been for ages, we can only attract twice as many people at home as our opponents
All depends on how you define the "little " & what you're comparing it with? Is it the crowd figures? Is it the stadium size? Is it financial turnover?
I believe when GA keeps using the term, it usually refers to finances & what we can offer in terms of salary compared to other clubs. In which case, if you believe the general spin, then maybe we are?
I don't think it's really up for debate whether we are a small club in terms of the Football League. We are.
However, I do think there is something to be said for not continually banging on about it in the press. It's a bit like joining a dating site; if you are fat you probably don't describe yourself as fat.
Perhaps we could be a club with a 'bubbly personality' instead.
Poo @bill_stickers maybe that's where I'm going wrong on these dating sites. Should I take the words lard arse out of my self description? :-)
Are you a cockney who farts a lot @EwanHoosaami ?
I would have a bigger issue the term if it was used when we were losing and not winning. However, it is a constant and consistent message.
It's about over mentality - for the players as well as the fans.
We can go the "big ambitions" route when your winning, but when on a losing streak, you look like a tool.
We can go the "proud history of a big non league club" - great. But we haven't been a non league club for nearly quarter of a century. There are adult fans that have never seen us out of the football league. We do have a history of big a big non league club. But that's such a long time ago it sounds silly to brand ourselves as it.
So what can we go with? Small club. Fighting against massive teams that have recently been in the Prem and taking points from them. And more than holding our own. Real David and Goliath stuff. That's the sort of mentality I want from my football team. Happy to recognise what we are and use it to take down the big boys.
And you know what - we can't offer players a massive wage. But what we can offer them is the change to test themselves in difficult circumstances and make a name for themselves.
Phillips, Williamson, Martin, Ibe, Mawson - players that have done just that. And there are more. Pierre, Stewart Kasket could be three more.
And maybe, just maybe that's what's help tip Sam Saunders to us over a club with more money for wages.
You know, it reminds me of a phrase. Hard work will over come skill if skill doesn't work hard enough. Pretty sure a similar phrase is/was plastered all over the dressing room.
If perfectly happy with the mantle of a small club. And you know what, it will be even more true if we manage to go up.
You know what @TheDancingYak you could be on to something there.
@micra How did you know????
I think that may well be POTD for me @TheDancingYak.
Do you know what? I have to agree.
Yep, @TheDancingYak , that's a thread closer. POTD