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Stevenage looking for investment to turn them into a Championship club

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47371542

Does anyone else think this is a little bit deluded?

Their attendance ranks them 20th in League Two (2,636). Even if promotion to League Two got them an extra 1,000 fans per game they would be 21st in League One. Even 2,000 extra fans per game would put them below our attendance this year.

The 2016 population of Stevenage was 87k. Wycombe on the other hand is 133k and I wouldn't consider us particularly likely to ever sustain Championship football, even with significant investment.

Comments

  • Ambitious to say the least.

    Also interesting was the "we made a decent profit" last season. On attendances that low it would be interesting to know how. Did they have a decent cup run or something?

  • If Luton can say stuff like "if Leicester can do it, why can't we" in terms of winning the Premier league, then Stevenage can certainly aim for the Champs!

  • I thought we were told we were doing okay financially last year @bookertease when it actually turns out we were heading for hell in a handcart faster than a speeding bullet.

  • How big your fanbase is must surely be irrelevant if the investment is big enough.

    If you build it they will come

  • Definitely true – Forest Green’s original fan base was three wood elves and a vegan unicorn…look at them now.

  • Although Wigan got as high as the premier league and still had jack all crowds.

  • Well Burton with a Population of 64,000 made it and continue to thrive despite relegation on low gates.

  • To be fair I would rather the chairman be saying that than we'll just hang on in the league every year...just.

  • I know a pair of Americans who might be interested!

  • Did Andy Harman ever play for them?

  • @Wendoverman said:
    To be fair I would rather the chairman be saying that than we'll just hang on in the league every year...just.

    On the contrary, I'd prefer someone honest enough to come out and say "I will try and make this club sustainable at its natural level for future generations of fans" than the usual "we'll be in the Premier League/Championship / Football League in five years if you follow me". How many clubs have been ruined by the latter?

  • @M3G said:
    Well Burton with a Population of 64,000 made it and continue to thrive despite relegation on low gates.

    They managed 2 seasons in the Championship.

    I'm not saying clubs of our size or smaller will never get there for the odd few seasons here and there, but I can't see Stevenage becoming a sustainable Tier 2 club regardless of investment.

  • Watford's population is only around 125,000 and they are now an established Premier League team.

  • Pretty sure population on Burnley is less than 100,00

  • Of... not on

  • @mindlessdrughoover can you imagine what abuse he would get? No ambition! Get out of our club! Why aren't we pushing for promotion??

  • Looking at population is definitely over-simplistic, and there will always be outliers too.

    I think the difference between Watford/Burnley and Stevenage also comes down to how established they are in communities and families going back decades.

    Investment can start to build that, but we're talking timescales of decades and decades for Stevenage to become the size of Watford.

    When their chairman says Stevenage are 'ready for the next step', I guess I just can't see any compelling reason why they are ready for that step at this very moment.

  • @OxfordBlue has it spot on.
    Burnley have a low population in one way, but the percentage that are working class footy watching type blokes is probably higher than towns with much bigger populations.

  • M3GM3G
    edited February 2019

    Yeovil another example. Even though I detest them.
    @Malone Not really spot on. Watford spent 80 years in the bottom divisions, Burnley 80 years top divisions.
    Bit like us in non League. Stevenage were nothing for years lots of name changes no real support. We were always a big fish in non League, hate to say it but just like Yeovil.

  • Watford's success is basically down to them getting a sugar daddy, namely Elton John, and being lucky in appointing Graham Taylor.

    If Stevenage can get their own sugar daddy and appoint Gareth as manager, who knows where they can go!

  • edited February 2019

    It'd be interesting to see Gareth as a manager with a club with loads of wad to lash around.
    You'd presume that if he can spot a decent player with buttons he'd be even better with money, but some managers get typecast.
    Could he go to a team who traditionally play champagne football and have fancy dan players for example?

  • @Malone said:
    It'd be interesting to see Gareth as a manager with a club with loads of wad to lash around.
    You'd presume that if he can spot a decent player with buttons he'd be even better with money, but some managers get typecast.
    Could he go to a team who traditionally play champagne football and have fancy dan players for example?

    I have often wondered if Gareth would know what to do with a "healthy expenditure" at his disposal. Given his grounding in management, would his habits be set in stone? I still think he would be "grubbing around" the cast-offs trying to unearth that odd golden nugget, possibly not because he needed to, just likes the feeling of success when the odd one comes to the surface!

  • Sometimes having money is the poisoned chalice. At the moment he seems to get players and give them the idea he can improve them, get them noticed. A fancy dan on £50,000 a week might be less motivated.

  • If Ainsworth had been given the reigns of a bigger L2 club with a wedge of cash 5 years ago such as Luton or Pompey he’d be managing a competitive championship team by now.

    No doubt about it for me.

  • I’m pretty sure the population of Burnley is more than 10,000 @HolmerBlue ! ?

  • @ Micra @ HolmerBlue Burnley is around 75,000 and Nelson is around 30,000 Nelson is about 5 miles from Burnley So you are both right. High Wycombe is under 100,000 but the Urban District includes Princes Risborough so we always appear to have a larger population.

  • edited February 2019

    @OxfordBlue sadly he failed to get the best out of Dean Morgan in his last season and rumours are Deano's influence on PCH and Stewart might have been one of the reasons they left. So I fear he might have trouble with a whole mob of highly paid egos if not backed by the owner.

  • Dean Morgan is a prize wanker though.

  • @drcongo indeedy. There's a lot of them about in the game I understand.

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