Topics

1

The B-Ark / The future

« on: April 26, 2014, 06:41:13 PM »

Another season comes to an end, plenty of highlights it seems, but never did we mount a sustained challenge for promotion, which has to be a major disappointment.

Me thinks there will be more of the same next season, as the club prepares for and gives priority to its relocation.

No real serious title challenge , mid table plus.

2

The B-Ark / A test for a team ....

« on: April 21, 2012, 05:41:57 PM »

 ... is when there is nothing to play mid way through the season.

In some ways this a real test for a team: a test of their commitment; their professionalism; their ability to self motivate - or the management's ability to motivate.

If there is substance to this argument then we have an issue.
Since January we have Won 6, Drawn 4 and Lost 10 a total of 22 points from a possible 60.

So with a reduced budget, same manager and some of the same managers optimism abounds?

Or perhaps what is past is past and we start afresh in August with every opportunity to get promoted.

 

3

The B-Ark / The conundrum of football ..

« on: April 17, 2012, 09:12:01 AM »

And so the great conundrum of football financing faces BUFC.

Attendance down by 25% - due to economic situation & an average team = less budget.
(Though I suspect the economic situation applies less when a team is winning and more when is losing)

Less budget for 2012/13 = less than average team = attendance down further?

This is the conundrum of football, there is no right and wrong in many ways.
Leeds tried the gamble, threw money at it to get into the champions league, and it right royally blew up in their faces.
Spurs throw money at Redknapp and he may recoup some of it with Champions League qualification.

My instinct is that throwing money at the club without a guarantee to recoup it is - without a benefactor - a short ride to oblivion, lots of obvious cases come to mind.

Until the football authorities - at all levels - get a handle on the situation many more clubs will suffer as they take the gamble. Simply financial rules based on income and amount spent on wages etc that are strictly enforced is the only way forward. When will the FA and Premier League take the long view and sort it out.

'Fit and proper test' is easy. Give the chairman a sheepskin coat and cigar, stand him in a used car lot in Southend and ask a hundred punters if they would buy a Ford Focus from that man -  simple!

For BUFC with another decline in budget, much now rests on JL shoulders to find quality players cheaply or to be able to bring out the best in average players and young players - a true sign of a quality manager.

4

The B-Ark / Reality ...

« on: October 08, 2011, 06:32:10 PM »

The reality is ....

BUFC are an average team, couple of decent performances and some very poor ones, unsettled team players still in and out, BUT an average team in a poor league is still mid table with the play offs in sight and an achievable target.

Finances - expensive rent, expensive expenses, owners totally justified in cutting the cloth accordingly. Previous owners got us into this mess and would turn the screw even further if they could.
Poor on the pitch performances undermine the budget and make matters worse, however no club has the right to expect supporters to turn up week in week out to watch a poor show - be it effort wise, results wise or talent wise.

Management, it was a gamble. They know the club but are inexperienced. Advertising for experienced managers then appointing the Lees  wasn't the cleverest move with hindsight, but there we go. Lets hope they learn fast and have the skill set necessary. Too early to sack them, but confidence is key. After Kidsgrove they would have been expecting a bounce back, today's result could be the turning point - either way.

Supporters. No team has the right to expect 100% attendance. Be great if everyone turns up week in week out, but the reality is that is not going to happen. The 'I am a proper supporter your not' threads, hardly help the situation. We are who we are as supporters -  everyone has a right to their say - if it remains civil and not personal.

Big club mentality can be a real burden at any level when the team is struggling. No club has a right to win based on their perceived size and importance, ask Newcastle, West Ham, Leeds, Sheff Weds etc. Expectations are high, in many ways rightly so, ambition can breed success but temper it with a dose of realism every now and again.

So reality is we are where we are because we deserve to be. The grass is not always greener .... but sometimes you have to have a little look over the fence to see - whenever the time feels right  :bunny

5

The B-Ark / Boxing Day and Kings Lynn ...

« on: December 29, 2009, 05:01:29 AM »

Did any supporters from Kings Lynn show up at the match, or did the weather put pay to that idea?