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How long?

And there are many other examples of new stadiums launching clubs of a similar size to us further up the footballing stratosphere... Reading, Swansea, Wigan, even Doncaster... but it's not just about having a new stadium, the club has to be run properly. Darlington wasn't, and up to now, neither have we been.

Despite our perilous position, I personally don't believe we are in danger of further relegation this season. The reason for this is that we are not hampered by a transfer window and we will just continue to bring in people until the rot stops. There are easily 2 teams worse than us, plus Dover.

I would add Morecambe to that list. It's worth noting that they have the top scorer in League One. Stockton has scored 13 goals already. What a difference a striker makes.

Dover and Kings Lynn are clearly worse than us, but the table suggests no one else is......
 
Not sure what Stan has in the pipeline but a couple of loan signings won't really excite me no matter how good they are.
 
I would add Morecambe to that list. It's worth noting that they have the top scorer in League One. Stockton has scored 13 goals already. What a difference a striker makes.

Dover and Kings Lynn are clearly worse than us, but the table suggests no one else is......
Exactly this. Dover and Kings Lynn look poor but everyone else so far appear to have better teams than us. Sure we should have the finances to bring in players and look to go past the likes of Aldershot and Maidenhead but if we don’t then that 3rd relegation slot looks to be ours.
 
In my personal experience the Zone can be used by people with a particular agenda and diverging from the accepted "group think" can get you mocked, belittled and banned.

If someone were to say the Zone is sometimes used by outside forces for their own ends I would heartily agree. Sometimes it is fairly clear whats really going on and sometimes its not.

I see some supporters from other clubs in a mess think Southend United supporters have simply been mugged off and pacified by a bit more bullsh+t from our chairman ..

Its a point of view that should be aired.


.
 
Your inflammatory language suggests that you're not willing to have a constructive conversation and you're just posting because of whatever axe you have to grind.

This is an utterly pointless thread.
U’ve won first prize ,the opposite view !????
 
Yes I’m starting a divisive thread. As a fan for 48 years (but it doesn’t actually matter if it is 48 minutes) I feel entitled enough to post some opinions that many of those currently fawning over what’s happening off the field and blowing smoke up Stan’s backside/massaging his fragile ego, call it what you will.

I want the current infrastructure to succeed I really do. Kevin Maher is my favourite SUFC player of all time bar none. We have an off the field structure that many of the teams in League One and Two can only dream of. We also have a wage bill that I’m guessing many would be jealous of.

For every person that says give it time I give you Darlington FC. What a fabulous new ground that was and solved all their problems.

For everyone that says we’re too good to go down (not many by now I’m sure) I give you Stockport (who are now back), York and a number of others.

Status means nothing. Points mean everything. It is abundantly clear to everyone that the current squad is not good enough and that’s with two exceptionally good loan players.

So the serious question is how long do we stay patient and wait for the new team to work their magic? The longer we stay in our current position the harder it will be to get out of it whatever squad we end up with. The history of this division backs that up sharply.

You might think I’m a doom monger but I remember seeing a glossy picture of a new stadium on the inside cover of match programmes as far back as 1981. Yes 40 years ago. Admittedly there wasn’t much substance and certainly no planning or funding apart from the threats of moving to Basildon.

Until the first digger moves in to FF quite frankly I’ll believe it when I see it. Untold years of FF poo attests to that fact. Quite frankly our current infrastructure would not be supported in National League South. Chester City anyone.

Am I hitting the panic button? Too ****ing right I am. I’m sick of people being closed down for offering contrary views. This is not China (give that another 50 years or so).

To answer my own question I’m prepared not to post another comment here on signings and structure until a couple of weeks into January by which time we still need to be in touching distance of 4th and 5th from bottom which is very possible even with just one win and a draw.

Points mean prizes, what do we points mean?

(HK might take rather less I feel.Heard last weekend about a former colleague of mine (in the 80's) who's now relocated to Denia from HK).

You're right about SUFC though.We're in a bad way and might even go out of business a là Darlington or even hit the NL South the way we're going.
 
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So there's 2 opposing camps it seems (with most of us in the middle somewhere).

- Those who are cynical about the Collymore revolution, maybe they've seen it all before and want more than words. They want tangible results. Now.
- Those who take Stan at his every word and are dying for a bit of positivity and change. They also might have seen it all before but want to believe this is different. They can see changes not in results as yet but in the way the club is starting to be run.

It'll either be a success or it won't. Not sure how many times the same discussions can be had, but look - whatever the masterplan Ron had before it wasn't working was it. Without Stan, Tom, John Still, Kev, Darren and Benno .. we'd have probably been no better off. Maybe worse off. So on that basis I'm happy to let some knowledgeable football people take the reins and see how they get on. It's never boring supporting this club.
 
(HK might take rather less I feel.Heard last weekend about a former colleague of mine (in the 80's) who's now relocated to Denia from HK).

You're right about SUFC though.We're in a bad way and might even go out of business a là Darlington or even hit the NL South the way we're going.
HK is the 80's? Blues supporters were thin on the ground at that time. Is that what you heard?
 
After the sh*t storm of the way that Ron Martin has run the playing side of our club in to the ground then after so may years of misery I think it is perfectly acceptable to maintain the view of "I'll believe it when I see it" both with regard to the new ground and improvement on the pitch no matter who is saying it.

You cannot continue to serve up the rubbish that we witness on the pitch and expect fans to be convinced by words when it's actions that are needed.

The one common thing is that we all want our club to prosper both on and off the pitch.

The arrival of the Management Team, Stan, Tom and John Still suggest that things will improve if for no other reason than the passion that they have all displayed, but personally I will take 4th from bottom if it was offered to me now and hope to build a half decent and competitive Team on the pitch for next season to match the better Team that we now clearly have off the pitch.
 
I think there are several separate strands to this whole subject that need to be unravelled.
Firstly, the role and the actions of SVC. His previous history as a player, memorable as it is, is irrelevant as was equally the case with Powell. He has had a free rein as a lower end tabloid pundit to express trenchant views, incite controversy and move on next week to something new. Absolutely no track record of coaching, managing or even ambassadorial roles since retiring as a player. Therefore, to many of us, words mean nothing, nor boastful claims of class A contacts. If he can make a difference to justify his employment then fine. Only time will tell and we hope this is not a nine day wonder.
Secondly, the structure of the club. Obviously fundamental changes were needed after two successive relegations and the real prospect of a third. Whatever the structure it's results that count. Re-labelling a manager as coach or devising job titles like Senior Strategist (when there is no junior, the senior tag is of course unnecessary) are just a bit of window dressing to give the impression of change and unless all four of the incumbents are fully united in their objectives and how to achieve them, the potential for tensions between them is clear. The set up which now includes John Still is encouraging as he has vast experience at this level which is priceless, although as someone else pointed out there appears to be already a potential conflict between KM's vision of how he wants the team to play and Still's long ball philosophy, if that is correct. Again, we will have to wait and see.
Thirdly, and most importantly in the short term, results have to improve. Not incremental improvements like a 1-0 defeat is better than losing 3-0 but results. it's very easy to scapegoat Brown, who very clearly had a plan that badly misfired as it turned out. Pre season there was much praise on here for his recruitment of seasoned pros who knew the job they had to do despite clear warning signs in most cases. Yes, he got it badly wrong but there is no magic formula. MM's 'process' likewise was another example. Whether results improve as a result of some new signings or whether the coaches can get more out of the present squad is irrelevant. We have heard plenty of siren songs about there being plenty of time, don't panic, the January window is just around the corner (as though we won't be in competition with other clubs!) etc but the plain fact is we are looking down the barrel because thus far the new structure has not yielded anything other than the expected result against Dover.
As a supporter for 60 years or more I have heard plenty of big talk and seen some rubbish seasons but our present parlous position is deeply depressing and I ferevently hope for an improvement, but seeing is believing.
 
Assuming no one disagrees that we need to seriously improve the squad, then bringing in John Still could prove a master stroke. If SVC is directly or indirectly behind this appointment then full marks to the man.

Seems we may now have a decent team and structure. Unfortunately for Stan he seems to have ended up in the position of the consultant who has done his work with his recommendations accepted in full.
 
Assuming no one disagrees that we need to seriously improve the squad, then bringing in John Still could prove a master stroke. If SVC is directly or indirectly behind this appointment then full marks to the man.

Seems we may now have a decent team and structure. Unfortunately for Stan he seems to have ended up in the position of the consultant who has done his work with his recommendations accepted in full.
Nothing could be further from the truth. He has taken great time to explain where he will be focussing across different areas of the Club. Probably he feels repeating it over and over again (on here for example) is not good use of his time...
 
How long will it take , i really dont care how long as long as its done properly and the results start to show, all i want for this season is for us not to get relegated ,so that the management team can have an off season to properly prepare for next season. an off season to truly make the changes to the squad that are clearly needed. Then next season we will see for ourselves the progress they have made.
 
This seems like a thread I have seen before. People want results and they want them yesterday. We all do of course, but many of us recognise that you can't turn a listing oil tanker that has been letting in water for nearly five years, round in four weeks.

It's a very tough time of year to bring in players. That is not an excuse, it is a fact. Clubs above our level are not thinking of transfers, there will of course be some players they are happy to let out for a bit, but that is a small pool and we are not the only club fishing in it. Grimsby's manager explained how hard the situation is at the moment, with clubs at higher levels wanting to wait until January to assess their options.

Let's not forget the new management team has been in charge for a month, and the new structure was only completed a few days ago. John Still will be getting his feelers out and he may already have recommendations from his Dagenham days, but it's going to take a while realistically. It's complicated by not being able to move players out, and a tricky financial situation. I too had hoped to see one or two more faces in by now but it sounds like it's not as easy as we thought.

In terms of a full turnaround, we are talking years, not weeks here. The gap between the bottom six of the National League and the rest is vast. Our results largely reflect that. We need to do enough to stay up this year, hope for a season free of struggle next year and build up to playoff challengers maybe the next. That is hard to take for us all, but it's life. We're paying penance for our past sins and the way we have run the club for years.

I think we're all worried. The difference is those who trust and those who do not. I have no issue with the people who fall into the latter category, and I guess none of us really know. It could turn out to be a disaster, and relegation to the Conference South would be a disaster, possibly the end.

But it really comes down to this - do we trust non-league expert John Still, former player Stan Collymore, fan Tom Lawrence, club legend Kevin Maher, highly-regarded Darren Currie, and top former player Mark Bentley, to be working sufficiently hard to do the best they can to turn the situation around? Personally, I do. But I recognise that four years of awful, awful mismanagement is going to take a while to turn round.
 
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