Post by Jon on Apr 6, 2024 13:01:44 GMT
Unusually, Torquay United was not at the centre of my thoughts over the Easter weekend!
I was up North for a family wedding.
I had two WhatsApps from Chelston just before I switched my phone off on Easter Monday. One was good news - that we were 2-0. The other was the unwanted news that Jonah Crook had been allowed into the stadium - which meant we had no chance of holding on to that lead. When I switched my phone back on lunch time Tuesday, I had 126 TUST WhatsApps to catch up on.
Not surprised that we let in three with the way we fail to defend. More surprised that we scored three!
I did get the rare opportunity to take in some live football as a neutral on Easter Saturday. Macclesfield v FC United of Manchester in the Northern Premier League - the level that we risk being relegated to. I really enjoyed the experience.
Technically, of course, Macclesfield FC is a totally different club to the Macclesfield Town club who we used to play in the Football League. I did not labour that point with any of the 4,298 crowd who seemed to love roaring their support to the Silkmen - same nickname and same club colours in the same Moss Rose Ground. I expect that there were half a dozen grumpy old gits sat at home moaning about the fact that over 4000 people were too stupid to realise that it is not the same club.
All players on both sides were part-timers. Macc's sub striker (yes they had a striker on the bench!) has apparently just won some TV game show called Love Island!
It was a thoroughly enjoyable game. FCUM were limited, but organised, disciplined and hard to break down. A hell of a lot harder to break down than the full-timers of Torquay United!
I was extremely impressed by Macc. They sit second in the NPL, so playoffs away from National League North, and they are in the semis of the FA Trophy.
Their performance was a thousand times more "professional" than I have seen from Torquay this season or last. They had a good shape, they built patiently but went for the jugular when the occasion presented and ran out well-deserved 3-1 winners.
Apart from the size of the crowd, another noticeable feature was how Macc milk every penny out of the opportunity for food and drink sales. I am not usually a fan of drinking during the game, but I joined the massive queue for a pint getting served just before kickoff. Huge amount of beer sales and the quality pies, pizzas and burgers were selling like hotcakes.
When you look at how far ahead of us Macc are on the commercial side and on fan engagement, it is worth noting that they are still part-time.
Is that erring on the side of prudence? Possibly, but watching your club disappear once through over-stretching might explain the sensibly cautious approach. I am sure they will review player budgets and employment status as they move up through the leagues.
I would have to say that, regardless of hours contracted for, they were light years ahead of the rubbish we have turned out this year. Having watched dreadful teams put three or four past us I dread to think how many Macc would put past us!
So how can they do that while part-time? I think a lot of us are stuck in the old world where the divide between full-time pros and part-timers/amateurs was massive. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker working full-time and turning up for training once a week and on a matchday for pin money.
On that old way of thinking, full-time ensures that we have Football League standard players whilst part-time ensures we have Western League standard players. A stark divide.
It really is not like that now. There is a huge overlap. The best part-time players are far better than the worst full-time players. A decent manager can drill a part-time team into shape without needing full-time training. A poor manager could train 24/7 and still produce a rudderless rabble.
Given the mess that the club is in, some people have to wake up and smell the coffee.
We have wasted a huge wage bill advantage this season and I am sure any new owner will have no alternative but to cut the player wage bill. That can be done whilst very much still remaining a very big fish by National League South standards.
The question is : how do you get best value for money?
I would like to see the appointment of a manager with experience of being at the top end of National League South and for him to be given a reasonable budget and asked how best he thinks that should be spent in order to deliver promotion. I don't think it is sensible to insist that players MUST be entirely full-time or part-time. It is all about getting value for money.
The knee-jerk "must be full-time" reaction is an emotional one not a logical one.
Of course, you can run a full-time team on a very low budget. In the season in which the old Hereford United went bust, they remained "full-time" despite being relegated for financial irregularities to Southern League Division 1. It was all eighteen and nineteen year olds sleeping on the floor of the Edgar Street bar! Unsurprisingly, they struggled and would have been better signing players fit-for -purpose for the league they were in.
The new Hereford club, with a similar fan base to us, employs good quality part-timers in National League North. Chester do too. I have already mentioned Macclesfield.
I know some see geography as an insurmountable problem. Not sure I do. We should be able to hoover up the best part-timers in the South West - attracted by our stadium and fanbase. Players from other parts of the country have always been difficult to attract when full-time, but no less likely to head this way if they are lined up some top-up income to subsidise their wages.
It is not the case that most top part-timers hold down six-figure jobs in London and would be lucky to earn half of that in equivalent jobs in Devon. Most see football as their main source of income, and do something like football coaching, fitness training or any other job that pays a few quid and fits in around football commitments. In fact anyone who juggles a trade with part-time football would have ample earning opportunities down here - as anyone who has tried to find a decent plumber, electrician or builder not booked up for months ahead will tell you. There is a lot of poverty in Torbay, but also a lot of fairly well-off older residents, so demand for gardeners and painters and decorators outstrips supply.
We face a huge challenge in rebuilding this club from solid foundations up. With a lot of hard work and a positive attitude it can be done.
I was up North for a family wedding.
I had two WhatsApps from Chelston just before I switched my phone off on Easter Monday. One was good news - that we were 2-0. The other was the unwanted news that Jonah Crook had been allowed into the stadium - which meant we had no chance of holding on to that lead. When I switched my phone back on lunch time Tuesday, I had 126 TUST WhatsApps to catch up on.
Not surprised that we let in three with the way we fail to defend. More surprised that we scored three!
I did get the rare opportunity to take in some live football as a neutral on Easter Saturday. Macclesfield v FC United of Manchester in the Northern Premier League - the level that we risk being relegated to. I really enjoyed the experience.
Technically, of course, Macclesfield FC is a totally different club to the Macclesfield Town club who we used to play in the Football League. I did not labour that point with any of the 4,298 crowd who seemed to love roaring their support to the Silkmen - same nickname and same club colours in the same Moss Rose Ground. I expect that there were half a dozen grumpy old gits sat at home moaning about the fact that over 4000 people were too stupid to realise that it is not the same club.
All players on both sides were part-timers. Macc's sub striker (yes they had a striker on the bench!) has apparently just won some TV game show called Love Island!
It was a thoroughly enjoyable game. FCUM were limited, but organised, disciplined and hard to break down. A hell of a lot harder to break down than the full-timers of Torquay United!
I was extremely impressed by Macc. They sit second in the NPL, so playoffs away from National League North, and they are in the semis of the FA Trophy.
Their performance was a thousand times more "professional" than I have seen from Torquay this season or last. They had a good shape, they built patiently but went for the jugular when the occasion presented and ran out well-deserved 3-1 winners.
Apart from the size of the crowd, another noticeable feature was how Macc milk every penny out of the opportunity for food and drink sales. I am not usually a fan of drinking during the game, but I joined the massive queue for a pint getting served just before kickoff. Huge amount of beer sales and the quality pies, pizzas and burgers were selling like hotcakes.
When you look at how far ahead of us Macc are on the commercial side and on fan engagement, it is worth noting that they are still part-time.
Is that erring on the side of prudence? Possibly, but watching your club disappear once through over-stretching might explain the sensibly cautious approach. I am sure they will review player budgets and employment status as they move up through the leagues.
I would have to say that, regardless of hours contracted for, they were light years ahead of the rubbish we have turned out this year. Having watched dreadful teams put three or four past us I dread to think how many Macc would put past us!
So how can they do that while part-time? I think a lot of us are stuck in the old world where the divide between full-time pros and part-timers/amateurs was massive. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker working full-time and turning up for training once a week and on a matchday for pin money.
On that old way of thinking, full-time ensures that we have Football League standard players whilst part-time ensures we have Western League standard players. A stark divide.
It really is not like that now. There is a huge overlap. The best part-time players are far better than the worst full-time players. A decent manager can drill a part-time team into shape without needing full-time training. A poor manager could train 24/7 and still produce a rudderless rabble.
Given the mess that the club is in, some people have to wake up and smell the coffee.
We have wasted a huge wage bill advantage this season and I am sure any new owner will have no alternative but to cut the player wage bill. That can be done whilst very much still remaining a very big fish by National League South standards.
The question is : how do you get best value for money?
I would like to see the appointment of a manager with experience of being at the top end of National League South and for him to be given a reasonable budget and asked how best he thinks that should be spent in order to deliver promotion. I don't think it is sensible to insist that players MUST be entirely full-time or part-time. It is all about getting value for money.
The knee-jerk "must be full-time" reaction is an emotional one not a logical one.
Of course, you can run a full-time team on a very low budget. In the season in which the old Hereford United went bust, they remained "full-time" despite being relegated for financial irregularities to Southern League Division 1. It was all eighteen and nineteen year olds sleeping on the floor of the Edgar Street bar! Unsurprisingly, they struggled and would have been better signing players fit-for -purpose for the league they were in.
The new Hereford club, with a similar fan base to us, employs good quality part-timers in National League North. Chester do too. I have already mentioned Macclesfield.
I know some see geography as an insurmountable problem. Not sure I do. We should be able to hoover up the best part-timers in the South West - attracted by our stadium and fanbase. Players from other parts of the country have always been difficult to attract when full-time, but no less likely to head this way if they are lined up some top-up income to subsidise their wages.
It is not the case that most top part-timers hold down six-figure jobs in London and would be lucky to earn half of that in equivalent jobs in Devon. Most see football as their main source of income, and do something like football coaching, fitness training or any other job that pays a few quid and fits in around football commitments. In fact anyone who juggles a trade with part-time football would have ample earning opportunities down here - as anyone who has tried to find a decent plumber, electrician or builder not booked up for months ahead will tell you. There is a lot of poverty in Torbay, but also a lot of fairly well-off older residents, so demand for gardeners and painters and decorators outstrips supply.
We face a huge challenge in rebuilding this club from solid foundations up. With a lot of hard work and a positive attitude it can be done.
