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NLN Watch - Printable Version

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RE: NLN Watch - Si Robin - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 03:23 PM)Delta Papa Wrote:  Si Robin - as a City supporter since 1954 (true - I was 10!), with the exception of one or two seasons back in the Southern League City have hardly ever got the better of C********m (league-wise) at any time. So what's CTs secret? Players, coaches, managers, owners, money etc etc, how do C********m do it? Back in the 50s/60s I don't think there was hardly any difference in GC & CTs attendances.

To even it up a bit though - Gloucester and C********m used to play each other twice per season at rugby, where are they now....?

Oh, and contrary to some on this forum, I do accept that C********m Town are now a proper EFL club on merit (unlike FGR for example!).


We've had our fair share of luck - 1997 for example - but ultimately we've been run right.  Firstly by Paul Baker and now by David Bloxham and the board.  We've had our moments, employing charlatans like Martin Allen and Paul Buckle, but by and large we've kept a tight ship, not overspent and concentrated on creating a culture.

The success at the moment has been caused by the right attitude from top to bottom.  The players we sign have to fit into the squad.  It's no good having a great player who doesn't get on with anyone in the dressing room, they've got to ingratiate themselves into the squad.  And that's been the case every time we've had a bit of success. 

Cotterill let his players enjoy themselves as much as they liked, as long as they got the job done on a matchday - woe betide if they didn't though.  John Ward was like your favourite grandad, but what he didn't know about football you could put on the back of a postage stamp.  Gary Johnson got us back up from the National League by promising the players they'd get a go in the Football League, and the majority of players were ones that had been on the verge of going up but never quite making it (Kyle Storer, Danny Wright, etc...).  Then Mickey Duff took a while to get going, but you only have to see what he's done at Barnsley to see that he's one of the best young managers in England at the moment.  Now Wade is following in the same mould.

We've built a culture at the club where players know we're a stepping stone and we won't stand in the way of progression - as long as the deal is right for the club.  Come to C********m, do well for a season or two, then earn a big money move higher up.  Alfie May is your case in point.  He didn't do much at all at Doncaster.  We paid £5k for him.  He took 18 months to really get going, then he's become the second highest scorer in the top 4 divisions since January 2022. We'll make a couple of hundred grand out of him this summer and he'll go an earn enough money to set him and his family up good and proper for the near to mid-future.

Finally, we have a presence on the board with the Robin's Trust. It's only a small say, but it's big enough to know that the fans are as important a part of the club as anything else. It doesn't always feel that way, but I feel safe in the knowledge that we're unlikely to be taken over by a charlatan.  We don't own the ground so there's also no reason for a property magnate to take an interest in us - and anyone who does try to take the piss - like a certain snake-oil salesman - is quickly turned away.


RE: NLN Watch - MeadowClark - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 03:36 PM)Si Robin Wrote:  We've had our fair share of luck

You can say that again, just tune into the EFL highlights each week to see penalties, own goals, dodgy keepers and deflections! I swear for every bit of bad luck we’ve had, C********m have good luck.


RE: NLN Watch - Delta Papa - 09-05-2023

Thanks Si for that comprehensive reply. As you say - a fair share of good luck in your appointments.


RE: NLN Watch - Paul - 09-05-2023

I blame stage hypnotist Henry Blythe for our  woes (just look at the size of the Gloucester crowd!):  https://youtu.be/uBTQ4b15oRQ


RE: NLN Watch - drbob - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 03:12 PM)Severnside Wrote:  Having been "invited" in the past to watch Gloucester egg chasers on more than one occasion I can say with confidence that a sizeable portion of the crowd live in C********m, quite what that says about who Gloucester people do watch is anyone's guess!
They get on coaches to go and watch the likes of Liverpool and Man Untied (no that's not a typo!)  Angry


RE: NLN Watch - Delta Papa - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 05:20 PM)Paul Wrote:  I blame stage hypnotist Henry Blythe for our  woes (just look at the size of the Gloucester crowd!):  https://youtu.be/uBTQ4b15oRQ

22/08/59, City 3 Merthyr Tydfil 1, I was there and can still remember it.


RE: NLN Watch - Paul - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 05:34 PM)Delta Papa Wrote:  22/08/59, City 3 Merthyr Tydfil 1, I was there and can still remember it.
Was that an average-sized crowd back then?


RE: NLN Watch - Si Robin - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 04:07 PM)MeadowClark Wrote:  You can say that again, just tune into the EFL highlights each week to see penalties, own goals, dodgy keepers and deflections! I swear for every bit of bad luck we’ve had, C********m have good luck.

Only one of our goals this season was an own goal - the first goal we scored on the opening day, and we've had 3 penalties in the League all season, two scored and one saved.

Must just be the weeks you watch...


RE: NLN Watch - Delta Papa - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 06:10 PM)Paul Wrote:  Was that an average-sized crowd back then?

Probably not, the match had had a lot of advance publicity (nearly everybody read The Citizen back then e.g.), plus the fact that TV cameras were there too. I previously hadn't heard of Henry Blythe but it was certainly a great publicity stunt on someone's part.


RE: NLN Watch - Paul - 09-05-2023

(09-05-2023, 06:40 PM)Delta Papa Wrote:  Probably not, the match had had a lot of advance publicity (nearly everybody read The Citizen back then e.g.), plus the fact that TV cameras were there too. I previously hadn't heard of Henry Blythe but it was certainly a great publicity stunt on someone's part.
Would be interesting to see attendance figures for Longlevens. Were Glos rugby club so prominent back then? It was a very amateur game at the time.