[Darran]

York City was an unbelievable day, 2000+ people, beautiful weather, a 4-0 performance, one of the best goals I've seen live at a football game in Matt McClure's chip.  Feels a world away now. Ironic when you consider they actually went up.  

The void season always felt like a calculated gamble to me that didn't quite pay off.  If you are going to go all in on buying promotion, you may as well go all in during a season when almost every other team is tightening their belts.  Even then though I felt like we might have been in a slightly false position.  James Rowe had put together possibly the best starting XI the club has ever had, but it did feel like there wasn't much else coming up behind it.  You do wonder if the season had actually run its course whether we'd have had enough to maintain a title charge.  

But it also helps explain why we didn't just carry on from where we left off, even though our budget was similar the next season, others will have returned to normal levels of spending.

We wouldn't have won the title under Groves. You could already see a drop off and given what he did the following season that highlights he wasn't up to the job. I must admit given all the uncertainty it wasn't a gamble I would have taken. Let's not forget the season nearly didn't even start.

[Paul]

York City was an unbelievable day, 2000+ people, beautiful weather, a 4-0 performance, one of the best goals I've seen live at a football game in Matt McClure's chip.  Feels a world away now. Ironic when you consider they actually went up.  

The void season always felt like a calculated gamble to me that didn't quite pay off.  If you are going to go all in on buying promotion, you may as well go all in during a season when almost every other team is tightening their belts.  Even then though I felt like we might have been in a slightly false position.  James Rowe had put together possibly the best starting XI the club has ever had, but it did feel like there wasn't much else coming up behind it.  You do wonder if the season had actually run its course whether we'd have had enough to maintain a title charge.  

But it also helps explain why we didn't just carry on from where we left off, even though our budget was similar the next season, others will have returned to normal levels of spending.

It came down to the choice of manager in PG and his recruitment strategy. Had Rowe still been in charge and given the money to further recruit - or if eg we'd had SK running us back then with his network of contacts we could well have gone up. But - again, it's running the club on the never, never. It's making it sustainable over the long-term that we never seem to be able to achieve.

[RJS]

We wouldn't have won the title under Groves. You could already see a drop off and given what he did the following season that highlights he wasn't up to the job. I must admit given all the uncertainty it wasn't a gamble I would have taken. Let's not forget the season nearly didn't even start.

Not saying it's a gamble I'd have taken either, ultimately I'm not very keen gambling with your football club full stop, but I think there was a certain logic you could apply to doing it at that time. It was he uncertainty of the situation that caused the potential for that gamble after all, if it had of paid off we'd be calling AP a genius (well you wouldn't, but you know what I mean I hope).

I think Paul Groves was a decent enough coach, so I would have given him a chance of doing okay had the season of carried on, and with a number of the Rowe players still in situ (albeit I don't think we would have won the league with either Rowe or PG in charge).  Equally some of his initial signings for me were very good Leadbitter, Burroughs, Young - all good players IMO.  His summer recruitment was poor though as history shows.

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It came down to the choice of manager in PG and his recruitment strategy. Had Rowe still been in charge and given the money to further recruit - or if eg we'd had SK running us back then with his network of contacts we could well have gone up. But - again, it's running the club on the never, never. It's making it sustainable over the long-term that we never seem to be able to achieve.

Personally not sure I agree.  I don't think either of those managers would have taken us up the next year, although would most likely have done better than PG.  I think SK's reign is sugar coated a little due to the remarkable final day scenes.  We were minutes away from midtable obscurity, and he isn't exactly covering himself in glory at H&W.

We'll never know now unfortunately, due to another of our recent traits, never having a manager for a full season!

[Paul]

Not saying it's a gamble I'd have taken either, ultimately I'm not very keen gambling with your football club full stop, but I think there was a certain logic you could apply to doing it at that time. It was he uncertainty of the situation that caused the potential for that gamble after all, if it had of paid off we'd be calling AP a genius (well you wouldn't, but you know what I mean I hope).

I think Paul Groves was a decent enough coach, so I would have given him a chance of doing okay had the season of carried on, and with a number of the Rowe players still in situ (albeit I don't think we would have won the league with either Rowe or PG in charge).  Equally some of his initial signings for me were very good Leadbitter, Burroughs, Young - all good players IMO.  His summer recruitment was poor though as history shows.

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Personally not sure I agree.  I don't think either of those managers would have taken us up the next year, although would most likely have done better than PG.  I think SK's reign is sugar coated a little due to the remarkable final day scenes.  We were minutes away from midtable obscurity, and he isn't exactly covering himself in glory at H&W.

We'll never know now unfortunately, due to another of our recent traits, never having a manager for a full season!

Going off thread slightly, but interesting that SK isn't doing well at H&W. Is that due to budget restrictions there?  Or that his usual contacts had already signed for other clubs pre-season? I seem to recall he left it late to join H&W?

[Severnside]

On the subject of King, he has a number of last years City side at his disposal either on loan or signed on, his shine seems to have deserted him so far this season and fans are baying for his blood.
I believe he's signed a 2 year contract and I doubt he will go anywhere unless they can pay him off which is very very unlikely. Something seems very amiss at H&W, he has a chance of a win at home gainst Dover Saturday fail in that one and its anyone's guess.

[Darran]

Going off thread slightly, but interesting that SK isn't doing well at H&W. Is that due to budget restrictions there?  Or that his usual contacts had already signed for other clubs pre-season? I seem to recall he left it late to join H&W?

They will have a bigger budget than us and probably near the highest in their division. They managed to pay money for a player in the league above who was playing at the time. The issues at Havant started months before King arrived. At the turn of the year they were in a 3 way battle for the title with Ebbsfleet and Dartford. The fact they didn't even reach the play-offs highlights how their form dropped off the edge of a cliff and they barely won a game. The hangover from that was clearly there this season before King joined and King hasn't managed to reverse their fortunes. Confidence is a huge thing and if you keep losing matches it is hard to snap out of that. Even if King fails to keep them up he will still be a manager in demand given his CV.

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Not saying it's a gamble I'd have taken either, ultimately I'm not very keen gambling with your football club full stop, but I think there was a certain logic you could apply to doing it at that time. It was he uncertainty of the situation that caused the potential for that gamble after all, if it had of paid off we'd be calling AP a genius (well you wouldn't, but you know what I mean I hope).

I think Paul Groves was a decent enough coach, so I would have given him a chance of doing okay had the season of carried on, and with a number of the Rowe players still in situ (albeit I don't think we would have won the league with either Rowe or PG in charge).  Equally some of his initial signings for me were very good Leadbitter, Burroughs, Young - all good players IMO.  His summer recruitment was poor though as history shows.

---

Personally not sure I agree.  I don't think either of those managers would have taken us up the next year, although would most likely have done better than PG.  I think SK's reign is sugar coated a little due to the remarkable final day scenes.  We were minutes away from midtable obscurity, and he isn't exactly covering himself in glory at H&W.

We'll never know now unfortunately, due to another of our recent traits, never having a manager for a full season!

I think if we had the squad that Rowe put together for the whole season then we would have gone very close to winning the league. I think we had the best starting 11 in the division.

[Daveangel]

They will have a bigger budget than us and probably near the highest in their division. They managed to pay money for a player in the league above who was playing at the time. The issues at Havant started months before King arrived. At the turn of the year they were in a 3 way battle for the title with Ebbsfleet and Dartford. The fact they didn't even reach the play-offs highlights how their form dropped off the edge of a cliff and they barely won a game. The hangover from that was clearly there this season before King joined and King hasn't managed to reverse their fortunes. Confidence is a huge thing and if you keep losing matches it is hard to snap out of that. Even if King fails to keep them up he will still be a manager in demand given his  CV

To be fair to SK, I believe he’s come in and has pretty much the whole squad are on very generous, long contracts, which they’re loath to give up, meaning despite him having an excellent budget, he’s got very little room to change things. As you say, he’s managed to buy Seager, which can’t have been cheap, among others, so they’ve obviously thrown some money at it, which makes it all the more remarkable they’re looking like being relegated with a record low points total. He certainly isn’t very popular with the fans!

[Darran]

To be fair to SK, I believe he’s come in and has pretty much the whole squad are on very generous, long contracts, which they’re loath to give up, meaning despite him having an excellent budget, he’s got very little room to change things. As you say, he’s managed to buy Seager, which can’t have been cheap, among others, so they’ve obviously thrown some money at it, which makes it all the more remarkable they’re looking like being relegated with a record low points total. He certainly isn’t very popular with the fans!

No surprise he isn't very popular given he hasn't won a game yet. They are odds on to beat Dover on Saturday which does look the game that might kick start their season. As we have shown though if you are bottom and aren't winning games then everything becomes very toxic.

[Paul]

No surprise he isn't very popular given he hasn't won a game yet. They are odds on to beat Dover on Saturday which does look the game that might kick start their season. As we have shown though if you are bottom and aren't winning games then everything becomes very toxic.

I think we need to ask why we're in this predicament. When we were in exile it was just a case of the playing side clinging on at this level and hoping we could get back to Gloucester. With AP coming alongside EMG and overcoming all the planning hurdles we made it back. No mean feat and we could easily have gone out of existence.

AP appeared to not only want to give the club a ground but also take a run at promotion to the next level with a squad capable of achieving that. It all went wrong with null & void, JR leaving, and PG taking over - who on the face of it might have appeared to be capable of carrying on JR's work, but as we all know things went downhill, and other than SK's appointment and last season's lucky late entry to the playoffs, the club hasn't achieved, and AP's interest waned.

We don't know how long AP wants to look after the club, but it's clear that there has to be something for any potential investor to buy into. The Chambers must have thought so, but obviously took on problems they weren't aware of.

Clearly the club needs to be successful on the pitch, and if we want those big money-making crowds then that means promotion to the next level - something that seems a long way off. We won't attract big crowds playing the likes of Spennymoor or Rushall  Olympic.

We've had no consistent manager since we've returned. JR and SK showed promise. We know why Rowe left, but SK was on a two year contract. Why put him on one, if it wasn't going to be supported?  I have faith that MC will keep us up, but if that happens, what then? We're just treading water at the moment, whilst AP considers his options. There doesn't seem to be any long-term plan. 

If AP intends to sell, the club needs to be successful on the pitch, but it also needs other infrastructure to make it appealing. I quite like our shipping container ground with the Mount Doom rubbish heap in the background, but let's face it, it's not the most attractive proposition for any investor. And if we were to get relegated no one would be interested. 

There are people/supporters on this forum with some ideas and insight into what would help to grow this club - not as any challenge to AP, but for a diplomatic person to sit on the board and provide suggestions and support where the club or AP needs it. People need to listen. Which is why the Supporters Trust statement is so pertinent. 

The statement was put out on this forum. Assuming AP has read it, has there been any response?

[bakers clock]

I think we need to ask why we're in this predicament. When we were in exile it was just a case of the playing side clinging on at this level and hoping we could get back to Gloucester. With AP coming alongside EMG and overcoming all the planning hurdles we made it back. No mean feat and we could easily have gone out of existence.

AP appeared to not only want to give the club a ground but also take a run at promotion to the next level with a squad capable of achieving that. It all went wrong with null & void, JR leaving, and PG taking over - who on the face of it might have appeared to be capable of carrying on JR's work, but as we all know things went downhill, and other than SK's appointment and last season's lucky late entry to the playoffs, the club hasn't achieved, and AP's interest waned.

We don't know how long AP wants to look after the club, but it's clear that there has to be something for any potential investor to buy into. The Chambers must have thought so, but obviously took on problems they weren't aware of.

Clearly the club needs to be successful on the pitch, and if we want those big money-making crowds then that means promotion to the next level - something that seems a long way off. We won't attract big crowds playing the likes of Spennymoor or Rushall  Olympic.

We've had no consistent manager since we've returned. JR and SK showed promise. We know why Rowe left, but SK was on a two year contract. Why put him on one, if it wasn't going to be supported?  I have faith that MC will keep us up, but if that happens, what then? We're just treading water at the moment, whilst AP considers his options. There doesn't seem to be any long-term plan. 

If AP intends to sell, the club needs to be successful on the pitch, but it also needs other infrastructure to make it appealing. I quite like our shipping container ground with the Mount Doom rubbish heap in the background, but let's face it, it's not the most attractive proposition for any investor. And if we were to get relegated no one would be interested. 

There are people/supporters on this forum with some ideas and insight into what would help to grow this club - not as any challenge to AP, but for a diplomatic person to sit on the board and provide suggestions and support where the club or AP needs it. People need to listen. Which is why the Supporters Trust statement is so pertinent. 

The statement was put out on this forum. Assuming AP has read it, has there been any response?

Well summarised. It's frustrating to know that, but for the terrace clamour of the hard-of-understanding and AP's kneejerk reaction, the answer to the club's long term future was within our grasp.