A.S.F.C. FF Bid.....

[Bagpuss]

Originally Posted by VALAIRIAN

Ilyas, had the idea of using DL as a face,front man of the FF/ASSF, he is well known and from Accy. The initial idea - and I think this is where your question comes from Baggy - was to use DL as a go between, as he is a friend of EW and IK

Correct, that's what was mentioned at the 1st meeting but will he still be needed?

[VALAIRIAN]

I would have thought that a person like DL will attract plenty of interest and that cannot be a bad thing - free publicity and all that

[shakermaker]

Just a quick question.

The Fighting Fund (later becoming the ASSF) was organised in light of the winding-up order presented to the club, and through the fear of the club being liquidated without serious cash being pumped into it.
Working on the assumption that a takeover has been completed (even though it hasn't yet) and after a payment plan for the tax bill has been agreed, what is the point in the organisation?
It now seems more like a Supporters Trust venture in its quest to secure a seat on the board in return for solid investment.

[Bagpuss]

Originally Posted by shakermaker

It now seems more like a Supporters Trust venture in its quest to secure a seat on the board in return for solid investment.

And what's wrong with that?

[VALAIRIAN]

Originally Posted by shakermaker

Just a quick question.

The Fighting Fund (later becoming the ASSF) was organised in light of the winding-up order presented to the club, and through the fear of the club being liquidated without serious cash being pumped into it.
Working on the assumption that a takeover has been completed (even though it hasn't yet) and after a payment plan for the tax bill has been agreed, what is the point in the organisation?
It now seems more like a Supporters Trust venture in its quest to secure a seat on the board in return for solid investment.

My understanding of this is that you are about right Shaker, but I think - Macca looked into the legal bits - that the Supporters Trust thing was much more legally binding and had much more legal eagle stuff involved....

[Tin Monkey]

In all seriousness, the more I read on this thread, the more it seems like an aggressive attempt to secure a piece of the club. This organisation appears to have a confrontational element to it as well, which kind of goes against some of the early, more passive messages from people involved with it.

As Loweiy intimates above, maybe it would be better to just keep quiet for the time being?

[shakermaker]

Originally Posted by Bagpuss

And what's wrong with that?

My spider sense told me you'd say that I didn't say anything knocking a Supporters Trust. It isn't what the Fighting Fund was set up for though, is it?

I was just wondering if recent events had altered/halted the actions of the organisation. I presumed that they would given the original aims and circumstance at the Fighting Fund's conception. At the risk of being shot down with a cyber shotgun, the aims do seem decidedly less altruistic as they were at the beginning.

Sorry TM, didn't mean to step on your point. It wasn't there when I started typing. I'm being distracted by poor international football on BBC3!

[Revived Red]

Originally Posted by maccawozzagod

One example that can be drawn was brought up by you Revived Red. You refer to the fact that we can't afford to keep hold of players, most notably I assume you mean Kenny Arthur, and that it would appear that funding is there to do that. Well for what its worth my opinion is that money should not be poured into the team itself. Once that money is gone there is no real mechanism in place for gaining more large sums other than the genorosity of benefactors. Money should be poured into finding ways of generating our own money. As I said thats my opinion and people may vote me down on it. If so then ASSF blows all its money on signing Kenny, Mullers, Jimmy etc to large contracts and next year we find ourselves back in the same boat.

I can see both points of view, macca. At the back of my mind (and sometimes near the front), I have the oft-repeated thoughts of Kipax that a successful team will bring the fans in. So there are certainly at least two ways of looking at this.
(1). ASSF funds used for players = successful team = more fans through the turnstiles = increased income.
(2). ASSF funds used to generate more income = increased funds for players = successful team = more fans through the turnstiles = increased income.

I worry that (2) will take longer than (1), and as I commented before, time is not really on our side.

Maybe there are other ways also. (3), (4), etc etc.

[maccawozzagod]

Originally Posted by Revived Red

(1). ASSF funds used for players = successful team = more fans through the turnstiles = increased income.
(2). ASSF funds used to generate more income = increased funds for players = successful team = more fans through the turnstiles = increased income.

just to move this away from ASSF for a moment and to return it to ASFC, it could be argued that we (ASFC) have done point and it never really worked. For years EW diverted funds away from infrastructure and into the team. This ended with us being in League 2 which was a success, but without the funds or means to succesfully compete at the right end of the table.

From the Unibond through to the Conference the difference between a rich club and a poor club wasn't that great, financially, but there is a huge difference in League 2. You can't possibly keep going upwards without a period of consolidation with which to take stock and make the most of what you have.

My romantic vision of a football club is one where the Club is the centre piece of the community, and where people come from all parts of the community to join in. This doesn't necessarily have to mean football on a saturday afternoon as not all members of the community are football fans. But a modern football club has ways of taking the money off it's constituents regardless of football.

Why do our own fans not really use the bar pre and post match? If we address this problem and work on making outsiders use it sunday to friday that could put up to an extra £1/2 million in the bank. My personal opinion would be that it is worth spending x thousand on sorting this out, so that next season, and the season after, and the season after we have that money in the budget. And then you start to look at other aspects of the business ...

Until we get the infrastructure right we are always going to be the poor relations. If you view the club from the point of view that as a business we are as low as we can go (but still competing) then it starts to look a better business prospect.

[Mr T]

Macca, as always spot on!!

If you read what the DON is saying, you're not far away IMHO
He wants the club to prosper on self generated funds, not to rely on "handouts" ( Handouts should improve not help existance)

Next Thursday should reveal some real information??

[VALAIRIAN]

Originally Posted by Mr T

Macca, as always spot on!!

If you read what the DON is saying, you're not far away IMHO
He wants the club to prosper on self generated funds, not to rely on "handouts" ( Handouts should improve not help existance)

Next Thursday should reveal some real information??

By Thursday, do you man the Q&A Forum???

[Revived Red]

I accept your general point, macca. I too would like the football club to be a centre piece of the community. And we must also get the infrastructure right. I happen to think that will come more from a change of outlook within ASFC rather than external funding. We can all quote events over the last 3 years where the club should have been present but wasn't.

But I cannot agree with your specific example of the bar. No amount of funding would persuade me to use the bar before or after games - and there are many reasons for that. Hundreds of others will have their own reasons, all beyond the reach of funding input. And at a time when pubs are closing by the dozen every day, I'm not sure how funding would persuade outsiders to use the bar during the week.

All good discussion points!

[Mr T]

Originally Posted by VALAIRIAN

By Thursday, do you man the Q&A Forum???

Early days, but hopefully YES!!

[VALAIRIAN]

Originally Posted by Mr T

Early days, but hopefully YES!!

Cheers for that, just making sure that there wasn't some other event happening next Thursday

[Pendle Red]

I tend to agree that something has to be generated from the outside to bring it to the inside and I mean from a non footballing point of view (if that makes sense). I also agree a lounge is probably not the way to go unless it can be multi use

The problem too much of the time is the constant firefighting that goes on in and around the Club, it's one thing going from day to day but there has to be a business plan, a long term plan it all amounts to the same thing.

The Community Team are doing their bit with the kids getting out and about into the schools, academy and soccer schools these will prove invaluable in years to come in building up the supporter base with future generations.

The Academy has started to prove itself in terms of scholars coming through to be pro's.

The reality is here and now, I want to see the Club thrive become the hub of Accrington as a Town and become the focal point for Hynburn.

My own view is that something would need to be done in terms of the building some kind of leisure facility that could perhaps be funded by grants, for use by the whole community if nothing else it could possibly generate an income seven days a week and bring people into contact with the club who would normally not go anywhere it or if not that maybe some kind of learning facility again that could generate it's own grants and income. I am no expert on these matters by a long way and could be barking up the wrong tree but I do know there are many avenues that can be explored.