Stanley to close within months ...

maccawozzagod · 19-09-2013, 17:35

so says Peter Marsden in this weeks Accrington Observer.

"there won't be an Accrington Stanley if things continue as they are, due to falling attendances"

"The club had taken a calculated risk this season when it lowered season ticket prices in an attempt to get more people through the gate."

"attendances are at their worst ever levels putting the club in a perilous position"

"we need 2000 through the turnstile to break even - we are getting 1300"

First of all the 1300 must relate to home fans only - as the average is over 1600 this season. That's certainly not the worst ever, but is on a par with our worst in the FL

Who took the calculated risk to set a break even at 2000? I'm all for cheaper tickets but unless they go silly low we still wont get 2000.

So onto the problem. We can't produce the team to compete, on our budget, that will bring people in.

The town itself won't come because we have a poor team, poor facilities, have media Google Page Ranking problems by the bucketful, and have no history of looking after the fans that we have got.

Please allow me to be the one that says it. Resign the league status and drop to a level that we can afford. Bollcocks to all this "we've worked too hard to get where we are" type rubbish. You stick to that mantra if that's your opinion, but I'd rather we still had a club than have to run the gauntlet of folding AGAIN.

If we are putting out messages like this so soon into the season then we are really in the sh!te. Winter looms and crowds do not increase during the cold spell just for the fun of it. We can put on some more offers, as we always do, but it's too late. I say every season that we should put the offer games BEFORE we need them not after. Cheapo games right at the beginning of the season when it's warmer and parents can bring their kids, hook them in August and retain them til November. Bring them in October or November and the kid will remember shivering under a leaky roof watching an under confident side losing.

Sick of it. We learn nothing from history.

johnc · 19-09-2013, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccawozzagod

Please allow me to be the one that says it. Resign the league status and drop to a level that we can afford. Bollcocks to all this "we've worked too hard to get where we are" type rubbish. You stick to that mantra if that's your opinion, but I'd rather we still had a club than have to run the gauntlet of folding AGAIN.

Please allow me to say F**K THAT!!!!!!!!!

andyd · 19-09-2013, 18:33

Sorry I,m a bit confused was it only in last weeks Observer after a £60000 tax bill was paid just in time Peter Marsden said no need to worry just a hiccup due to seasonal cashflow. Now this week we could be closing due again to lack of support, personally I,m sick of hearing that one they are running the buisness side of the club and being buissness men should run it within it,s means,plus we just had a groud sponser for first time in 3 to 4 years more income come on please stop using the worn out record about support if you can,t run step down and let somebody else do it.

baldy · 19-09-2013, 18:41

Bizarre to budget on gates of 2000, When was the last time we got 2000 week in week out?...Conference winning season?

What's the club doing to attract fans, Apart from them signs promoting the games around town?

Why not give 2000 tickets out to school children? Even if only 300 of them kids turn up with a paying adult at £15 its 4.5k extra revenue. 2 home games a month that's an extra 9k a month!...Also think it will do the players a world of good with a better atmosphere cheering them on!

andyd · 19-09-2013, 18:45

If we need 2000 on the gate then somebody has got there sums wrong ,last 3to4 seasons we averaged between 1675 to1875 so work on them figures it i,snt rocket science,yet once again we have bad press in the run up to an important game.

shakermaker · 19-09-2013, 19:02

Let's not confuse what the club have budgeted for and what the Chairman says we need to break even. If we have budgeted for 2000 it's the most ridiculous business move since hiring Marcelle Lazarus - but I very much doubt that's the case.

The Chairman is saying that the club is running at a loss (quelle surprise) and would break even on 2000 gates. I'm inclined to think that this is an ill-thought out Google Page Ranking move after realising that last week's statement of "we're not in trouble" might not worry the Accrington public enough; not enough to get more bums on seats.

There has been no change in the apathy of Accrington towards its town club. The gates aren't plunging - they've been embarrassing for years. There have however been far too many mistakes off the pitch this season in the way of missing potential extra income through basic marketing initiatives.

Pendle Red · 19-09-2013, 19:26

Rather worrying at the very least

Does need some explaining and quickly

mab · 19-09-2013, 19:59

Well tomorrow night is the right time to ask http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f93/a-g-m-64843.html not been a share holder my self cant ask the question but those that are sure can..

crazeenick · 19-09-2013, 20:37

Morecambe FC fan in peace.

Really sorry to hear this sad news. Hope things can be sorted. Makes me sick the amount of money in the game at the Premier League level and grass roots clubs struggling to make ends meet. Really enjoy our matches (even though you usually beat us LOL!), long may they continue.

All the best guys - I know for a fact there are plenty of fellow Morecambe fans rooting for you!

Cheers,
Nick

bdc · 19-09-2013, 20:40

Whilst it's not really a surprise that finances are a real struggle, I do have some sympathy for Peter Marsden who is pumping in some of his own money to keep the club going and I know this creates more debt but he has been left holding the baby so to speak. This means he either puts money in or the club goes, a no win situation for anybody in truth.

The gamble taken on reducing season ticket prices was an admirable but very risky decision but unfortunately not enough people have taken it up to make up the shortfall in money from last seasons ticket holders money IMO. The club have taken a gamble on giving out 2 year contracts to established players in the hope that would give us a team that would be aiming higher up the table and this just hasn't happened on the pitch so far.

Things off the pitch have been a major distraction too, with the Rob Heys saga leaving a bad taste in the mouth. The club badly need one person in charge behind the scenes who can put together some proper procedures, structure and policies to put into place to allow the club function in a professional manner and to respond to customers needs such as online ticketing and availability of home shirts and other merchandise. Nothing has been mentioned about the home shirts that were meant to be here by this weekend yet nothing (as far as I'm aware) has been mentioned about it on the website about any updates on the progress of this.

I don't know if they do it but budgets should be in place every season for match staff and non-match operations that should be monitored and reviewed every month to ensure performance is on track with budgets and if it isn't action should be taken to bring it back on track. I think these sort of things haven't been in place and this hasn't resulted in overruns in budget spends and create further increases in debt. If this sort of thing would have been put in place in 2006 we may not have overspent as much as we have.

My main point is that the club has to be run in a way that keeps the club viable and this has to be done through appropriate governance and monitoring that has been lacking for a while. Having fans running the club is not going to help us get an effective business, we need someone independent to run the operations of the lack as if it was a commercial business.

I hope some good things come out of the AGM tomorrow and that the club finds a way to survive but my fear is the only way this will happen is via administration that will ultimately end our stay in the football league but may save the long term future of the club.

Harrysmate · 19-09-2013, 23:09

Saturday should see a decent gate so that may help, but it's a vicious circle and always will be.

Point (1) Poor fare on offer, people won't turn up and pay to watch.

Point (2) No money to spend on players/wages means lack of quality in the side as opposed to other teams in the division.

Point (3) No incentive for players to join Accy so we start back at point (1)

When teams like Pompey are getting 14000+ every week where is the level playing field ? I'd argue that they shouldn't even have League status after the financial shenanigans that were going on there. They should be with Luton & Stockport.

The Premiership and the hideous amounts of money flowing into it, is killing the competitive game in this country and nobody cares. They are all too busy getting fatter and richer whilst the lower leagues are slowly being strangled and starved to the point of no return.

Do they care ? Do they f**k.

Local Red · 20-09-2013, 07:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyd

Sorry I,m a bit confused was it only in last weeks Observer after a £60000 tax bill was paid just in time Peter Marsden said no need to worry just a hiccup due to seasonal cashflow. Now this week we could be closing due again to lack of support, personally I,m sick of hearing that one they are running the buisness side of the club and being buissness men should run it within it,s means,plus we just had a groud sponser for first time in 3 to 4 years more income come on please stop using the worn out record about support if you can,t run step down and let somebody else do it.

I'm confused too - link below:-

Accrington Stanley chairman Peter Marsden says club not in financial danger - Accrington Observer

Lost in Cornwall · 20-09-2013, 07:49

I think he's saying two different things. Last week he was saying that there's no immediate danger of the club being wound up because of the tax bill. This week he's saying that the club can't survive indefinitely on the size of gates at the moment. They gambled on the season tickets in the hope that it would attract more but it hasn't worked and the early season results haven't helped either. I don't know what was offered in the two year contracts but I hope it wasn't anything silly because unless things change round there are only two ways out.

1. The club does go bust again.
2. Costs have to be cut (possibly by going into administration which I would hate to see because it ends up with small suppliers getting hurt) and Stanley return to a more sustainable level of football (Conference, Conference North, NPL)

Of those two options I know which I prefer and it isn't the first. Ideally I would like to see Stanley as a league club for years to come but if that isn't financially possible let's have a club to support somewhere in the football pyramid.

Tin Monkey · 20-09-2013, 08:09

There's no easy way out of this. We've had enough seasons in the League to build a bigger fan-base, but instead of growing it's actually declined.

Looking at the overall picture at the moment [how the club operates, income, fan-base, etc], Conference North with a part-time playing staff is the best we can hope for.

The club has been at an unsustainable level for too long, often propped up by generous 'investors' and 'hopeful financial policies'. Having the club in the hands of the fans is a noble gesture, but only if it's done properly and the right skill set is in place. Otherwise it's a recipe for disaster.

I'd like to see the club see out this season and not resign again from the League, then look to step down to a level that is sustainable for the long term.

Harrysmate · 20-09-2013, 08:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tin Monkey

There's no easy way out of this.

Actually, the ONLY realistic way out of this is to produce performances that will attract people through the turnstiles. It's simple on paper, but the reality is somewhat different. It all comes down to cash, attendances and performances.

Unless the Sultan of Brunei suddenly finds out that his Grandad was born in Baxenden, we aren't really going to find a 'sugar daddy' to wave his wand.

Hard work and a fighting spirit. The players can only ever do their best and hope it's enough. There are plenty of clubs facing a financial precipice.

Resigning the league is throwing the towel in. It's a non-starter. It would mean self-inflicted permanent exile. If Accy leave the League it should be after fighting to stay there.

Look at Stockport now. No thanks.