A lot has happened since I last vented on these pages – in hindsight the press conference by Darren Way following his new contract probably wasn't worth the spike in blood pressure and ensuing argument with SWMBO.
Since then Terry Skiverton has left the building after nearly 20 years with the club, the idea pushed by the club is that he will return to the club in a different role in the future. That was followed by David Mills appearing on the radio before the feast of football that was Cambridge away. The present under the tree though was a rare 'interview' with John Fry by SomersetLive and their crack journalist team.
I will briefly touch on the Fry piece later as there are far more qualified others to comment on what a shambles it was – and how it is the perfect metaphor for whats wrong with our club at the moment.
The focus on this entry however is the Glovers Trust and the Big 10 Challenge – the results of which were released in the 24/36 hours before the Skivo news broke – as such a lot of people may have missed some pretty astonishing (or at least at any other club they would be astonishing) revelations.
For those of you that may be wondering what on earth I am on about, briefly the Trust met with David Mills with the goal of setting some achievable targets to be completed within 3 months. The goal being to show the club were open to ideas and give them some 'brownie points' with the fans. The meeting was in late 2017 with the final list of 10 targets published around the turn of the year. The agreed deadline was therefore the end of March 2018.
Lets take a look at each challenge in turn, but before we do – have a look at the video by the Trust which details the results, its embedded on the news page here.
Analysis: The club suggested that this is not part of the Big 10 – presumably because of the time it would take. It does however appear that we may get some news at some point, although I won't hold my breath. I will be keen to see what information is provided above what is available to anyone with a debit card via HM Land Registry's website. I think we all know that the covenants are a favourite of those upstairs at the club because it gives them a ready-made excuse for not doing anything. Sharing information about the details of those covenants would open the club up to further scrutiny for fans and it is clear they have neither the stomach to handle scrutiny or the ability to answer the questions.
Analysis: I'm disappointed the video doesn't touch on this when they list it as a 'pass' – it opens the video-maker and by extension the Trust to accusations of being negative, which I don't think they are. When I go to Huish Park I don't use the path to which this target relates, so I can't comment on whether it has remedied the perceived problem before.
Analysis: Typical YTFC – complete misunderstanding of the question and no mind to entertain the point. The challenges were there to enable to club to build up some goodwill with fans, to generate new ideas to improve the experience of fans – make people want to come back and ultimately put more money into the club. To that YTFC said: no thanks. Come the revolution the Corporate Hospitality Manager should pack up their desk straightaway.
Analysis: I always presumed that the boiler was broken or something in the toilets – but no. A 21st Century, professional club, refuses to spend £15k to give fans hot water to wash their hands. Let that sink in. In our season in the Championship we had farmers ferrying fans from Yeovil Junction to Huish Park and then when they got here not only did we not have any facilities to take money off them for a drink and some lunch – but they couldn't wash their hands in hot water! We make them stand out in the rain and generally have a terrible day. [SWMBO: They at least get 3 points most weeks!] Pathetic.
Analysis: It seems the club looked at this as some type of money making exercise FOR THE CLUB. Heres an idea – don't ask private coach firms for quote YTFC for how much it will cost to run ... ask local bus companies who already run services in the town and via the stations to amend their routes/timetables for match days ... rocket science?! When the football is as bad as it has been fans will use tiny excuses not to go – match day parking has long been an issue and getting more people to the ground without their car would remove that excuse. Also if you are an away fan and have to shell out for a cab from Junction – that's money that could be better spent at the club on a drink and some lunch ... I'm going in circles here aren't I! “Brushed away without consultation” - that could some up this entire challenge and the view from YTFC.
Analysis: Labelling this as a fail is tough, the club are correct that there is no need for a designated area at present. When you have as much space on the terrace as we do at present theres no need. You need people inside the stadium first, before you can make an atmosphere.
Analysis: Again I do think the video has failed here – we don't have many successes on this list and so we should celebrate the victories! That being said I think the club have said they are looking into this for next season so hardly a resounding immediate success. Lets wait and see whether this is truly a 'pass' in due course.
Result: Still being looked at.
Analysis: Fair play to the club but again I won't hold my breath – you are looking at a club who won't stump up for hot water! Now we are asking them to gamble that people will purchase a programme for a few quid and that the additional sales generated by this will cover the lost revenue of selling a box. That being said if you have the box unsold prior to the draw then you don't lose any revenue!
Analysis: When I first heard this suggestion I said straightaway that it couldn't be done due to the Under 18 gambling issue. However you get around this by saying its open to all fans and only Over-18s can purchase tickets. What is jaw dropping is that the club say they can't guarantee the players will be available after the game – WHAT?! These are your employees! You require them to attend. YTFC send players to Yeovil hospital at Christmas to further the club's PR image – this is the same. Meeting fans after a game to sign autographs etc is not difficult. This is just contempt for the idea.
I follow other sports – and at those clubs they go the extra mile to do these type of ideas - and people love those clubs for it. They build lifelong bonds with a club. But maybe at YTFC we don't need lifelong fans? Other sports (like the Yeovil Ladies) do Shirt Off His/Her Back – where a raffle winner gets the shirt presented to them by the player – often this is won by a child because their parent has purchased tickets and the child gets to go and meet the player in a special moment for the kid.
I will briefly touch on the John Fry 'meeting' (found here), I won't comment on the standard of reporting as I'll let Badger reflect on that if he so chooses and instead I'll focus on the musings of the most deluded man at Lufton Way (except maybe for DW!).
Yet another 5-year-plan [head in hands]. Do you think JF decides what to have for dinner by putting together a 5-year-plan? Seems to me to be a lot of planning, a lot of talking within the club in rooms with no windows amongst and handful of people ... but not a lot of action.
LIE #1: Way was not responsible for bringing in 4 x Tottenham loanees – surprisingly Terry Skiverton was in charge then. If we are taking credit for other people's achievements because he was part of the club at the time why doesn't DW take credit for our promotion to the Championship - Gary who?
LIE #2: Because Way is on a course with other managers we will get exclusive access to young players to loan. Getting a foot in the door is one thing – but JF over estimates/lies about the importance of these networking links. I fully expect therefore that if Jose Mourinho ends up at Real Madrid that we can expect all of their youth prospects to be at HP next season.
JF quickly glosses over the Jones Building Group rumour and the suggestion they are behind the new contract ... moving on instead to the excuse of injuries. Funny isn't it that he didn't come out to defend Paul Sturrock when he suffered a worse injury crisis.
Four points are then offered by JF as part of the new plan, all of which are generic platitudes and mean nothing. Build the first team/continue to develop the academy actually mean what? Then there is the establishment of a Community Sports Trust – you mean the trust that already exists? And has this week been on Twitter saying they will be bringing loads of school kids to Huish Park. If that is going to form the basis of our Five Year Plan then why not include: put a roof on the home end, and get a tent for fans to drink in!
Also lets improve governance of YTFC – what does this even mean?! What will that mean for fans? JF says he wants to develop better links with fans but then totally ignores the above Big 10 Challenge. Total lip service and unfortunately I can't believe a single word that comes out of JF's mouth.
LIE #3: YTFC need 8 academy players to comply with homegrown rules. No we need 1 academy player/graduate in the match day squad. The 8 refers to 'homegrown' players, that's those players who were trained for 3 years in the UK before their 21st birthday I think.
"Falling crowds are in large part down to negativity among the fanbase" - thats written by SomersetLive rather than quoting JF. But I doubt a reporter who has throughout the rest of the piece just written what JF said he suddenly come to that revelation him/herself. JF sees the fans as the problem, he is quoted as saying "You can't have the tail wagging the dog."
So the fans are the tail and JF/NH are the bosses. We should just fall in line. No John you've got that wrong. We are fans – paying customers – to whom your company offers a paid service/product. When you fail to offer a decent product we stop buying. If you buy a mince pie from M&S and you don't like it, M&S don't say "we can't have customers giving us feedback – you WILL like the mince pie." Idiot.
LIE #4: "We want to make this as big as possible" - the same man who said our promotion to the Championship would be bad for the club.
The article doesn't quote Fry on his rumoured departure/the budget but calls the same fake news ... this is getting exasperating. At this point we all know he just spews lies ... maybe he wants to build a wall between the club and the fans. If thats his goal, he's doing a good job. There's so much more to rip apart (the club having received "no end" of applications to replace Skivo?) but as a fitting summary of how so many people feel about the club now ... I'm getting tired of the constant stream of rubbish coming from the club.
I'm a former season ticket holder, Glovers Trust member and according to David Mills I must be one of the dark forces because I criticise the club online. Maybe I should label myself as a troll as well? YTFC have for years been ridiculous off the pitch – unfortuately we are becoming a laughing stock on the pitch as well.
This will most likely be posted after the Northampton match – I am actually quietly optimistic this afternoon but maybe I just feel better for having vented.
Merry Christmas from us all in the Old Green House – and lets collectively hope for a better New Year.
Gobsmacking interview from Fry. If Way's connections are so good how come he can only harp on about players we had in 2009! And as pointed out they weren't even his signings!
Nothing short of contempt is being shown by this man towards the fans. He clearly schooled Way in how to talk to the press because it's bullsh*t and half of it isn't even joined up English. As for negativity within the fanbase, I wonder why that is? The masterclass in tactics served up at Huish Park may have some bearing. A "Plan A" would be a start and then maybe develop something from there, just a thought Not that anyone's listening.
Just leaves me to say thank you to all the people who contribute to this blog, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
No doubt be cast into the shadows following the monumental screw up that the Supporters Alliance Group meeting has become. Skivo leaving shadowed my last piece and now JF and DW (in particular!) have Trumped this piece (words chosen carefully).
I’ve decided that with the heaviest of hearts I can no longer add to to the NH/JF coffers. I will go to away games and will support the XI throughout the match - but outside of those 90 minutes the management are fair game.
I’m sure Badger will do a comprehensive piece on the latest news.
If the Alliance Group minutes are a true and accurate reflection of the meeting (which they should be or are they fake news?) then it's not difficult to see why the club has so many problems. Certainly what Way lacks in ability and intelligence he more than makes up for with grossly misplaced self belief. Incredible, I may not know anything about football but that's what 50 years of watching YTFC does to you. No more for me next season if that idiot is still here.
Other Entries In The Taff's Gloversblog Section.
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