My Unibond League Dreams Shattered

So, 1767 words carefully crafted to try to get everyone pulling in the same direction so that we might have the opportunity to play in the Unibond League, and within 72 hours that ambition has already been taken from me. Unibond have decided to end their Northern Premier League sponsorship after 17 years.

Given that their signs are in football grounds all around the country, I would be not in the least surprised if we found that we were gunning for promotion in future years...to the Vodkat League!

Anyway, in other news, the current Vodkat League has decided that the Semi Finals of the league cup will be played over 1 leg this year. Not altogether a surprise after last 16 replays were put back to the date of the quarter finals. The side drawn first will be at home. Let's hope we're in the hat, travelling or not.

Planning for the GNE future

The news that Glossop North End were not applying for promotion came as a surprise to me and, if I'm honest, a disappointment. We all know the ground isn't up to scratch, but it appears to have been decided that the work will not be done this season. I think that was the let down...not missing out on possible promotion, but the apparent inaction. However, it has transpired that the process of applying for grants is still ongoing, slightly stalled.

As part of the grant application process, the club is required to produce a ‘detailed’ report that backs up the application to the Football Foundation and other bodies, which seems fair enough, given that it is asking for pots of their cash.

To do this, the club has to take a fairly searching introspective look at itself, which will involve taking where we are now, where we want to be in the future, how we are going to get there, and who it is we need to do it.

Right now we have a ramshackle ground that needs a large amount of work doing to it. I understand that the ground grader last season announced that Surrey Street was one of the worst grounds he had ever been asked to grade. Enough said – open your eyes, face in any direction at the club, and you can see something that needs doing. Meanwhile, the team is very nearly good enough to earn automatic promotion, and next season ought to be challenging for it.

I will always maintain that getting the ground right before promotion is imperative, and that it should be of step 3 standard rather than step 4 (the level above where we are now). However, should we consider whether or not it is worth a quicker fix to achieve that aim rather than place all eggs in one grant pursuing basket, only to be met with disappointment 18 months or longer down the line, with no work at all having been done.

What is clear to me is that in 10 years, Glossop North End has the potential to be in, and be surviving in, the Unibond premier league. We need only look across the hills to see what is required. Buxton have a tidy ground, but aside from a stand that includes all the facilities that we might want – changing rooms, offices, washrooms, press & commentary positions and 500 seats – it’s not actually that far away from our beloved Surrey Street. There are a lot of smaller, bitty jobs, that will be required, but if we can build a stand that will hold much of those named requirements, we have broken the back of what is needed for the next step. However, even with Football Foundation funding, such stand could prove to be at a prohibitive cost and a vision of utopia.

At the moment we appear to have a pot of FA Vase money sitting in the bank, (gaining pitiful interest I would imagine). I would hope that this cash is ring-fenced, not to be touched - but away from this we have no identifiable income other than the hand to mouth income from match days. Perhaps we can find a way to add to this pot of gold?

There can be no disguising that having no other income of significance is disappointing. At Wembley last season we had 5000 people watching the club at the highest profile game that it has ever been involved in, but rather than tap into this potentially rich seam of sponsorship, the club has instead lost its main sponsor, and at the same time a director who up to that point had been shown through his actions over the summer to have a real drive to take the club forward.

We MUST find someone to sit on the board with the commercial nous to bring in sponsors. It is plainly a skill that is lacking at the moment. Think about it...5000 potential sponsors, ok maybe 3500 if you take the kids out, but we didn’t even publish details of how much it cost to sponsor a game, a match ball, a player. Whilst other club were actively out there gaining sponsors, we weren’t even making it easy for sponsors to find out with their own initiative. We only have to look at the tax return behind the clock or the unfinished shelving in the kids rooms to know that people need to be reminded, badgered, to get round to things. How many of those 3500 were thinking they would do more for the club next year, only to never get the reminder.

The team and some overheads should, if possible, be run with the income from match days, and to some extent that allows for cloth to be cut accordingly. But that means that income from sponsorship money could in part be saved, put away for the next project that has been identified. Maybe a stand, maybe a new clubhouse. Perhaps this clubhouse could be used commercially for local people. Then we earn more money for the next project...etc. We HAVE to get the commercial side sorted, as a matter of priority for 2010/11 - who knows, maybe there is a philanthropist out there, just waiting to be approached and ready to donate in the right circumstances. It happened to the rugby club.

There are, of course, many more jobs around a football club that just the commercial side. We must also consider that in the future what the make up of a board would be and ensure that we have the right people with the right skills to do it. I would suggest that the board breaks this down to the basics, and makes a simple list of every job that is required to be done in the facets of running a club, be that on a match day or during the week, and then delegates the appropriate board member to be responsible for them. If a particular skill set it missing, then a board member is responsible for finding a person with, inviting them onto the board if they feel that is what is required.

At the moment, things appear to be disjointed so that sometimes no-one is aware whose job is what. One thing is clear though, is that ultimately the board is responsible for everything, and if something isn’t getting done, it is up to them to arrange it. Being a board member is not a position to be entered into lightly, and those of you who may seek to criticise should bear this in mind. By the same token, when things don’t get done, it is not sufficient for the board to suggest ‘then you do it’ to those that may snipe. That person has not undertaken to run the club.

The current board did a tremendous job of battening down the hatches and chasing wolves from the door when that is what was required. Having emerged on the other side of that, we have to change the mindset and look forward to creating the opportunity for good times. By identifying the jobs that need doing to achieve our aims, and who is required to do them, we might expand or streamline the board, but we will get an outfit that pulls in the same direction, as a team, just like we would expect the lads on the pitch to do.

Ambitions must be clear and achievable. Personally, I would eventually like to see an integrated club, from Juniors (boys AND girls) upwards, with some facilities that the town could be proud of, such as some 3G pitches, indoor facilities and the like. This would take some vision from the council too, as they will have to take the lead with this and spot an opportunity for development in the centre of town. Our Leisure Centre is 30 years old, in which time the population of Glossop has increased by 33% from 30,000 to 40,000 people. The centre is too small for us now. Perhaps some Brownfield land where an old factory once stood with its large chimney could be developed to become the focus of sport and leisure in the town with the football club at its heart…if only we knew of such a place eh?

But let’s be realistic, that is unlikely to happen.

But the aims of the board as stated by Adrian on the messageboard certainly are achievable. To recap –

1/ Scratting Shed. This has to go and ideally being replaced with a structure running down that side, incorporating standing, enough flip seats to reach the minimum criteria with what we already have, ( could need about 200 - 250 in total ) a proper, yob proof press box in the middle and lighting / emergency lighting within.

2/ Changing Rooms. They will have to be replaced, firstly because they are falling apart and also because they are actually not quite officially big enough, for the next level up.

3/ Outside wall. This does not reach the minimum height standard. Surrey Street side would definitely need doing, but we may get away with some of the other sides.

4/ Outside Toilets. These would need improving and possibly a new small block building.

In addition, you would have to add that the integration of the football club into the community is vital. We have been shown that there is interest out there, and the club will need to find ways of reaching out to the community to draw their support. Be that through coaching sessions for kids, ensuring that there is representation at local carnivals, getting merchandise into local shops…and other ideas that people may have.

I believe that whatever the result of applications for grants, we should pledge to have the ground ready for promotion by inspection time in 2010/11. Not least, the anticipation of ambition of promotion and evidence of some drive to achieve it will help the turnstiles to tick over and keep the crowds high which will fund the team to do it. If the grants are not forthcoming (either in time or at all) the money to improve the ground will have to come from outside of that raised on match days.

Make no mistake, this will take hard work on behalf of everyone one us who can spare some time, together with some effective and dynamic leadership and communication from the board to inspire people to put the hours and effort in, to reach a collective goal.

So where do YOU want to see GNE in, say, 10 years, I’d be interested to know.