SAToffeeImp
Vital Youth Team
It's great to be home in mostly sunny Johannesburg. Four weeks away is a very long time especially in current circumstances. It was extremely important to get over and see key people face-to-face for the first time in 21 months and to meet Harvey and his family and Landon for the first time. But it wasn't what I would describe as an enjoyable trip - Omicron breaking the day I arrived, crap weather, getting put on antibiotics after getting sick, endless Covid tests, not seeing us win and probably being overly cautious in avoiding various situations such as even visiting the EPC while players and staff were around.
But to the point of this thread. I have for obvious reasons limited my reading of posts on social media for a while now but decided in the last few days to catch up on the mood out there. I wouldn't say I am surprised by what I read other than seeing how some long term fans are giving up on attending games or even watching us on iFollow. Unfortunately it confirms what I have been told via personal/direct messages and it does amaze me. How do I get my head around a fan, who watched the team at it's worst times in non-league, now telling me he could not be bothered to come watch us against Hartlepool because he wouldn't enjoy it? That together with a post from clanfordimp (quoted below) sparked that thought, What's the point?
"Yeah I totally get that it's all about money and it's a very fine balancing act but if I thought we were just a club that was just loaning a couple of Prem U/23 players then just trying to produce another couple of players to sell for 500 grand without having the ambition to move up the ladder ourselves then I would think what's the point.
It's up to the chairman and the rest of the investors to show us that this is not the case but on the other hand I also do understand the kind of ridiculous money it takes just to get you anywhere near to challenging just to get out of this league never mind establish yourself in the Championship."
I only got involved to the extent I did because I believed there was the possibility to progress the club and the response of the fans to our early success was a major part of that. It's just too much time, effort and money from where I live for it to be any other way. I believe there is still that possibility under the current ownership structure but not if a significant number of fans ditch us so quickly at the first sign of difficulty.
So what is the point? Does it mean simply mean having the ambition to move up the ladder as quickly as possible to keep the majority of fans on board? If so, we need a different type of ownership structure although having said that even Brighton and Brentford with billionaire owners had a period near the bottom of the table a season after finishing in the play-offs.
I suppose it surprises me considering the club's history that there is already such extreme entitlement. I thought there was a lot more substance to what we stood for in the community and that there would be a lot more patience from fans to try build a sustainable club considering that just a short while ago we were a lower half National League club and that 18 months ago we started the season with the primary objective of surviving the effects of Covid.
Unfortunately the current reality is that it's not just up to the Chairman and investors to show ambition. It's a two-way street under the current model and board where only a limited few have the ability/desire to currently invest and those that do still have to fund the entitled ones from the past.
But to the point of this thread. I have for obvious reasons limited my reading of posts on social media for a while now but decided in the last few days to catch up on the mood out there. I wouldn't say I am surprised by what I read other than seeing how some long term fans are giving up on attending games or even watching us on iFollow. Unfortunately it confirms what I have been told via personal/direct messages and it does amaze me. How do I get my head around a fan, who watched the team at it's worst times in non-league, now telling me he could not be bothered to come watch us against Hartlepool because he wouldn't enjoy it? That together with a post from clanfordimp (quoted below) sparked that thought, What's the point?
"Yeah I totally get that it's all about money and it's a very fine balancing act but if I thought we were just a club that was just loaning a couple of Prem U/23 players then just trying to produce another couple of players to sell for 500 grand without having the ambition to move up the ladder ourselves then I would think what's the point.
It's up to the chairman and the rest of the investors to show us that this is not the case but on the other hand I also do understand the kind of ridiculous money it takes just to get you anywhere near to challenging just to get out of this league never mind establish yourself in the Championship."
I only got involved to the extent I did because I believed there was the possibility to progress the club and the response of the fans to our early success was a major part of that. It's just too much time, effort and money from where I live for it to be any other way. I believe there is still that possibility under the current ownership structure but not if a significant number of fans ditch us so quickly at the first sign of difficulty.
So what is the point? Does it mean simply mean having the ambition to move up the ladder as quickly as possible to keep the majority of fans on board? If so, we need a different type of ownership structure although having said that even Brighton and Brentford with billionaire owners had a period near the bottom of the table a season after finishing in the play-offs.
I suppose it surprises me considering the club's history that there is already such extreme entitlement. I thought there was a lot more substance to what we stood for in the community and that there would be a lot more patience from fans to try build a sustainable club considering that just a short while ago we were a lower half National League club and that 18 months ago we started the season with the primary objective of surviving the effects of Covid.
Unfortunately the current reality is that it's not just up to the Chairman and investors to show ambition. It's a two-way street under the current model and board where only a limited few have the ability/desire to currently invest and those that do still have to fund the entitled ones from the past.