Hip hip hooray

I recently joined that exclusive club of bionic patients who will carry a titanium hip replacement joint around with them for the rest of their days! 

The operation took place on the 29th November and although it had to be done because of the very uncomfortable state that an osteoarthritic hip leaves you in, the downside is that it has restricted me from seeing a live game since we played Eastleigh on the 27th November.

It has driven me mad sitting at home just doing a few exercises and very little else, waiting for the recovery time to come round and be signed off. All communication at the moment has come via the telephone and email and I can’t wait to get back down to the Gallagher and start doing my job again.

The trouble with convalescing is that you have far too much time to think and read. Both are a formula for sending you to bed smarter than when you woke up but it can also give you sleepless nights.

I have spent many hours over the past fortnight pondering every aspect of our football club. Amongst all the massive positives; I was brought back to earth with the headline in last week’s KM. It certainly stirred up a great deal of unwarranted comment and, in some cases, unnecessary abuse towards certain members of our club and the club itself. 

It is something that we all could have done without and we all need to move on and have clear positive minds for the real task in hand, which is supporting our team and management and start moving up out of the bottom four.

We have built an excellent club here at Maidstone United. We have first class, honest ownership. We have a great support. We are in the throes of change for the first time in six years and dealing with it on a day to day basis. 

Within the club we know we are not perfect, we accept we will make mistakes and put our foot in it from time to time, we don’t have infinite resources either but one thing I can tell you is that we all have the wellbeing of the club at the front of our minds. Everybody here puts in a serious shift to keep the club going as positively as possible. 

There are some negatives: such as the injury to our most creative and best goal scorer Blair Turgott but for me the most niggling negative of all at the moment is that we have a very small percentage of so-called supporters who seem to find great delight in letting us know what they think we don’t know and how they would go about solving all of our troubles. In some cases it has been quite personal and abusive. This is not helpful.

We have a huge job to do to stay in this league, so to the very small percentage of negative writers I have a very clear message. 

Firstly, you are entitled to your opinion and by all means express it but always in a non-abusive manner please. That said, if you feel so strongly that what we’re doing here at the club is wrong, do what anyone has the ability to do – stop coming and please allow the rest of us to get on with our jobs and let us run and support the club how we see fit.

Finally, and back on a positive note, can I wish you and your family a very happy Christmas and best wishes for what I hope will be a good 2019.

Bill

Agents - are they saviours or parasites?

The statement – “Are agents good or bad for the players and the game as a whole” first came up for me way back in 1980 when I had been just been given the job as coach to the Atlanta Chiefs in the North American Soccer League and the debate is still rearing its ugly conversational head on a regular basis.

Mixed opinion is widely spread across the whole of the football world!   

Now if I was a player today I think I would have a positive approach towards agents as there is no doubt on occasions they create opportunities or make more money for players. 

But if I was a Manager I have to say I would, without doubt prefer to deal with the player directly and leave the agent sitting outside the office! 

Supporters I believe are like pundits, journalists and hacks that have little time for them as most see them as leeches just taking from the game and pushing up the prices to unbelievable levels.

At the National League level where we operate nearly all players have an agent, so both Jay and I and of course Terry have had to become used to dealing with them.

Personally, I do believe that professional footballers need professional advice. However, at the same time I don’t believe that they ever need amateur opinions. Whilst I believe in some cases agents are responsible for badly advising their clients and should be held accountable for this advice, it is reasonable to say that not all agents undertake such practises, whether the advice is innocent advice that may have been well intentioned or unqualified bad advice or advice with an ulterior motive.

But as a general rule I do believe that most agents try to safeguard the best interest of their clients.

What I do disagree with and feel doesn’t help our game at all is the fact that today almost anyone can become a football agent. You just need to register with the Football Association, take a multi-selection exam, get yourself insured then out you go searching for the next Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar!  

So what percentages of agents in this country can firstly, see talent in a young player and then secondly advise him throughout his development if they have had no background in football, let alone ever played the game, not many I would suggest. 

It’s a bit like me taking a three week exam on electrical engineering and actually picking up the tools! I’d have no idea at all as to where to start.

So to conclude: My experience of agents over the past thirty seven years has been some good, but mostly bad and today I take each encounter on a very individual basis and judge them as I find them. But the jury is still out and it is I believe for most folks still a bit like the old marmite or anchovy comparison, you either like them or you don’t and I think it’s going to stay that way for a very, very long time yet.

Bill
(@TheBossBW)

Is the present Drinking Act at football stadiums outdated?

There are a number of adjustments that we will all have to make now that we have been promoted to the upper echelon of non-league football, and for me personally the most frustrating change is going to be that none of our supporters will be able to drink alcohol when they are in ‘view of the pitch’.  

Yes, you did read that right - this now takes effect at all first team games, exactly the same as we have all got used to when we play FA Cup matches.  

After five years of being able to walk into any of our four bar areas here at the Gallagher Stadium order a drink and casually either stand and chat or sit down and consume the contents while watching the game has now gone – it is not allowed at this level under the control of alcohol Act which came into force in England and Wales in 1985. 

It is my opinion that there are now a couple of very valid reasons why this Act should be revisited. The first is that without doubt the average match day experience has changed significantly since banning football supporters from consuming alcohol ‘in view of the pitch’ happened back in the 80s. And yet, nearly 30 years later, it still remains the case that drinking and watching football while cheering on your team is a crime potentially punishable by a prison sentence!

Even grounds at our level now bear little resemblance to the pre-Premier League environment of the 1970s and 1980s. The make-up of crowds has shifted dramatically. The affluent middle classes feel that they can attend football stadiums with their families, with little risk of encountering danger. 

Secondly, there is a very clear disparity with other sports. Why should a Rugby supporter be able to drink a pint while sitting in their usual seat, simply because the game in front of them involves an egg-shaped ball rather than a spherical one? Or similarly the Barmy Army, famed for following the England cricket team all over the world, are lauded for their drinking culture; yet lazy stereotypes associating England football fans with alcohol-fuelled hooliganism persist. If there remains concern that drinking alcohol while watching football matches poses any more risk than doing so while at rugby or cricket, such a view needs in my opinion to be objectively re-evaluated and substantiated.

The justification for the more general Licensing Act in 2003, which allows premises the option of flexible opening hours and the potential for 24-hour drinking, was that it would discourage binge drinking by enabling people to spread their alcohol consumption over a longer period. This more liberal approach was a welcome acknowledgement that the out dated restrictions aren’t necessarily the most effective way of influencing behaviour. 

However, this legislation contradicts the situation which we are all going to have to face in the Gallagher Stadium, where our fans will be indirectly encouraged to drink as much as they can, as quickly as they can before the match and at half time, to compensate for not being allowed to do so while the match is taking place. In this contradiction lies an inherent, outdated suggestion that football fans are unworthy of the privileges enjoyed by the general public at Rugby and Cricket.

There is pressure on non-league clubs to be self-sufficient; revenue generated from match day food and drink sales has become more crucial. I believe that relaxing the pitch side alcohol ban could make a difference to clubs’ like ours quest for survival.

In the current, vicious political climate, it is inevitable that some tabloids would sensationalise the idea of reversing the legislation as a gateway to the return to the hooliganism of the 1980s, but evidence contradicts that. The assumption that football fans can’t control themselves is again in my opinion an antique relic that bears little relevance to supporters of today.

But we are for now where we are and all of our supporters understand the law of the land and more importantly the rules that abide here now at National League level. We all understand that we will have to adapt to an FA Cup type mode every week and behave accordingly. But it still doesn’t make it right and I hope that someone, somewhere, more powerful than me argues the case with the authorities sooner than later, as I have seen nothing wrong with our clubs approach to drinking over the past five years that warrants this change in approach. 

Bill Williams

Does anyone have the right to behave badly at a football match?

Does anyone have the right to behave badly at a football match? 

The answer is obviously no. 

So why recently have we had one or two so-called supporters take it upon themselves to think they have the right to throw beer over the opposition management, players, or in fact anyone who should be in the immediate vicinity is beyond me. 

These people need to have a quick rethink!

May I remind everyone that the throwing of anything is totally against our ground regulations and anyone caught doing so will be issued with a banning order.

At our league game on New Year’s Day when we played Tonbridge Angels a very serious incident occurred mainly through the stupidity of one individual who decided, for whatever reason, that he would throw the contents of his container at an opposing official. An individual then decided to seek retribution.

The actions of these individuals were so out of order and it is the first time that we have ever witnessed this type of behaviour at our stadium. Had it not been for the quick and professional action of our security team this, in my opinion, could have erupted into a significant incident.

Bad behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. These two individuals will be banned from the ground.

This has since brought about a huge debate suggesting that we should consider withdrawing alcohol on match days. Now, I have very strong opinions on this subject and get totally hacked off when the minority, who always have a nasty habit of messing things up for the majority, cause this type of debate to even take place.

Here at Maidstone United we have always believed that the majority of our supporters are sensible people and why shouldn’t we as a club allow our supporters to make the decision that if they fancied a lager, cider or whatever, they could buy it at any time and go stand or sit in the stadium and relax and drink it. We spent a lot of time and money making sure that our supporters could enjoy that decision to have a drink anytime, anywhere in our stadium.

So once again the mindless idiots take it upon themselves to mess it up for the large majority and decide to throw beer pitch side and cause everyone untold problems. 

So my solution to the minority is a simple one, if you throw anything we will catch you and ban you from watching any home games – as I believe that it is fairer to try to educate the minority and eradicate them from our crowd - than punish the majority who just want to have a drink and enjoy a game of football.

Bill

(The incident is currently being investigated by The Football Association and Kent Police).

Can there ever be any excuse for underachieving?

After my Directors XI had once again taken the supporters team to task in our annual football match down at the Gallagher Stadium, we all carried our very tired bodies into the Spitfire Lounge for a couple of drinks, a bit of pizza and a friendly chat.

The conversation was varied but there was one subject that kept coming up from most of the regular supporters – who kept reminding me that the season wasn’t very far away – was: ‘what do I think we will do better this season and not make the same mistakes?’. Or more to the point: ‘can we stay clear of the injuries and can one or two players up their game?’

It jogged an age old problem that I have faced throughout my whole football career. I know exactly where everyone is coming from as I am the same – I hate getting beaten and want my team to win every game – so what I believe everyone was asking me indirectly was: ‘can there ever be any excuse for underachieving?’

We made a lot of genuine excuses last season, mainly to do with the injury crisis that struck and it is the only excuse that I believe any coach can accept. If a player has a genuine injury or is ill, it is impossible for him to perform at his highest standard.

How often have you read after a very good performance the manager or coach says: ‘We have set a high standard and now we must reach the same each week’? 

The formula to getting each player to achieve his very best standard of play each week is a very complex ingredient as there are so many factors involved. But it is what the management have to strive for and somehow place that ingredient somewhere in that player’s brain.

So what does it really take to make a championship team? 

I believe that the most important ingredient is, if possible, to select and sign the best players available. You then need to get the balance of those selected players right, train them well and get them to a highest level of fitness. 

You also need to instil a clear understanding of the different systems that the team is going to use, drill the set plays into every one of them and sharpen every aspect. Add to that making sure that each player feels good about himself, his fellow team mates and the club. Some people would call that creating a good team spirit. 

When you put it all down on paper it all sounds relatively simple, but of course it isn’t and even when you think that you have got it all right – out go the team and they get beaten 4-1 by the very same team that they had beaten 4-1 a week earlier – you ask the question: ‘what went wrong?’

It turns out on this occasion that although everything you did was in fact the same – three players had played with slight injuries, the centre half got a pulled hamstring just before half time and two of the players had rows with their wives before they left for the game the very same morning!

So to all those supporters who spoke to me over a pint and think that they have all the answers, hopefully you can now see that it certainly isn’t a simple task trying to make sure that every player we sign doesn’t ever underachieve!  

Bill

Close season observations and ambitions

Terry Casey

Last season was the best that Maidstone United have enjoyed for many years. 

Winning the league cup, finishing seventh in the league, our average league crowds increasing on the previous year – yet I felt that we had underachieved. 

This is in no way a criticism of Jay and the squad but an acknowledgement that at the start of the 2013/2014 season Jay had put together a squad was capable of, at the very least, making the play offs. 

During the early months of the season it was unthinkable that we would not be involved in the final reckoning because we were beginning to realise that this team really was good enough. The impact of the injuries cannot be overstated. 

Losing Steve Watt, our captain and the best centre half in the league; losing Mickey Phillips from midfield and losing one of the most exciting players in Orlando all meant that we were going to hit problems at some stage. Replacing Orlando with Rory should have helped but to lose Rory for most of the season was another blow. We underachieved because we did in fact have a team that might even have won the league but for the crippling injuries.

I continue to say to people that we are not a Ryman league club – we should be in the Conference at the very least, and I feel confident that we are only a year away from making the step up to the higher level.

The academy proved its value to the club as it was lads like Gary Smith and Liam King who scored goals for us on our way to winning the league cup. I describe the academy as the jewel in the club’s crown and watching the way they destroyed Eastbourne Borough in the Conference Youth Alliance cup final made me feel immensely proud. I also felt terrific pride in the numbers of our supporters who travelled to Crawley to support the lads in their quest to complete the double.

Their successes on the field are second to none, leaving other academies in higher leagues wondering how we have become so successful. 

The facts are that we have the best coaches in Jay Saunders and Jack Parkinson, the best tutors in Jim Bodle and Tom Parkinson and the best facilities at the Gallagher Stadium. The young people are also aware that, regardless of their footballing ability, they are valued and are learning from excellent role models within the staff and coaching team. They should leave us with an understanding of how to conduct themselves once they enter into the adult world and to enjoy their triumphs and to show dignity when things don’t go to plan. As a testament to the lure of the academy we have had to turn away dozens of young people who wanted to join the academy for 2014/2015 season.

Not making promotion, whilst desperately disappointing, means that we do have some time to plan ahead with the expansion of the ground. We have met with various organisations and have presented them with our plans to achieve the minimum capacity of 3,000. The problem is that the plans that we are currently looking at have come in at costs ranging between £800k and £1.2million. 

We will have to borrow to get this sort money and the cost of finance is extremely prohibitive. We are now looking at cheaper options which might enable us to finance the project ourselves and would satisfy the need to get our capacity to the level required by the Conference. The fact is that there is a clear shortage of covered seating at the stadium and whatever we finally decide upon , we will meet that demand.

The great 3G debate rumbles on and I am delighted that we have Oliver on this particular subject because he has moved the argument on through his skills, patience and perseverance. Every time I listen to anyone who opposes the case for 3G I can only conclude that they do not understand fully the argument. We must win the argument and my thanks go out to all of our supporters who take pride in the fact that their football club are about to change the face of non-league and lower league football. It has been the support of the Maidstone fans that have given Oliver, Bill and myself the strength to fight on. 

The only sad note is that it appears the Michel Platini of the directors’ team has not been able to agree terms with Bill Williams and may not be in the team to face the supporters on 20 June. Representatives from both parties have been unable to reach a compromise. Sources close to the Ash camp have said that the tactics used by Williams did not suit Ash’s unique skills. Sources close to the Williams camp were unaware of Ash’s skills.

Thank you for making Maidstone United Football club the envy of every non-league club in the country.

Taking stock and thinking about the future

Terry Casey

If someone had told me that we would be in the promotion places of the Ryman Premier at the start of October I would have been obviously delighted but also relieved that we were not struggling as we did the last time we were in this league.

I remember watching numerous Ryman Premier matches wondering when we would field a team that deserved to be playing at that level. It seemed to me that almost every game we played we struggled to dominate or even compete on some occasions.

This season so far, apart from Margate, we have played well enough to justify our position and fully deserve to be where we are in the league. This constitutes real progress on the pitch and Jay and his squad supported by Bill should be congratulated on their achievements.

Because of our position it is inevitable that we are now gazing upward to the possibility of promotion to the Conference South. From what I have watched there is no doubt in my mind that we have the playing squad, the infrastructure and the leadership that could challenge for promotion. Oliver, Bill and I are already looking at the requirements for entry into the Conference South.

The most high profile and obvious battle we face is getting the Conference to agree to playing on our 3G surface. The arguments for clubs at our level playing on 3G have been eloquently put by Oliver and I feel confident that the work he is doing will eventually win the argument and common sense will prevail.

One of the reasons put by the Conference opposing 3G is that it would create problems for Conference teams gaining promotion to the Football League. Our response is that Conference South clubs like Boreham Wood (average home attendance 208) and Hayes and Yeading (average crowd 180) must be more concerned about survival than getting promotion to the Football league.

Promotion to the Football League would also come at enormous costs for clubs as there is a requirement for a minimum capacity of 5,000 and 500 under cover seats. If Maidstone United achieve promotion to the Conference South we have enough covered seats (the requirement is 250 we have more than 400) but we must increase our minimum capacity to 3,000 with the potential to raise the minimum capacity to 4,000 for further upward progression.

To achieve these increases in capacity we have asked our advisors to look at developing the Loucas End into a three tiered stand that could increase standing and seated capacity. To achieve this ambition will require further substantial amounts of money and whilst it is on our wish list we are not going to abandon our business principals and start trading beyond our means.

We can honestly look into these possibilities because we are the biggest non-league club outside of the Conference and we have a greater following than any club currently in the Conference South or North. We can genuinely consider thoughts of expansion and development as we have the potential to go a lot further up the pyramid. 

We will continue to strive to change the face of non-league football with our 3G campaign and we will continue to look to ways that we can maximise the potential of the football club.

If our fantastic support from local businesses and individuals continues then there are no limits to what we can achieve. 

Building for the future

Maidstone United co-owner Terry Casey

During the close season Oliver, Bill and I have been working hard to make some significant improvements to the stadium. 

We had a limited amount of money that we could spend but we wanted to show that we are listening to our supporters and also demonstrating that we are not going to become complacent about the extraordinary support that we have had in our first season back in the town.

We are also working closely with Jay and, as you can see with the signings we have made, we are not going into the Ryman Premier to simply make up the numbers. As a football club we have the support that cannot be equalled until we look at the attendances in the Conference so we must be looking at involvement in the play-offs at the very least by the end of the 2013/2014 season.

In terms of the building works we have had the usual immense support of our business partners, notably Gallagher Group and Britelite, which have enabled the club to make so many improvements to the ground. We have also had the support of the BTSH committee who have made a substantial contribution to the developments.

Our first requirement was to spend money to satisfy some Ryman league requirements. Next on the list is the addition of another terrace at The Loucas End (town end) which will be installed towards the end of July. All the measures undertaken should increase the capacity to about 2,500 but this is subject to verification.

We need to clear some areas around the pitch and also to add some catering facilities at the Henry Reeves & Co Stand (Springfield end). At the beginning of July we will be laying a tarmac hard standing area on the river side of that terrace which will mean that we can put the six a side goals away during match days and also stand a permanent catering van on the site.

There has been a shortage of toilet facilities and we are installing a toilet block (the same as we already have at the town end) which we be sited between the fire escape steps and the storage building. Fortunately we have installed drainage in that area so there will be a minimum amount of disruption.

We are also creating a further hard standing area in between the changing rooms and the main stand. We have been overwhelmed by the numbers of children who want to have their birthday celebrations at the stadium and this area will accommodate those children and families.

We are also installing a building at the south end to serve as our second bar as we have reached capacity in the Spitfire Lounge and we are aware that many supporters are going elsewhere to have a drink. Our partner and supplier, Shepherd Neame, has recognised the need for further bar facilities and have been highly supportive in the installation of the building.

Finally, we are also installing another building again at the south end that will serve as a club shop. This will not be a permanent shop but will be an improvement on what we have used in the past.

Despite the generosity of the Gallagher Group, Britelite, Shepherd Neame and the BTSH association, these improvements will cost the football club more than £50,000 and whilst I appreciate they will not go far enough for some of our supporters we have to draw a line in the spending somewhere.

We have had the most wonderful season and we are re-investing in the infrastructure and the future of Maidstone United. I know that by continuing to improve the facilities is an investment in the future of the club but we are also aware that we must continue to serve up football that entertains and excites and is successful or the facilities will not be needed.

Thanks for all of your support.

Terry Casey

Exciting, humbling and ultimately rewarding

Terry Casey

The last year has given me some of the most exciting, humbling and ultimately rewarding twelve months of my life.

When we gathered last September on a piece of wasteland in Whatman Way it was difficult to imagine what we would achieve. I now watch our own Maidstone United academy students as they study in their state of the art classrooms and play each afternoon on the equally state of the art playing surface. Many of the students show genuine footballing talent which will secure the playing future of Maidstone United for many years to come.

The future is also being secured by the numerous children’s and youth teams that use the pitch every week. Many of these children never knowing that the county town of Kent ever had a football team but now having a burning ambition to, one day, represent their home town sometime in the future. These youngsters are the future supporters of Maidstone United and we will nurture their love of football and make them feel part of the club.

The future of Maidstone United must also be secured by an attitude to business that means it will never again suffer the indignities of financial collapse and should never teeter of the brink of extinction again. We must make the club commercially viable and there is a clear link to a successful youth development system and a financially secure football club.

To complete the work of building the stadium was sometimes traumatic and often stressful but the support Oliver, Bill and I have had from the supporters of the club meant that we were never going to be deflected from the ambition of bringing football back to Maidstone after twenty five years. The 'tours' I conducted of the stadium, or as it was then building site, for the fans made me feel very humble with genuine supporters telling me about their aspirations for the club and their memories. They would often recall their fathers taking them to their first matches which reminded me of my dad who used to take me to the Athletic Ground on the London Road.

The interment of Elvis’s ashes are a poignant reminder of all the supporters who could not make the return of their team to the town.

The backing, financially, physically and emotionally, that we received from the supporters carried Oliver, Bill and I on a wave of enthusiasm and whilst I have said it many times I should repeat that it has been the supporters that have kept this football club in existence. The crowds we have attracted since we opened are proof that the football followers of Maidstone have an appetite for semi-pro football and I hope that they will stay with us because there is a lot more to come. What is also evident to me is the large numbers of families who are coming to the games which also bodes well for the future.

While what happens on the pitch is vital to all of us we are creating a stadium which will function throughout the year and become a hub for sporting and business activities for many years to come. I am acutely aware that a successful first team will generate more income than all the other activities of the business as a whole so we must ensure that we always financially support the team.

To the supporters who stuck by the club - thank you again.

I wonder where we will be this time next year!

Taking shape at The Gallagher Stadium

Oliver Ash

Every day means another chance to see the pictures and photos of the Gallagher Stadium taking shape. 

It's a very exciting time for everyone connected with the club. The contractors, our project managers Prime, Terry and Bill, and all the well-known club officials (including a few familiar new faces in new jobs) are all working flat out now to get it all done on time.

 

The ground has become green this last week and what a difference that makes. It suddenly looks like a football ground, which is a good job really. Getting the pitch laid and trouble-shooting every day to solve problems is a real challenge. 3G pitches, particularly when they will be used for senior matches in main stadia, are an unknown quantity; not much experience exists of installing them; independent advice of quality is hard to come by; empirical evidence even rarer. So we are having to make difficult decisions at times and we trust we won't come to regret too many of them when we see how it all looks and plays.

 

Our group of clubs, 3G4US, is going strong and lobbying for greater awareness and change on 3G pitches. We are eagerly awaiting feedback from the Football League after their survey, to which many of you contributed. Even more so because we are targeting automatic promotion this season. We want to progress up the pyramid as quickly as sensible business performance will allow us. 

In a nutshell that means that as long as enough supporters come to games, drink and eat in the clubhouse, buy merchandise, join our future membership scheme, play the lottery etc. and as long as local businesses support our sponsorship and advertising campaigns then we will generate enough revenues to afford a top quality team and infrastructure.

 

In addition we will have a pitch to hire out, a car park to fill, an academy to operate and a clubhouse/ bar events centre to manage profitably. The more revenues that all generates the more we can invest in due course into the football club. We won't go down the road of other football models where owners' or bank money is thrown at the first team and insufficient revenues are deemed irrelevant until the ship starts to sink. 

That's why we need all of you, including hundreds of new followers we will meet at the Brighton game, to keep behind us on and off the field so the business works well. Then we can realistically hope to be able to jump up at least couple of levels in the next few seasons. And that's why we want to get change on 3G sooner rather than later because you will know that under current rules the Conference has not yet agreed to allow 3G.

 

We are working with Jay to reorganise the squad for next season and give ourselves the best chance possible of achieving this aim. The new stadium and quality turf will give quality players the chance to show their skills; it will be such a different surface to the ones we're used to; looking like Wembley, genuine skills will be at a premium; luck will be less important than elsewhere. I for one, cannot wait to see the first few games and savour the spectacle!

Thanks for all your support.

Business end of the season

Terry Casey

We are getting to the business end of the season and also the latter stages of the building of our new stadium.

On the field, which is a lot less stressful than the events concerning the stadium, I feel we have done remarkably well to stay in the hunt for a play-off place. It is a credit to Jay who, despite the cutting of his budget, has managed to keep the players motivated and focused. It is simply in our hands now in that if we win both matches then we make the play offs. I think Bognor will be playing for the title on the last day of the season so it promises to be an exciting day.

Off the field we are making great progress and next week we will be laying the 3G carpet. I read that one of our local councillors reported to a local newspaper that he felt by laying this pitch showed a lack of ambition. While he is of course entitled to his opinion, the fact is that without the 3G surface we would not be able to offer the facility for over fifty hours each week to our community, children’s and disability teams. 

It may be that Maidstone United change the face of lower league football if the FA accept the 3G surface at Conference level. It is ironic that CSKA Moscow can play Real Madrid on this very same surface but Dorchester Town cannot play against East Thurrock in the Conference South.

Our decision to spend more money on the east stand looks as though it will be vindicated as we have almost sold out of the VIP seats earning us much-needed revenue. Advance sales on advertising and season tickets are also very encouraging which will mean that our predicted crowds for next season of 800/1,000 will be an achievable target.

We have made some staff appointments in advance of the opening of the stadium that will make sure that the ground and its’ facilities will be professionally managed which will go some way to making sure that the business opportunities will be successful.

The capacity of the stadium has been reduced by the authorities, which has been a disappointment, but we intend to develop a good relationship with the fire and police departments and demonstrate that we will have the systems and facilities that can cope with larger attendances. Bill, who now regards Gus Poyet as “a close personal friend”, has worked a miracle in getting a Championship side like Brighton and Hove Albion to The Gallagher Stadium and it is clear that we will sell out of the 2,000 tickets that have been allowed. Charlton Athletic have said that they will give us date for a friendly, as they also want to be part of the return of the Stones.

I cannot thank enough those people who continue to express their support both financially and in their efforts behind the scenes for what we are trying to achieve - it means a great deal to Oliver, Bill and myself.

Down to earth with a clatter

Oliver Ash

We are all in a bit of shock after two such disappointing opening games.

I was at the Whitehawk game and enjoyed having a chat and shaking a few hands as I went round the ground with my youngest boy on my shoulders. Whitehawk were a very impressive team and the way the game went will have brought us down to earth with a clatter. I got the impression that one or two of our lads struggled to adapt to the pace and quality of the opposition. It didn't help that Jay himself went off early with a calf strain because we need his experience and bite in midfield.

At Whitstable it appears we created a few chances but weren't good enough to get a result. It's even more galling to lose to a rival with a few ex-Stones in their midst! However I am certain that we will recover from this awful start if all the squad recognise that we are in a dog fight in this division and nothing can be taken for granted. We will have to fight for every ball and not assume any opposing team will be easy meat for us just because we are Maidstone United. Right now all we are is bottom of the table, fact.

Also we will have to get used to the fact that our home pitch is a bumpy straw field when it's dry and a bog when it's wet. We have to use this to our advantage and learn how to play on this surface, it's just the way it is. Applying ourselves in this way will make us a better team. I am certain that Jay will get the necessary message over to the boys and we will see results going our way in the near future to bring back a smile to our faces.  

The work off the (Sittingbourne) field continues unabated so we can return to the (Whatman Way) field soonest. You may have seen some preliminary works have been carried out to take care of slow-worms and to allow the electricity sub-station to be built.

We are hopeful, depending on the progress in current contractor discussions, that fencing and ground levelling works can begin within the next month or so and we will be making an announcement as soon as we have a certain date for this.

Our intention is also to organise a 'Start of Works BBQ Party' at the new ground to mark the launch of the construction project. This will be aimed at all supporters, followers and indeed anybody who wishes to show support for the club on this momentous occasion. We may even have special edition merchandise produced to mark the Stones imminent home-coming. Once again more details will be provided asap when we are sure of when we can start works.

I can only conclude by restating how much there is to do to get all the off the field work done, above all the ground construction project. It is a huge and complex undertaking and requires vast volumes of time, energy, skill and patience particularly from Terry and Bill but also from the devoted members of the Committee, so please go easy on them; believe me they are breaking their backs to get us home.

Preparing for a massive moment

Terry Casey

Since the football season ended Bill, Oliver and I have been preparing the way so that we can get the heavy machinery onto the Whatman Way site and get the ground works started.

Having just completed the erection of a fence to stop the slow worms from returning to the site I am pleased to report that matters have been resolved to the satisfaction of the ecologists and they will give us the go ahead to start work on the ground. Once the ground works have started and the site is levelled we can install the fence on two sides and begin to secure the site.

We have had a number of legal obstacles to overcome with the difficulties over acquiring the land bank behind, what will be the East Stand, heading the list of problems. KCC have agreed to sell us the land bank and it is now in the hands of the solicitors.

UK Power will start the installation of the sub-station supplying electricity to the site on 19^th August and the housing of the sub-station will begin in the next few days.

We are working closely with Maidstone Borough Council and submitting all of the alterations in the plans since the application was first lodged more than five years ago. These amendments are also being dealt with by the solicitors but I don’t anticipate any problems that we can’t overcome.

In planning and construction terms we are almost ready to go and we will be able to look at a start date in two to three weeks. Our target of completing the stadium by May 2012 means that we have to start, at the very latest, before the end of September.

Relief from the stresses and strains of the stadium project comes in the form of enjoying the highly promising start Jay and the lads have made to the new season. What is so good to see is the blend of youth and experience that looks so very exciting especially when I consider that more than 50% of the squad are either local lads or who have come through the Maidstone United youth system. I assume that the supporters of Hythe, Whitehawk and Bognor Regis are all thinking they have a squad that will get them into the Ryman Premier but I do think that we would never have been relegated if this squad had started last season.

Your support continues to be absolutely crucial to the club both for the 2011/2012 season and also helping the fund the stadium. We have spoken to many people who have said that they would become more involved once the building works starts. I can tell them it is only a matter of weeks away before work will start building a new home for Maidstone United Football Club.

Synthetic turf and humble ambition

Oliver Ash

I went to the conference at Aston Villa on synthetic turf and very interesting it was too.

The most significant piece of information to emerge was that the FA is going to revisit the question - perhaps next year - of allowing (good quality) artificial turf to be used up to FA Cup Third round. This will require the approval of all the clubs but they feel, as we do, that there is a strong case for it now seeing as it is proven (by those nice people at Fifa) that today's high quality synthetic surfaces play like good natural grass surfaces and cause no additional levels of injury to players.

Additionally they also agree with us and others (the Chairman of Folkestone was also making a similar point) that such turf is the way forward for many clubs such as ours who only have room for one pitch and need to generate commercial revenues to survive. And if all that were not enough argument there's also the fact that you can get all your junior and community club teams playing 'at home' on a good surface.

Now if this is done and approved it is fantastic news! It can only facilitate further changes up the line in favour of allowing artificial turf because more and more influential football  people will realise just how good these pitches are and that they favour high quality football.

I had good meetings with suppliers and installers and now know a little bit more about what we need to install and how to go about it. We should be able to choose a supplier in the next few weeks. I'm not sure exactly what payment terms we may end up with. However you may be interested to know that all the pitch related costs are 'only' about 20% of the total project cost. We are still chasing after the final third (£500k) of our overall project financing. This means that while we are planning to start on site we don't yet have the funds to finish!

We will have to beg, borrow or print in order to make up the shortfall over the next few months as we go along. That is why Terry, Bill and I keep urging you to contribute as much as you can afford to our efforts, raise money, buy lottery tickets, keep the ground fund rising, etc. We are very sensitive to your efforts and every time you dig deep into your pockets and show support it really encourages us to do the same.

As for the thorny question of admission cost I know times are tough but I hope all our supporters and those from other clubs will still be able to come along in great numbers this season. As stated above every effort helps the cause and is recognised by everyone at the club. I am sorry if there are some who may not be able to afford to come. As you know we don't yet have any other significant sources of revenue next season to help us along the way.

Finally, is it arrogant to be ambitious? No of course not! I am ambitious for the club to get back to James Whatman Way as soon as possible. I am optimistic because a town the size of Maidstone should be able to host a professional football club at Conference level. I am ambitious because Maidstone has a huge catchment area and we expect new business and individual supporters to rally to the cause when the new ground is under way. If and when that happens, any and all ambitions will be limited simply by the revenues we can generate through the club. We will run it like a normal business.

The more money we can generate from the facilities and supporters and business locally, the more we can plough back into the playing side. The more money we have to borrow to build the ground however, the more interest and capital we will have to pay back for a few years to come. And this will have some knock-on effect on how much is left for the playing side. It's simple. So yes, we are very ambitious but with all our feet firmly on the ground; we are humble, not arrogant.

Sorry for going on a bit but you know we like to keep you posted.

Have a good summer.

Much to learn, much to achieve

Bill Williams

My two fellow directors Terry and Oliver have agreed to me posting a blog this week, as I have to go into hospital for a procedure and will not be around the club for up to six weeks convalescing.

You will have noticed however, like all good football people, I made sure that nothing interfered with the football season!

There has been much to learn, both on and off the pitch this season. As we make huge strides in bringing the club back home for August 2012, the great escape to keep us out of relegation didn’t quite go as we’d hoped.

At the end it was a very close affair, winning five out of those last possible six was a magnificent effort and, on reflection, had Jay been appointed earlier in the season who knows!

What we have to do now is build on that type of commitment and desire that we all witnessed and come back stronger and more determined.

With Jay agreeing to take on the manager’s job, expectations will be high. The task ahead for him will not be easy. There has never been a “please bounce back first time” situation that has ever been easy. But in Jay Saunders I do believe that we have a very young, determined and astute manager, who certainly has the ability to find the players, motivate and create a winning mentality.

All that we all need to do for now is focus on the coming season and Maidstone United’s return home in August 2012. Terry, Oliver and I, along with everyone at the club, will continue to work towards getting our new stadium built and the team management will work towards getting us back into the Ryman Premier Division at the first attempt.

The passion for the club’s future is plain for all to see. We all have to now work together to make sure that we do not lose this wonderful opportunity over the weeks and months ahead to complete the job of building the stadium and a creating a new team to bring us a championship to that new stadium.

Getting the right result - on and off the pitch

Oliver Ash

I have been physically absent from the club these past few weeks but thanks to internet and other wonders of modern life like the telephone I still feel totally connected. Meanwhile I am happy to allow Terry and Bill to deal with the hard grind of managing our business.

On the field there has been a late surge of quality and passion which has given us the hope we can stay up. All we should worry about is winning on Saturday and hoping Hastings slip up. But even if they do, it will be no good to us if we haven't beaten Hornchurch, so we have to focus solely on that. I hope it's a good omen that my rugby team Brive has managed to escape relegation after a very stressful battle.

Chris Bechervaise asked me for comments on off-field activities for the live radio show on Saturday but instead I'll update you here (hope you don't mind Chris).

Wwe are indeed making good progress with the stadium project in that we have identified various sources for the additional funds to be raised (Football Foundation grant, other third party loan, loan from synthetic pitch company, etc.).

We are optimistic enough on all these possibilities to push ahead with working on revisions to planning permission, ecology studies, preparing to put in electricity to the site, purchasing the freehold of the site and the land bank above it, etc.

We are in constant discussions with our engineers, building companies and turf companies to get a clearer picture of costings and timings. We should be in a position to make an announcement in more detail in the next few weeks.

And of course, last but not least, we are still counting on a significant contribution (£100.000 target) from the supporters because: 1. We do need this additional piece of the total funding jigsaw; 2. It will be a good symbol if the supporters contribution 'builds' the clubhouse, which they will use and enjoy; 3. It will show us that the supporters are also making a very significant effort and we're not on our own doing something crazy that others don't care enough about. So please go for it and make this push for the club.

Good luck to Jay and the boys for Saturday.

Powering our homecoming

Terry Casey

Over the last two weeks we have taken some significant strides to the building of a new stadium. We have commissioned an ecological study at a cost of 20k and we are proceeding with the installation of an electricity sub-station at a cost of 68k.

Because our target is to play our first match on the Whatman Way site in August 2012 these two elements of the construction had to be in place so that ground works can begin in September or October this year.

Oliver, Bill and I are constantly looking at ways that will enable us to reach the target of £1.5 million.  We are feeling more confident now that we have taken the plunge to take these early steps into the construction of the stadium. Another deciding factor was a conversation I had with Barry Fry who said he would give us a pre-season friendly in August 2012 and bring the Peterborough first team to Maidstone. I am reluctant to let this opportunity slip.

We were further encouraged by the news that we have agreed terms for securing the freehold to the land at Whatman Way, which was causing us some concern as the MOD solicitors were putting a number of restrictions on the use of the site which we could not agree to. The purchase of the freehold, the ecological study and the sub-station will require an investment of more than 100k, which demonstrates that we are absolutely serious about our intentions to build the stadium.

It has not been all positive however as we have received a bill from HMRC for 23k of unpaid VAT which we have inherited from previous years of mismanagement. We will have to deal problem promptly or face some serious consequences. 

We also have a problem for the 2011/2012 season as we are forecasting another loss which will, unless we get some help, bite into the money that Oliver and I can invest into the building of the stadium. Please help us with this short term problem by joining the club lottery which will be our main method of raising money. If each person reading this can sell just two monthly lottery tickets the club can make enough money so that the management of the team can attract a squad that we can be proud of. Bill Williams and I have a target of 20 tickets each and we have almost reached our target after just a couple of weeks. Please do your best as it will help us through the next 12 months.

We are putting together a number of packages that we are hoping to attract local businesses to help with both the short term requirements of the club and also the longer term needs of the building of the stadium. These will be advertising and sponsorship packages and there will be something for all local businessmen looking to raise their profile. A significant factor for anybody advertising through Maidstone United Football Club is the immense support that we are getting from The Kent Messenger who will be covering every single stage of the building of the stadium. Any local businesses who sponsor the return of the team to Maidstone will get enormous press and media coverage.

The selling of the bricks and the seats are going to be crucial to the BTSH fund as we have set them a daunting target of 100k which will enable us to build a clubhouse on the Whatman Way site. Please continue to send in your money as the fund still has a long way to go.

I am told we have the support of the Mayor and the local council. We have the support of our local MP, Helen Grant, and we even have the support of the Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson. There has not been one person who has said what we are trying to achieve will do anything but good for the community of Maidstone. If that support could be translated into practical or financial support then our path to the completion of the stadium will be made easier. The fact is that whoever gets involved will benefit a town that is desperate to watch semi-professional football in its home town and a community of hundreds of children and people with disabilities who simply want to play the game that they love in the town that live in.  

  

While we are now on a roll there are going to be a number of setbacks and challenges but they can be overcome with the support of the supporters of the club and the businesses and politicians of Maidstone.

The ups and downs of football

Bill Williams

For the past three or four seasons our club has had a “relegation” tag firmly attached to our shirts and over that time it has been necessary to change our club management in an attempt to save the club from relegation.

The bottom line has always been the same that we have had managers who have not been able to address the goal spread across the team. When a team is assembled it has to have the ability collectively to score at least 45 goals to keep you in any league. The more goal spread you can get around the side obviously the higher up the league you go. This statement isn’t as simple as it sounds and the recipe for success obviously has more ingredients, tight defensively, good players, tactical awareness, team spirit – it goes on.

When Terry, Oliver and I made the decision to appoint Andy Ford and Steve Butler we all believed that this was the correct decision for all the right reasons. We never imagined for a moment that we would have to be reviewing what other managerial options were available to us again so soon.

We are disappointed that the appointment did not work out and are still mystified as to why it didn’t work as we thought their experience and knowledge would be enough to assemble a team to keep us in this division.

Decisions of this importance are never taken lightly and are always made in what we believe are the best interests of the football club. Unfortunately you don’t always get them right.

Our next permanent manager must be the right choice as it is paramount to the future development of this club that this downward spiral is corrected.

We have decided that in this interim period to put Jay Saunders in charge as a caretaker manager and work along with him with a view to offering him a permanent position.

There will be those who will say that Jay is far too inexperienced and that we need a vastly experienced manager with a proven track record. We have just been down that road recently and it may still become an option.

Jay Saunders wants to become a manager; he has great rapport with the players and years of experience playing at this level. We will find out if he has the tactical awareness and knowledge of identifying a talented player in the weeks ahead.

My first bit of advice to him would be to select a very good assistant as playing and managing is certainly not an easy job. So let’s get behind this decision and give Jay every opportunity as it will allow us to have a look at each other, see what ability he has and give the Board the added opportunity to have some time to deliberate before we make an important decision.

Bourne again

Terry Casey

The move back to Sittingbourne in some ways might seem like a backward step but there were numerous factors behind the decision.

We have not been able to be too detailed about the move up until now because the Ryman League only met last week to ratify the proposal and we did not want to pre-judge their decision.

Whilst the move to Ashford was one that I initially agreed with it soon became obvious to me that the distance and the location of Homelands meant that playing on the outskirts of Ashford could never work. The facilities at Ashford were an improvement on Bourne Park but its location, so far away from the town, has asked too much of the club and its loyal supporters. Whatever happens in the future another season at Homelands would have meant that the attendances would have dropped even further.

We looked at Chatham and Sittingbourne and would have liked to re-locate to Chatham but the ground would require a great deal of money spent on it to bring it up to the grading required for Ryman Premier. I have been assuming that Maidstone United will not get relegated as it is certainly not part of my business plan!

We then went back to Andy Spice at Sittingbourne and he was prepare to offer a very competetive rent as he was keen to get the Stones supporters back to his club house. The hoped income from bar and food sales at Ashford never materialised so to let our landlords at Sittingbourne have these takings is no loss to us. I also feel that because of the much closer proximity of Bourne Park we might, if we start to win some matches, add 50/100 to the gate.

Bill and I have completed our presentations to local businesses and the next couple of weeks will determine whether this route will enable us raise the funding for the stadium. We are looking at all options regarding the fundraising and whilst a number of the responses are positive it has become clear that, in the current economic climate, raising £1.6m will be a lot to ask.

Investing in our future

Terry Casey

Bill and I have had meetings with a number of local investors and they have all confirmed that they want to become involved in helping to build a football stadium in Maidstone.

Our detailed business plan itemises the cost of building the stadium at £1.6 million and explains how, with further capital from Oliver and myself and a football foundation grant, we have already got £400k in the stadium fund. We are presenting a plan that is based on running a successful business on the synthetic 3g pitch which has already been well received by the businessmen that we have approached.

Although the early reactions we have had are very positive the fact is that £1.2million is an awful lot of money and we are going to have to work very hard to raise this amount.

I am aware of the frustrations that the supporters are feeling over the result at Canvey it was a game that I thought we could have won but I am learning that football doesn’t seem to follow a script.

The fact is that we have appointed, in Andy Ford, a man who has a successful record in football management and he shares the frustration that is felt by all of us when the team perform badly. The amount of work and effort he has put in since he took over in late October suggests to me that he will get things right before the end of the season. It is encouraging that we have also been able to re-sign quality players like Jay and Nathan, which is evidence of the determination of us all of us to avoid relegation.

It is difficult to imagine how important that a successful Maidstone United team is to many of the people of the town. I bumped into someone recently who reminded me of the passion that could be generated. He told me that his father, Adrian, was so thrilled at the Stones getting to the third round of the FA Cup in the 1978/9 season that he had christened him as follows; Glen, Richard, Christopher, William, Kenneth, Neil, Brian, Norman, Allan, John, Barry Clark.

Glen was chosen by his dad because it was the name of the goal scoring legend Glen Coupland. 

I am convinced that when we bring Maidstone United back to the town we will bring the crowds back and the whole community will benefit from our efforts and endeavours.