Construction, crowds and commitment

Terry Casey

We continue to make good progress at Whatman Way - thanks to a combination of good weather and the hard work of the Gallagher team. There are now a number of significant target dates we are working towards with 14^th July the intended first match against Charlton.

The installation of the floodlight masts is the beginning of a programme that is working to another target date which is the 18^th April, when works starts on the laying of the 3g surface. 

Before this can happen the framework on the stand must be completed and the terraces must have been installed. We are about to order the pitch perimeter barrier which must also be in place prior to the 3g installation. The work in getting everything in place is enormous but each time I visit the site I am encouraged by the supporters who are also watching the progress.

I want to make a personal request regarding the foul and abusive language at some matches of a small number of our fans. I want the club to be a place where children and grandchildren can attend matches and not have to listen to some supporters using the F word as part of their way of abusing the referee and players and including it in their chants. 

As an example the chant to the Whitstable supporters of “you can stick your oysters up your arse“  was OK as it was a bit crude but amusing whereas “you can stick your f---ing oysters up your arse” is not acceptable. 

When a player or referee is subjected to direct abuse that includes the f word I do not want children or indeed anyone to have to listen to that type abusive language. I accept it is a passionate game and emotions can become inflamed but there are alternatives to abusive swearing.

There has been some debate recently about the club rewarding the loyal fans in terms of  tickets for the friendlies and season ticket distribution. 

I will take this opportunity to make the club’s position very clear as I feel that it has been those same supporters who saved Maidstone United Football Club, so it will be those supporters who will get priority and preference for the pre-season friendlies and season tickets.  

Somehow the club has managed to retain hundreds of loyal supporters despite all the false dawns and the indignities of not having a team that plays its football in the town that it represents. I would not have become involved but for the fans' dedication and loyalty. 

If there is ever a discussion about who saved the football club from extinction there is absolutely no doubt in my mind. It was saved by the commitment and loyalty of a few hundred supporters.   

Wonderful progress at Whatman Way

Terry Casey

The progress made on the Whatman Way site has been wonderful. The hundreds of us that can’t keep away are seeing developments every time we visit. Our thanks and admiration go to the team at Gallaghers who have worked incredibly hard and skilfully which has meant that, in this part of the stadium project, we are ahead of schedule.

The Gallagher performance has enabled us to order and pay a deposit on the floodlights.

The surface is now ready for the final layer of stone and the 3G carpet to be laid. We have confirmed our order with the pitch manufacturer but laying the carpet will be one of the last jobs that we do. We are also endeavouring to lead a lobby group of clubs who will start to get the FA to realise that the future in the game for the smaller clubs has to be playing on a surface that can be used all year regardless of the weather.  

We are currently looking at final designs for the club house and we are very close to starting work on the grandstand. Whilst there is a long way still to go, it is beginning to take shape and the excitement amongst the people of Maidstone is growing daily.

Our sales campaign will start after Christmas and we will be looking at selling advertising boards and a whole range of different items that will relate to our historic homecoming. One of our priorities is to ensure that we come up with a system that enables all of our loyal and regular supporters to get first opportunities for the high profile opening friendly matches. There will be more information on this next year.

We have been close to making the books balance this season for the football club but the historic financial problems still come back to haunt us making the job of making the football club viable more difficult to achieve. We have set aside a fund to build the stadium and I am optimistic that the team’s performances will continue to attract sufficient gates which will allow us to keep our stadium fund intact.

As well as all the excitement off the pitch, the performances of Jay and the lads has meant that we are getting better crowds than we have for some years and I am hoping that we continue to see an increase in attendances for the rest of the season. There is no doubt in my mind that because of the way that the team is playing we are getting fantastic entertainment. I felt that the during the Ramsgate match, with the noise from behind the goal and the general banter from the Stones faithful, that we were beginning to regain some of the old swagger that always went with Maidstone supporters in days gone by. There was a pride that I hadn’t seen for a while which comes from being top of the league, playing exciting football and knowing that we are coming home to our rightful place in the town.

Football can be a great game!

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.

A small but significant step

Oliver Ash

It's a small but significant step: we are now completing the acquisition of the freehold of the James Whatman Way site after a lengthy negotiation process.

In little over six months we have cleared out £200k of debt that was strangling the business and turned the long leasehold into a freehold. The battles are being won at great cost but the war is long.

We also have other problems to deal with, dating back to before we took control. Unpaid taxes are an unfortunate and unpleasant subject. Terry and I are going to fight our corner and negotiate to the last penny on these issues so we reduce our costs as far as possible and free up funds for the ground.

Speaking of which there is the ground fund: now that we have secured commitments for two thirds of the money needed to build the stadium. We are asking the local aithorities to support us financially and we are also asking synthetic turf suppliers to provide flexible payment terms. I am attending an FA conference next week in Birmingham on synthetic turf and intend to return with a deal in hand.

We will keep asking supporters to share the financial burden as much as they can, hence the ticket pricing debate. Please do what you can to pay to support the club. I sincerely hope nobody will be put off coming because of the pricing, that would be a blow.

Within 18 months, assuming we have a new ground, we hope to start raising even more money from supporters far and wide, individuals and corporates, by improved client relationship management (all serious sports businesses are now focusing on it) and offering more club products for sale - but that's for later. The basic idea is to raise enough money commercially to make the business wash its face so owners don't have to keep pumping money in. Absolutely necessary I can assure you...

I won't bother mentioning actual football...June is the pro football and rugby holiday month so I'll just have to get my kicks from cricket, golf and tennis for a few weeks.

Just the ticket

Terry Casey

There has been some interest over the ticket pricing for next season and I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the thinking behind asking supporters to pay £10 for a ticket.

The first and most important point to make is, as many of you know, the club has to pay £2 of the admission price to HMRC and therefore only receives £8.  Furthermore, as the club did not pay any VAT for the previous four years, we have now been forced to set out a re-payment programme which hopefully will eventually re-pay the £25k the club currently owes. Not paying the VAT could jeopardise the very existence of the club.

Please also consider the club’s ambitions both on and off the pitch. We have a stadium to build that will cost £1.6million and will give the club a home after more than 20 years in exile.  Many of the supporters of the club feel that one day we may return to the football league which seems realistic after seeing AFC Wimbledon achieve that feat. Our potential and ambitions is far greater than any other club in the Ryman South so to compare Maidstone United FC to others in the league is like comparing apples to oranges.

Even with the ticket prices as they are we have no hope of meeting the costs of the next season through the turnstiles alone. Our average attendance was 311 at Ashford but our loyal supporters are our best chance of at least coming close to the £170k required to keep the club afloat.

I am unashamedly asking the supporters to help the club by paying an extra £1 or £2 more than Whitstable Town or Ramsgate are asking. Every single penny that comes through the turnstiles goes to the survival of the football club. Nobody receives a wage for what we do and Oliver and I will have invested over £1million into the club to both ensure its very existence and to make sure that we play our games back in Maidstone.

I am not seeking anything from the supporters except their support by their attendance at matches in return we will put a team on the pitch that you can be proud and that will give us a realistic hope for promotion next season.

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.

Planning for the future of our club

Terry Casey with Ellis Green

I was so delighted that Jay had persuaded Ellis Green to commit to Maidstone United that I felt compelled to meet with the player and speak to him about the plans and ambitions that we have at the football club.

I had thought that because of Ellis’s performances we would be unlikely to be able to keep him especially as a number of the clubs he had played against immediately made offers to him. Most of the approaches were better in financial terms than our offer but because of his high regard for Jay Saunders and his immediate affinity with the supporters he wanted to stay with the club as he felt he could enjoy his football with Maidstone. I personally feel that Ellis is one of the most promising and exciting talents in non-league football so his signature on a contract is a very significant signing for the club.

Next season will throw up different challenges for the players and management of Maidstone United Football club as there is now an expectancy that we will win promotion at the first attempt and the promotion will coincide with our return to Maidstone. I share that expectancy and there should be no excuses for any failure to achieve this ambition. 

To meet the wage roll of the players and pay the bills for the 2011/2012 season will require about £160,000.  To enable the club to meet this target until the end of next season we need the help of the supporters. Please join the lottery and try to get your friends to join as our target is a thousand players each week which will give the club £4,000 a month and mean that we can go some way to making the club financially solvent. Alternatively you can make direct donations to the club which will also help pay for the day to day running of the club.  

The offices that we use cost the club nothing, the club doesn’t have any administration charges and doesn’t pay anyone salaries. All the work that is done comes at no cost and is done by an army of people who are utterly dedicated to the football club. Any money that you donate either directly or through the lottery will be used trying to achieve success on the pitch or survival off the pitch.   

All of these activities are separate from the work that we are doing in raising the money to build the stadium. We are having meetings with Maidstone Borough Council who are helping to guide us through the numerous alterations to the original planning permission that was originally granted. I am sure you are keen to know that there have been a number of slow worms found on the site and they have been escorted successfully to a nature reserve.

The building of the sub-station will begin in August and we are looking at fencing part of the site as our next job. We are having meetings with local businesses as we are looking for a main shirt sponsor for the next two seasons.

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.

Pat's backing builds momentum

Terry Casey

Having Pat Gallagher supporting and endorsing the building of the new stadium has given the whole project more than just money, it has given it the credibility and momentum that will ultimately result in Maidstone United FC at last playing its matches in Maidstone.

Pat is renowned locally as an immensely successful businessman and captain of industry and this latest gesture is just another example of Pat Gallagher's overwhelming generosity towards the people of the town.

Pat has already given a great of time and thought to the construction of the new stadium and he has pledged his continuing support and expertise.

We are now taking significant strides forward and are looking at a fund that has now reached £1,000,000. We are still a long way short but with your help buying seats and bricks I am now, for the first time, convinced that we will make the target and build the stadium.

KCC Highways have agreed to sell the club the land bank that adjoins our site in Whatman Way, which gives our design engineers more space for the east stand to be situated. It's good news like that which makes up for the problems encountered with the MOD securing the freehold. Being involved in Maidstone United is a bit like being on a roller coaster.

As the fund for the stadium build is entirely separate from the day to day running of the football club, proceeds from the lottery will enable the club to trade solvently for the 2011/2012 season. Please try to persuade just five of your friends and family to join the lottery as this will mean that the football club can pay its way for the first time in many years.

Andy Ford and Steve Butler should have been the “dream ticket” for Maidstone United FC. Not only were they highly experienced they also worked tirelessly in trying to get the team out of the relegation places. If effort and commitment were the only qualities required then Andy and Steve would have seen us to safety but sadly it seems that there are many factors that govern success in football management. I want to thank Andy and Steve for the time, loyalty and effort that they gave to the club while they were in charge.

I know it is clearly early days but Bill and I have been very impressed with the conduct of Jay Saunders and whilst any decision about next season won’t be taken for some time Jay has already demonstrated many qualities that suggest he understands how to get the best out of fellow professionals.

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.

Don't be defeated

Oliver Ash

One thing I have learnt from being involved in professional football and rugby clubs is how much it hurts losing. It’s simply gut-wrenchingly awful.

For at least 24 hours after a defeat I am totally unbearable to be with and that’s saying something. My poor family has a hard time of it. At least with Maidstone I’m not watching it on TV, as is the case occasionally with Brive. During the broadcasts I transform into some sort of demon out of a Harry Potter film, a screaming, venomous monster clearly not from this planet, spraying forth forbidden words that the children produce over breakfast the next morning to my shame.

A few days ago at home in front of the TV, those same children sitting excitedly on the sofa next to me, I watched the Brive team lose to Bayonne in a relegation scrap as depressing as some of our own recent performances. At one stage I found myself yelling at the referee loudly enough for him to have heard the advice 400kms away. I looked around to see my littlest boy crying: “Daddy I get scared when you’re shouting”. I didn’t want to admit to him that I scare myself with such moronic behavior. It’s just that suffering defeats when your heart, soul (and wallet) are intimately tied up with the team you are watching is anguish itself. It was so much more satisfying playing and not just watching, I could get rid of my frustrations by kicking the ball or an opponent, or, on one occasion, a spectator…

Last Tuesday’s defeat to Tonbridge was more of the same. It felt like the whole crowd (apart from the singing Tonbridge supporters that is) was subdued and fed up. It is a dreadful losing spiral we’re in and it’s hard to change things around. It can still be done, there are some encouraging things to latch onto, we have some excellent players on board now but something needs to click very fast or we shall run out of time. After three years’ struggle at this level we are all in need of a good long winning run again. I hope it starts on Saturday.

This Saturday there is an important meeting with supporters. My apologies for not being able to make it. I have other commitments across the Channel. I’m sorry to miss a chance to debate all the issues concerning the new stadium with everybody.

We have only just started talking seriously to a few interested parties about the capital raising scheme. Nobody has yet ended a meeting by slipping a big bag of cash across the floor towards us (or if they did Terry has been keeping it rather quiet) but it is early days.

However we know it is not going to be easy to find investors, who accept our arguments and conditions and with whom we are also comfortable as partners. Whatever the outcome of this process over the next few weeks we are going to do our damnedest to find a way of financing the new stadium.

It is therefore important for us to see that the supporters are still right behind the stadium project and prepared to dig deep into their pockets to fight for it. By this I don’t just mean the faithful few hundred, who deserve medals ( or even better a stadium in town) for all their efforts, sticking with the club after so long in exile, but other ‘occasional’ supporters, the ones who all reappeared when we played Folkestone in a key game a couple of seasons ago.

We will be asking you all to make another mega fund-raising effort in order to give us the impetus to push on because then Terry and I will have no doubt how important this project is to every one of you.

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NEWS: Maidstone United Football Club has announced the KM Group as new shirt sponsors. Read more

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.

New Year, new era...

Oliver Ash

In the absence of any football to bring excitement or despair we are all focussing on the next few months, which are likely to be amongst the most important in the club’s history.

In the first part of January we intend to announce the details of the fund-raising scheme to raise some £1.6 million. As some have pointed out quite correctly this is a daunting amount but on the other hand we have to be positive and see the glass half full and not empty: if we can raise this money and build the ground, then the club should be able to run profitably in the long run.

It will also have a fantastic asset, a well-located income producing football ground with a café/bar/clubhouse. We will go flat out to attract a few investors who share our thinking and philosophy, who believe in the new business plan and who want to contribute to a worthy cause – the county town football club, which means a great deal to at least a thousand people and probably more, and which contributes a lot to the lives of men, women, boys and girls, with varying abilities and disabilities and whose lives would be significantly poorer if due to shortage of funds it were no longer to exist....

As others have pointed out the cost of building even the basic ground (I find it hard to call it a stadium...) is much higher than we had hoped. We have had good advice but the numbers always come back to this sort of figure. We have excluded the option of trying to get the ground built by supporters because it just isn’t manageable. There is also a lot of site preparation due in part to the water table and other costs linked to league requirements as well as the extra cost of the 3G pitch. 

There are lots of arguments in favour of this pitch but I like the one about the fact that the community teams and supporters will become much more a part of the club, sharing the facilities. This in itself could well attract investors who want to feel they are contributing to a good cause and not just a first team.

There is only one (very) good argument against: the problem of promotion being blocked. My reply to that argument is that we will lobby like crazy to change the rules over the next few years. Moreover right now we are struggling to stay in the Ryman Premier after a few seasons of playing above our level due to more money being spent on the team than the club could afford.

So to even imagine promotion yet is being wildly optimistic. And assuming that we do go from strength to strength in the next few years I would hope that in the first instance the challenge, say, of winning three league titles in a row and having some good cup runs (even if we have to play at other grounds) would appeal enough to supporters than the grim alternative...which may be to go shopping on a Saturday afternoon.

Terry, Bill and I wish you all a Happy New Year.

On the eve of something historic

Terry Casey

Under normal circumstances this would be a quiet time of year and with all the postponements there should be even less to write about but there is very little that is normal about running this football club.

There are extra financial pressures put onto to all football clubs when there are so many matches that fall foul of the weather and it means that our already small income is for the month is reduced to almost zero.

The problems caused by the weather have not stopped us moving forward on our ultimate ambition which is to bring Maidstone United Football Club back to the town. In fact we have arrived at a number of crucial decisions regarding the building of the stadium.

We have spent the past three months reviewing the design and build of the stadium and we are now clear on our financial objectives as the costs will be £1.6million. This is the amount of money that it will require to comply with the minimum requirements for the team to continue to play at its’ current level.

In the £1.6 million is the cost of a 3g synthetic surface which has been unanimously agreed between the three directors as the best, and some have said the only way, to secure the long term security of the football club. I know there has been a great deal of discussion and I feel obliged to explain how we reached the decision.

There were two main factors influencing the decision with the first being the financial return that can emanate from the hire of this type of facility. There are very few artificial pitches in the area and they are all booked for many weeks ahead.

The profits from this venture will be channelled through to the football club which will allow the club to improve the stadium and also to improve the playing squad. We all feel that to attract investors we will need to demonstrate that the club will be viable because of the surface.       

The second reason was that the football club must become a community with many of the teams using the pitch for training and matches meaning that the players, parents, friends and supporters will come together on the one site. We will have bar and refreshment facilities available which will add to the financial effectiveness of the project.

The last two winters should force the FA to think more progressively and allow the artificial surfaces or many more small clubs will face extinction. I am of the opinion that the installation of this surface signifies our ambition to progress and to secure the future of Maidstone United Football Club.

The next three weeks could be the most important in the club’s history because we will, by mid January have our proposals ready to present to potential investors. We are looking to put together a package that will attract people to the club with a mixture of good solid business sense and an exciting  opportunity to become involved in something that will ultimately be historic for the town.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas.

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The great 3G debate

Oliver Ash

It seems the 3G pitch is the hottest topic in town.

Well it’s great to have something that seems to be provoking such a sensible and constructive debate.  There is no easy answer; we will be obliged to compromise. Rest assured the final decision will be based on creating a solid football-business model, to make sure the club becomes as attractive as possible to players, supporters and, of course, investors and sponsors. We aim to build a stable, thriving club without the constant fear of bankruptcy.

Speaking of which, please don’t imagine that just because we’ve now got the ground ‘debt-free’ all our troubles are over...alas it is not so.

As we have already stated we have significant old debts to deal with. If that were not enough we have the additional concerns of losing money every week because until now we have had no commercial revenue to speak of and match postponements reduce the modest gate money still further. It’s a Catch 22 situation that cannot be allowed to go on for too long. That’s why we’re in a hurry to see how much the new ground will cost.

We will be launching some new commercial initiatives in the New Year to help reduce the deficit so please keep an eye out for these. Any help you can give us would be much appreciated.

It’s funny: whether it’s football over here or rugby in my other favourite country, some people are always convinced that we’re in it for the money:  “They’re sensible businessmen, they must know what they’re doing”, or “They don’t care about our club the way we do”.

The truth is that people invest in football or rugby for loads of different emotional reasons, and often simply because by doing so they can make a difference to something they believe is important. In life the only certainty is death and taxes; in football club ownership it's losing money and becoming unpopular.

A taxing issue

Terry Casey

There has been a lot of interest recently about Welling Football Club turning to their supporters to pay their tax bill.

It appears that not only are Welling asking supporters of other clubs to donate money but they have also initiated a loan scheme asking supporters to lend the club money to pay off HMRC.

The great majority of the posts I have read from Maidstone United fans are clearly unsympathetic to the plight of Welling and also to the people that have so mismanaged the club that they find themselves close to extinction.

I am not sure why there is so much indignation when a football club are asked to pay their taxes. It is one of the irritating but unavoidable facts of life that we all have to pay taxes that are due to the government.

Why should the owners and directors of football clubs imagine that they can work under a different set of rules to everybody else? It is not only the taxman that football clubs can be financially irresponsible towards.

I looked recently at the Portsmouth list of creditors and it was sad to see the numerous decent hard working people and small businesses who were never likely to get paid for their labour and their goods.

The public are losing patience with the fast and loose attitude that football clubs have had for many years with other people’s money. Maybe the hard-nosed realism shown by Maidstone United supporters about the Welling situation emanates from fans that have already seen their team go into liquidation.

Sadly our inheritance as the new owners of Maidstone United also involves huge difficulties with HMRC that could still put the club under enormous pressure. These debts are not the responsibility of the supporters of the club.

Supporters should not be pressurised by being told unless they put their hands in their pockets the club will no longer exist. The simple reason for the debts are poor management and a feeling among football club owners that they are in some way immune from accountability.

Maidstone United Football Club must be run as a business. It must be viable - that is the only way for the club to be safe in the future. To make the club commercially viable we have to play our home games in Maidstone.

It is the duty and responsibility of the owners to run the club with efficiency, integrity and honesty, and make every effort to ensure that the county town has a football club that it can be proud of.

It is not the responsibility of the supporters to bail out a failing business whenever it gets itself into trouble.

There is still a long way to go and after just two months in charge we are all still working hard to secure the future of the club.

The weather is snow joke

Oliver Ash

It looks like we’re already into the ‘match postponed’ season and we’re still in November.

This is bad news for everybody: we lose receipts from matches when cash-flow is tight, the fans get frustrated and travelling to and from matches is tough. I’m planning to come over from France for Saturday’s game against Tonbridge but with the weather warnings this may not be possible. Our commercial strategy meeting may have to be postponed too which is also bad news as we need to start raising commercial revenues as soon as possible.

Of course it’s tempting to dream that if we had an artificial pitch it would all be different, that despite the snow we’d be the only show in town, playing in front of huge crowds of football-starved spectators, generating much needed regular revenues….but the case is still unproven on that one.

However plans for the new ground are progressing and we’re nearly at the stage where we can put a precise cost to the plan. When that happens we will be able to go to investors with a precise proposal for them to join the party. So hopefully we’ll know where we stand on all that by Christmas time. We will of course keep you posted.

In the meantime please remember we depend totally on your support. Just think that in a month of snow-disrupted matches we still have to pay the running costs which amount to about £15,000!

That’s why every £10 on match day, every bit of merchandise, every drink consumed at Homelands, all help the bottom line and show us that enough of you care about keeping the show on the road.

The deficits should disappear when we get the ground built, that’s still the number one priority and, less than two months after the takeover, we’re still on schedule.