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.

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.