[Devongone]

"We are planning to arrange a peaceful gathering prior to the Basford United FA Trophy game on Saturday 15th December with the intention of making a one-off statement about the fans’ level of discontentment with the club; we would stress that there will be no attempt to persuade anyone from not attending the game but everyone will be welcome to join us before kick-off and we will be meeting in the car park near to the main entrance at 2.30 pm.

Whilst we realise that this is unlikely to make any real difference to those in control, we feel that a message needs to be sent about what has happened to this once proud club, the numerous embarrassments that have been suffered by the fans in respect of how the club has been run and the fact that there is no longer any pleasure at all in watching the style of football being played.

Even the most committed of supporters have reached the conclusion that this can't carry on and, without serious changes, very soon the club as we know it may no longer exist.

If there is little support on the day, then at least we will have tried to generate some serious publicity about the feeling of the majority of fans as indicated by the people who travel with us and the numerous messages posted on various forms of social media.

We would like to be clear that we are not a campaigning group but we feel that some sort of message needs to be sent that supporters will not indefinitely tolerate the current situation. We hope to see you there but, if not, all the best and here's hoping for a much better future for the club somehow."

Paul Goodwin on behalf of the Bridge Inn Blues Away Travel


Seems a long overdue but necessary starting point to fans giving themselves an organised voice rather than remaining a rabble.

Unfortunately DA does hold all the cards and won't go anywhere near the Proact.

He does however have business interests. I fear protests will have to step up many levels from this very responsible beginning to make any impression on our owner's intransigence. He has the money, the power and the law on his side.

What do you think?

[SaltergateBorn]

It`s very sad that things have come to this point but I suppose, given all that`s happened in the past few years, that it`s inevitable. Will this be as far as it goes or will it develop into something more strident and aggressive? Who knows? I suspect, football fans being as fickle as we are, that will depend very much on what happens on the pitch. If we put this run behind us and pull away from the relegation zone, I would suggest that it will peter out, or at least develop no further. If, on the other hand, things don`t improve and another relegation becomes a probability..........

There was some discussion a while ago on another thread about where ‘ownership’ of a club really lies; if this protest develops further I`m afraid that we are all going to find out in glorious technicolour. I maintained then, and still do, that ownership ultimately lies where the money and the power lie. As long-standing fans, we may have a substantial intellectual and emotional commitment in the club but, at the end of the day, in comparison to the aforementioned it don`t count for diddly-squat. It will only count for anything if those with the real power see their interests – which are financial, almost exclusively – threatened.

At the moment I think the people behind the protest are deliberately being very balanced and non-confrontational – and on one level I admire them for that. Unfortunately, however, that is the very reason why I don`t think those in power will feel their interests to be unduly threatened by it in the immediate future. That being so, I don`t honestly think it will achieve much in the short term. They will realise that we are all very unhappy at the moment but, come on, they`d have to be pretty bloody thick not to have worked that out already. When the away fans start singing ‘sacked in the morning’ and the home support joins in, as they did on Sunday, anybody with two brain-cells to rub together could work that out.

I didn`t like that at all, by the way; I found it very distasteful, to be honest. MA may not be everybody`s cup of tea (although I don`t recall anybody arguing too vehemently against his appointment at the time), and the style of a lot of the football we`ve seen this season certainly isn`t mine, but he`s a human being doing a very difficult job and my impression is that, just like the players, he`s working as hard as he can to put things right. That being the case, I believe he deserves a bit more respect than that. Anybody who`s ever been in a management position, if they`re being honest, knows that there are times when absolutely nothing will work out the way it should, no matter how hard you try to make it. It seems that every decision you make turns out to be the wrong one, no matter how convinced you were beforehand and how logical it all seemed. I know I`ve had a couple of spells like that during the course of my career. The difference is, of course, I didn`t have a whole gang of people screaming abuse at me and telling me I was going to be sacked the following day. Perhaps some of these people should ask themselves how they would feel if they were on the receiving end of it.

If any ‘protest’ is going to be effective, I`m afraid it`s going to have to get a whole lot nastier and more targeted. How much nastier depends on what the people behind it are wanting as an outcome. (For any action to be ‘effective’, it has to be established what the desired ’effect’ was in the first place.) And it`s no good just trotting out platitudes like ‘we want the club to be successful’. DA wants that, AC wants that, MA wants that, all the players and backroom staff want that, we ALL want that. It`s a question of what do we have to do to bring that about? I think it`s unlikely that any protest of this kind is going to bring any meaningful answers to that.

So basically, Dev, I agree with your conclusion. Sorry I`ve rambled on so long. There were a few more things I was going to say, but I think I`ll leave it for now.

[spireitematt]

One protest wouldn't be effective, you would need several.

What needs to happen is boycott the game against Basford United in the FA Trophy and all the fans should turn up to Glapwell on the Sunday afternoon to watch the ladies team play Mickleover in the cup. 3,000-4,000 Chesterfield fans turning up to get behind the ladies team would be a massive confidence boost for them and would put a smile on all their faces.

[SaltergateBorn]

That`s exactly the point I was trying to make, Matt – or one of ‘em, anyway. When you talk about the protest being ‘effective’, what ‘effect’ do you want?

At the end of the day, we all have to accept that DA currently has the club by the short-and-curlies. If this protest is to become more organised and more focussed, the organisers have a) to think very carefully about what the endgame is likely to be and whether that is the endgame they want and b) to decide how unpleasant they are prepared for things to get (DA doesn`t strike me as someone who will go quietly unless he does so on terms that are entirely to his liking).

I like the idea of going to support the ladies` team, though. Sadly, I have family commitments that day but if I didn`t I might be tempted to do that.

[Dancingwilldoit]

There is no way Dave Allen is going to admit defeat and give in to anybody. Yes by all means protest but it wont make the slightest bit of difference.
He doesn't go to games, he isnt a CFC supporter. He has no interest whatsoever other than whats in it for him.
It doesn't matter if we end up dropping another 3 divisions with 500 fans watching games, he will just downscale the club side and push the catering side and still manage to make a few bob. Chesterfield hasn't had a dog track for a few years and Sheffield Eagles are continually looking for a new home.
He owns the ground and the stadium. He holds all the aces. He's a stubborn bitter Yorkshireman who doesn't like being told anything and he isn't going to change anytime soon and there lies the problem.

The stay aways and the NAPM brigade think they will make a difference, the truth is they wont. By starving the club of funds there is only 1 way it will go and thats downhill.
If the club was well supported then we could hope that some of the extra revenue might find its way back into the team.
At worst a light bulb may switch on in somebodies pea like brain that maybe just maybe if we get back into the football league the worthless club might actually be worth a few more bob.
Dave Allen is a businessman, he makes money, he doesn't do failure or at least he doesn't admit to it. So if we drop again he wouldn't give a shit. It would just be another nail in the coffin for the fans.
There has been some shady dealing over the last few years, Mr Carson knows all about it and will permanently be in the background whilstever Dave Allen is in control. Its called safeguarding. Gift him a few shares and a few backhanders to keep him quiet and alls well.

That why I thought Martin Allen was the man for the job. The first thing he did was drive a bit of a wedge between Carson and Allen. He courted the fans, he got them onside and spoke well. He was a character that just might have turned a ship heading for the rocks around. Unfortunately for all his experience he seems to be floundering. He thought he knew what was needed - he obviously didn't. The signs of improvement are there for all to see but will it finally click into place in time or too late?

Salford is really make or break for me. Win and maybe there is hope, lose or draw and Basford will be irrelevant, the grim reaper is at the front door.

Whichever way it goes, I cant see myself driving up to Glapwell to watch CFC ladies but there again they could well end up at the Proact.

[SaltergateBorn]

Bloody hell, Dancing. And I thought I was a cynic! I think you`re right in pretty much every respect, though (apart from DA holding all the Aces; I reckon he holds all the Kings, Queens and Jacks as well). Otherwise, I agree with almost all of what you say.

(You had to mention about DA being a Yorkshireman, didn`t you; I was trying desperately not to mention that, but seeing as you did...... No, I`m determined I won`t stoop that low – not yet anyway. Give me time.)

I actually still think that Martin Allen may indeed eventually prove to be the man for the job. I honestly think we`re two-thirds of the way to having a decent team that could well prosper in this league; it`s the last third that`s the problem. At the moment, it`s powder-puff in that area. I`ve already banged on at great length about the lack of creativity, but the delivery of the final ball is consistently crap and nobody is attacking the ball in the area; they`re all just standing there waiting for it to arrive. Also, nobody is moving around to draw the defence out of position so there isn`t any space for the midfield to play the ball into. That was the only real difference between the teams on Sunday; to me, we`re as close as that. Until they scored, apart from that area I thought we were as good as they were. After they scored, though, we were always vulnerable on the break.

I hope you keep faith, Dancing, but I understand entirely. I don`t think I`ll be there on Saturday (but I still may be) and I certainly won`t be going to the Basford game for family reasons, as I`ve already said. If the likes of Matt, you and me (I exonerate Dev for reasons of geography) give up, then CFC really is f**ked.

[spireitematt]

I hope you keep faith, Dancing, but I understand entirely. I don`t think I`ll be there on Saturday (but I still may be) and I certainly won`t be going to the Basford game for family reasons, as I`ve already said. If the likes of Matt, you and me (I exonerate Dev for reasons of geography) give up, then CFC really is f**ked.

After What I watched on Sunday SB, it's really really difficult to care. There were times when I felt just What's the point? and then there were times when I felt like running on the pitch getting the ball and putting it in the net that's how frustrated I was.

What I watched didn't feel like Chesterfield, it felt like 11 strangers had been picked from the crowd and were told to try and play as a team. There was no shape, no real formation, players couldn't string a pass together, couldn't find another player in a blue shirt. There were spells and bursts of play where we looked threatening and looked like scoring but we didn't take the chances and we seemed to be chasing the game as well as the ball for the majority of it.

Grimsby were nothing special and in my opinion they were beatable. If these teams we are playing are playing poorly and beating us then it just shows how poor we must be playing.

So far Staveley and Buxton have managed to beat Basford, Staveley beat them in the FA Cup and Buxton beat them in the Integro League Cup last night winning 3-2 after being 2-0 down with 8 minutes to go. How embarrassing would it be if actually struggled and didn't beat them in the FA Trophy? That would be like hitting rock bottom and if that did happen I guess it could be the final straw for a few supporters.

[SaltergateBorn]

I`m not sure what point you`re trying to make there, Matt. You`re saying that IF we don`t beat Basford comfortably, etc.... We don`t know yet. We may do just that. But if we did lose and that was, as you say, the ‘ final straw’, then what? Everybody turns their backs on the club and the scenario that Dancing just laid out applies. At the risk of repeating myself, all that means is that CFC is well and truly f**ked. Bye-bye to the club that I have supported all my sentient life, as I suspect you have too.

That may prove to be the case. It would be tragic for me personally, but if it happens it happens. We have no control over it.

As far as Sunday is concerned, I agree that Grimsby were nothing special and that we could have beaten them; but let`s not forget that they are mid-table League 2, whereas we`re bottom 4 National League. Even so, I personally don`t think there was much to choose between us apart from, as I`ve said, that final third. I don`t agree that we looked threatening; I really don`t think we posed much threat at all and that`s why changes need to be made. Midfield and defence looked just as good as theirs to me and that actually encourages me, truth be told. Until they scored, after which we were obviously chasing the game, I thought we looked slightly the better team, in fact.

If this is the first time this season you`ve watched us, Matt, you`re like me at the start of the season. This is the level we`re at at the moment.

[spireitematt]

I`m not sure what point you`re trying to make there, Matt. You`re saying that IF we don`t beat Basford  comfortably, etc.... We don`t know yet. We may do just that. But if we did lose and that was, as you say, the ‘ final straw’, then what? Everybody turns their backs on the club and the scenario that Dancing just laid out applies. At the risk of repeating myself, all that means is that CFC is well and truly f**ked.  Bye-bye to the club that I have supported all my sentient life, as I suspect you have too.

That may prove to be the case. It would be tragic for me personally, but if it happens it happens. We have no control over it.

As far as Sunday is concerned, I agree that Grimsby were nothing special and that we could have beaten them;  but let`s not forget that they are mid-table League 2, whereas we`re bottom 4 National League. Even so, I personally don`t think there was much to choose between us apart from, as I`ve said, that final third. I don`t agree that we looked threatening; I really don`t think we posed much threat at all and that`s why changes need to be made.  Midfield and defence looked just as good as theirs to me and that actually encourages me, truth be told. Until they scored, after which we were obviously chasing the game, I thought we looked slightly the better team, in fact.

If this is the first time this season you`ve watched us, Matt, you`re like me at the start of the season. This is the level we`re at at the moment.

If we beat Basford United in the FA Trophy it will just paper over the cracks. I don't know what would happen SB if we lose but fans can't keep forking out money to watch this, it's not fun and it's not entertaining to watch. We can't turn our backs on the club but we can't keep going and paying the ticket prices and putting up with this.

If the club finished it would be soul destroying for all the fans including me and I don't want that to happen. Managers, players, owners, chairmen come and go but the fans remain, we the fans remain loyal and we support the team in the good times and bad times but the fans in the last few years have put up with a heck of a lot and sooner or later you've got to say enough is enough!

We looked threatening early on in the 2nd half and we looked good before they scored but other than that it wasn't great. The defence needs changing, so does the midfield and I think the goalkeeping situation needs addressing. We were so predictable just punting the ball up to Denton to knock it down and we were still doing it when he had gone off.

That was my first game I've watched this season in full and also seen the highlights from other games and to me it looks like nothing has changed. You are correct this is the level we're at at the moment but it could also get worse especially if we get relegated again this season.

[SaltergateBorn]

Fair enough, Matt. We all see things differently and we all have our own personal decisions to make. As I say, it took me a while at the start of the season to acclimatise to the level we`re at at the moment and I think you`re going through the same process right now. If it`s any consolation, the quality of football we`re playing now is somewhat better than it was a couple of months ago – I`m sure Dancing will corroborate.

Having said that, I`m going through exactly the same thought processes as you. I don`t find the football we`re playing at the moment particularly enjoyable to watch and – bearing in mind that it`s a 120-mile round trip for me – I`m also starting to wonder whether I really want to keep on making the effort, not to mention the financial commitment, to come to games. The point I`m making is that if that if hard-core supporters like us lose faith and turn our backs, then there really is no future for the club. The only way it can survive, let alone prosper, is if we continue to support it.

Otherwise it will die. Is that what any of us really want?