11-03-2021, 16:49
(This post was last modified: 11-03-2021, 16:50 by SaltergateBorn.)
I`m still not convinced about Sutton, to be honest. For a start, I don`t see that sharing a neighbour`s playing facilities and keeping hold of Gander Green Lane and its revenue stream would be mutually exclusive. To my mind selling the place would actually be the less likely of the two; very lucrative in the short term but very risky in the long term.
Several other clubs that I`ve thought would struggle in the EFL have managed not only to survive but to prosper. The old Wimbledon (how high did they manage to get!), Forest Green, Fleetwood (bigger neighbours just down the road), Accringtpn (how many close neighbours with far bigger pulling power have they got!) all spring to mind. I don`t see proximity as being a particularly big deal these days; with the ease of travel nowadays, a rival doesn`t have to be on the doorstep to compete for support. It`s a few years ago now, but one of my lads lived and worked in Harrogate for a while and I remember him saying to me that if half the people who travelled to Elland Road from there every other Saturday stayed at home and supported their local club, Harrogate would be virtually filling their ground. It also works both ways, of course; people tend to gravitate towards a winning team, even if they`re at a lower level.
I`ve always maintained – and still do – that if a club has the right level of financial backing and is well-managed, they can achieve things that on the face of it really shouldn`t be possible. (Hoffenheim is based in a “town” with a population of just over 3,000 - that`s about a third of the population of Clay Cross - and has played in the Champions League.)
I`ve no idea whether Sutton do have those ingredients, but the fact that they are where they are and that a local businessman was prepared to back them to that extent suggests they just may have. Maybe we`ll find out at the end of the season.
I`m not saying that you`re all wrong and that I`m right: I just don`t think it`s a complete no-brainer by any means.
As far as the Mansfield analogy goes, that`s a subjective decision. Personally – and I can only speak for myself – it`s something I would genuinely have been prepared to consider a couple of years ago. I may not have liked it (I certainly wouldn`t!) but if it had been the only way to unshackle ourselves from the previous regime it`s something I would certainly have been able to tolerate in the short term until another solution appeared.
As far as we are concerned right now, I think we`ll find out next Tuesday where we`re at. If we can win that one on merit, I`ll be starting to get excited – and that`s not good for me at my age.
Several other clubs that I`ve thought would struggle in the EFL have managed not only to survive but to prosper. The old Wimbledon (how high did they manage to get!), Forest Green, Fleetwood (bigger neighbours just down the road), Accringtpn (how many close neighbours with far bigger pulling power have they got!) all spring to mind. I don`t see proximity as being a particularly big deal these days; with the ease of travel nowadays, a rival doesn`t have to be on the doorstep to compete for support. It`s a few years ago now, but one of my lads lived and worked in Harrogate for a while and I remember him saying to me that if half the people who travelled to Elland Road from there every other Saturday stayed at home and supported their local club, Harrogate would be virtually filling their ground. It also works both ways, of course; people tend to gravitate towards a winning team, even if they`re at a lower level.
I`ve always maintained – and still do – that if a club has the right level of financial backing and is well-managed, they can achieve things that on the face of it really shouldn`t be possible. (Hoffenheim is based in a “town” with a population of just over 3,000 - that`s about a third of the population of Clay Cross - and has played in the Champions League.)
I`ve no idea whether Sutton do have those ingredients, but the fact that they are where they are and that a local businessman was prepared to back them to that extent suggests they just may have. Maybe we`ll find out at the end of the season.
I`m not saying that you`re all wrong and that I`m right: I just don`t think it`s a complete no-brainer by any means.
As far as the Mansfield analogy goes, that`s a subjective decision. Personally – and I can only speak for myself – it`s something I would genuinely have been prepared to consider a couple of years ago. I may not have liked it (I certainly wouldn`t!) but if it had been the only way to unshackle ourselves from the previous regime it`s something I would certainly have been able to tolerate in the short term until another solution appeared.
As far as we are concerned right now, I think we`ll find out next Tuesday where we`re at. If we can win that one on merit, I`ll be starting to get excited – and that`s not good for me at my age.