Next two weeks will show us what ambition this club has.

[flourbasher]

Thanks flour.
In my original post I agree with you about the blame culture it has to be someone to blame.
That’s the issue for us we get a player in and if he’s deemed not to be championship quality then it’s a poor signing. Oddofin is a great example as I agree he was deemed as not good enough.
Fans will always change their minds on here it’s evident as on social media.
I do stand by original point though a long term plan needs to be implemented now. If that means we accept we’re only going to sign players of a certain age/criteria etc which may mean a few years in league 1 so be it.

You make valid points PR and thanks for taking the time to respond

[flourbasher]

Don’t know who’ve you been watching, but Odoffin has been one of our most consistent performers for the past 12 months.

He was good for the last few months of last season Rich i agree with you.
But was that period enough and at what point should we have offered him a new deal bearing in mind he either wasn’t playing or wasn’t great for a very long period before then. He probably wasn’t getting picked because he wasn’t shining in training. We don’t see that bit.

He,s carried on where he left off this season though and he’s been consistent so yes he’s earnt a new deal.
Unfortunately I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s with another club.

[Derbymiller]

I think we all agree that we have to live within our constraints and in terms of that side of the club, external experts state we are doing that well, so let us priase us when we deserve the praise. The issue for me is whether within that operating model we are optimising our assets and structuring the club in the best way to improve our situation over a longer period. Are we learning good practice from the wider football community (sawmillers post on Plymouth makes some of those points). Have we got the right culture within the club, have we got the right people operating within the club, are all valid questions as fans we are entitled to ask and discuss. On first glance it does look like we have an issue in managing contracts as we have suffered with a number of players leaving without any (or little financial benefit). It also looks like our youth system is not capable of producing enough young players to aid the first team squad and therefore provide longer term financial rewards. Now change always incurs investment, the question is the ROI over 5 or 10 years worth that investment. TS has been in charge longer than 10 years, so it is fair to ask what is our longer term strategy, or are we just going from season to season.

[Brin]

I think we all agree that we have to live within our constraints and in terms of that side of the club, external experts state we are doing that well, so let us priase us when we deserve the praise. The issue for me is whether within that operating model we are optimising our assets and structuring the club in the best way to improve our situation over a longer period. Are we learning good practice from the wider football community (sawmillers post on Plymouth makes some of those points). Have we got the right culture within the club, have we got the right people operating within the club, are all valid questions as fans we are entitled to ask and discuss. On first glance it does look like we have an issue in managing contracts as we have suffered with a number of players leaving without any (or little financial benefit). It also looks like our youth system is not capable of producing enough young players to aid the first team squad and therefore provide longer term financial rewards. Now change always incurs investment, the question is the ROI over 5 or 10 years worth that investment. TS has been in charge longer than 10 years, so it is fair to ask what is our longer term strategy, or are we just going from season to season.

DM, you've just answered your own question with your last statement. We are indeed in a state of drifting season to season. That is not a bad thing though whilst under the stewardship of Tony Stewart. He has by far been the godsend and saviour of our club and he runs it very well indeed but, mass expenditure is required to stay in this League.

It's all there to see, this is far too big for him now to be challenging many clubs if only to stay up. If truth be known, I feel Tony has had enough. He has dragged us out of the dark ages of floundering in Division 4, as some like to call it, and has brought us more success under his tenure than we have ever had under any previous owners. Five promotions, Wembley visits and wins and all of this some clubs can only dream of doing.

The hardest part for Tony is finding the correct buyer, group or business to drive us on with heavier investment. But ask yourself this, who wants to take on a club averaging 8-8500 fans with very little likelihood of that ever increasing? This is a business not a bauble and investors will want a return. It's not that easy selling RUFC as many think.

[mellowmiller]

DM, you've just answered your own question with your last statement. We are indeed in a state of drifting season to season. That is not a bad thing though whilst under the stewardship of Tony Stewart. He has by far been the godsend and saviour of our club and he runs it very well indeed but, mass expenditure is required to stay in this League.

It's all there to see, this is far too big for him now to be challenging many clubs if only to stay up. If truth be known, I feel Tony has had enough. He has dragged us out of the dark ages of floundering in Division 4, as some like to call it, and has brought us more success under his tenure than we have ever had under any previous owners. Five promotions, Wembley visits and wins and all of this some clubs can only dream of doing.

The hardest part for Tony is finding the correct buyer, group or business to drive us on with heavier investment. But ask yourself this, who wants to take on a club averaging 8-8500 fans with very little likelihood of that ever increasing? This is a business not a bauble and investors will want a return. It's not that easy selling RUFC as many think.

They are all valid points Brin but then you have to ask what drove a billionaire to invest in Bournemouth who had very similar constraints to ourselves?

[ragingpup]

They are all valid points Brin but then you have to ask what drove a billionaire to invest in Bournemouth who had very similar constraints to ourselves?

A key difference is that there are no direct local football competitors in the Bournemoutth region - it's a town of half a million and 45 mins car drive to get to nearest rival. Within that driving distance we have competitors in 2 Sheffield clubs, Barnsley, Leeds, Doncaster, Chesterfield. I think that's a key difference.

Additionally, all these teams will be scouting the local schools and clubs competing for the local talent so easier said than done to bring talented youngsters through to sell on later.

[Derbymiller]

A key difference is that there are no direct local football competitors in the Bournemoutth region - it's a town of half a million and 45 mins car drive to get to nearest rival. Within that driving distance we have competitors in 2 Sheffield clubs, Barnsley, Leeds, Doncaster, Chesterfield. I think that's a key difference.

Additionally, all these teams will be scouting the local schools and clubs competing for the local talent so easier said than done to bring talented youngsters through to sell on later.

I agree with you about the clubs in the region, and yes you are correct that increases the work required to identify youngsters, but just because it is hard doesn't mean you don't try it or look for different ways to inovate around the issues. Whenever anyone suggests an area that needs to improve, the response on here is, that is too hard, we can't do anything better because we are small. It is so negative and defeatist, it is a wonder that some of you ever bother to get out of bed.

[mellowmiller]

I agree with you about the clubs in the region, and yes you are correct that increases the work required to identify youngsters, but just because it is hard doesn't mean you don't try it or look for different ways to inovate around the issues. Whenever anyone suggests an area that needs to improve, the response on here is, that is too hard, we can't do anything better because we are small. It is so negative and defeatist, it is a wonder that some of you ever bother to get out of bed.

I agree Derby.
It's always easier for people to find a reason not to do something rather than look for plausible ways to improve and grow.
That sort of attitude used to drive me mad when I was a manager in a large business.

[ragingpup]

I agree with you about the clubs in the region, and yes you are correct that increases the work required to identify youngsters, but just because it is hard doesn't mean you don't try it or look for different ways to inovate around the issues. Whenever anyone suggests an area that needs to improve, the response on here is, that is too hard, we can't do anything better because we are small. It is so negative and defeatist, it is a wonder that some of you ever bother to get out of bed.

Sorry, where did I say that anyone shouldn't try???!!! The point is that I trust that Tony and the staff try extremely hard to make the best out of what we can afford, within the constraits we opoerate in, which have been laid out quite clearly on here.

What makes you think that people behind the scenes AREN'T trying? We had success in getting Victor to sign, but others clearly won't for what we can offer. That doesn't mean good efforts weren't/aren't being made. Smith and Ihekwi showed quite clearly what were up against, it's a very tough market, and we're directly up against some very major local competition. For all best efforts, which I am convinced ARE being made, we are still likely to be unsuccessful in many instances. I accept that, trust the staff to work as hard as they can and continue to bring us the relative successes that we have enjoyed in the last decade or so.

[flourbasher]

It’s not just the local clubs we are competing with for youngsters, it’s also much bigger clubs than them.
Newcastle, Everton , Manchester, Forest etc etc will all have scouting networks in SY.
It’s a thankless task that’s been tried before and hasn’t really worked.
So should we try again? Well possibly but academies cost a lot of money and that would likely impact on the first team budget. We might have to drop to L2 for a few seasons whilst it was set up. Is that palatable for our fan base. Probably not.

The club said a few years ago that it wasn’t going to do that and was going to do a variation on it by waiting for 17-19 yr olds to be discarded by clubs that do have established academies thereby saving money and letting someone else pay for it which seemed a bit more realistic for us.
Having carefully identified the talent we then develop them further into the finished article

I’m not convinced weve been successful at that variant though