OK. I know we have 10 games left, but the fact that Rimmer has confirmed no change in 2023 makes me think we have 37 league games (10+27) to either get ourselves into the top 20 spots across the 2 divisions to have a valid claim for inclusion in the much mentioned "2x10" scenario or to make a very valid case for inclusion regardless of finishing position.
Currently, we are achieving neither and I can't help but think that without a new coach, we will be hard pressed to make a plan to either recruit to hit the top 20, and without a joined up marketing commercial plan, we won't attract enough fans to warrant IMG pi55ing off everyone else by including us regardless.

Hughes silence on the matter is worrying, as I believe he has cast the die and we will run on the budget he allocated when he first moved us to SW London and Part Time.

This is even though we sit 24th and with fewer than 1,000 fans. If he is waiting for IMG to find an investor, he's repeating the mistakes of old, especially given the IMG GLOBAL Head of Golf was fired by his CEO and fielding supremo

He needs to prioritise finding a class coach now, even if that be from the NSW/QLND Cup. Failing this, he needs to open his wallet and attract a class coach from the UK.

In terms of marketing, the club need to make a call now on 2023 home Venue and stick to it. I think it is evident we've attracted no new fans and no lapsed fans back with the move, but if they persevere then they MUST make sure that we are not booted off the pitch at Plough Lane for the period when the football isn't on. It is sheer lunacy and not one of those who will visit Ebbsfleet from curiosity will be at Plough Lane next year....



Of the 9 games we have left, I'd target one, Workington, as a game to promote heavily (not just the DH ego massaging Gold Lounge), but other than that, start concentrating on collating data from old lists and determining what we can use under whatever regulations have come in since we collected it. We can also continue to work with the schools in the area as well as with the amateur clubs. I'd also look at partnering with a local hotel to offer discounts for visiting fans and putting together weekend packages (sightseeing Saturday/game Sunday). Regardless of the cost, I would ensure we have 13 EVENTS planned for 2023. Once the fixtures are out (mid November), they have 11/12 weeks. This is the period where they either need staff or volunteers to be working the phones etc....and stop putting adverts in the London free sheets.....just stop it.
Volunteers on game day will be key to this, including Buck'n'Dusty and look into an electronic programme. Make sure there is something for the Kids (bouncy castle type stuff) and face painters. A band post every game and I am sorry, but the presentations post match should be open to everyone.
Match day raffles for Club gear, a decent MC, a half time kicking comp....all the stuff the club used to do. There are enough out of work actors about who would gladly take such a role on.......atmosphere and a welcoming ambience....make the away fans enjoy it and the local ones come back.

Still. 10 games to go and I reckon 2 more points to make us safe, but if Loubser isn't thinking along these lines already, then he bloody well should be!

I wonder if Hughes is seeking potential new owners or part owners of the club as part of a succession plan.

Can't see anyone wanting to pay Hughes the millions he has invested back in order to buy the club. Of course he has also shown how difficult he is to work with so co-owners would seem unlikely.

In any event, what would they be buying? A 2nd/3rd tier club whose only assets are some part time players, shirts & goalposts. You could argue that's not much better than what Roy & Barbara had when they bought the club in 1984.

David Hughes has no chance of getting anything for the club. He will be lucky if he can find someone to take it off of his hands.

we will only survive this season owing to the fact that we have two clubs worse than us, and that Dewsbury and Workington can't buy a win right now...

I don't see us being much better next year, so the question is, will we be better than whitehaven, keighley or swinton or NW crusaders or Rochdale (on who comes up) to avoid relegation next year

Future does not look that bright, even with a new coach coming in

I’m sure we own the shirts DC but the problem is they aren’t in the club’s colours and they have the names of players who, to a large extent, will be long gone come next season. Not an easy sale.

Big Time. Aren't the sponsors to receive these shirts at the end of season event?
Victor is right.....nobody will pay a cent for the club as it is. Dead cby is correct, Hughes doesn't play well with others.
Crash.....I suspect we will be slightly better next season but only if we can keep the core of this side together. Many are on 2 yr deals, so we will probably let them all go in October


Wire-Q.....you are probably right and Hughes is awaiting an investor to help him, but he's been waiting since 2007.

I know I can be down on the club most times, but I have to say, you 5 make me less like victor meldrew and more like Northern Bloke

Yes Orange I’d forgotten about that.

I wonder how seriously Hughes looks for other investment though ? I'm sure it's not easy to find but I hope he is trying hard. We need someone who can take us forwards not backwards.

I'd argue then that we need a 100% new ownership model with new management in place.

This year started with "somebody" wasting £50k on stupid adverts before we slashed prices for kids and corporates, a senior manager "left" and after 2 adverts for new staff were blocked by Hughes and a half d effort to beg for volunteers we have been kicked out of our new home for 11 weeks.....ELEVEN FZXING WEEKS



If Hughes is serious about 5k in 4 years he needs to:
Allocate annual funds now and step away from any key decision making.
Employ a competent General Manager and give them scope to utilize whatever they can (temp/part time/community volunteers) in running the club

I'll say it again. Return to Ealing and partner with them.....pay less rent and help (where possible) with the development of the ground.....

I don't know if Hughes was serious about his 5k target but it is a sensible one if the club is to become sustainable.

It would also be realistic if we were a competitve SL side and had someone other than Hughes making decisions over how the club is run.

I believe I first mentioned that particular number in 2009. Wire-Quin will find the post....it mentioned flowers in a Railway Station (not a round-a-bout

)

Not had that since 2005 when we finished 6th. The following year at The Stoop we finished 7th (3 points off 6th and ahead of Wigan) and Rea was replaced by Mc Dermott who never delivered higher than 9th.......and not close to play off football once.

This was my point earlier. If he is committed to the club, then it is time to lodge the funds for the next 4 years in a trust account and step back because his decision making in terms of the Football Club has been borderline criminal.
Loubser has to go. Replaced with a young enthusiastic General Manager who can illicit support from volunteers and community groups. The Club needs to return to being just that....a club, not a team with an emphasis on trying to surround the owner with enough sycophants in the gold lounge that he doesn't notice the shambles everywhere else. I am 100% convinced there is a direct link between trying to get the corporate area full and Loubsers job security.... it's vanity and narcissism driving the push there, not an extra 2k on game day revenue.

Hughes needs to write a cheque and rock up on match day. EVERYTHING ELSE needs to be run by a Professional.

SEVENTY TWO DAYS away from our New Home in a season that is 284 days means we were MIA for more than a quarter of the season........whomever signed off on this needs to be removed from any part of the negotiating process. 4 Grounds where we pay rent with the main one unusable for a quarter of the season, a figure bandied about of 200k a year and we've added not one fan and only managed to upsell a few corporate day tickets all because we didn't get enough of the cut from Trailfinders? You cannot ever convince me that Trailfinders wasn't a better deal for the club, especially when we had decided to go part time, so Hughes either pushed this through or Loubser/Milner pushed and He signed off on it, but either way, they are all responsible and all should never make a key decision about the club again.

Watched Boris' resignation speech today and what a ramble it was. He rambled over a myriad positives that are not in fact positives and clearly still thinks himself a hero.

Watch it again folks then look up Hughes' rambling statement last November and compare and contrast.

No shame!

Nail on the head there buddy....on the head

If only if he resigned we had as many people waiting in the wings to replace him as the political party seems to have.

I think about now I’d welcome some kind of communication from our leadership team, rambling or otherwise. It’s all random. Our squad is great but people leave and people join. Sometimes acknowledged sometimes not. Our coach is great then he leaves. We’re going to recruit a full time coach despite part time being great then nothing......

Silence from Hughes is deafening. Is he still interested ? Lobster probably waiting for hockey season to start.

Can anyone confirm if Hughes attended either game in Ebbsfleet?

I do not know if he was at the Sheffield game, but David Hughes was definitely at yesterdays game.

So he will have witnessed a defeat in front of 500 fans at the tail end of the first year of his brave new dawn, seeing us remain 3rd from bottom and with fewer fans than we had in Ealing.
When will he admit he got it wrong?
What is it that prevents him realising that he has destroyed the club?
Will he bother next year?

He's not destroyed the club yet but he is presiding over a steady decline through mismanagement. How many ground moves will it take before he realises that is not the issue (and in fact counter productive) ?

Most fans have lost confidence in the owner. He does nothing the inspire confidence and has a real blind spot with decisions to revitalise the club. The spiral down the plughole will continue until he vacates.

His 5 year plan, if we base it on a starting figure of 1,000 average at Ealing, which is what we had pre covid, would have required 37.5% year on year growth.
After 20% of the time line has passed, that figure is now 50% year on year over 4 years.
Year 2 he needs an extra 500 x 13 fans through the door.....then another 750 x 13 the following year, then + 1,125 then 1,650......
That is the simple compound maths.
At the start of this season they needed 375 new fans......they've delivered zero.

The target was actually 5,000 in 3 years.