"Amateur" "Incompetence" "Graceless" Today's NLP on EFC

[taylov]

I thought that the Non-League Paper might have got the Chester postponement out of their system, but no. Their readers and the Editor are giving us both barrels for the second issue running this morning. Steve Hill's page 47 is entitled "Draining our patience" and is worth a read.

I'm beginning to wonder if the true scale of this PR disaster is really understood.

[hantslondoner]

As I said, we badly needed to put out a statement last week about the situation.

Even saying 'we are fixing the problem' would be nice - last I heard was the tweet about the emergency works last Monday - anything else since?

I'm not minded to buy a ticket for the Hereford game until I know that the game is likely to be on.

[glenfish]

Referring to the pitch, or the football?

[nobadspitfire]

I haven't read the NLP, but I've seen a few articles from it on Facebook, & I can't really disagree with anything I read, mainly from Chester fans. Yes, all the publicity today is one way against us, but what has the club done to mitigate such adverse comments? Surely some form of apology to Chester & their fans was in order, at least?

So, is the pitch going to be ready for next Saturday? Would it not be beyond the realms of possibility to get a few representatives of Hereford down to inspect it (assuming it has been re-laid by now) to ensure they are happy with it, in conjunction with an FA appointed referree? Otherwise, we could be faced with another even more embarassing postponement. It would be better to switch the game to Hereford rather than suffer another such indignity.

[taylov]

Martin makes a good point. Surely if there is ANY doubt about the pitch being 101% ready, it would be better to to ask Hereford to host the match and that will have to be done straight away, not left to the last minute.

[tenacres]

I would think the club would be confident that Saturdays game will go ahead at the silverlake. Obviously a large number of fans will be cynical about this following recent events & will only lose that cynicism once the game has taken place without fuss, and furthermore when we have had a few more home games that have gone ahead without drama.

Its worth remembering that our pitch was inspected by a referee the day before the Chester game who passed it fit (is anyone implying/suggesting this didn't happen?!). Its also worth pointing out that we spent in the region of 150K on the new pitch in July and have spent tens of thousands on the pitch for most of the last several seasons - so a total of several hundred thousand pounds has been spent in the last few years.

Put simply: the problem has not been we have not spent enough on the pitch (as many from outside EFC suggest) - it is that this money has not necessarily been spent wisely.

In terms of the statement, probably some sort of apology for inconvenience being caused would have been in order. Also saying no further comment (even if true) was possibly unwise. Then possibly something in the days just gone saying that work is underway and will be completed shortly. But we are not a top PR agency, we are a non league football team. I think the statement following the news that the Chester game was postponed was a very difficult one to word, and even more so bearing in mind it needed to be released quickly.

On the other hand any statement(s) invariably leads to further negative comment/questions. Sometimes (possibly not this time) the club might feel it best to "ride it out" rather than highlight the matter and encourage further discussion on it.

I guess however much its sugarcoated a game on our pitch was called off at fairly short notice and a large number of people place the blame squarely on Eastleigh FC for this, particularly fans of other clubs who already have a bias against us and dislike for Eastleigh FC for a number of non pitch related reasons.

We have 3 homes scheduled this month and fingers crossed by the time the end of the month comes around concerns about our pitch will have lessened somewhat, as well as hopefully a few decent results which would improve the mood around EFC no end!

[unknownquantity]

I also think that Chester's frustration was compounded by the fact that they also had the match at Solihull postponed at short notice.

I think that the NLP did give an account of what happened on the day itself last week, but on a day when virtually fixture in the country was being played including those in leagues several divisions below the National League it did not present us in a very good light.

There is no doubt in my mind that we have spent money on the pitch, playing budget, subsiding away travel and season tickets and our facilities.

[hantslondoner]

Oct 8, 2017 19:43:49 GMT tenacres said:

I would think the club would be confident that Saturdays game will go ahead at the silverlake.

Can the fans be confident that it will go ahead? Is the club going to tell us? For all I know the pitch could still be being excavated.



... I think the statement following the news that the Chester game was postponed was a very difficult one to word...

Why? Just curious.



On the other hand any statement(s) invariably leads to further negative comment/questions. Sometimes (possibly not this time) the club might feel it best to "ride it out" rather than highlight the matter and encourage further discussion on it.

Not this time, though! As the 'Communication' thread indicates, this is an area that needs to be looked at urgently.

[bomber]

''For all I know the pitch could still be being excavated.''

There was still the same size hole in the ground yesterday as there has been for the last week or so.

[hantslondoner]

Thanks Bomber - so still a bit of work still to do before Saturday, then :-(

[taylov]

Oct 9, 2017 11:04:09 GMT bomber said:

There was still the same size hole in the ground yesterday as there has been for the last week or so.

That doesn't sound too good.

[durkiboy]

Oct 9, 2017 11:04:09 GMT bomber said:

''For all I know the pitch could still be being excavated.''

There was still the same size hole in the ground yesterday as there has been for the last week or so.

Yep, I noticed that yesterday too, doesn't seem like a lot is happening, but am sure it's all in hand!

[efcspitfire]

Best carvery in the conference south

[willk]

And a bar area which most championship clubs would be proud of. State of the pitch and the team just a minor inconvenience really

[michaelefc]

Best carvery in the conference south
And a bar area which most championship clubs would be proud of. State of the pitch and the team just a minor inconvenience really

Having these things is a GOOD thing. Back in the 1990's when I started following EFC, we had a pretty poor ground. Facilities for getting a drink or food was poor, the clubhouse wasn't great, and we often used to go other grounds and wow over their facilities. So poor facilities and for a lot of that time a crap team and gates of 60. Its not better facilities that make a team bad. The facilities mean that if and when SD leaves we will be able to self fund ourselves in the national league if that is where we should be. This constant slagging off of the facilities SD has provided is plain ridiculous. As a direct result of these facilities I have got several people to games who would not otherwise have gone, they have spent money they would not otherwise have spent and some of these people are on the way to becoming supporters.

Now granted the team at the moment is not very good, but whatever you may think, and in some cases I think you actively want, we are NOT going to be relegated so you'll just have to put up with a fabulous ground, providing national league football for the foreseeable future. And if the facilities we now provide upset you so much, why not go and follow BAT, Downton, Romsey or any number of Wessex league/ Hampshire league teams instead. The things people complain about on this forum get more and more stupid by the day. What's wrong with you!