Linnets' Fans' Forum

Quote from: Mallard on December 31, 2025, 03:22:13 PMJust had a listen to Cully's post match intereview.  One of his 'Waspie' unhappy ones.  Don't see he can lay the blame all at the players door.  He is asking the same players to go again every few days.  Illness, some carrying knocks some out of sorts.  What does he expect ?

Mall, if you were there last night, waspie was exactly the right tone.  IC can only select from the resources he has available, he did swap a few things round last night and to be fair we looked a bit better and more balanced in midfield but we didn't create much and there are a number of players I am sure he would like to give a rest to but who does he replace them with?

Quote from: Mallard on December 31, 2025, 03:22:13 PMI fear for Saturday if he goes with the same players again we could be on the wrong side of one. How things have changed since we turned Merthyr over at home.

In his post Peterborough interview he said Doherty was a week, RHJ another couple and Mazza five weeks so we have what we had last night plus maybe Gold?  I think many of us fear the worst with the respective form but Hereford were on a worse run than us and got a point last night so lets keep hoping.

Quote from: Mallard on December 12, 2025, 07:43:18 PM...  5 players being out on loan must be generating some spare cash.  Plus now the Trust are on onboard with cash on the hip there surely is no reason for some of that investment not to be used to support the Manager, when he needs it...

That's an interesting idea Mall but I had always thought that loans at our level were more about reducing the overhead rather than generating a profit.  I think 4 of the 5 have dropped down a level so you are assuming that step 3 clubs are happy to pay more than the wages (and on-costs) of what are, in effect, full-time players?  Obviously Gyasi is a different case but again, looking at his history of staying anywhere for any length of time, I can't see Kiddy would have wanted to pay much over the odds.

I think we have to accept that the 'player development model' that TSI want to see help fund the club isn't a perfect science, not all players signed will turn into future EFL stars and unfortunately some may not even be step 2 standard but what we currently have is a squad primarily signed by JR with a few he inherited from AL and IC is having to make the best of what he has at his disposal, something that is not helped with injuries to experienced squad members.  IC seemed resigned to dealing with this when he spoke at the meeting and I think why he emphasised that he is looking at 2026-27 for when he will have his 'core' to build around.  For now I think fans have to accept there will be days like Chester but equally there will be more and more performances like the first half in midweek, IC is too good a coach to think otherwise.

Quote from: Mallard on December 11, 2025, 06:05:11 PMTony I would suggest the likes of Williams. Van Lier, Toll have got to be an improvement on a bench that can't be filled and running with either a youngster  or unfit players.  Cully also suggested a couple of weeks back he needed to bring in a right sided player for the injured Reece-Johnson...

I haven't seen Van Lier in a competitive game so can't comment, Williams got games at this level for Sports this season so seemed a strange one to ship him out with Marriot now missing for four to six weeks and I think Toll is injured again but would be good to have him around the squad for IC to have a proper look at him as he returns to fitness. 

Ultimately it's down to IC but you would hope there will be at least one in before Darlington.  Hopefully Collins illness clears up and Lambert will have had another weeks training in his legs, is there any indication on timescales for RHJ and Gold?  I also assume Maja is injured or did I miss him going out on loan?  We must be getting close to Doherty being back in training too? 

Mall, I think the fact we have players out on loan is a bit of a red herring and sure that if IC thought any of them were a better option than we have in our current squad (when fit) he would be making the case to bringing them back to the Walks.  This is part of the issue with going down the 'developing younger players' model, they won't all develop into EFL players or even step 2 players so there will always be some signings who end up dropping down to find their level.

As IC explained last Thursday the squad will be adapted but it won't be overnight and we don't appear to have the financial luxury of carrying a huge squad 'just in case'.  Fingers crossed we can get one or two loanees in but Christmas isn't always the time when clubs are keen for players to go out, particularly experienced ones.

Fair result with Lynn having the better of the first half then Macclesfield putting us under plenty of pressure in the second and getting a deserved equaliser.  Neither side happy with the officials and you do wonder what on earth Sealey had to do to win a free kick having endured 90 minutes of being pushed, kicked and thrown to the floor tonight. 

MotM was an interesting choice, I like Crane but he hardly had a touch in the second half.  Much better performance first half but moving Troso further forward to support Sealey left Clunan desperately needing help in the middle of the park

Hopefully the rain stays out to the west and there are no issues with getting the game on tomorrow evening.

Tough one for IC after the 'men against boys' comment in his post match interview at the weekend, very few options for him to shuffle things round and really he was just stating the fact - we do have a lot of inexperienced youngsters, unfortunately the only way for them to learn is by coming up against sides like Chester (and potentially Maccesfield)

I thought the two centre halves were OK at the weekend but we were completely overrun in midfield and offered very little going forward, Crane is a shadow of the player he can be when played out wide so with no Marriott I would move him into the centre.  Fleming hasn't been half the player I hoped when we signed him at the start of the season and has been shown up for pace in a number of games so wondered if IC might move him a bit further forward to play as the holding midfielder and take a bit off Clunan's shoulders.  My team for tomorrow

Jones
Wilson, Wilson, Dickens
Williams, Collins, Fleming, Clunan, Clements
Crane
Sealey

Quote from: Mallard on December 07, 2025, 08:14:30 PM...That of course creates its own issues in so much as the Trust consists of 130 people.  Or on this occasion would the Trust board be asked to keep this from the membership?

Mall, not picking on you but the idea that 'if the Trust knows then ALL the Trust members should know' every bit of information about the internal running of the club is a strange idea to me.  Maybe this hasn't been communicated well enough or maybe the Trust directors are still working on arrangements with the club but there are things that the Trust board will find out (in time maybe through the Trust having a director on the club board) that are rightfully kept within the management group and I think personnel matters, as appears to be the case with Gyasi, would be a clear example of this.  In fact if this issue has been shared with the Trust board then I think questions need to be asked of the club as to whether this was appropriate - I don't see any reason for anyone outside of BS, IC, PB and JS to know anything more than Veritas has posted. 

Part of the problem is, as B&G alluded to on another thread, there are too many people connected to the club who don't really understand the meaning of confidential for whatever reason and this the snowballs to the situation the club finds itself in where lots of people think they are 'in the know' or worse still, think they have a right to know every little detail about the club.  Having said all of that the club could also step up and produce some proper information about player availability, financial information etc that it wouldn't be unreasonable to share with fans that might help fill some of the vacuum where rumours start

Quote from: Mallard on December 06, 2025, 08:25:27 PMCully was quite scathing  of his team in his post match interview.   Described it as men against boys.  That was a worry as at the fans forum he said the way forward was to get youngsters in who could be improved.

Mall, to be fair IC also said he needed a core of the side to enable youngsters to come in and improve and we weren't there yet with that core, telling that he was already looking at 26-27 so that's probably an acceptance that it is going to be difficult to move some of the players currently on contract so we have to make the best of the situation.  Also said after the game today on Radio Norfolk that you can't bring too many of the youngsters in all at once (missing RHJ & Mazza today)

Thought IC's post match interview on the club website was spot on, Chester came and played well, managed every aspect of the game and we were second best.  That said, I thought IC's substitutions didn't help us but maybe some of the younger players aren't yet used to Sat-midweek-Sat or he was just rolling the dice? 

A few notes of last nights meeting:

As others have said, Bal read a lengthy statement, repeating much of what was in the press release when the takeover was confirmed but then expanding on a few more areas:

• looking at merging all age groups below under 16s with KL Elite
• thanked David Griggs and Mervyn (apologies I didn't get the full name) for their help on the commercial side and also Michael Clunan for help on commercial and finance
• quick plug for the launch of the business club coming up
• looking to monetise the stadium with ideas including paddle/5-a-side pitch in Hospital End car park, fanzone behind the main stand, upgrade of bar to include darts, looking at funding options on 3G pitch
• need to work more on the community side and get the charity back up and running including outreach to the more deprived areas of the town/area
• 1st payment of DCMS loan has now been made including all of the accrued interest, this will take 16 years to clear with payments due every 6 months
• TSI have now put in over £1m (described as a seven figure sum)
• explained it wasn't the original intention for TSI to own the club but SC was no longer able to fund the club so TSI have stepped in to keep things going.  They had looked at selling at the end of the 2024-25 season but there were no credible buyers.  Bal did also say that TSI's involvement will be for 'multiple seasons' to come

Travis then started the Q&A section of the evening with some nice 'half volleys' for each of the top table

• To IC - Reflections on return
  Under no illusions to what he was coming back to, squad still needs adjusting but won't be done overnight
• To MC - How is dressing room
  Been back for five months and three managers in that time with lots of drama, this understandably unsettled the group and they lost confidence.  Now more stable and can see confidence returning
• To JS - Explain the recruitment process
  Lots of turnover in playing squad (last three seasons about 80% each year) but having worked with IC previously has a good idea of what people to get in and working on being destination for players leaving higher level academies
• To PE - Introduce the Blue & Gold Trust
  Formed in 2009 and lots of hard work has seen ~£100k raised.  Good to have an owner who wants to engage with fans but now need to find ways to grow the Trust and encourage younger age groups to volunteer

Questions from the floor

• Are there plans to repair the main stand
  BS - Not filling the stand at present and obviously have to consider where we spend our money, looking at funding options to ensure things don't get worse
• Position of loans (bounce back/DCMS/TSI) post-takeover
  BS - bounce back only has 10 months left, DCMS £470k (capital element £15k every 6 months), TSI is confidential
• Expand on community activity
  BS - not too much happening without volunteers but actively looking to restart
• Comment on quality of refs this season
  MC - nothing to say ;)
  Norman (from the audience) - lots of clubs seem to be complaining this season
• What involvement will the Trust have on day-to-day activities
  PE - Trust is ready to help but with limited numbers of active volunteers there is a limit on what they can do but always looking for new volunteers
• With comments about looking to profit from player sales what is club doing about multi year contracts
  IC - try to secure players we like, and have a core of players going into 26-27 then bring youngsters through
• So looking at staying FT into the future?
  BS - wouldn't have got IC if not
  IC / MC - when here previously recruited all of Norfolk for part-time but market harder with likes of Spalding etc.  Getting players to turn from p-t to f-t can be costly (lost earnings).  FT and accommodation gives more options.  Probably not a lot in it
• How to expand Blue & Gold Trust
  BS - experience with AFC Wimbledon, maybe look at doing something with season ticket holders next year
• Question re fines for yellow / red card
  No definitive answer

Quote from: Mallard on December 03, 2025, 09:11:35 PMI take it they never had a Sports England loan to pay back. Have we started making inroads into that I wonder 🤷�♂️

Chester were vocal in the fact that they were unable to take out a Sports England loan due to their fan owned status so, like many others in NLN (and appreciate we were NL at the time) don't have a DCMS loan.

Just seen this in respect of our opponents on Saturday https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7400181390803378176/

Whilst I appreciate there are many differences between us and Chester, it is good to see a fan owned club holding their own at our level and being prepared to share how things are going off the pitch.  Understand we all look for different things from owners but for me this level of transparency is worth far more than the (often secretive) benefactor model.



🔵 Chester FC made a profit of £53k for the 2024/25 season, it was announced at the Annual General Meeting of City Fans United (CFU) on Thursday evening.

CFU members received a detailed report on the club's finances for the year ending 31 May 2025, during which Treasurer Neil Berry outlined the major achievements across the season, including:

- Turnover was £1,629,000 - an increase of £200k on the previous 12 months
- Expenditure was £1,585,000
- Pre-tax profit recorded was £52,667
- Matchday revenue up £154k to £811k - includes £274k from season tickets
- Commercial income was £258k - £23k above budget
- Fundraising income was £182k - includes £104k Boost the Budget and 50% increase in CFU membership fees
- Club shop profit was £57k - 9% increase
- Transfer income from player sales and loans was £78k
- Club reserves have increased to £268k

While the club's participation in the National League North play-offs contributed to the increased gate income, it had also resulted in additional match and playing budget costs due to the requirement for extended contracts.

During the meeting, CFU board members also provided reports on their respective portfolios before answering questions from the floor and online.

The AGM also includes the CFU board elections, however as there was only one candidate and four available places, an affirmative ballot was held instead, with Kieron Shiel, who had completed his three-year term, successfully re-elected.

The full AGM minutes, financial statements and reports will be published on www.cityfansunited.com (http://www.cityfansunited.com/?trk=public_post-text) shortly

Glad this is finally over the line and the ambiguity over SC's position going forward has also been cleared up.  I didn't have a problem with him personally although we did 'agree to disagree' over a number of areas of how he chose to run the club but we really needed a clean break for the new era to be just that. 

Lots of work to do off the field and I am sure there will be plenty of attendees and questions next Thursday

Just seen this posted on X by the club
𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄-𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑: Bring 2 friends for just £5 each!

You can bring one or two of your mates to Tuesday's game for just £10 in total if you're a season ticket holder.

Offer ends on Tuesday 5pm, make sure you are logged in on your ticket account 👇

Great to see the club trying to drum up a few extra supporters for a (potentially) cold Tuesday evening and personally wouldn't mind seeing this rolled out more regularly.

As for the game, I never look forward to Buxton after their dreadful timewasting antics a couple of seasons back  so just hoping for a bit more football than that night.  Assume Clunan's suspension will roll to this fixture so will IC go with the same team as Saturday?

Interesting to see what IC goes with today with the option of the three new young loanees.  Still lots of areas he doesn't have much wriggle room with the injuries although switching to a back 4 could be an option.  I know Dilly doesn't like to discuss formations, preferring the under 7s approach of everyone attack / everyone defend but for those who have watched Rowe, Simpson and IC swap things around (or not as was the case last weekend) formations can make a difference and bring out the best in players or conversely highlight their shortcomings.

I personally don't think Marriott and Gold help each other so that is the big decision for IC now he has the option of Sealey in from Norwich, personally I would like to see him paired with Marriott who has done lots of good work a bit deeper this season but with very little reward because of who he has had around him imo.  My team for today

Chapman (reluctantly)
Wilson, Wilson, Dickens
Fleming, Clunan, Maja, Clements
Crane, Marriott, Collins/Oudnie-Morgan
Sealey

Good to see some additional resources for IC, I am sure some will be disappointed that they are all young lads but I guess there aren't loads of good, experienced players floating around looking to play step 2 non-league at this time of year.  Probably a different proposition later in January but we needed players in now and Bal/JS/IC have got these lads over the line, lets hope they settle in and all parties get something out of the loan spells