Bedford Town FC - Tuesday 30th December

[Tennylad]

Paying bills on time or paying players?  What would people prefer

Both in a ideal world. The two go hand in hand . Without players, you don't have a team . The trust model is fantastic in a hot bed of football ie the north west and north east . Unfortunately in Norfolk it will never work . I'm not interested in KL playing 2 steps below . Like most on here I'll be gone in 20 years so I say let's live for the moment.

[TonyM]

... The trust model is fantastic in a hot bed of football ie the north west and north east . Unfortunately in Norfolk it will never work . I'm not interested in KL playing 2 steps below . Like most on here I'll be gone in 20 years so I say let's live for the moment.

Glad you think the Trust model is 'fantastic' but not sure why you then talk about dropping two steps down the pyramid and equally maybe you need to have another look at a map.  Not sure any of Tonbridge Angels (NLS), Hereford (NLN) 50% fan owned and Methyr Town (NLN) would consider themselves in the North East or North West joining Chester, Darlington and Scarborough who also manage to compete in at NLN.

Given the fact that we are 97% not fan owned, I think it is fair to say we are still very much operating under the benefactor model so any 'concerns' you have about the Trust model are probably irrelevant in the short to mid term if not longer.  That isn't to say that fans can't or shouldn't have an active role in many aspects of the club but that doesn't have to come from ownership as plenty of EFL clubs (and lower) have shown

[Tennylad]

Thanks for the info Tony. You've kind of proven my point. Apart from Tonbridge and Methyr, the other clubs mentioned are all ex league clubs with a far superior fan base than KL will ever have .

[dillydilly]

I disagree about the potential of the fan base.  The club have one of the areas in the country in which there is virtually no competition for support from other clubs.  Geographically, that provides food for optimism. However, I don't believe that potential can be realised without a distinct lift in professionalism and organisation behind the scenes, and a real improvement in the facilities which I believe would provide more chance of attracting players.

[TonyM]

Thanks for the info Tony. You've kind of proven my point. Apart from Tonbridge and Methyr, the other clubs mentioned are all ex league clubs with a far superior fan base than KL will ever have .

Being ex-league doesn't give you any more or less right to be successful on or off the pitch - we have played Hereford at both step 3 and step 2 for example.  Of the 6 teams I mentioned, two have lower attendances than us (Tonbridge and Scarborough) and Darlington only average 150ish more than us which when they are in a playoff spot and we aren't suggests there isn't much between us, Merthyr are also riding high after their promotion last year so you would expect their crowds to be good this season.  I think another factor is that three (Scarborough, Merthyr and Tonbridge) all have artificial pitches which is perhaps how they can compete at step 2, but that isn't exclusive to Trust run clubs as that could equally apply to Bedford or Curzon for example - the benefactor model isn't the only model available but is often the precursor to a boom and bust rollercoaster.

[Mallard]

Interesting that you say gates at Darlo are only 150 more than ours Tony.  When you look at the figure their  fans raise pre-season for 'Boost the Budget' then that should give our Trust leaders something to aim at.   £180k plus this season alone.