TB: Fighting Disillusionment

The Bulls seem to be back in the realms of mediocrity, steering clear of relegation, albeit on an ever dwindling budget. However, 2 tiers lower than ‘usual’, fans are turning away from the Street, making the team’s play-off push all the more difficult. How can we end this vicious cycle of lower attendances, smaller budgets, worse players, worse football, lower attendances, smaller budg.... ah even I got stuck in the cycle. It’s a difficult rut to break out of.

Josh Gowling clearly appears to be a good man-manager, getting players previously demotivated under Slade to chase more balls, track back quicker, and make runs for each other. The appointment of Steve Burr appears to be an excellent move, with his contacts and experience being a suitable balance to the team’s management. Whichever one of them persuaded Lenell John Lewis and Partners to sign for the club deserves credit for it appears to be an excellent signing compared to the underwhelming striker from The Rock (Gibraltar not the wrestler). The subsequent improvement of Liburd and Mooney perhaps also owes itself to John-Lewis, who resembles Mike Symons’ ability to bring other players into the game, except Waitrose is also faster, stronger and scores goals. I for one was a big fan of The Beast, not least for his work rate, but we must have been the only team in the National League North to play a centre forward who we didn’t expect to score goals.

Burr in recent weeks has been ambiguous about his role with the club at the end of the season, but I think he would be an excellent contact book when it comes to strengthening our squad at the end of the season. His previous work at Kidderminster means he has experience of working with players in the region and under a tight budget, something which we will inevitably face next season. For as long as we are in the North – a more physical, ‘tougher’ league according to most – I fear our academy players might be largely marginalised and sent out on loan. This would be a shame as the Academy are vital to the sustainability of our club and keeping our budget in check. Hopefully going forward, I can be proven wrong. A similar message goes towards loan signings, but a Dara O’Shea type figure in Defence and Midfield would be more than welcome.

Ultimately, our team is currently in a good place but I fear for our long-term sustainability. Our club was re-established after all on the principle of making the club a sustainable Football League entity’. But with budget constraints likely in the coming season, we ought to be careful not to splash the cash - the number of ticket stubs collected being all the more important in the coming months. I recently heard that our budget is based on average attendances this season of approximately 2100 but our recent crowds have been far lower. When you add into that the likely Coronavirus challenges ahead, along with the firing of 2 managers and a Football Head, plus the usual high stadium maintenance and the growing academy size, I fear Josh will have to rely on his man-management skills a lot more in the coming months. 

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