Benjrider10

Mo Faal!! Great if he can commit for the season and get his confidence back, good move for both him and the club. Let’s hope it works out!

Perfectly valid observation for those pre-Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and e-mail days. But now …… no. We can’t expect the club to share information with some (not all) of its members. Personally, I’d rather read 1 post on the website when everything is sorted, rather than piecemeal posts as and when. Each to his own….. PS: Somebody needs to explain this wokeness thing to me 🤔

The ETFCSS meeting took place as scheduled and advertised. Billy Highton updated attendees on the Academy, how it has grown over the years and the path for the stronger participants to the first team squad. He also talked us through the ladies section and their aggressive plans for the season. Very informative session. I hadn’t picked up that the Academy’s success is benefiting the club financially - good to hear. Paul Reed took us through the financial challenges the club has faced and overcome. We have our first full-time employees (albeit they are on the young side)!! And on the c

I'm also looking forward to the forum this Thursday night. Hope to hear some more about where the fundraising monies have gone (I saw some pictures on Twitter of the fitted-out club shop - looks good), maybe some slides showing any ground improvements (I won't get to Donkey Lane to see for myself until end August), and of course find out who has signed on the dotted line. I wonder how the players (whoever they are) have kept themselves fit without competitive football for so long. The pre-season friendlies take on added significance this year. Only 2 weeks until the Spurs pre-season

Agree with the above except for the last sentence. “Revolving door policy” is a bit harsh. Players come and go at our level unless a club has a budget that can support multiple players on full contracts. We don’t have that type of budget - and won’t unless as many of us as possible renew our season tickets and ETFCSS membership ASAP, so the club can budget sensibly. As “owner-supporters” and with sponsorship income having been decimated during the pandemic, supporter contributions (both financial and voluntary) are going to be absolutely key to the type and quality of squad the management team

For anybody interested, I noticed the following post elsewhere on this forum by a contributor called Rhodes. The two links are very informative and shed some light on the red tape. Important to note that the Football Winter Survival Package (first link) was a loan whereas the Government’s 27 January 2021 announcement (second link) is a grant (not a loan). Now I understand the Chairman’s briefing during last week’s AGM better. Hopefully ETFC meets the various criteria for a grant. START Just to re-iterate from another thread that, as from tomorrow (28 January), £10,500 in fun

I’m not privy to the numbers but suspect that we need both gate money and takings from the clubhouse/bar/club shop to cover our costs. Sponsorship (understandably) has dried up. So until fans are allowed back to watch all teams in our league and use the clubhouse/bar, it makes little difference if a club wants to re-start or not. I’m sure we want to re-start - just can’t afford to.

ETFC is no different to any other club at step 3 and lower. Nobody can blame a player for leaving if he is offered a position at a club at step 2 or above, who is playing. All clubs step 3 and lower will be in re-build mode once we re-start (which I don't see being before July). For us, as a supporters' owned and run club, the equation is very simple. If we lose our supporter base, we lose our club. I am NOT concerned that we will lose our supporter base. I think our supporter base is one of the most loyal at this level and will continue to demonstrate that loyalty through the year.

Disappointing of course but both players deserve to play at a higher level. Ryan Blackman in particular has been a first class player and captain during his time with us - I wish him the best of luck and hope to see him back one day (the non-league roundabout being what it is). Percy and Scott Thomas are more than capable of filling in for Ryan, let’s see who comes in to fill the more attacking role that Della Verde had.

The travellers have moved on and the large (open) car park looked in good condition when I visited this morning. Well done to the Council for getting this sorted - a relief to us all.

I hope as much as anyone that both players return after the 4 weeks but if one, or both, choose to accept a subsequent offer from Welling, don't blame anybody on the board - blame Brad for breaking the amicable arrangement.

The story is correct. I was in the ground last Friday leaf-sweeping/weeding etc. and heard all manner of burnouts from the car park. Wondered what on earth was going on so looked outside and sure enough - two cars doing donuts in the car park and several caravans already parked up. It looked like the height restriction at the entrance near the astroturf pitches had been left open and the travellers made the most of it. Was at the ground again today and the travellers are still there. The car park looks OK at the moment but I am sure the fly-tipping will start soon. I hope the council has serve

It still irritates me that we were not rewarded for developing players who progressed from our club to the professional ranks. Corey Whiteley, Mohammadu Faal and Josh Davison spring to mind. At our level, most clubs can't afford to finance more than 1 or 2 players on "full" contracts, this is a simple fact and is not going to change. I think the FA should make it mandatory that the non-league club from which the player has progressed (or has spent the longest in developing that player) receive a fixed amount - say GBP 25,000 - when the player (she or he) signs a full-time contract. This fee sh

Fair observation but not sure what else we could do. Neither player is on a “full” contract so could leave after a 7 day approach anyway. Best way of staying match fit is by playing. I hope both return .....

Just looked at the league table again and must have got Brightlingsea confused with Cray 🤪 ... I blame Trump, he’s left me even more dazed and confused than normal 😲