Wednesday 30 April 2014

A SEASON OF SOLID PROGRESS

We are going forward more positively as a football Club.

The resignation of Manda Rigby in December 2013 enabled the Club to restore unity under the popular leadership of new Chair Paul Williams.

There are still uncertainties about the Club's future with in my view, 3 options:

1. Staying at Twerton Park

2. Relocating to Lansdown

3. Playing at the Recreation ground

For me option 3 offers the best way forward.

As yet the Board have not made any public statements about the future.

The Foundation is very much back in the fold with Pete Sellwood taking the organisation forward. I hope and expect the Foundation to be helping the playing budget in 2014/15.

The Society is rebuilding under the Chairmanship of Martin Powell. Hopefully it can continue to support the Club financially - it has made very significant contributions historically - and will surely start some fundraising not least with Ken Loach's new film due out soon.

The Supporters Club continues to do a great job and will surely work closely with the Club and Society in the coming year.

On the pitch the signs are very good. Whilst Adie and Archie got some criticism during the year they steered the team to a strong finish. We were the form team in the last 10 games and for the want of 3 more points and a few more goals we would have made the play offs.

Most fans are therefore optimistic about next season.

We will all be watching the comings and goings in the run up to August. For me we still need that combative midfielder and leader and a bit more toughness if we are to make the top 5 but not at the expense of playing football. I am relaxed about the balance of youth and experience but we do need the latter. Youth alone and we will do a Dorchester.

I didn't get to as many games as I wanted to this season for various reasons but I hope to make more home games next season when I expect us to be amongst the best in the division.

My players of the year......Dave Pratt and Dan Ball.

Dont forget the end of season bash on 17th May. You can meet the players and persuade your favourites to stay!!!

Have a good Summer and see you in August!

Saturday 26 April 2014

DISAPPOINTMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The world is full of them.

I was incredibly disappointed when City failed to get elected to the football league in 1978. More disappointment followed with painful relegations in 1987, 1997 and 2012. I hoped that we would make the play offs this year but despite a strong finish we will be a few points short.

I wish my two sons were ardent City fans and more concerned about a better world, but they aren't. I think they are probably just reacting against my obsessive behaviour in the fields of sport and politics! I console myself that out there are lots of other parents who wanted children who are academic Tories but are equally disappointed!

As a young man in Bath in the 1970s I was convinced that one day we would have a fairer society by the time I reached my 50s. In fact we have a more unequal Society now than in Victorian times. Startlingly, if national wealth were £100, the top 20% would have £60 and the bottom 60p! And its getting worse.

Now that is a crushing disappointment.

But I am convinced that one day, hopefully through rational argument and a sense of fairness, we will achieve greater equality. Sadly I fear that the poor have become so cut adrift that change may come more violently.

I am also convinced that one day Bath City FC will play in the football League.

Amazingly we may now have a way to make that happen by joining with the Rugby Club at the Recreation ground. I really hope the Club see that there is a real opportunity to achieve something here.

My dream of a socialist world may be a little further away than I had once hoped but maybe my dream of a City team playing in the football league could be a little closer.

I hope Paul Williams and the City Board are bold enough to go for it.

City's season is all but over. The defeat at Gosport perhaps showed where we need to toughen up to be a top 6 side but at home to Farnborough on Easter Monday the team showed it's attacking qualities with an entertaining 4-2 win. Dave Pratt again starred and he has finished the season strongly with goals flowing more easily. If we can win at Concord Rangers on the last day of the season we can finish in a very strong sixth or seventh place. They have played 3 games in 4 days so surely we can overcome them?

Next week I will write my last post. I will ensure that it is upbeat and hopeful about the future!

Just a reminder that City's end of season presentation night is on Saturday 17th May at the Club. All are welcome. It's usually a great night with a chance to chat to the players.

Wednesday 16 April 2014

PLAYING AT THE NEW BATH STADIUM A REAL OPTION FOR CITY!

I was surprised more people didn't pick up on the significance of the Tribunal decision re Bath Rugby's use of the Recreation Ground.

I joined in the consultation process and wrote as an individual to complain that a private Rugby Club was appropriating public charitable land and that it was excluding other sports.

I think about 70 objections were recorded amongst many more supporters of the Rugby Club's plans but the Tribunal had to listen to those voices which cautioned the Charity Commission that it would be quite wrong to simply hand over public land in such a prime location.

I didn't get any reaction to last week's article on the Fan's Forum but there was a lot of support on twitter and Facebook.

Last week I wrote to the Chronicle suggesting that a way forward for the Rugby Club might be to embrace other sports including City. If it was truly a stadium for Bath I would support a larger facility outside the current foot print occupied by Bath Rugby.

A link to my letter is here:

http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Add-variety/story-20938679-detail/story.html

In my view the Recreation ground is a much better option than Lansdown or staying at Twerton. We would attract much more support. And for those who say we'd rattle around in a new stadium, well we already do so at Twerton. If we filled one stand at the Rec with limited seating pitch side around the ground it would still be a good atmosphere. How many empty grounds do you see on TV now especially those televised FA Cup games!

I would go further. Why not join with Bath Rugby in a sports franchise where Bath Rugby and Bath Football represented our City.

Unless we are ambitious and think big I fear we'll slowly die at May day Trust Park or worse still Lansdown.

The news that the Rec Trust are to appeal to the Tribunal may indeed open up a real opportunity for other sports to be involved including City.

And there is always the possibility that if Bath Rugby leave the Rec could be available for City!!

Food for thought.

The win over Hayes and Yeading was thrilling and at last we got the late winner to cancel out some of the horror shows when City have conceded late. Dave Pratt and Andy Watkins really have blossomed in the latter part of the season and Josh Low had another good game.

I listened to the game on the excellent Bath City Internet radio. I hadn't realised that there was a notable time delay in transmission. I got a text saying Andy Watkins had scored to make it 3-2 fully a minute before it happened on the radio. I was able to confidently tell Sarah and the boys that City would indeed score in a minute! They were astonished at my powers of prediction.

It's a long shot but if Dover and Havant drop a few points in the next week or so and City have a maximum Easter weekend we might just go to Concord Rangers on 26th April with a chance of the playoffs.

There is always hope.

Certainly the team has built some momentum and we have to be confident of a successful season next year with a couple of key additions to the squad.

City's end of season presentation party is open to all at the Club on Saturday 17th May. Themed around the 'grand national' its usually a great night with a chance to chat to the players and have some fun.



Wednesday 9 April 2014

CITY PRICE FREEZE WELCOME

The news that City have frozen entrance prices for next season is very welcome.

Despite Government trumpeting an economic recovery it is absolutely clear that most people don't feel any better off and that the so called recovery is wafer thin based on an engineered house price boom in the south of England. The smart money is on an economic decline post 2015. After 5 years of austerity this is not a happy conclusion for the Coalition Government.

But keeping our football affordable is a must in these gloomy circumstances!

I really hope we can launch a fundraising campaign to ensure Adie and Archie have a competitive playing budget for next season. I miss those Ken Loach film nights, City ale promotions and City DVD sales!

Last Saturday City put in a creditable performance against a good if tetchy Eastbourne side. It was the first game without Jason Mellor and the new keeper Stuart Moore did a solid job after his unfortunate baptism in the Somerset Cup against Taunton. Dave Pratt was at the centre of it again setting up both goals. Josh Low had one of his best games for City and his cross for Dave Pratt's shot which led to Andy Watkins equaliser, was out of the top drawer. It was an encouraging crowd of almost 600 which suggests a few people came back after the successful community day.

This week City play another home game against a Hayes and Yeading side who are on the fringes of the relegation zone. City will be confident of 3 points.

The season reaches its end in just 3 weeks time and after this Saturday City have one final home game on Easter Monday against Farnborough and before that a trip to FA Trophy finalist Gosport Borough.

The final game of the season is away at Concord Rangers in Essex. They have adapted well to life in the Conference so this will be a difficult game but it is a new venue for City fans to discover. Welcome to Canvey Island! I do warn those who haven't been there that its not as glamorous as it sounds!

Then its back to the agonies of Somerset cricket.....it may be another season of struggle I fear but I am sure we will all be keeping an eye on who City will bring in to strengthen the squad for what will hopefully be a promotion charge next season.



Wednesday 2 April 2014

IT IS PUBLIC LAND! LEAVE OUR REC ALONE!

I see that the Bath Rugby plans to take over more public land at the Rec have been thwarted. I am a defender of the Recreation ground as an asset for the people of Bath. When I was a boy I ran at sports days there, watched Somerset cricket and enjoyed the open space in the middle of our beautiful City.

Bath Rugby is a private sports Club and it seeks to appropriate the people's land.

Thank goodness the Tribunal defends our interests.

It would certainly help if the Rugby Club didn't see that space as exclusively theirs. If they were open to other sports they might get more sympathy. The new stadium should be available to Bath City FC on favourable terms for significant matches in my view.

I am not a nimby but I will fight to defend public interests over private greed.

City's draw at Sutton was a good result and showed that we are close to the top teams. It has been really frustrating that we have dropped points at Havant and now Sutton (to a 90th minutes equaliser) as we would have surely still been in play off contention with other teams dropping points around us. But we have not quite been good enough. Adie Britton pinpointed the 12 draws and  rightly said that we should have won six of those. Our season really would have ended in the playoffs then. We have to be stronger mentally next season.

I hate season's that end in this way. 5 games to go and all we can do is study the squad and try and carry something into the start of next season.

I find it hard to get excited about the Somerset Cup but Tuesday's defeat to Taunton Town was farcical. Judging by the comments on the Fan's Forum the 116 who watched the game got confirmation that Ross Stearn may be a talented player but appears divisive, that the midfield is a problem for us and that maybe we shouldn't bother with this competition!

I have an apology to make to Dave Pratt. A couple of weeks ago he wasn't in my retained list. Now he firmly is. He is back scoring goals to go alongside his  incredible work rate. He is top scorer with 15 in all competitions. I think he can score more next season and carry us to promotion. There's a turnaround for you!

City are back at home this coming Saturday against Eastbourne, one of only 3 home games left. I don't know what else to say about the game really given what I said above.

I really do think we need some key changes in the Summer it will be more of the same.




Wednesday 26 March 2014

WHAT A GREAT COMMUNITY DAY!

It's great when a plan comes together!

People came in numbers to the community day- almost 1400 including many Bath school children via the Foundation. And the team did their bit hitting 4 goals at home in the league for the first time this season. It was a great attacking performance with some good goals and plenty of incident. Every City player did their bit but I was struck by just how effective Dave Pratt is and the final goal in stoppage time was a masterclass in the role of a battling centre forward.

There was a lovely buzz in the ground. Numbers turned up and enjoyed it. I know I did. I love a good crowd. It's what got me hooked in the first place.

Even if only a fraction come back to watch again it will have been worth it.

The group of exiles who supported the event -Alan Finney, Pete Flack, Gerry Walker, Barry Richards,Ken Loach (plus Martin 'Basil' Brush and Bob Chester) had a great time.

There were lots of 'thank yous' in the excellent match day programme but Bob Chester led the day and did a brilliant job.

What was noticeable was that the Club is now back working together under Chairman Paul Williams and his Board.

It was great to see the Conference's Brian Lee present the £15,000 cheque to Pete Sellwood of the Bath City FC Community Sports Foundation.

There will be lots of speculation about how the Club did financially on the day. By my calculation it must have been worth it. With some 12 sponsors/backers paying circa £500 that gave the Club a around £6,000 base to work with. Obviously there were costs to the Club in terms of hospitality to deduct but that would be equal to normal gate receipts (say 500 x £10) - everything else on top of that was a bonus. If you assume that 1100 ( I think the children came in free) paid an average £5 each then that is another £5,000. There is the 10% to the RUH appeal but the bars etc looked busy so it was surely a good day for the Club.

For me its the involvement of people in the Club that's key and the fact that a new generation of younger supporters will come through.

Obviously Monday's game at Havant and Waterlooville was a huge disappointment made worse by last nights Dover slip up. I listened to the excellent Bath City internet radio commentary and we had enough chances to be ahead at half time. The second half was a non event. Whilst I am sure the players will keep going and win as many as possible mathematically it is now pretty much all over. A top 7 finish would be very good. We do need 3 players for next season and the midfield general is essential. I am not sure Phil Walsh is the dominating centre half we need but he has made a good early impression. Pratt and Watkins have been great but that out and out goalscorer is still missing.

This Saturday we face the daunting trip to high flying Sutton United. There is a chance to shape the squad for next season but I suspect the management may wait a couple more games for that.

We need to carry momentum into next season so a positive last 6 games is important for me.

Tuesday 18 March 2014

A GREAT DAY IN PROSPECT!

I am really looking forward to this Saturdays 'Community day' at Bath City Football Club. You can come along and 'pay what you want' and enjoy a fun afternoon out at May day Trust Park. With Bristol Rovers fans backing the initiative there should be a really good crowd there. Chelmsford are the visitors (k.o. 3 p.m.)

These events take quite some organising.

The Club needed the backing of key sponsors to ensure that it could achieve a baseline income for the game and I am proud to say that 3 organisations I am involved with stepped forward to sponsor the event. The Club's largest shareholder, the Bath City Supporter's Society, has put £500 in as has the Bath City FC Community Sports Foundation. The latter will invite hundreds of the City's children and their parents along to the event. The Conference Trust's Brian Lee will present the £15,000 cheque to the Foundation on the pitch at half time.

I am also part of a group of 8, loosely called 'the exiles' who together are supporting the event. Along with Alan Finney, Ken Loach,  Barry Richards, Pete Flack, Martin Brush, Bob Chester and Gerry Walker, I'll be briefly in the Moore Stephens lounge for a couple of pints of pre-match real ale before heading over to what I hope will be a packed popular side terrace.

The architect of the community day is Bob Chester who has worked tirelessly to sort out arrangements for the day along with the Club's Directors and Andy Weekes in particular.

Steve Skinner and Pete Sellwood have led the Foundation's substantial input to this and Martin Powell, Chairman of the Society, has organised the Society's support.

Mark Tanner has done a brilliant job getting posters and leaflets out with a group of supporters.

I make no apology for doing all these name checks.....I have surely left a lot of key people out....but without individuals putting in the time initiatives go nowhere.

So now its down to the rest of us to get friends and family to come along.

If we can get a crowd of 1000 plus and just a few come back for future games it will have been worth it!

Obviously last Saturday's win over Dorchester Town effectively kept our season alive. It was a comfortable win but we really should have scored more goals. I really hope we can put that right this Saturday against Chelmsford. If our season does come to an end then we still have the Somerset Cup and I was reminded by Alan Finney that there is pleasure enough in watching your team play regardless of the chance of silverware!

See you on Saturday!