Darrell Clarke after Oxford United defeat

[Jon Palmer]

Interview here: https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/s ... st-9153839

[Jerry St Clair]

Another episode of Darrell Tells It Like It Is

Interesting thing is that there is a sickness bug running through the squad. Wonder if that’s affected energy levels in the past week?

[Ihearye]

Will he stay for L2??????

[RS1978]

Yes - we're only in with a Scooby due to Darrell Clarke. If he goes, then many others go with him - Pett/Sercombe/Taylor/Ferry/Long.

Davies/Southwood/Bonds/Lloyd/Harrop are probably worth a punt at this level - maybe Keena needs better/more creative players around him than we have and then he'll get decent chances and put them away?

If we go down after our highest position in L1 ever, we need to figure out what type of club we want to be - a yo-yo club or a stable L2 selling club. Possibly with a decent academy with lots of youngsters to sell on?

Most of the bigger clubs in this league (Derby/Bolton/Wigan/Reading/Charlton) are either here due to managerial incompetence or financial mismanagement and unlike many clubs at L1 level and below, we don't have a millionaire donor to pump funds in when we're in trouble/drop half a mil on the next great young lower-league striker.

Get the ground/stands/other infrastructure sorted (if we can!) and get some decent youngsters in if (when?) we're in L2. Due to our budget I don't blame DC having a punt on guys like Sloggett or Nuttall - you can't strike gold (like He who should not be named) every single time and until we regularly get 5/6/7k plus gates at WR we can't afford to waste much money.

Also, we'd be going down with a £500k debt - maybe the May/Goodwin payments in the next financial year, along with a decreased outlay on players will get us back in the black, and on a more comfortable financial footing?

[Ihearye]

Yes - we're only in with a Scooby due to Darrell Clarke. If he goes, then many others go with him - Pett/Sercombe/Taylor/Ferry/Long.

Davies/Southwood/Bonds/Lloyd/Harrop are probably worth a punt at this level - maybe Keena needs better/more creative players around him than we have and then he'll get decent chances and put them away?

If we go down after our highest position in L1 ever, we need to figure out what type of club we want to be - a yo-yo club or a stable L2 selling club. Possibly with a decent academy with lots of youngsters to sell on?

Most of the bigger clubs in this league (Derby/Bolton/Wigan/Reading/Charlton) are either here due to managerial incompetence or financial mismanagement and unlike many clubs at L1 level and below, we don't have a millionaire donor to pump funds in when we're in trouble/drop half a mil on the next great young lower-league striker.

Get the ground/stands/other infrastructure sorted (if we can!) and get some decent youngsters in if (when?) we're in L2. Due to our budget I don't blame DC having a punt on guys like Sloggett or Nuttall - you can't strike gold (like He who should not be named) every single time and until we regularly get 5/6/7k plus gates at WR we can't afford to waste much money.

Also, we'd be going down with a £500k debt - maybe the May/Goodwin payments in the next financial year, along with a decreased outlay on players will get us back in the black, and on a more comfortable financial footing?

your post still doesn't explain your initial - yes

[RS1978]

Yes - we're only in with a Scooby due to Darrell Clarke. If he goes, then many others go with him - Pett/Sercombe/Taylor/Ferry/Long.

Davies/Southwood/Bonds/Lloyd/Harrop are probably worth a punt at this level - maybe Keena needs better/more creative players around him than we have and then he'll get decent chances and put them away?

If we go down after our highest position in L1 ever, we need to figure out what type of club we want to be - a yo-yo club or a stable L2 selling club. Possibly with a decent academy with lots of youngsters to sell on?

Most of the bigger clubs in this league (Derby/Bolton/Wigan/Reading/Charlton) are either here due to managerial incompetence or financial mismanagement and unlike many clubs at L1 level and below, we don't have a millionaire donor to pump funds in when we're in trouble/drop half a mil on the next great young lower-league striker.

Get the ground/stands/other infrastructure sorted (if we can!) and get some decent youngsters in if (when?) we're in L2. Due to our budget I don't blame DC having a punt on guys like Sloggett or Nuttall - you can't strike gold (like He who should not be named) every single time and until we regularly get 5/6/7k plus gates at WR we can't afford to waste much money.

Also, we'd be going down with a £500k debt - maybe the May/Goodwin payments in the next financial year, along with a decreased outlay on players will get us back in the black, and on a more comfortable financial footing?

your post still doesn't explain your initial - yes

I see - yes - I think that he'll stay with us in League 2. There would be a massive rebuild if he does go and DC has bought guys with L2 experience in January ( Taylor and his long-term contract/Kins) so why would he do that if he was planning to leave at the end of the season? Adshead and Liam Smith will come back after their loans - and could be better in L2. The only way I could see him leaving would be if B Rovers/Vale poached him, as he's got serious history with those clubs.

Our board know that DC drives standards from the top, and we've got to keep pace with his demands, whichever league we're in next season.

[Benctfc]

I think he will stay as he doesn't seem the type to jump ship when the going gets tough.

I do think a few people on here and social media are unaware how tough next season could be. Only have to look at FGR to see losing can become a habit. Like L1 L2 is now littered with a lot of clubs splashing cash over what you would expect for that level. Unfortunately i feel if we don't find a way to increase our revenue/budget we could soon find staying in L2 as challenging as staying in L1.

[Broadway Brian]

Pretty sure Liam Smith was only a 12 month contract so we won’t be seeing him again. I may be wrong.

Not sure about Adshead.

[Fuller]

I think he will stay as he doesn't seem the type to jump ship when the going gets tough.

I do think a few people on here and social media are unaware how tough next season could be. Only have to look at FGR to see losing can become a habit. Like L1 L2 is now littered with a lot of clubs splashing cash over what you would expect for that level. Unfortunately i feel if we don't find a way to increase our revenue/budget we could soon find staying in L2 as challenging as staying in L1.

When we previously got relegated from League One in 2003 and 2009 we almost got relegated out of the EFL both times in the following seasons. I’d expect a season of struggle next season if we get the dreaded drop in April. The budget will almost certainly be reduced considerably, we have enough trouble attracting players as it is and we have other issues such as the quality of the training ground. Not particularly optimistic of the short term future for us sorry to say.
In answer to the Adshead question his contract is up at the end of the season so au revoir. Same for Smith.

[Ihearye]

I think he will stay as he doesn't seem the type to jump ship when the going gets tough.

I do think a few people on here and social media are unaware how tough next season could be. Only have to look at FGR to see losing can become a habit. Like L1 L2 is now littered with a lot of clubs splashing cash over what you would expect for that level. Unfortunately i feel if we don't find a way to increase our revenue/budget we could soon find staying in L2 as challenging as staying in L1.

Agree

[Jerry St Clair]

I think he will stay as he doesn't seem the type to jump ship when the going gets tough.

I do think a few people on here and social media are unaware how tough next season could be. Only have to look at FGR to see losing can become a habit. Like L1 L2 is now littered with a lot of clubs splashing cash over what you would expect for that level. Unfortunately i feel if we don't find a way to increase our revenue/budget we could soon find staying in L2 as challenging as staying in L1.

Splashing the cash is far from a guarantee of success. Oodles of clubs in L2 have poured money down the drain for no return (and we don’t have to look very far for a cracking example of waste).

Good decision-making, sustainability and stability are far more important than the size of your bank balance. We should not panic when we go down. Keep doing things the Cheltenham way.

[London Exile]

I think we’ll be ok in L2. I’m sure the new TV deal kicks in next season which is a huge hike on the current one which might mean, even by going down, we don’t lose out too much, if at all. If we are able to keep the playing budget as is then hopefully we can make it stretch a bit more.
We might be able to take a bit more of a risk on one or two players from further down the pyramid too and try to unearth a couple of gems.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

If we go down hopefully DC sees it as unfinished business.

By the end of the season he will have had 34 or 35 games whilst our relegation rivals all had 46.

He knows if he had 46 games we would have stayed up. I hope that means he wants to get us straight back up then keep us up to complete the job.

[Ihearye]

I think he will stay as he doesn't seem the type to jump ship when the going gets tough.

I do think a few people on here and social media are unaware how tough next season could be. Only have to look at FGR to see losing can become a habit. Like L1 L2 is now littered with a lot of clubs splashing cash over what you would expect for that level. Unfortunately i feel if we don't find a way to increase our revenue/budget we could soon find staying in L2 as challenging as staying in L1.

Splashing the cash is far from a guarantee of success. Oodles of clubs in L2 have poured money down the drain for no return (and we don’t have to look very far for a cracking example of waste).

Good decision-making, sustainability and stability are far more important than the size of your bank balance. We should not panic when we go down. Keep doing things the Cheltenham way.

All that may be true but if you are fishing and playing in the same pond, it only takes a few clubs to believe throwing money at it, is not a short term solution, even if it turns out to be. They will then be attracting players with a better wage structure etc. Ok they may go belly up in a year or two but that would not lessen the impact it could have on us if we went down next year. L2 will be tough

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

I think he will stay as he doesn't seem the type to jump ship when the going gets tough.

I do think a few people on here and social media are unaware how tough next season could be. Only have to look at FGR to see losing can become a habit. Like L1 L2 is now littered with a lot of clubs splashing cash over what you would expect for that level. Unfortunately i feel if we don't find a way to increase our revenue/budget we could soon find staying in L2 as challenging as staying in L1.

Splashing the cash is far from a guarantee of success. Oodles of clubs in L2 have poured money down the drain for no return (and we don’t have to look very far for a cracking example of waste).

Good decision-making, sustainability and stability are far more important than the size of your bank balance. We should not panic when we go down. Keep doing things the Cheltenham way.

All that may be true but if you are fishing and playing in the same pond, it only takes a few clubs to believe throwing money at it, is not a short term solution, even if it turns out to be. They will then be attracting players with a better wage structure etc. Ok they may go belly up in a year or two but that would not lessen the impact it could have on us if we went down next year. L2 will be tough

This is, in part, related to the thread I started earlier in the season on ‘what is the purpose of CTFC?’.

One purpose could be to have a good atmosphere at the club where fans have a good day out, a good connection with the team, and the club being run sustainably but with continuous improvement in how it is run and the match day experience. In that scenario what other teams do spending wise shouldn’t bother us: we are doing our thing, always try to win with the right playing attitude, and if some seasons we have players good enough for promotion then so be it.

Another purpose might be trying to compete as high as possible to the detriment of all else. No spending off the pitch, giving away fans half the home facilities, short-term signings, losses, etc. In my opinion, whenever we try this approach we end up worse with lots of players the fans have no connection with, no good vibes off the pitch, and jeopardising the club’s existence. Allen’s 54 players or Yates’s and Johnson’s final seasons. For both the latter we went from a year or two of having group of players who fans had a connection with and pride in, to too many mercenaries and loans who fans couldn’t care less about.

Darrell is trying to stop it descending to the latter by bringing in some players he thinks will work hard for him, each other, and fans (Kinsella, Taylor) for the long term.

If we start next season with Street, Taylor, Keena and Lloyd as strikers, and Bonds, Sercs, Kinsella, Thomas (assuming Pett is off) as midfielders (plus new signings) then that would be a nice group to support and fans would have a connection with and get behind as the club tries to improve off the pitch.

If we have eight new players up front and in midfield and replace half of them in January instead of paying to paint seasons, and still giving away fans half the home facilities, it will feel like the dark days of Allen and CBB/Richards all over again.

[Ihearye]

Splashing the cash is far from a guarantee of success. Oodles of clubs in L2 have poured money down the drain for no return (and we don’t have to look very far for a cracking example of waste).

Good decision-making, sustainability and stability are far more important than the size of your bank balance. We should not panic when we go down. Keep doing things the Cheltenham way.

All that may be true but if you are fishing and playing in the same pond, it only takes a few clubs to believe throwing money at it, is not a short term solution, even if it turns out to be. They will then be attracting players with a better wage structure etc. Ok they may go belly up in a year or two but that would not lessen the impact it could have on us if we went down next year. L2 will be tough

This is, in part, related to the thread I started earlier in the season on ‘what is the purpose of CTFC?’.

One purpose could be to have a good atmosphere at the club where fans have a good day out, a good connection with the team, and the club being run sustainably but with continuous improvement in how it is run and the match day experience. In that scenario what other teams do spending wise shouldn’t bother us: we are doing our thing, always try to win with the right playing attitude, and if some seasons we have players good enough for promotion then so be it.

Another purpose might be trying to compete as high as possible to the detriment of all else. No spending off the pitch, giving away fans half the home facilities, short-term signings, losses, etc. In my opinion, whenever we try this approach we end up worse with lots of players the fans have no connection with, no good vibes off the pitch, and jeopardising the club’s existence. Allen’s 54 players or Yates’s and Johnson’s final seasons. For both the latter we went from a year or two of having group of players who fans had a connection with and pride in, to too many mercenaries and loans who fans couldn’t care less about.

Darrell is trying to stop it descending to the latter by bringing in some players he thinks will work hard for him, each other, and fans (Kinsella, Taylor) for the long term.

If we start next season with Street, Taylor, Keena and Lloyd as strikers, and Bonds, Sercs, Kinsella, Thomas (assuming Pett is off) as midfielders (plus new signings) then that would be a nice group to support and fans would have a connection with and get behind as the club tries to improve off the pitch.

If we have eight new players up front and in midfield and replace half of them in January instead of paying to paint seasons, and still giving away fans half the home facilities, it will feel like the dark days of Allen and CBB/Richards all over again.

I take the view that whatever other clubs do will always bother us one way or another. Given that part of the match day experience, is the team doing well. I am not advocating throwing money that we don't have, around. If we drop into L2 our budget will once again be mid to lower L2 and that situation will only be made more difficult if there are a few cash rich clubs around, who can sign players who are above L2 standard. Anyway, all academic as we are winning our next 6

[Robin]

Yes - we're only in with a Scooby due to Darrell Clarke. If he goes, then many others go with him - Pett/Sercombe/Taylor/Ferry/Long.

Davies/Southwood/Bonds/Lloyd/Harrop are probably worth a punt at this level - maybe Keena needs better/more creative players around him than we have and then he'll get decent chances and put them away?

If we go down after our highest position in L1 ever, we need to figure out what type of club we want to be - a yo-yo club or a stable L2 selling club. Possibly with a decent academy with lots of youngsters to sell on?

Most of the bigger clubs in this league (Derby/Bolton/Wigan/Reading/Charlton) are either here due to managerial incompetence or financial mismanagement and unlike many clubs at L1 level and below, we don't have a millionaire donor to pump funds in when we're in trouble/drop half a mil on the next great young lower-league striker.

Get the ground/stands/other infrastructure sorted (if we can!) and get some decent youngsters in if (when?) we're in L2. Due to our budget I don't blame DC having a punt on guys like Sloggett or Nuttall - you can't strike gold (like He who should not be named) every single time and until we regularly get 5/6/7k plus gates at WR we can't afford to waste much money.

Also, we'd be going down with a £500k debt - maybe the May/Goodwin payments in the next financial year, along with a decreased outlay on players will get us back in the black, and on a more comfortable financial footing?

I can't imagine Southwood, Ferry or Pett being keen on dropping down to league two even with Clarke in charge. As for putting in place a decent academy that costs money and doesn't return any investment for several years it just won't happen in league two, we would need to be at this level realistically.

Also we are not going down with a £500k debt, we made a loss last season, made a profit the year before, likely to be break even this season if we stay up, if we go down the accounts will likely be worse than £500k next time. Forget crowds of 6000, that only happens once we have a new 3000+ new main stand as we don't have the seats and it's clear people won't come as facilities are poor. So accept we are stuck in a downward spiral unless someone can be found to invest in the club to turn it around.

[asl]

Southwood will be gone, irrespective of which division we're playing in. 100% certain of that.