Call me bitter

[andgarod]

I am fed up seeing teams that should have been dead and gone rising up through the leagues
How often have teams been in serious trouble because of mismangement but get kept going while CTFC do the right thing and stay within the rules
Will there be more clubs -yes
Do I want a multimillionaire to own the club no
What I want is fair play
We dont own the ground that has probably helped us avoid a big owner
We now own seasons
So someone will build on it one day - houses not a football stadium

Is there anyway we can survive a small fish in a big pond?

[Robin]

Hold on isn't our largest shareholder a billionaire? I still maintain our long term future depends on building the new main stand and getting our average attendances up over 5000 (which feels realistic once the stand is in place).

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

Ok. You are bitter.

[Red Duke]

However bitter is better than lager.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

However bitter is better than lager.

Aye

[Leckyfan]

However bitter is better than lager.

+ 1

[RobinsCTFC]

I assume your refering to Luton?

I don't mind Luton being in the Prem. (Remember Flinders last minute equaliser at WR a few seasons ago!) Even with a history of dodgy owners, it shows that a small club can achieve big things.

[andgarod]

Then there is Coventry City and loads more who have fiddled their way to achieve greater things
And dont get me started on our friends on the hill Salford and a shed load more

Bitter I am

[Fuller]

Hold on isn't our largest shareholder a billionaire? I still maintain our long term future depends on building the new main stand and getting our average attendances up over 5000 (which feels realistic once the stand is in place).

Agree Robin but the only way a new stand will be built is if a major benefactor who is a true supporter pays for most of it. Unlikely though…

[Shade]

I would be very bitter if that little s#!t Nathan Jones had led them there but what a genius decision it was from him to jump ship to Southampton, only to get sacked and them relegated

Double cherry that the man who walked out on FGR, and Watford then sacked obviously too early (as per), has got them up.

[Old Coventrian]

Then there is Coventry City and loads more who have fiddled their way to achieve greater things
And dont get me started on our friends on the hill Salford and a shed load more

Bitter I am

You clearly have no idea what the Sky Blues have gone through int the last 22 years. They don't have a mega-rich foreign sugar daddy (just a local multi-millionaire fan as CEO). They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. They do not own the Coventry Building Society Stadium. They have hardly spent any money on transfers, and I don't think that any Sky Blue fan would claim they have achieved "great things"

[Horteng]

That's a good point about owning seasons. Is it big enough to build a stadium on? I am guessing planning would be difficult with its location.

[andgarod]

Then there is Coventry City and loads more who have fiddled their way to achieve greater things
And dont get me started on our friends on the hill Salford and a shed load more

Bitter I am

You clearly have no idea what the Sky Blues have gone through int the last 22 years. They don't have a mega-rich foreign sugar daddy (just a local multi-millionaire fan as CEO). They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. They do not own the Coventry Building Society Stadium. They have hardly spent any money on transfers, and I don't think that any Sky Blue fan would claim they have achieved "great things"

Thats my point running at a loss year on year then someone buying in probably claiming to do this and that then selling the stadium to cover the loss
How many clubs run at a loss and have or had dodgy owners
How many clubs have had to be bailed out as they are late playing players wages and so it goes on
Clubs who fail to pay staff and wages should be deduct points straight away
Directors who do not pass the test should be booted out
Check Fleetwood and Morecombe

Yes I feel sorry for the loyal fan but who and how many clubs would help us out

Damn few I would suggest
Do feel free to comeback
Tell it as it is or as you or anyone else sees it

I wont be upset

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

Then there is Coventry City and loads more who have fiddled their way to achieve greater things
And dont get me started on our friends on the hill Salford and a shed load more

Bitter I am

You clearly have no idea what the Sky Blues have gone through int the last 22 years. They don't have a mega-rich foreign sugar daddy (just a local multi-millionaire fan as CEO). They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. They do not own the Coventry Building Society Stadium. They have hardly spent any money on transfers, and I don't think that any Sky Blue fan would claim they have achieved "great things"

Thats my point running at a loss year on year then someone buying in probably claiming to do this and that then selling the stadium to cover the loss
How many clubs run at a loss and have or had dodgy owners
How many clubs have had to be bailed out as they are late playing players wages and so it goes on
Clubs who fail to pay staff and wages should be deduct points straight away
Directors who do not pass the test should be booted out
Check Fleetwood and Morecombe

Yes I feel sorry for the loyal fan but who and how many clubs would help us out

Damn few I would suggest
Do feel free to comeback
Tell it as it is or as you or anyone else sees it

I wont be upset

I completely agree. And no sympathy for fans cheering on the cheating rather than questioning where the money was from and speaking out.

Some on here wanted Wilcox to overspend. Luckily the Board acted, and most fans appreciated that.

[Wellwisher]

There's no doubt that it is infuriating for supporters of well-run clubs to see other clubs playing "ducks and drakes" with the rules, including FFP, and all the more when they don't appear to be subject to any great sanction by the game's authorities.

However when it comes to the latter point (sanctions), I don't think we should include Luton on the list:

"During the 2008-09 season, when Luton Town was already playing in the lowest level of the English Football league, the club was docked 30 points for financial irregularities that knocked it out of the league entirely.
They then spent five years playing non-league football before finally earning promotion back into the football league in 2013-14."
https://www.yardbarker.com/soccer/artic ... 2_38858439

[Jerry St Clair]

There are two problems. The Fit and Proper Persons test is flimsy. Charlatans still get their hands on football clubs and ruin them.

Secondly, because of the nature of football support, fans are always there to bail them out. And that's what the cycle continues.

FWIW, I support Cheltenham precisely because it's run the way it is. And I think, at heart, most football fans feel the same.

[Red Duke]

They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. T

You have summed it up perfectly. what the problem is with football Coventry lived beyond their means for 30 years. In any other business, they would have wound up.

Maybe, they should have told to start again from the bottom of the pyramid and thereby set a precednce for other football clubs.

[HamTown]

They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. T

You have summed it up perfectly. what the problem is with football Coventry lived beyond their means for 30 years. In any other business, they would have wound up.

Maybe, they should have told to start again from the bottom of the pyramid and thereby set a precednce for other football clubs.

We certainly would have

[longmover]

They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. T

You have summed it up perfectly. what the problem is with football Coventry lived beyond their means for 30 years. In any other business, they would have wound up.

Maybe, they should have told to start again from the bottom of the pyramid and thereby set a precednce for other football clubs.

Southampton fought relegation just as long as Coventry in a stadium half the size and with significantly less facilities than highfield road and they didn't have to sell the dell to pay off debts. Highfield road was sold as the costs to build their new stadium spiraled out of control and they had to raise money. They then got relegated, they rolled the greed dice and lost.

live by the sword blah blah blah

[longmover]

Most of the land round swindon village has been earmarked for houses with the land being bought years ago and developers just waiting, there's next to zero chance of a football ground being built at the seasons, more chance of the club selling it to developers.

[Jerry St Clair]

They had to sell Highfield Rd to pay off the debts built up from over 30 years of fighting relegation. T

You have summed it up perfectly. what the problem is with football Coventry lived beyond their means for 30 years. In any other business, they would have wound up.

Maybe, they should have told to start again from the bottom of the pyramid and thereby set a precednce for other football clubs.

We certainly would have

As did AFC Wimbledon who, after having their place in the Championship stolen by the Franchise, had to start at step 9 in the Combined Counties League.

Which proves the whole system is morally bankrupt.

[Si Robin]

Whilst I don't agree with MK Dons and franchising, and certainly believe that AFC are the true continuation of the original Wimbledon FC, technically AFC Wimbledon were a brand new club and therefore had to start at the 9th tier.

An FA panel claiming that not moving Wimbledon was "against the wider interests of football" was what was morally bankrupt.

[Robin]

That's a good point about owning seasons. Is it big enough to build a stadium on? I am guessing planning would be difficult with its location.

I don't believe it's big enough and certainly doesn't the transport infrastructure to host a new stadium.

[Jerry St Clair]

That's a good point about owning seasons. Is it big enough to build a stadium on? I am guessing planning would be difficult with its location.

I don't believe it's big enough and certainly doesn't the transport infrastructure to host a new stadium.

It's immediately next to the Bristol/Birmingham railway line so you could build a new station on it. But that feels.....optimistic. New stations are 15-20 year projects.

[Shade]

That's a good point about owning seasons. Is it big enough to build a stadium on? I am guessing planning would be difficult with its location.

I don't believe it's big enough and certainly doesn't the transport infrastructure to host a new stadium.

It's immediately next to the Bristol/Birmingham railway line so you could build a new station on it. But that feels.....optimistic. New stations are 15-20 year projects.

Pfff. Throw down a few planks of wood and it's done... 2 days at the most. Don't need all the fancy nonsense that most stations go for like arrivals boards, tannoys, toilets, electric...Not with a brand new 20,000 seater stadium right next door

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

That's a good point about owning seasons. Is it big enough to build a stadium on? I am guessing planning would be difficult with its location.

I don't believe it's big enough and certainly doesn't the transport infrastructure to host a new stadium.

It's immediately next to the Bristol/Birmingham railway line so you could build a new station on it. But that feels.....optimistic. New stations are 15-20 year projects.

Even the massive underground Cross Rail stations in the middle of densely populated areas didn’t take 15 years to build.

Worcestershire Parkway is more comparable to what we may see near Season’s:

February 2017, clearance work on the site starts.
Construction work began in early 2018.
Opened to the public on Sunday 23 February 2020.

So three years.

Yes the planning and political shenanigans had gone for years, but that is just because local and national government in the UK is awful at just getting on with building stuff.

[Leckyfan]

Worcestershire Parkway is more comparable to what we may see near Season’s:

February 2017, clearance work on the site starts.
Construction work began in early 2018.
Opened to the public on Sunday 23 February 2020.

So three years.

Yes the planning and political shenanigans had gone for years, but that is just because local and national government in the UK is awful at just getting on with building stuff.

Worcestershire Parkway was built where two rail lines cross (at split level) and has platforms serving both lines. So, to that extent, a new station near Seasons serving a single rail line would be even easier/faster to build.

But it won’t happen, since the location is only about 3km north of Cheltenham Spa station, so no good reason for both stations to exist. And a replacement “Cheltenham Parkway” station would be twice as far from the town centre, compared with Cheltenham Spa station.

It would have slight advantage of being significantly closer to the race course, but would still require bus transfer for racegoers, on the few days per year when special race trains might stop there.

Can’t see it happening…ever.

[ctfc-fan]

The only place they might ever build another station is the Golden Valley. They’re not going to build one for CTFC!

With Golden Valley you have the option of a super hospital to serve both Cheltenham and Gloucester as well as a potential monorail or similar to link C & G, going through the old railway line to the racecourse and into Gloucester and Kkngsholm. It also then serves the airport.

[Jerry St Clair]

Yes the planning and political shenanigans had gone for years, but that is just because local and national government in the UK is awful at just getting on with building stuff.

That's the sticking point

In fairness, my litmus test is only Reading Green Park on the railway line next to Madejski Stadium. It was part of the stadium building plans in 1998 and finally opened.......last week. Perhaps it's just a particularly bad exception.

[Jerry St Clair]

It would have slight advantage of being significantly closer to the race course, but would still require bus transfer for racegoers, on the few days per year when special race trains might stop there.

Can’t see it happening…ever.

There is a plan in place for a line off the mainline into Cheltenham Racecourse station to provide direct train access to the racecourse. Looking at a map, the line would connect to the mainline very close to Seasons, so something like Worcestershire Parkway would be feasible.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

It would have slight advantage of being significantly closer to the race course, but would still require bus transfer for racegoers, on the few days per year when special race trains might stop there.

Can’t see it happening…ever.

There is a plan in place for a line off the mainline into Cheltenham Racecourse station to provide direct train access to the racecourse. Looking at a map, the line would connect to the mainline very close to Seasons, so something like Worcestershire Parkway would be feasible.

They could/should have it run to Bishops Cleeve as well. It shows how backward we are compared to developed countries, where no place the size of Cleeve would not have a train/tram/metro to Cheltenham.

[longmover]

alright train nerds

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

alright train nerds

More like “wanting vital economic infrastructure and being fed up with the UK having such low productivity” nerds. In my case at least.

[Ihearye]

alright train nerds

More like “wanting vital economic infrastructure and being fed up with the UK having such low productivity” nerds. In my case at least.

Well there we have it, RCS is a low productivity nerd Comes as no shock given he spends most of his day on here