Disappointing that a local reporter gave more detailed coverage to the fans forum than the clubs Twitter account. Got to say it’s very disappointing the lack of coverage and doesn’t give the fans the best first impression when meeting the owners. Thankfully many fans were able to meet Preston before the Orient game (myself included) but this will add to fans curiosity if the owners don’t arrange another fans forum before the start of next season
Search for ‘Mark Dunford’ on Twitter for a more detailed report of the fans forum.
Mark has done an excellent job and it sounds a fascinating meeting actually, no massive news but quite a few important subjects are being discussed from budget to stadium to reserve football
1. They have put £2m into the club in addition to the purchase price (suggestion was actually this was a guarantee to the FL). However there is still money in the bank.
2. No real idea about signings and next season targets as the manager situation is not resolved. Signings will be a mix of analytics and manager judgement.
3. Several mentions of engaging with the community including the foundation.
4. 50% chance of being promoted in next 2 years.
5. We will train on grass next season. Where is not known.
6. We will not be signing any more players who don't play (hooray).
7. Some plans to set up a B team to play friendlies and train (yes it did sound pointless). But not expecting an academy.
8. No plans to sell NFTs to people in the audience but they do plan to get income and budgets up.
9. Some ideas on ticketing - season tickets by installment and books of tickets.
10. Improvements to merchandise likely to be 2023/4.
I didn't know what to expect but it wasn't fever pitch stuff. Above is what I remember. To be honest things haven't worked in their favour...a number of contracts handed out to players JY wanted, then JY suspended etc.
1. They have put £2m into the club in addition to the purchase price (suggestion was actually this was a guarantee to the FL). However there is still money in the bank.
2. No real idea about signings and next season targets as the manager situation is not resolved. Signings will be a mix of analytics and manager judgement.
3. Several mentions of engaging with the community including the foundation.
4. 50% chance of being promoted in next 2 years.
5. We will train on grass next season. Where is not known.
6. We will not be signing any more players who don't play (hooray).
7. Some plans to set up a B team to play friendlies and train (yes it did sound pointless). But not expecting an academy.
8. No plans to sell NFTs to people in the audience but they do plan to get income and budgets up.
9. Some ideas on ticketing - season tickets by installment and books of tickets.
10. Improvements to merchandise likely to be 2023/4.
I didn't know what to expect but it wasn't fever pitch stuff. Above is what I remember. To be honest things haven't worked in their favour...a number of contracts handed out to players JY wanted, then JY suspended etc.
Cheers Simon, thanks for that good summary. B team is a great idea for player development, I know it's only friendlies but it would still be a huge upgrade on what we had before (and knowing me I'd still want to go to them if it's convinient). Ticket books is interesting too, works for people who can't come regularly due to other commitments or money.
My guess is that they decided not to stream it because of the news earlier, which I think was probably wise.
1. They have put £2m into the club in addition to the purchase price (suggestion was actually this was a guarantee to the FL). However there is still money in the bank.
2. No real idea about signings and next season targets as the manager situation is not resolved. Signings will be a mix of analytics and manager judgement.
3. Several mentions of engaging with the community including the foundation.
4. 50% chance of being promoted in next 2 years.
5. We will train on grass next season. Where is not known.
6. We will not be signing any more players who don't play (hooray).
7. Some plans to set up a B team to play friendlies and train (yes it did sound pointless). But not expecting an academy.
8. No plans to sell NFTs to people in the audience but they do plan to get income and budgets up.
9. Some ideas on ticketing - season tickets by installment and books of tickets.
10. Improvements to merchandise likely to be 2023/4.
I didn't know what to expect but it wasn't fever pitch stuff. Above is what I remember. To be honest things haven't worked in their favour...a number of contracts handed out to players JY wanted, then JY suspended etc.
Thanks for posting a summary Simon. How many people were there?
Yeah I think the B team idea is pointless. We’d be better off putting the money into a decent squad of 18-20 decent players who will regularly play and we can dip into the loan market to cover injuries as needed. We’ve had a core of about 10 or so players we haven’t used in the squad for a couple of seasons now. For both us and them we’d be getting off letting them go and they can prove themselves in non league and if they’re good enough they’ll work their way up into the pro game again. Louis John was with us in the reserves around 8 years ago and he played against us the other week for Sutton.
Why is a B team pointless? Even if they play Sunday park football and the Sx Snr Cup, if a gem is uncovered happy days. Surely its an advance on what we have now?
I hadnt thought but agree perhaps the new JY news breaking the club thought it better to not broadcast live.
The JY situation must be really unsettling and might affect things like player recruitment e.g. players put off joining club in current situation. Its a relief we sorted so many contracts out lately.
Search for ‘Mark Dunford’ on Twitter for a more detailed report of the fans forum.
Mark has done an excellent job and it sounds a fascinating meeting actually, no massive news but quite a few important subjects are being discussed from budget to stadium to reserve football
The event was not very good or professional, the microphones were not working and it was difficult to hear some of Eben's words.
To be fair the owners have landed in a very tricky situation from the start, with the John Yems suspension.
So until that is resolved it is going to be difficult for them to talk about players in / out etc.
I did like the guy who asked the owners to explain NFTs in simple layman's terms.
Eben's reply was not in layman's terms and left everyone confused, it was not explained well.
It's good that the owners are going to bring someone in who knows how to run a football club, although I do hope it is new people to Crawley with experience and fresh ideas.
Both the new owners seemed nice, friendly, open, honest and I wish them all the best here at Crawley.
The other thing I missed from the list above was the lease has run down and the club has just signed a 1 year extension. Someone asked about improvements, of course there won't be any if the club doesn't have any security of tenure.
Why is a B team pointless? Even if they play Sunday park football and the Sx Snr Cup, if a gem is uncovered happy days. Surely its an advance on what we have now?
I hadn't thought but agree perhaps the new JY news breaking the club thought it better to not broadcast live.
To put it in context, any actual games would be an advance. Whether non competitive friendlies prepare players for first team football in L2 is probably doubtful though. And even with a squad of 40 odd we still pulled out of the SSC this season didn't we, so I would discount that.
I understand at some points of the season the club had over 50 players in training at Horsham. No wonder JY got exasperated.
I'm sure the late cancellation of the broadcast was due to the risk of media, plus everyone was told 'no recording' on entry. In the event no-one in the audience mentioned JY at all.
The media guy started saying "last question" after about 25 mins, in the event it dragged on a bit longer. To be fair both the guys stayed around afterwards to meet anyone who was interested and they were almost the last to leave at about 9.30. So really there could be no complaints that anyone who wanted to ask a question publicly and privately didn't get the chance to do so.
Last Edit: May 5, 2022 9:19:10 GMT by Simon: Spelling
I did like the guy who asked the owners to explain NFTs in simple layman's terms.
Eben's reply was not in layman's terms and left everyone confused, it was not explained well.
Let's face it... most football fans think WEB3 is a description of Robbie Savage's toes. In fairness, it was never going to be easy for him, maybe they should think about a short visual presentation with examples.
So still no news on the retained and released list other than to say it’s difficult while not knowing who is the captain of the ship?
EFL rules are that players must be notified of contract decisions by the 3rd Saturday in May. This year that is the 21st May which means we have 16 more days to notify players who have an option on their contract or are out of contract whether the club intend to renew or offer new.
After that date the club has no insurance against players leaving for free even if fees would’ve otherwise been due.
Given that option years are common place in most contracts (protects the clubs interests) I would suggest we risk losing several players simply due to not knowing who is in charge and whether that person is wanted or not.
