posted May 2, 2008

Past season:
Away form: totally and utterly pathetic - and the reason we're in the frame to be relegated tomorrow
Home form: not bad but totally undermined by the above
Ground share: who really cares other than Mr Baker? - But at least it guarantees there will be L1 football to watch at Whaddon Road next year, even if it ruins the pitch (which Rovers will like anyway as they're used to playing on a muddy mess)
Star Players: Higgsy (superb as ever); Gillespie (double figures for the 2nd lowest scoring team in the league gets him my player of the season vote)
Non-star players: where do we start? - perhaps it's best just to leave it to Mr Baker to name the 11 or 12 he previously told the press weren't up to it at this level
The Manager: not bad for someone who'd never done the job before, but he couldn't get the team to perform away from Whaddon Road
Marks out of ten: Home 5.5; Away 2; Average 3.75 - not really good enough to merit a place in L1 next season (and but for Bournemouth's 10 point deduction it wouldn't even be up for discussion as we'd already be a L2 team)
Rhetorical Questions:
1. What league will we be in at 5.00pm tomorrow?
2. Can we really expect any better next season (especially if the losing of our best players continues)?

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posted May 5, 2008

For the size of the club staying in the league is key. we have been punching above our weight for some time... so credit must go to the players and staff for continuing to fight. I know the budget is tight and the size of the club means some good players are not tempting by coming to Cheltenham... but is there no youth players from premier league clubs we can loan next season? some attacking flair and pace?

even if that means we become a feeder club for one of them?

on the issues with ground share.. the ground staff do a fantastic job at whaddon road and im sure they can cope with the extra games... the income from this will be crucial for the club and hopefully the board will take a bit of a gamble and invest it all in players and wages and aim for a top half finish next season?!

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posted May 8, 2008

Hopefully we can use some of the money from staying up and from the groundshare to keep the best players in the squad and strengthen, not sell off as in previous years.

That said the club has done an amazing job of punching above our weight and keeping the club financially sound with such low atttendances that unfortuantely we attract.

Come on Cheltenham - more marketing work to recruit more supporters, I don't see any advertising round town etc. Lets get in the University of Glos - if Kingsholm can get regular 10k+ attendances to the rugby, surely we can do the same for the football club!

Bit critical spamar, you'll now see even if bournemouth kept 10 points we'd still be L1. Higgsy was amazing against darlo.

For the players we can afford and attendances etc staying in L1 is commendable. I do wish our rich-list director would put a bit more into the club, but he does fund it a lot at the mo.

Just look where we were 10 years ago (local league derbys with Glos, half the ground of today) and be happy!

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posted May 9, 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cheltenham_town/7390980.stm

if this can be achieved that should be great news for the club. anybody with similiar characteristics as Agbonlahor or Moore would be great for the Robins.

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posted May 9, 2008

We have come along way and I can only re-iterate what others have said. We have done remarkably well to stay in League 1 but progress must be sustainable and blowing all the money from the groundshare is not. A proportion of the ground share money has got to go into better marketing. Half the people in Cheltenham dont even know we've got a football club and how good a day out at Whaddon Road can be.

Paddock_Stand - I honestly think Baker needs to be stronger with our rich directors (Keswick & Wood) who are not willing to invest. Why are they given the privalaged place on the board if they aren't willing to take the club forward. I want people who care about the club on the board not those who just happen to have lots of cash.

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posted May 10, 2008

All the clubs energies at the end of each season are spent trying to stay in League 1,we seem to fight regulation every season, what we need is investment if the current directors do not want to put there hand in their pockets replace them with ones that do, I think we will end up selling 1 or 2 of our best players again,we need to shore up our defence, and get at least another striker who knows where the oppositions goalmouth is.... but all we do is rely on loan players.... again and again, how can our players settle with the loans comming and going where is the vision...will we ever get to the League 1 play offs? not a hope with the current strategy....somebody please wake up

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