Put The Sausage In A Bun

But don't undercook the post match interview

I did promise I’d get around to Dean’s interview if I had time, illness got the better of me last week, so the time wasn’t there. Since then we’ve gone to Rochdale and come away with an excellent performance on a potato patch and nine points out of nine is nothing more than you can ask for.

It wasn’t just the interview that seemed to take the gloss off the result on Tuesday night for some, rumbles are coming again a little bit off the pitch. It almost feels like we shouldn’t complain, or moan given what we are witnessing on the pitch, that part is what we have been asking for especially to encourage more fans to attend The Hive.

We’re all entitled to an opinion and what I do like is whenever I wade in to offer one, it’s courteous in response and sensible, bit harder sometimes when it comes to opposition fans, but we can’t all be grown up’s clearly.

I didn’t have a problem with the interview, but then I don’t with those who speak their mind a little more. I’m not dropping Marc White into this as owner/manager is a completely different category, but I know of a few further down the levels who conduct their interviews in an honest way, and I know of plenty who would love to be able to do so but fear for the repercussions which in my opinion isn’t right.

Many will say TK has backed the gaffer all through the season and that’s the lot, maybe they’re right. Others will say we’re not expecting York, Oldham or Forest Green type backing but something more required to just get over the line. The remainers will say more can be done without blowing the bank wide open and nothing left by the end.

The Bailey Hobson saga rumbles on, the manager wants him, the player wants to come back, the chairman has already seen what he offered us when he was here previously, it’s not a blind deal.

A few did point out when Nick Hayes was sold what happens if Owen Evans gets injured, my response was go out and get another loan keeper which of course we did, Tom Savin.

A bit of debate over who sanctioned the sale. We know TK isn’t keen on holding two number one keepers nor two number one strikers, but if Hayes hasn’t been sold for the cash to be reinvested in someone else then why?

Savin has been solid bar the one drop ball late last Tuesday, his kicking I think needs some work over the weeks but I’m ok with him.

Now, what I would do is this. I don’t think we’ll ever be in a better position to go up, genuinely. Get Savin signed for a further month, no need to rush Owen back and then he’ll be ready for the very final push.

Just get the Hobson deal done. Hayes cash, Kabamba cash, EMC cash, RDH cash, Edwards cash, we’ve been blessed this season. We’re points clear, then we add Bailey and secure the keeper position, how much stronger does that make us look when others are already playing catch up and we strengthen?

The question on whether we need Hobson, quite frankly yes. Runners from midfield we lack unless we play Glover in a 10 or Steady if Shelton is out. Some will say that’s bad recruitment in the summer, you can point to all sorts of things, but squads evolve through the season, the better ones do.

At the end of the day TK is the owner, he’s been in the game long enough to understand what funding he ultimately has to provide, no different to any up and down the land.

To give it a little balance from the post-match after Rochdale, the overnight stays are a 1%. The extra physio and strength/conditioning coach another 1%. Small, but these are the margins that help more than people realise. Think how much we run over all the other teams, the recovery to go again so crucial.

Last season we travelled up on the day, lost at Rochdale, small difference in leaving Friday, training on the way up and a hotel overnight, come back with three points, just ask Martin Allen how much team bonding can do for a squad.

Criticise where it’s needed, praise where it’s due, always been my mantra with Tony and would be face to face too. I don’t believe we’ll get a better shot at an EFL return than what we face over the next nine weeks, not just a legacy of a new stadium but one with a Football League team inside it, nice ring to it eh!

So to the catering. In my reckoning, all the time at The Hive we’ve probably got this bit right less than 25%? That’s what I think anyway, and we looked as if we’d turned the corner but back to square one again!

The common consensus is it’s not viable for anyone to make it work on our numbers. That can only be down to the outgoing cost to ‘rent’ the huts and equipment meaning prices are probably a tad higher than they need to be, including a little for London pricing, to try and force a profit.

I don’t know any other club from Step 6 to Step 1 that struggles so badly as us. I watch a lot of football across those levels as you all well know, I don’t see it anywhere else. Sure, it might not be super tasting at all locations but it’s there.

And this is where I think the chairman constantly gets it wrong, you want people to come to games, families too. You’re asking them to come just after a lunchtime period, or straight from work on a Tuesday evening and they WANT to put money into the club, into Tony’s pocket and what do they get?

A sausage on a stick for £4.95 on Saturday followed by the same on Tuesday evening or the luxury of bread and butter for an extra 75p. I mean, come in, that was pitiful. I’ve not seen another club resort to an offering of that. Not even a bun for it to come in, is it enticing? God no!

I’d rather, and this is my opinion only, the club announced Friday night/Saturday morning the caterers had pulled out and shut the doors for Saturday or found themselves a couple of mobile wagons and sold from the car park with drinks only inside for half time.

Not ideal ever, but a bloody better idea than what was there. Is there not an understanding that actually part of the matchday experience includes the food and the drink and the fact people would rather put money into their football club than a food chain down the high street?

Granted it’s not every supporter but such easy money to get and we can’t master the basics, it’s grim in my opinion. I felt we’d done much more to turn that operation around this season than before and seemingly in a few months shot it in the foot and as I stated back to square one.

I hope by the time Yeovil and Dagenham come around that it’s improved significantly, I’m missing both games sadly, so you’ll all have to fill me on that.

It might seem like a moan, I like to call it constructive opinion, I don’t expect you all to agree on all points, maybe none at all, but come back at me if you will, the floor is now yours…………

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