I first came across the name Banbury in the most bizarre of circumstances...
Those of you that have known me for a long time will know that when I finished my degree I worked with a friend, Glenn Baldwin, setting up a non-league football magzine called End 2 End. It was in the days before the internet and forums, when fanzines were in their prime. There was no Non-League Paper each week, but there was a monthly magazine called Team Talk. We didn't like Team Talk that much, it just didn't seem to reflect the feelings of a supporter, so, we launched End 2 End - A "PROPER" non-league magazine. It was a little controversial, very different, and difficult to fund. We would spend weeks going to 3 or 4 matches selling the magazine on the terraces, doing particularly well at places like Aldershot, Farnborough and Uxbridge; we even ventured to games such as Hednesford v Stalybridge Celtic, VS Rugby v Nuneaton and Hastings United v Chelmsford. Further North we had good distributers at places like Morecambe, Macclesfield and Accrington Stanley, selling the magazine through their club shops.
We never got the national distribution of Team Talk, it was too costly, but we got some fantastic reviews, including in an Australian newspaper - yes, seriously, I still have a copy, a paper Down Under was raving about End 2 End. The writer of the review was in fact a Banbury fan who still had a love of the English game...a journalist I will never forget.
Anyway, I digress. It's been tough missing out on a couple of weeks worth of matches. The home Saturday postponement is a blow that will cost us about £1,000 and the away Saturday game called off is a blow as our midweek away results have not been that great, but that can all change. Hopefully. It does require a tremendous commitment from the players though.
As supporters, we always think we know best - it's a perogative that should be permitted; but when you are running the club, you face new challenges that you may never have considered before. Let me run this one past you...
At some point you make the decision about whether to put players on a contract or not. The benefits? It shows a commitment and a belief, it guarantees the player a wage and, let's be frank here, it means if a bigger club comes in for the player, you can ask for a fee. The negatives? The player is guaranteed a wage, whether injured, suspended or just visting the mother-in-law. If you have too many players on a contract, and they are all injured at the same time, you can find yourself blowing your budget before you have even put a player on the field. It is a tough decision, a few years ago we had Chris Herron on a contract when he tragically broke his leg early in the season. You have to have the deepest sympathy, but it can kill a club.
So, if players are not on a contract, do you still pay them when there are no games? After all, we are losing out on income, they are not playing in the shirt...but they are still training and these games have to be played eventually, and hopefully within the budgeted time period. If you budget for paying players for 38 weeks, what difference does it make if you have a couple of weeks without a game and then play 2 or 3 in a week? It shouldn't make a difference, but it does when it comes to income. Financially, it is better to play a home game on a Saturday than a Tuesday. What do you do? It's not something I had ever considered as a supporter with a strong opinion, but one I have spent a lot of time considering over the past couple of weeks...and it's amazing how many opinions you get, but never from anyone who has had to face the ultimate decision.
I hope we have got this bit right, and once again I must say what a brilliant job our manager does in his role as manager, not just a coach, but a manager.
I know it gets boring, but the finances of a football club remain so important. When considering our lack of home Saturday games there was a real danger that we might lose next Saturday's match v Windsor & Eton because they were in danger of folding through debt. My heart goes out to Windsor fans who have come so close to losing their club...but am I wrong to feel a slight sense of resentment that they are still funding a team above us in the league when they have not been paying bills in the same way that we have?
And yes I know, I need to be careful of pots and black kettles when it comes to rattling up debt, but we were never in the same league as some of the stories you hear nowadays around the non-league world.
The likelihood is that Windsor & Eton will survive (and I really hope they do for the fans), but they will probably enter into a CVA and receive a points reduction. The points probably won't relegate them, and the CVA? In many ways Chesham should have done that, it's where you agree to pay a percentage in the pound to those you owe money to - "Hi, that £1000 we owe you, how about we give you £250 and call it quits?" - to help clear the debt. At Chesham we never did that, our debts were paid. This involved some loans and continues to stretch the finances even today, but everyone that provided goods or a service, and the tax man, all received their money in full. It wasn't pleasant...but such an outcome helps you sleep at night.
On Wednesday night the Board and management committee went out for our annual Christmas meal (self-funded incase there are any doubters out there); it was really good to be able to go out socially without having to worry too much - for a few hours - about discussing business. It's becoming increasingly apparent that we are going to have to work hard at keeping things going, but it wan nice to let the hair down with a few beers and a curry. Maintaining a bit of sanity in a football world that has gone mad...
...Yes, I got this far without mentioning the World Cup carnival.
Last week we saw the ongoing bid for the 2018 World Cup come to a long overdue conclusion. A bit like the 2010 World Cup; England were once again humiliated. Were we ever in with a shout? Can we just blame Panorama? We pride ourselves in this country on our democracy, openness and freedom of speech, but really, over the last few months, how much of the drumming up the belief that we could win was little more than spin and propaganda to stop us all moaning “what a waste of money”?
The timing of Panorama was probably not great, and that has been cause of huge debate. There has been less debate about the allegations made and what should be done about it. Perhaps that will follow.
The decision as to who should host the World Cup came down to the decision of 22 men. 22 men who were having an objective look at all the bids that have been put forward and worked on for 2-3 years. In that time, they have flown out to all these countries, been presented to, shown plans, viewed stadiums, hotels and facilities, watched matches, met with Royalty...it was a long drawn out process. Quite right too I guess, they need all the facts to be able to make their decision and go into that vote clear about who they think should host the World Cup, and why.
At the end of it all, apart from ourselves, only one other delegate voted England. I have no doubt that our bid was the best, but understand the legacy side of things, and giving it to a country that has never hosted it before. I have no problems with Russia winning (wouldn’t have been so pleased if it went back to Spain) for this very reason, but the way the voting worked is absolutely scandalous isn’t it? A feeling shared by many, but how do you make it not sound sour grapes and accept that we just did not win, fair and square?
Perhaps we didn’t win fair and square, but something still bugs me about the votes.
In the first round Holland/Belgium got four votes. Four people – after all the traveling, all the presentations, tours and hospitality over the past three years – genuinely felt that they were the best hosts for the World Cup. Fair enough.
With England out, in Round Two of voting, only two delegates thought it should go to Holland/Belgium. What happened to the other two that voted for them in round one? By the looks of things, they had changed their mind and gone for Russia. Years of hard bidding, millions of pounds spent, and they change their mind mid-vote? Can this really be? Or, more cynically, did they deliberately want to humiliate England and ensure we were knocked out in the first round and not for one minute did these two people believe Holland/Belgium should win?
Still, at least the 2022 decision proved that those running the game are in touch with the modern world and football fans in general – yes, that footballing hotbed of Qatar! I bet fans can’t wait to get out to that unbearable heat and enjoy a couple of coca-cola’s in the alcohol free streets before a match. Sorry, I’m too cynical, football is not all about drinking. And at least they, like the rest of the world, are in touch with their environmental responsibilities as the stadiums pound the energy supplies with air-conditioning before dismantling the stadiums and shipping them off to poorer nations – yep, sounds like a good green World Cup.
Well, that's enough from me, let's hope we get a game tomorrow. I was reading Banbury's website for the pre-match build up tonight, it isvery apparent that we are the surprise package in the league, "high-flyers". It's easy to forget that sometimes. We are too easily a half glass empty club, unable to view our positives. I used to have an excellent boss who would take me on metaphorical helicopter rides - step back, look at what you are doing from a distance - as a way of getting a proper perspective of what you are doing...I still need to do that from time to time.
Next week a number of us that are from the Trust Committee and on the club Board are meeting with some Barnet supporters who are looking at setting up a Trust and want to meet with a club with a successful Trust...
...Jump in that helicopter, look down at that scenario alone, and it feels me with tremndous pride.
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