Right then - what's the plan?

[AveryDave]

An absolutely huge amount now needs to be done over the next three months.

Rebuilding the playing infrastructure of the club from the academy up was going to be hard enough - we've now got to add remodelling the first team squad for an entirely different level.

If Hayrettin isn't staying and a new management team is needed, that complicates things even further. Every day counts from now until the start of August.

And that's without knowing how the change in the status of the club impacts the financial side - and whether there's any knock on to the new stadium and the long term security of the club.

Ben Clasper - it's time to talk to the supporters and let them know how the decline of the last couple of years is going to be turned around.

We need to know there’s a plan, we need to know what it is, and we need to know now. I think we're owed that.

 

[lwrs79]

Hak is staying.

 

[pengedragon]

I'd give everyone the weekend to be fair

 

[AveryDave]

I'd give everyone the weekend to be fair

Yeah, fuck it, lets wait for the next fans forum. I'm sure there'll be one soon.

 

[Cat Daisy]

11 May according to the programme.

 

[gnar182]

Perhaps the club could open a Discord server as an official channel and answer questions in there

 

[SteveBash]

Hak is staying.

Not a chance

 

[lwrs79]

Not a chance

Not a chance, a fact

 

[Taper]

I heard from a decent source that he is likely to stay.

 

[lwrs79]

I heard from a decent source that he is likely to stay.

I know he’s staying

 

[baleboy_93]

An absolutely huge amount now needs to be done over the next three months.

Rebuilding the playing infrastructure of the club from the academy up was going to be hard enough - we've now got to add remodelling the first team squad for an entirely different level.

If Hayrettin isn't staying and a new management team is needed, that complicates things even further. Every day counts from now until the start of August.

And that's without knowing how the change in the status of the club impacts the financial side - and whether there's any knock on to the new stadium and the long term security of the club.

Ben Clasper - it's time to talk to the supporters and let them know how the decline of the last couple of years is going to be turned around.

We need to know there’s a plan, we need to know what it is, and we need to know now. I think we're owed that.

We will be holding a Fans Forum on May 11th, more details will follow this week, I'm sure you can appreciate me taking a couple of days to regroup after today.

 

[AveryDave]

We will be holding a Fans Forum on May 11th, more details will follow this week, I'm sure you can appreciate me taking a couple of days to regroup after today.

None of the above is directed at you baleboy_93 - you’ve done a fantastic amount to improve things this season.

 

[tonysingh]

Watching the post match interview with Hak, it seems very much 50/50 if he'll stay or not.

 

[baleboy_93]

None of the above is directed at you baleboy_93 - you’ve done a fantastic amount to improve things this season.

I appreciate that thank you, promise I’ll get some details out to everyone this week.

 

[SteveBash]

Watching the post match interview with Hak, it seems very much 50/50 if he'll stay or not.

Doesn't sound like he's staying at all

"It's been an honour and a privelage managing here" That does not sound like a manager that is staying

Bye bye Hak, going to go for 3 relegations in 2 seasons

 

[Taper]

It's all so sad. We've never been happy in this league. The club is strong, the fans magnificent, but the team is not worthy. So looking at it positively, a year or more in the Isthmian will help the club build a team structure befitting of our support. And then we can return in better order.

 

[tonysingh]

Doesn't sound like he's staying at all

"It's been an honour and a privelage managing here" That does not sound like a manager that is staying

Bye bye Hak, going to go for 3 relegations in 2 seasons

On second viewing, yeah i can see that.

 

[Al Cunningham]

I think the last bit of his interview is more encouraging he would like to stay. ...along the lines of if I get the opportunity it will be a different changing room. I hope he does get the opportunity.

 

[Moroccan Sunset]

I really hope Hakan and Terry stay too. The thing that worries me is that they'll obviously get offers from sides that will compete in the NLS next season (I'd imagine Welling and Dover for e.g. would fall over themselves to appoint them) - I wonder if closer to August they'll be tempted to stay at a higher level.

I think both can see the potential of the club and I hope that's enough to keep them here.

 

[Roger D]

I got the impression he is interested in staying but:

a) Recognised he didn't do what he was tasked with, keeping the club up, so the club have decision to make.

b) if offered it, he'll want to dig into the budget, future plans etc before agreeing. Which is sensible, failing to get Hamlet up next season is likely to be viewed by the outside world as a managerial failure and he won't want to stick around if he thinks the budget is too small etc. No point harming your CV on a mission impossible.

It could be a tough gig for him next season if he stays. He clearly has no time for a fair chunk of the players. It must be possible the ones he wants to keep are the ones most likely to want to stay at step two, or higher, and will leave anyway. A major rebuild looks likely.

As mentioned above, who else offers him a job will probably be a factor too

 

[Sparkle Motion]

As a Maidstone fan, I’ll never get over you keeping Dover up.

 

[tonysingh]

As a Maidstone fan, I’ll never get over you keeping Dover up.

As a Dulwich Hamlet fan, im truly gutted we won't be playing you next season. Love our trips to Maidstone.

 

[KPMG]

Perhaps I'm alone in this, but I think he got team selection wrong today. He picked Owusu whose commitment to the club has been questioned, on here as well, and Phillips whose leg was bandaged; both were subbed at half time. He also played Danny fo 90, who is a true campaigner for the club and who has acknowledged he can't keep going, whereas it's been obvous for many games that the balls he wins in the air produce nothing, and his tired legs can't move quickly enough to take opportunities. If Hakan stays he'll have my full support but I won't be too disappointed if he goes. Let's get back to being a club that builds its own team, manager and players, giving the up and coming opportunities.

 

[Al Cunningham]

I don't imagine our budget needs to change by dropping a league. If prices stay the same and I think they are about right, I imagine attendances will be similar to this season. Perhaps a slight drop overall. Sponsors will hopefully stick with the club

 

[Alex W]

Right, we've all had a shit day, but the chairman has probably had a worse one than most of us.

He will undoubtedly want to front up and talk about the future - as he should, and it's his job. But let's not give him shit, tag him, and demand instant answers.

It's not useful to anyone, whatever your preconceived agenda.

 

[KPMG]

Also, he, and most probably all of the board, have full time jobs and do their DHFC jobs in their spare time alongside young family commitments so we definitely need to give them our full support and help where possible.

 

[Taper]

I spoke to someone yesterday who knows his onions and his view was our income will drop a fair bit. No sponsorship from Vanarama. No access to the BT deal and the impact this has on what we charge sponsors. Plus there are two fewer league games in the Isthmian. We could offset this by starting earlier in the Trophy and FACup I suppose. Depends on whether we have a run. On the other hand, the wage bill will presumably be lower. Important we maintain our crowd average at over 2000.

PS spoke to some Chippenham fans yesterday who said their team costs the club £8k a month. 1.5k for the management team.

 

[AveryDave]

Although the manner in which we've been relegated is disappointing, I'm not completely sad for the club to not be in the NLS next season - as others have mentioned, we never really found our footing at the level.

Over the five seasons at Step 2 we lost 45% of the total League games we played and won just over a third of the games we played at home. On a rough tally, we fielded nearly 140 players. I think it's fair to say there were more low points than high on the pitch.

And regardless of the playing side of things, you could argue that the corruption-in-plain-sight of the National League Board and the bullshit they've put the club and our Board through is reason enough to breathe a sigh of relief that we won't have to deal with that for next season at least.

That said, I'm not confident that next season will be the vast improvement on the playing side that most are hoping for. It's rare that a team that goes down from Step 2 bounces straight back up - only Havant & Waterlooville have done that over the last five relegation cycles before ours, and over the period, on average, relegated teams finish mid-table the next season.

And of all the clubs relegated over the last five cycles, it's only Havant & Waterlooville who were back at Step 2 this season - most were at Step 3 with a few promotions achieved, some were at Step 4. There are more cautionary tales following relegation from Step 2 in recent years than bounce-back successes.

I'm not interested in wringing hands over decisions that may or may not have got us into this position, either. I don't think anyone in a position of authority at the club has done anything but make the decisions that they felt were right in the circumstances at the time. The five years off the pitch, and before that, have been even more turbulent than those on the pitch, and in some ways it's remarkable that the club is still in the health it's in.

But nonetheless, here we are. The club is on a downward cycle on the pitch. Judging by his comments yesterday, the manager isn't clear whether he's staying or going. We don't have a formal youth infrastructure in place. The battle for the new stadium goes on. There must be a financial impact associated to dropping to Step 3. We have three months before the start of the next season. On the face of it, there are far more negatives facing the club at the moment than positives.

I've seen mention that there is a plan, and that if it works the positives will start coming. I'm sure lots of people would be willing to help in any way they can if they knew what it was. Let's hope the Fans Forum on the 11th May is the opportunity for the club to tell us what it is.

 

[liamdhfc]

I spoke to someone yesterday who knows his onions and his view was our income will drop a fair bit. No sponsorship from Vanarama. No access to the BT deal and the impact this has on what we charge sponsors. Plus there are two fewer league games in the Isthmian. We could offset this by starting earlier in the Trophy and FACup I suppose. Depends on whether we have a run. On the other hand, the wage bill will presumably be lower. Important we maintain our crowd average at over 2000.

PS spoke to some Chippenham fans yesterday who said their team costs the club £8k a month. 1.5k for the management team.

And you really believe anybody is competitive on those amounts? I’m pretty sure their owner would know different. No team survives at Step 3 on those numbers.

Loss of sponsor income I expect to be minimal and the sum received from the league is minimal. Expect to see a very competitive budget not dissimilar to this season and a real attempt to regain our Step 2 place.

 

[tonysingh]

Sorry if this has already been answered elsewhere but is it definite that we'll be in Isthmian league and Southern?