The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

diamondsteve wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 9:12 am

gibston wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 7:45 am

bozzer wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 6:57 am So what can we do to help, can we have a lottery push to boost the budget, get more people to the ground, buy more stuff in dales bar and the club shop, can we suggest players, are their loans from league teams, from step 2 teams, step 3 teams (I saw Drury offer something out on Twitter) is there a northern league ex manager or coach we can tap into re players they may know (like harborough have done with Staffy) , is there a scout we can do the same with, or one who can go and look at players for us. Can we all assign ourselves to a team and go and scout them and feedback to Chris?
Is there anyone who came to the legends game who can help, an ex player at a pro club letting us have a promising player on loan, can we pay Simeon Jackson to drive 140 miles on matchday to help the club, can we raise some money to cover that, would we take Ben Farrell, alfie Taylor or anyone else still playing who came along.
Can we all trawl the top goal scorers at step 5 and scout them for Chris?
It’s crucial we don’t fall into the ever decreasing circle of not able to afford Nat Ansu, Dylan Wilson, Tendai Daire, Albie Hall, then sitting in the bottom and even ones we can afford not wanting to come as we are where we are in the league.

Can we trawl the top goal scorers in step 5 and scout them for Chris. Can we get some more sponsorship for a player or the club to help the budget, what about the fans pay an extra £1 on their ticket from now onwards and it go towards the budget £500 a game would help wouldn’t it, do a pay way you want boost the budget game, are there any items we can auction off left from the legends game, can we get the team to sign some shirts this season and they be auctioned off, can we sell a a sponsored standing spot at hayden road, like we did with the seats in the stand, can we get a mural put up on the out of use stand and sell space to put images of fans current or departed like they did at grounds during covid.

We can do anything, we flipping lost our club, and re built it from nothing, we can do anything. It’s time to be positive, try different things, help all we can, try players etc it won’t all come off but at least we can try.

.I know few of these are going on in the back ground and being worked on and some great ideas. Like you say we know things are tight/difficult but do have a club and people are working relentlessly! The catchment locally for players is being driven by ridiculous money as we know. We've had a real tough start, had zero luck & horrendous luck with injuries. All these negative opinions won't help anyone especially when most not either there to have one. Lets pull together and help OUR club imo you won't get a better manager than the one we've got.

Mark sorry but this has really wound me up, the snide comments about people shouldn’t have an opinion about the squad if they haven’t been at the latest game.

Really hope there isn’t becoming a home&away tight nit community. And others which cannot see every game and whilst donating and being part owners get shut down instantly.

No need to bring up the Andy peaks stuff either as this isn’t about managers.

Kerrins was brutally honest in his negative interview , add Chris interview and it seems we are all on the same page here.

As I’ve said during pre season defensive we are sound , even with injuries with Tagoe coming in it’s ok. But not hitting the net will hurt us and so far has showed.

And yes I know that there is stupid stupid money being thrown around and god knows where it’s coming from , could be money laundering for all I care . What I am trying to compare ourselves against is the likes of Quorn Lye Anstey Walsall loboro boldmere Hinckley wboro desboro cog . And I don’t know the answer to that….. And I know that ppl like you might know the answer because i respect you for your knowledge of non league and local areas and money etc. Just don’t shut down others genuine voices as you’ll end up losing fans not gaining .

Up the diamonds and I’ll there Tuesday to support Chris and his team .

To be honest I'm really not bothered what you think, no snide comment, just find bizarre how you make remarks/opinions on a game that you didn't watch for one, and the guys at board level being honest that things will be tough regardless of being the level below. Trust me know one is more frustrated than me, especially giving my whole Saturday up supporting the team, however in footy you have take the good times aswell as the bad. Scoring goals of course seams an issue, however losing one of your main strikers in 12min of the 2nd game hasnt helped but also played against some strong sides, For me in the 1st 2 games weve crested few good chances but unfortunately not taken them but again there young players learning there trade so its going to happen, again we've chosen to go for the young raw local lads, again I don't deny we may need abit more experience but thats normally comes at a big ish price. After along warm day and very little entertainment its just annoying seeing so many negative opinions based on radio or twitter, no dig but just added frustration. As I said everyone entitled to opinion (does carry more weight if you actually there seeing it imo) your using my name so come and have a chat on tuesday if you can make it as im not about keyboards. The cheek of it about "peaks" from the guy who spent far to long talking about him & Tamworth budget & how much bully earns when he choose to move on! And if I remember right you wanted him gone anyway. Look down the road at corby,experienced and obviously spending few quid but not a great start with there expectations. Unfortunately we're in for a tough ride but have a club. There no doubt in next few weeks teams squads will become smaller, lads not getting enough game time, and hopefully few realise there not worth as much as they thought they were. But we've had zero luck with injuries which has hurt us, not much luck in general imo and maybe lacked that bit of know how. But right now the club- staff and players need us all.

Ok we lost to a step 5 side yesterday but look where the sides we lost the other 2 games are . First and second in the league ( which is the sort of position they will probably be in at the end of the season ) Pretty sure we will get a good result on Tuesday , see you all there.

fentiger79 wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 10:26 am Sounds good. Maybe reduce the prize money, if the majority of people in it are fans I’m sure people wouldn’t mind. Instead of £500 make it 350. Could drop the quarterly prize too. Obviously don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact the lottery so need to be careful. The power of building our team is in our hands and with some further support/ideas we can get an extra amount per week. Sponsor a goal, pound per goal scored, etc.

Some great ideas. But like everything only so many hours in a day and all that. Maybe its time for few others to step up and offer that support snd ideas and ease the load.

I genuinely cannot believe some of what I'm reading. Saturday was a terrible result for the club and that cannot be ignored however people not shaking hands with Chris after the game is horrendous to hear. Chris has worked his absolute nuts off alongside the board to ensure that we have a club to support this season there is no one who will be more gutted about the result than him. The last few months have been brilliant as a fan base and bringing the club back together after such a period of apathy and disillusion, ALL of us must make sure that isn't all thrown away for a bad 90 minutes.

In terms of budget and players Chris can attract the local competition has never been harder with Harborough, Corby, Bedford and Daventry alone throwing around some silly money. The board and Chris himself have been very transparent about the clubs finances. Chris is clearly trying to mould a young team with a long term view, this of course doesn't make him above criticism but he has to be given the time required. We move on to Bedworth tomorrow night, lets all get behind the lads it is the only way forward

I was gutted on Saturday, the drive back home was horrid, but I made a point of not overreacting and posting while disappointed, to take time to reflect and pause for thought before reacting! Maybe that’s something a few other people might consider in future, a fan refusing to shake Chris’ hand is frankly, embarrassing, no matter who you are!

Chris is somewhat hamstrung with the budget, we know that, he knew he would be when he took the job on! Injuries have added to the problems he faces - Ryan, Will and Luke on Saturday!

He has pulled together a young squad that will learn and develop over time, Saturday was another learning step! Berating them and the management, no matter how disappointed you may be is detrimental to the development of the team! Those lads need to know we have their backs, no matter what! No-one is bemoaning their lack of effort or commitment, they’re doing their very best - at the moment that’s not good enough, they know that, they don’t need to be told!

If you look at who we’ve played in the league (currently top 2 in the table and who I expect to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season) it’s hardly unexpected.

Saturday was a blow - no doubt about that! They have got to learn from that and learn quickly and take that learning into the next 3 matches. But they need us behind them, urging them on, and I include Chris and the team in that.

Do I always agree with what is being done on the field, formations, team selections etc - nope! I’m a football fan and of course I know better than the manager - but often, if you speak to Chris (he’s a very approachable guy) he’ll explain his thinking!

He, and all the lads, will be hurting after Saturday - that’s good, they’ve got to use that !!

This season is all about development - we’re hopefully going to see these lads blossom over the next 10 games or so! They’ll only do that if we’re behind them! There will be ups and downs this season and if the effort level drops then they deserve a right royal kick up the arse - but I haven’t seen that in the 3 games I’ve watched so far!

Get behind them and let’s see where we are in 10 games!

I’ve seen the FAC draw and I didn’t want to go to Hornchurch anyway, bloody horrid place to watch football !

Pigman wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 2:14 pm a fan refusing to shake Chris’ hand is frankly, embarrassing, no matter who you are!

Where did you hear that?

Something I have noticed is that although it's great that we have won a few Rushden & Diamonds fans over due to the fantastic Legends Day, one or two seem to have expectations of us walking the league like in the Griggs days. There was one at half time last week just behind me who thought the Legends Day generated money for us to push the boat out rather and ignored the fact it was to raise funds to keep the club going over the summer.

The club messed up the chance to get a manager of Chris's calibre here last year, lets not end up with him wanting to walk, there was no animosity towards Burgess for ages despite blowing the budget on bras and giving contracts out based on a psf performance against a Sunday league team, if after less than 5 games some people can't be patient and respectful to a manager of Chris's quality who is highly respected in non league circles they should go and support Spalding or Market Harborough instead.

Adrian wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 5:58 pm

Pigman wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 2:14 pm a fan refusing to shake Chris’ hand is frankly, embarrassing, no matter who you are!

Where did you hear that?

Read the posts above, I should stress I’m only repeating what others have said, not what I’ve seen.

I totally agree about expectations - mine were/are low this season because I can see it’s a regrouping year! I’m confident/hopeful I’ll come good - time is needed!

Obviously no one was happy to get dumped out of the FA cup at the first hurdle, again. Personally I was gutted despite not being there on Saturday. Aside from the additional money there is still a bit of magic & nostalgia for me and a half decent cup run helps to create a feel good factor for any club. Hopefully we can give a better account of ourselves in the trophy.
I think it’s important that we turn it into a Willy waving contest regarding those who get to all games and those who don’t, at the end of the day we all want the best got the club. I don’t get to as many away games as I’d like for a variety reasons and I’m sure there are many others in a similar position. Those at the game are better judged to make a fair assessment however it is only natural that fans will be disappointed to get knocked out of the cup.
I think the vast majority of the fan base appreciate the job Chris is doing and how tough a job he has! Trying to find someone to put the ball in the net is tough at all levels. Let’s all get behind him & the lads tomorrow, we might need to try and suck the ball into the net