The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

It’s very easy at this level if you have money to do well, look at Peterborough sports, I’m sure Peaksy will do well with a budget and the ability to get a team playing for him and each other.

With a complete rebuild and not the biggest budget at all we need to find an extra 5% where we can, fitness, and a different way of coaching, and player development are ways we can have an edge. If the manager says he wants/needs these things the club have to back him, am sure it’s all within budget as we don’t have the ability to go outside of budget as there is no one to fill the financial gap like at other clubs.
For me burgess believes that these areas are a better investment that say an extra £100 a week to another player so why not.

let’s try it as long as we don’t go down we haven’t really got a lot to lose apart from people saying fans will stop coming, however we don’t actually know that will happen, it might well do but we haven’t been in that position before.

Me and a friend did a comparison with the team last season with what we have now and apart from Jordan Graham/Ty, and Collard and Ravi I don’t think we are that much weaker.

That said it’s still going to take some time to gel and bring in that extra quality, I’m looking forward to a very different season.

It was stated at the AGM that playing budget was the same as last year , ( but at Burge request), has been structured differently to incorporate the new technologies/ "Heads of ". I would assume with the number of academy players promoted (33% of squad at moment) that this has meant less money available for more experienced players? I also believe that some lottery funds have been used already to secure Sneds & Fossen.
Whilst it's great to see academy lads get a chance (IMO) we do need more step 3 experience. (Don't know where money will come from tho?)
Also, I believe Burge said he needs Men after Stamford game ??
Don't get me wrong, plenty of positive in 2nd half yesterday, but Experience gets you out of a hole when you need it.

Return of investment is right. Is Hayden Road suitable for the next level of football without any investment. The simple answer is no.

Paying top dollar to win a league you can't get out of is money down the drain.

Our highest ever finish last year, all without such a call for us to get ROI, how ever did we survive the last 10 years…

Now all of a sudden our recruitment has gone badly, we’re panic stacking the team with youth players and we’ve dug up the excuse that the team was all about developing youth and getting ROI from them… nonsense.

Olly wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 3:55 pm
Yeah, I was away for the AGM but did notice the thing about GPS technology in the programme and don't know how to feel about it, especially if the player lottery money that we as fans fund, should the members or those who put onto the fund not have been consulted on this?

I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding here - the lottery money was not used to purchase GPS vests, absolutely 100% not.
There was a discussion at the AGM about the use of the lottery funds and whether or not members would be comfortable in using it for other expenditure but the overwhelming feeling in the room was that they wouldn’t be happy with that and that all members who pay into it should be asked. It was a useful discussion though.

GreekDiamond wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 9:02 pm Our highest ever finish last year, all without such a call for us to get ROI, how ever did we survive the last 10 years…

Now all of a sudden our recruitment has gone badly, we’re panic stacking the team with youth players and we’ve dug up the excuse that the team was all about developing youth and getting ROI from them… nonsense.

We haven't even started the season and you're panicking and seem determined to put the whole situation down. Patience. Give it a chance to develop and see where it goes. We all criticised AP after 10 games (rightly so) but he turned it around. If it isn't working by Xmas we will review it.

I assume the vests are a one-off cost this season as well? So long term it could be a sensible decision and help attract players that we can't quite provide the demanded wages for, assuming of course we manage to stay up this season.

oliv272 wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:19 am I assume the vests are a one-off cost this season as well? So long term it could be a sensible decision and help attract players that we can't quite provide the demanded wages for, assuming of course we manage to stay up this season.

Vests a one off cost but you need someone to look after them and extract the required information. I’ve seen them used by a lot of teams at this level and have also seen the data that can be extracted which IMO is not only interesting but very useful. Hopefully someone is in place who is possibly doing a relevant degree/collage course and Burge can get the information from it he feels will help without much of his budget being used.

Brownie wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:55 am

oliv272 wrote: Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:19 am I assume the vests are a one-off cost this season as well? So long term it could be a sensible decision and help attract players that we can't quite provide the demanded wages for, assuming of course we manage to stay up this season.

Vests a one off cost but you need someone to look after them and extract the required information. I’ve seen them used by a lot of teams at this level and have also seen the data that can be extracted which IMO is not only interesting but very useful. Hopefully someone is in place who is possibly doing a relevant degree/collage course and Burge can get the information from it he feels will help without much of his budget being used.

I presume we already have this covered by Martin Whalley and Dominic Wheway.

SouthRushdenJFC wrote: Wed Jul 27, 2022 7:31 pm Is Hayden Road suitable for the next level of football without any investment. The simple answer is no.

Paying top dollar to win a league you can't get out of is money down the drain.

Nail on the head for me,
I would like to see us giving chances to the young players and developing them, I remember a few years ago there were some non league teams who won promotion but turned it down, strikes me as embarrassing, I would rather we spent a few years being competitive and staying in the league until we have raised funds and gone the ground situation sorted for the next level.

I also don't think it's right to say 'we can evidently barely afford to put a squad together' I would call it waiting for the right players rather than being hasty, it's well known that 2 or 3 weeks into a season there are more players who are willing to drop down a league because they haven't managed to get signed by a club higher up the pyramid after spending pre season trialling with them etc.

If we struggle at the beginning of the season the manager will find out more about his players a lot quicker in that time which will be of benefit to him, so let's try not to panic.