Houchens Head
Fairly well known member from Malvern
Gee! I take it that all the bold lettering was for emphasis? :thinking about:
Coventry 1883 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter saltaire bantam
- Start date
Gee! I take it that all the bold lettering was for emphasis? :thinking about:
Houchens Head
Fairly well known member from Malvern
I like the name Coventry 130 - A history of 130 years ending and a new one starting! 
The whole situation is a nightmare. I have just got to the point of questioning what the club actually is. What do sisu actually own? The fans? At any cost? I would love the club to come back to Coventry. But even if sisu do bring it back I am not sure I would ever feel the same with them as owners.
I fully appreciate why people will not give up ccfc, even in the state it currently is. That would be completely their choice and so they cannot be wrong, but I don't see what Is left now anyway? even if a new owner steps in, what will their interest be- the stadium.
I like the idea of merging with ccfc. That would fit with how I'm seeing this at the moment- not starting a team but laying the foundations of a new club to pressure sisu and to step in if the worst comes to worst.
As for me being not being in Cov, I don't see me having massive involvement. I would much rather this initiative is led by a figure head leader or a committee to be made up.
To that end, if this concept is of interest to you I would much appreciate your ideas and support. As long as it is not hurting others initiatives (the sb trust?) it could put more heat on sisu.
I fully appreciate why people will not give up ccfc, even in the state it currently is. That would be completely their choice and so they cannot be wrong, but I don't see what Is left now anyway? even if a new owner steps in, what will their interest be- the stadium.
I like the idea of merging with ccfc. That would fit with how I'm seeing this at the moment- not starting a team but laying the foundations of a new club to pressure sisu and to step in if the worst comes to worst.
As for me being not being in Cov, I don't see me having massive involvement. I would much rather this initiative is led by a figure head leader or a committee to be made up.
To that end, if this concept is of interest to you I would much appreciate your ideas and support. As long as it is not hurting others initiatives (the sb trust?) it could put more heat on sisu.
mark82
Moderator
mark82
Moderator
I have many ideas/opinions on that! Essentially the FC United model is a good foundation. Have a dig round their website there is some interesting stuff.
FC United are against commercialisation though which I don't think is appropriate for us. I think we will need sponsors and maybe at some point some outside investment. Would personally like to protect at least 51% fan ownership though.
tehspecialone
Facebook User
I can stick a website together if you need it. Could do with something to add to my portfolio actually. Might be worth asking Nick if you want something more professional looking.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
"The problem with this club is that it has been living beyond its means," said Ray Trew, one of the new investors.
mark82
Moderator
Notts County? Not read it yet.
skybluegaz
Member
There was a similar thread kicking around on Friday. I'm all for a new club playing at the Ricoh so long as it had the backing of someone prepared to get it moving quickly up the leagues. That would put the ball firmly back in Sisu's court - more fans at the Ricoh for non-league than CCFC, and less chance of ACL going bust. If Sisu were to sell up then a merger would be the ideal option, otherwise CCFC would just wither and die (or be killed by Sisu of course).
stupot07
Well-Known Member
And this is what is wrong with English football, after over 2 decades of financial mismanagement, spending beyond our means and shit owners which has led us to this point, you want a owner to 'invest' in/'loan' the new club money to push it up the leagues quickly.......
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skybluegaz
Member
Stupot07, the alternative is a stagnant and divided club under amateur ownership going nowhere. I'm not suggesting Operation Premiership, but Operation League 2 would probably be a good plan...
Otis
Well-Known Member
I like the name Coventry 130 - A history of 130 years ending and a new one starting!
Yeah and next year we could change it to Coventry 131, then the next to Coventry 132 and the next to .....
Wouldn't cost anything at all in constant rebranding.
Just my two pen'th worth. Personally I think the formation should be done democratically. I don't know how other clubs that set up (FC United, AFC Wimbledon etc) did it (maybe they had effective trusts?) but people should have a say in little decisions from the ground up, so they feel the club is theirs. Things from the name to the badge and then to the mission statement/charter of the club.
saltaire bantam
Well-Known Member
Tbh it's about getting control of the club, success would have to wait a bit.
A new Halifax Town was entered 4 promotions below the FL, that's the worst a Coventry could expect if you sold a few 1000 ST's, in reality it would probably be Conference North/South.Getting into bed with Sphinx or United won't work IMO, it wouldn't ever be "your club" and to be parachuted higher the FL would probably want a takeover to justify it, then you've muddled up the history and the link you hope might be replaced would be permanently broken.
mark82
Moderator
And this is what is wrong with English football, after over 2 decades of financial mismanagement, spending beyond our means and shit owners which has led us to this point, you want a owner to 'invest' in/'loan' the new club money to push it up the leagues quickly.......
Completely agree. The important thing is to establish a good financial foundation. Moving up the leagues would initially come anyway as would be by far the biggest club in the league.
Maybe at a point in the future could allow a minority investment from outside but keep a majority fan stake so anything that would put the club at risk is vetoed.
mark82
Moderator
Yep. Exactly how I see it. Think of Coventry 1883 as a project name.
I like City of Coventry FC to retain CCFC initials. Something like Coventry Singers FC would also be good as it points to our history.
mark82
Moderator
Tbh it's about getting control of the club, success would have to wait a bit.
Getting into bed with Sphinx or United won't work IMO, it wouldn't ever be "your club" and to be parachuted higher the FL would probably want a takeover to justify it, then you've muddled up the history and the link you hope might be replaced would be permanently broken.
We would have to start in Mid Comb 2 unless the existing CCFC were liquidated. Highest we could hope for would be Midland Alliance. Please remember teams like Halifax & Chester ceased to exist this creating a gap for a new club in the football pyramid. That is not the case here.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
Tbh it's about getting control of the club, success would have to wait a bit.
Getting into bed with Sphinx or United won't work IMO, it wouldn't ever be "your club" and to be parachuted higher the FL would probably want a takeover to justify it, then you've muddled up the history and the link you hope might be replaced would be permanently broken.
Like Chester City, FC Halifax Town replaced themselves Halifax Town FC in the footballing pyramid
1883 will we a brand new team, so won't get special treatment. AFC Wimbledon were put in the 9th tier.
stupot07
Well-Known Member
I disagree, Swansea were taken over by fans and they have done ok. If this new club has the loyal fan base people think it will, then income from crowds and sponsorship should be enough to push it up the league without relying on someone propping the club up.
Manchester_sky_blue
Well-Known Member
I was initially against the idea of a new club but as the SISU-Circus carries on at pace I am beginning to think that it may be the only realistic option.
I can't see how a new club starting at the bottom of the pyramid would be able to play at the Ricoh though, the costs of maintaining and stewarding the place for matchdays would just be too high and no matter how much initial support there may be, you won't get huge crowds coming to watch low-level non-league football season after season. It may well be big crowds by comparison to the rest of the league but not enough to make playing at the Ricoh a realistic proposition. The Butts Arena might be a more realistic proposition.
I can't see how a new club starting at the bottom of the pyramid would be able to play at the Ricoh though, the costs of maintaining and stewarding the place for matchdays would just be too high and no matter how much initial support there may be, you won't get huge crowds coming to watch low-level non-league football season after season. It may well be big crowds by comparison to the rest of the league but not enough to make playing at the Ricoh a realistic proposition. The Butts Arena might be a more realistic proposition.
skybluegaz
Member
The idea is that this would be something to hopefully force Sisu to give up ever owning the Ricoh and either sell up or let CCFC fold. Playing at the Ricoh has to be part of the deal to ensure that fans immediately start supporting the new club and it would send the correct forceful message to Sisu - you may have won the battle but you've lost the fans, the stadium and you will lose the war.
City fans crave success as much as they crave football within the city of Coventry. 30000 attended a lower-league cup game for goodness sake - a sniff of success and we flock to buy tickets. Surely a few seasons of promotions and getting that winning feeling back, even 7 or 8 leagues lower than we want to be, would bring in a few thousand fans per week at the very least. There is no stadium in the city capable of holding that many apart from the Ricoh. Just having the main stand open surely wouldn't cost that much to police/steward, and it's in ACL's best interests to ensure that everything is done to keep football at the Ricoh for the long-term. If CCFC eventually becomes available for sale at a reasonable price and ends up back at the Ricoh then a merger can take place then, with the highest-place team keeping the league position over the other.
Manchester_sky_blue
Well-Known Member
Thats my point though, we likely would get a few thousand every week, maybe even 5 or 6 thousand if we were lucky, but on those kinds of numbers and given the ceiling on what you could charge for games in that sort of league then it just wouldn't generate enough cash to be able to cover costs at the Ricoh. Even if they let the new team play rent free the match day costs would be huge. Not to mention maintenance and repair.
I agree with everything you are saying about why it should be at the Ricoh, I just don't think its financially viable, unless you have a sugar daddy to bankroll the stadium costs until we get to a sustainable level (league 2 at the very least) but then that defeats the object of having a fan-run team.
skybluesam66
Well-Known Member
2000 people a week at £10 per ticket = £460k
Less rent £100k P.a (ACLs latest offer to sisu for league 2)
leaves £360 k net revenue
not many teams below conference premier would have that sort of revenue before sponsorship and other revenues (if any)
we could afford the ricoh (it is whether we would want to)
saltaire bantam
Well-Known Member
No, Halifax Town AFC were liquidated with large debts whilst in the Conference Premier, they ceased to exist. FC Halifax Town was formed as an entirely new club.
It started in the NPL 1 division, only 4 promotions from the FL (NPL 1- NPL Prem - Conference N - Conference Prem) and they were not happy about that!
At worst it'll be 1 step below Conference North/South IMO but more likely higher, if the smaller leagues can't cope with Halifax (1200-1500 fans) how can they with a Coventry?
skybluegaz
Member
It would require ACL's full backing, but as it's in their interests I don't see why they wouldn't be prepared to give it, unless they still reckon that bringing a big Rugby Union side to the Ricoh would be an easier fix for their finances - IMO that would be a mistake, they'd never get more than 10k averages for Rugby games, it's not the draw that football is in the city.
mark82
Moderator
Couldn't charge £10 ticket at that level. Should look between £3 - £5 per head. Kids go free.
mark82
Moderator
But the original Halifax Town was gone.
