So, what happens now?

[BartonRaz]

I've calmed down a bit from earlier, but the fact still remains that our season is practically over now we're out of the Vase, even the most optimistic fan will tell you that.

The attendances will be very interesting. I'm sure the vast majority of us on here will keep going to watch meaningless games because we love the club, but our average home league attendance is already 15% down on last season and i'd expect this to fall further as the fickle fans fade away until August. What do we do about this and why is our average attendance quite considerably down?

I'm going off on a tangeant a bit. My main question is this. If you were in charge what would you do with the team? Keep it the same? It is only one defeat afterall. Or do we clear the decks? Will our so called better players want to stay for the rest of the season?

I may be on my own here but I couldn't care less if we finished 2nd or 10th. We've given it a decent go in the league this season but it's just not going to happen and realistically we are a few players short as defeats to Boston, PNS and St Andrews have shown. I think now we should focus on developing the players that want to be here ready for next season, players that are commited to the cause and are going to fight for us. Bring in more McBride's and Brown's and lose some of these luxury players that are great when we're winning but utterly useless when we're not. I don't think we can afford to be at this point again next season.

What would you do?

[Bobos]

I've calmed down a bit from earlier, but the fact still remains that our season is practically over now we're out of the Vase, even the most optimistic fan will tell you that.

The attendances will be very interesting. I'm sure the vast majority of us on here will keep going to watch meaningless games because we love the club, but our average home league attendance is already 15% down on last season and i'd expect this to fall further as the fickle fans fade away until August. What do we do about this and why is our average attendance quite considerably down?

I'm going off on a tangeant a bit. My main question is this. If you were in charge what would you do with the team? Keep it the same? It is only one defeat afterall. Or do we clear the decks? Will our so called better players want to stay for the rest of the season?

I may be on my own here but I couldn't care less if we finished 2nd or 10th. We've given it a decent go in the league this season but it's just not going to happen and realistically we are a few players short as defeats to Boston, PNS and St Andrews have shown. I think now we should focus on developing the players that want to be here ready for next season, players that are commited to the cause and are going to fight for us. Bring in more McBride's and Brown's and lose some of these luxury players that are great when we're winning but utterly useless when we're not. I don't think we can afford to be at this point again next season.

What would you do?

Ask yourself "what would you have seen as a successful season this term?"

If we finish second, it holds us in good stead for next season, if we finish 10th what sort of message does that send out to the rest of the league? Next season, we will more likely to have Oadby and Eynesbury joins us, and they will have the ambition to go up. 8-)

[Formic]

I think whatever happens it will have been a successful season given our cup exploits and decent adjustment to life at Step 5. However I think BR's main question about the squad is a good one - but I'm not sure whether at this level you can start building for next season too early - many of Spalding's squad joined them after Holbeach didn't go for promotion.

I'm also not too sure whether the issue is about the depth of our squad - or whether the ones we have perform to their potential on a reliable basis and / or have the ability to outsmart the different tactics they face. Without looking I'd guess the sides that lost to St Andrews, PNS or Boston weren't too different to those that beat Northwood, Cambridge C or Spalding.

[Trek]

Although on the face of it our league attendances are a tad down on last season I feel they will improve with better crowds expected against Spalding, Holbeach, Deeping, Wisbech and of course the Doughboys match on Easter Monday.
As for the squad, stick with what we've got and give more opportunities to players such as Henderson and see if we can get that 2nd spot in the table. Huntingdon look favourites for that at present but they have still to play Spalding twice.
In conclusion we've still a hell of a lot to play for in the remaining 13 league matches of this season.

Onwards and upwards.

[Olly]

Actually the most optimistic fan will hope St Andrews fielded an ineligible player and will be kicked out and we'll be reinstated, and that Spalding will have a typical non-league catastrophe of some kind involving their entire team to walk out, leaving the UCL title race wide open :lol:

But seriously, it is a shame after what imo was a fantastic first half of the season that the season could be seen as effectively over in mid-January and with no even bigger Vase dates to look forward to now until next season when hopefully we can put things right and make up for today. The crowds will drop off as well I assume to around 450 perhaps and while I'll still continue to attend all home and most away games, it certainly will be difficult to get too excited about games against your teams like Kempston or Newport Pagnell in the UCL .

But I disagree with the 2nd or 10th comment, as a club we always want to finish as high as possible, and to finish as high as 2nd or 3rd in our first season in what is clearly a tough league would be an excellent achievement and as DoW says, it'll send a message out to the rest of the league that we'll be the team to beat next season.

[Formic]

You can prove anything with statistics, but if you look at the "norm" for our gates this season of around 500 for Saturday games and 350 for midweek they aren't that different to last season outside the bulges at the Thrapston game and at the final promotion push.

[Bob's Bitch]

Maybe we could get Freshwater in from Eynesbury? It's all well and good getting 2nd at the end of the season, but I'd rather get 5th and have a squad that's ready for next season than get 2nd, only to see a rejig in the summer. We should be looking at next season now.

Since we're having a discussion about the future I'll ask a discussion point; do we go forward with Starms or should we look at a radical change of manager?

I'm not saying I want him out but I do wonder if another manager with perhaps better contacts could get us different, maybe better players? So far our recruitment has mainly come from ex-Northampton Spencer, Long Buckby. Also, I don't want to sound like an arrogant fan, but I do think that we would get a lot of interest from managers wanting to manage a club of our size at this level.

[TheIncognitoKid]

Since we're having a discussion about the future I'll ask a discussion point; do we go forward with Starms or should we look at a radical change of manager?

I'm not saying I want him out but I do wonder if another manager with perhaps better contacts could get us different, maybe better players? So far our recruitment has mainly come from ex-Northampton Spencer, Long Buckby. Also, I don't want to sound like an arrogant fan, but I do think that we would get a lot of interest from managers wanting to manage a club of our size at this level.

I think most of the players he has brought in has been down to Peaksy's contacts and that they are going to start to run out of options if this how they're doing it. Possibly the only player they didn't know was Jamal who came to the club via Tom Cross. Last season was a success in terms of promotion and although cup runs and league position have been creditable this, i'm not sure he could take it the next step. I also think we'll see him step down before he's removed.

[corby diamond]

I personally and I say personally that talking of a new manager is madness. This is a manager in the first season that got promotion, has led us to a so far successful league position, got to an fa cup match in which I thought we would fall against Cambridge and beat last years vase run. Not forgetting being the only team this season to take points off Spalding. It would of been miraculous for people to think of promotion from this bottle neck league from game 1 and I think it will be a couple of years yet. Apologies for dampening the spirit.

If starms does decide to stay then I think he deserves another full season at least. I got fed up of hearing the Cardiff saga without hearing it in the ucl too. I think management, apart from yesterday has done a great job and to finish in the top 3 in the first premier season is an excellent achievement.

I may get slated for having no ambition as said in other posts, but I don't expect miracles straight away.
Seemed as the lads were walking off yesterday I was the only one clapping :lol:

[Frogerz]

Change of manager? Mark has a UEFA A Coaching Licence. There is no way we could get a manager at this level that has anything near to that.

Albeit a very slim chance, but isn't there a possibility of going up finishing second? - Depending on ground regulations etc..