Our beloved Redditch United

Been a Reds fan all my life.
Seen it all & heard it all..

Its a bout time we were given something new to cheer about.

Mr Swan has come in and settled the clubs debts and saved the club which we are forever grateful.

Our crowds are always low and we never have anything to look forward too.

I understand that Mr Swan is a business man and very successful at that but what we need to see is money put into the club and lots of it. We have never had someone like Mr Swan at the helm. I for one would think if that happened and the club i.e increased the wage bill, upgraded the stadium and just basically made dramatic changes that we as Reds fans have not seen before. We know it cant happen over night but look at the success of Fleetwood and Crawley.

We are used to the same old Redditch Utd and its about time we had something to cheer about and hopefully Mr Swan can help us to do that..

UTR

I think you're going to have another season with nothing to cheer about mate
nice dream though

Like you RedAllOver I've been a fan many years and I would love to see success for the club. However, I don't want the Swans to put in loads of money even if it means great success on the pitch. I would hate us to become another Brackley Town, yes a highly successful club but financed almost entirely by one man's efforts.

If their backer wants to plough endless amounts of money into them then fine that's his choice but you end up with a completely non sustainable business. I want something more long term even if it takes a lot more time to achieve that and the Swan's represent the best chance we may ever have.

If I were to win millions on the lottery and buy Redditch United I wouldn't pump loads of money into an inflated wage bill like Brackley. I would invest in the infrastructure, the ground ,the facilities, the youth set up etc. In other words exactly what the Swans have done. Ultimately the club will become what the people of Redditch want it to be and if at some point we can get them to support the club then we can move forward but I don't see the point achieving great success on the pitch and still playing in front of 250.

Investing in those things will bring in revenue and will tie the club more closely into the community. This should lead to greater support and more ways of raising revenue (gate money should only be a part of our revenue).

In some ways I would take more pride in Redditch United being a highly successful community club rather than in terms of what we win on the pitch. Any kid, (and their parents, guardians, relatives etc ) irrespective of money, race, creed or colour should one day know that the Redditch United system through youth team, under 21, reserves and first team will give them a chance of achieving and making the most of whatever talent they may have. In other words we need to be an integral part of the community and not just some team of overpaid players representing that community and it seems to me we are slowly making progress towards that.

mattim wrote:Like you RedAllOver I've been a fan many years and I would love to see success for the club. However, I don't want the Swans to put in loads of money even if it means great success on the pitch. I would hate us to become another Brackley Town, yes a highly successful club but financed almost entirely by one man's efforts.

If their backer wants to plough endless amounts of money into them then fine that's his choice but you end up with a completely non sustainable business. I want something more long term even if it takes a lot more time to achieve that and the Swan's represent the best chance we may ever have.

If I were to win millions on the lottery and buy Redditch United I wouldn't pump loads of money into an inflated wage bill like Brackley. I would invest in the infrastructure, the ground ,the facilities, the youth set up etc. In other words exactly what the Swans have done. Ultimately the club will become what the people of Redditch want it to be and if at some point we can get them to support the club then we can move forward but I don't see the point achieving great success on the pitch and still playing in front of 250.

Investing in those things will bring in revenue and will tie the club more closely into the community. This should lead to greater support and more ways of raising revenue (gate money should only be a part of our revenue).

In some ways I would take more pride in Redditch United being a highly successful community club rather than in terms of what we win on the pitch. Any kid, (and their parents, guardians, relatives etc ) irrespective of money, race, creed or colour should one day know that the Redditch United system through youth team, under 21, reserves and first team will give them a chance of achieving and making the most of whatever talent they may have. In other words we need to be an integral part of the community and not just some team of overpaid players representing that community and it seems to me we are slowly making progress towards that.

Mattim, you have summed it up beautifully.

Perfect summary by Mattim.

I agree 100%.

For me, non league is massively over priced and is a dying product.

For any club at our level, gate money alone is nothing to do with the expense needed to pay players (over rated and over paid IMO), run the club day to day etc. It just doesn't add up as any business model in anyway shape or form.

I can sit in my lounge on my iphone and watch live internet coverage of any Prem game that I chose...why would I get out of my armchair and pay $10 to watch dross?

For us 'die hards'...it is hard to understand.
For those 'non die hards'...they think we are nuts.

For every one Crawley....there are many, many sob stories.
Why do clubs the size of Rangers, Portsmouth go to the wall? Spending what they haven't got....RUFC went there and nearly died.

For me, the whole infrastructure has to change.
Make the product attractive...cheap...value for money...interactive...different.

The curent path for Non League football is a road to no-where.

Hi Red all over

I like you want Redditch back to the days of conference football. But you need fans to come through the door to have a better wage budget. An average gate of 250 people every other game doesn’t get too far in terms in wages. That without paying out everything else to keep the club running

Whilst i agree totally with mattim & bob, after 34 years of watching the Reds and still to see us score this season i for one will not be parting with another £10 tonight. Basically i've had enough, there is just nothing to get excited about watching the Reds, no goals, no cup runs, no push for promotion and its been like that for a while now. We may be in a decent financial state but we also need a bit of the Norman Sylla times now and again or it all becomes very boring.

agree with dontrunsingles. Im stuggling to find any kind of motivation to go tonight.
At least with the poor performances of last season there was a passion and energy from the players. There was also a positiveness and passion from the fans. This has completely disappeared from the players and fans this season. Most of the fans have disappeared completely as well to be honest (probably watching god play at evesham )
I'll probably end up going and standing on my own bored to death tonight, but i dont know if i can/or want to keep it up. Its such a downer at games at the moment. Hopefully it can only get better

Tonights performance was a whole lot better and showed great commitment and only a 94th minute equaliser by Liam Daly stopped us from taking the points. We really should have sown it up before then as we had a few chances. Niall Cooper made a few top quality saves though so maybe a draw was a fair result.

Great to see Mark Hands play this evening, he was immense and Redders needs to keep him as he was top draw in the middle of the park. New signing Jordan Fitzpatrick and Andre Francis also did well. With Phil Midworth, Alex Hickman and Joe Hull to strengthen the defence we just need a striker to play up top with Danksy.

Good competitive game of football tonight and officiated very well apart from the free kick given for Leamongton's goal, thought that was a little weak.

A few Leamo fans said that Redditch wanted it more than them but they kept going until the final whistle as you should do. No idea of the attendance but having witnessed a new steward verbally abusing a Reds fan (he is there every game) who was with his son in the Allotment end for cheering on Redditch I can see why some people are put off

I agree, much better performance last night. Some decent personal performances and more team spirit. Fantastic save from their keeper from great shot by cresswell which kept them in game. Gutted to concede late goal. Can't agree on comments re officials, I thought they made several poor decisions. Absolute priority is a striker of some stature, Danks looks great with ball at his feet but seems to grow disillusioned in every game as he is continually asked to 'get the better' of 1 or even 2 centre backs who are invariably twice his size! Imagine how effective he may be with big Jim up there to boss the other teams defenders around! Tommo has also hit the nail on the head re the spirit of the crowd, let's see a massive effort at Nantwich to see if we can raise the roof, we had a real reputation last season as the loudest travelling fans in the division. Let's get that back and see if we can inspire the lads! UTR.

First half performance was great. Some of the football played was unreal. In the second half it went abit like last season when we took the lead. We didnt really know what to do and kept kicking it up in the air. A equaliser looked inevitable, but a draw was a fair result. Some of our counter attacking was very good though second half (Cresswells shot would have been goal of season)
also probably 60-70 redditch fans again Shocking!!!

Im a big fan of Andre francis and Handsy was quality

Tommo

really enjoyed game last night as well something to build on for sure

Last nights performance was pleasing as Reds fought for every ball! Little deflated by the equaliser but guess it happens, Leam should have took the lead in the first half.
Away from what was happening on the pitch, the attendance from Reds fans was shocking and if we were playing anyone else apart from Leamington I fear it would have been below 100. Even fans you see at every match weren't there last night so cause for concern, as are the comments plastered on the back of tonights Addy. Mr Swan is obviously getting flustered and i can see it from his point of view. However, last night cost me a tenner. Before i went to the match i purchased a ticket to see Cov (my second team-i know how to pick em) for the same price at Arsenal in the Carling Cup. Now if i was a floating fan without the Reds in my blood, where's the motivation for me to go to the valley next to that?

Quote from Mr. Swan in The Advertiser. “Any surplus money we obtain will be put into the community”

What ???????????????????

I absolutely agree that Mr. Swan should not be subsidizing the team (as other chairmen do).
But why is surplus money not being invested within the club? It should be invested in the team or the facilities. As an example, the temporary stand is in a desperate state. A visit from Health and Safety would have it condemned in the blink of an eye.

We are not a charitable organisation, we are a football club!!!!!!

Links with the college and the YMCA are all very nice, but lets be honest, it doesn’t get people through the turnstiles! What happens on the pitch gets the fans in. Football is a business. You can’t expect to sell a poor quality product, for quite a lot of money (£10 is expensive), yet still expect the number of customers you get to double. It’s really quite simple.

I have no doubts that running a sustainable club at this level is very difficult. If we are going down the sustainable route, then we will be better off relegated to a level where we can compete. As noble as sustainability is, the sad truth is that it doesn’t equal success. The unfortunate truth is that subsidised, bank-rolled clubs are the ones that get success.

As dontrunsingles has said, another unfortunate reality is that we have had 7/8 years of poor quality football; constant relegation battles, almost no cup runs, very little to excited about. Under the Swans, things have improved massively off the pitch. On the pitch however, it’s getting worse. For long time fans, season after season of poor quality entertainment takes its toll. Maybe a season or two at a lower level, where we could compete for success, wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

I’m being patient. My hope is that we get the 3g pitch that is planned. The pitch hire and use of the club house 5/6 days a week will hugely increase our revenues. Invest this into a better team, who play better, more entertaining football and attendances will follow!!!!

Mr Swan, we all share your frustration on the apathy and poor attendances in Redditch. But it’s been this way for decades. It isn’t going to change without some success up front.

Yeah the 3G pitch would be a God send for our finances and increase the exposure of the club for the target demographic using it.

Also, that stand. Seriously an accident waiting to happen. Certain it was cordoned off for one of the matches this season but was told it was due to all the local junkies leaving needles and not because of the state of the structure. Me and the old man were wincing when the Leam lot went up there. A bygone relic from an "anything will do" era, erected to just do enough to qualify for the conf north "covered seating" quota and something im sure doesnt fit in with the Swans quality off pitch improvements implemented so far.

Interesting read from Mr Swan and that under 16's can get in for £1. The point is that £10 is excessive and it would be more attractive at £8 and then people would come and buy a programme. Since it has been £10 in I never buy a programme as it is to expensive, also if it was £9 you would buy a golden goal ticket. I doubt these sell out because people will just pay their entrance.

We have Jordan Fitzpatrick and Andre Francis on loan and are signing Lydon Dovey from Stourbridge according to the Advertiser article. At last a partner for Danksy!

Junkies in the green stand wtf! Huge lie,i was told health and safety had been down and told them to shut it off.maybe a re visit is in order before someone gets hurt? And ten quid is a rip off, the pound for kids is a sad attempt to get more adults in for a tenner. The swans may or may not have loads of money but brains they lack,we want a winnng team and a bit of respect to the fans.another thing is last season the place looked half decent so why do we have weeds all over the cedar road,brambles across the paths,litter,holes in the paths,half a hedge cut down,overgrown by the greenstand and the crap pile in the corner again? Whats the reason for this? And yet swan thinks ten pound is value for money!

Why do people assume that any income generated from a 3G pitch would go towards the playing budget? Mr Swan might consider it to be just throwing good money after bad. Redditch United could easily be playing the likes of Alvechurch and Studley but with a facility that is being used seven days a week. Mr Swan has stated in this week's paper that any extra money generated would be spent in the "community". Does that mean the playing budget is now fixed?
For those who might think I'm being a doom monger I would ask them to look into the history of Halesowen Harriers. Their gates dropped and the Chairman pulled the plug. He then covered the ground with plastic pitches which I'm sure the "community" made good use of. http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=9758

I'm not saying this is Mr Swan's intentions but merely putting forward a possible scenario in the future. It is his Club and he's free to do what he wants with it.

Mr Bonehead wrote: Mr Swan has stated in this week's paper that any extra money generated would be spent in the "community". Does that mean the playing budget is now fixed?

I hope I'm wrong, but that's how I read it.

You're right Mr Bonehead...Mr Swan put in ovr $250k of his own money to save the Reds..so he is well entitled to do with it as he pleases.

I think you are being very harsh on the current owners...I have not seen any action by Mr or Mrs Swan that has not benefitted the club in some way?

Mistakes have been made..sure..but how people can think Mr Swan is doing something/anything that is not to improve the club is ridiculous...why invest $250k in the 1st place?

The club can not compete at this level without increasing revenue....the only 2 assets the club have are the function room and pitch.....the pitch is over used (training etc) and we lose Saturday games/revenue with weather postponements.....it makes so much sense to replace this pitch with a good surface to play better football, improve the product on offer, play on Saturdays and lease it to all and sundry outside of playing time.

For me, it is the ONLY solution to make the club more financially viable.

Mr Bonehead wrote:Why do people assume that any income generated from a 3G pitch would go towards the playing budget? Mr Swan might consider it to be just throwing good money after bad. Redditch United could easily be playing the likes of Alvechurch and Studley but with a facility that is being used seven days a week. Mr Swan has stated in this week's paper that any extra money generated would be spent in the "community". Does that mean the playing budget is now fixed?
For those who might think I'm being a doom monger I would ask them to look into the history of Halesowen Harriers. Their gates dropped and the Chairman pulled the plug. He then covered the ground with plastic pitches which I'm sure the "community" made good use of. http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=9758

I'm not saying this is Mr Swan's intentions but merely putting forward a possible scenario in the future. It is his Club and he's free to do what he wants with it.

I remember playing against Halesowen Harriers in the alliance! Forgot about this as I remember it will!

Bob Marley wrote:You're right Mr Bonehead...Mr Swan put in ovr $250k of his own money to save the Reds..so he is well entitled to do with it as he pleases.

I think you are being very harsh on the current owners...I have not seen any action by Mr or Mrs Swan that has not benefitted the club in some way?

Mistakes have been made..sure..but how people can think Mr Swan is doing something/anything that is not to improve the club is ridiculous...why invest $250k in the 1st place?

The club can not compete at this level without increasing revenue....the only 2 assets the club have are the function room and pitch.....the pitch is over used (training etc) and we lose Saturday games/revenue with weather postponements.....it makes so much sense to replace this pitch with a good surface to play better football, improve the product on offer, play on Saturdays and lease it to all and sundry outside of playing time.

For me, it is the ONLY solution to make the club more financially viable.

How am I being harsh? I was merely pointing out that there's no guarantee that any additional income from a 3G pitch would go towards the playing budget. Of course every pound from it could go towards improving the team. Mr Swan may be happy to use money from the profitable side of the business to prop up the loss making side. On the other hand, he may look at the poor gates and make the decsion to keep the budget at a level those gates warrant. The rest of the money could then be used in the "community".

The last couple of games I have attended made me realise that there are really very very few people who attend who have been regulars over the last few years I have attended games. People that were there week in week out even at midweek games, people that seem to have upped shop and gone who will never come back.

What has happened? These people were involved in saving the club and they have disappeared and probably gone forever.

Obviously I haven't been down the club since Christmas so can't comment on attendance but I have noticed the drop of regulars posting on here now, I log in every so often when I get chance over here and find there are barely any new posts and a lot of the regulars no longer post. If so where has every gone?

Leethall wrote:People that were there week in week out even at midweek games, people that seem to have upped shop and gone who will never come back.

What has happened? These people were involved in saving the club and they have disappeared and probably gone forever.

'Gone forever' is a bit dramatic! If we get a half decent team together, start playing some attractive football, win some games and rise up the table, then fans will inevitably start to come back.

Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be even a hint that any of the above will happen anytime soon!! With the current selection problems reported in the local rags, things may get worse.

I admit, I've started to pick and choose which games I go to now. I no longer automatically attend every single match like I used to. 90% + of what I have seen on the pitch this season has been painfully bad to watch. This is the worst team I have ever seen watching the Reds. Five consecutive games without even scoring doesn't give me much hope that I'll last the full 90 minutes on Monday.

There's no big secret to this, it really is quite simple. Football is results driven. Play well, get some success and crowds will rise. Play badly, have no success, constantly struggle and crowds will fall.