25/26 Squad
I made some discrete enquiries and in fact Jules is said to be be quite happy with the way the squad is shaping up. I don't doubt there were players he wanted to stay but also aware of the shortcomings from last season needed to be addressed.Time will tell once we see the new players in the flesh.
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Lord Elpus
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He's going to say that though isn't he? Even after some of our most abysmally abject defeats last season he trotted out the usual "plenty of positives to take from that game" stuff. We used to listen to those and think "Were there? Where?"Tony wrote: Sun Jun 29, 2025 12:23 pm I made some discrete enquiries and in fact Jules is said to be be quite happy with the way the squad is shaping up. I don't doubt there were players he wanted to stay but also aware of the shortcomings from last season needed to be addressed.Time will tell once we see the new players in the flesh.
Why not do it now. Then at least the new manager will have a chance to go for some players he might like to have and then be able to wield them into a team that's not down for relegation before the season even starts. Surely the fans at least deserve that!
12 months ago we all thought the same with the squad that had been put together. Ok the 2nd half of the season was a bit of a shambles but we did ok before that. I think it wasn’t till September we picked up Mauro, who was one of the better players, every chance we might pick one or two this year in similar circumstances.
Am I massively impressed with the squad, no, but no point of writing them off/ Alan off before a ball has even been kicked.
Am I massively impressed with the squad, no, but no point of writing them off/ Alan off before a ball has even been kicked.
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Lord Elpus
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Overachieving underdogs is what we've been for years really, decades even. By rights we are probably playing a division, or even two, higher than we could be.geedub wrote: Mon Jun 30, 2025 12:26 pm Agreed - I think a lot of people here (although I guess not all) would like us to be overachieving underdogs.
So, in a sense, phase 1 is coming together well...
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EastTerracer
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- Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2023 8:40 am
I hope the new owners will invest in trying to grow the crowd at The Beveree with a view to increasing revenues.Lord Elpus wrote: Mon Jun 30, 2025 12:52 pm Overachieving underdogs is what we've been for years really, decades even. By rights we are probably playing a division, or even two, higher than we could be.
While some of the attendance figures under the clowns had to be taken with a pinch of salt, this was at least an area where they were looking for growth.
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HamptonLifer5
- Posts: 107
- Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2023 11:30 pm
And even without the extra inflation, our attendance was probably improved anyway during that period.
Our budget I do think has been increased but we must remember the large amount that is being spent on ground improvements, which are actually happening this time as opposed to the charlatans who were a pair of lying expletives.
1/3 of teams in this league are full time.
About 5/6 more will be on a hybrid model.
Most part-time sides will be spending even more money to try and compete with the verh best that the league has to offer, for example the likes of Hemel who are building up to being a Full time model next season, or other sides who are heading in the trajectory of the division, steeply upwards.
To put into context, we continue to punch above our weight, and the direction that this league is going, we are 3/4 years away from being a full time only league. If we compare ourselves to that, there is no comparison to have, we are overachieving. Last year was turbulent for obvious reasons, but Jules and Co did an exceptional job despite our appalling run to end the season. We are never going to be or purchase big hitters as a club currently, and last year's plucking from lower levels was successful for us, and with Alan not having prior experience managing it is only natural he goes back to what worked in the previous year to make it work again.
We aren't spending excess on the playing budget, to be unsuccessful like over half the teams in our league will inevitably do across the season, and as our league gets ever more professional, remaining in it becomes a better and better achievement each year. Our long-term future is the current priority after it being in such great jeopardy with 2 bald Italians sticking their unwanted nose in, and the new owners are prioritising that currently which is exciting. Jules is thrilled with what we have currently, but this is open to opinion as we all know, but having done a sterling job previously they should maintain our trust, and another big name may be right around the corner.
Floodlights etc against the amount of money other sides are throwing at the playing budget for ultimately no success and is just a financial blueprint which will inevitably lead to failure. which is definitely not what we want, we want our club to be around for the next century or more. On-Pitch most certainly won't be taking a back seat, but comparative to other step 2 sides it will be much reduced, but even so our budget seems to be raised off of the bottom of the table with Slough, (who are an exceptional blueprint to follow btw, wven with the extra income raised from having their own 4G facility.
From our point of view is this better to a future of being more sustainable than burning through money to do little on pitch and afford nothing off the pitch, which leads to quicker financial difficulty. By the time the work is done relegation wouldn't hurt us financially other than a slightly reduced fanbase and lower quality players, the budget would remain similar yet we'd have the more advanced longer-term problems sorted for our sustainable model to come to fruition and push forward as a club.
Due to our geographical position, this division is a challenging one travel wise, as is the level above, and the level below due to the Southern League, as stated by BeaverWatcher, so this is difficult to account for financially, and our outgoings probably would increase after relegation, hence the importance of staying at Step 2. Lots of youth in our side, but that's why the signing of Massey, and dare I say Deadfield for experience is ever more important.
One thing is for sure, I agree with Adam. Not everything is going to be part of our perfect scenario, but anyway calling for Jules' head needs a wobble, but I'm sure that we all are behind the team and a bit like last year it looks like a challenge, but don't write us off before July has even started! Give the team pre-season and the first 10 games to get started, new squad again of course. It'd be wrong if we weren't sceptical at all but these recent years have taught us to approach cautiously and stick together with those who love and care for the club. The likes of Jules and Ruddick. Not those formally Champions League, Ted Lasso obsessive idiots.
We all will back the team through thick and thin, and the light at the end of this turbulent tunnel is far closer than under the 2 cretinous brothers. We are headed for exciting times but now is time to ride the wave for a bit before we can charge forward!
Our budget I do think has been increased but we must remember the large amount that is being spent on ground improvements, which are actually happening this time as opposed to the charlatans who were a pair of lying expletives.
1/3 of teams in this league are full time.
About 5/6 more will be on a hybrid model.
Most part-time sides will be spending even more money to try and compete with the verh best that the league has to offer, for example the likes of Hemel who are building up to being a Full time model next season, or other sides who are heading in the trajectory of the division, steeply upwards.
To put into context, we continue to punch above our weight, and the direction that this league is going, we are 3/4 years away from being a full time only league. If we compare ourselves to that, there is no comparison to have, we are overachieving. Last year was turbulent for obvious reasons, but Jules and Co did an exceptional job despite our appalling run to end the season. We are never going to be or purchase big hitters as a club currently, and last year's plucking from lower levels was successful for us, and with Alan not having prior experience managing it is only natural he goes back to what worked in the previous year to make it work again.
We aren't spending excess on the playing budget, to be unsuccessful like over half the teams in our league will inevitably do across the season, and as our league gets ever more professional, remaining in it becomes a better and better achievement each year. Our long-term future is the current priority after it being in such great jeopardy with 2 bald Italians sticking their unwanted nose in, and the new owners are prioritising that currently which is exciting. Jules is thrilled with what we have currently, but this is open to opinion as we all know, but having done a sterling job previously they should maintain our trust, and another big name may be right around the corner.
Floodlights etc against the amount of money other sides are throwing at the playing budget for ultimately no success and is just a financial blueprint which will inevitably lead to failure. which is definitely not what we want, we want our club to be around for the next century or more. On-Pitch most certainly won't be taking a back seat, but comparative to other step 2 sides it will be much reduced, but even so our budget seems to be raised off of the bottom of the table with Slough, (who are an exceptional blueprint to follow btw, wven with the extra income raised from having their own 4G facility.
From our point of view is this better to a future of being more sustainable than burning through money to do little on pitch and afford nothing off the pitch, which leads to quicker financial difficulty. By the time the work is done relegation wouldn't hurt us financially other than a slightly reduced fanbase and lower quality players, the budget would remain similar yet we'd have the more advanced longer-term problems sorted for our sustainable model to come to fruition and push forward as a club.
Due to our geographical position, this division is a challenging one travel wise, as is the level above, and the level below due to the Southern League, as stated by BeaverWatcher, so this is difficult to account for financially, and our outgoings probably would increase after relegation, hence the importance of staying at Step 2. Lots of youth in our side, but that's why the signing of Massey, and dare I say Deadfield for experience is ever more important.
One thing is for sure, I agree with Adam. Not everything is going to be part of our perfect scenario, but anyway calling for Jules' head needs a wobble, but I'm sure that we all are behind the team and a bit like last year it looks like a challenge, but don't write us off before July has even started! Give the team pre-season and the first 10 games to get started, new squad again of course. It'd be wrong if we weren't sceptical at all but these recent years have taught us to approach cautiously and stick together with those who love and care for the club. The likes of Jules and Ruddick. Not those formally Champions League, Ted Lasso obsessive idiots.
We all will back the team through thick and thin, and the light at the end of this turbulent tunnel is far closer than under the 2 cretinous brothers. We are headed for exciting times but now is time to ride the wave for a bit before we can charge forward!
I agree with others we are definitely a league or 2 above where a club of our size should be,and it is only going to get harder and harder to compete at this level.Even clubs in leagues below us are spending alot of money trying to get up the pyramid.We haven't even played a game yet,so no one can tell what kind of season we are going to have.1 thing I do know our first friendly is on Sat,yet we don't know when pre season started.Also our chairman promised us more updates from him and our manager after the takeover,but since then silence from both of them