New pitch?

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TW2-Beaver
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Shepperton Supporter wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 3:06 pm No mention of the floodlights?
Is it possible to give any updates on the playing side and Gary’s responses?
The floodlights were mentioned briefly but I think everyone was in agreement the work needs doing so it wasn't discussed in too much detail, the 3G pitch took over the debate.

Regarding Gary's responses, he indicated there will be big changes over the summer on the playing side and he isn't happy with the season. I think the figure he gave was less than 40% of current squad would stay (although I may have got that wrong).

The meeting was filmed but because of the critical nature of some of the questions I'm not sure it would be good for the club to release it. Perhaps an edited version will appear.

The other point I made was just regarding the queueing system for the bar which I think is really slowing things down. Chairman said he will discuss this with the bar manager.
Shepperton Supporter
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With regards the playing squad, we have five loan players who will return to their parent clubs. Bearing this in mind the 40% seems reasonable. We know drastic changes are needed, the present squad lacks attacking threat . We have some promising young players who may well feature in the revised squad.
Hopefully Gary has already had discussions with certain players on their futures and we hope for good news soon as we need to secure them quickly. As for incoming players, hope for some exciting news soon?
Tony
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There is some video provided by a Vlogger via Twitter of the event. To confirm Gary did say that he probably would retain only 40 % of the current squad which I take to be around 7 or 8 players. Hard to get away from the level of disappointment with the way the season has gone on the pitch given it’s our centenary. Expectations at the start of the season were clearly to be challenging for the play offs. I would not expect the manager to give too much information away publicly on what went on behind the scenes so you have to read between the lines. To be fair he wasn’t trying to hide from the obvious shortcomings that we have seen in recent months. Results and performances show that the squad was overall not good enough with a number of “star” players falling by the wayside for various reasons. We haven’t really replaced the likes of Gondoh, Wassmer, Slew, Cox and Muir with permanent signings. Of the loanees, only Ness has been an obvious success with Block decent enough but missing through injury much of the time. Roberts was just getting up to speed before getting recalled.
Shepperton Supporter
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It might depend on which players Gary is including in his pool of players before he reduces them down to 40%. If you remove the loans, the ex or current Academy players then the cull might not look so severe?
Think most of us would go along with this action, this season has been very disappointing, it will depend on the standard of recruiting that will deem his actions a success.
TW10
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Of the current squad..Inman, Julian, Deadfield and Gray are top players and would get in any top 6 side..TMR, Farrell, Donaldson are proven at this level..Ulche, Barzey, Hines, Dronfield offer potential and probably will eventually establish themselves at this level..of the loans Ness is a cut above, Fisher and Block ok..

We need somehow to find more players who fit into that top tier..Roberts on loan from Havant would fit into that category..maybe this is unrealistic? Maybe we should accept we are punching above our weight and finishing in the top half is a decent achievement given the size and status of many of the clubs around us?>
Shepperton Supporter
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Think most of us would agree with your analysis TW10. However Donaldson would be in my first group as he would fit, like
the others, into other sides at our level. I would like to think that the first group would be signed up before this season finishes.
Of the loans they will either be required by their parent club or loaned out to a side further up the football pyramid Ness is an example. As Fisher signed a two year contract with AFC I would expect they will want to see him playing for them to gauge his progress.
With a change of manager the Woking loans might be released as they were on 1 year contracts. They are full time, so to join a part time side will have financial ramifications for them. Think we might be interested in Block.
In Roberts we would be very interested, however I understand he is on a 2 year contract and even if he wants to come , agreement with Havant would be expensive and would we be able to fund it?
Certainly several,financial hoops to jump for Gary and the board.
HamptonMad
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Whats happening please with the New Plastic pitch and Floodlights. Thank you.
Tony
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Don’t know the detail but still awaiting planning permission I believe. The key one is the floodlights which the club want to complete before the season starts and for which funding is already in place. The pitch is longer term and won’t happen this season even if planning consent is granted. If consent is granted then I would expect a debate on just how this might be funded and I guess our new shareholders will get involved with that. Not much news on that front so I guess all options are open.
HamptonMad
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Thank you Tony for your reply.
Jamie
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Looking at the plans, just wondering why the new floodlights would be 8 pylons, 4 down each side?
This is a bit of a dated setup. Wouldn't it be more effective and easier for maintenance to have 4 larger ones, 2 down each side, or in the corners.

Is it to do with planning, and perhaps having larger setups would mean being taller and causing issues with residents?
Would be good to hear what options were considered, and why this one was chosen and the benefits.
Shepperton Supporter
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Must agree with Jamie, four pylons in the corners would be a better solution. No idea of how the costs compare but half the number of pylons should have a cost implications.
Tony
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I suspect a combination of planning ease and the additional cost that would be incurred if we went to a "four corners" solution. By that i mean needing to run power to the corners and creating new base for pylons but I'm no expert on these things.
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