£40 fund fell short, so will the £2 million? (Ian Hart column)

[FG aka FOOTBALL GENIUS]

Ian Harts weekly column in the local Lancing paper, he makes a very good point which the club should be worried out in terms of raising finances through the fan base.

he says in there 'The harsh reality is that there is a point when even the most dyed-in-the-wool Albion fan has to say no.',

Also he questions how much they'll get, he says to the club it seems simple, 20000 fans x 100 quid each = 2 million, easy.

BUT he points out that the famous 40 note fund aimed to get money from 1000 season ticket holders raising about 40k but he says they didnt hit the mark and got less than 35k, and thats from the real hard core !!!

 

[Rougvie]

f*** off you ****, you are really starting to get everyones back up now.

The Forty notes effort was magnificent, if you read the coloumn properly you will have an understanding of that.

I dont see you getting off your arse in the way the Forty Notes guys have, so unless you start contributing something to the problem, rather than critisising everyones sterling efforts then I sugest you pipe right down.

I know I shouldnt be rising to you, you pathetic little worm, but I just want you to realise that there are people out there who if they met you in the street would do you a serious injury.

 

[FG aka FOOTBALL GENIUS]

im not criticising the efforts of others just merely suggesting that in the way the previous fun raising for all its good efforts etc still fell short and the club may IMHO expect likewise from the new fund raising initatives bearing in mind also last time they appealed to the hard core base of loyal supporters that yes generously gavetheres no questioning that just this time the club will appeal to a lot of fair weather fans and will they stump up the necessary?

im not suggesting Ian Hart thinks the fans didnt give generously either far from it. but before you llok at hey what can we raise you need to llok back on what others have achieved and whilst you may be capable of doing better (and thats not undermining the efforts of the £40 fund which i belive was very well done) than others in the past or say the economic climate may generate better times etc, it is a very good yardstick for which to base the best possible outcome of any fund raising and that IMHO suggests the club wont raise the necessary £2 million it may of course be that the Directors will as i suspect be prepared to fund the shortfall

 

[Brovion]

I, *gulp* agree with FG - but only to an extent I hasten to add! The '40 Notes' fund was launched in a blaze of publicity and raised £35,000. That is brilliant and is £35,000 more for the club that it wouldn't otherwise have got. Massive respect to all involved.

BUT...... why do we think the '250 Note' fund is going to raise 2mil when the previous fundraising attempt only got £35,000?

 

[Harold]

And what did the "Save Our Seagulls" initiative raise many years back. £33K or £38K (thereabouts) wasn't it?

Now I don't believe that things are as desperate as they were then, however these precedents do add to the current concerns described (much as I usually don't bother reading anything from this particular poster). If we couldn't raise millions or even hundreds of thousands (or lure supposed mystery club saving investors from the wings) at a time when the club was realisatically on the verge of going bust, then how can we expect to hit this very big target now?

Don't get me wrong. Fair play for trying, in fact we at the A21 are shortly to start fund-raising initiatives of our own to raise as much as poss from our lot. It's just a phenomenal ask with history indicating it's likely to fall well short of what's needed.

 

[The Large One]

Harold, it's not on the verge of going bust. We are a fair way from that, yet. Yes, it's all worrying, so the more we can all do, the better it will be. Brighton fans are acknowledged as the best in the country by our fellow supporters, and if we REALLY wanted to, we can achieve anything.

 

[Bozza]

Also agree with the general sentiment of FG - £2m is a HUGE ask, and there is no disputing history - where nothing points to the fact that we'll achieve it. Of course, we all hope we do - that goes without saying.

 

[sully]

The thing is, while I agree with what FG has (surprisingly) eloquently put, I'm seriously thinking about it this time.

I haven't chucked money at the club yet, but have contributed to bucket collections for FFA and REMF. I give my money directly to the club by many other means. However, thinking about it rationally, giving £100 isn't that difficult if its paid via a monthly installment, so I might do it. Alternatively, another entry in the Heroes and Winners draws is possibly a better way of contributing on the basis that you might get something in return. Likewise, buying a few Withdean Wager tickets at each game. There are many ways of giving without it seeming like just handing over your cash for nowt.

Whilst I think the club may be embarrasingly short of the £2M they are asking for, I'm confident that the total will be higher than any previous efforts.

Even on here there seems to be more being arranged than there was when the 40 notes fund was initially launched, so it seems everyone is rallying round.

 

[Harold]

Harold, it's not on the verge of going bust. We are a fair way from that, yet. Yes, it's all worrying, so the more we can all do, the better it will be. Brighton fans are acknowledged as the best in the country by our fellow supporters, and if we REALLY wanted to, we can achieve anything.

I never said it was on the verge of going bust. Suggest you re-read mate.

I said that AT A TIME WHEN THE CLUB WAS REALISTICALLY ON THE VERGE OF GOING BUST (i.e. a much more desperate time financially and stability wise) we did not collect anywhere near the figure needed now. And that was to simply keep the club alive at the time.

Sorry, if historical precedent doesn't give me a good feeling about this, but there you go. That's what the bulk of decisions and opinions are formed against. All the same, I along with my A21 cohorts will be doing our damndest all the same.

My worry is that we have a recent history of not having a plan B these days, and realistically we will not make up this cash shortfall through donations.

 

[FG aka FOOTBALL GENIUS]

Harold you raise an excellent point this cap in hand despreate plee by the club would certainly suggest there never was a plan B and further support the eggs all in one basket approach of the chairman. I always thiought any sensible prudent board would have a plan B and just not shout about it coz they wanna give view over its Falmer or nowhere but the more i think the more IMHO i think there never was a plan B or this is it - ask the fans to cough up!

 

[Scoffers]

I would back those that are suggesting that we shall struggle to raise £2m with £100-£250 donations. What is needed is a full scale fund raising campaign with innovation!

How about a sponsored "break your way into the house of commons" or "scale the wall of buck palace"

Oh, that's already been done!

 

[Meade's Ball]

Whether the club reach their "target" or not (and i don't need them to wheel out the ghost of Joey Deacon to confirm that it is indeed an appeal), i will contribute.

 

[saltash seagull]

unless we get some seriously big donations think we'll gonna fall way short of the 2 million mark but who can fault the club for trying watever they raise will help and the more they raise the less cutbacks will be needed

 

[towbarball]

F G MUST LIVE IN THE LANCING AREA?

 

[Inkerman]

How much does the fact that the Forty Notes fund was organised by supporters whereas the current appeal is direct from the club influence the potential level of support?

 

[The Large One]

How much does the fact that the Forty Notes fund was organised by supporters whereas the current appeal is direct from the club influence the potential level of support?

I was thinking that earlier when I read someone else's post further up the page. There may be some truth in that.

However, when the Forty Notes did come about, we still got a mixed reception with similar gripes of 'I'm not giving any more money to this club', 'the directors should put more in...', 'where's the Fatboy Slim / Dick Knight / queue of rich benefactors lining up at the door's money then...?' Sound familiar?

Quite dis-heartening at times - there were one or two people on here slagging off the whole concept. But you just had to smile, say 'well, thanks anyway', and be grateful for those that were prepared to help.

 

[Inkerman]

It is dis-heartening isn't it.

If the board do nothing they get slagged off for it. If they ask for support they get slagged off for it. If they put money in they get slagged off for it not being enough.

Strikes me that running a Football Club is a no win occupation.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

i do agree fg also, may friend a season ticket holder said he refuses to give any more money over to the club

 

[Inkerman]

i do agree fg also, may friend a season ticket holder said he refuses to give any more money over to the club

That's fine - it's a choice, some will and some won't but don't slag the Club off for asking.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

did i slag the club off?