Get Over The Hump

Guest-blogger time. Cruncher is back with a powerful plea to the Board to start talking....

Get Over The Hump

Time is moving on, and the questions and worries about the club's restructuring plans continue to be met with a castle-wall of silence. As an enthusiastic manager with an enterprising on-field approach who can also easily connect with the support, Terry Skiverton is a promising prospect to bring more through the gate. It is worrying, though, that he might be hindered by the Board's reluctance to illuminate about their own enterprising endeavours.

On one hand there is much to draw in new punters and to re-enthuse old ones to return. On the other, the club is advocating what has proved elsewhere to be significant risk in divorcing the football club from its ground - and then significantly compounding that with no explanation. It's a subjective view, but I tend to think it feasible that while Skiverton is drumming up more support, the wall of silence could cause the potential returning masses to, at best, dither.

The first crowd of the season could be read two ways: disappointing because it was down by a couple hundred on last year's opener; or encouraging because three hundred more turned up than for Orient's last visit - which is significant because last year it was also an August fixture. Which leads me to conclude unsurprisingly that nothing can be concluded after one game just as equally with attendances as with on-field prospects. I do think though that the end of August sum total attendance compared to last August might be an early measure, and even tomorrow's Crystal Palace Carling Cup crowd will be interesting to compare against last year's 3,860, for the Norwich encounter at the same stage of the competition.

Anyway, we'll have to see. It's the dilemma that I particularly want to mention and for the Board to note its significance: a feeling that we could indeed be taking small exciting steps to better things, yet coinciding with a great and rational fear of where the restructuring proposals could lead. They need to appreciate that this is what is in hearts and minds at this time, including no doubt in those that are 'dithering' about either finding out what Huish Park is like, or returning to the fold. It is real, and needs to addressed.

For what this club both needs and wants, Terry Skiverton's approach to developing this club hits the mark. A clear long-term objective to continue on an upward climb, committed to sourcing and developing talented youngsters to play to an entertaining attacking plan. Combine this with his understanding of the perspective from the supporter and the press, as an effective and enthusiastic communicator, then Skiverton shows potential to follow the successful eras of Alec Stock, Mike Hughes and Gary Johnson that defined the football club.

John Fry, like all of us, may acquire criticism on specific issues, but he has also certainly done enough for this club to have earned his place in the history of the club as firmly as anyone. That though adds to the enigma. Start talking to us. When it comes to matters so important as ground, I like my terra to be firma.

I particularly enjoyed DNB's post on the Achieve by Unity forum about the last twenty years of wonderful mixed emotion since the move from the old Huish - I want someone doing that with similar fond memories in another twenty years. Matt Scott of The Guardian has learned that his persistence has given the club 'the hump'. Time for the club to get over their hump. Martin Starnes has stressed in The Western Gazette the need for people to attend games - while welcome to hear, it falls on the club to look into all aspects of why people may not be attending.

How frustrating it would be to negate the good efforts of the management team, and indeed the good efforts of many years of good practice with John Fry at the helm. Silence or insufficient communication though has been a long-standing bugbear - but all those occasions added up together cannot amount to the need for words as does this singularly important restructuring issue.

As the line says, 'Silence like a cancer grows ...'

Cruncher