The finances may have looked good at the time - as Wednesdays meeting revealed, what was a small wage gap between us and other team the last time we were in league one has now grown to a chasm. Wage growth could have outpaced the potential revenue PL would bring during the time it has been constructed. But for all we know that gap could be much greater. We aren’t told the full finances for the main stand facilities so it’s difficult to really put a pin in it one way or another, but certainly the finances for a League One club now are much different to what they were ten years ago.

How crazy is this ,[Link]

Ni increase didn't help the clubs coffers.

On the viability point- I agree that we supporters have limited information on our fixed costs, but the fact that the INCREASE in our business rates this year is going to be £40k (per the meeting this week) does suggest that they are substantial and likely to be hard to cover on the proceeds from NLS crowds - as you say, you would hope that the statement that we would not be viable at that level was made on some basis

$6m man- it’s obviously each to their own as to whether we would want to go back to watching us in Conference South or lower. To me there may be a difference between watching non league as a journey (as we had from 2002) vs as a destination where we had no real ability to progress. As I say, though, that is just my thought

Spartan [Link]

Boring fact of the day re OTD, we were drawn at home to Bromsgrove or St Blazey(from Cornwall)who had 2 two all draws before a 2nd replay was won 3-2 by Bromsgrove so we could have played a rare competitive game against a Cornish side, not sure we ever have

I do remember, probably about 40 years ago, that there was a fire in one of those two tower blocks.

Trigger - I would say a definite yes on the tower block in the background of OtD.

Would = wouldn't

OTD - My first ever game as an eager six year old. I am pretty sure my Dad took me because I had been naughty or my mum just needed me out of the way. Whatever the reason, it has been a heady mix of magic carpet ride and head on car crash, but I would have missed it for the world

We were accused of under declaring the crowd at the St Albans Trophy game once, Erik asked Papers(who in those days counted the crowd and provided figures for all 4 sides of the ground)to supply his figures so we could refute the claims

FWIW I reckon we'll have been in admin and have new owners way before we would ever reach National League South again

TF - oh yeah, forgot about him too

Rob - does Terry Eames count?

When we were in the Premier League, I remember thinking to myself when we drew a lower level team in a cup game that I could never go back to watching football at a lower level. When 2002 happened and it was either watch somebody else, non-league or give up completely, I felt different when I had no choice (the who moved my cheese scenario). I enjoyed going through non-league as much as the 1980s. Maybe now I'm 25 years older I'd feel differently and really don't want to have to find out.

One of the Bromsgrove players appears to be wearing a dark coat in contrast to his green shirted colleagues

Re OTD firstly congrats Bert there’s no obvious monster from another dimension in today’s pic and secondly is that one of the Chillingford/Hayesend towers in the misty background above the stand?

Morning all. While any organisation has the potential to have bad-uns in their midst, the only time I can remember anything dodgy at AFCW was the guy who was the caretaker at KM in the beginning

I read Nick's post the way he intended it, i.e. size and running costs, given he was responding to my Plough Lane viability in non-league post. Nobody on here, and I mean nobody, questions the integrity of those running our club. I read on here all the time so can say this with certainty. They may question their decisions or why they do it but financial impropriety is certainly not one of them.

I think Laurence owes Nick an apology.

By the way whoever said the England rugby match starts at 3.45pm is wrong it start at 4.40pm presumably the extra hour is TV uild up

Thanks Trigger- as you say, hadn’t even thought of that aspect- whatever I might think of some aspects of how our club is run I have never had any doubt as to the honesty of those doing so

Definitely read it as you intended Nick. Money laundering must be something in Laurence's mind ;-)

The ones that piss me off are those that arrive late then stand on the steps working out where they are sitting.