I’ve had an email from a City fan, one who feels he wanted to ask a question but feared being shot down on social media. It is around the training ground scenario, so I thought I would answer to the best of my ability.

The question is:

With the clubs success it’s great a lot of different groups are committed to raising money for various projects around Sincil Bank. The one that confuses me is the fans collecting for a practice pitch for the players during the week. If it’s so important, then why are the board/management putting it down to a fund raiser which could take a couple of years to achieve? Why not use some money out of the coffers that we won last season? It seems to me the club needs one now, so buying a ground now achieves the result the Cowleys want. The main question which has some flaws I agree is when we get promoted into league one over the next couple of years the need for a bigger ground will gain momentum. If this is the case a practice ground will be part of the new grounds infrastructure. Which brings the question why are we fundraising for one because the training pitch won’t be needed as the new ground will have one?

I think the clarification on the training ground situation is important, and hopefully I can answer a couple of the questions above.

Firstly, the board and management are not simply leaving the training ground fundraising to the fans. It will cost well in excess of what we raise, but by involving the fans in this way those that want to contribute, can. Yes, we earned some good money last season, but that is on the back of years of struggle and cut backs. The club is not going to start spending that money unwisely, and for once we have a management team that agree wholeheartedly with this. Bob said in a fan’s forum one that Danny and Nicky are unique. In the past he has always had a knock at the door from a manager asking what more he can have on top of his allocation. With our current managers, it is Bob knocking on their door asking what more they need. They buy into the philosophy of running the club as tightly as they can, and that comes from a background of non-league football where every single penny is crucial.

I know the Perfect Pitch campaign has raised a few eyebrows, with fans arguing they’re being milked for every penny, but there is no gun to the head to anybody at all. Sure, Lincoln City are in the best position for many years, but our exit from the Carabao Cup this week has underlined the fact that we are not invincible in cup competition, and what we achieved last year was a one-off. Don’t expect us to go much beyond round two this year, or the next. That money was like a small lottery win, and instead of boom or bust we must use it to ensure the longevity of the club. It isn’t just to be spent on players and a training ground, it is to go towards a new Chief Executive, more staff behind the scenes, a new ticket system, the list goes on and on. If we just frittered it all away where would we be in three years time? League Two or maybe League One, and skint. Perhaps the funding for the new ground is being considered as well, after all that is crucial to a successful future for the club.

I don’t buy the idea that the new ground will have training facilities on site. I suspect Danny and Nicky would prefer any training facility to be away from the ground, purely to allow them to concentrate on getting their methods into the players and maximising their work. You saw the video this week of the interview with Danny and the kids singing. As touching as that is, it can’t happen every day. What if they were training on the pitch and that happened? Take my experiences the other day, using the exec box and Danny came in. He ended up using next door to me, and I could hear the conversation going on. I left immediately, but doesn’t the manager deserve a degree of privacy when handling club business? I can’t see any call for the ground and the training facility to be close together, certainly not on the same side. Melwood and Anfield? Cobham and Stamford Bridge? Having them separate works.

Besides, if there is space at the ground I’d lean towards maximising that for revenue, having extra car parking spaces or a fan zone for before the game. The ground generates revenue, and the more it generates the better we can become as a team. If there is room for offices and gyms at the ground, let them be for public use, earning good money all year around. The training ground is a place of work, it is where the players and the back room staff need to be shut away to get on with the job we pay them for. As friendly and approachable as the manager and players are, they don’t gain any advantage on the pitch by posing for photos every time they go from their office to the reception. I hope that doesn’t sound too cynical, I know they always have time for the fans, but I we’re going to keep ascending the EFL then they need time away from everything other than the players, videos and training.

The training ground is important, not tomorrow or next season, but now. It won’t happen now, there are all sorts of obstacles to over come such as location, funding, suitability and the like. Those things are being looked at as we speak, but it is top of the priorities list. The more money the fans raise the more we can expect to go up at the ground. I expect they want a couple of pitches and a purpose-built facility with canteen, gym, recovery rooms and offices. None of that will happen overnight, but if it could I suspect it would be chosen in preference to a new ground. The ground move is securing our long-term future, not just for us but for the next generation of City fans, and for their kids and so on. The training ground is preserving the momentum we have, pushing us on in the here and now.

By the time the turnstiles open on a new ground I’d bet Danny and Nicky will be managing in the Championship or higher, but when we cut the ribbon on the new facility I expect them to be in charge. They’ll set the bar, they’ll be involved in the design of the facility, and perhaps our next manager is already on the staff eager to learn more from them as the players do. The difference between the need for the two facilities is time-based. Sincil Bank is suitable now, we can survive here for a few years before the need for a move becomes pressing. How much longer can we show new signings around the ground and then drive them to one or five of the places we end up taking the players? Sobroan Barracks is a great place as a makeshift training ground, the pitch is great and the club are made to feel welcome, but an hour in traffic there and back is an hour lost with the players. Five times a week, five hours lost.

Maybe if it has to be for another 52 weeks, it won’t just be time with the players we lose. Danny and Nicky are ambitious, and while we match their ambition I have no doubt they’ll remain at Lincoln City. If the training ground does not progress, perhaps they might feel a need to move on in order to progress themselves. That is why it is important now, and that is why we must keep the issue in the spotlight until positive new is forthcoming.

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