WEAKNESSES

MEANS

It has to be said, our means is still a weakness in the current climate. At the recent forum, it was suggested clubs we expect to be in our bracket for spends, such as Wycombe, Bristol Rovers and Burton, have been going hard with no thought for the future this season. Our resilience in keeping to a budget and not jeopardising the future is, of course, a moral strength, but competitively, it leaves us a little weaker in some aspects than those around us.

This isn’t a weakness we should deride, nor be claiming ‘such and such’ should put his hand in his pocket, it is merely a fact that were punching in the same boxing ring as before, but there’s far more clubs thinking they’re the heavyweights, when they’re not. We’re boxing smarter, but we’re still weaker for it in some aspects.

CURRENT LANDSCAPE

This leads on from the last point. I don’t think we should be spending more money, not for a second, but the fact other clubs around us are is a big issue. It’s okay to look at the Jay Stansfield transfer for £10 million or whatever it was and cite that as the issue, but for me, it is the Promise Omochere fee, £500,000 as a base price, we should be looking at. Half a million pounds for a League Two striker who scored six goals last season….

I’m not saying he’s a bad player – I’ve really liked the look of him in the past. I’m saying a club like Bristol Rovers want to take that risk. They’re not alone, and for some reason, League One looks as tough as it ever has, with a couple of big hitters and a lot of aspirational little fish wanting to swim in the big pond. It’s a dangerous atmosphere, and one which is a weakness for the club.

SINCIL BANK

I’ve picked on the ground before, but I still think it is a weakness. There are tentative talks about the ground, where we might be able to expand and how that could maximise profits, and the current capacity is only a weakness if we were to go up. We’re pulling around 8,000 home fans at the moment, which is modest enough for our ground, but what if we did sneak up? The corporate area is close to full, there are few bars in the ground leading to a loss of revenue, and if we do aim to get bigger, we’re going to need to expand.

I love our ground. I love that it is close to the city centre, that there are pubs around it, that the fanzone thrives, but if we’re to grow, it will need modification, and that will not only take money, but a lot of quite smart thinking in terms of how we build.