BARROW vs Maidenhead FA Trophy

[Ste Story]

Doing up the Crossbar to tempt in punters is surely a better use of the MA Group lads time and resources than a pressbox refit that a declining number of backwater regional hacks will be using?

Just an opinion.

+1, would love to see the MA lads loose on the crossbar. Would even donate a few quid into the pot for that one.

[spirit of 1990]

The Cross Bar will be getting some sort of make over next year, can't see it being a big spend as there isn't the money to do that (carpets, wallpaper, blinds etc) but we'll definitely make it better than what it is at the moment.

I can see the vase prints being a sticking point (I'm not joking!) According to what we've been told the X Bar gets more revenue from 18th's 21st's engagements & the like rather than match day income & them people prefer vases to football photo's.
I think the way around this will have to be the vase prints stop for non football related events but someone will have to take them down & put up all the club stuff when we have a game on. Bit of a ball ache but if that's the only way around it then that'll have to do.

We want to make the bend in the stairs look more professional & remove all the odds & ends that have found their way onto the wall & put up framed Barrow shirts, all the old B & W team photos that we've got hidden away or signed prints like the one Steve Leonard has given us to sell off.

The actual bar needs finishing off as it just seems to have been left half done, freshen up all the walls with a bit of paint, strip that old brown colour off the doors & re-paint them with something a bit brighter, alter the lighting.

Loads to do in there but we'll need help when the time comes.

[Ste Story]

I can see the vase prints being a sticking point (I'm not joking!) According to what we've been told the X Bar gets more revenue from 18th's 21st's engagements & the like rather than match day income & them people prefer vases to football photo's.

I've heard that mentioned as an excuse before but to be honest it's bullshit IMO. Nobody is going to book a football ground venue for a party then complain when there's football artwork up. For a start there's a big [SwearFilter] off pitch and stadium right outside the windows. If anything I think some people might be disappointed if they booked the football ground for an event and then it just looked any old working mens club/boring concert hall. I doubt a single person has ever said after hiring the XBar that they're glad there's boring plain pictures of vase's up on the walls, or complained because there's football art and memorabilia about, and I doubt a single person ever would.

Oh, and maybe that tells us something about where we're going wrong if the Xbar brings more revenue in for 18ths etc then match day income...

[Noel]

Big E, do you mind me asking which U18 players you think are/could be ready for the step up to the first team? Even if not this year but next year, or ever.
I know that all three of the 18 year olds were at professional clubs as kids, and a few of the younger ones have as well. Haven't had a chance to go and watch them yet, but been hearing good things.

[spirit of 1990]

I've heard that mentioned as an excuse before but to be honest it's [SwearFilter] IMO. Nobody is going to book a football ground venue for a party then complain when there's football artwork up. For a start there's a big [SwearFilter] off pitch and stadium right outside the windows. If anything I think some people might be disappointed if they booked the football ground for an event and then it just looked any old working mens club/boring concert hall. I doubt a single person has ever said after hiring the XBar that they're glad there's boring plain pictures of vase's up on the walls, or complained because there's football art and memorabilia about, and I doubt a single person ever would.

Oh, and maybe that tells us something about where we're going wrong if the Xbar brings more revenue in for 18ths etc then match day income...

Absolutely, 100% agree with all of that Ste.

We'll be trying to keep both camps happy with what we do though.

[SKIPPER]

Maidenhead drawn away to Grimsby. Perhaps we dodged a bullet.

[Big E]

Big E, do you mind me asking which U18 players you think are/could be ready for the step up to the first team? Even if not this year but next year, or ever.
I know that all three of the 18 year olds were at professional clubs as kids, and a few of the younger ones have as well. Haven't had a chance to go and watch them yet, but been hearing good things.

Don't really want to get into naming names, as it's only my opinion at the end of the day, but the 5 lads that have been involved so far are probably the right ones. There are a plenty of the younger lads (still U17) who are showing a lot of promise and are improving every game - but it's not until they start playing regular open age football IMO that you will see who will be comfortable with the step up.

I think the club has the balance right at the minute - not the best time to introduce them fully into the side at the moment. Hopefully they'll get a decent crowd in for the next home game (in Jan I think).

[spirit of 1990]

Doing up the Crossbar to tempt in punters is surely a better use of the MA Group lads time and resources than a pressbox refit that a declining number of backwater regional hacks will be using?

Just an opinion.

+1, would love to see the MA lads loose on the crossbar. Would even donate a few quid into the pot for that one.

In answer to that Rich & Ste.

Giving the press box an upgrade without sponsorship (as with it, it would have been done far better) is a fairly cheap job & one that can be carried on with in bad weather during the winter months. It can also be done by two or three people putting in a few hours here & there.
Doing the Cross Bar is a far more expensive job & one that we'd need plenty of help with & as everyone seems pretty down at the moment with most things connected to the club would we get the help needed to see it through in a decent time frame? doubtful at this moment in time.
If we had someone willing to stick a grand in & eight/six or even four new face's ready to start painting/plastering/putting new lights in we'd start it next week but that isn't happening.

There is a bit of thought going into which jobs we start & which get put on hold & we all know which we'd like to do first, unfortunetely it won't always work out that way.

[Richard Ingham]

Fair enough Ian.

[Jonty]

Those vases are classic "The Range". They are inspiring and have to survive any makeover.

[PRR]

Maybe we could encourage the players to carry vases onto the pitch, then any subsequent pictures taken will feature both a footballer and a vase as the subject.

Or maybe some real vases with footballs in on the bar?