Help bring Salisbury FC back to the Ray Mac

[Pliny Harris]

https://www.change.org/p/wiltshire-...f-the-raymond-mcenhill-trust-save-our-stadium

I feel this is well worthy of its own thread. A Salisbury fan's gone on our forum and asked this to get a few signatures so I thought I may as well spread the message here too.

I'm perfectly aware of Salisbury City's repeated boom-and-bust approach to football management, but with the crooks having fled over the farcical close/early season it's now a club in the hands of the people of Salisbury. Despite Salisbury being ages away it's a smashing away day with a good town and people. Without the Raymond McEnhill Stadium I believe the reformed Salisbury FC would have to groundshare in Hampshire/elsewhere due to the local FA having a strange rule in place forbidding Wiltshire clubs from groundsharing with other Wiltshire clubs. The problem there is obvious, especially in a pretty spread out part of England. As they progress up the leagues, this time in a more honourable way, it harms no-one if the football world's collective strength brings them home where they can properly thrive.

Give it a sign, spread the message and keep the non-league game great.

https://www.change.org/p/wiltshire-...f-the-raymond-mcenhill-trust-save-our-stadium

 

[DarkSithLord]

Was just about to post something similar myself.

Signed.

Great club who have been treated like shit by absolute crooks in recent months. Deserve t be back at their own stadium

 

[Jemfy]

I'm surprised after their years of boom and bust (ad nauseum) that they reform with private owners and not a fan ownership model.

 

[Meadow]

I signed it last week. Time to bump up my Arsebook status with the link in.

 

[Posh Hammer]

Without going into serious research mode, can anyone shed light on why there is a sudden need for assistance. Without sounding like a complete pleb, are Salisbury seriously in the shit? Always a shame to see a league/non-league club struggling.

 

[Jemfy]

Without going into serious research mode, can anyone shed light on why there is a sudden need for assistance. Without sounding like a complete pleb, are Salisbury seriously in the shit? Always a shame to see a league/non-league club struggling.

Bust and re-formed. As a new club - no contract on the stadium. The old one apparently had a right to renew, and the new owners bought assets from the old club (ala Darlo), but the board of trustees for the stadium do not recognise it as having been transferred with other assets. At least that's how I understand it from the little I have looked at the case.

 

[Posh Hammer]

Fuck me, didn't realise they were no more! What a shame.

 

[Cardsfan]

You can't really blame their fans for their club's financial mismanagement. They're the victims here, happy to sign

 

[Pliny Harris]

I'm surprised after their years of boom and bust (ad nauseum) that they reform with private owners and not a fan ownership model.

It's a weird one but of course the Shaymen were also taken over by a consortium through our reformation, so there's some similarity. The BOD who'd seen us through our final season as HTFC suddenly renewed their interest and rebooted us as FCHT. Our board are Bratfud City fans but have made our club their own. Through better they've kept us in good credit, made the recovery quick and we're now genuinely aiming for football league status. Through worse fans have very little input, little effort is made to create a buzz about the place and our crowds are very poor considering what we've done and what we still do.

Enough about that, I just have felt throughout watching football in recent years that the experience of watching a private club is an individual one, whereas the experience of watching clubs with some fan ownership in place is much more communal. I feel the former at Town and Bury and see it in the biggest teams, and I've felt the latter in German football, at FC United and at Chester. There's some bias on that as non-league sides do have that feeling of unity anyway as it's near vital that fans do contribute to the running of the club even when it's an individual's plaything.

I feel it'll be a long time if ever that Halifax Town become fan owned. I reckon football will have a more limited lifespan if more clubs don't go down a co-operative route, and if these things happen at the Shay it'll come from a dramatic change in circumstances from outside our fan bubble. The sense of fan solidarity here is almost non-existent and we defo spend more time tearing into each other. I'm saying all this because maybe some of it applies too to Salisbury. Or maybe they were just fed up of being pushed around by shady Arab royalty and know who they can trust in the local area. Steve Claridge has certainly been on standby for a long time as their first manager as SFC, so maybe they've just got friends in high places that can take the duty up themselves.

So my guess is it's in part trust in the private ownership, part lack of the confidence, momentum and solidarity necessary to start fan ownership up.

Would personally want to hang onto our own private owners indefinitely but I'd jump at the chance to own 51% ourselves and for them to own the remainder .

 

[Chris FGR]

Signed. Good luck.

 

[BeesKnees]

Completely the club's fault. Over ambition got the club into debt and then one fan brought in a shady investor without doing any checks first. Not the first time they've run out of money and got desperate either. Hard to blame the owners of the ground when a club repeatedly mess them around.

Anyway, signed, hope they get the stadium back and finally learn to live within their means.

 

[ForeverUnited]

Signed this a while back, wish them nothing but the best.

 

[Railway Blue]

It's a great part of the country and I had 4 days down there last season visiting Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset when we played them. The only disappointment was we didn't turn up for the fixture and lost 3-1. Please be financially prudent Salisbury and don't mess up a third time.
Signed.

 

[Liam Brown SCFC]

Thank you very much for the response here, everybody... It means so much... Over 2,250 people signed the online petition, with me and other supporters collecting loads in Salisbury as well, we must have well over 4000 by now in total. Thursday is the day we take this petition to the council!

 

[Liam Brown SCFC]

I'm surprised after their years of boom and bust (ad nauseum) that they reform with private owners and not a fan ownership model.

It was discussed, a fan ownership type thing, more so a part fan ownership than a whole fan owned club. After seriously considering the option and looking into it fully, it did not seem viable.

 

[Jemfy]

It was discussed, a fan ownership type thing, more so a part fan ownership than a whole fan owned club. After seriously considering the option and looking into it fully, it did not seem viable.

Do you have a link which explains how your club is set up now? I'm genuinely curious, because I read it as fans just supporting private individual(s) in reforming, making your club little different to how it was before hand, just with different owners. Is this a misunderstanding?

I'm always cagey about owners who put in money one way or another. You can have all the trust in the world for an owner who has an ulterior motive until they reveal it. People were cagey about Keith Cousins at the start and he won fans over, then turned around and stabbed everyone in the back.

 

[HarvSFC]

Signed. A club not too far away from Southampton.

 

[ForeverUnited]

Salisbury will return to the Ray Mac next season as Salisbury FC.
Great news for them.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Excellent News. Congrats Salisbury!

 

[rudebwoyben]

Which step will they come in at? 5? 6?

 

[DarkSithLord]

Which step will they come in at? 5? 6?

That still hasnt been confirmed. They have until the 31st of March to contact the FA and let them know which league they will be in

 

[Greenacres]

Brilliant news...but you can't have Sincs, Frear or Kamdjo back.

Seriously though, please don't stuff it up again.

 

[Jemfy]

That still hasnt been confirmed. They have until the 31st of March to contact the FA and let them know which league they will be in

The FA Leagues Commission (or whatever it is called) will inform them whatever league they are being put in. They have little to no say (unless they choose to apply to only enter at a lower level).

There is no right of appeal. The league itself has no say. These are things that changed over the last couple of seasons.

 

[Greenacres]

I think this link shows them coming back at step 6, though I guess that would still need to be confirmed.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/163rQigkU0WPSVnsENhnFbiBiH54sRi_QY3PLOtz0MuQ/edit#gid=0

Their name does appear in the Wessex League, which would seem logical as most of the teams are in Hampshire and Dorset.

 

[Jemfy]

I think this link shows them coming back at step 6, though I guess that would still need to be confirmed.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/163rQigkU0WPSVnsENhnFbiBiH54sRi_QY3PLOtz0MuQ/edit#gid=0

Their name does appear in the Wessex League, which would seem logical as most of the teams are in Hampshire and Dorset.

Worth bearing in mind that the writer of that only brings in new clubs at step 6, for whatever reason. I don't think it's a considered opinion on which level clubs should be placed at. Hereford also coming in at step 6 there. Be interesting to see where both place. Also to see what kind of numbers the new Salisbury side will get.

 

[Paddy]

I think phoenix clubs should be judged individually & not as a rule... since Salisbury in their past as a club (regardless of owner) have been in the shit a number of times they should be placed lower then a club that's first instance of financial fuckupary caused the reformation.

Meaning that if when Farnborough fall apart again they should be starting in the Aldershot & District Football League.

 

[rudebwoyben]

I really don't understand why they built that stand behind one of the goals. Totally unnecessary.

 

[Eastleigh Fan]

Were given a grant to build it, so thought why not, but spunked the money elsewhere so never finished it...
Shambles of a club and will finally go down this season. Pay transfer fees for players when they have no money and huge debts.

 

[rudebwoyben]

That seems to be the Farnborough way!

 

[Modernist]

You can't really blame their fans for their club's financial mismanagement. They're the victims here, happy to sign

But the fans enjoy the ride without a seconds thought about where the money is coming from.