The K's In Point

Ambivalence towards this K's team/the club

By Taimour (WeHateWombles)9/10 09:26Wed Oct 9 09:26:48 2024

Views: 636

In a thread below the question was posed as to why fans seemed just a little ambivalent towards the "successes" of this K's team. Third in the league, lots of goals, a likeable manager...

Perhaps last night exemplifies the problem. It is pretty obvious that we concede too many goals, against good teams and even sometimes against very bad teams. Either we have bad defenders or the team isn't too interested in defending. We're told on occasion that this is a function of "how we want to play" but the goals don't seem to come from that.

Then there's the experience of Step 4. This is not the Step 4 of even 5 years ago. The number of leagues in the London/South-east region means the decent clubs/teams are scattered across three divisions rather than the traditional two - and the bottom half of each league is made up of pub/park/Combined Counties dross. Yes, it's good that this K's team (with an expensive front four) can slice through the worst teams but, as was shown by our abysmal capitulations in the FA Cup and Trophy (and some league games), the big victories we've seen have felt a little empty and deceptive.

As to the long season ahead: Farnham are running away with the league. Perhaps we will make the play-offs but there's little sign we'd be able to compete with a good team in a knockout match; nor is it clear that we can afford to be at Step 3 anyway. It brings us back to the strategic direction of the club - accepting relegation last season and then seeking to spend a way to promotion the following campaign.

All of this pales into insignificance next to the latest ground news. It is 2024 and we're at square one. As was communicated to the Supporters Club las week: "Yioryos explained that the Club had a further meeting planned for late October with Kingston Council to examine what other options it might be able to offer us and what other help it might be able to give the Club."

Read that quote again. It is profoundly depressing.

Elsewhere, the club - despite Yiorgios's explicit promises - has failed to improve its communication channels. The Twitter is virtually moribund, the instagram features one post per week, there are no player or management video interviews, no goal footage and, generally, little sign of life. The Supporters Club has, to some extent, stepped into the breach but understandably want distance from a discredited ownership. If the Board cannot attract young, capable volunteers, it should ask itself why. If it doesn't have the skills itself, or won't invest in professionals, then nothing is going to change soon. They don't seem to understand that communication is a form of marketing. There are Step 5 clubs who do a better job of generating interest and fans via social media. Scott Harris, of all people, knows this. Crowds remain stubbornly sub-200 (actual people in the ground).

To put one thing to bed: those who previously volunteered are not absent because "they will only do it if they're allowed to run the club". They are not volunteering because they do not have faith in the leadership skills and bona fides of the Chairman, whose sorry record over the last decade is known to all.

"Get behind the club", someone will say below. Alas, many of us have tried ...

ps. Bring back Tears for Fears.

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