The K's In Point

Re: Groundshare next aeason

By MC6/2/2024 10:17Tue Feb 6 10:17:19 2024In response to Re: Groundshare next aeason

Views: 1872

We have to welcome this as good news.

Personally I don't think relegation has been 'the plan', but now we're in this situation, we know we're going down. So do we commit to playing in Tooting when we won't need a ground that big, or do we accept what's happening and choose somewhere better for us? The rules re ground grading do raise some questions, but hopefully a bit of common sense prevails.

The aforementioned point about us accepting we won't get promotion next year is a good one, but if we're being honest I think that was highly unlikely anyway. There are some clubs with good support and serious money behind them in the league below - oh, and their own ground too.

Bleak though it might sound, if you offered me mere survival next year I'd take it. Look at Casuals.

As SDG acknowledges, playing at a lower level closer to home in a lower league has to be preferable to Step 3 in Tooting. Everyone we have heard from, in terms of clubs in a similar situation, says that location is vital in terms of helping crowds. And crowd numbers is the key thing.

As a location RPV works much better. A couple have mentioned the distance from Kingston but more importantly, for me, you can get a direct train from every station in the borough. It connects to the Kingston, Surbiton and Tolworth branches. Buses also an option. And for me it's a 25-min cycle, through Berrylands and down the cycle path beside the railway line, whereas Mitcham was 45 mins through some awful roads.

Raynes Park also at least has a decent enough 'shows the football and does food' pub right by the station. Mitcham has nothing.

The ground is a bit run-down, but good if they're doing work on it.

It's quite depressing that, seven years after moving out of Kingston, we are celebrating this move - our fourth groundshare, somewhere outside the borough, and with barely a couple of stands. But this is our lot now.

To be perfectly honest I think we should probably be looking at the possibility of some kind of long-term partnership there. I know some would hate to hear that, but I'm just completely unconvinced the club will find anything better. If this was 'deal or no deal', I think I'd 'deal' on us playing home games here for the next decade. At least that would mean the club is still standing.