November Lockdown - Club Update with Simon Cook

Ed: As always I must ask how is everyone involved in the club doing? Are the players, management team and volunteers keeping well and staying healthy as we enter this dreadful second Covid 19 wave?

SC: Everyone seems well Dan, although I think that the players are disappointed to have to stop just as we were building up a good head of steam on the pitch. Our team of volunteers are continuing to carry out various improvement jobs around the ground and so far everyone seems well fortunately.

Ed: I think most people involved in Non League football knew that sooner or later the brakes would be put on the 2020/21 season, for us personally this has come at a time when we were just starting to get a bit of momentum in the season. How frustrating is it for Jack, Robbie and the players that we now have a whole month of no training, no matches and crucially no match day income for the club?

SC: It is frustrating - for Robbie and Jack as their training with the players is disrupted, and for the club as a whole as we face another period without any income. I think that we could all see that this was likely to happen but it doesn't make it any easier to bear.

Ed: Talking of income and club finances, I know a lot of clubs at steps 3/4/5 and 6 in the Non League Pyramid have been doing very well attendance wise since the restart of Non League football due to these being the only leagues you can go and watch. Obviously at Bognor our average attendance is around the 600 mark so we’re actually getting very similar attendances to our traditional level anyway. Do you think we have benefited from the 600 max attendance cap or lost out a little?

SC: I don't see how we could benefit from the cap as we would very soon have reached the point where spectators would have had to be turned away. However there is no doubt that fans have really enjoyed being able to get back to watching live football and like many clubs we seem to have benefited from this. I think that we have been seeing a real "feelgood" factor at the club with the new stands, a lot of very skilful young players knitting together well as a team and a real sense of optimism. Lets just hope that the stop-start element of this season doesn't spoil this.

Ed: As we not classed as Elite like steps 1&2 of Non League, we now have to shut down for a month due to the National Lockdown whilst the elite football will carry on. I know this is a hypothetical question as many clubs have said below step 2 that they simply can’t play without fans, but had the DCMS said steps 3 and below could continue but without fans, could clubs at our level have done this?

SC: I do not believe there is any appetite at all at our level for football behind closed doors and to be honest I don't see why we should expect the government to pay us to play without fans watching. I for one would not bother if we had to play without supporters. It just doesn't seem the same without the passion and commitment of paying fans. I was able to watch the recent match at Nyewood Lane between Havant and Horsham which was played behind closed doors and it was just like watching a training match.

Ed: Again this question is very much linked to the one above. A month without football is going to create a serious fixture pile up, I think we had eight or so games originally scheduled for November as it was, so if this lockdown goes beyond the 2nd December surely the balance? I have to ask have the Isthmian, Northern and Southern Leagues discussed this possibility and what might happen if football doesn’t restart before the normal busy Christmas period?

SC: Assuming we are able to start again in December I understand that the Saturday fixtures from November will be added to the end of the season which will mean finishing perhaps in June. The midweek fixtures will be slotted in to available midweeks during the season. Of course we still have to work out where the FA Trophy and Sussex Senior Cup matches will be accommodated. If we have any more suspensions we may well end up with either another Null & Void season or perhaps the league table will be decided on Points per Game if enough fixtures are completed.

Ed: Just coming away from lockdowns and fixture headaches for now, We have had a up and down start of the season with the high point being the 2-1 win over a strong Carshalton team at the Lane but the low point being the shambles at Hayes in the FA Cup where we lost 5-0. What’s your own assessment of the season so far?

SC: In recent weeks it has been very encouraging and a real pleasure watching us play at Nyewood Lane. I was looking forward to seeing if we could keep the improvement going this coming weekend at our first away match for a while, as we have not managed to produce the goods away from home yet, apart from a determined and gritty performance at Horsham. I believe we have the makings of a very, very good side and we would have had new signing Kayne Diedrick-Roberts available on Saturday. Kayne is a forward who was playing in Sweden with Jordy and has just returned after having a good season in the Swedish second tier. He began his career in the youth system at Fulham before being snapped up by Manchester United so can't be a bad player!

Ed: The Club have been making great strides and progress off the field with the new main stand making its debut for the night game against Carshalton and the Seasons end on the verge of having another roof again. How important have many of the clubs volunteers and fans been in helping the club grow off the pitch?

SC: As we have said so many times before, the fans mean everything to the club. The support we have had, whether it was in the Crowdfunder campaign, the number of volunteers who turn up to carry out all sorts of tasks at the ground or the increasing number of fans who come to watch us at home and away, is absolutely magnificent. It is so good to be able to reward them with improved facilities at the ground. The replacement cover behind the Seasons end is now complete as of today and looks wonderful. We were able to increase the size of this project thanks totally to the generosity of the Crowdfunder effort.

Ed: It’s also been a difficult year off the pitch with the club recently paying tribute to those who are no longer with us the likes of Maurice Warner, Dallas Whyte and Bernie Grumbell to name just a few. How important was it for the club to remember these people and pay tribute to them during the recent home game against Margate as they meant a lot of the club didn’t they?

SC: Every one of them meant so much to the club, and it was a fitting tribute when we said farewell at our recent match against Margate to all the good friends that we have lost over the past few months. A lot of family members were able to attend and I think they were really touched to realise how much their losses meant to all at the club.

Ed: What has been your favourite moment of the season so far and what moment or match would you rather forget?

SC: I would certainly rather forget the second half against Hayes & Yeading! Difficult to pick a highlight so far, but I did enjoy the win at Horsham. The occasional Tommy Leigh long range effort, such as at Bishops Stortford are always something special as well. For his overall play though, I would say that the performances of Joe Cook each match has been the highlight of the season so far. I have a feeling we will at some stage in the future be proud to say that he developed at Bognor.

And finally
Ed: As we enter a difficult winter ahead and another period of lockdown and uncertainty, how well set up are the club to get through this period and come out fighting and crucially surviving at the end of it all?

SC: It is a huge challenge to us financially. I estimate that we will have lost some £150,000 this year because of the closure of Seasons which would normally be very busy in the run up to Christmas. However, we only spend what we are able to raise and thanks to various initiatives such as the government's furlough scheme, we will be able to keep paying the players despite no revenue coming in.