December 2020 - From the Boardroom with Simon Cook

Ed: How are things at the football club right now health wise? Are all the players, management, staff and volunteers all keeping well and staying safe?
SC: All well down here at Nyewood Lane- thank goodness!

Ed: On Friday the 4th December we finally had the official statement regarding the re-start of football at steps 3& 4 and unfortunately it’s not the answer everyone wanted. However, can you give us a little insight into why the decision was made not to re-start and what happens now?

SC: I think the fact that so many clubs are affected by the Tier 3 restrictions meant that clubs at our level could not depend on playing on a level playing field (no pun intended!) or of course in many cases, not playing at all. Clubs simply can not play with no income as players will still be expecting to be paid. The closure of bars and tea huts further compounds the financial situation for so many clubs. At this stage it makes sense to see what the government decide at their next review on December 16th. I just hope that we will be able to restart around the beginning of January if not before. If the current restrictions continue much further into the new year, not only will the season potentially be extended until June, but perhaps some sort of revised, emergency competition might be considered. At the moment it is too unclear to be able to decide.

Ed: As the majority of Sussex is in tier 2, you can understand the frustrations of fans with this decision can’t you?

SC: Absolutely. We are all extremely frustrated and concerned but hopefully we will be returning to normal by next season - if not before.

Ed: On a personal level I feel it was the right call by the League Committee to postpone all matches until a review of the tiering system due of many factors that I won’t list here, however there was some clubs especially in the Isthmian Leagues that voted to play on and were quite happy to start again on the 19th of December. I know this is difficult to answer, but is there now a very really danger this could send some of those clubs to the wall?

SC: I don't know what the financial situation is at other clubs so cannot really answer this question. One thing that we should be grateful for is the generosity that we have all benefitted from so far in the form of grants which have been invaluable in helping clubs survive. We all received £10,000 from the Premier League for example and the Business Interruption Scheme and other government and local authority grants have really helped us keep going.

Ed: The majority of Isthmian Premier League clubs are actually in tier 2, but this still creates a massive logistical and financial challenge to get games played doesn’t it especially with the clubhouse being all but out of bounds. Can you highlight why secondary income is so crucial to non league clubs at our level?

SC: Every pound of lost revenue is hurting small businesses such as our clubs. Some clubs in the Isthmian League take four times as much in their clubhouses as they do at the gate so that is a no-brainer. We calculate that we will have lost not far off £200,000 in revenue from Seasons by the time we get back to normal. It's not just match days which are affected, as we would host many functions such as weddings, Christmas parties etc. which have all stopped.

Ed: What does this decision mean for Bognor? Can players and paid staff go back to being furloughed?

SC: Our only paid staff are our players and they have been on Furlough over the two lockdowns. However there are still various employment costs that the club has to bear.

Ed: I know this tiering system is being reviewed every two weeks by the government, but as I know from living in a tier 3 county, albeit an town with low cases compared to the rest of that county, cases are rising every week in many places so it seems highly unlikely tier 3 will be removed from many areas anytime soon. This does create a serious problem for all leagues and their actual chance of completion doesn’t it?

SC: Yes - as mentioned above, we will have to see if there is any change in the coming month or two to the Tier system. It is difficult to see how the season can be completed if some clubs just cannot play.

Ed: The club remain in the FA Trophy and on the 8th December make the very long trip to Thame United. The club are stuck between a rock and hard place in regards to playing in an FA Competitions aren’t they?

SC: Not really! Thank goodness we have the FA Trophy as it does provide competitive football for us as well as the chance of winning valuable prize money. The prizes for the winners in the next two rounds are £3,000 and £3,750. Of course if we were to be knocked out on Tuesday, we will have to review our plans for the next few weeks accordingly.

Ed: Also in the FA Trophy I see that Margate have pulled out of their home tie which does highlight the issues facIng current tier 3 clubs forced to play BCD doesn’t it?
SC: Yes - I can see why they would do this. No gate or bar revenue, but having to find the costs of players, hosting the match and sharing all operating expenses with Burgess Hill who were their planned visitors.

Finally,
Ed: I appreciate that this is difficult to answer at this stage, but I have to ask it. If we get to mid January and the League programme hasn’t started up again. Do you know what the league has planned as a contingency?

SC: As I said above, the situation remains very fluid and unclear. If the situation continues there will need to be some sort of revised competition and the isthmian League board are communicating regularly on what the possibilities might be.

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.

General Manager Q&A March 2020

Ed – First and foremost how are all the squad/management team and BRTFC employees/volunteers doing? As far as you know are they all in good health?

SC: We are not aware of any health problems with anyone connected with the club which is good news. Obviously the players are keeping to themselves to minimise contact so no training is taking place. Various volunteers are still helping out around the club which is very much appreciated and all are well.

Ed – The Isthmian League made the tough decision to suspend fixtures for a period of time last Friday, how much of a say did the member clubs have in this decision?

SC: The board of directors has eight clubs represented on the board, including me, and we spent several hours considering everything on Saturday and again today on conference calls. There is a further announcement coming out from the League this morning (Tues 17th) as the suspension has now been carried forward to April 3rd, in line with all other leagues and the FA, who have now suspended all football at all levels. Generally other clubs have been very supportive of difficult decisions which have been taken but we will never be able to please everyone.

Ed – Just before the suspension of the league and fixtures we had three home games in a row postponed. What sort of financial impact did this have on the club?

SC: Loss of home Saturday fixtures generally costs us around £4-5,000 per match and we will not now have even midweek matches to replace them, although midweek matches only bring in half what a Saturday match would.

Ed – I’m sure many of us appreciate that there is lot unknowns and uncertainties at this point, however I have to ask how much impact is this having on the club on a day to day basis whilst the season remains in limbo?

SC: We are meeting early tomorrow morning to consider how the club will function going forward. Revenue has virtually dried up as most events booked in Seasons are cancelling. I think eight have cancelled since the government announced their measures this afternoon. In a nutshell, this is the most serious situation for us that can possibly be imagined, although we are in the same position as every other club.

Ed – In your opinion would it better if the 2019/20 season was concluded at some stage when it can or is it better to allow it to be null and voided and we all start again in August?

SC: Personally I would just cancel it now. I really cannot see us being able to start again in, say May, and be able to finish the season sensibly. If we were to restart, and a player was to go down with the virus, what happens then? I would just foresee chaos. There are so many other issues to consider such as necessary summer maintenance work on the pitch, players registrations and contracts etc. However, in difficult times, we may need to come up with innovative solutions and many people will be considering these over the next few weeks. However, whatever the Isthmian League decides, it must be in tandem with all other leagues. It would not ok if we all did different things.

Ed – This is a very worrying times for all clubs in the Non League pyramid. Do you think the government should step in to help if an club’s very existence is under threat if the season doesn’t conclude?

SC: Personally I don’t see it as the governments responsibility to support football clubs financially. Where would it stop? What about every other sport? There are many areas that are more important for the government to look at supporting financially rather than sports clubs.

Ed – Finally, is there anything fans can do to help the club during these very uncertain and worrying times?

SC: We have been working today on several ideas which we will announce shortly which could be win-win situations to help the financial stability of the club. Such things as discounted season tickets for next season if you buy now for example. We don’t really want to just beg for help, but would rather create a situation where the club benefits as well as helping others.