Comments on: What Needs to Change in Non-League Football http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/01/03/what-needs-to-change-in-non-league-football/ Exploring football culture around the world. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:20:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Will http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/01/03/what-needs-to-change-in-non-league-football/#comment-2077 Will Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:45:24 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/01/03/what-needs-to-change-in-non-league-football/#comment-2077 It sounds odd, but there are some interesting parallels with American High School (Gridiron) football, which in many places is the community's rallying point and the tie that binds, perhaps nowhere moreso than where I live, Texas. It is almost as if these teams, through their very structure and organization, have the community base that Dave wants to see continue to evolve in non-league football. It sounds odd, but there are some interesting parallels with American High School (Gridiron) football, which in many places is the community’s rallying point and the tie that binds, perhaps nowhere moreso than where I live, Texas. It is almost as if these teams, through their very structure and organization, have the community base that Dave wants to see continue to evolve in non-league football.

]]> By: Tybalt http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/01/03/what-needs-to-change-in-non-league-football/#comment-2037 Tybalt Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:52:06 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/01/03/what-needs-to-change-in-non-league-football/#comment-2037 Two cheers for Dave. I am an AFC Wimbledon well-wisher (a Watford supporter who believes fervently in what AFCW are doing and who has adopted them as my "other" non-league club - my original non-league club being Hillingdon Borough) and the things that Dave and many others at AFCW and WISA and the Dons Trust have done are a testament to what local hope and faith can do to sustain a difficult situation. Why two cheers? Because while I know that his heart is in the right place, and any encouragement of local/fan involvement with non-league clubs is contributory to their success (something I've been trying to encourage here in Canada, not just with football but with sport generally). But I think that there can be successes to be had in working within and alongside the now-traditional single-owner model. The strategic vision of businessmen is not always dubious, and there is no doubt that without the contribution of persons of means, many clubs would find themselves going to the wall - with assets liquidated, players released, and grounds seized and sold. Not every local club has a catchment area the size of Merton (let alone the historic success of Wimbledon) to support the kind of fanatical level of involvement required to run a The way forward in my view is both partisanship AND partnership. Over time, the magnates may see their interest (in both senses of the term) slowly wash away as their iron grip on the operation of clubs recedes to be replaced by true hand-in-hand partnership. Others will not, and their clubs will naturally grow (and advance upward) as a result. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is a role in non-league football (as in sport anywhere) for the honest capitalist. Two cheers for Dave. I am an AFC Wimbledon well-wisher (a Watford supporter who believes fervently in what AFCW are doing and who has adopted them as my “other” non-league club - my original non-league club being Hillingdon Borough) and the things that Dave and many others at AFCW and WISA and the Dons Trust have done are a testament to what local hope and faith can do to sustain a difficult situation.

Why two cheers? Because while I know that his heart is in the right place, and any encouragement of local/fan involvement with non-league clubs is contributory to their success (something I’ve been trying to encourage here in Canada, not just with football but with sport generally). But I think that there can be successes to be had in working within and alongside the now-traditional single-owner model. The strategic vision of businessmen is not always dubious, and there is no doubt that without the contribution of persons of means, many clubs would find themselves going to the wall - with assets liquidated, players released, and grounds seized and sold. Not every local club has a catchment area the size of Merton (let alone the historic success of Wimbledon) to support the kind of fanatical level of involvement required to run a

The way forward in my view is both partisanship AND partnership. Over time, the magnates may see their interest (in both senses of the term) slowly wash away as their iron grip on the operation of clubs recedes to be replaced by true hand-in-hand partnership. Others will not, and their clubs will naturally grow (and advance upward) as a result. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is a role in non-league football (as in sport anywhere) for the honest capitalist.

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