The Dart(s) Board

Pedro wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:07 pm Not really NLS (well not yet anyway), Southend have cancelled their pre-season game with Billericay as 'Due to some injuries to contracted players, we are unable to fulfil a matchday squad'.

KSTDART wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 12:45 pm They only have 14 players signed at the moment and no medical staff

The 5th Searcher wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 8:03 am they only had a maximum of 14 players and no medics at all.

M1 South wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 11:06 am Webbedfeet declare a £1.7million loss last financial year!
And thinking about it, they also made a 1.8 aggregate loss last Xmas!!

Dave T wrote: ↑Wed Jul 19, 2023 8:19 am

M1 South wrote: ↑Tue Jul 18, 2023 11:06 am Webbedfeet declare a £1.7million loss last financial year!
And thinking about it, they also made a 1.8 aggregate loss last Xmas!!

When you see this, plus the £2.5million debt that Southend have, surely the league should step in and stop clubs like these living way beyond their means and accruing unsustainable levels of debt at this level of football?

It does worry me that there are probably several National League clubs that are significantly over-spending just to try and compete, then the owners become bored or are unable or unprepared to keep feeding the bottomless pits they have created, they walk away and the clubs go bang. Watch out Eastbourne Borough!

It's difficult to have any sympathy whatsoever for Webbedfeet though. How many financial disasters have they gone through in recent years without learning any lessons?

I know our clubs financial structure (which mercifully isn't attractive for wealthy wide boy wannabe prospective owners to invest in) can be frustrating at times, but at least our future is safe!

Spike wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2023 12:12 pm What these money men seem unable to grasp is that every division can only have one winner, and even then, the biggest spender doesn't always get the prize. The vast majority eventually realise they've wasted their money and walk away leaving many clubs on the brink.

Having lost our club and rebuilt from scratch, we are doing things the right way and should be proud of that fact and how far we have come. I get a little upset that Dowse doesn't seem to be able to get through an interview without constantly bringing up the budget because I feel it undersells what we have here at Dartford FC. We have fantastic facilities and a decent sized crowd. We are consistently up and around the top of this division and we are well run and play by the rules. You won't get money stuffed in boots or in brown envelopes, but tax, insurance etc, will all be paid properly and players who sign for the Darts won't suddenly find one month they are not getting their money. I'm fed up hearing about how the division is so much stronger this year now that there are so many "big clubs" in it. If they have massive budgets and still got relegated then it just proves they are not spending it very well. The truth is, we won't actually know if it's harder than last year until we start playing a few teams and even if it is, we should be better equipped than we were last season anyway! The fact that so many clubs are playing poker with their future is their own daft fault and I for one have no sympathy for them when it all goes belly up.

Tony Burman proved it can be done by putting together a phenomenal team and that first season in the National League was, in my opinion, the greatest in our entire history. Steve King, by all accounts, may have been difficult to work with and seems to have upset so many people, but he had no trouble in bringing some great players to the club, even if he may not have got the best out of them. Dowse did brilliantly last season and tactically, he does seem to know his stuff and even with last year's late arrival, he still managed an excellent 2nd place. This year he has had time to assemble his own squad and on paper it looks pretty decent. So, enough with the negativity and selling ourselves short, we are Dartford FC and there is no reason why we can't be up there competing for promotion yet again.