2-1 against Croydon Athletic

[Deleted]

This should have been an easy win, with Croydon struggling as they have lost a lot of players because they can't pay them. The crowd was supposed to have been 107 but I struggled to see more than 80. Mostly youngsters with a couple of old heads in the centre of defence. What they lacked in experience they made up for in effort and desire to win. They wanted the result and made it difficult to play anything like controlled football.

They popped in a deserved first goal on 17 minutes and we struggled from then to make any real chances. No change after 1/2 time still second best to most things, it was only that our defence had that little bit of experience that we kept the score down.

At about 70 minutes of play Gary change the system, brought on Joyce up front and pushed Mark P back into midfield. Gary must have thrown the switch to allow them to attack in numbers and play football on the ground.

With LLoyd Skinner moving to the left and support for the attack we saw some real positive moves, when Skinner pushed the ball in the path of the advancing Joyce he got to the 18 yard box on the left side and cracked a sweet shot to the opposite bottom corner of the goal passed the outstretched keepers finger, this was our first real shot.

I could not see who put a through ball at pace into the feet of Jarvis who cheekily side flicked the ball in the back of the net from about 4 yards out.

Croydon came at us even stronger and a couple of stupid fouls by us gave them a life line that they squandered.

Easy to forget the first 70 minutes but some real good play in the last 20 that made up for the journey.

I think we are 14th and need a result on Tuesday against Molesey as I can't see us getting any more points this month.

Probably about safe for this year but lets not get complacent as a string of poor results could be disastrous and won't help to win back some of the fans.

[Deleted]

Team:- Foster, Gainsford, Fogden, Cotton, Piper.
Bye, Hill, Watts, Skinner.
Pullen, Jarvis.

Subs Joyce (70), Pulling (70+), Soutar (85)

[sponge]

Martin,was it the crowd that was mostly youngsters with a couple of old heads or the Croydon team ?
As for getting the missing supporters back it's going to take more than a couple of scrappy wins to do that. The last game i saw was at Dover and it appears that we have got even worse since then. So much for GC's promise at the end of last season that the supporters deserve a better team. Nothing has changed,even the excuses. The much used " we've only got a young team and they can be inconsistent " is wearing thin. If that's the case then why have so many 'youngsters'in the team ? Horsham YMCA have just as small,or smaller playing budget but have managed to put together a team nearly strong enough to challenge for the play offs. Is it that more senior players don't want to play for Burgess Hill or GC, or is it that GC likes to have players in the team who don't challenge his decisions ? e.g. youngsters.
Until there is a change of management i don't hold out much hope for the club as they stumble from one season to the next going nowhere.
Accordingly support will continue to fall away with even less funds available to improve things.

[deeudon77]

Come on Sponge, things will never be the same until enough people realise the club has to be handed back to the town.I cannot believe the people who have been running the football club for last 3 or 4 seasons have the interests of the burgess hill fans or community as their priority.Consider the tremendous work and effort put in by stalwarts like Jack Lake, John Buck,Roger Puttick( to name just a few )with nothing expected in return over the years against the present "If you put in what I've put into this club" attitude then I am not surprised the support is dwindling.
With respect to those that have "invested money into the club" they cannot possibly expect a return on their investment unless they cover their investment from match takings and bar takings etc, and if there is a shortfall then it is not too long before the club is in financial trouble.Reports of the last few seasons have suggested that the club owes anything up to £60,000 (unconfirmed) so how come we are in this predicament.Whenever this subject is brought up it is always a case of,"thats not for you to worry about".
If you were a person of just above average means would you put your hard earned money into something that you knew would or could not possibly give you a return,Even the major lottery winner at Hastings realised he was throwing money away just to be the "owner" of a football club.
Sponge, until the football club is run once again by members of the community and those with a genuine interest of the club at heart then I'm afraid we shall continue to stumble from one season to another going absolutely nowhere.
We knew getting promoted from the Sussex County League was a gamble and maybe the fans should have been consulted at the time but that is now history.If the club is in serious financial trouble then I think the paying fans should know the truth about the finances.
If that is not the case and the manager cannot attract players who want to play their hearts out for Burgess Hill Town F C then maybe the manager should consider his position and fall on his sword.
I am posting this as an ex supporter who has not been to a game since last December and one who genuinely used to thoroughly enjoy my day out supporting the "Hillians".
I live in hope that the club will become well supported again and managed by a team who have the towns interest at heart.

[brightonmike]

What could you have written had we lost !
"an ex supporter who has not been to a game since last December"
How can you keep yourself away from games, but still feel the need to post so much on a 'supporters' forum ?

[refsworstenemy]

To a certain extent I agree with this critics here, and was myself moaning about the very same things not so long ago. One thing I would like to say though is that GC genuinely seems to be trying to organise the team on the pitch. Nothing is perfect and yes, we are still a young and inconsistent team. However, GC is starting to do what the supporters have asked of him, and that is, reacting to poor performance. The quality of his substitutions and tactical changes has definately improved (echoed by Martin's match report). We now seem to see Gary shouting at players for most of the 90 minutes. We don't have the squad to challenge for the league, and whether that is a valid excuse for a lower-mid table finish or not, I'm not even going to express an opinion. But I genuinely believe that in the last 2 months or so GC is trying to get the best out of the players. I saw one very poor performance against Molesey, which was almost bad enough to make me give up watching BHTFC this season, but straight away in the next game they came out all guns blazing and with a decent (not brilliant) performance turned over a well organised Chatham Town.

I'm not saying things are perfect, but we are a better side to the one we were around Christmas. Didn't we win Ryman South Team of the Month for February with 3 wins and 1 draw out of 4 games?

[deeudon77]

My comments echo those of a number of supporters who do not go to games for similar reasons but perhaps do not want to "upset" certain people at the club.My comments were honest in their appraisal and crowd figures during the last 2 seasons reflect the falling away of support. There are no rules against constructive criticism and archive postings by myself on this unofficial website will see a number of positive and praiseworthy comments.
We must be able to voice our opinions,indeed that is exactly what this website is for.
Do you honestly think that Burgess Hill Town FC is the only team that gets criticised when things do not go according to plan.
Hard core fans will support their team come what may but it is not these supporters who have to be convinced the club needs supporting. It is the ones who have other things to do on a saturday and whilst every week cannot produce "full on"entertainment they need extra incentives to forego other things and go and watch football.
Above all they need to be convinced the club is run correctly and honestly for the good of all,if there is nothing to hide then let EVERYONE know the full state of the club financially and what future plans (realistic) are in the pipeline.
You would be surprised how many people would feel more comfortable having this information and how many would return to the club not just for the games but to help out in other areas to support the well being of the club.
To Brighton Mike,with respect I am a member of this forum and am at liberty to post as and when I choose to,just as you are.

[sponge]

brightonmike said:

What could you have written had we lost !
"an ex supporter who has not been to a game since last December"
How can you keep yourself away from games, but still feel the need to post so much on a 'supporters' forum ?

He was explaining why he no longer wants to come to games.
It's not just a few of us either. Home attendances are approx 80-100 down so something must be wrong.
I know we are playing at a relatively lowly level but if we are charged to watch the games then a decent standard of football should be expected. Unfortunately the standard is more like 'pub league' at times with the resultant drop in attendances.

[Dan BHTFC]

I think the next time you'll hear the Barmy Army will be at Kingstonian at the end of the season, other than that I can't see anyone turning up apart from Pete.

I'm now living in Wiltshire and I don't miss going to see Burgess Hill week in week out, I got bored with it, same excuses why we aren't performing, inept performances on the pitch, I've got fed up with it. I'm now supporting a side at County 2 level and it's great, its like what it used to be at Burgess Hill and I only have to pay £3 for the same standard, slightly better, performances on the pitch

[refsworstenemy]

I just want to say, I wasn't disputing anything anyone else was saying as such earlier, I just wanted to acknowledge that the standard of "on the pitch" management had improved. I don't want anyone to think I was criticising their opinion or their right to watch/not watch any club they liked!

On occassions where the football hasn't been that great lately, the banter with both home and away supporters has made up for the bad moments. It'd take a lot to make me totally boycot BHTFC after 12 years, and the main reason being is that through most of the boring or poor performances I can usually have a laugh about something!

But as I say, I don't dispute any opinions on this post!

[brightonmike]

Nah, sorry - I simply don't understand ................... I/we/you support a team - that's it.

I don't have the choice to withdraw my support - I support a team : I support them.
Nothing is going to be exactly how you want it - unless you run it yourself - and I don't imagine that would be a guarantee either.

One thing is true ........... however the standard of performance may vary IT'S VERY RARELY DULL !

[dazzer6666]

I agree BrightonMike - you either support or you don't. If you do, you try to get along when you can - good or bad (or even very bad), rain or shine etc. The off-field gossip is interesting, and happens in every club (if you go the the Bridge, the regulars are constantly talking about Jose and Roman falling out and how it'll lose them the best manager in the business, FL and JT will leave etc etc etc. Completely different scale of course but principle is the same - do you think the talk is any different at any other club, particularly over a long period of time ?).

Basically, though, most of us go along to watch a game, shout, moan, swear, criticise and savour the good times - either way it is something to talk about and better than being dragged out shopping. If the good things don't happen often, they're all the sweeter - so even in a crap season there are high points to look back on. This season (which has been pretty crappy) ? Actually staying up (likely now, I think) isn't a bad effort. Yes there have been some dire performances, strange decisions and I've walked home wondering why I went. I think it is supposed to be like that.

In ref to Deeudons comments, I'm not sure I understand the "hardcore supporters" comments as it seems to me it is exactly the (self proclaimed - Barmy army etc) hardcore supporters that have decided to stop coming (with one honourable exception of course). So who really are the true supporters ? Agree everyone has a right to an opinion - but your credibility disappears if you haven't been to a game for months.

All this negativity from ex-supporters won't help and only increases the poor perception - we've all got a choice - go and shout or let the club die a lingering death.

[hillfanatic]

After reading this thread I feel that I have to make comment. I am one of the FORMER hard core supporters that has stopped coming. I supported Hill home and away missing maybe a couple of games a season due to family do's and the like. I have supported the hill for about 12 years, travelled far and wide including the famous games at Newport and Hereford, I have had a day trip to Northallerton and an evening trip to Rothwell, the other end of the spectrum I have spent Saturday afternoons at places like Sidlesham, Rye and Westfield. Over the last 2 seasons things have got steadily worse, I understand that we cannot always win but it was the way we lose that finally made my mind up. I think it came to a head after the game at Waltham Abbey which was dire, I remember saying to John Buck after the game "Why did I waste my Saturday watching this?" Needless to say I was at the next game and the ones following that, trouble is the games did not improve! There was no heart, no fight and I decided that I could find better things to do with my precious time away from a very demanding job. I still watch for results and obviously read this forum, thanks to Martin for the match reports. This is a personal opinion but one that is not unique. My son plays for Hassocks Youth and speaking to Dave John it is not just the "barmy Army" that have disappeared but many of the older supporters have "defected" to Hassocks. This is obviously a problem that needs to be addressed, if you are losing long time supporters that will turn up week in week out how are you going to attract new support? I wish the hill good luck for the rest of the season and will continue to look out for the results.

[daveb]

hi guys

good to see some intelligent dialog concerning the club and it's supporters, however what most concerns me is the lack of understanding for the club's involvement in the isthmian league. it is far removed from the county league, the players have to give more and the supporters have to be stronger in their support of the team and club. in essence success is so much harder to achieve.

i feel that during the heady days of the late nineties and the early 2000s when the hillians wiped the floor at county league level, five championships in seven years two other seasons finishing runners up, winners of numerous local cup competitions with runs in the fa cup and fa vase as far a field as northallerton and as far west as hereford is impossible to maintain.

in the last four seasons the club has sort to establish itself at this level, this it has done, against continuing problems with the local authority and the use of the ground at isthmian league level. the heavy financial burden has been manfully addressed by all those capable of doing so and should not be ignored. the club constantly loses money on a regular basis and is only able to maintain this level of football through its support base whether it be as a director of the club, a sponsor of the club or a supporter on the terraces they are all equally important.

therefore success should be measured in different terms, a mid-table position for the club's squad of young players is success. the fact that our reserve team is currently top of the suburban league south head of the likes of afc wimbledon and tooting & mitcham speaks volumes for the depth of work at the club. it is hoped next year that the clubs youth team will compete in the newly formed ryman youth league thus cutting our links with sussex county league football. the club are proud of these achievements and the supporters should be also. i hope this is some explanation from those who currently run the club.

however success on the pitch can be achieved with the size of budget you have (ie chelsea), however football is meaningless without it's supporters. supporters bring atmosphere, they can be the heartbeat of a club both home and away. burgess hill has been extremely well served in the past and it would be sad to lose that support through lack of understanding of what is in front of us, playing ishtmian league football.

as i speak on this site (wednesday morning) there are currently nine people working at leylands park to bring the ground up to the new grading level for isthmian league, three of these people being first team players and when saturday comes they should be supported.

[sponge]

Thanks Dave. It's good to read the views of a club official. Information like this has been sadly lacking over the last couple of years. I appreciate the people running the club have a thousand and one other things to do but an updated and informative web site is important in keeping close ties with the supporters.
I think many of the missing supporters felt that things had got very stale, with little prospect of advancement in the forseeable future. Obviously the club is hindered by the facilities at Leylands Park and by a hostile council but it seemed that the club had reached the end of the road with regards to progression.
Some of the matches were also very poor and many have decided to take a break after many years loyal support and just do some other things for a change.
Work permitting,i will be back to see some games - especially the Dover game where i hope we give them a good beaing to shut that big mouth Parmenter up after his comments last season.