The Vanarama Non-League Football Thread

[Lineker]

Quote

Salford co-owner Gary Neville has been accused by Accrington owner Andy Holt of attempting to “steal” a place in the EFL after the Vanarama National League newcomers signed Adam Rooney from Aberdeen.

Striker Rooney left last season’s Ladbrokes Premiership runners-up on Thursday to join Salford for an undisclosed fee, with it reported that he will be earning £4,000 a week. And later in the day there was a tetchy exchange between Holt, whose side won Sky Bet League Two last term, and Neville on Twitter.

Holt responded to a post that apparently made reference to the Rooney deal by posting a message including the line: “Who’s place in the football league is @GNev2 going to steal with this p**s take.”

Neville replied on his official account with a message that said: “Steal! I hope it’s yours now! 5 ex players have matched all investment with our co-owner to build a stadium, build a successful team in a city we love and invest in football. We’ve invested millions.

“You seem to want a franchise league where the established can’t be challenged!”

Holt replied with: “What’s you budget Gary? You’re buying your way in, that’s the word on the street.”

And after Neville then tweeted “they have players on a lot more money than ours...I bet he’s pumping money in to keep his club competing!! Come on tell us Mr Chairman?”, Holt wrote: “So far our net wage bill for league 1 next season is £932,000. That’s out of a budget of £1.1m Your turn Gary.”

Neville then wrote: “I don’t know. We don’t run our club right! Only poor little Accrington do!! We put a lot of money in and aren’t embarrassed about it but you think I’m going to disclose my wages on here? He wants Franchise Football.”

Holt replied: “I don’t Gaz. But neither do I want the Wild West. It’s a casino now all the way to the top and you know it.”

Holt subsequently wrote that his proposal would be “an absolute cap on squad spending.”

When contacted by Press Association Sport, the National League said it would not be commenting on the matter. Salford have five ‘Class of 92’ former Manchester United players as co-owners in Neville, his brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, plus businessman Peter Lim. Since the group took control of the club in 2014, the Ammies have been promoted three times.

As well as Rooney, Salford also this week signed midfielder Danny Lloyd from Accrington’s fellow League One side Peterborough.

[The Lusophone]

Is this the same Andrew Holt who owns What More UK Ltd, a company which had an operating profit of almost £6 million in 2016, has equity of almost £20 million and who had allegedly put more than £2 million into the club less than a year after buying it in 2015? The same Andrew Holt who is a multi-millionaire in his own right?

[Adam]

Difference is he put that money in to save his local club from financial ruin and hasn't bankrolled them up the leagues since. They operate pretty modestly and hugely overachieved by winning promotion from League Two last season. They will still have one of the smallest budgets in League One this season regardless of Holt's personal wealth because he runs the club in a way where it can be sustainable whether he's there or not, which is the same thing Doncaster's very wealthy ownership team do and I wouldn't have it any other way because I have faith that when they leave, my club will still be able to function. If the Class of 92/Peter Lim got bored of their little Salford side project next week, that club that has existed for decades will be in big, big trouble.

The irony of Gary Neville trying to claim the owner of Accrington Stanley wants franchised football. Until ten years ago Salford had never ventured further than the North West Counties League, played in orange & black and bore no resemblance to the Man Utd tribute act they now are. I'm all for well off people helping their local clubs to survive and compete* but now they've got close to the promised land of the Football League they are chucking ridiculous amounts of money at it and I don't disagree with Andy Holt at all.

They are outspending the majority of the Scottish Premier League and buying players from League One clubs paying them more money in the process. That is not sustainable or fair to the competition, he waffled on to that Select Committee the other day about grassroots football but his actions at Salford belie that attitude. How will clubs like Bromley, Boreham Wood and Solihull feel rocking up to Salford for a league game this season and feeling like they may as well not bother because their opponents are playing with resources worth the rest of the division combined?

 

*Not to mention the Class of 92 have just picked the club nearest to Man Utd that had basically the least amount of history and structure with which to craft their vanity project. The Nevilles are lifelong Bury fans, Scholes the same with Oldham and Peter Lim as far as I can tell is just one of Gary's mates who happens to have billions in the bank.

[DavidMarrio]

I agree...the class of 92 can fuck off

Nah I think it's a really well written point. Although I admire the fact that they want to help the local community and invest in the area, it is hypocritical for them to suggest that teams like Accrington want franchise football. The closest Accrington have probably ever been to being franchised was being used as an insult in a milk advert. 

Salford are essentially being bank rolled by famous ex Man Utd players and their rich mate. They've shot up the league ladder and the money they have has helped as it has opened the door to resources they wouldn't have had and that other teams wish they could have . They can target players and offer wages that other teams can't and they've had spotlights from the media that other teams won't have such as documentaries and the likelihood of being put on TV for football games. I bet any money that come next season's FA Cup one of the early rounds a Salford City game will be on T.V.

At the same time, there's nothing wrong with it as that's their right as owners of the club's to do and you always get teams that will be bank rolled. That's just what happens. Teams have had owners splash the cash but done it unwisely and it's ended up costing them such as Portsmouth who splurged a ton of cash and ended up in a mess. If Salford are being sustainable and within their means then it's okay. 

[MDK]

Dunkin Donuts, pull your finger out and splash a bit of cash.

[King Ellis]

Leyton Orient: Club appeal for fans with male dogs to help rid fox problem

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Leyton Orient are hoping fans with male dogs can help their bid to remove some unwanted 'foxes in the box'.

Foxes have been regularly spotted on National League Orient's Brisbane Road pitch in recent weeks.

Such is the problem, the club has issued an appeal to any fans who can walk their dog around the ground during mornings and late afternoons.

"It's thought a dog's presence will help prevent further pitch invasions," Orient said in a short statement.

Interested candidates should apply to the club's marketing department - and very advanced dogs can put their names forward themselves!

@MDK

Wobble Chops' moment of glory.

[MDK]

You gotta love non-league.

[Nelson]

On 20/07/2018 at 14:41, Adam es Tranquilo said:

Difference is he put that money in to save his local club from financial ruin and hasn't bankrolled them up the leagues since. They operate pretty modestly and hugely overachieved by winning promotion from League Two last season. They will still have one of the smallest budgets in League One this season regardless of Holt's personal wealth because he runs the club in a way where it can be sustainable whether he's there or not, which is the same thing Doncaster's very wealthy ownership team do and I wouldn't have it any other way because I have faith that when they leave, my club will still be able to function. If the Class of 92/Peter Lim got bored of their little Salford side project next week, that club that has existed for decades will be in big, big trouble.

The irony of Gary Neville trying to claim the owner of Accrington Stanley wants franchised football. Until ten years ago Salford had never ventured further than the North West Counties League, played in orange & black and bore no resemblance to the Man Utd tribute act they now are. I'm all for well off people helping their local clubs to survive and compete* but now they've got close to the promised land of the Football League they are chucking ridiculous amounts of money at it and I don't disagree with Andy Holt at all.

They are outspending the majority of the Scottish Premier League and buying players from League One clubs paying them more money in the process. That is not sustainable or fair to the competition, he waffled on to that Select Committee the other day about grassroots football but his actions at Salford belie that attitude. How will clubs like Bromley, Boreham Wood and Solihull feel rocking up to Salford for a league game this season and feeling like they may as well not bother because their opponents are playing with resources worth the rest of the division combined?

 

*Not to mention the Class of 92 have just picked the club nearest to Man Utd that had basically the least amount of history and structure with which to craft their vanity project. The Nevilles are lifelong Bury fans, Scholes the same with Oldham and Peter Lim as far as I can tell is just one of Gary's mates who happens to have billions in the bank.

Northern Premier League First Division North 😛

They went up one in 2004 when the Conference was re-structured.

You could say the same about Man City, Chelsea, Wolves and quite a few clubs in the Premier League and I'm sure there's a few in the Football League too that are bank rolled. The difference at Salford, they're not just investing millions into the playing squad. They've re-built the stadium pretty much from scratch, they spent a huge amount on the Academy '92, started multiple under age teams and I believe they're planning a women's team. Basically, they've spent their own money getting more local kids playing football but want the senior club at a decent level to give these kids something real to strive for. A lot of that determination for the kids would go if they were still playing in the 8th tier and if not and had the potential, they'd be snapped up by someone else.

[Adam]

Ten years ago, in 2008, they were promoted from the North West Counties league for the first time, not sure where you're looking but they played in that league since it's inception in the early 80s and never got any higher until promotion in 2008.

My point stands regardless, they were a nothing club who nobody has ever heard of, and I certainly include the "Class of 92" in that.

It's good they're building an entire club up, benefitting the community etc. I'm not saying they're some evil organisation hell-bent on world domination, I'm pointing out the very obvious fact that they are buying their way into the Football League by operating on a playing field far above that of their 23 opponents in the division.

It goes against the principal notion of sport which is fair competition in my opinion. And the sheer hypocrisy of Neville labelling Accrington's owner someone who wants franchised football is laughable beyond belief because what he and his rich mates have done at Salford is exactly what a franchise club is: take an existing outfit with decades of history and change every single thing about it with money to suit your own ends. Kit colour, ground, identity etc. etc.

I've said all I want to say on this already. I don't agree at all with what Wolves are doing either and despise the way clubs like Chelsea and Man City bought their places at the top table. I loathe the way football has become thanks to clubs like this and that goes from the very top with Chelsea and City down through the leagues taking in Salford, Billericay, Whitehawk and numerous others.

[MDK]

2 hours ago, Adam es Tranquilo said:

It's good they're building an entire club up, benefitting the community etc. I'm not saying they're some evil organisation hell-bent on world domination, I'm pointing out the very obvious fact that they are buying their way into the Football League by operating on a playing field far above that of their 23 opponents in the division.

 

Ahem.

[Nelson]

19 hours ago, Adam es Tranquilo said:

Ten years ago, in 2008, they were promoted from the North West Counties league for the first time, not sure where you're looking but they played in that league since it's inception in the early 80s and never got any higher until promotion in 2008.

My point stands regardless, they were a nothing club who nobody has ever heard of, and I certainly include the "Class of 92" in that.

It's good they're building an entire club up, benefitting the community etc. I'm not saying they're some evil organisation hell-bent on world domination, I'm pointing out the very obvious fact that they are buying their way into the Football League by operating on a playing field far above that of their 23 opponents in the division.

It goes against the principal notion of sport which is fair competition in my opinion. And the sheer hypocrisy of Neville labelling Accrington's owner someone who wants franchised football is laughable beyond belief because what he and his rich mates have done at Salford is exactly what a franchise club is: take an existing outfit with decades of history and change every single thing about it with money to suit your own ends. Kit colour, ground, identity etc. etc.

I've said all I want to say on this already. I don't agree at all with what Wolves are doing either and despise the way clubs like Chelsea and Man City bought their places at the top table. I loathe the way football has become thanks to clubs like this and that goes from the very top with Chelsea and City down through the leagues taking in Salford, Billericay, Whitehawk and numerous others.

This time 10 years ago, they were between seasons of their last in the NW Counties and the Northern Premier so we're both right!

I fully understand your point. From a personal perspective, I do prefer how they were before, simply because before they did the ground up, I enjoyed sitting on the grass banking watching the match, but that's gone now in favour of the bog standard rectangle stadium! I'll also never forget the season when they were bottom of the Northern Premier First Division with 10 games left and on 4 points, then went on to win 9 of the last 10 and stayed up on the last day under Rhodri Giggs (of all people!).

I'll always back them because I remember when I used to be jealous of places like Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and at that time, Altringham, Hyde and Droylsden having Football League or top to near top level non-League clubs in Manchester but my area didn't so it's great to have that now and a proper alternative local to Man Utd and City.

[MDK]

I'm at work and this is on tele

[Rich]

Orient drew with Salford!  They are going up!

[MDK]

Unbeaten this season! We are the invincibles!

[9 to 5]

4 minutes ago, MDK said:

Unbeaten this season! We are the invincibles!

No, us!

[MDK]

Just now, 9 to 5 said:

No, us!

We are all invincible on this blessed day!

[Lineker]

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A London non-league football club’s away kit has become a surprise hit in Spain, because of the anti-fascist message embroidered into it. Clapton Community FC have taken more than 5,400 pre-orders for their shirts, after pictures of the kit gained media attention on the continent.

The red, purple and yellow shirt was worn for the first time last Saturday, and the colour scheme is inspired by the International Brigades who fought in the Spanish civil war. The back of the shirt features the slogan “no pasarán”, meaning “they shall not pass”, which was used by anti-fascist fighters in the 1930s. It also features the three-pointed star of the International Brigades, and was released to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict.

The shirt design was chosen after members voted from a selection of 16 kits, and the designer, writing on the Clapton CFC website, said: “I really wanted to make something that marked the importance of the sacrifice of those who fought against fascism.”

The club said they only expected to sell about 250 shirts this season. The kit is manufactured by the Italian firm Rage Sports, chosen specifically by the club because it is a small, ethical manufacturer that sources its materials from companies that agree to pay workers fairly. Rage Sports produces kits for grassroots football clubs that are specifically involved in fighting racism, fascism and inequality.

Maurizio Affuso, who works for Rage, is  as saying: “Rage Sport will always be there for the Clapton fans because like them we believe in a new way of doing football and because we strongly believe some battles can be fought both on and off the pitch.”

The unprecedented interest is not without its drawbacks. Volunteers have been working all week to handle orders and respond to a multitude of messages sent to the club via social media and email, and on Thursday the team announced they had paused new orders for the shirt “while we and our supplier catch up with the sudden huge number of orders”.

The national secretary of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, Jim Jump, said: “We’re delighted that the shirt highlights the sacrifice made by those who joined the International Brigades, and we are excited that some of the income from the shirts will enable us to work with Clapton CFC on education and memorial initiatives here in the UK.”

The club said they would use some of the money to help with running costs, but were earmarking funds to be donated to the memorial trust, which helps to preserve the memory of those who travelled to Spain to fight in the war.

Clapton CFC have only existed since February, when they were set up in response to a dispute between fans and owners of Clapton FC.

The Clapton Ultras – as their enthusiastic and political supporters had come to be known – boycotted home games at the club’s historic Old Spotted Dog Ground for the whole of the 2017-18 season, after the chief executive attempted to liquidate the charity running the club, who had been playing at the ground since 1888.

Clapton CFC will compete in the Middlesex Counties football league, and are temporarily based in Walthamstow, east London. They said they hoped to fulfil all the shirt orders within two months, and asked purchasers to “please be patient with us because no one could have expected this level of demand”.

The designer, Thom, added on the website: “We have always been known as fans who do not accept racism, sexism and homophobia, so it made total sense. We didn’t expect our tiny club to be noticed by Spanish football fans but we’re delighted nonetheless.”

[MDK]

3-1 against Barnet! Undefeated! Rockin' all over the world!

[MDK]

And 3-0 against previously undefeated Harrowgate! Easy stuff.

[MDK]

Its Non-League day this weekend so your local club might be selling tickets on the cheap.

You might miss out on stuff like this: