SKINT

Printed in the Southern League South and West League match v Newport Isle of Wight, Saturday 27th October. We beat the bottom team 2-0 in front of 211.

How much does it cost to run a football club at Slough Town’s level? Now Martyn Deaner has gone, so has his money, so who is paying the bills?

While we have a much better deal at Beaconsfield, it still costs £400 a game for hire and hospitality. And while are gates are hovering just over the 200 mark, 84 of those are season ticket holders who have paid up front and then there’s the complimentaries.

With a reduced wage bill this has meant younger players coming into the squad and most would agree that’s a very good thing. It’s great to see youth team coach and local lad Tony Thompson at games. They are the future of the club and anyone who says you can’t win anything with just local players should get a history lesson from the Terry Reardon side of the eighties.

So how can you help? As Alan Harding points out “On the finance front with the loss of Martyn Deaner and obviously with a groundshare agreement the Club has very limited resources in regards to income, and contrary to some popular belief, securing sponsorship from local companies is NOT an easy task, and never has been - even when we have been top of the Conference league! However the football management committee have put together a highly professional brochure, which in itself deserves a response.

“Hopefully if the new stadium gets planning approval, this might be the positive bandwagon that the Club needs for local business to jump onto. In the meantime however we have to rely on grass roots industry. In that respect you cannot underestimate the importance of supporter contributions on and above their admission fees. So far this season every match (bar one) has been sponsored by supporters, either as individuals or collectively (i.e The Barmy Army). Every supporter has his/her own financial restraints that has to be respected, but just small contributions can accumulate into decent revenue. i,e Kit sponsorship, as little as £10 for socks (a total of £2000 can be achieved from all kit items for players being sponsored).

Sponsor a Goal. In the event of a miracle that Slough score 100 goals this season, somebody pledging 10p a goal would only pay £10 over the entire season, but this scheme has brought in over a thousand in previous seasons. Fifty-Fifty Draw on matchdays for £1 per ticket, another way people can contribute with a chance of winning some money.”

While I don’t want to mention the C word, now is the time to start selling Christmas raffle tickets. Maybe you could help Alan and the gang to flog some before the game or help them with the 50/50 draw?

Then there’s the buy at scheme, where you can shop on line with a percentage going to the club. So far this has raised over £400.

Maybe you’ve got some old programmes lying around. Donate them to Sue at the clubshop so she can flog them and raise some cash. And if you get a complimentary ticket, well maybe stick it in the bin and pay at the gate!

If you’re not feeling financially flushed, why not help out on match days. If you read Alan Harding’s ‘Getting to Know’ piece in the programme you’ll see there’s always plenty of work that needs doing on matchdays (mind you i don’t think you’ll be seeing supporters moving sand onto the pitch at Beaconsfield like we did at Windsor last season).

Just how hard it is to get local companies on board can be seen by the fact that of 308 letters sent out, so far only there has been only five responses. Four of which said no while just one said they would consider it. Despite the offer of complimentary tickets for a match if they brought the letter, none have taken up that option either. So maybe you know a local company that you could approach as it’s much more likely to get support with a personal touch.

It’s our club and the more of us that get involved the stronger it becomes. With a new ground on the horizon there has never been a more important time to get involved and build a new, improved Slough Town community football club.

* If you want to get involved in match days speak to Alan Harding, Mike Lightfoot or Chris Sliski

* If you want to donate regularly to the Barmy Army see Roger behind the goal – a fiver for every home game you attend.

* If you want more information on the buy it scheme go to http://www.buy.at/sloughtownfc