Comments on: The Monday Miscellany

By: Mike Martin

Mike Martin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:52:28 +0000

Thanks for that intelligence; I certainly will be there, supporting KMS (in a false beard and glasses, they know me at Pickering Town). It is £5 to get into Mill Lane for a NCEL Prem match, hope KMS can arrange some cut of raffle money (or organize your own in the hypothetical 'away end'.)

By: kmsfc

kmsfc — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:20:40 +0000

its a league ruling from the nrfa if you play a club with lights at this stage you either have to rent a ground with lights or go to theres,as the nearest grounds with lights to kms are guisboro,whitby,stokesly or marske who are all around the 25 mile mark it wasnt viable,the only issues we have is to speak to ptfc about the loss of sales in raffles or programmes and see if they will agree to some sort of joint effort on that part.but i am afraid it was taken out of the moorsiders hands and there was no skullduggery by the pikes,so i hope for the moorsiders sake nobody boycotts as on takings we will get as much if not more it costs a fiver to get in the pikes ground and only a couple of quid in kms..our secretary agreed to the date

By: Mike Martin

Mike Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:38:06 +0000

But it is possible that the NRFA have sanctioned the change of venue to make running the event easier. Which is fine for them but not great for Kirkbymoorside's bank balance, I imagine (it's sounding dangerously like we agree with each other).

I'll phone the FA tomorrow and try to find something out.

By: KMS_Supporter

KMS_Supporter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:12:12 +0000

All I know is that this weekend I spoke to several of the committee and non of them knew anything about any switch. They wanted the game to be played at KMS. They had not even had a meeting to talk about any possibility of a switch. Some expressed their amazement and anger that the date and venue were published in a newspaper without their knowledge. No one seems to know who gave the go ahead for this and questions are being asked. It would appear that someone connected with KMSFRC has agreed it but the Chairman, Treasurer and several others said it was not them. You know as much as me which is why I responded to your comment in the article saying we had sanctioned the change of venue to cut the running costs.

By: Mike Martin

Mike Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:59:29 +0000

So who from KFC gave consent to switch the fixture to Mill Lane? Or are you saying it has been done unilaterally, without anyone from the club's say-so? If the latter is the case then, I agree, it is wrong, but if so why were club staff telling me very soon after the draw that they were considering the move themselves?

By: KMSSupporter

KMSSupporter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:28:36 +0000

Yes the Thackley game has been rearranged. the following is taken from fixture list in last weeks Gazette & Herald. Pickering’s scheduled fixtures for next month are: Dunkirk (FA Vase, home), December 5; Thackley (home), December 12; Bridlington Town (home), December 15; Thackley (away), December 29

By: KMSSupporter

KMSSupporter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:23:38 +0000

Moving a fixture would cost the Wearside League nothing as they only publish fixtures a few weeks in advance anyway. Yes we did make a few additional arrangements for the Scarborough Athletic game a couple of years ago. I would add that at the time Athletic were playing in NCEL and fixtures were arranged so they could visit KMS on a Saturday. Similarly in Durham equivalent it should be noted that Crook Town (a team with a much greater history and profile than Pickering) were quite happy to travel to Boldon and play on a Saturday. I am sure that Northallerton will also do the same and travel to Scarborough Town. As for getting a larger crowd at Pickering – I very much doubt it as KMS would have had 200-300 for the game at home.

By: Mike Martin

Mike Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:49:03 +0000

Moving KMS league fixtures – as they would have had to do to accommodate a weekend cup match at the Rec ground – would inevitably cost the WFL time and effort, if not money.

And besides, there will be a bigger crowd at Pickering, so KMS's third of the gate receipts will be bigger than if it were in Kirkbymoorside. Might this offset the lost catering profits?

By: Mike Martin

Mike Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:45:32 +0000

I should point out that by 'reduce running costs' I meant for the NRFA, not necessarily for Kirkbymoorside FC. Have re-worded the article slightly.

By: Mike Martin

Mike Martin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:40:12 +0000

KMS Supporter: Who are you?

I spoke to a member of KMS coaching staff just after the draw was made and they were already considering the possibility of playing at Pickering for practical reasons, which I respect, though it's always preferable to stick with the draw, as I told him at the time. Who made the decision to switch the match? I doubt Pickering could do it unilaterally as organizing committees usually prefer to play matches as drawn. If some fans are boycotting, that's their lookout but personally, I'd rather go and support the team.

If it were as simple as money, I'm sure KMS would have stayed at home for the reasons you list, particularly bar takings. There must be more to it than meets the eye. Would KMS have had to improve some facility at short notice? Would police or stewards be required, given the likelihood of plenty of away fans? Plenty had to be done before the Scarborough match two years ago. If it were 'underhand' on KMS's part they'd be daft as they'll miss out on money which they need to upgrade the ground so they can enter the FA Vase and FA Cup; if it were 'underhand' on Pickering's part these questions need asking before we can accuse them of 'shady goings on'.

It may be the FA insisted the game be played midweek to minimize disruption to league fixtures; if that is the case, KMS could not play at home as they have no floodlights. And I'm not sure Thackley v Pickering has been re-arranged, it is down on Pickering's fixture list as an ordinary Saturday afternoon kick-off.