The main two benefits are the priority for away games with limited allocation and the valley gold draw for the chance to win some cash. Aside from that its meant to help fund the academy but after the Poyet fiasco it does make you question that side of it sometimes.
Well paying week in week out to fund the academy, which in turn helps the club, only for them to let Poyet's contract run out so he was free to leave for nothing. You cant stop someone leaving but you can tie them down when their contract is coming to an end so at least get some money back for the club to spend, after all the money that valley gold has contributed towards his success. Thats my feeling as a valley gold member anyway rightly or wrongly.
I know this is illogical but I feel less inclined to pay VG now that we have an owner who is worth gazillions. My £120 is a piss in the ocean compared to what Roly can, should and probably will put into the academy. The side benefits are neither here not there for me. Sorry if that's controversial but it's how I feel.
You can't force a player to sign a contract. Poyet had the benefit of a very priviledged background & didn't have to worry about the security that a contract would bring, that perhaps other players would have jumped at.
None of that is the fault of Valley Gold & we've seen the benefits over the last few years...Solly, Cousins, Fox, Harriott and now the emergence of Gomez and hopefully Daniel, Osborne & Pope.
But its only the last few months, now he is a top player that he didn't want to be tied down. My point is that when he was in the youth team with a year left on his contract we knew his was close to breaking into the first team and he had good potential to be something special. So why not offer him a 3/4 year contract? I think at the point he would of accepted as he would still of been a youth player and would most likely of jumped at that and we would now be sitting here about 5 million richer just for signing a piece of paper. Hopefully its a one off but we do have a lot of great youngsters who come through then naturally move on such as Jenkinson and Shelvey but if we keep loosing players for nothing because we are not giving them contracts when we have the chance then it does make you question the whole idea of paying every month.
I never said its the fault of the valley gold and we have seen some good results which does provide good value such as the names mentioned above but its the ones like Poyet that shouldn't be happening. I don't know for definite that he would of signed if he was offered a contract a year ago the same way no one knows that he would of refused to sign. But it would of been nice for it to have been offered, and to my knowledge nothing was offered to him a year or two ago. Hopefully we have learned from it and the likes of Gomez are tied down from an early stage so that if they do force a premiership move we can at least get something back for all the money that has been spent on them over the years.
But its only the last few months, now he is a top player that he didn't want to be tied down. My point is that when he was in the youth team with a year left on his contract we knew his was close to breaking into the first team and he had good potential to be something special. So why not offer him a 3/4 year contract? I think at the point he would of accepted as he would still of been a youth player and would most likely of jumped at that and we would now be sitting here about 5 million richer just for signing a piece of paper. Hopefully its a one off but we do have a lot of great youngsters who come through then naturally move on such as Jenkinson and Shelvey but if we keep loosing players for nothing because we are not giving them contracts when we have the chance then it does make you question the whole idea of paying every month.
The previous owners couldn't afford to let CP play Poyet let alone give him a new contract. Saying hopefully it's a one off and then saying if it keeps happening is pretty contradictory. I agree if there's evidence there is a problem then support for VG can be questioned but now, and historically, there's nothing pointing to the situation with Poyet being anything other than unique.
they bought 10 seater mini bus for the youth team.
and then realised that a football team has 11 players...
only our club could do that
I know you were joking but you do need a PSV operator licence for more than nine passengers. So what with the subs, coaching staff, man with the camera plus all the kit, they'd have to use two mini buses with Jason Euell driving one. It's a little known fact that having a driving licence is part of the UEFA A licence process. They're not called coaches for nothing.....
Sorry people MSE7 made a mistake. They purchased a 9 seated mini bus not 10. I don't no if that's better or worse. I stop my valley gold membership after this as I don't want my money being used as a joke
....and it's a way of giving priority to all those loyal arsenal/Chelsea/Man U/liverpool fans (who happen to be mates of a vg member) for Brighton away tickets.
I know I will get pelters from the great and the good but aren't the costs for the academy, mini buses, recruiting and development of new & young players all just standard running costs associated with a professional football club? Costs that should be covered by the clubs income?
I know I will get pelters from the great and the good but aren't the costs for the academy, mini buses, recruiting and development of new & young players all just standard running costs associated with a professional football club? Costs that should be covered by the clubs income?
And Valley Gold subscriptions make up that income. As do season tickets, burger sales, beer sales and so on.
When I was a kid and we sold one of our youngsters such as Billy Bonds and later the likes of Paul Elliott and Paul Walsh it hurt because I felt that we'd lost a player who could take us on to bigger and better things.
The same is true now but I've grown to accept that our youth system is there not necessarily to get us to the Premier League but to fund the Club when it can.
I say "when it can" because much of the time we cannot financially handcuff the young player to the extent that it makes losing him financially profitable to spend the money we do bringing both the successful and unsuccessful kids. For every Jonjo and Poyet there are probably a hundred boys that never make it.
I've contributed to Valley Gold since day one. But the initial "dream" of producing a team laden with our "boys" has long since gone if only for the fact that if they prove to be "that" good they will be off. Whether we like it or not because the power is now with the player and potential predatory club. And in most cases for a derisory amount compared to that player's ultimate value.
Last season players produced through our youth system started 136 League matches. So one could argue that equates to three of every starting line up. Except that 45 of those were Wilson and Green and their development is as much down to the clubs they've been with since they came back as much as what we did for them. And Poyet has now gone.
So, we're now down to two from last season's starting line up. And from what I see from most posters on here Saturday's starting X1 might only include Solly plus Cousins or Harriott. And one suspects that Solly would have been sold long time ago had his knees been in better repair.
So that does beg the question. Why am I still paying? I'm certainly not doing it for potentially winning (I've won £50 in all the time I've been in) or for any discounts. And I've contributed thousands in all that time.
Probably due to some misplaced loyalty called being a fan. Whether that "loyalty" will remain if we continue on the same road is debatable.
Comments
£10 a month doesn't control the minds and ambitions of 15-19 year old footballers
None of that is the fault of Valley Gold & we've seen the benefits over the last few years...Solly, Cousins, Fox, Harriott and now the emergence of Gomez and hopefully Daniel, Osborne & Pope.
So why not offer him a 3/4 year contract? I think at the point he would of accepted as he would still of been a youth player and would most likely of jumped at that and we would now be sitting here about 5 million richer just for signing a piece of paper. Hopefully its a one off but we do have a lot of great youngsters who come through then naturally move on such as Jenkinson and Shelvey but if we keep loosing players for nothing because we are not giving them contracts when we have the chance then it does make you question the whole idea of paying every month.
The previous owners couldn't afford to let CP play Poyet let alone give him a new contract. Saying hopefully it's a one off and then saying if it keeps happening is pretty contradictory. I agree if there's evidence there is a problem then support for VG can be questioned but now, and historically, there's nothing pointing to the situation with Poyet being anything other than unique.
and then realised that a football team has 11 players...
only our club could do that
cafc.co.uk/news/article/20140523-valley-gold-minibus-1571673.aspx
It's what charlton used to be about. Would love to see a real good striker come through the ranks
The same is true now but I've grown to accept that our youth system is there not necessarily to get us to the Premier League but to fund the Club when it can.
I say "when it can" because much of the time we cannot financially handcuff the young player to the extent that it makes losing him financially profitable to spend the money we do bringing both the successful and unsuccessful kids. For every Jonjo and Poyet there are probably a hundred boys that never make it.
I've contributed to Valley Gold since day one. But the initial "dream" of producing a team laden with our "boys" has long since gone if only for the fact that if they prove to be "that" good they will be off. Whether we like it or not because the power is now with the player and potential predatory club. And in most cases for a derisory amount compared to that player's ultimate value.
Last season players produced through our youth system started 136 League matches. So one could argue that equates to three of every starting line up. Except that 45 of those were Wilson and Green and their development is as much down to the clubs they've been with since they came back as much as what we did for them. And Poyet has now gone.
So, we're now down to two from last season's starting line up. And from what I see from most posters on here Saturday's starting X1 might only include Solly plus Cousins or Harriott. And one suspects that Solly would have been sold long time ago had his knees been in better repair.
So that does beg the question. Why am I still paying? I'm certainly not doing it for potentially winning (I've won £50 in all the time I've been in) or for any discounts. And I've contributed thousands in all that time.
Probably due to some misplaced loyalty called being a fan. Whether that "loyalty" will remain if we continue on the same road is debatable.