Positive that RD was willing to put money in January to try and get us promoted. That may have been more realistic and he not dicked about in August. I would like to see us keep Bulot next season (didn't think I'd be saying that two weeks ago) but weird that KM describes him as 'expensive', i.e. unrealistic when she'd already stated RD was willing to put some cash in.
Whatever we do in the summer, we need to keep the current squad together, bar Buyens maybe and resist any bids for Igor, Gomez, Watt or JBG. If we can add to this group with 2-3 more signings, most likely a forward, central midfielder winger and maybe a left back then we could challenge the top six.
A Reading forward being on £25k isn't a massive shock, they were a Premier League side not so long ago and I imagine it's someone they've struggled to shift since then. The only one that fits that description is Pogrebnyak.
The siting of the building is very sensitive because the land is zoned as green space and its openness is the key characteristic. The community - and Greenwich University - use, as well as being key to the original funding, is part of the reason the club was able to overcome the planning policy objections and get the previous scheme passed. Consequently they are likely to find it difficult to get permission for a more obtrusive building with more limited community use. They also wanted residential accommodation, which I don't see the council allowing.
Of course without seeing the plans this is hypothetical. They evidently had a pre-planning advice meeting a fortnight ago and the planners will have raised any initial concerns there. Their professional advisers should also have told them what is likely to be acceptable, although whether RD listens is obviously questionable.
I imagine Eagles and Johnson were on £25k pw or similar not so long ago.
When they became free agents I guess their wages demands went down.
Good point, but by 50%? If it was Pogrebnyak then we dodged a bullet anyway. I'm not so sure a Luzon team needs a target man, but we do need another forward. He should have some say in the type of player he wants at least.
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
Cheers, that does make sense.
Maybe KM is more realistic and aware of what is going on as she is on-site.
Shame she's not doing any more of these Q & As soon : - )
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
He may underestimate how difficult it is to get out of this league, but he can do maths right? To get promoted from our position in January we would have to win virtually every game left of the season. Assuming he really does watch all of our games (not convinced on that one), he'd know how badly we were playing and how long it had been since a win. KM turned the offer down because she would have been sacked had we then not achieved promotion.
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
He may underestimate how difficult it is to get out of this league, but he can do maths right? To get promoted from our position in January we would have to win virtually every game left of the season. Assuming he really does watch all of our games (not convinced on that one), he'd know how badly we were playing and how long it had been since a win. KM turned the offer down because she would have been sacked had we then not achieved promotion.
Could be KM is sending him a stream of man U and doctoring the commentary with a belgian applying Charlton player names to the players.
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
Cheers, that does make sense.
Maybe KM is more realistic and aware of what is going on as she is on-site.
Shame she's not doing any more of these Q & As soon : - )
Is the Bromley meeting member only? If so can one join on the night?
I sincerely hope the Sparrows Lane development is not abandoned, and an awkward Local Authority isn't held up as the reason/excuse. It ought to be possible to agree details, and have the trucks running down Sparrows Lane on October 21st this year as indicated.
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
Cheers, that does make sense.
Maybe KM is more realistic and aware of what is going on as she is on-site.
Shame she's not doing any more of these Q & As soon : - )
Is the Bromley meeting member only? If so can one join on the night?
You can join in advance by emailing Tony Warran (tony.warran@btinternet.com) our membership secretary.
We don't want to make it join on the night as we're expecting a decent turn out and it will be busy.
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
He may underestimate how difficult it is to get out of this league, but he can do maths right? To get promoted from our position in January we would have to win virtually every game left of the season. Assuming he really does watch all of our games (not convinced on that one), he'd know how badly we were playing and how long it had been since a win. KM turned the offer down because she would have been sacked had we then not achieved promotion.
Could be KM is sending him a stream of man U and doctoring the commentary with a belgian applying Charlton player names to the players.
I sincerely hope the Sparrows Lane development is not abandoned, and an awkward Local Authority isn't held up as the reason/excuse. I ought to be possible to agree details, and have the trucks running down Sparrows Lane on October 21st this year as indicated.
Planning is a process not just a decision. If Charlton are realistic in what they want and engage properly with the council there will be a successful outcome - especially as there is an existing consent, which is a material consideration in planning law.
Genuine question, are our various supporters groups linked, do the Chairpersons meet with each other and do they have any official direct links to CAFC?
Is there a list of contacts for the various clubs?
The siting of the building is very sensitive because the land is zoned as green space and its openness is the key characteristic. The community - and Greenwich University - use, as well as being key to the original funding, is part of the reason the club was able to overcome the planning policy objections and get the previous scheme passed. Consequently they are likely to find it difficult to get permission for a more obtrusive building with more limited community use. They also wanted residential accommodation, which I don't see the council allowing.
Of course without seeing the plans this is hypothetical. They evidently had a pre-planning advice meeting a fortnight ago and the planners will have raised any initial concerns there. Their professional advisers should also have told them what is likely to be acceptable, although whether RD listens is obviously questionable.
This is how I see this....... It does seem strange that the Football foundation were happy to give a generous grant towards this, partly I assume that the original planning application that was a joint application beetween the Community trust and CAFC.In fact the various PDF's in support of the original application mentioned the Community trust, from my recollection 'community use'. i.e. local football clubs, and community groups could use these resources, or at least part of them. I have requested that the supporters trust be updated with resubmission, update/ammendment as we ourselves supported the original application. But as Airman mentions without seeing the 'new plans' revised or ammended etc, they will be judged on there merit. To date neither the planning regional officer, or the ward councillors have updated me with any information. I therefore assume that no actual planning resubmission has been lodged. ( or processed at present)
I do find the "you can buy three expensive players if we are going to go up" unrealistic.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
This was in response to the question about how keen he is to get into the Premier League. KM was pointing out that he seems to think that it is (not easy but) a lot less complicated to get promoted. To be fair this conversation might have taken place before the January window opened. I don't think she gave a specific date and on the basis that player signings can take a long time I guess it could have been as far back as November, when we were just a few points behind 6th.
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
Cheers, that does make sense.
Maybe KM is more realistic and aware of what is going on as she is on-site.
Shame she's not doing any more of these Q & As soon : - )
Is the Bromley meeting member only? If so can one join on the night?
Sorry Henry I should have looked it up. I have done that now and I don't think I can make the 19th.
There was, a long time ago, a supporters club of which the regional groups were branches. But the central supporters' club is now defunct so groups like Bromley, Eltham etc are independent.
They and other groups such as the disabled supporters are all part of the the Fans Forum so yes they have official and direct links to the club. Most of the chair people meet this way although many knew each other before via Charlton games and other events.
as always it is on the OS : - )
Ian Wallis (Bromley Addicks) 01689 860980 IanLWallis@aol.com.
KHA, thanks very much for taking the time and trouble to report. It is greatly appreciated.
I tend to agree with the comments you make re KM. Whilst appearing to be a very nice person, she does appear to be somewhat out of her depth. Having said that, she is also lacking the support, that previous incumbents had and I'm talking all round support from many angles.
It seems clear to me that, she doesn't want supporters intefering and I can understand that, because they will ask all sorts of questions, which she cannot answer, without dropping RD & herself in it.
It's her misinformation (to be generous) that rankles with me the most. It can't all be due to being out of her depth, lacking the necessary support.
Regarding EKA/Ross. I believe EKA are perfectly entitled to do as they please.
Ross has come across as very harsh, but no doubt he's on the defensive after I presume being upset by previous perceived or real criticism on CL.
Anyway, we all support CAFC, so let's try and stick together.
I imagine Eagles and Johnson were on £25k pw or similar not so long ago.
When they became free agents I guess their wages demands went down.
Eagles wages have gone down from what he was looking for, it wasn't long ago he turned us down through wage demands/stature of the club. (Bolton were allowing him to talk to us and come to us at the time). Modern footballers for you, £££.
I imagine Eagles and Johnson were on £25k pw or similar not so long ago.
When they became free agents I guess their wages demands went down.
Eagles wages have gone down from what he was looking for, it wasn't long ago he turned us down through wage demands/stature of the club. (Bolton were allowing him to talk to us and come to us at the time). Modern footballers for you, £££.
Hmmm - that was not what he said in his interview after the Wigan game - said Bolton wouldn't let him talk to us. Then again, he also said he'd play for Charlton for free, and I doubt that.
"She explained about Reza going out on loan Apparently he had a good World Cup and he was in demand and he wanted to benefit from the high wages that he could earn for a year or two. "
The lady needs to just tell us the truth, that is all. I know for a fact that it was nothing to do with wages, he wanted out of our club within weeks of signing for us, he didn't settle in London/adapt to the football club/style.
It wouldn't hurt us that much to just say Reza wasn't a fit mould for CAFC so we loaned him out as per his request, aka the truth. In fact it's better than a porky, thinking we would all believe that.
Thank you KHA, you did exactly what us distant supporters want. We do not need a video, (although that was interesting in the VIP meeting), we do not need a word for word report, just a general idea as to what was said, which you seem to make a very good job of. Even little snippets of questions and answers help us get an idea of what the management are doing. Once again thank you
Hi @Ross hope you don't mind me addressing a couple of your points. You've been posting on regularly for a long time pal, so i'm disappointed simply by the fact you clearly feel you have to be so defensive. We set up the is site for the benefit of Charlton supporters, be it individuals looking for somewhere to converse or maybe make new friends / contacts, but equally we've always wanted to be supportive of the fan groups as the strength of the club support can be really impacted by how successful these groups operate. So we have always been more than happy to provide effectively free advertising to plug and promote all the groups, if they so wish. And if there is a feeling that this site has proived unhelpful to you as a group, lets talk offline as we would love to address that more positively.
Of course you are 100% right, as a committee it is your group and its nobody else's business how you go about yours. And what you are getting for your meetings (i think) are really impressive figures. Its just a bit of a shame you've decided to take an insular approach to it all though. For any type of group, personally i see it as important to get your name out there as much as you can (in the right way and at the right times). Once you're originally core starts to drift away over time, it is hard then to draw in more members by taking that kind of approach.
Henry has worked this brilliantly for Bromley over the years and and i'm sure he will tell you they have benefited significantly in terms of memberships or people attending meetings who have done so through his flagging on here, especially people outside Bromley's catchment area. Barnie i'm sure will tell you the same with the Trust, particularly for the early meetings / committe formation.
You may well think if we mention this here or there, then we probably won't get anyone new turn up, but even so, its all general awareness to a few thousand people and helps give your group branding a more established wider appeal. I remember we helped signifcantly flag your first meeting back in Oct 10, and the early ones that followed, so i'd like to hope we had an impact on helping you get that 400 membership in even a small way. Its likely you guys we moved to give it a go in terms of starting that group in the first place through having followed the updates of the other likewise groups that post on here or elsewhere, so just giving (even if its just an illusion) the idea that we have strong network of supporter groups can be nothing but positive for us as a fan base.
As an aside, I've just looked at a breakdown of our visitor stats for the last month, and we received over 5,000 visits from Canterbury alone, so can assure you we have readership in your area.
I know John got a bit of stick for his 'going to ground' approach around one of the Slater meetings, but i think a lot of that was tongue in cheek, and certainly the ongoing follow up stuff about EKA being a secret society is definitely leg pulling, because if truth be told, i don't think anyone really cares that much!
Anyway, good luck with your group, hope it continues to go from strength to strength no matter what approach you take, and if we can help in any way then you know where we are!
Comments
Whatever we do in the summer, we need to keep the current squad together, bar Buyens maybe and resist any bids for Igor, Gomez, Watt or JBG. If we can add to this group with 2-3 more signings, most likely a forward, central midfielder winger and maybe a left back then we could challenge the top six.
A Reading forward being on £25k isn't a massive shock, they were a Premier League side not so long ago and I imagine it's someone they've struggled to shift since then. The only one that fits that description is Pogrebnyak.
When they became free agents I guess their wages demands went down.
Of course without seeing the plans this is hypothetical. They evidently had a pre-planning advice meeting a fortnight ago and the planners will have raised any initial concerns there. Their professional advisers should also have told them what is likely to be acceptable, although whether RD listens is obviously questionable.
Even if we got three very good players we still couldn't guarantee promotion. And we were about 19th or 20th at the time.
The time to splash out was when we were top 6 back in August but we were told by KM that Roland might spend in January if we were still challenging.
Roland didn't spend and injuries and loss of form in a tiny squad meant we were no longer challenging. His money of course but chicken and egg.
And how does all that fit in with breaking even?
Sorry I wasn't trying to mislead. However, I got the impression that she was making the same point as you - that it was unrealistic and that is why she declined the players with the condition that she had to deliver promotion.
With an owner as wealthy as he is I think I would have rather that she took the players anyway but I guess she doesn't want to lose her job. It's not as though RD has a reputation of being extremely tolerant of failure! ;-)
Maybe KM is more realistic and aware of what is going on as she is on-site.
Shame she's not doing any more of these Q & As soon : - )
It ought to be possible to agree details, and have the trucks running down Sparrows Lane on October 21st this year as indicated.
We don't want to make it join on the night as we're expecting a decent turn out and it will be busy.
Or give me a five tomorrow whichever is easier.
Is there a list of contacts for the various clubs?
But as Airman mentions without seeing the 'new plans' revised or ammended etc, they will be judged on there merit. To date neither the planning regional officer, or the ward councillors have updated me with any information. I therefore assume that no actual planning resubmission has been lodged. ( or processed at present)
Thanks.
There was, a long time ago, a supporters club of which the regional groups were branches. But the central supporters' club is now defunct so groups like Bromley, Eltham etc are independent.
They and other groups such as the disabled supporters are all part of the the Fans Forum so yes they have official and direct links to the club. Most of the chair people meet this way although many knew each other before via Charlton games and other events.
as always it is on the OS : - )
Ian Wallis (Bromley Addicks) 01689 860980 IanLWallis@aol.com.
Heather Robertson (Charlton Athletic Disabled Supporters' Association) cadsa@cafc.co.uk.
Richard Wiseman (Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust) secretary@castrust.org.
Peter Catlin (East Kent Addicks) 01233 861313 petecatlin@talktalk.net.
Carl Matthews (Eltham Addicks) 0208 853 9029 burgarboydom@hotmail.co.uk.
Syd Cheesewright (Group Rail Travel) 0208 688 3916.
John Bennett (Hastings and Bexhill) editor@fireworks-mag.org.
Sue Townsend (Maidstone & The Weald) 01732 521691 sue.casc@blueyonder.co.uk.
Jean Huelin (North-West Kent Addicks) 07757 661403 jeanhuelin@sky.com.
Christine Lawrie (Reminiscence Group) 0208 244 5514 alex.lawrie@freeuk.com.
Matt Ring (West Sussex & Brighton CASC) Matt.ring1985@gmail.com.
John Bennett (Valley Away) editor@fireworks-mag.org.
Vernon Roper (Valley Express) 07842 170455 vernon.roper@virgin.net.
Sharron Sherress (Valley Gold) 020-8244 7771 / sharron.sherress@cafc.co.uk
Craig Parrett (VIP Season Ticket Representative) Craig_CAFC_VIP@Yahoo.co.uk.
David Wood (West Country) 07812 011031 davidgwood@tiscali.co.uk.
International Representatives
Terry Hastings (Australia / New Zealand) addicksdownunder@yahoo.com.
Lars Liljegren (Sweden ) lars@addicks.se.
Read more at http://www.cafc.co.uk/fans/fans_forum/index.aspx#pWKY05hFtZ1RP46l.99
You'll see that the Museum is shamefully excluded from this group : - )
I tend to agree with the comments you make re KM. Whilst appearing to be a very nice person, she does appear to be somewhat out of her depth. Having said that, she is also lacking the support, that previous incumbents had and I'm talking all round support from many angles.
It seems clear to me that, she doesn't want supporters intefering and I can understand that, because they will ask all sorts of questions, which she cannot answer, without dropping RD & herself in it.
It's her misinformation (to be generous) that rankles with me the most. It can't all be due to being out of her depth, lacking the necessary support.
Regarding EKA/Ross. I believe EKA are perfectly entitled to do as they please.
Ross has come across as very harsh, but no doubt he's on the defensive after I presume being upset by previous perceived or real criticism on CL.
Anyway, we all support CAFC, so let's try and stick together.
What lucky man were you staring at when you asked the lovely Katrien a question, KHA? :-)
The lady needs to just tell us the truth, that is all. I know for a fact that it was nothing to do with wages, he wanted out of our club within weeks of signing for us, he didn't settle in London/adapt to the football club/style.
It wouldn't hurt us that much to just say Reza wasn't a fit mould for CAFC so we loaned him out as per his request, aka the truth. In fact it's better than a porky, thinking we would all believe that.
Of course you are 100% right, as a committee it is your group and its nobody else's business how you go about yours. And what you are getting for your meetings (i think) are really impressive figures. Its just a bit of a shame you've decided to take an insular approach to it all though. For any type of group, personally i see it as important to get your name out there as much as you can (in the right way and at the right times). Once you're originally core starts to drift away over time, it is hard then to draw in more members by taking that kind of approach.
Henry has worked this brilliantly for Bromley over the years and and i'm sure he will tell you they have benefited significantly in terms of memberships or people attending meetings who have done so through his flagging on here, especially people outside Bromley's catchment area. Barnie i'm sure will tell you the same with the Trust, particularly for the early meetings / committe formation.
You may well think if we mention this here or there, then we probably won't get anyone new turn up, but even so, its all general awareness to a few thousand people and helps give your group branding a more established wider appeal. I remember we helped signifcantly flag your first meeting back in Oct 10, and the early ones that followed, so i'd like to hope we had an impact on helping you get that 400 membership in even a small way. Its likely you guys we moved to give it a go in terms of starting that group in the first place through having followed the updates of the other likewise groups that post on here or elsewhere, so just giving (even if its just an illusion) the idea that we have strong network of supporter groups can be nothing but positive for us as a fan base.
As an aside, I've just looked at a breakdown of our visitor stats for the last month, and we received over 5,000 visits from Canterbury alone, so can assure you we have readership in your area.
I know John got a bit of stick for his 'going to ground' approach around one of the Slater meetings, but i think a lot of that was tongue in cheek, and certainly the ongoing follow up stuff about EKA being a secret society is definitely leg pulling, because if truth be told, i don't think anyone really cares that much!
Anyway, good luck with your group, hope it continues to go from strength to strength no matter what approach you take, and if we can help in any way then you know where we are!