Finnaldo

Hinckley are at home for their FA Cup Extra Preliminary tie against Highgate United

I said very much the same: the best result is starting a new season with a team in black and white. It’s very difficult I feel, with the overnight resignation of the club, to get people energised, compared to say Nuneaton who went without a club for months and could really rally the supporters, so it’s a fantastic showing from the community. Coalville football will be fine in the long run. Similarly, it’ll take some adjustment but I think supporters can take solace in going about it the right way. The money Nuneaton have spent is eye-watering, and in addition the £6k GoFundMe seems to have soured some supporters already. You can see there’s a commitment to sustainability in what Coalville have done and whilst it may take time to get to where supporters will want to be, at least you’ll likely see some stability.

Came down myself, good atmosphere but a shame about the result. Very young team, probably need a little more experience and strength but they have the ability to build that up this season with promotion off the table.

Hinckley beat Eynesbury 3-1 in their first game at step 5, sounded shaky but ultimately comfortable. Expecting it’ll be a tough season overall, you’d hope around play offs if we can perform. A lot of money about however.

UCL South kicked off last night: Aylestone Park 7-1 Cov United Almost went down myself but ended up with other plans, but a 400+ crowd in which would’ve had a healthy contingent of groundhoppers so likely a good atmosphere. Hard to tell if Aylestone Park are even better than the high standard already expected or Cov United are an utter disaster unravelling, although I expect somewhere in-between. Statement win for AP in what you expect to be a very dominant season for them, I thought playing them early may be a good thing for Hinckley, and perhaps we can catch them on the hangover but I’m not holding my breath now! Cov United are now probably realising what a lot of us thought when they signed on the manager that made well-budgeted Atherstone look like relegation fodder last season, puzzling appointment and whilst I’m not expecting a full repeat I expect they’ll fall far short of what I’m sure will be some ambitious objectives. Hinckley at Eynesbury for our season-opener today, on paper a ‘kinder’ game to start with but we need to be at our best given this is entirely new ground for us. Unable to go unfortunately but dreaming of a nice statement win to take us into a very threatening game vs AP!

The catchment is there, but inner city non-league clubs traditionally struggle building support outside certain areas (the North East mainly). I do wonder what the likelihood of replicating what Dulwich Hamlet or, more fitting to the level perhaps, West Didsbury & Chorlton have done, the latter have an average gates of over 700 last season: Really target the university crowd and young professional crowd. That said I have no idea if it could be transplanted from your likes of London and Manchester to a more provincial city like Leicester. Either way, they’ll have to find some way of getting crowds in if they’ll be playing step 3/4.

Likewise Gresley who were step 4 for a couple season up until last season. Although they did have active plans for a new ground.

Absolutely, it’s a mental budget and if they aren’t title winners then that’s down to underperformance. Really hit their stride last year with the ex-Birstall manager so I do expect them to be fine, although start of the season getting back into it is probably the best chance at have of taking points off them! It’d be nice to have a proper city team higher in non-league pyramid though, it helps they have a good youth setup and with a bit more work the ground could be very decent too. What’s your opinion on Coalville’s pre-season so far?

Hinckley finishing their preseason with the annual Simon Blyth Memorial Trophy game at Heather St John’s on the 20th before starting the season the Saturday after away at Eynesbury. Be interesting to see how we cope with the step up, I’d be happy just to be competing with a play off spot, get ourselves consolidated in the league! First home game the Monday after against Aylestone Park, have to be title favourites this year but probably the best time to play them, hope to catch them out early in the season as I imagine they’ll be a big threat as the season goes on!

There was Miliband before Corbyn, and the Lib Dems in every one of those elections. I think Corbyn was crap, but I imagine a lot of the people who said they simply couldn’t not vote Conservatives because of Corbyn won’t be as apprehensive not voting Labour because of his new-to-Parliament right wing equivalent.

This is a good thing. There’s a clear lack of opposition, which is a bad thing in governance, but Labour and especially Keir will know it’s govern well or this victory will evaporate just as quickly as it came about in five years time. Immediate accountability, that’s taken the Conservatives 14 years to receive.

Quite stuck for my choice, will be Hinckley & Bosworth and I cannot tell if it’s Lib Dems or Labour more likely to win here. Traditionally been a Lib Dem hotbed (council has been split between them and the Conservatives for years) and they were the historic second runners in GEs in a seat that’s been Conservatives since 1970. However in recent years Labour seem to have overtaken them, but hard to tell if that wasn’t 2019 polarisation. I have my personal reasons to vote Lib Dem (even if I want Labour as the party of government) so I’ll probably go them, it’s frustrating that its not clear who is the best option.

Dave Laing has been their chairman since their initial merger in ‘92, he definitely puts in good money but it’s also been done in a fairly sustainable way, and has included pretty significant infrastructure improvements including their 3G. More recently Jimmy Ginnelly, most recently Nuneaton’s owner-manager, has rocked up and the wage bill seemed to have increased… that said there is new sponsorship including a new ground deal he’s arranged.

Glad I’ve not gone mental, when it first got revealed I thought ‘is that the Klan cross inside the sonnenrad?’ Shame really as it’s a bit of a generic non-entity badge otherwise, I did like the old one.

That’s superb news, fingers crossed it all gets agreed in time. A fantastic effort from those who have led it. From what I’ve heard about it, they’ve been quite forthcoming. Generally in these situations if there’s time to do it they’ll try their best themselves to get it done granted everything that needs to be in place, is.

Some context if Coalville do manage to get a team going this year. Not an authority but someone who has a very good understanding of the structure and rules throughout non-league. Also suggests further up in the chain that given numbers per league, it may be they’re put in the United Counties League despite Leicestershire clubs being moved over to the Midland Football League, probably not ideal as you’ll be dealing with a higher quality of opposition in the MFL when they inevitably moved over next season, I guess it at least allows the club and supporters to regroup and adapt for a season.

Glyn Rennocks interview with BBC Radio Leicester is online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j0qxw5 Not many extra details, reaffirms the rising costs and want to retire. More interestingly, mentions a team looking to be set up ‘around step 6’

Im basing this off an article I read last year, but I know the Lib Dems in the NW Leics Council were trying to reduce the football club’s subsidy (link here), in May of that year the Conservatives lost control of the council and it was the Lib Dems and two independents. With that in mind, my (granted, completely guesswork) theory is that the Conservatives got through the usual payment last year, or at least with token reductions, and there’s probably been a battle this year to reduce it considerably that’s ended in the Lib Dems getting their wish. Clearly it’s a bridge too far for Glyn and he either doesn’t have the means, or can’t personally justify it, to keep it going. That said, it’s a huge shame they’re gone. Seemed to create a fantastic atmosphere down Owen Street and were looking like the closest club to getting Leicestershire in step 2 again (although Harborough I think will challenge). Hopefully something can be worked out to make it sustainable and less dependent on the actions of one. Leicestershire non-league is better with a competitive Coalville.

Crap news for county non-league, firm believer a high tide raises all ships so a massive blow for Leicestershire non-league. Can’t believe there’s not more to it though…

Scott McManus heading the other way to Barwell

Nuneaton aren’t Leicester City. They’ve never even been a league side. In fact, given trying to achieve and maintain that level has either crippled or killed multiple iterations of the club, I’m at a push to say step 1 & 2 is even their level. This is meant with no personal affront but it’s probably this attitude and entitlement that has lead to a cycle of wound-up clubs killed trying desperately to reach something they can’t sustain within their limits. I expect Nuneaton to win this MFL Division 1 but they’re lucky two of the more threatening sides have been moved out as otherwise it may not be as comfortable as it likely will be. And even then, should it be the MFL Premier you go into then that’s stacked full of respectable teams or at least teams with plenty of cash to burn. Bury, a club far bigger than Nuneaton, learnt the hard way that ‘village teams’ can be very much worthy adversaries and nothing is a given because you used to be ‘big’. You have an opportunity as a supporter base to regroup and create a sustainable football club. That may mean prolonged stays in step 4 or 5, but it’s a chance to break the cycle of constant financial frailty and toxic expectations. The FA Vase is a national cup, Nuneaton has never won any form of national competition, in fact even in the FA Trophy they managed a paltry best of quarter final. This is an opportunity to have a trip to Wembley and win proper silverware. Respect the level or there’s a good chance it bites your arse.

Droitwich moving across to the Hellenic and Allscott over to NWCFL leaves absolutely no threat of more to Nuneaton, expect them to cruise that league. Wolves Sporting? To be fair, whilst it’s somewhat harsh and they won’t be happy, they’re based next to Cannock and the A5/M6, and from my reckoning even Runcorn and Stockport teams are just over an hour away, further is an hour and a half to New Mills. It’s probably comparable to Hinckley’s travel itinerary and we have a plenty of further ones in March, Wisbech and St Neots/Eynesbury.

As a Hinckley supporter who got down to the occasional Barwell game, I’m still unsure if it’s a case where the relatively low pressure expectations helped him a bit, whether he can recruit the youth to achieve a promotion challenge and deal with the much higher objectives of Coalville. Fantastic coach for Barwell but unsure if he’ll make the step up essentially.

Meeting re: allocations expected tomorrow, fingers crossed for Hinckley in the UCL South, seems some decent teams in there and something different after nine years in and around the Black Country!

Mrs is from that part of the world and a lot of what she’s shown me, that is pictures and videos of the ‘acts’ the junta have committed, is absolutely horrific. Feels very uncomfortable and frankly depressing we’ve decided on this.