On Radio Wales NOW

Great listening. Brings back all the memories of despair and then joy.

I realize I'm going to be as popular as a rattlesnake in a lucky dip but frankly this was a very disappointing listen.

Although it wasn't specifically said the impression was given that things began to fall apart when we were beaten unluckily by CZJ. It is the fact that we lost our European quarter final in March 1981, We were top of the old Third Division on over two years later in April 1983. Nothing was said about how we declined and why. Jerry Sherman was a vulture who tried to feed on a dead football club, listening to this programme the impression is given that his tenure was responsible for our demise. It wasn't.

Once again the old story is put that Newport County won their case in the High Court and were allowed to return to Newport. This is simply not true. Newport County returned to Newport having taken out an injunction to prevent the Welsh FA enforcing our exile. This was done before the High Court hearing. It could have been taken out two years earlier, we chose to play in Gloucester. The argument can be made that it was the right decision in all the circumstances known at the time. However history needs to be accurately recorded.

I do acknowledge the huge debt of gratitude we all owe to the people who took part in both the programme and the resurrection of Newport County. I agree entirely with David Hando with his comment that Spytty Park was not fit for League football. But in glossing over the reasons for Newport County 1912 going bust we do ourselves no favours. From top of Division Three to oblivion took five years. Any champion will tell you, getting where you want to be seems hard, but it's harder still staying there.

It seems to me that we learned little from the last five years of the 1980's and that we are again rattling down the same old road.

I know that memory does play tricks with age but I do have an image in my memory bank about those years from 1983 until our demise. My recollection is that we went into financial free fall because of overspending.

I remember the County lottery. The club used that as a major source of income. Eventually we had to sell some players for the money, results fell away and the support for the County lottery diminished. It was a financial negative feedback loop that we couldn't get out of. The 80's were dreadful if you were a business without money. That was us. Thatcher and her financial agenda setting for the country did us no favours at all. No Bank/Finance company/rich businessmen would touch us. Then along came Jerry Sherman.

I do hope we have learned our lesson. Financial stability is a 'given' if a club is to progress.

pembsexile wrote: I do hope we have learned our lesson. Financial stability is a 'given' if a club is to progress.

For many reasons a Trust only Club will not provide that Financial stability on its own, therefore the hybrid model is a must but sadly it doesn’t look as though there is a queue of eager participants. Although that latter point has to be an assumption as our Trust remains very poor on communication, and continues to operate on the mushroom management basis.
Remember that we were told they would hold a meeting in the first quarter of 2019 to discuss the vote on the hybrid model?