#HelpSaveTheBloaters

HELP SAVE THE BLOATERS...

I've been called football crazy many times in my lifetime and to be honest i must be, having moved to great yarmouth around 20 years ago moving from my native north east..my love of football goes way way back to the days my dad used to take me along to the victoria ground in hartlepool as a toddler, although very faint memories linger i remember my dad once telling me to tell my mam on the way home we'd beaten stockport county.

Obviously my dad has like other dads & sons had a massive influence on me loving football so much, week in week out we'd get to games at hartlepool united, sunderland, murton fc, then when we moved to belgium we'd go along to watch royal antwerp and my dads mates team (mike kear, ex forest, middlesbrough & barnsley) kv berchem sport which was our local team on the outskirts of antwerp.

Few years later we returned to the north east and often went to see middlesbrough at ayresome park..as i got a bit older i'd go along to watch dorman long fc and acklam steeworks fc..then hop over the river tees to hartlepool to see my first love hartlepool united, the home and breeding ground of true passionate support..

So i'm in great yarmouth and my local team i've supported for donkeys years is in dire straights, what can i do ? after a bit of hammer on the clubs online forum the penny dropped, no seriously it did..i got a bucket and wrote help save the bloaters on it, then cut out a badge from a match programme and stuck it on..this was now around 3am, so off i went to bed, soon to be woken by my wife jayne wondering what the hell i had planned..As i explained , she went nuts and called me crazy..i shouted back if it takes a monkeyhanger from hartlepool to save the bloaters then i'll do it..

11am myself and my daughter victoria (named after hartlepool uniteds home stadium, victoria park) and my father in law set to to raise money with the bucket a scarf and determination outside to old co-op in yarmouth market square...after mixed response and a bit of abuse 3 days passed and our campaign had caught the local media's attention.

We're now into the 2nd week of the campaign and armed with twitter , facebook and a website a team has been built to #HelpSaveTheBloaters money has been raised in a few ways, and mobile phones are set to be recycled to earn cash..By now we've been featured on the radio, in the press and with the twitter account as the main engine we've attracted world wide attention, a sponsor has now been attracted to the club, and the bloaters are safe for the short term. work must be done by the club to ensure this never happens again, its up to them now to grasp all i have done to pave the way and inspire..

Great Yarmouth Town FC the ball is now in your court..embrace me, embrace loyal fans and we will help you to prosper and rise from a very close call..my belly is full of fire again after a minor setback and upset, no thanks to those who forgot their manners (I HATE BAD MANNERS) but i'm ready to rumble because i'm football crazy.. ARE YOU ?

Boxing Day big local derby...

If only it was that simple...C'mon Great Yarmouth Town Fc think of my heart and fill it full of happiness this boxing day and beyond like you used to..

                                              

Supporting The Bloaters...

                                                                                                             

Here i go again in the small hours, bloody insomnia and this medication really do mess my sleeping patterns right up...Anyway there is a crisis at my local football club which was highlighted in the local rag today on the back page http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/sport/great_yarmouth_town_chairman_calls_for_help_1_1160875 but here for you is the link to the report..

All very worrying for a myself and the small band of regular fans who get along to cheer the bloaters on..I have very little insight into the politics of how the club has been run over its 100+ year history but it has come to light that the club is struggling financially at present and not too long ago the playing budget was cut and the main body of the first team are just receiving a basic travel allowance and no fee for pulling on the black and yellow shirt on match days..

From my own point of view i support the expenses issue and as the club has no funds for playing fees then maybe an end of season bonus would hopefully help to keep some players at the club for next season...OMG i'm thinking next season already, well this season is all but written off as we're adrift at the foot of the ridgeons premier division and with a thread bare squad we really are in the clarts...Last weekend saw our team unable to   get a team together for the fixture at wisbech town...This has shaken the local football scene and in some cases made us look a bit of a laughing stock..I certainly feel for the players we have left at the club, they try their hardest but sadly most weeks we're being battered by silly scorelines that normally only happen to the unluckiest of teams in this league on a very bad day..Ok thats all the insight out of the way, now for the bitter sweet goings on surrounding the clubs website forum...

Oh bollocks where do i start here ? Right i guess at the very start of the cyber war between very opinionated individuals..The whole thing kicked off when a certain KIRK LEE posted it would be a hard act to follow, basically pointing out that as the manager had departed for kirkley and pakefield fc the club would struggle from now on..Well mike derbyshire has come in and yes its struggled..the results don't lie as you'll see....

Tue 6th	19:45	HOME	Dereham Town	League	L	1	-	2	View Report »
Sat 10th	15:00	HOME	CRC	League	L	0	-	2	View Report »
Tue 13th	19:45	AWAY	Norwich United	League	L	2	-	0	View Report »
Sat 17th	15:00	HOME	Brantham Athletic	League	W	4	-	3	View Report »
Tue 20th	19:45	AWAY	Dereham Town	League	L	4	-	1	View Report »
Sat 24th	15:00	HOME	Felixstowe & Walton United	Cup	L	0	-	5	View Report »
Wed 28th	19:45	AWAY	Walsham-le-Willows	Cup	L	4	-	2	View Report »
October 2011
Sat 1st	15:00	AWAY	Brantham Athletic	League	L	5	-	0	View Report »
Sat 8th	15:00	AWAY	Mildenhall Town	League	L	4	-	1	View Report »
Sat 15th	15:00	HOME	FC Clacton	League	L	2	-	8	View Report »
Tue 18th	19:45	HOME	Norwich United	League	L	0	-	5	View Report »
Sat 22nd	15:00	HOME	Hadleigh United	League	L	1	-	3	View Report »
Sat 29th	15:00	AWAY	Wivenhoe Town	League	L	2	-	0	View Report »
November 2011
Tue 1st	19:45	HOME	Diss Town	League	D	1	-	1	View Report »
Sat 5th	15:00	AWAY	Felixstowe & Walton United	League	L	2	-	0	View Report »
Tue 8th	19:45	HOME	Wroxham	League	L	0	-	7	View Report »
Sat 12th	15:00	HOME	Walsham-le-Willows	League	L	1	-	3	View Report »
Sat 19th	15:00	AWAY	FC Clacton	League	L	5	-	0	View Report »
Fri 25th	19:45	AWAY	Gorleston	Cup	L	4	-	2	View Report »
December 2011
Sat 3rd	15:00	AWAY	Newmarket Town	League	L	6	-	1	View Report »
Sat 10th	15:00	HOME	Kirkley & Pakefield	League	L	0	-	4

Pretty dismal reading although to be fair there have been a few good individual performances from players and a great team effort from the lads at our local rivals Gorleston Fc in the norfolk senior cup..

That aside the war has continued on the forum and i'll readily hold my hands up and say i've given and taken a lot of stick on the forum..initially i asked the chairman to remove the forum as it was getting very heated and i feared emotions would spill out into games and the possibility of fans going at it over the clubs politics was something i didn't want at GYTFC..the old rule about whats said online stays online was thankfully kept at that and the forum remains to this day..I will point out there have been some excellent suggestions put forward and overall i feel the forum has benefited the club and highlighted the need for so many things to be put back on track within the club, some of which at this crisis point are now being worked on and will hopefully put the club back in the black and a future can be planned for GYTFC to either try to push to avoid relegation or build from the ridgeons division 1 and come back stronger than could have possibly been envisaged in recent weeks..

As of this moment i'd like to point out i've discussed at length the various problems with our chairman..i did say and maybe will carry out my own little protest by not paying to watch the local derby game with Gorleston Fc on boxing day, and instead watching from the perimeter..i'll then enter the ground at half-time as its free to get in and will give my support as usual to the team..Just my way of saying stuff you for all the poor results and lack of progress since the season started..Then a new chapter begins and hopefully this time around after the club holds its EGM in january, those who feel they can help the club and are determined to stick to a plan and build for the future will get a better deal as supporters of this great old club..Myself and other true loyal fans don't want our club to die, we want decent football, decent crowds and an atmosphere where the whole family can come along and enjoy what this club has to offer in a safe and friendly environment.