Post by Martin Waring on Jun 29, 2013 14:09:02 GMT -5
I would like to explain my reasons for leaving the Members Club at Tooting & Mitcham United and joining the committee at Tooting & Mitcham Wanderers.
Since the age of 12 I have followed TMUFC and the non-league and loved everything the non-league stood for.
To me, the non-league was all about being the opposite from the Football League for true footballing reasons.
It was for genuine football fans to be able to own, run and play a much bigger part in their club than they would normally be able to at a Football League club.
It was about fans being able to have a much closer relationship with their club and to get much more pleasure in playing a bigger part in the running of the place and all for the pure love of football.
To be able to own and run your own club with fellow supporters and to do all the things you wanted to do with it was stuff dreams were made of.
Now as we all know sometimes things do not go according to plan and you find your club in the ownership of an outside influence, whether for right or wrong reasons, good or bad.
Since TMUFC's move to Imperial Fields and new life under a new owner, I did my best to try and accept and understand this situation and to get on with things just like everybody else, and until my recent decision to join Tooting & Mitcham Wanderers - I did.
However, there were a number of things that continuely bothered me and I'm sure many other TMUFC supporters, and that was a feeling of 'our' club no longer being 'our' club and 'our' club no longer being a true non-league club, because all of the true non-league values that had drawn me so much to this level of football seemed to have been eradicated from 'our' club.
The fact that we now had an outside owner at TMUFC meant that us fans no longer had the power and pleasure of owning our own club and the fact that someone else was pulling the strings at 'our' place started to take the fun away from being involved and supporting a non-league club for me.
For example, when you go to your clubs home matches you are supposed to feel 'at home'. You are supposed to feel welcome, wanted and much valued as a supporter. But I couldn't help but feel completely the opposite to all that sometimes as 'our' bar was never allowed to feel too homely and welcoming for us, as for a long time we wasn't allowed to put this piece of memerobelia up and that piece of memerobelia and if it did then it would have to come back down again shortly afterwards.
We had to get permission to do this and that with the club shop or other aspects of the stadium, and some of the things we wanted to do were denied for whatever reason and the same went for our website amongst other things.
As a member of the Members Club, I put forward many ideas to help raise crowds and revenue yet 99% of those were never put in to practise and I've no doubt not even considered.
I couldn't help but feel that all of the joys of being a non-league club had gone at TMUFC as we had no rights and no power anymore, so what was the point?
And one thing that really infuriated me for a few reasons was the changing of our club badge.
I have been told that the badge 'needed modernizing' - but by who? Did the fans decide on this? Was it their idea? No. It was the powers that be 'upstairs'.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't it be a non-league way of life for the fans and fans only to make a decision like that?
That badge was a very important part of our history and identity and I'm sure that we were all very proud of that badge. It was also a very smart looking badge. But as its us fans who have followed this club and hold it in such good heart, don't you think that any such move and final decision should have gone down to us? TOO RIGHT IT SHOULD. THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE NON-LEAGUE IN MY BOOK.
But it wasn't. It was made without giving a seconds thought to us fans and it wasn't even replaced with a better option, just a piece of badly cheaply designed garbage.
And why did it need modernizing if it was already an excellent badge in the first place? If its replacement is in the name of modernization and progress then I'd rather be old fashioned thanks.
But this now seemed to be the age of the club - un-homely, unwelcoming, uncaring of the fans wishes, no respect for its history or identity, ideas not being used or considered, and no power to the fans.
All the things that the non-league stood for and made this level great now gone at TMUFC in my opinion.
Now it would be unfair of me to just state the doom and gloom in this modern era at TMUFC as there has also been some great times and there has also been good things done by the owner, but this present climate is just not for me.
This is why for a long time now I had craved an AFC version of our club to be born so that all the non-league values could return to it the way it should be, and if it meant greatly downsizing the club and playing at a lower level of football then so be it, at least it would be 'our' club again and a non-league club again.
So when it was put to me that this very thing had now been formed in the name of Tooting & Mitcham Wanderers I immediately showed an interest.
After listening to what was said I decided that this is what I wanted to be a part of to get that old non-league feel and buzz back again, and I gladly accepted a place on the committee.
So it is now on to a new and exciting challenge and I am looking forward to doing as much as I possibly can to help the club.
I have no interest in the tiffs between certain people at each club, I just want to get on with the football and look forward to the new season and beginings.
I hope I can get everything I am looking for from TMWFC and already I am impressed with what I have seen and heard. It is nice to feel valued again and at a non-league club again.
In the meantime I send all true football people and supporters at TMUFC my very best wishes and I wish young Craig Tanner the very best of luck. I really hope he can surprise a lot of people this season.
Thank you.
Martin Waring.
Since the age of 12 I have followed TMUFC and the non-league and loved everything the non-league stood for.
To me, the non-league was all about being the opposite from the Football League for true footballing reasons.
It was for genuine football fans to be able to own, run and play a much bigger part in their club than they would normally be able to at a Football League club.
It was about fans being able to have a much closer relationship with their club and to get much more pleasure in playing a bigger part in the running of the place and all for the pure love of football.
To be able to own and run your own club with fellow supporters and to do all the things you wanted to do with it was stuff dreams were made of.
Now as we all know sometimes things do not go according to plan and you find your club in the ownership of an outside influence, whether for right or wrong reasons, good or bad.
Since TMUFC's move to Imperial Fields and new life under a new owner, I did my best to try and accept and understand this situation and to get on with things just like everybody else, and until my recent decision to join Tooting & Mitcham Wanderers - I did.
However, there were a number of things that continuely bothered me and I'm sure many other TMUFC supporters, and that was a feeling of 'our' club no longer being 'our' club and 'our' club no longer being a true non-league club, because all of the true non-league values that had drawn me so much to this level of football seemed to have been eradicated from 'our' club.
The fact that we now had an outside owner at TMUFC meant that us fans no longer had the power and pleasure of owning our own club and the fact that someone else was pulling the strings at 'our' place started to take the fun away from being involved and supporting a non-league club for me.
For example, when you go to your clubs home matches you are supposed to feel 'at home'. You are supposed to feel welcome, wanted and much valued as a supporter. But I couldn't help but feel completely the opposite to all that sometimes as 'our' bar was never allowed to feel too homely and welcoming for us, as for a long time we wasn't allowed to put this piece of memerobelia up and that piece of memerobelia and if it did then it would have to come back down again shortly afterwards.
We had to get permission to do this and that with the club shop or other aspects of the stadium, and some of the things we wanted to do were denied for whatever reason and the same went for our website amongst other things.
As a member of the Members Club, I put forward many ideas to help raise crowds and revenue yet 99% of those were never put in to practise and I've no doubt not even considered.
I couldn't help but feel that all of the joys of being a non-league club had gone at TMUFC as we had no rights and no power anymore, so what was the point?
And one thing that really infuriated me for a few reasons was the changing of our club badge.
I have been told that the badge 'needed modernizing' - but by who? Did the fans decide on this? Was it their idea? No. It was the powers that be 'upstairs'.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't it be a non-league way of life for the fans and fans only to make a decision like that?
That badge was a very important part of our history and identity and I'm sure that we were all very proud of that badge. It was also a very smart looking badge. But as its us fans who have followed this club and hold it in such good heart, don't you think that any such move and final decision should have gone down to us? TOO RIGHT IT SHOULD. THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE NON-LEAGUE IN MY BOOK.
But it wasn't. It was made without giving a seconds thought to us fans and it wasn't even replaced with a better option, just a piece of badly cheaply designed garbage.
And why did it need modernizing if it was already an excellent badge in the first place? If its replacement is in the name of modernization and progress then I'd rather be old fashioned thanks.
But this now seemed to be the age of the club - un-homely, unwelcoming, uncaring of the fans wishes, no respect for its history or identity, ideas not being used or considered, and no power to the fans.
All the things that the non-league stood for and made this level great now gone at TMUFC in my opinion.
Now it would be unfair of me to just state the doom and gloom in this modern era at TMUFC as there has also been some great times and there has also been good things done by the owner, but this present climate is just not for me.
This is why for a long time now I had craved an AFC version of our club to be born so that all the non-league values could return to it the way it should be, and if it meant greatly downsizing the club and playing at a lower level of football then so be it, at least it would be 'our' club again and a non-league club again.
So when it was put to me that this very thing had now been formed in the name of Tooting & Mitcham Wanderers I immediately showed an interest.
After listening to what was said I decided that this is what I wanted to be a part of to get that old non-league feel and buzz back again, and I gladly accepted a place on the committee.
So it is now on to a new and exciting challenge and I am looking forward to doing as much as I possibly can to help the club.
I have no interest in the tiffs between certain people at each club, I just want to get on with the football and look forward to the new season and beginings.
I hope I can get everything I am looking for from TMWFC and already I am impressed with what I have seen and heard. It is nice to feel valued again and at a non-league club again.
In the meantime I send all true football people and supporters at TMUFC my very best wishes and I wish young Craig Tanner the very best of luck. I really hope he can surprise a lot of people this season.
Thank you.
Martin Waring.