We need ideas. This is an old one of mine. The 250 Club

Okay.

It's been a long day. Chester have blown what looks like a chance to at least give themselves a fighting chance of staying up this season so it looks like a case of preparing for next season in the National League North unless something dramatic happens in the next 3 months.

So, after a night of thinking about all of this and being in the main depressed about the whole thing, we need to think about how we can help our club. So my challenge to all Chester fans is think of an idea that can benefit our club for next season and beyond.

Here's mine. Now this is something that I put together in a few minutes. I've always believed in getting families back in to our club. The task 8 years ago was to see more fans in Chester shirts than the usual Man Utd and Liverpool shirts that you'd tend to see around town. Now we need those families back so that we get new Chester fans of the future. Where am I going with this? Read on...

Many businesses can help...

250 Club (this was suggested about 18 months ago to the club)

Plan.

To create a business club with a minimum 250 businesses that commit to a figure of £250 that gives them corporate CFU membership for 5 years, raising £62,500 for CFU.

Aim.

250 businesses sign up to help promote the fact that Chester FC is a fan owned club for the community of Chester and the surrounding areas to become involved in.

Benefits.

Each business that signs up by paying £250 to CFU corporate will each receive 4 family tickets (value £168). If they then refer another 5 businesses they'll receive a further 2 family tickets (value £84).

Social media mentions for all taking part

Each month, a CFU Corporate members draw would take place, to include:

• Directors Row tickets
• Signed ball or shirt
• Directors Experience
• Attend training session with pictures with players and manager
• £25 voucher to spend in club shop
• Website article
• Match programme article
• Stadium tour
• 1 free hire of the Legends Lounge for business meeting
• Business of the month title

Sums.

250 x £250 = £62500 for CFU

Options from here.

£12,500 could be set aside for one match in the season to be £1 entry for all, based on fans picking up 10 tokens from games in the first half of the season. Season Ticket holders to have this included as their free matches allocation.

The club could then take a minimum £3000 based on a 4000 attendance (taking into consideration 1000 season ticket holders).

Objective being to reward those who pay on the day fans who have watched the club in the first half of the season, with a Match for a Quid in the second half of the season.

What if the 250 Club exceeds 250 members?

Simple. It's still the 250 Club. The more the better and it can grow organically. For every additional 100 businesses that join the club, the original 250 get an additional family ticket.

The idea is for businesses to receive the family tickets to then pass on to encourage new people down to the match, maybe via an in house competition, or for them simply to reward excellence at work. With it being a family ticket, they could then bring children to the game too, which would potentially increase the number of young children attending the games.

I really believe that there are businesses out there who are run by fans like you and me and are happy enough to put £250 in to the club and help where they can.

The benefits are not set in stone, they are just ideas, but ideas that don't cost anything.

Thoughts?

What would be your idea and could it help raise instant funds for the club as that's what it will need.

Now, the club under the stewardship of Mark Maguire has said a 100 club was ready to be launched with an initial target to hit to see a budget being hit. I believe we can do even better with a more affordable option for small and medium businesses out there. 

Question is, as a business, would you pledge to pay £250 based on the above?

Thanks Jeff 

Our Club Needs You!

Our club is in trouble. It needs you.

This is not the same rallying call as the one 8 years ago, when the club was dying, when the club was being ripped apart at the seams by a chairman that just had one aim for the club at the time. Death.

No, this is different.

Chester FC is owned by the fans, and when it's in trouble it needs it's fans to help it. The same way the fans looked after it just 8 years ago when it was guided through the choppiest waters imaginable. The waters that would see us lose our club as we knew it. But the waters would also see a new beginning. A beginning that saw the fans fight for their club. Even the FA tried and failed to relegate us to a lower level than we deserved

We fought that battle...and won.

Now we have a new battle. A battle to keep ourselves in the National League. Sure we've had this kind of battle before over the last few seasons, but this time it's different. We seem to have lost our way. But we need to work together to give us the best possible chance to win this battle.

If we get relegated, then so be it. But let's not give in. Remember it won't be the end of our club if we go down. It will feel like it though I'm sure.

There are still points to play for. Many points. Yes it's up to the management and players to deliver points but it's also the fans responsibility to deliver what we can to help the club in its hour of need.

We all want the best for Chester FC no matter what your viewpoint. We have experienced a good few years of that in the last decade but now when the chips are down the club needs us not to turn our backs on it but to rally around it.

The meetings in the Guild Hall proved that the fans loved their club and would do anything to get it back off it's knees when the worst happened, and now those same fans, and new fans can play a part too…

Some may be disenchanted with our position right now. But we have a club worth fighting for, there is no doubt about that. So let's do something about it.

So ask yourself, what can I do to help my club?

Can you bring someone new to the ground to home games to help swell the attendances and bring much needed revenue into the club?

Can you help by volunteering for the club you love?

What was that song lyric? When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

It's easy to moan. We all do that. It's easy to do it too.

But think to yourself, what good am I doing by moaning? Is it helping the club? No.

One thing you can do that's absolutely free to do is to spread the word about our upcoming matches. It's simple, just do it. And the other thing? Back the lads from the first whistle to the last. You'd be amazed at how much of a difference this can make.

We've had bad times on the pitch before, and no doubt we'll have them again, but let's just try this time to make a difference yeah?

Relegation. What does it mean for Chester FC?

Well for a start, we're probably likely to have a playing budget in the bottom half of the National League North. That's fact.

There are 8 full time clubs in the National League North. For those who think “Well we'll be okay, we can just win the league and come back stronger’ need a reality check. Have a look at the teams, and the well financed clubs in that league right now. Hands on heart, where do you think we'd come in that league?

Our club needs it's fans most right now. If we can stay up then some may say it is just a stay of execution. I personally believe it gives us a chance to do things better next year.

We have proved our worth to the national league over the last few years. We've done things the right way. Paid our bills when some others haven't, and despite what some may think we've made massive strides off the pitch on the community side of the club. Some things really need to be celebrated at our club but some choose to side on the negative instead.

There is a lot of work to be done that's for sure, but only we can help. There is no sugar daddy to make things right with the click of a finger. They'd have shown their hands by now wouldn't they? It didn't exactly work out well last time either did it???

What we need right now is a concerted effort by every fan who loves Chester FC to really think about what they want for our club. Do they want to fight for the cause or accept defeat? I know where I sit.

So, I ask all Chester fans to really rally now and give everything they've got for our club. Nobody else is going to do it for us so it's up to us.

Fight until it's mathematically impossible to stay up. And even if that does end up being the case then think what can I do to help next season to put things right.

Whatever happens at the end of April will not see the end of our club. It will be a setback if it happens, of course it will.

But we will fight on.

Thanks for reading.

Chester Forever

Banksy