"The future will be great" - Taunton Town FC calls on fans for support
They say a strong home game will help get them out of financial trouble
Taunton Town are calling on their fans to show up to upcoming home games and show their support for the side.
Bosses say fan support and revenue will help keep the club going.
It's following a season of bad weather, a waterlogged pitch and a series of cancelled home games, with four cancelled games in one month.
We've spoken exclusively to Carl Gazzard, a director at the club.
“The biggest trouble is that it hasn’t stopped raining,” said Carl, “and we haven’t got the best drainage facility so whenever we’ve had really heavy rainfall, which we’ve had consistently for a long period of time, then it just results in games being cancelled.”
And that loss of revenue hasn’t just hit their morale, but their wallet, with recent cancellations costing more than £30,000.
Carl says a combination of bad luck with the weather, and difficulties budgeting in previous years, has put them in a difficult position.
“Like any business, if you’re behind on any kind of payment and there’s not the income stream that's coming in then you will get yourself into a bit of bother.
“The team has outgrown the business.
“Being a National League South side in a big county town is huge - it's almost a case of the businesses being a little bit left behind.”
Once people are able to come and watch a home game, Carl assures me they will have the money to pay staff and look at improving their drainage.
But until their facilities have seen investment, games will continue to be cancelled in bad weather, leaving the club in a difficult situation.
“We’ve had some investigations and we’re having more investigations into what we can do to improve – but guess what? That comes at a cost!” said Carl, “in our eyes that will be a cost worth spending but we’ve still got to have the money.”
Despite this, there is a sense of optimism for the club and Carl assures that as the weather improves, the club will work it’s way into a brighter future.
“Yes we have got an immediate problem but the future could be good and we've got a really clear plan about how we want to run and can run a sustainable club.
“But we've got so many previous issues that we've got to deal with and get over before we can get to that point.”
Carl says the support from fans has been positive but the best way to help is to get to the stadium whenever possible.
“We can hold 3000 people so if we can get 3000 people and we can clear the backlog of the player wages, we can move forward as a club.
“From a supporters perspective, the best thing they can do is turn up and pay the money through the gate.
“People like coming down here and they miss it.
"Our wish is when we can have a game back on – we fill this place!”
And Carl is hoping to do just that on derby day when Taunton host Weston Super Mare.
You can get tickets on their website.