I write a week after the magical day at Macclesfield. The memories will last with me forever as I am sure they will for every person that witnessed it. The celebrations immediately after the game along with the celebrations at the club after were incredible. The job that Neil Young, the management teams and the players have done this season to have reached the 1st round of FA Cup, win promotion and win the Liverpool Senior Cup is incredible.
The journey though does not get easier with promotion, it becomes more difficult as you compete with bigger clubs. In the 2023/24 season we would have made a loss had it not been for the dramatic end to the season. The financial year has not finished yet but hopefully we will see a break-even finish. Next year we face incredible opposition in a league with huge clubs and huge budgets. Darlington have done a pay for a player scheme and raised £75k through it. Last year Chester did the same and raised £116k. There are lots of clubs with wealthy backers and an ever increasing amount of full-time football clubs in the division.
Now that we have stepped to the level, we need to move with the times and ensure that we can give Neil Young a wage budget that is competitive for the level. As a result I am asking all supporters who are able to if they can add a donation when you purchase your season ticket. There will be an option when you purchase your season ticket to add a £25, £50, £100 or £150 donation. This donation will be put 100% towards giving Neil Young an increased wage budget.
The launch of the season tickets is imminent and there will be a separate announcement soon. The cost for match entry next season will be the average charge by clubs in the new league and is required to help make us competitive for the division. Whilst it will therefore be an increase I know our supporters will understand the reasons why we have to increase them. We will hopefully have half a dozen sell-outs next year so I would urge as many supporters to purchase season tickets as possible to avoid missing out on home tickets next season.
There will be lots of changes and announcements over the summer as we prepare for transition to the National League – The work has already started.
I thank all Mariners for their support in this new donation scheme which, with the fans backing, will give Neil the tools to be competitive next year.
Have a great summer and look forward to seeing you next season.
James
