Whatever happened to the BIG Plan?

Athlone Town Football Club at it's recent annual general meeting adopted a policy document "A Whole New Ball Game-A Five Year Plan for the development of Athlone Town Football Club" This document is a comprehensive analysis and stock take of the Club's current position and predicament.
The document honestly acknowledges that Athlone Town has not kept pace with recent developments in Irish club football. It points out that Athlone Town has not won a major honour since 1983 and has languishsed in the lower reaches of the First Division for the past four seasons. The club accepts that it's playing, training and spectator facilities are poor and all need to be radically improved.

In an impressive analysis of Athlone Town's strenghths and weaknesses.The Club acknowledges some harsh realities but also identifies a number of strengths and opportunities upon which the club can build.

The Five Year Plan points to the fact that Athlone is traditionally a soccer town and a stronghold of the game, and that the Club has a long and proud history, with a reservoir of good playing talent and a record of developing that playing talent. The Club is in a good financial state with a strong potential support base and is situated in one of the fastest growing towns in the country.

Mindful of all that Athlone Town Football Club sets itself a number of strategic objectives over 5 years which would then see Athlone Town as an established Premier Division team in a position to realistically challenge for major honours, playing in a modern state of the art football stadium incorporating 5,000 covered seats, boasting training facilities and expertise. The Plan sets the Club with a mission to become the best football club in the country.

To achieve this lofty goal the Five Year Plan contemplates the implementation of a radical re-organisation of the Club's structures into five different areas of Finance, General Administration, Teams and Player Development, Fixtures and Ground Development. The plan also envisages a Player Development Structure in partnership with the Athlone and District Schoolboy League, local schools and the larger midlands socceer community.
As part of that, the Club is also announcing a unique initiative in association with FAS and with the co-operation of the FAI Regional Development Officer, whereby the Club will put coaches into all the Primary and Secondary Level schools in all the Midland counties.

The Club is also exploring the strong possibility of a strategic alliance with an English Premier League Club, the establishment of a full-time office and commercial department, the re-establishent of a thriving independent Supporters Club, the creation of a Patron's Club and the possible re-constitution of the Club as a Public Company Limited by Guarantee.

It is clearly an ambitious plan, but one which the Club feels is absolutely necessary to revive a once great club.

Athlone Town invites the participation in this Plan of all those who profess an interest in football in this town and in this club.

......not from official Athlone Town FC PR anyway.

The PR from Athlone Town Football Club is non existant. I've asked before where are we at in the five year plan and got no response. The new stadium plans should be top feature on the papers every week. Good match reports and features should be prominent.

Take a leaf from Longford Town, their coverage is excellent with colour photos and comprehensive round up.

I was under the impression that the 5 year plan was
scrapped after Bucko eventually left the club!!!!

comeonthetown@hotmail.com


I am a supporter of Athlone Town football club and I would like to see them keep St Mel’s Park. It is the oldest grounds in Ireland, they could do it up they have a good lot of room around it, what would be the point of getting ride of the oldest grounds in Ireland. I go to one of the school’s in Athlone and me and my friend’s want them to think about it. We know that the clubs in England would be doing up there grounds and they would be getting ride of the old sits, the club could buy them of them for little or noting.
Just think what The Club would be doing, taking a pieces of Irish football away for houses,
We know that Athlone saw a lot of bad times there but they have saw a lot of good times to.
Thank you,
The Athlone Supports.

http://homepage.eircom.net/~atfc/saintmelsaerial.jpg

While I would have a certain fondness for Mel's, there is no way we should stay there!! Contrary to what you said, there is no room for improvement around it. We are boxed in by the Athlone-Mullingar railway line. Only for that, I wouldn't mind seeing us staying in Mel's. You could block off the Mel's Terrace entrance, and open it out into the Sports Centre.

The new site we have is huge, provided it is all ours. I'm not certain if it is or not. IF it is, there is plenty of room for a stadium with stands, car-parking, training pitches etc. There will be much better access with it being on the N6 and right beside the N52. They bring in all the traffic no matter where is it coming from basically.

And finishing off, welcome to the board Hego. Good to see some enthusiasm for a change! Keep up the singing and maybe try to expand your songbook as you go along.