How This Club Is Transforming Non-League!

faram toown are currently the most informed team in Europe we're still the only team in Europe to be 100% but it's what they're doing off the pitch that might be even more impressive what if we could create a club that could get featured every week you make it sound so simple the club have been transformed from top to bottom with viral Match Day meals influential shirt sponsors and millions of views online it's a business right rather than just a football club now some people don't like that but they also don't like it when football clubs go out of business but how's this been possible in under 18 months we're going to meet the man behind the club's incredible rise and break down the three areas that are game changers in non league and how other clubs can learn from what they're doing that's the thing people get so wrong we're trying to build an entertainment brand that plays football T week Harry Hugo the co-founder of goat agency became director at farham toown in July 2022 and since then the club has gained over 100,000 followers match attendances have quadrupled and has funded pitchside improvements it's been amazing team effort uh to get the ground to where it is um when you were last here and I'm trying to remember what game it was I think it was Alton far it was quite decent it was decent crowd yeah and we equalized in like the 89th minute with a header down that end it was like it was epic but we were going through transition at that point because we just got rid of the manager that when I first came in he was here and now we've got jonno and Jimmy who you met at bedfont exactly and they've done an incredible job on the field but if we if we focus off it we we've had to do so much work so the Gantry there behind us was on that side didn't like it on that side cuz it didn't shoot towards anything interesting say you've got the the buildings like the Office Buildings but then around the ground here it's actually really picturesque for a non- leag ground 100% so we mov the ENT to this side um our good friends at y um who film everything and make it happen is are brilliant but it meant that when we put the stand in which you'll see in a second and the new stand that's just about to go in we had this amazing proper football ground feel and also because most people stand in this kind of L shape um behind the goal and then obviously where they come through the Turn Style you you nine times out of 10 are getting the best pitcher you possibly could at a football ground because the most people are there does that come into your method of thinking when it comes to like the stands going there the new ones going there because people congregate in that area there's always a part of a ground at a non- league game you see is quieter yeah I think I think it's twofold here because we do so much Media stuff it's about what makes you want to go to that game if you're watching on online you never been before so if you never been before and we're shooting that way towards there and there's very few fans why would you want to come like you think there's only like 80 people there yeah you shoot that way towards there it's a full stand there 200 going a new stand there it's going to be another 200 and then there's maybe 4 500 behind this go Bank up there last time it was and it's like oh wow there's 5 6 700 people there I want to go then from a from a ground perspective when they're in the ground they're obviously coming through the Turnstyle and then most people like try and find a spot as close to the turny as they can because people lazy and it's also nearest the food so that was one thing then it got to the point where that corner just got too busy cuz we put a bar in that wasn't their last time you were here that outdoor bar because the bar was getting too busy at half time and we weren't selling enough points we did like analysis on when we sold the most points over the course of like the five hour game day and the worst two hours were when it was during the game cuz no one could we've got this really uniquely bad situation with our ground is our clubhouse is outside of the the the confines of the ground so you have to walk 50 Paces out out of the pitch you can't see the pitch in order to get a point so the two hours where you were watching the game you never went and got a point so huge huge Revenue drop when when it kicks off so we put a p uh put a bar in there with two pumps so now we sell be continuously throughout the game which is obviously a massive perk in in non League football that you can do it and it means that people can watch the game and get point at the same time so that was like strategic but that caused too many problems really because it meant that that just became the most busy place of all time so now what we've done we've just put in a new food area we've got a new ground keeper shed with all of the stuff that we needed to to bring in to make the pitch better because that's such a major Point part of the pitch is looking of football football club getting your pitch good is important um and in order to do that we need to buy the machinery and in order to get the Machinery or or worth investing in the Machinery you need insurance yeah and therefore you need an alarm to grounds keep a sh one thing I will jump in and say is cuz non- league club needs volunteers it needs staff it needs money obviously you've been in since July 2022 obviously you pump some money into the club there's no secret about that and you get the haters which you'll get on to you say love love the haters but you it's not just pumping money in for the sake of it it's to make it sustainable at this level to then kick on so just tell me a little bit about what you said to me earlier I think what people misjudge is you're just putting money into into players and and to try and get out the leagues of you know we're not not hiding from the fact that we've got way too good of players we play in at step five and and we've never HIIT them from that every single video we've ever created has said that that's that's the truth but what it means is we've kind of speculated to accumulate both on and off the field off the field we need to make the infrastructure good so when we started to win games and get more people to come to the ground they loved it and they came again but in order for them to love it and come again they can't just have a great burger cheap pint nice seat and a new stand they also got to enjoy the football yeah and they got not only enjoy winning but they got to enjoy winning in the right way so getting people in like jonno and Jimmy who have a very very specific style of football and some of the boys who are super entertaining brilliant footballers then you you you start to build a brand of the club yeah rather than just a brand of football but a brand of the club and everything comes together and then you start to generate a huge amount of Revenue because people are having points for 5 hours they're eating food from two different vendors you've got burgers and chips over there you've got mystery kitchen over there which which I'm sure we'll talk about in a minute our whole goal has been about increasing Revenue in order to make this club as sustainable as possible for a level way higher than this club has ever played at before faram has has never been higher than step five we want to get the team to step three as fast as we possibly can because we think the club deserves it we're in the center of a town it's got the right momentum right now so if we're going to do it going to do it now but we've called it like10 pound Theory before we came in it was like average spend per head was like 7 quid 650 7 quid and we said if we can get the club for every single person that comes in whether or not they're 2 years old or 62 years old they spend 10 quid then we are flying and that's exactly how we think about it so how can we eat that number up now we're perfectly at about £10 now so now it's about how can we make it1 13 so what do they have to buy and for them to be able to buy it they need to enjoy it so merchandise food like beers it's a business right rather than just a football club and some people don't like that but they also don't like it when footb clubs go out of business and go into Administration so it works both ways but yeah we the team have done an incredible job we've been really really focused on the goal and I'd like to think we've delivered it and then on the pitch with 23 wins out of 23 and that goes out incredible so if people are coming to watch they can expect to see exciting football and a winning team at the start of the season did anyone envisage going on this run of 23 wins I know you said that the players are playing probably way above the level but you still to go and win 23 games in a row in the league think 87 goals 12 conceded stupid is stupid and I saw as well I had a little Snoopy about your LinkedIn as well that when you first saw the joined you've the gates quadrupled um which is incredible what you're saying so you're obviously doing things right off the pitch as well on the pitch but just tell me about that run cuz that is unbelievable is that the best team in Europe it's got to be yeah we're still we're still the only team in Europe to be a 100% I mean if we win tonight we'll go into March without having dropped a point in the league I mean that is is insane now that I can take absolutely no credit for right the credit has to go to the management team and these boys who to be clear have had a huge amount of pressure on their shoulders because as much as you've remarked on it and I've said it you know everyone knows there's players here that are playing you know below the level they should be and yeah we we're spending money at a decent at a decent rate on the pitch and off it right so there's a huge amount of pressure that comes with faram and playing for faram but that also means if you deliver it's like even more impressive because not only you just doing it you're doing it under a huge amount of pressure and then when those records start to come around like the AFC Wimbledon record which was 21 wins from the start of the Season yeah you know when when that was on the cusp that started to get even more pressure because then people have started to go oh well maybe they're not as good as that and then you start you know winning through those moments so yeah look it's it's a testament to to the characters in the dressing room and and the culture of the club you know we've got a winning culture and that that goes both on and off the pitch and there's a Target on their back nowy over today the inspection happened this morning around 10:30 let's have a look at it I know you mentioned it like you said a really interesting fact earlier that when the boys were playing recently a few years ago the wings used to get battered yeah so in near every other non-league ground the wings are the worst areas because in non- League Football you play 433 or 442 right so there's so many attacks go down the wing you watch us tonight we hardly hardly touch the wings the wings will be purely played by the fullbacks we play a 4222 which is a is a system not this similar to that at the elite level where you see lots of attackers on the ball you know lots in the central area and they're bombing fullbacks yeah but at this level of footb you never see it but what it means is the pitch gets B pitch gets battered in the middle we've had to sand it like this historically this area in the middle of the pitch and it's bad right it's bad now so like start building sand castles don't don't get me wrong like it's taken in and and there's there's a multitude of reasons and variables to that but what I would say is Paul and Pete who've been doing the pitch for years right years have never seen this area bad and like all of a sudden we play 4222 for a season and the wings are gorgeous and in the middle of the pitch is abely hammered so yeah look we we've we've done well to be honest to get this game on um it doesn't look very pretty but it plays yeah um the rest of the picture is great but this this area it's just been battered by attacking midfielders basically we're playing two of them at a time you touched upon it earlier about social media like anyone that follows farum on YouTube now would have seen a massive difference in what you guys have done in that side of it how important is it for non-league clubs to do that but again you've got the resources to do which a lot of clubs will will not have yeah 100% I'm sure there's little anodot that you could probably give that they could do small little adjustments but for you how important was it to get that social media aspect corre correct yeah I think it's been really important it drives that engagement throughout the week I think that's the key thing for me non leag football at the moment is a very Tuesday Saturday thing like the only time you ever think about it is on Tuesday evening and Saturday during the day check the fix have we got a game Tuesday night no I'll see them on Saturday exactly the big thing for for me was about okay well how can we make this interesting continually and in order to do that you need to create content or create engagement throughout the week right to also to drive people to the game cuz I don't want people to have to check the fixtures I want people to know the fixtures or to be reminded constantly about what's happening what's coming up next or they just like it's imprinted their brain because they're so engaged in what we're doing so we put out a documentary every week on Friday about the inner work of the club you get you know the classic stuff in the change your room and stuff but we put out on a Friday not because that's the day we get edited it's because most people watch it on day one and they'll remember to come down to F on the Saturday next day so like everything's like I know it sounds really forced but everything is strategically done um and been thought through in order to drive as many people through the gate as possible and ultimately you know we we'll live stream the game tonight so every midweek game home and away we live stream for free online and it's a lost leader people go oh yeah but you spend x amount to do it yeah we do but I guarantee you that with people in this ground tonight who've never been to a farom game who've watched four or five online and have gone actually do you know what I'm going to come down and due to1 pound Theory I only need 20 of them yeah right in order to be for me to justify the live stream I was watching your goalie nashy warm up on my word that lad has got some serious technique on him his side winders are incredible did he come from Everton I heard he was at Everton then he's come down here and he's been doing a few trials but what a keeper yeah prop goalkeeper one of those ones at 19 years of age where you just got you got to enjoy him whilst he's here because uh he's he's far too good for the level I mean you made go save um download to his Riot type one that you expect him to make but one that you know you need to make in these conditions I think it was raining at that time obviously there's not many non- League clubs that have got your expertise in this field which you're an Anon Le and it's credit to yourself and and your skill set but I think there's lots more people coming into this like this is fun people love doing this I think there's loads more people coming into this the clubs just need to be a bit more open-minded clubs have been burnt so many times there's so many bad stories that they don't trust people externally coming in and and you know some sometimes that's that's fair but other times I think maybe those people are going to offer you something that that you don't know as much about and can can massively or radically push your Club forward and how do you deal with the backlash cuz we joked about it earlier oh you just got to take it head on oh you got to take it on the CH I love it I love it that's what football's all about you think about the elite game and your mates down the pub like if you're an Arsenal fan well let's take this weekend just G with the caraval Cup Final I'm a liall fan I'm Banner in all my Chelsea mates like that's just that's football so for me it's exactly the same at this level and I think one of the one the worst things about non- League football is this oh we've got to be really respectful and no that like we we we're football fans we're trying to do something called yes be respectful in the right moments but you could take the out of someone for losing or cuz it's football it's fun it's going to be entertainment and I think that's the thing people get so wrong and what we're trying to do with the social stuff we're trying to build an entertainment brand that plays football twice a week what's happened well one of the Jersey players gone into the Holdings there it's a red card what farer and disbelief everyone at non League loves a burger and a cup of tea or a burger and a pine and you've got that you've got all that but you've also got the mystery kitchen so what was the idea behind that there's four of us that came in in 2022 who will work for my business yeah in social media and marketing right so you know I'm certainly not taking credit for for everybody's ideas but this theory that we had was like foot scr is a massive thing mhm but most clubs can only ever post once they get a great burger or they serve like tun MIT and do this amazing jerk chicken but they only serve that and therefore they're only ever going to get one post what if we could create a club that could get featured every week you make it sound so simple so like we were like okay well we'll just change the menu every week and then we can take a new photo it look it will look brilliant yeah we'll do that tonight absolutely and foot ground will feature it every single week so it's just free promo to half a million people so we've been viral on footy scrp like five times and that's like Priceless advertising got millions of millions of eyeballs for free every other club sees it as amazing win when they get their burger featured but I get featured once every week so so it's thinking about that so we got a proper Chef in to do it rather than just someone cuz we wanted to ideate the actual how it looked because it was obviously it's important how it tastes but it's really important how it looks on a photo so like garnishing it in the right way and think like those things are are really really important we've got like a list of things we think will look great or things that we've seen at other clubs so this is the mystery kitchen behind me and tonight on the menu Chile honani coming in at £750 but it's the dessert that's also really getting me Chucky brownie £250 so I've already spent £10 Harry's £10 theory is really working you're in for a tree and also you got to think about the demographic you know we're talking about a few things in the last week where we're like God it would be brilliant and it would taste great but a average farum fan would never order it what would be your dream mystery Kitchen meal like fat off pizza or think what would you have pizza go play cheese four cheese you know what I like spice and I know tonight is chili conani I think but it might actually be that so you're in luck with answer I would go chili con Corney we'll go for ribs what sauce barbecue all day Jack dang barbecue Mexican tacos yeah that talk me out oh the first week it was here was suit Club was the Mac and cheese with TR side and truffle yeah it's lovely probably a spag ball something basic so boring but yeah probably a spag ball Curry and like thaty a spag balll uh no night before I'm normally Saturdays is poached egg on toast few beans cup of coffee I'm into sort of the Asian stuff I think they did a CAT soup which was I didn't try it but in my mind that would be my favorite C and rice what it's called it's like beef beef stew beef stew and mesh Big macmail Mate that ties in quite nicely there talking about the demographic of people that will come and watch it hit side that sponsored the kids and obviously the Sid men thing is that again is that your strategic way of drawing in those young kids that probably want to come and watch their football that are in the local area that you know follow those huge influences yeah obviously look that's that's my business I I probably get that more than more than anything else pit side boys are brilliant they're actually traveling with us to Jersey away are they which would be a lot of fun uh and they'll be vlogging that so look out for that one Tom yeah stay clear of Tom yeah it's a sort of like a 5ot rule with him um and and then fogam was in was in The Dugout for for a video that was fun and different you know lots of people gave us a bit of stick for that oh you taking the or you're disrespectful or you know we forc that on the manager manager's idea manager was like I'm either going to pull out the cup or we're going to do a marketing stum I was like all right well I'll get a YouTuber to come in The Dugout of you as the assistant manager and it'd be brilliant and yeah it was great it was fun it was different and then obviously Simon with with the the uh third shirt the pink shirt has been incredibly successful and we're in talks with them to to go again next year and have a few more bespoke kits which which will which will continue to sell really well we know in 10 years time we're going to have a huge amount of mid 20s farum fans and that's the lifeblood the people that come down here and you drink and eat and build their weeks around farum they're not 18 19 20 yet but they will be in a few years time and and we Wen fans for life and the referee is pointed for a penalty and the game has turned what's next what's the next plan we need to get promoted like we we got 69 points from a possible 69 that's amazing we've still got a job to do tonight will be a really really Stern test we've got to win seven of our next 15 to guarantee winning the league that's that's the number that me hey going off is it where do you see this club in five years time what league will they be playing I think is and Prem um would e be is and Prem or or Southern Southern Southern um yeah Southern Prem I think they're they're probably the best Target I think the next level up is a big Step Up um so so no there's no part of me that's like oh we're just going to go and ROM that League like it's it's going to be tough It's a proper proper step up and a much You Know Much More Level Playing Field the level above that is harder way harder and and you have to start thinking about players who might be way too good at step four but don't want to do the traveling at step three and and then you're starting to play around with even more factors than just can you feel the best team it's about can you feel the best team that's willing to do the commitment and and and then you've got to commit the budget to travel around the country you know across to in that League it's like Plymouth on a Tuesday night I mean that becomes that becomes far less interesting than cob him away so yeah for for me that's where we want to be cuz I genuinely believe the club deserves to be there but we still got a lot of work to do and yeah we just got to enjoy it on the way up [Applause] really [Laughter] can't

Channel: Location Football

Views: 141,073

Keywords: farnham town, non-league diar, farnham town fc, farnham sidemen, non league football documentary, non-league football, sidemen, pitchside

Id: auJJvPEIEXw

Length: 20min 39sec (1239 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 03 2024