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Post by lostinspace on Sept 27, 2016 20:56:43 GMT
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Sept 28, 2016 1:05:03 GMT
Yes - Bransgrove should win his neck in.
I think it would be very, very harsh on Durham if they were relegated on these terms especially given that the ECB carry a major responsibility for Durham's predicament in the first place because they imposed a set of hosting criteria on them for International games (coupled with unattractive fixture being awarded) that has basically made it next to impossible for Durham to make back the money they spent on building the stadium......An investment that was originally encouraged by the ECB!
More importantly though it is critical that some kind of sustainable future is secured for Durham especially the boatload of quality England and county quality players their youth system has produced in the last 15 years. In many ways they are a model county on the cricket side so it would be an absolute catastrophe if they can't find a way of making it work financially one way or another. |
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Sept 28, 2016 7:28:29 GMT
Agree with above. Hants Bransgrove has a cheek. 2/3 years ago when the development of the Rose/ Aegeas Bowl ground to a halt through lack of investment Eastleigh Borough Council stepped in and built the hotel that is integral to the Aegeas now. Rumour had it that Bransgrove didn't want to finance it himself because he had lost out on an Ashes test and had a wobbly! They received, in a roundabout way, millions to finish the development of the ground. Now that might be slightly different from the governing body (ECB) supporting a county but it still gives Hampshire an advantage against other counties that don't have a local authority supporting them. Slightly different perhaps but a similar principle, getting finances from non-cricketing sources. The local 6.30 news programme was full of it at the time and whilst there were supporters of it, many local rate payers were against it, especially at a time of local authority austerity.
Also, and I may be wrong here, but I believe Northants and Derbyshire both had financial problems after promotion to the first division a couple of years ago and I think the ECB were "understanding" and loans may have been involved. I have no problem with the ECB supporting counties financially, after all that must be the primary purpose, to support cricket across England and Wales. To be fair to Durham, they haven't gone on a spending spree nor have they splashed it on foreign players. It would have been used to support the club and survive. Good use of money IMO!
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Oct 3, 2016 22:56:49 GMT
Agree with above. Hants Bransgrove has a cheek. 2/3 years ago when the development of the Rose/ Aegeas Bowl ground to a halt through lack of investment Eastleigh Borough Council stepped in and built the hotel that is integral to the Aegeas now. Rumour had it that Bransgrove didn't want to finance it himself because he had lost out on an Ashes test and had a wobbly! They received, in a roundabout way, millions to finish the development of the ground. Now that might be slightly different from the governing body (ECB) supporting a county but it still gives Hampshire an advantage against other counties that don't have a local authority supporting them. Slightly different perhaps but a similar principle, getting finances from non-cricketing sources. The local 6.30 news programme was full of it at the time and whilst there were supporters of it, many local rate payers were against it, especially at a time of local authority austerity. Also, and I may be wrong here, but I believe Northants and Derbyshire both had financial problems after promotion to the first division a couple of years ago and I think the ECB were "understanding" and loans may have been involved. I have no problem with the ECB supporting counties financially, after all that must be the primary purpose, to support cricket across England and Wales. To be fair to Durham, they haven't gone on a spending spree nor have they splashed it on foreign players. It would have been used to support the club and survive. Good use of money IMO! Well they've gone and done it. I have to say I'm stunned and it leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. Rod Bransgrove - a man who essentially went cap in hand to local taxpayers (and the ECB) when his own OTT grandiose dreams came a cropper is the beneficiary of Durham being stuffed over. If they'd have promoted Kent I could probably have been sold - but it doesn't half look like Giles Clarke leaning on the ECB and making sure his mates are seen alright......horrid. Hope they don't win a game next year.
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Oct 4, 2016 4:08:10 GMT
Couldn't agree more Irish. When I read it I was gobsmacked TBH. This sends a bad message, a poor precedent. In years ahead I would imagine more counties will face similar issues and we will be faced with a situation that once the season is over the bartering for relegation and promotion will start. As you say Irish, Giles Clarke ( and at this moment ashamed of his Somerset connections) and friends helping a buddy. And if course the ECB and Clarke and connections to Allan Stanford some time ago covered themselves with glory.....not! Do you think this is a done deal or will here be an appeal? I would have thought the other counties would want a say in such an over-the-top, severe penalty for an offence that was induced by the ECBs own procedures.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Oct 4, 2016 14:00:55 GMT
Couldn't agree more Irish. When I read it I was gobsmacked TBH. This sends a bad message, a poor precedent. In years ahead I would imagine more counties will face similar issues and we will be faced with a situation that once the season is over the bartering for relegation and promotion will start. As you say Irish, Giles Clarke ( and at this moment ashamed of his Somerset connections) and friends helping a buddy. And if course the ECB and Clarke and connections to Allan Stanford some time ago covered themselves with glory.....not! Do you think this is a done deal or will here be an appeal? I would have thought the other counties would want a say in such an over-the-top, severe penalty for an offence that was induced by the ECBs own procedures. That's possible I suppose but it strikes me as a done deal - apart from anything else Durham themselves have clearly had their arms twisted on an 'or else' basis. But you are right - this should put the wind up a lot of counties and if it doesn't they are being very shortsighted. The more I think about it the more angry it makes me to be honest! In any other line of work the Allan Stanford business would have destroyed Giles Clarke's credibility and reputation but in the clubby, you scratch my back I scratch yours, world of sports administration it barely seemed to matter a jot. I remember going to a Q and A at Gloucestershire in the aftermatch of the Sandford affair when I was a member. I asked Tom Richardson about exactly this - that surely Giles Clarke's position was completely untenable in the eyes of the counties in the wake of the Sanford and his exact reply was 'well it's easy to criticise "Clarkey" with hindsight'.....that just sort of summed up the whole attitude to me. First of all referring to the head of English Cricket by his nickname when you are supposed to be one of the people holding him to account and secondly what bloody hindsight? pretty much the whole world was saying at the time 'um...isn't it a bit strange that this billionaire from Texas suddenly wants to invent in English Cricket?' |
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Oct 5, 2016 3:29:07 GMT
Yes, a done deal seems to explain it and Durham seem to have accepted it. Well the Durham administration and leaders have accepted it. I wonder what the members think, Paul Collingwood is not impressed but not much of a protest from him. I would have thought Keaton Jennings, having signed a new contract to now find himself in the second division with no chance of promotion could claim to have signed the contract under false pretences. Hampshire, understandably keeping a low profile! The fact that Durham beat Hampshire convincingly in the last match just adds insult to injury. This matey type thing between the establishment has always annoyed me probably because I see things very differently. If I get the chance at Somersets AGM I will try and see what their attitude is.
It will be good when the actual cricket in Bangladesh starts!
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Oct 5, 2016 3:35:56 GMT
Irish, when you talk about the way other administrators laugh it off as a joke just shows how wide the gulf between them and supporters of the game is. Sometimes the administrators just don't get it. What's even more amazing, esp on a BRFC forum, is that a businessman from Jordan seems to get it far better than English-administrators as shown by the way Wael seems to get Rovers completely, we are lucky, I think!
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