Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 13:15:01 GMT
He was, obviously of no further use. So where do we go now Phil? I assume that the fruit market plan is dead and another deal on the table which Mr Hamer was not involved with.
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Post by a more piratey game on Nov 21, 2019 13:18:08 GMT
So where do we go now Phil? I assume that the fruit market plan is dead and another deal on the table which Mr Hamer was not involved with. These deals are like buses... Modern buses don't have a conductor
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Post by a more piratey game on Nov 21, 2019 14:24:46 GMT
I wonder who will be taking care of 'board matters'/the sale of the club in future?
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Post by a more piratey game on Nov 21, 2019 14:42:17 GMT
I wonder who will be taking care of 'board matters'/the sale of the club in future? Fruit Market falls over, Hani is cross and gets rid of Hamer, back to square one?
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vaughan
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 1,237
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Post by vaughan on Nov 21, 2019 15:25:30 GMT
Utterly disrespectful to make such an announcement in this way.
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Post by stroudblue on Nov 21, 2019 16:35:19 GMT
Dialogue used is a sacking statement. Maybe a non disclosable issue of some sort?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 16:39:57 GMT
Utterly disrespectful to make such an announcement in this way. Exactly right Vaughan. There are professional standards in business, regardless of the reason for Steve's departure, civility costs nothing. Anything less doesn't exactly reflect well on Rovers.
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vaughan
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 1,237
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Post by vaughan on Nov 21, 2019 17:55:48 GMT
Whatever people think of him, he was always courteous to me.
This just smacks of spite.
"with immediate effect"? He was the Chairman, not some steward.
Really poor and indicative of a club that has lost its sense of class.
In GC's words - "not pretty".
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Post by fanatical on Nov 21, 2019 18:06:47 GMT
Whatever people think of him, he was always courteous to me. This just smacks of spite. "with immediate effect"? He was the Chairman, not some steward. Really poor and indicative of a club that has lost its sense of class. In GC's words - "not pretty". Exactly, when did anyone from Jordan or Plymouth have any class?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 18:35:08 GMT
As I have said previously our current attendances will not pay the bills or wages.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 18:55:45 GMT
As I have said previously our current attendances will not pay the bills or wages. If this was about cost cutting Steve would have gone long ago, and it wouldn't have happened in this chaotic way.
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Igitur
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 2,293
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Post by Igitur on Nov 21, 2019 19:44:04 GMT
Well at least we know why we have an office in London, it’s for having a meeting for Hani to fire a chairman.
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Post by a more piratey game on Nov 21, 2019 19:48:57 GMT
from the other place, and sounds much more on the ball than we have come to expect from the Post....
Given the boot by Hani according to tonight's Bristol post:
Revealed: The story behind Steve Hamer's exit and what it means for Bristol Rovers The experienced chairman has left the club after more than three. year
Having limped out of his return to the Mem after just 33 minutes amid a cacophony of abuse, Matty Taylor elected to walk behind the family stand, attracting even more vitriol from fans, and then sit, on clear view to the Thatchers End, with the Rovers chairman to watch the remainder of the game.
It was pure pantomime as Gasheads delighted in his misfortune and the victory, booing their villain relentlessly, but it also spoke volumes of Hamer's own position and decreasing connection with the club.
Friends and former colleagues he and Taylor may have been, but in the context of that situation, and given the sheer level of hatred towards the former striker on that day, the optics for the chairman weren't great. Not that he especially cared.
On Thursday, Rovers parted company with the 68-year-old - a decision that has been months in the making and has shined a light on the internal political disagreements that have blighted the club for too long.
Hamer was summoned to London to meet with Hani Al-Qadi and was informed of the news, with the club's 15-word statement following less than 24 hours later. The brevity of those words as sure a sign of the feeling towards him as any.
Hamer was appointed by Rovers in February 2016, replacing Nick Higgs and coinciding with the arrival of the Al-Qadi family.
A vastly experienced, respected and well-connected "old school" football man, he could assist Wael and Hani Al-Qadi in making sound business and football decisions in a marketplace that was very new to the Jordanian family.
And that is how he was initially cast, as Wael Al-Qadi spoke with emotion and ambition, Hamer was often assigned to bring a dose of reality to the president's bold pronouncements.
Hamer offered a clear picture surrounding the rise and fall of the UWE development and, to use football parlance, was seen as a safe pair of hands.
However, increasingly that clashed with the Al-Qadis more idealised concepts of where the club should be heading, while the appointment of Martyn Starnes as CEO in March 2018 created a clear divide in the boardroom which has been apparent ever since.
Hamer claims to have not known who Starnes was or what he was intending to do at the football club, until the former Plymouth executive first arrived at the Mem. He had been kept totally in the dark.
And that confusion quickly led to tension between the two men and, eventually, a situation where the CEO and the chairman rarely spoke, barely even acknowledging another.
When Wael Al-Qadi attends game at the Mem, it is Starnes who he either speak to beforehand or watches with in the president's box on the halfway line. Hamer, meanwhile, could be found in box No1 right down the other end of the West Stand with directors from the visiting team.
It has been a political divide that has come to unfortunately define Bristol Rovers and the overwhelming sentiment at the Mem in the wake of his departure is that it will now be a more "united" football club.
The situation was workable to a point; day-to-day matters were still addressed, albeit with disagreements as in any business.
But with the key players at a club so distanced and on dramatically different pages personally and professionally, it was nigh on impossible to form any kind of long-term strategy.
From a fans' perspective, Hamer's waning influence could be evidenced by the decreasing number of interviews he conducted on the club's behalf which, to many, proved something of a relief.
In August 2017, when speaking to the BBC, he infamously compared Rovers to Wimbledon's Crazy Gang of the 1980s.
"They did everything in reverse didn’t they. Their ground was appalling, they would turn up in an old beaten banger to away matches but I think if you have got the spirit and the unity, and if you have got, the commitment and the hunger in the camp to win football games that is what counts," he said.
It's an analogy that stands up to an extent but was ultimately embarrassing to supporters and completely at odds with the image Wael Al-Qadi would prefer to project.
Hamer was opposed to the appointment of Graham Coughlan as manager in January, especially when he was offered a two-and-a-half year contract despite limited experience in the role.
Given Coughlan's association with Starnes previously at Plymouth Argyle, it was seen as a nepotistic decision, irrespective of how well the Dubliner had performed as caretaker following Darrell Clarke's departure.
Coughlan was acutely aware of this and the manager, like his CEO and eventually his president, is said to have had virtually no working relationship with the former chairman, barely speaking and to the point any emails from him remained unopened and ignored.
What has brought these matters to a head has been the prospective takeover of the club which has been rumbling on for more than a year.
Although his bridges were burned with Wael Al-Qadi and Starnes, Hamer had retained ties with Hani Al-Qadi, essentially the man making the primary financial decisions at the club.
That, coupled with his EFL connections and overall experience of the mechanics of football, kept him in his job, despite the various personal and professional disagreements along the corridors of power.
Crucially, he had also chosen to align himself with the consortium looking to purchase the Fruit Market site at St Phillip's Marsh.
And while the Al-Qadi family remain open to that bid, which first needs to secure the land deal before offering to buy the football club, they have no outward allegiances.
There were suspicions that Hamer was planning a life for himself beyond Dwane Sports' ownership and that didn't sit well with the president.
The distance between the two factions could be seen in contract discussions with Jonson Clarke-Harris and his representatives; Wael Al-Qadi keen to reward his superstar forward for his efforts, Starnes open to the idea but also vigilant from an accountancy point of view, while Hamer was simply against it.
Privately, Hamer has known his time was likely up for a while and it's been a matter of when rather than if, but the potential of a takeover on the horizon has represented a pathway to remaining in north Bristol.
However, such has been the climate behind the scenes and the complete breakdown in trust from all sides, it's surprising he has retained his position until November 2019.
Given Hamer's closeness with the Fruit Market bid, the implication is that his exit now signifies that particular deal is off, with at least two other interested parties lurking in the background.
Bristol Live understands that is fundamentally not the case and the consortium remain positive that an agreement can be made with Total Produce to purchase the 11-acre site before concluding a deal to buy the club.
From the Al-Qadi's perspective, this is a power struggle they have emphatically won in the short-term, but the long-term future of Bristol Rovers remains as uncertain as ever."
It's mystifying why SH didn't want the club to offer JCH a new improved contract?
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Post by irenestoyboy on Nov 21, 2019 23:42:23 GMT
Whatever people think of him, he was always courteous to me. This just smacks of spite. "with immediate effect"? He was the Chairman, not some steward. Really poor and indicative of a club that has lost its sense of class. In GC's words - "not pretty". If the Bristol post is to believed, Hamer made a rod for his own back. Specifically mentioning opposing GCs appointment (we know Cotts is a good mate of his and everyone saw him buzzing around the ground at some point as well as shortened odds on his appointment) so that wouldn’t have done much for club harmony. I get the impression the club have made an example of him, without making an example of him, if that makes any sense. No golden handshake or final hurrah to his achievements, of which I’m struggling to think of any. That said, many other companies make clipped announcements when a big cheese leaves, it saves all the rumour swirl and questions if nothing is said at all.
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Post by irenestoyboy on Nov 21, 2019 23:49:41 GMT
Whatever people think of him, he was always courteous to me. This just smacks of spite. "with immediate effect"? He was the Chairman, not some steward. Really poor and indicative of a club that has lost its sense of class. In GC's words - "not pretty". Exactly, when did anyone from Jordan or Plymouth have any class? Classless would be stealing someone’s WiFi, especially if someone else had paid for it out of their hard earned and leaving their search history all over the IP. Sacking someone because they won’t tow the company line after being asked to, not so much.
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Post by a more piratey game on Nov 22, 2019 0:25:19 GMT
I'm not really sure what the 'split' issue was with Landing Lights
He might not have agreed with appointing GC etc etc, but he doesn't seem to have had a different strategy
Did he just always think he knew best?
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irishrover
Global Moderator
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 3,372
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Post by irishrover on Nov 22, 2019 1:02:19 GMT
There are some superb metaphors in this thread and wonderfully specific definition of 'classless'.
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10,240
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Post by kingswood Polak on Nov 22, 2019 1:29:41 GMT
Hamer always reminded me of Grampa Simpson,although I never believed anything he said he was still far more believable than wail. I actually think he was probably the most sincere there. When he did the radio Bristol interview with D.C. he was every bit as upset and seemed very agitated at the lack of progress. Like him or loathe him, he had the contacts within the game and I genuinely believe he felt he wanted to redeem himself after his time with Swansea. I feel this has been very badly handled and even curt and rude in nature. Very ungentlemanly conduct. He was Hanis man yet he had been a Scapegoat ( read the bible for its true meaning I can only hope this doesn’t mean what I think it possibly could. Yes, he made some bizarre comments but remember, he was the owners mouthpiece so this reflects more on them than Steve Hamer. I, for one , wish him all the very best. My view is that the family thought he was lining up something post AQ. Let’s face it, he was blackballed long time ago
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kingswood Polak
Without music life would be a mistake
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10,240
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Post by kingswood Polak on Nov 22, 2019 1:31:39 GMT
Utterly disrespectful to make such an announcement in this way. So glad someone else agrees. Looking of Rovers Facebook, it’s a seething pit of hatred and don’t even look at the other place. How people can delight in others misery is beyond me
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trymer
Joined: November 2018
Posts: 1,369
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Post by trymer on Nov 22, 2019 7:13:39 GMT
Yes its so important to be classy,its the Rovers way,as in sacking Brough Fletcher by sticking a note under his door,very classy. Harold Jarman being told that the managers job was his if he kept Rovers up,he did and he was replaced by Terry Cooper. So the qadi aren't really much worse in this instance than previous boards.
Hamer has had a very nice well paid number for a few years,now he can retire in comfort with more money than a lot of OAP's who probably worked much harder than him.
I prefer to stay "unclassy" and say it how I see it,the present regime at Rovers are like a pack of rats who have now started fighting amongst themselves and have managed to kick the oldest one out of the nest,hopefully a Terrier will turn up and deal with the rest.
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