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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 20, 2014 20:16:57 GMT
I'm very sceptical about this bit:
"Higgs and Toni Watola made clear that money was available to recruit a striker in January but for the most part Ward stubbornly rejected the opportunity to improve the squad. He wanted to play a certain way and was not interested in adding to his attacking options. Understandably this shocked the room but having heard he had lost his love for the game it perhaps explained why he was so lackadaisical about the situation. Unfortunately it contributed to our relegation".
Now there's no doubt that JW likes a defensive setup, but I can't think of a manager anywhere who would turn down the chance of money to recruit a striker. Did JW really "stubbornly reject.. the opportunity to improve the squad.....not interested in adding to his attacking options"?
The way it's written, and how it "shocked the room", reads like a lightbulb suddenly went on over everyone's head as they finally realised that JW, not the Board, is the reason we are where we are. Just him. No-one else.
The Board, despite their valiant efforts to turn the ship around, were unable to prevent their lunatic captain at the helm of the good ship BRFC crashing it onto the rocks as he cackled like a demented maniac.
A sorry slur on the name of a well-meaning if unsuccessful manager. Remember we'd have been able to get our Dover sightseeing tickets a year earlier if he hadn't saved us the season before.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 20, 2014 14:20:12 GMT
Hmmmm. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 20, 2014 14:15:56 GMT
It all sounds rather jolly to me. I'm surprised it didn't end with:
"Mr Higgs then delighted those present by agreeing to stay for some rather naughty but nice cake and tea."
Were the twitter feeds and this summary actually commenting on the same meeting? And no, I wasn't there. Just very surprised that two reports of the same meeting can be so different.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 19, 2014 20:01:41 GMT
It could be more like an Irish wake than a jolly open day. Lots of friends and family in attendance, a few tears shed for what everyone has lost, a bit of food and drink, some arguments and a right old punch-up at the end.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 18, 2014 20:52:23 GMT
I didn't suggest we drop the quarters. Just that we wash them, iron them, fold them very carefully and pack them away wrapped in silken covers until the time that we can be proud to wear them again. All or most of our greatest times have happened in the legendary shirts. Next season will be our first chance to taste the bitter fruit the Board have cultivated for 13 years, and I don't want to wrap that sour experience in our quarters. Put them aside, and tell the players that they have to earn the right to wear our heritage again. That ought to motivate them. It ought to, but probably won't. Our modern day players will probably say: "Sod the bloody shirts. Where's my win bonus?" But nevertheless, I see it as a symbolic gesture like a player sees pride in kissing the club badge. Get us back into the FL, and wear those quarters with pride. As I said in the OP, probably too late now. Designs will no doubt have been finalised weeks ago. I would have suggested it in March, but I thought we'd stay up then. Foolish boy! Here's another thought. Why don't fans turn up to matches in 1971-style blue shirts, white collars and cuffs? £4.99 on ebay! link
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 18, 2014 19:20:42 GMT
Dismissed as a piece of bubblegum crap at the time, and accompanied by a terrible original video, this song has aged brilliantly, sounds great today in a trendy retro way, and is now a real late 60s classic.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 18, 2014 14:12:26 GMT
If BRISA wanted to do something that the Board would take notice of, they would commission some leading independent sports consultants to produce a report on the reasons for our downfall and recommendations to fix the problems.
Something authoritative and independent would be hard for the Board to dismiss. Unfortunately it would probably cost something like £50,000 minimum, so BRISA would have to set up some pretty impressive fund-raising events and ask about 5,000 of us to cough up at least a tenner. Which will never happen.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 18, 2014 13:57:56 GMT
Bristol Rovers will be debt free The stadium will be debt free We will start the build in March We will start the build in May We will start the build in June The stadium will be ready for 2015-16 The stadium will be ready for 2016-17 We will start the build in the summer We will start the build this year ............................? The stadium will be downsized temporarily until our return to the FL The stadium will be built following our return to the FL The Memorial Stadium will be enhanced until UWE build plans are clearer Memorial Stadium redvelopment plans published in 2016 Memorial Stadium rebuild to be completed in 2018 Memorial Stadium upgrade delayed until 2020 Vibrant new lick of paint for the Memorial Stadium due to commence in 2025..
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 17, 2014 19:46:21 GMT
Dunford
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 17, 2014 19:43:20 GMT
Does anyone know whether Kirsty is dyslexic? Happens way too often not to be, surely? Twentyman: "Nick Higgs - can you honestly say you were happy with John Ward's tactics last season?" Nick Higgs: "Well Geoff, I've certainly never noticed he had bad breath, so the answer must be yes."
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 16, 2014 20:57:17 GMT
Just a thought I was musing on whilst bored by Iran-Nigeria. Too late now I suppose, but maybe we should drop the famous blue and white quarters until we return to the Football League, since we don't want to shame the famous strip by displaying it in non-league. Announce that we will revert to the traditional kit as soon as we make our glorious return. We did it in 1962-63 for our first season in the old 3rd Division, following relegation the previous season after a glorious 10 years in the old 2nd Division. Maybe we could revert to the very smart blue shirts/white shorts combo we adopted in the late 60s, which heralded the rise back to much better times a few years later and the re-adoption of the quarters. I'm not expecting much support for this........but healthy debate is good for the soul.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 16, 2014 20:39:36 GMT
You might want to ring DC. His six professionals could do with a warm-up.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 16, 2014 20:35:55 GMT
Another false dawn. My money is on absolutely NOTHING coming out of the club again tomorrow. Still waiting for that date in July for the Fans Forum - how difficult can it possibly be to announce that?!? I've got a feeling that you might be right RG2. That's a bit cynical. A source very close to the Board who I know to be reliable tells me they're just finalising seating arrangements and rehearsals for the big day, and things seem to be going well in a dummy run.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 14, 2014 20:11:12 GMT
I remember a superb display by Walters away at Brentford in December 1999, before our season imploded, where we won 3-0 (although it should have been 6) and Walters, although 35 at the time, was magnificent, as were the whole team. I was working in London then and went to the match with a Cockernee mate who was a Spurs fan. He was watching the silky skills of Walters for a few minutes, and then said: "Bloody hell, that's THE Mark Walters, isn't it! He's still brilliant".
A few short weeks later, it started to go terribly wrong, and incredibly we slipped out of the automatic promotion places and unbelievably even out of the playoffs. The following season was an utter disaster, which put us down into the league we'd now dearly love to get back to.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 14, 2014 12:17:48 GMT
The last 13 years have been awful, but it's just not possible to un-support Rovers once you've started. If I had a car that performed as badly as our lot in the past, I'd get a different make and never look at the dodgy old Rover again. But you can't just say: "Rovers are cr*p. I'm going to support Liverpool". Once well-meaning Gashead family members hook you when you're a young helpless fry and reel you in, little do they realise the years of heartache they've committed you to.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 13, 2014 20:18:33 GMT
I know nothing about it, but it sounds like Lord Of The Rings meets Shakespeare.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 13, 2014 19:43:21 GMT
I must say I've had my doubts about appointing a CEO, even though everyone else seems to think it's a brilliant idea. We have a Chairman (not sure who), a Board (ditto), a Director of Football (as I write), a Finance Director, a Press Officer, and a Manager. I'm really not sure how much that leaves a CEO to do for his/her £75,000 a year (just guessing). If we had money to burn, then maybe so, but it seems to me an expense too far. If some say we need a CEO because all the previously mentioned officials aren't doing enough, or aren't doing their jobs well enough, then the guilty parties should be replaced, not overseen by yet another layer of officialdom. Meanwhile we've got just about enough decent players for a five-a-side at the moment, and spending time and money seeking replacements and additions to them should be a much higher priority than appointing a CEO.
That's my opinion, anyway.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 11, 2014 21:50:49 GMT
If we get a CEO who happens to be a mate of Box 1 who happens to be good at what needs to be happening, then I would be pleased at the happenings, regardless of whether NH happened to know him.
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 11, 2014 21:33:58 GMT
Yep, the 'feedback' from Ras accurately reflected how I thought the meeting went too. UTG !! That was a work of art from Ras. I would have expected "Loads there. Good debate. Distracted by sinuous curvy firm thighs of serving wench."
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David Williams
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 395
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Post by aghast on Jun 11, 2014 21:27:30 GMT
I am having a spiritual meeting in my downstairs loo and have invoked the ghosts of Nostradamus and Old Mother Shipton. I have checked my tea leaves and tarot cards, and the message from the other side is "Hear not the message of false prophets. They speak to you in tongues of another land. Bristol Rovers will play Dover next season."
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