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Post by buckrippers on Jul 13, 2015 13:58:25 GMT
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 14:14:49 GMT
Good one.
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Bridgeman
Alfie Biggs
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,549 
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Post by Bridgeman on Jul 13, 2015 14:58:14 GMT
Absolutely spot on  |
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Post by Centenary Gas on Jul 13, 2015 15:03:28 GMT
Edit
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RG2 Gas
Andy Spring
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 229
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Post by RG2 Gas on Jul 13, 2015 15:16:18 GMT
As usual a very good article and I usually agree with most you say. I do have a slight difference of opinion in your central message this time though.
The fact is, we always DO man up and accept all the sh*t (and there's a lot of it!) that comes our way.
We got relegated to non-league after years of flirting with relegation, in-fighting, mounting debt and taking on dubious 'payday' style loans. But we all manned up and other than a little skirmish on the pitch after the final whistle vs Mansfield everyone accepted our fate almost without question. We weren't real supporters unless we clapped and cheered our way into oblivion.
We were promised a root and branch review of the inherent issues within the club. It never came (or maybe it did, it was all John Wards fault wasn't it?). Even die-heart blue-tinters on the retail panel had to resign over frustrating lack of progress. Watola, not only FD but acting CEO, admitted that the club hadn't planned for relegation and didn't know the financial implications of it 'as we were only in relegation zone for 70 minutes' - why was he never held to account for that gross dereliction of his duties? Ah it was excusable and acceptable because we had the new stadium just around the corner. Anyway, the majority just manned up, accepted it unquestioningly and turned up in their thousands each week.
Maybe, for once, we shouldn't just shrug our shoulders, say 'ah well, we're Bristol Rovers we're used to things being cr*p around here' and move on in the false belief that we're the greatest most loyal fans in the country and the best way to show how great we are is to blindly accept everything that we're told. Maybe we should not only ask questions but DEMAND answers, rather than accept being fobbed off every time there's another screw up. Perhaps we should be more vocal like the Blackpool or Newcastle fans?
No, we're Bristol Rovers fans, and we perpetually accept mediocrity and disappointment. You can't man up and accept things more than that! We're seasoned professionals in it! :-)
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 15:22:33 GMT
Ideally the Supporters' Directors would give us those answers. Or at least express an opinion. Any news from them?
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topman
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 187
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Post by topman on Jul 13, 2015 16:05:28 GMT
A good report and sums up all the recent issues
The only problem I have is how long do we have to wait further for what even passes as a reasonable return for our unstinting support?
I am 62 and the same problems exists now as when I started supporting Rovers - a club run unprofessionally / behind the times and a board lacking proper decision making and vision Smaller clubs that we visit and who have been in existence for very little time almost embarrass us by the way they market and present themselves
Patience is a virtue but is not infinite
Unless Mr H has a magic wand in waiting then the whole board need to resign and then perhaps we will have a proper, thorough and long overdue review that is absolutely essential whether we stay at the Mem or by some fluke still have a new stadium! Most fans knows what needs to be addressed but the board does not listen
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Post by dickgherkin on Jul 13, 2015 17:04:01 GMT
When do requests for loyalty turn into demands for blind obedience?
I'm not ready to form up behind the flag and march on again. We did that after relegation, when we were told to wait for the club's inquest, which emerged 6 months later as a whitewash ("we didn't score enough goals")
Now I'm sure there'll be another behind-closed-doors, need-to-know inquest into why we have blundered again down a path of self-destruction.
Why did the board decide to take one of the UK's largest corporations to court when they knew all along that the contract was not watertight, there WAS a quit clause that could be activated, and that our only argument was based on supoosed bad faith? I'm guessing someone convinced Higgs there would be a deal on the courtroom steps - they were wrong.
Horrific blunders piled onto unforgiveable errors, that now could have destroyed our most promising season in a decade before a ball has been kicked - and now you want us to just 'man up' & move on?
Of course I'll still be going to rovers (see my previous thread - I've even bought a frikkin 350 season ticket ;0), of course we'll be backing the lads. Its not clarke or the players falut, and anyway we have no choice.
But alongside that - enough is enough. We must be united and vocal in our rejection of Team Higgs on the board. Supporters reps should resign and a policy of non-compliance with the board shouldbe followed until a new owner is found.
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Post by buckrippers on Jul 13, 2015 18:09:50 GMT
When do requests for loyalty turn into demands for blind obedience? I'm not ready to form up behind the flag and march on again. We did that after relegation, when we were told to wait for the club's inquest, which emerged 6 months later as a whitewash ("we didn't score enough goals") Now I'm sure there'll be another behind-closed-doors, need-to-know inquest into why we have blundered again down a path of self-destruction. Why did the board decide to take one of the UK's largest corporations to court when they knew all along that the contract was not watertight, there WAS a quit clause that could be activated, and that our only argument was based on supoosed bad faith? I'm guessing someone convinced Higgs there would be a deal on the courtroom steps - they were wrong. Horrific blunders piled onto unforgiveable errors, that now could have destroyed our most promising season in a decade before a ball has been kicked - and now you want us to just 'man up' & move on? Of course I'll still be going to rovers (see my previous thread - I've even bought a frikkin 350 season ticket ;0), of course we'll be backing the lads. Its not clarke or the players falut, and anyway we have no choice. But alongside that - enough is enough. We must be united and vocal in our rejection of Team Higgs on the board. Supporters reps should resign and a policy of non-compliance with the board shouldbe followed until a new owner is found. What I really want is people to stop saying "that's it... this is the end of Bristol Rovers". The fans will be around long after Mr Higgs and Co have gone. It's the emotional heart-tugging and the idea, promoted by our brilliant Finance Director Toni Watola in court, that this will be the death knell of the club which sticks in my craw. Swansea, Chester, Newport, Wrexham... stories abound of clubs who have fought back when all seemed lost and the directors let them down. Perhaps that's a story for next week though. I could hardly bear to read social media today because there were too many "end of the world is nigh" posts |
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Post by fatherjackhackett on Jul 13, 2015 18:28:05 GMT
When do requests for loyalty turn into demands for blind obedience? I'm not ready to form up behind the flag and march on again. We did that after relegation, when we were told to wait for the club's inquest, which emerged 6 months later as a whitewash ("we didn't score enough goals") Now I'm sure there'll be another behind-closed-doors, need-to-know inquest into why we have blundered again down a path of self-destruction. Why did the board decide to take one of the UK's largest corporations to court when they knew all along that the contract was not watertight, there WAS a quit clause that could be activated, and that our only argument was based on supoosed bad faith? I'm guessing someone convinced Higgs there would be a deal on the courtroom steps - they were wrong. Horrific blunders piled onto unforgiveable errors, that now could have destroyed our most promising season in a decade before a ball has been kicked - and now you want us to just 'man up' & move on? Of course I'll still be going to rovers (see my previous thread - I've even bought a frikkin 350 season ticket ;0), of course we'll be backing the lads. Its not clarke or the players falut, and anyway we have no choice. But alongside that - enough is enough. We must be united and vocal in our rejection of Team Higgs on the board. Supporters reps should resign and a policy of non-compliance with the board shouldbe followed until a new owner is found. What I really want is people to stop saying "that's it... this is the end of Bristol Rovers". The fans will be around long after Mr Higgs and Co have gone. It's the emotional heart-tugging and the idea, promoted by our brilliant Finance Director Toni Watola in court, that this will be the death knell of the club which sticks in my craw. Swansea, Chester, Newport, Wrexham... stories abound of clubs who have fought back when all seemed lost and the directors let them down. Perhaps that's a story for next week though. I could hardly bear to read social media today because there were too many "end of the world is nigh" posts Swansea, Chester, Newport and Wrexham were all saved by the FANS, in the form of them getting off their backsides, realising the mythical billionaire wasn't going to save them, and getting active in the setting up of Supporters Trusts. |
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 19:02:16 GMT
What I really want is people to stop saying "that's it... this is the end of Bristol Rovers". The fans will be around long after Mr Higgs and Co have gone. It's the emotional heart-tugging and the idea, promoted by our brilliant Finance Director Toni Watola in court, that this will be the death knell of the club which sticks in my craw. Swansea, Chester, Newport, Wrexham... stories abound of clubs who have fought back when all seemed lost and the directors let them down. Perhaps that's a story for next week though. I could hardly bear to read social media today because there were too many "end of the world is nigh" posts Swansea, Chester, Newport and Wrexham were all saved by the FANS, in the form of them getting off their backsides, realising the mythical billionaire wasn't going to save them, and getting active in the setting up of Supporters Trusts. That was their final option. How can the supporters just get up of their backsides and save Rovers when the person in charge/board of directors run the club? It doesn't happen just like that does it? If all the board resigned and left the Rovers sailing in the wind then that would be a different matter altogether. All this lazy supporter, do something about it s**te pisses me off. If those in charge don't want the help you cant do bugger all about. Simple. Shout your mouths off, protest and wave your banners as much as you like but if those in charge wont listen........
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Post by fatherjackhackett on Jul 13, 2015 19:09:03 GMT
Swansea, Chester, Newport and Wrexham were all saved by the FANS, in the form of them getting off their backsides, realising the mythical billionaire wasn't going to save them, and getting active in the setting up of Supporters Trusts. That was their final option. How can the supporters just get up of their backsides and save Rovers when the person in charge/board of directors run the club? It doesn't happen just like that does it? If all the board resigned and left the Rovers sailing in the wind then that would be a different matter altogether. All this lazy supporter, do something about it s***e pisses me off. If those in charge don't want the help you cant do bugger all about. Simple. Shout your mouths off, protest and wave your banners as much as you like but if those in charge wont listen........
Or just type the usual trite platitudes from the comfort of your own keyboard. More keep calm and keep the faith bulls**t tbh. |
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 19:14:40 GMT
That was their final option. How can the supporters just get up of their backsides and save Rovers when the person in charge/board of directors run the club? It doesn't happen just like that does it? If all the board resigned and left the Rovers sailing in the wind then that would be a different matter altogether. All this lazy supporter, do something about it s***e pisses me off. If those in charge don't want the help you cant do bugger all about. Simple. Shout your mouths off, protest and wave your banners as much as you like but if those in charge wont listen........
Or just type the usual trite platitudes from the comfort of your own keyboard. More keep calm and keep the faith bulls*** tbh. I don't know what planet you are from but please tell me how the fans will be able to get off their fat backsides and take over Rovers with Higgs and the board in place O wise one.... It makes more sense to keep banging that drum of yours in an empty room for all the good it will do.
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dagnogo
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 872
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Post by dagnogo on Jul 13, 2015 19:17:09 GMT
Let's be honest.
Most of the fans only care about what's happenning on the field, most of them don't post on forums, and most of them think it's still 1998 and Box 1 are still the saviours who took us back home.
If the fans didn't revolt after relegation, they won't revolt after promotion.
They'll keep going (as is their right) until one day we're selling the Mem to pay for all of this, or administration is looming.
So all of this talk of action should stop really.
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Post by buckrippers on Jul 13, 2015 19:20:47 GMT
That was their final option. How can the supporters just get up of their backsides and save Rovers when the person in charge/board of directors run the club? It doesn't happen just like that does it? If all the board resigned and left the Rovers sailing in the wind then that would be a different matter altogether. All this lazy supporter, do something about it s***e pisses me off. If those in charge don't want the help you cant do bugger all about. Simple. Shout your mouths off, protest and wave your banners as much as you like but if those in charge wont listen........
Or just type the usual trite platitudes from the comfort of your own keyboard. More keep calm and keep the faith bulls*** tbh. I don't think anyone is saying Keep The Faith whatever. I want us to say "We lost, get over it". Those doom merchants saying "death knell of our club" must have pretty short memories and are playing into the hands of our friends south of the river who can imagine nothing better than us beating ourselves up over this latest setback. |
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dagnogo
Joined: June 2014
Posts: 872
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Post by dagnogo on Jul 13, 2015 19:29:20 GMT
Nick, what's the exit strategy though?
This isn't the 80s where City got away with it and the debts were low enough for a Denis Dunford to ride to the rescue.
Unless an appeal miraculously worked, and they found the funding shortfall, UWE is as dead as Severnside or the Mem redevelopment.
We could possibly run the club as a business (for once) from the Mem if the debts weren't huge, but they are so that's that.
Do you think people are talking about doom for effect or attention?
We're relying on either a miracle, or an investor who has the club at heart and doesn't mind buying an insolvent club and paying off millions of pounds of debt.
Other than thay, it's administration, which carries a heavy sporting burden.
Now, admin may bring a local buyer out of the woodwork, but it also might end up in losimg the Mem.
You cite Newport as an example - they had to start from nothing and took 25 years to claw their way back up.
That may not be the death of the club but it's close.
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Post by markczgas on Jul 13, 2015 21:20:33 GMT
As usual a very good article and I usually agree with most you say. I do have a slight difference of opinion in your central message this time though.
The fact is, we always DO man up and accept all the sh*t (and there's a lot of it!) that comes our way.
We got relegated to non-league after years of flirting with relegation, in-fighting, mounting debt and taking on dubious 'payday' style loans. But we all manned up and other than a little skirmish on the pitch after the final whistle vs Mansfield everyone accepted our fate almost without question. We weren't real supporters unless we clapped and cheered our way into oblivion.
We were promised a root and branch review of the inherent issues within the club. It never came (or maybe it did, it was all John Wards fault wasn't it?). Even die-heart blue-tinters on the retail panel had to resign over frustrating lack of progress. Watola, not only FD but acting CEO, admitted that the club hadn't planned for relegation and didn't know the financial implications of it 'as we were only in relegation zone for 70 minutes' - why was he never held to account for that gross dereliction of his duties? Ah it was excusable and acceptable because we had the new stadium just around the corner. Anyway, the majority just manned up, accepted it unquestioningly and turned up in their thousands each week.
Maybe, for once, we shouldn't just shrug our shoulders, say 'ah well, we're Bristol Rovers we're used to things being cr*p around here' and move on in the false belief that we're the greatest most loyal fans in the country and the best way to show how great we are is to blindly accept everything that we're told. Maybe we should not only ask questions but DEMAND answers, rather than accept being fobbed off every time there's another screw up. Perhaps we should be more vocal like the Blackpool or Newcastle fans?
No, we're Bristol Rovers fans, and we perpetually accept mediocrity and disappointment. You can't man up and accept things more than that! We're seasoned professionals in it! :-)
Something did happen last summer and I was proud to be involved in it - we did shake the tree, perhaps if many more had joined in we would have got THE REVIEW done properly , perhaps some on the board would've have left (earlier) !! However, we did, I think, have some impact. The problem is NH and his gang own the stadium and not BRFC and NH has 51% shares in BRFC !! Call for him to stand down /sell his stake in the club ! I will do so when attending games. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO ? |
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Post by buckrippers on Jul 13, 2015 22:17:39 GMT
Maybe it's time we formed our own FC Rovers and worked our way up from the bottom, playing on the downs or hiring Bath's ground again. Wimbledon and FC United have achieved miracles (just playing devil's advocate but I imagine some of the influential Gasheads who have departed the club over the years would be ready to return to the fold). We're not at that point yet Dagnogo, but there are always options other than ripping up the players contracts, cancelling all the debts and starting again like the 82ers did. No one could stop the team playing in blue and white quarters, calling itself Rovers and referring to its fans at Gasheads, I wouldn't have thought. We're not at that stage yet, though, and until the board start cashing in their chips and bailing out we shouldn't be panicking.
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