Poor state of affairs if true 19:04 - Mar 15 with 18414 views | rafc1977 | Came across this link below on Facebook, I don't usually believe all I read & hear unless from source. But as this was posted by Mr Hicks himself I can only assume (without yet hearing any response from the club) that this is a very shoddy way to treat a long time employee & former player. Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere. I don't know Keith but as long as I've been supporting Dale he has been a stalwart of the community set up. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02Pt23WfzSq6gyceJXxrLpdwLAtHzDs | ![](/images/avatars/1205.gif) | | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 09:22 - Mar 17 with 3073 views | James1980 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 09:07 - Mar 17 by fourfourtwo | As much as I understand the sentiment attached to the first paragraph really I have to disagree. When the MH stuff started playing out, we were fresh out of League One with a still capable playing squad which contained valuable assets. Really at that point most people thought at the very worst we would revert to being a combatant mid table league two team but most wanted us to be challenging towards the top. Fast forward to now and we are on the cusp of our first venture into non-league with the worst squad ever assembled, all of the playing assets gone (bar Brierley but really he should have gone), & the majority of the fan base are utterly miserable. I don’t want to keep digging up the past but Robbie Stockdale and Jimmy Shan have done an incredible amount of damage to this club. Damage that will inevitably take years to undo. I can only speak for myself and the Dale fans I know personally, but the amount who have given up already concerns me greatly. I used to attend with 4 season ticket holders who stopped attending games months ago. In my opinion things are worse now than at any point prior & to go back to the original point of this post there are clearly some deeply troubling issues behind the scenes which need addressing. |
I agree with TS as I'm sure many others will. Allowing Morton House to take over would have put the club in an infinitely worse situation than it is now. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 10:13 - Mar 17 with 2963 views | TalkingSutty |
Poor state of affairs if true on 09:07 - Mar 17 by fourfourtwo | As much as I understand the sentiment attached to the first paragraph really I have to disagree. When the MH stuff started playing out, we were fresh out of League One with a still capable playing squad which contained valuable assets. Really at that point most people thought at the very worst we would revert to being a combatant mid table league two team but most wanted us to be challenging towards the top. Fast forward to now and we are on the cusp of our first venture into non-league with the worst squad ever assembled, all of the playing assets gone (bar Brierley but really he should have gone), & the majority of the fan base are utterly miserable. I don’t want to keep digging up the past but Robbie Stockdale and Jimmy Shan have done an incredible amount of damage to this club. Damage that will inevitably take years to undo. I can only speak for myself and the Dale fans I know personally, but the amount who have given up already concerns me greatly. I used to attend with 4 season ticket holders who stopped attending games months ago. In my opinion things are worse now than at any point prior & to go back to the original point of this post there are clearly some deeply troubling issues behind the scenes which need addressing. |
To think that the current board could fight off a hostile takeover and also sort out a club that had been run down and neglected is not fully understanding the damage caused by the previous regime. This is a board that was assembled at a time of emergency, they have as much nouse when it comes to recruiting managers and players, negotiating contracts etc than the average fan on the terrace. None of them have run football clubs before or been involved in the industry.The Chairman is a ex pilot, as far away from being involved in football as can be. They obviously have expertise when it comes to business though and did a fantastic job fighting off Morton House. Some fans seem to have forgotten that when the board took over we had no manager and no players and the new season was looming large. Stockdale is one of many managers that have failed and the fees paid for players, lengths of contracts all smack of a inexperienced boardroom, which is what it was. Bentley was the last roll of the dice due to financial constraints but in his defence I think he has brought a few decent signings into the club. I'm not an apologist for the Chairman and the Directors because the communications coming out of the club are non existent.They aren't helping themselves one little bit with that. As a shareholder I'm also not happy about how the sudden decision from a fan owned club to one that is theoretically up for sale was announced. The shareholders should have been consulted and the Supporters Trust should have intervened. We have over 500 shareholders in the club and it's not right that a handful of people are just allowed to change the whole ethos of the club without consultation or without challenge. That's just my gripe though. The way we have struggled on the pitch hasn't come as a big surprise to me and to put the blame fully on those in the Boardroom is failing to see the big picture. To juggle everything that was happening on and off the pitch has proved to be a massive ask, they won the biggest battle but unfortunately haven't been able to stop the on field decline. [Post edited 18 Mar 2023 7:53]
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Poor state of affairs if true on 10:25 - Mar 17 with 2918 views | 442Dale |
Poor state of affairs if true on 10:13 - Mar 17 by TalkingSutty | To think that the current board could fight off a hostile takeover and also sort out a club that had been run down and neglected is not fully understanding the damage caused by the previous regime. This is a board that was assembled at a time of emergency, they have as much nouse when it comes to recruiting managers and players, negotiating contracts etc than the average fan on the terrace. None of them have run football clubs before or been involved in the industry.The Chairman is a ex pilot, as far away from being involved in football as can be. They obviously have expertise when it comes to business though and did a fantastic job fighting off Morton House. Some fans seem to have forgotten that when the board took over we had no manager and no players and the new season was looming large. Stockdale is one of many managers that have failed and the fees paid for players, lengths of contracts all smack of a inexperienced boardroom, which is what it was. Bentley was the last roll of the dice due to financial constraints but in his defence I think he has brought a few decent signings into the club. I'm not an apologist for the Chairman and the Directors because the communications coming out of the club are non existent.They aren't helping themselves one little bit with that. As a shareholder I'm also not happy about how the sudden decision from a fan owned club to one that is theoretically up for sale was announced. The shareholders should have been consulted and the Supporters Trust should have intervened. We have over 500 shareholders in the club and it's not right that a handful of people are just allowed to change the whole ethos of the club without consultation or without challenge. That's just my gripe though. The way we have struggled on the pitch hasn't come as a big surprise to me and to put the blame fully on those in the Boardroom is failing to see the big picture. To juggle everything that was happening on and off the pitch has proved to be a massive ask, they won the biggest battle but unfortunately haven't been able to stop the on field decline. [Post edited 18 Mar 2023 7:53]
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re. the change from fan-owned. It’s not just your gripe, and it should be the major gripe of the Trust to establish timelines on deciding this change in approach and whether their members, ie shareholders, should have been consulted. This is not whether it was a necessary move, it may well be. But there should be better communications on it. | ![](/images/avatars/1212.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 10:45 - Mar 17 with 2885 views | James1980 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 10:25 - Mar 17 by 442Dale | re. the change from fan-owned. It’s not just your gripe, and it should be the major gripe of the Trust to establish timelines on deciding this change in approach and whether their members, ie shareholders, should have been consulted. This is not whether it was a necessary move, it may well be. But there should be better communications on it. |
Should it have been made clear at the EGM if sufficient shares weren't purchased from the latest issue the board would look for an external investor? If that had happened would the motion to issue the shares have passed? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 11:17 - Mar 17 with 2817 views | D_Alien |
Poor state of affairs if true on 10:45 - Mar 17 by James1980 | Should it have been made clear at the EGM if sufficient shares weren't purchased from the latest issue the board would look for an external investor? If that had happened would the motion to issue the shares have passed? |
Yes, that should have been made clear prior to the issue However... It's fairly obvious that a share issuance is due to finances being in a parlous state, especially at Dale in today's circumstances Furthermore, the BoD may have considered a vote against the issuance as something which couldn't be risked. I can see why they may have taken that view, even though i'm not happy about it either The BoD can sell their shares, should they choose to do so and if the correct protocols are followed amongst themselves There are hints of a campaign against them in some criticisms, and although i don't follow other social media, i'm given to understand its far worse and more blatant than we see on here Is there a campaign? It wouldn't come as any surprise would it, given our recent history [Post edited 17 Mar 2023 11:18]
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Poor state of affairs if true on 11:51 - Mar 17 with 2705 views | TalkingSutty |
Poor state of affairs if true on 11:17 - Mar 17 by D_Alien | Yes, that should have been made clear prior to the issue However... It's fairly obvious that a share issuance is due to finances being in a parlous state, especially at Dale in today's circumstances Furthermore, the BoD may have considered a vote against the issuance as something which couldn't be risked. I can see why they may have taken that view, even though i'm not happy about it either The BoD can sell their shares, should they choose to do so and if the correct protocols are followed amongst themselves There are hints of a campaign against them in some criticisms, and although i don't follow other social media, i'm given to understand its far worse and more blatant than we see on here Is there a campaign? It wouldn't come as any surprise would it, given our recent history [Post edited 17 Mar 2023 11:18]
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Those considering a campaign need shouting down and need to remember the lengths that those in the Boardroom went to in order to save the club. We now need them to find a investor with the best interests of our club at heart, launching a campaign against them is unwarranted and counter productive. The whole marketing regarding the sale of shares was based around fans buying into a fan owned club. I have a family member who I persuaded to buy shares on that basis, three days after his shares had been approved and paid for there was an announcement out of the blue that the the club are now going in the complete opposite direction in respect of fan ownership. He wouldn't have bought the shares had he known that. The fact people weren't even consulted needs some explaining, I thought we had moved on from when those sort of things happened. We know why it happened but there is a process in place isn't there when it comes to major decisions like this and it involves consulting shareholders and probably the hundreds of fans who have contributed to Trust shares. It's just good manners for a start. [Post edited 17 Mar 2023 11:56]
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Poor state of affairs if true (n/t) on 12:05 - Mar 17 with 2638 views | TalkingSutty |
Poor state of affairs if true on 11:17 - Mar 17 by D_Alien | Yes, that should have been made clear prior to the issue However... It's fairly obvious that a share issuance is due to finances being in a parlous state, especially at Dale in today's circumstances Furthermore, the BoD may have considered a vote against the issuance as something which couldn't be risked. I can see why they may have taken that view, even though i'm not happy about it either The BoD can sell their shares, should they choose to do so and if the correct protocols are followed amongst themselves There are hints of a campaign against them in some criticisms, and although i don't follow other social media, i'm given to understand its far worse and more blatant than we see on here Is there a campaign? It wouldn't come as any surprise would it, given our recent history [Post edited 17 Mar 2023 11:18]
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[Post edited 17 Mar 2023 12:06]
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Poor state of affairs if true on 12:16 - Mar 17 with 2610 views | D_Alien |
Poor state of affairs if true on 11:51 - Mar 17 by TalkingSutty | Those considering a campaign need shouting down and need to remember the lengths that those in the Boardroom went to in order to save the club. We now need them to find a investor with the best interests of our club at heart, launching a campaign against them is unwarranted and counter productive. The whole marketing regarding the sale of shares was based around fans buying into a fan owned club. I have a family member who I persuaded to buy shares on that basis, three days after his shares had been approved and paid for there was an announcement out of the blue that the the club are now going in the complete opposite direction in respect of fan ownership. He wouldn't have bought the shares had he known that. The fact people weren't even consulted needs some explaining, I thought we had moved on from when those sort of things happened. We know why it happened but there is a process in place isn't there when it comes to major decisions like this and it involves consulting shareholders and probably the hundreds of fans who have contributed to Trust shares. It's just good manners for a start. [Post edited 17 Mar 2023 11:56]
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I don't disagree with any of that I think we all need to be on the alert with regard to an anti-BoD campaign, which amounts to an anti-Dale campaign Criticisms, which include the ones i've made in the post you're replying to, need to be fair and to be seen to be fair I've certainly shouted down unfair criticism on here, and crucially, i've pointed out precisely WHY it was unfair - without anything resembling a sensible reply - and i hope others are doing so on other social media platforms | ![](/images/avatars/1219.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 12:27 - Mar 17 with 2575 views | TalkingSutty |
Poor state of affairs if true on 12:16 - Mar 17 by D_Alien | I don't disagree with any of that I think we all need to be on the alert with regard to an anti-BoD campaign, which amounts to an anti-Dale campaign Criticisms, which include the ones i've made in the post you're replying to, need to be fair and to be seen to be fair I've certainly shouted down unfair criticism on here, and crucially, i've pointed out precisely WHY it was unfair - without anything resembling a sensible reply - and i hope others are doing so on other social media platforms |
Well I've been doing the same over the last few days on other social media platforms. To be honest though the silence and poor communication coming out of the club is also fuelling a lot of this i think. We do have some numpties supporting the club though and I believe the Chairman has been subjected to on line abuse, if that's the case then is it any wonder if they have decided to pull up the bridges. | ![](/images/avatars/1233.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 14:05 - Mar 17 with 2410 views | Bainesy15 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 12:27 - Mar 17 by TalkingSutty | Well I've been doing the same over the last few days on other social media platforms. To be honest though the silence and poor communication coming out of the club is also fuelling a lot of this i think. We do have some numpties supporting the club though and I believe the Chairman has been subjected to on line abuse, if that's the case then is it any wonder if they have decided to pull up the bridges. |
The thing that blows my mind is when knuckle-draggers personally insult Gauge on twitter then react with righteous indignation when he blocks them - as if he should stand there and take everything that's thrown at him. Criticise/discuss all you want but there's no need to personally attack the board. | ![](/images/avatars/5861.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 14:29 - Mar 17 with 2369 views | TyroneShoelaces |
Poor state of affairs if true on 14:05 - Mar 17 by Bainesy15 | The thing that blows my mind is when knuckle-draggers personally insult Gauge on twitter then react with righteous indignation when he blocks them - as if he should stand there and take everything that's thrown at him. Criticise/discuss all you want but there's no need to personally attack the board. |
Gauge doesn’t deserve the abuse he gets but guess that goes with the territory when the team is where it is. There are always most of the Directors at each home match so they are visible. Richard Knight does go in to the Ratcliffe before most home games and always appears approachable. I’m sure he’ll answer most questions as honestly as possible. How much detail he could go in to on certain subjects might be limited but no harm in asking him | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 15:03 - Mar 17 with 2301 views | Dalenet |
Poor state of affairs if true on 10:45 - Mar 17 by James1980 | Should it have been made clear at the EGM if sufficient shares weren't purchased from the latest issue the board would look for an external investor? If that had happened would the motion to issue the shares have passed? |
Probably James - although I think we posted comments at the time about the size of the share issue, whether there would be demand and how the BoD would also need to sell some shares to get their Morton House cash injection back. It didn't smell right then. And we know now that there wasn't an appetite from fans to buy the second issue of shares. But we can't have it both ways. The shares were made available to raise capital and the fans were given first choice to take them. If we needed the cash at that time then we still need it today. So Board are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea on this one. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 15:09 - Mar 17 with 2275 views | 49thseason |
Poor state of affairs if true on 14:05 - Mar 17 by Bainesy15 | The thing that blows my mind is when knuckle-draggers personally insult Gauge on twitter then react with righteous indignation when he blocks them - as if he should stand there and take everything that's thrown at him. Criticise/discuss all you want but there's no need to personally attack the board. |
The Board invited expressions of interest in a second major shares issue, the timing wasn't perfect (it never is) and it wasn't offered at a price which people might have regarded as being reflective of the clubs position n the league or its finances. The board paid over the odds for the MH shares, I get that, but there was no real reason to tie the issue at the same price. The shares went largely unsold, so the hole in the finances remained, what were the Board expected to do? Undoubtedly they had done their bit to preserve the club, the "fan -owned" model failed at the first hurdle when fans didn't step up again to buy more shares. Maybe the whole idea is simply pie in the sky in a town as inherently poor as this one? Yes there are "wealthy" individuals and people who have wealth tied up in their business or property but how many of them call themselves Rochdale supporters to the extent that they can afford to fork out another £3,4,500 or £1000 or more on another shares issue from a club which apparently can't survive on the money it already has coming in? Especially when there is no tangible personal benefit to buying those shares. I.e. a profit at some point in the future or the ability to sell them if necessary As a shareholder, albeit tiny in the scale of things, I may as well just write a cheque out and pop it through the door as buy shares which will never be worth their face value and which I can't / won't trade. I didn't even get a fancy embossed shares certificate that I could frame. I cannot fault the Board for the current state of affairs, a runaway train takes some stopping and the cash outflows on poor players excess staff etc. will continue for at least another 16 months. The emphasis now has to be on controlling what is controllable and minimising the risks of the the things that cannot be controlled. That means selling assets cutting waste and shrinking the overheads before the finances get out of control. and if there is someone who is prepared to put in a substantial sum of money, good and I wish them well in their search, but I fear we are in this mess alone and friendless. The ball is literally in our court, its up to us to sort out our own mess by any means available to us. A win on Saturday will, of course, help. but even if by a miracle we do survive, without the prospect of better players coming in next year, how much damage would another season at the foot of L2 do to the club? If we had 1000 fans prepared to put £1000 a season into the club , things might be different, but we don't. You cannot be "fan owned" when the fans are essentially skint. Look around you on Saturday, how many people do you see who have a spare £1000 that they wouldn't rather spend on a holiday or a car? | ![](/images/avatars/1190.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 15:50 - Mar 17 with 2214 views | James1980 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 15:09 - Mar 17 by 49thseason | The Board invited expressions of interest in a second major shares issue, the timing wasn't perfect (it never is) and it wasn't offered at a price which people might have regarded as being reflective of the clubs position n the league or its finances. The board paid over the odds for the MH shares, I get that, but there was no real reason to tie the issue at the same price. The shares went largely unsold, so the hole in the finances remained, what were the Board expected to do? Undoubtedly they had done their bit to preserve the club, the "fan -owned" model failed at the first hurdle when fans didn't step up again to buy more shares. Maybe the whole idea is simply pie in the sky in a town as inherently poor as this one? Yes there are "wealthy" individuals and people who have wealth tied up in their business or property but how many of them call themselves Rochdale supporters to the extent that they can afford to fork out another £3,4,500 or £1000 or more on another shares issue from a club which apparently can't survive on the money it already has coming in? Especially when there is no tangible personal benefit to buying those shares. I.e. a profit at some point in the future or the ability to sell them if necessary As a shareholder, albeit tiny in the scale of things, I may as well just write a cheque out and pop it through the door as buy shares which will never be worth their face value and which I can't / won't trade. I didn't even get a fancy embossed shares certificate that I could frame. I cannot fault the Board for the current state of affairs, a runaway train takes some stopping and the cash outflows on poor players excess staff etc. will continue for at least another 16 months. The emphasis now has to be on controlling what is controllable and minimising the risks of the the things that cannot be controlled. That means selling assets cutting waste and shrinking the overheads before the finances get out of control. and if there is someone who is prepared to put in a substantial sum of money, good and I wish them well in their search, but I fear we are in this mess alone and friendless. The ball is literally in our court, its up to us to sort out our own mess by any means available to us. A win on Saturday will, of course, help. but even if by a miracle we do survive, without the prospect of better players coming in next year, how much damage would another season at the foot of L2 do to the club? If we had 1000 fans prepared to put £1000 a season into the club , things might be different, but we don't. You cannot be "fan owned" when the fans are essentially skint. Look around you on Saturday, how many people do you see who have a spare £1000 that they wouldn't rather spend on a holiday or a car? |
Could we get a 1000 fans to pay £84 a month though? For that perhaps access to all games including cup games. Voucher for a programme discount in club shop, discount in the bars and enrollment into the lotto scheme. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 17:14 - Mar 17 with 2087 views | 442Dale | The situation should have been made crystal clear at both November AGMs (club and Trust) and communications since around where we are heading should be a lot better too. Those in a position to influence an improvement in communication should be doing that as a matter of priority for the well being of the football club. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that when reflecting on the past and looking to the future. | ![](/images/avatars/1212.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 17:45 - Mar 17 with 2043 views | HullDale | As others have alluded to, the issues all stem from communication. On the initial point about testimonials, I agree that this should be reserved for former players. There is no doubt that KH was a good servant to the club, albeit he was paid for doing it, but there could be another way of honouring his achievement which is more suitable for the role he played - look at what the club recently did for Jack Northover for example. KH's ire should probably be directed at whoever made the promise in the first place, but because of the apparent lack of communication from the current BoD its turned into an issue for the club and given disgruntled previous employees the chance to have a whinge and moan on the facebook thread and stir the pot with our social media kick off brigade. On the wider conversation, the lack of communication from the club has led to a vacuum of information and people will naturally fill that with speculation, thoughts, opinions and gripes. There was a blitz of communication when the club made a huge U-turn on ethos and strategy by seeking a potential majority investor (radio, newspapers, press articles, .co.uk feature etc) and since then radio silence. Football is emotive, and as a club that drove a 'fan owned' ownership model people will (rightly or wrongly) feel like they need to be in the loop more often than not. That doesn't mean the fans (owners) should be consulted over every single decision, but we should feel involved, engaged and appreciated. I wholeheartedly condemn any personal abuse aimed at directors, but can't argue with some of the constructive criticism and questions being raised. Fans should be able to make these points without being shot down purely on the basis of the board's actions last year. We will always be thankful for everything they did, without them we may not have a club now, but that isn't a hall pass to avoid any form of scrutiny about the state of the club today. There are areas of the club that clearly aren't working, there was talk of a volunteer army and fans stepping up to help, and this hasn't materialised. The kit survey started well but then petered out... there are still issues with our media output and commercial activities, on the pitch is abysmal and there is radio silence from the club with the exception of the odd copy and paste player interview. If I remember rightly each director has a specific area of responsibility - if Simon G doesn't want to be constantly in the spotlight then lets hear from each of them on a regular basis. I'm not talking 'David's weekly diary', but we could hear from Simon one week, Richard the next, Tony the next and then publish Murray's update on .co.uk at the same time as the Trust monthly email goes out. We're on a tough, and maybe a bit scary, journey at the minute both on and off the pitch and we need to make sure that fans are involved with that journey. There is a toxic mix of apathy, frustration, anger and worry in the air and as we face into unchartered territory for us both with a potential investor and also outside the football league that cannot be allowed to fester. A while ago I posed the question 'are we a club in crisis?'... that question feels even more pertinent today. | ![](/images/avatars/28696.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 17:57 - Mar 17 with 1996 views | 442Dale | The thread has gone off on a tangent, not that there’s anything wrong with that if it’s constructive and looking to make the club the better for all. So, whilst shifting further into communications that ensure fans are more aware, wonder where the updates were on the below (see posts between 14:19 and 15:23 on Feb 10th): https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/rochdale/forum/294537/page:3 | ![](/images/avatars/1212.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 19:24 - Mar 17 with 1831 views | SuddenLad |
Poor state of affairs if true on 17:45 - Mar 17 by HullDale | As others have alluded to, the issues all stem from communication. On the initial point about testimonials, I agree that this should be reserved for former players. There is no doubt that KH was a good servant to the club, albeit he was paid for doing it, but there could be another way of honouring his achievement which is more suitable for the role he played - look at what the club recently did for Jack Northover for example. KH's ire should probably be directed at whoever made the promise in the first place, but because of the apparent lack of communication from the current BoD its turned into an issue for the club and given disgruntled previous employees the chance to have a whinge and moan on the facebook thread and stir the pot with our social media kick off brigade. On the wider conversation, the lack of communication from the club has led to a vacuum of information and people will naturally fill that with speculation, thoughts, opinions and gripes. There was a blitz of communication when the club made a huge U-turn on ethos and strategy by seeking a potential majority investor (radio, newspapers, press articles, .co.uk feature etc) and since then radio silence. Football is emotive, and as a club that drove a 'fan owned' ownership model people will (rightly or wrongly) feel like they need to be in the loop more often than not. That doesn't mean the fans (owners) should be consulted over every single decision, but we should feel involved, engaged and appreciated. I wholeheartedly condemn any personal abuse aimed at directors, but can't argue with some of the constructive criticism and questions being raised. Fans should be able to make these points without being shot down purely on the basis of the board's actions last year. We will always be thankful for everything they did, without them we may not have a club now, but that isn't a hall pass to avoid any form of scrutiny about the state of the club today. There are areas of the club that clearly aren't working, there was talk of a volunteer army and fans stepping up to help, and this hasn't materialised. The kit survey started well but then petered out... there are still issues with our media output and commercial activities, on the pitch is abysmal and there is radio silence from the club with the exception of the odd copy and paste player interview. If I remember rightly each director has a specific area of responsibility - if Simon G doesn't want to be constantly in the spotlight then lets hear from each of them on a regular basis. I'm not talking 'David's weekly diary', but we could hear from Simon one week, Richard the next, Tony the next and then publish Murray's update on .co.uk at the same time as the Trust monthly email goes out. We're on a tough, and maybe a bit scary, journey at the minute both on and off the pitch and we need to make sure that fans are involved with that journey. There is a toxic mix of apathy, frustration, anger and worry in the air and as we face into unchartered territory for us both with a potential investor and also outside the football league that cannot be allowed to fester. A while ago I posed the question 'are we a club in crisis?'... that question feels even more pertinent today. |
I'd much rather hear nothing than the deliberate nonsense and misinformation that we were fed under the previous regime. We were treated like fools and made a laughing stock by the grossly overpaid and incompetent former CEO and his cronies. I agree it could be better than it is, but for all we know, there may be a deliberate silence, because of possible deals that are being negotiated. NDA's and all that. We'll find out sooner or later. Those cretins giving grief and abuse to the Chairman and members of the BoD on social media aren't fans. They are louts and have no excuse or justification for what they do. Stay away, We don't want you. In the meantime, we get behind the team for what is effectively a 10-game season. It already seem as though it's been stuttering on for years and I will be glad to see it finish, but there is a job to be done, starting tomorrow. Up the Dale. | ![](/images/avatars/5895.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 19:29 - Mar 17 with 1818 views | 442Dale |
Poor state of affairs if true on 19:24 - Mar 17 by SuddenLad | I'd much rather hear nothing than the deliberate nonsense and misinformation that we were fed under the previous regime. We were treated like fools and made a laughing stock by the grossly overpaid and incompetent former CEO and his cronies. I agree it could be better than it is, but for all we know, there may be a deliberate silence, because of possible deals that are being negotiated. NDA's and all that. We'll find out sooner or later. Those cretins giving grief and abuse to the Chairman and members of the BoD on social media aren't fans. They are louts and have no excuse or justification for what they do. Stay away, We don't want you. In the meantime, we get behind the team for what is effectively a 10-game season. It already seem as though it's been stuttering on for years and I will be glad to see it finish, but there is a job to be done, starting tomorrow. Up the Dale. |
Every regime should be held to the same standards for communication and agreed process. There are literally no exceptions. Comparing the current era to the previous one isn’t achieving anything either. | ![](/images/avatars/1212.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 19:51 - Mar 17 with 1770 views | James1980 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 19:29 - Mar 17 by 442Dale | Every regime should be held to the same standards for communication and agreed process. There are literally no exceptions. Comparing the current era to the previous one isn’t achieving anything either. |
Was talking to a chap in The Flyer after the Stockport game he was adamant the ground was going to be sold. Even after saying about the ACV status of the ground and the 75% clause. The answer was there are ways round that and then made the gestures to insinuate back handers.Thing is he didn't even seem to know that those measures were in place to prevent the ground being sold off. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 20:01 - Mar 17 with 1745 views | D_Alien |
Poor state of affairs if true on 19:51 - Mar 17 by James1980 | Was talking to a chap in The Flyer after the Stockport game he was adamant the ground was going to be sold. Even after saying about the ACV status of the ground and the 75% clause. The answer was there are ways round that and then made the gestures to insinuate back handers.Thing is he didn't even seem to know that those measures were in place to prevent the ground being sold off. |
Pub bores are everywhere James, even decent ale houses like the Flyer | ![](/images/avatars/1219.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 20:26 - Mar 17 with 1690 views | James1980 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 20:01 - Mar 17 by D_Alien | Pub bores are everywhere James, even decent ale houses like the Flyer |
Sadly true but how many more people in the town don't know these important facts about their local football club? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 20:30 - Mar 17 with 1684 views | judd |
Poor state of affairs if true on 20:26 - Mar 17 by James1980 | Sadly true but how many more people in the town don't know these important facts about their local football club? |
Bloke in the pub is a bellend character that features in the great Scrutator articles from time to time. | ![](/images/avatars/1067.gif) |
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Poor state of affairs if true on 20:33 - Mar 17 with 1673 views | 49thseason | The various protections on the ground don't make it impossible to sell, they simply mean it cannot be sold without a large majority of shareholders agreeing to it. I have often stated that I would prefer to sell up Spotland and move to a purpose-built facility perhaps on Kingsway that would create new income streams and jobs as well as taking us out of a populated area which is getting increasingly hostile to parking, noise and behaviour issues. It would be interesting to know what the current ground footprint would be worth as a brownfield building plot. Surely RMBC would be supportive and would help with sourcing the land required and a loan for some of the building costs. Maybe Crown Oil would like to run a truck stop and a hotel / conference centre? It came home to me how difficult the Spotland site is when they couldnt organise a take-away operation because there was no gas available. A brand new 6000 seat stadium would be a catalyst for a completely revamped club. Even Hornets would perhaps thrive there. | ![](/images/avatars/1190.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
Poor state of affairs if true on 20:34 - Mar 17 with 1669 views | James1980 |
Poor state of affairs if true on 20:30 - Mar 17 by judd | Bloke in the pub is a bellend character that features in the great Scrutator articles from time to time. |
Often found preceding a statement with 'mark my words' Bloke down the pub I mean [Post edited 17 Mar 2023 20:49]
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