Doesn't look too promising.....

[Mullers]

Well said Chappers. We have a Chairman who genuinely cares about our football club, ok so he's not the richest guy in the World. But he's never put us into financial trouble like so many other Nationwide chairman, he doesn't over-spend and leave us in debt. He is a very good businessman, and as long as Dick Knight is in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion i know he'll put 100% into the club. It is frustrating that we don't have any or much money to spend... but realistically who does anymore? We're in a far better situaton than many other clubs, such as Oldham and Luton at the moment.

DK is already investing heavily into the funding of OUR new football stadium, the stadium that we will build our future on. Falmer is important for the next 100 years of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club. Players are only for the next couple.

I know given the choice in 2/3 years i'd rather be at Falmer, and in Division 2, maybe 3 rather than be in Division 1 and spend another decade without a home. As SC says, we have no future without Falmer.

DK = Albion Legend and the best Chairman we could have.

How easily some people forget. Only years after finally getting rid of a rich, **** of a chairman you're calling for another one?

Ok, if we accept what you say at face value. Why are thare so many indicators that we are in financial difficulty? And, how bad is the current situation? Even if Dick Knight is genuine, and i would not argue against that (only that he is unable to deliver), we need to be kept informed of what is going on. That was one of his promises to us!

 

[CHAPPERS]

Mullers - of course we are in a bad position. We have very little income. To be honest i am surprised that we are surviving playing at Withdean at all which must be a testament to the way the club is being run, no?

There are not many teams that are renting their ground and going through a crippling public enquiry yet there are a lot falling into administration and nearly dying.

 

[Trigger]

All it needs is for Dick to come out and tell the truth and stop spinning the bullshit that he tends to do at times then we can fully understand the clubs situation and fully support him through it...

Yes we know the basics like we need Falmer and we have no money but just how bad is the financial situation and will it hold up Falmer even if we get the green light or is the Falmer money already in place?...

We all know he's a genuine Albion fan but he does tend to hide things from us and that shouldn't be the case seeing the amount of money we give the club each year...

A bit of honsety is all we ask...

P.S. What's the date, time & venue of the next fans forum?

 

[Yorkie]

P.S. What's the date, time & venue of the next fans forum?

Wednesday 6th August at the Greyhound Stadium 7pm

 

[Fluffster]

Ok, if we accept what you say at face value. Why are thare so many indicators that we are in financial difficulty? And, how bad is the current situation? Even if Dick Knight is genuine, and i would not argue against that (only that he is unable to deliver), we need to be kept informed of what is going on. That was one of his promises to us!

Yes we are in "financial difficulty" i.e. we are skint we all know that, but we have never got ourselves into any serious debt, where we have been under the threat of administration, i.e. the Oldham's and Luton's of this world. It would be so easy for us to splash out on Dave Beasant, Steve Hunt etc... and then leave ourselves with a mess to clear up later on when we can't afford to pay our players wages. But DK is very sensible and has never spent money that we don't have...

BUT, i do however agree that he does need to keep us all informed, for example on the reasoning behind selling Zamora... if he would have come out and explained to the fans straight away then he wouldn't be under so much scrutiny from so many fans. It's the secret's and the hidden truth's that are frustrating.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Must admit, some of the apologies for Knight and the rest of the club staff are beginning to get really annoying. No-one expected NO cash from Bobby's sale to go on replacements. Yes, we all know Falmer is a financial drain, but what you don't do in that situation is say nothing for three months, let everyone's expectations go haywire, and then let Coppell (who shouldn't be making this announcement anyway) break the bad news.

Our board have developed a nasty habit in the past 18 months or so of bottling breaking - and managing - bad news. Zamora injury, Kuipers injury, Zamora sale, Taylor replacement,...Bad stuff happens, and it is better to say early even if its unpopular then leave it later, when its worse. I can't believe Knight doesn't know that, he just wants to be everyone's mate and its harming the effective running of the club. He's the first to make the good announcements and take the glory (just wait until Falmer), but shies away from the more difficult ones, dumping them on Perry and in this case even the manager.

And before the 'short memory' brigade pile in, get a life and don't insult everyone by assuming they've forgotten. What if (perish the thought) the club wasn't actually being very well run now? That was six years ago, there's a club to run in 2003.

 

[Trigger]

Wednesday 6th August at the Greyhound Stadium 7pm

Thank you muchly Yorkie

 

[Italiaseagull]

Must admit, some of the apologies for Knight and the rest of the club staff are beginning to get really annoying. No-one expected NO cash from Bobby's sale to go on replacements. Yes, we all know Falmer is a financial drain, but what you don't do in that situation is say nothing for three months, let everyone's expectations go haywire, and then let Coppell (who shouldn't be making this announcement anyway) break the bad news.

Our board have developed a nasty habit in the past 18 months or so of bottling breaking - and managing - bad news. Zamora injury, Kuipers injury, Zamora sale, Taylor replacement,...Bad stuff happens, and it is better to say early even if its unpopular then leave it later, when its worse. I can't believe Knight doesn't know that, he just wants to be everyone's mate and its harming the effective running of the club. He's the first to make the good announcements and take the glory (just wait until Falmer), but shies away from the more difficult ones, dumping them on Perry and in this case even the manager.

And before the 'short memory' brigade pile in, get a life and don't insult everyone by assuming they've forgotten. What if (perish the thought) the club wasn't actually being very well run now? That was six years ago, there's a club to run in 2003.

Well said!

 

[Mullers]

Must admit, some of the apologies for Knight and the rest of the club staff are beginning to get really annoying. No-one expected NO cash from Bobby's sale to go on replacements. Yes, we all know Falmer is a financial drain, but what you don't do in that situation is say nothing for three months, let everyone's expectations go haywire, and then let Coppell (who shouldn't be making this announcement anyway) break the bad news.

Our board have developed a nasty habit in the past 18 months or so of bottling breaking - and managing - bad news. Zamora injury, Kuipers injury, Zamora sale, Taylor replacement,...Bad stuff happens, and it is better to say early even if its unpopular then leave it later, when its worse. I can't believe Knight doesn't know that, he just wants to be everyone's mate and its harming the effective running of the club. He's the first to make the good announcements and take the glory (just wait until Falmer), but shies away from the more difficult ones, dumping them on Perry and in this case even the manager.

And before the 'short memory' brigade pile in, get a life and don't insult everyone by assuming they've forgotten. What if (perish the thought) the club wasn't actually being very well run now? That was six years ago, there's a club to run in 2003.

This must be treason! Off with his head! Someone who can actually think for himself, and not just accept everything that is Dick Tight must be good for the club!

I saw things were not right some months ago (Tinselhead, planning f***-ups, no money for players, Taylor storming out, etc. etc.) it must be becoming clearer to the slow-witted by now!

Get those rose-tinted glasses off, and look objectively at what is going on around you!

 

[Mullers]

There's a huge difference between funding a football club day-to-day and funding a new stadium. You can get grants and securitisation for the stadium that you can't get day-to-day. The stadium can and will be funded, no problem.

Don't you think I know that the ground is going to be built on hand-outs and loans. I was talking about funding the pre-construction costs that are currently bleeding the club to death!

Where will we be if the public enquiry, that recently had major problems and needed an exceptional adjurnment for three months! goes tits-up?

 

[aftershavedave]

well said toots, absolutely spot on

 

[Mullers]

That's a pretty sweeping statement. Have you seen Jake?

No, when did he play above youth level? I am talking about the current bunch. I am not even intending to be critical of them, just their current state of readyness for league football. I hope that, one day, Jake and others are able to take their place in the first team, and even play for them in the Prem. However, at this moment in time it seams a long way off.

 

[Grizz]

This must be treason! Off with his head! Someone who can actually think for himself, and not just accept everything that is Dick Tight must be good for the club!

I saw things were not right some months ago (Tinselhead, planning f***-ups, no money for players, Taylor storming out, etc. etc.) it must be becoming clearer to the slow-witted by now!

Get those rose-tinted glasses off, and look objectively at what is going on around you!

Oh come on. The problem you have Mullers is that you constantly rant about the same thing about 20 posts a day, that's why ppl have gotten fed up with reading your posts. No one says that we should blindly follow the Chairman and Board especially looking back out our recent history, but there are a lot of ppl out there that think they are doing a good job, but still have questions.

I agree that the clubs PR is an absolute shambles, but offsetting that against the job they're doing of keeping the club going in such conditions and restraints i think they're doing a bloody good job.

Also I for one didn't expect any of the BZ money to go on players. I wont expect any money to be available for fees until we get Falmer built.

Grizz

 

[Girl Friday]

Bobby sold to offload the QCs, to pay next months wages and keep the players we still have, here. Until we get the green light for falmer the money of course won’t be made available. That would like getting a mortgage without the house.

 

[Wozza]

On the positive side, I like the "we're in this together" attitude of Coppell.

If he's struggled with constraints for a couple of seasons I can't see he'd want to leave when Falmer is under construction (he says, hopefully).

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Originally posted by Mullers [/i]


Get those rose-tinted glasses off, and look objectively at what is going on around you! [/QUOTE]


Mullers - yours is hardly an objective view, is it? You've taken your position and are sticking to it. Those who still believe in Knight are doing the same.

You also say;

"Don't you think I know that the ground is going to be built on hand-outs and loans. I was talking about funding the pre-construction costs that are currently bleeding the club to death!

Where will we be if the public enquiry, that recently had major problems and needed an exceptional adjurnment for three months! goes tits-up?"


Your alternative? Not go after Falmer? Refuse to accept the costs and just let it go, just in case it goes 'tits up'? That takes us where? We can't just stand still - we stagnate, we die. I've already said on here that Knight is getting crucified for long term thinking. You've asked that we take an objective view - very well. I'll stay behind Dick for as long as Falmer is a possibility and he's going after it, whatever the SHORT TERM costs. If he can't deliver Falmer, THEN I'll think he should step aside in the event there's somebody else who thinks they can take the club forward. But I'll remain convinced that he was a force for good in the history of the club, and one of our better Chairmen. Objective enough?

 

[Normandy seagull]

Those Nimby's and anti- falmer brigade could end up costing us promotion back to div 1
all I can say to them is wankers!!!

 

[Curious Orange]

It is a shame that none of the Bobby Zamora money will be available for player wages, but isn't surprising when you consider we only actually got about a million. Not a lot of money really, you'll note that Bristol Rovers are in exactly the same situation with their windfall in that they can't afford to spend it on players either.

However, offloading the top earner in the squad does give Steve Coppell some flexibility in who he signs as a replacement, or indeed replacements, using Bobby's wages.

The best thing about the Argus article was this statement though:

"There is a wonderful resistance at Brighton and because we do spend within our means we can survive. Dick (Knight, the chairman) is very honest and genuine but successfully sustaining a team is difficult, although I'm not saying it won't happen."

The Albion know their budget and stick to it, while they do that we will still have a club. It may not necessarily fulfill our footballing ambitions in the short term, but given recent years I'd be happy with a few seasons of mid table mediocrity!!!

At the end of the day it is our club and we need to help out in the effort to keep it going. If you haven't already done so write your letter to John Prescott supporting Falmer, and get your friends and family to write too. And if you've got some spare cash, spend it in the club shop, or on Withdean wager tickets. Your individual contribution does not have to be millions, thousands, hundreds or even tens of pounds, but it is your pledge to your club, and it would make a difference if we all do it.

 

[Titanic]

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