wigman
Well-known member
HARTY: Ali, Thatcher, Sinatra and Dick Knight
Published Date: 20 May 2009
"WHATEVER the circumstances of his departure as Albion chairman, Dick Knight's reign will go down in club folklore.
Backed by the supporters, he and his off-the-field team saved the club from extinction in its darkest hour and for that alone, he will always be remembered.
It's fair to say I've enjoyed an interesting and, even at times, strained relationship with him. My media work, although ostensibly a hobby, put me in positions where I had the opportunity to ask questions – sometimes he didn't like these questions but, at the time, they had to be asked.
But, on the flipside, and perhaps a true measure of the man, is that when I had my problems back in October and was suspended from the BBC, he took the time and trouble to ring me. What he said to me that day was quite emotional.
For all our spats and arguments, I found out that day that when my back was really against the wall, he was someone who didn't turn his back.
Did he want to stand down as chairman? No, of course he didn't. Having been a young boy who watched the Seagulls, or the Dolphins as they were back then, from the Chicken Run at the Goldstone, he was living the dream which every Albion fan would want to.
Perhaps, in the coming months, he will realise the dream was in danger of turning into a nightmare. It appears that, although having previously stated the finance for the Falmer stadium was in place, no financial institution, in the current climate, was prepared to lend the necessary money.
Martin Perry more than alluded to it on Monday when he said that without incoming chairman Tony Bloom's financial injection, the stadium would never have been built – leaving Messrs Knight and Perry with a large amount of egg on their faces.
Was I surprised at his departure? Not really. I, like many others, had known about Tony Bloom's influence in the boardroom for a long time. I was told by a long-standing club figure in August,2006, that Dick would be chairman for as long as the Bloom family wanted him to be.
That time has now run out and, in a way, I'd almost compare Dick's tenure at the Albion with the careers of Muhammad Ali and Margaret Thatcher – both great people in their time – but also history proved they went on too long.
I recall a phone-in special a couple of days after Dean Wilkins had been sacked and Micky Adams came back. The majority of callers were pleased at the developments but a number did say that if the gamble failed, it would not only see Adams depart but would make Dick's position as chairman untenable. Unfortunately, they were right on both counts.
To my mind, as with Maggie and Ali, he probably went on 18 months to two years too long.
When Falmer was finally rubber-stamped, and remember Tony Bloom was already on the scene, that's when Dick should have gone out on a high.
Put him in the place of Frank Sinatra. Falmer getting the green light, would be like a final rendition of "My Way in Las Vegas" then exit stage left to legendary status.
What's actually happened at the Albion for the last couple of years is like Old Blue Eyes coming back on stage at the Sands and singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" and the Skippy theme.
While the good will always outweigh the bad, the last couple of years, and Dick's subsequent exit, will, in some small way, tarnish his memory.
The incoming chairman is not a Johnny Come Lately but part of a family with long-standing Albion connections.
What's happened in the past has to be left just there and everyone must move on. These are exciting times ahead.
Having possessed a degree of cynicism over the years, for the first time, I am convinced the stadium will be built.
And, in time, the Albion will finally be what they should have been years ago – the biggest club on the south coast."
Published Date: 20 May 2009
"WHATEVER the circumstances of his departure as Albion chairman, Dick Knight's reign will go down in club folklore.
Backed by the supporters, he and his off-the-field team saved the club from extinction in its darkest hour and for that alone, he will always be remembered.
It's fair to say I've enjoyed an interesting and, even at times, strained relationship with him. My media work, although ostensibly a hobby, put me in positions where I had the opportunity to ask questions – sometimes he didn't like these questions but, at the time, they had to be asked.
But, on the flipside, and perhaps a true measure of the man, is that when I had my problems back in October and was suspended from the BBC, he took the time and trouble to ring me. What he said to me that day was quite emotional.
For all our spats and arguments, I found out that day that when my back was really against the wall, he was someone who didn't turn his back.
Did he want to stand down as chairman? No, of course he didn't. Having been a young boy who watched the Seagulls, or the Dolphins as they were back then, from the Chicken Run at the Goldstone, he was living the dream which every Albion fan would want to.
Perhaps, in the coming months, he will realise the dream was in danger of turning into a nightmare. It appears that, although having previously stated the finance for the Falmer stadium was in place, no financial institution, in the current climate, was prepared to lend the necessary money.
Martin Perry more than alluded to it on Monday when he said that without incoming chairman Tony Bloom's financial injection, the stadium would never have been built – leaving Messrs Knight and Perry with a large amount of egg on their faces.
Was I surprised at his departure? Not really. I, like many others, had known about Tony Bloom's influence in the boardroom for a long time. I was told by a long-standing club figure in August,2006, that Dick would be chairman for as long as the Bloom family wanted him to be.
That time has now run out and, in a way, I'd almost compare Dick's tenure at the Albion with the careers of Muhammad Ali and Margaret Thatcher – both great people in their time – but also history proved they went on too long.
I recall a phone-in special a couple of days after Dean Wilkins had been sacked and Micky Adams came back. The majority of callers were pleased at the developments but a number did say that if the gamble failed, it would not only see Adams depart but would make Dick's position as chairman untenable. Unfortunately, they were right on both counts.
To my mind, as with Maggie and Ali, he probably went on 18 months to two years too long.
When Falmer was finally rubber-stamped, and remember Tony Bloom was already on the scene, that's when Dick should have gone out on a high.
Put him in the place of Frank Sinatra. Falmer getting the green light, would be like a final rendition of "My Way in Las Vegas" then exit stage left to legendary status.
What's actually happened at the Albion for the last couple of years is like Old Blue Eyes coming back on stage at the Sands and singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" and the Skippy theme.
While the good will always outweigh the bad, the last couple of years, and Dick's subsequent exit, will, in some small way, tarnish his memory.
The incoming chairman is not a Johnny Come Lately but part of a family with long-standing Albion connections.
What's happened in the past has to be left just there and everyone must move on. These are exciting times ahead.
Having possessed a degree of cynicism over the years, for the first time, I am convinced the stadium will be built.
And, in time, the Albion will finally be what they should have been years ago – the biggest club on the south coast."
