Am I the only person who angry?

[Uncle Spielberg]

Ernest - Its stopped raining in Lewes and the skies are clearing.

 

[Titanic]

So you're not angry about the state the club is in after being told everything was rosey ?

No - because I'm not arrogant or stupid enough to believe that I could have done any better.

I would take a fair guess that you know about as much about running a professional football club and a major stadium development as I do about World War One trench warfare strategy.

 

[Ernest]

Ernest - Its stopped raining in Lewes and the skies are clearing.

Nice and sunny in Hove now so fingers crossed for tonight

 

[burrish gull]

I think this is very bad timing by the club and a mistake to assume that people will cough up another £100, I know the club are stretched but this is just one step too far in my opinion. The club's PR and marketing is terrible and I just feel that there have been too many missed opportunities by them for me to take this seriously. I've lost alot of faith in Dick Knight now and this coming from someone who never questioned him before.

Knight, Perry, Samrah, Attilla and all those who have fought for the club are heroes but I do feel that ANY criticism of them is like blasphamy to many (including some on this board). Sometimes the Albion and NSC feels like a closed shop unless you are in with the in crowd. This is a bad thing in any area of life where hard decisions have to be made, instead of asking the supporters to come up with more cash should'nt the current board be looking at themselves and asking why they got in this mess? It's not as if they did'nt see this coming is it?

 

[bhaexpress]

Nice and sunny in Hove now so fingers crossed for tonight

You cross yours while we stick ours up at you. Bet we don't hear a peep out of you tonight, mainly because you won't be there.

 

[Ernest]

You cross yours while we stick ours up at you. Bet we don't hear a peep out of you tonight, mainly because you won't be there.

Don't be so daft I'll be in E block as usual

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

I think this is very bad timing by the club and a mistake to assume that people will cough up another £100, I know the club are stretched but this is just one step too far in my opinion. The club's PR and marketing is terrible and I just feel that there have been too many missed opportunities by them for me to take this seriously. I've lost alot of faith in Dick Knight now and this coming from someone who never questioned him before.

Knight, Perry, Samrah, Attilla and all those who have fought for the club are heroes but I do feel that ANY criticism of them is like blasphamy to many (including some on this board). Sometimes the Albion and NSC feels like a closed shop unless you are in with the in crowd. This is a bad thing in any area of life where hard decisions have to be made, instead of asking the supporters to come up with more cash should'nt the current board be looking at themselves and asking why they got in this mess? It's not as if they did'nt see this coming is it?

Totally agree with you.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I can't remember any other club raising a significant amount of money from a donation appeal such as the one the club made this week. If it was that likely to work every club outside the Barclays Premiership would be doing it.

I reckon this appeal may bring in £200K-£300K tops, albeit at a price, as it appears a good third of Albion fans are upset about being asked to stump up more cash and are losing faith with the Board.

I agree with the points raised about the commercial operations of the club, and the perception that we are not capitalising on the market potential.

Personally, I was looking forward to buying the new shirt, but I think it is awful, the worst home shirt for years.

 

[clapham_gull]

Totally agree with you.

Although I'm looking to donate some money, I would feel happier about the whole situation if regularly fans forums took place and fans were given representation on the board.

I'm surprised that some kind of representation hasn't been offered alongside the new appeal.

 

[Man of Harveys]

Knight, Perry, Samrah, Attilla and all those who have fought for the club are heroes but I do feel that ANY criticism of them is like blasphamy to many (including some on this board). Sometimes the Albion and NSC feels like a closed shop unless you are in with the in crowd.

Sorry, but who has ever said this? Who has ever actively sought to make things be this way, i.e to exclude anyone? Examples please. I can't remember anyone involved with either the club or NSC ever saying "sorry, we don't want you involved and, even though you're clearly a fan, we're not actually interested in your opinion", either in as many words or implying. Just look at the "ask the club" thread here - how many other chairmen do
that?

In fact, I think that the tedious and vegetative wind-up merchants on here have - for some f***ed-up reason - gone out of their way to abuse those rights that everyone does actually enjoy, to ask hard questions of the club. It's all the more shameful because that right is something all the more important for Albion fans given our pre-Knight history. I suggest you direct at least some of your scorn at them.

 

[zefarelly]

I agree with the points raised about the commercial operations of the club, and the perception that we are not capitalising on the market potential.

Personally, I was looking forward to buying the new shirt, but I think it is awful, the worst home shirt for years.

Agreed . . . .I was going to buy it (not that I ever wear them much) but it looked like an Argentina top on TV, feck that! its not even if our players are tanned and skillful

 

[clapham_gull]

Sorry, but who has ever said this? Who has ever actively sought to make things be this way, i.e to exclude anyone? Examples please. I can't remember anyone involved with either the club or NSC ever saying "sorry, we don't want you involved and, even though you're clearly a fan, we're not actually interested in your opinion", either in as many words or implying. Just look at the "ask the club" thread here - how many other chairmen do
that?

In fact, I think that the tedious and vegetative wind-up merchants on here have - for some f***ed-up reason - gone out of their way to abuse those rights that everyone does actually enjoy, to ask hard questions of the club. It's all the more shameful because that right is something all the more important for Albion fans given our pre-Knight history. I suggest you direct at least some of your scorn at them.

Although I think the Ask the Club thing is great (and I've asked a few questions) I don't think it can be really used as example of an "open club". It's only available for users of this board for example !

In the clubs defence I've emailed the club on a number of matters in the past and have always got a reply.

What we really need is a regular fans forum, and this has been allowed to slip in my opinion. Again bit of PR slip up, fans forum is now is a priority and should have been announced alongside the appeal. If the club needs my money that fine - but I need something a bit more face to face than a letter through the door (which I havent received yet...)

Fans Forum PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS - I don't like the shirt at all. Seeing as shirts are an important revenue stream, forget democracy but I felt it was a missed commercial opportunity not to offer a few designs to the fans.

You see things like that annoy me. I'm not saying I could do better, but to drastically change the colour without testing the market was a mistake in my opinion.

Could have been...

"The new Brighton Strip, worn by the players, chosen by the fans...." - in the Club Shop Now !!

 

[London Irish]

I think this thread is a fine credit to how well Dick Knight and the rest of the board have shielded many Albion fans from the financial realities of running a club with the inadequate levels of revenue we currently have.

When the case for Falmer has been made, oh about 50 million times to Albion fans, Knight has always pointed to how the financial books do not balance for as long as we stay at Withdean. NOW WHAT BIT OF THAT MESSAGE DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

Did you think Knight was just making all that stuff up so we could fool the planners into letting us have Falmer?

I really think many of the "born-again" Dick Knight critics have been cruising along in this odd dreamworld where they believed the battle for the financial stability of the club had already been won.

If this appeal for money manages to educate a few more people of the financial realities we find ourselves in, that's a good thing too.

I'm not angry, sad, bitter, frustrated etc, etc because I'm not that egotistical enough to think my little moods are that relevant or interesting to anyone else in the context of the huge job of work we have as fans to assist our current board in the club's time of need.

Have your whinge if you want but, when you're through with that, please join everyone else who is just rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job of raising this money in any way we can.

 

[Brovion]

What London Irish said.

Time and time again it's been pointed out that WE LOSE MONEY PLAYING AT WITHDEAN. Whilst football itself might be a game running a club isn't. It's not like Monopoly, we don't get to the end of the season and say "Oh look we lost 1.3m this season, never mind, let's just put the game away and start again next year" The debts accumulate.

The club have said this time and time again and people's response has been to reply ""Yeah yeah yeah, losing money, yeah, yeah, playing at Withdeanm, yeah, yeah, Falmer enquiry, yeah, yeah ... WHERE ARE THE NEW PLAYERS? WHY HAVEN'T WE SIGNED ANY? WHERE IS THE AMBITION? DOESN'T DICK TIGHT REALISE WE'RE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP NOW?"

Well look on this as a wake-up call. Oh and those of you who have mystery investors waiting in the wings now would be a jolly good time to get them in.

 

[beorhthelm]

it seems to me that people are only angry because they are in a vacuum of information. Im not exactly where these ideas of McGhee/Cullip/Knight not signing contracts due to lack of funds come from, other than rumours posted on this very board. I dont think anyone yet know EXACTLY what the money is going to be earmarked for, is it players, falmer, debts?

Yes the call for some donation is a bit of a shock, but as London Irish and Brovian point out, there's been no deceit as to the poor state of finances at the club. And a six month delay in the Flamer project has probably just hastened somthing that was inevitable. I see it as some what novel and refreshing that we are being asked for money now rather than 6/12/18mths down the road when the creditors have us up before the High Courts.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Im sorry LB but when its threatened that well lose our manager and 2 of our best players if we dont raise the cash but have just given contracts to 6 other players then Ill be angry!

i do agree withy that
why did we give contracts to pircey hammond lee beck when if honest most people would rather have cullip or mcghee instead

 

[Regency Gull]

LB's post on the last page is really worrying. The club is using the goodwill of the fans at the moment to ask for money for nothing in return. We are not is economic meltdown and we aren't skint we just see this as a good time to ask for some cash.

This is a high risk strategy asking for money as most people would expect this only to be done when we are at deaths door and we're now being told that we're not. It's just a good opportunity to ask for cash, season tickets paid a while ago, new shirt and DVD safely brought, Christmas far enough away.

This could be viewed as crying wolf and fleecing fans - a point which is being made all over NSC.

Hugely high risk by the club and I don't really understand where they go from here. They say they need 2m, are likely to get alot less than that and basically they can never pull this send us a cheque request again, it wouldn't wash.

Is there a strategy? Because if there is one I can't see it.

 

[skr80]

just been in to the shop - no-one else in there and 5 staff walking about. Intended to buy a home shirt but no home shirts in stock in size still.... been trying to get this shirt for a while now - as others may have been - how much lost revenue is that costing them?? ended up buying 2 t shirts and 3 play off hats just to get something....

think they need to get there house in order b4 getting the begging bowls out....

 

[Dave the OAP]

I think its something to do with some comments that are made.

eg: a few months ago, MP came out and said that now we had managed to get rid of Ecovert, we would have more of a control over the spending at Withdean and also it would reduce our costs.

We also were told that the day to day running of the club is secure as our financial position is under control.

We then wake up to the Argus screaming at us that we were going bust and DK was asking people to give what they could, but £100 and £250 for some incentives were the fugures quoted. Also in that article it transpires that the debt of the company is huge and the shareholders had already put in 7million.

My concern in all of this is communication! We all know how much withdean is crippling us. we have all seen that no "names" have come to the club in transfer deals this year. We hear in the Argus today that McGhee, Cullip and Knight are not being offered extensions to their contracts until Falmer is agreed. What else is going to come out of the woodwork? What other debts have we to pay apart from Falmer...is there any?

Don't get me wrong, I am 100% behind Falmer and the current board, but i am not a lemming blindly expecting to cough up more money without knowing the true facts.

 

[London Irish]

i do agree withy that
why did we give contracts to pircey hammond lee beck when if honest most people would rather have cullip or mcghee instead

Because those contract issues were up and had to be settled there and then.

Aren't you happy we gave the 3-month to Dean Hammond? Hasn't that investment paid off?

Not resolving the contract issues of McGhee, Knight and Cullip is also a sensible move.

If we don't get Falmer or a ground within Brighton (an unlikely scenario given how much Prescott has loaded the inquiry in our favour) then we won't be needing a manager and players of that calibre. We will be making plans for a soft landing in the Conference and lots of derby games with Crawley.

But once the issue of Falmer is resolved POSITIVELY, I believe we will get McGhee and Cullip on board, they have demonstrated their loyality and sympathy with the Albion's plight in word and deed many a time. Leon Knight - who knows, a different kettle of fish.