Clarification from Paul Barber on Dick Knight Selling his shares

[Bozza]

I would say there seems to be more bitterness displayed by a few towards Dick than Dick is showing towards anyone else. And you know who you are.

Why on earth would any Albion fan display bitterness towards Dick Knight? Take a long hard look at yourselves.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Judging by the conversation on Thursday there already may be a legal issue over printing parts of this book.

Not the revelation about Bill Shankly's pyjamas, I trust.

 

[Creaky]

Creaky

I'm not for one moment questioning his motives, I was just trying to highlight what the implications could be.

And not picking holes in your answer but just supposing dividends were ever paid, the point I was trying to make was that if 10000 shares earned 5 p each, that's £500 But cost of postage could be around 4k.

Dick has done more than enough for Brighton to able to do as he chooses and judges to be in the Albion's best interests, but then so has TB and others.

the danger of all this is it's yet another sorry saga that could do nothing but make bad blood, bad publicity. shame really.

I wasn't referring to anyone in particular Mex - rather the entire thread.

Re the £4,000 cost in your example that would be a tiny amount in comparison to the total dividend payable - each million shares would be attracting a dividend of £50,000 and how many million shares are in circulation

As for the bad blood personally I don't see it - the vast majority seem to be appreciative of what both DK and TB have done for the club as well as the rest of the board. Publicity wise it is nothing more than a storm in a teacup and will be forgotten by next week.

In many ways I think a lot of good may accrue from the publication of the book as it describes a lot of the background and history of the club that many of the younger, casual and new fans may not be aware of.

 

[A mex eyecan]

I wasn't referring to anyone in particular Mex - rather the entire thread.

Re the £4,000 cost in your example that would be a tiny amount in comparison to the total dividend payable - each million shares would be attracting a dividend of £50,000 and how many million shares are in circulation

As for the bad blood personally I don't see it - the vast majority seem to be appreciative of what both DK and TB have done for the club as well as the rest of the board. Publicity wise it is nothing more than a storm in a teacup and will be forgotten by next week.

In many ways I think a lot of good may accrue from the publication of the book as it describes a lot of the background and history of the club that many of the younger, casual and new fans may not be aware of.

I really hope you are right in all aspects of your post.
Lets all just on with what really important, support the blue and white stripes. On and off the pitch!

 

[Twinkle Toes]

I would say there seems to be more bitterness displayed by a few towards Dick than Dick is showing towards anyone else. And you know who you are.

Why on earth would any Albion fan display bitterness towards Dick Knight? Take a long hard look at yourselves.

This, with massive ****ing bells on!

Some of the utter clowns we have as so-called 'supporters' these days frankly beggers belief (if this thread is anything to go by). An absolutely piss-poor show.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Why on earth would any Albion fan display bitterness towards Dick Knight? .

^^^^^^

 

[Hamilton]

This, with massive ****ing bells on!

Some of the utter clowns we have as so-called 'supporters' these days frankly beggers belief (if this thread is anything to go by). An absolutely piss-poor show.

This. Some real tossers on this thread. Think I need to start to employ the ignore button.

 

[A mex eyecan]

I went to see DK evening last night at burgess hill.
just for the record at no stage did he come across as being bitter. For sure he said that he would have liked the hand over to TB to have been a bit different. He said he would have liked nothing better than to have been chairman until the ground was completed and on the first game to have walked into the centre circle with TB and given him the keys, so to speak.
idealistic? Maybe a little, Understandable? Yes for sure. TB wanting chairmanship earlier having just thrown a load of cash into the club, understandable? Of course it was.

Sometimes in life everything you would like just isn't possible. DK said that although what happened wasn't as he would have chosen he felt that unless TB's cash had not come in when it did, the stadium would have been delayed a little longer, maybe another two years. His view was that the supporters had waited far too long at that time, so although stepping aside was not what he wanted, it was what he felt right for the club and it's supporters.

What's wrong with that.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Agreed Dick did step in to save the Albion but when delays occurred and he ran short of cash his ego did not allow him to step back and allow others to assist the club which almost led to us becoming a non-league club.
The fact that he will not allow the club to know the contents of his book indicates that there could well be items they would not be happy to encourage. I think his idea of selling shares to ensure no one individual can decide the Albions future is a good one and i hope these shares will be snapped up.

Read the book ...

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

I would say there seems to be more bitterness displayed by a few towards Dick than Dick is showing towards anyone else. And you know who you are.

Why on earth would any Albion fan display bitterness towards Dick Knight? Take a long hard look at yourselves.

Well said.

 

[cjd]

I would say there seems to be more bitterness displayed by a few towards Dick than Dick is showing towards anyone else. And you know who you are.

Why on earth would any Albion fan display bitterness towards Dick Knight? Take a long hard look at yourselves.

That's a bit harsh.

Posters are entitled to their opinions. Simply because some posters views don't agree with Dick Knights various mouthpieces on this forum, surely should not mean they are "bitter"..?

This is my first posting on this thread and it has been interesting to see the various views aired....(not so much the usual 'insider' views, perpetually posted here with their thinly veiled criticism of our current Chairman).

My point of view re Mr. Knight...? I often wonder, that had Robbie Reinelt not scored that day at Hereford would the view of Mr. Knight be very different to what it is today...? For various reasons I believe it would.

I didn't care at all for the long-drawn out personal battle ( and it was personal) between Mr. Knight and Archer during that crucial period when our Football League membership was hanging by a thread.

I do admire Mr. Knights tenacity in the lengthy application for planning permission at Falmer and he was very fortunate that so many others were continually putting money into the club , so it could keep going. He was very fortunate that Mr.Strachan paid £1.5 million for Adam Virgo, which enabled him to continue his (and our) crusade. He was very fortunate that Bobby Zamora was eventually sold for £1.5 million (albeit we nearly didn't sign him from Bristol Rovers due to haggling), which enabled him to continue his (and our) crusade. He was very fortunate that Mr. Martin Perry was at his side.....a man who has demonstrated his skill, knowledge and ease he deals with the various planning authorities. He was very fortunate to be able to call upon the huge wealth of expertise of the FFA group.

All in all.....a very fortunate man.

How disappointing for me, to hear (and read on this forum) how he has given confidential information to some of the FFA group, clearly without the proviso that it not be divulged. Truly disgusting by all concerned.

This football club has risen from the ashes. Yet.....how sad that having gone through so much, for so long, with the full support of so many people, we now see one of its leading lights degenerate into bitterness....ably backed by his cronies.

 

[Tooting Gull]

With a couple of exceptions I don't see much bitterness towards Dick Knight at all, that seems a very OTT and melodramatic claim. I see a lot of bewilderment it came to this. And I see fans who are not sucked in so much by people they admire that they can retain the ability to spot faults.

At the end of the day, no one forced him to write this book with a gun to his head so he has to take any fallout.

Personally I am very sorry that someone so instrumental in helping save the club, getting it back to Brighton and getting Falmer has slightly (and that is all it is, slightly) blotted his copybook. I don't need his closest allies to interpret his words and deeds for me, can do that myself thanks very much.

And the level of intolerance for other viewpoints is reaching bizarre levels on here. The same people who are asking for their concerns about the Bloom ownership set-up to be heard are not prepared to hear one word said against Knight.

 

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

With a couple of exceptions I don't see much bitterness towards Dick Knight at all, that seems a very OTT and melodramatic claim. I see a lot of bewilderment it came to this. And I see fans who are not sucked in so much by people they admire that they can retain the ability to spot faults.

At the end of the day, no one forced him to write this book with a gun to his head so he has to take any fallout.

Personally I am very sorry that someone so instrumental in helping save the club, getting it back to Brighton and getting Falmer has slightly (and that is all it is, slightly) blotted his copybook. I don't need his closest allies to interpret his words and deeds for me, can do that myself thanks very much.

And the level of intolerance for other viewpoints is reaching bizarre levels on here. The same people who are asking for their concerns about the Bloom ownership set-up to be heard are not prepared to hear one word said against Knight.

This.

What I'm finding most annoying is not so much people being supposedly 'Pro-Dick' or Pro-TB', it's the dramatisation and attempt of segregation between these two camps. The reality is 95% fans are both pro Dick and TB, and no one is taking sides on the scale some are portraying.

I think you've summed up best with the word bewilderment - that's all it is. A few fans are just slightly bewildered by what's happened. Nothing sinister.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I've read most of the book. It does not read as the ranting of a bitter man. Not at all.

It's one man's account of things. It's therefore bound to have his opinions etc. Not quite sure why people expect otherwise. I don't sympathise with every point he makes. I doubt he'd expect everyone to.

I would however suggest people resist criticising him too much until actually reading it, rather than relying on snippets picked out by the press etc which are always going to be the most sensational.

Dick Knight certainly isn't perfect. And nothing wrong with people disagreeing with his approach, comments etc.

But he deserves a bit more respect than he seems to be being given by some Albion fans. It's his book, his opinions and really, if anyone has earned the right to voice them in whatever way he wants, it is probably Dick Knight.

That said, I don't think this issue is polarising fans as much as it might appear, more that fans just seem a little disappointed the two men responsible for making the club we all love what it is today dont seem to get on. It really is a shame.

I am sure 99 per cent of Albion fans are in the position where they appreciate what both men did while equally realising they are also both human and capable of doing things or handling some situations in a way some might disagree with.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

How disappointing for me, to hear (and read on this forum) how he has given confidential information to some of the FFA group, clearly without the proviso that it not be divulged. Truly disgusting by all concerned.

Is this any different from the meeting with the FFA group that Tony Bloom asked for - only three and a bit weeks ago?

 

[Giraffe]

I'm not bitter at Dick Knight not at all.

What he did for the club was magnificent and he will always have my respect. But some of his comments are definitely bitter.

And I think the sell the shares thing is just a very weak dig at the club. And an unnecessary one which fuels the kind of corporate hatred aimed at "new Albion".

But I still very much admire him.

 

[Beach Hut]

What I find strange is that now in the 3rd year of the Amex there are a serious amount of fans who cannot accept the new Albion we now have.

Everything was always going to change when we moved to the Amex and to be the club we want with aspirations then the touchy feely Withdean era needed to be consigned very quickly into history. I accept people like DK is owed a gratitude for saving the club but to think he should mentor someone far more successful than him is misplaced to say the least.

What we have now is a football club and like it or not this is what football is now. The days of ******* over St Pauli, wanting standing terraces etc will never happen but a happy medium has happened at the Amex where we have quite a few peoples favourite beers and many options like Dicks bar and drinking post match at the ground which are not the norm at most other football grounds. Then we had the end of season disco party which, to be honest, was totally amazing and exemplifies the uniqueness we do create and how we do stand out from the crowd. If you did not go, charge up your season ticket with ecash and go - it is bloody good fun and a great event.

 

[portlock seagull]

I would say there seems to be more bitterness displayed by a few towards Dick than Dick is showing towards anyone else. And you know who you are.

Why on earth would any Albion fan display bitterness towards Dick Knight? Take a long hard look at yourselves.

This. But could we also try and get to 30 pages? If it helps, knight was the worst chairman since archer...

 

[Lord Bracknell]

What I find strange is that now in the 3rd year of the Amex there are a serious amount of fans who cannot accept the new Albion we now have.

Everything was always going to change when we moved to the Amex and to be the club we want with aspirations then the touchy feely Withdean era needed to be consigned very quickly into history. I accept people like DK is owed a gratitude for saving the club but to think he should mentor someone far more successful than him is misplaced to say the least.

What we have now is a football club and like it or not this is what football is now. The days of ******* over St Pauli, wanting standing terraces etc will never happen but a happy medium has happened at the Amex where we have quite a few peoples favourite beers and many options like Dicks bar and drinking post match at the ground which are not the norm at most other football grounds. Then we had the end of season disco party which, to be honest, was totally amazing and exemplifies the uniqueness we do create and how we do stand out from the crowd. If you did not go, charge up your season ticket with ecash and go - it is bloody good fun and a great event.

I've been waiting a while for you to post something on this thread that I agree with.

Thanks.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I hate these I'm superior to you type of posts because I was there, Maybe some people with opinions now were not even old enough to get involved in things before? It's a bit like old people moaning at you for not knowing what it was like during the war and it leaves you thinking you should be apologising for not being born earlier.

I think its an interesting point, that there are many of us of a certain generation who's entire Brighton-supporting history is centred on those days and the struggle. I can't comprehend anybody who started supporting Brighton during the late 80's or 90's having nothing but the highest regard for DK and wouldn't walk over broken glass for him. In many ways that's why this argument goes on and on, because we don't want the memory to die or history to be re-written.

Especially over something as trivial as this, which is DK trying to keep a promise he made to the fans all those years ago, with a nice little bit of marketing for his book thrown in, which is in itself valuable in keeping the memories of those days alive.