Not a friend A B or S

[BensGrandad]

In an attempt to kill this off once and for all for the benefit of
Dave the Gaffer, Large One or anybody else who thinks that I ama personal friend of the above 'crooks'.

The company that I ran had a contract to carry out some work for Greg Stanley at The Blue Peter Club and because of this I was drawn into his circle of friends including Club Christmas parties etc when Alan Mullery was the manager(2nd time).

At all times GS was fully aware of my love for BHA and suggested to Brian Bedson that I should be given a seat on the board as a supporter. BB turned this down saying if he has the money put it up and we will consider it we do not want people on the board with no money.

I continued to work for him during the time leading up to him becoming Chairman.

GS then got nicked for throwinga brick through a window in Doncaster and the papers made a great deal of 'Football Club Chairman arrested as a hooligan' which he was although one with too much money. As a result of this arrest we fell out because I considered him to be a bad advert for BHA and my compny lost his contract. I have never ever met Archer face to face.

Like many other supporters I did what I thought was my best during the reign of A B & S to overthrow them and inso doing arranged with a business colleague for a consortium of 3 men with a combined total of £80m to buy th club and rebuild it in situ.

During these times I had occassion to speak with a number of Football Club Chairmen on this matter and the overall consensus from them was to stick with A B & S as they had money which DK didnt, well not sufficient to purchase a football league club.

The rest about DK is history now but yes I am bitter towards him although I do appreciate what he has done because I feel that his appointment was a lost opportunity for us and that had we stuck with the other three or brought in my consortium we would PROBABLY have a new ground by now.

For the record I have not seen GS or been in contact with him since about 1996. As I have said I HAVE NEVER MET ARCHER face to face to talk to.

 

[Deleted User X18H]

(After Champagne breakfast) the above is a load of old bollocks
stop trying to give yourself credabilty and attention my claiming you know the listed people and giving your self a retrospective idea of grandure of who you used to know.

 

[Chopper West]

The rest about DK is history now but yes I am bitter towards him although I do appreciate what he has done because I feel that his appointment was a lost opportunity for us and that had we stuck with the other three or brought in my consortium we would PROBABLY have a new ground by now.

Two questions.

1. Where would the ground have been built? Do you think that A,B and S would have been able to circumnavigate the NIMBY objections to the planning process?

2. We are all Albion fans, DK seems like a good guy, (though his ego does get in the way at times), so why can your fellow members of the consortium put together a proposal to take the club forward.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Well that explains that then

.Like many other supporters I did what I thought was my best during the reign of A B & S to overthrow them and inso doing arranged with a business colleague for a consortium of 3 men with a combined total of £80m to buy th club and rebuild it in situ.

So what happened to this then? I was a close follower of the situation when the consortium was put together by Liam and Dick and at no time was there a mention of another consortium around.

Are these same businessmen the ones you feel should be running the club now? Do you want them to be in place now? Will they be prepared to buy DK out now?

Lots of questions

 

[BensGrandad]

A lot of sites have been suggested in the past.
Mike Bamber wanted to build a ground at Hickstead and share with Palace.
Barry Lloyd wanted us to go to Beeding Cement works.
Greg Stanley wanted to build one between Arundel and Chichester and share with Portsmouth.

The men I spoke to wanted to buy the houses overlooking The Goldstone and redevelope The Goldstone.

I am now semi-retired just working when I want to so I am no longer in contact with the people that I was in 1996. Whether or not they would still be interested I do not know.

I cannot be certain as nobody can, but I feel sure that once permission is given for Falmer and all the donkey work has been done by DK and MP somebody will come along and say thank you very much how much do you want for your shares?

To answer Hove born andbred I am not trying to pump up my ego as I have no need to what I am trying to do is explain my reasons for my slight bitterness towards DK and to kill this unfounded rumour and allegation that I am a pawn for Stanley and Archer which keeps being mentioned.

I am a 150% (not mathematically possible I know) supporter of BHA and only want the best for them.

Before I depart this earth I hope to have seen them in at least one more major cup final and be firmly established in the top half of the Premier League.

To do this they need a ground and hopefully DK will get that and then we will see what eventually follows.

 

[Brovion]

Interesting post BensGrandad. Are you sure you're not DwaynesGrandad? You're wasted as pub landlord if you're putting together £80m deals. Interesting that all the club chairmen you spoke to said 'stick with Archer'. Just shows what they know, but on the other hand perhaps they didn't want us giving their own fans ideas and having them turn and question them.

PS - I knew Greg Stanley back in the 1980s, also through the Blue Peter club, but it's not something I boast about.

 

[Brovion]

Also am I alone in being pleased that none of those sites actually went ahead? Apart from the Goldstone redevelopment none of them are in Brighton. You also forgot to mention that Mike Bamber looked at Shoreham Airport (NOT Pende!) when there were doubts about it's future.

 

[BensGrandad]

Interesting post BensGrandad. Are you sure you're not DwaynesGrandad? You're wasted as pub landlord if you're putting together £80m deals. Interesting that all the club chairmen you spoke to said 'stick with Archer'. Just shows what they know, but on the other hand perhaps they didn't want us giving their own fans ideas and having them turn and question them.

PS - I knew Greg Stanley back in the 1980s, also through the Blue Peter club, but it's not something I boast about.

I think the other Chairmen looked at it from a financial point of view and based their judgement on what they knew of DK.

The consortium that I spoke of was put together not by me directly but by a friend/business aquaintance who did rescue plans for a living and he is the one who would have earnt out of it using his expertise. It was me that got him started on the project.

At one of our meetings he introduced me to a person who told me that he had the week previously had a breakfast meeting with Archer and offered £7m for his share in BHA but Archer got up from the table and walked away saying the club is not for sale.

I do not boast about knowing Greg Stanley it is only what other [peole say that makes it appear so as I am sure that if you know him you would realise what an ar.....le he is.

 

[BensGrandad]

Also am I alone in being pleased that none of those sites actually went ahead? Apart from the Goldstone redevelopment none of them are in Brighton. You also forgot to mention that Mike Bamber looked at Shoreham Airport (NOT Pende!) when there were doubts about it's future.

Not wishing to argue but are you sure that it was Mike Bamber who looked at Pende. I thought that it was Steve Foster when he was trying to work with Howard Kruger to buy the club but I might be wrong.

 

[perseus]

To my knowledge, the only politician that has ever came out in the open and recommended Pende (under the next to Shoreham Airport name) as the site for a new stadium was the ex-Brighton Councillor Mike Middleton.

 

[BensGrandad]

I think Steve Fopster just quoted it as Shoreham Airport with no specific location on the airport.

 

[perseus]

I think Steve Fopster just quoted it as Shoreham Airport with no specific location on the airport.

This is news to me. It does make sense though. Couldn't have any money though. Not a bean, or else they could have bought the land. It was up for auction about then.

 

[Waterhall Wizard]

This is news to me. It does make sense though. Couldn't have any money though. Not a bean, or else they could have bought the land. It was up for auction about then.

I 'overheard' a conversation where Steve Foster offered the Shoreham site to Barry Lloyd. It gave me the impression that outlined planning permission for a stadium had been looked upon as a formality

 

[Brovion]

....I do not boast about knowing Greg Stanley it is only what other [peole say that makes it appear so as I am sure that if you know him you would realise what an ar.....le he is.

I never said you 'boasted' about knowing him, otherwise my PS would have read "but unlike you I don't boast about it." I think you misread the emphasis.

He struck me as being an aimiable drunkard, I thought he was ok and I was pleased when he got involved with the Albion! Just shows what a good judge of character I am.

The 'Mike Bamber / Shoreham Airport' thing was a story in the Argus when he was quoted as saying it was a possible site if Brighton, Hove and Worthing decided to stop funding the Airport.

 

[sullyupthewing]

To be honest I think a lot of us were duped by these three wankers but not for long.
I remember the first game after Bellotti took over, can't remember who it was against but he was in the North Stand speaking to the fans me included and I thought seems like a decent bloke, WRONG.

 

[Bwian]

To my knowledge, the only politician that has ever came out in the open and recommended Pende (under the next to Shoreham Airport name) as the site for a new stadium was the ex-Brighton Councillor Mike Middleton.

Now you've awoken Percy Pende I hope you're happy with yourselves

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I 'overheard' a conversation where Steve Foster offered the Shoreham site to Barry Lloyd. It gave me the impression that outlined planning permission for a stadium had been looked upon as a formality

That's been part of the trouble all along. Running a football club (or owning a football club) isn't a qualification for understanding the planning system.

Archer no doubt thought that getting a councillor in as Chief Executive would swing the planners into line with his scheme to get a stadium approved at Toads Hole Valley. Far from it. Apart from anything else, what kicks in when a councillor submits a planning application is that every local authority officer involved in processing the proposal starts thinking about the corruption trials of the Poulson era - and very special care is given to ensuring that the rules are meticulously followed. That's one of the reasons Bellotti never made any progress - the planners simply wouldn't offer him anything until he produced the supporting documentation, like an Environmental Impact Assessment or a Transport Plan (which, of course, he never did - because he was too stupid to get these organised).

Dick Knight is no more a town planner than every other football club chairman. But he's found Martin Perry - who knows exactly what he's doing and how to deal with the planning system effectively. Worth his weight in gold, given the almost impossible circumstances that the Club found itself in when DK took over.

The other thing about Bellotti - and I speak as a former officer of the Council he was a member of - he was one of the most disliked councillors that we ever had to work with. But I guess choosing the right people was never one of Archer's strengths.

 

[BensGrandad]

Dick Knight is no more a town planner than every other football club chairman. But he's found Martin Perry - who knows exactly what he's doing and how to deal with the planning system effectively. Worth his weight in gold, given the almost impossible circumstances that the Club found itself in when DK took over.

.

I would agree that irrespective of any likers or dislikes of Martin Perry it is obvious that he is an expert on planning applications and proceedures etc.

I do, however, get a little tired of hearing the same message bleated out at every home game but fully realise that getting our own ground, whether it be Falmer or elsewhere,is the be all and end of this club.

Mind you I get fed up with hearing the chant 'Stand up if you want Falmer' this to me is the most unproductive annoying chant going because EVERYBODY who is in Withdean wants a ground, with Falmer being the club choice.

 

[Lady Bracknell]

I do, however, get a little tired of hearing the same message bleated out at every home game but fully realise that getting our own ground, whether it be Falmer or elsewhere,is the be all and end of this club.

Mind you I get fed up with hearing the chant 'Stand up if you want Falmer' this to me is the most unproductive annoying chant going because EVERYBODY who is in Withdean wants a ground, with Falmer being the club choice.

In summary, then:
- you don't want Falmer
- you don't want the club to get its own ground
- you'll watch it die.

Because that's what's going to happen if your scenario plays out.

 

[perseus]

I thought the last reply was offside. But what to f***, its Christmas ....

except in FG land ...I can't be bothered to read it.