Puts me in mind of Steve Foster's conversation with Bellotti at the height of the troubles

[drew]

Met a director this week.
Asked him about the meeting ( which was Monday not Tuesday as reported in arsegas) and if there was vote on hyypia.

He said it's not down to us. It's the chairmans decision.

Just saying like.

I can't believe anyone would seriously think otherwise. TB owns 99% of the club so it doesn't matter what the other directors vote for!

 

[Del Fenner]

Jn

The only reason there aren't demonstrations is because of the amount of money Bloom has sunk into the club.

Sounds almost like being held to ransom.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Having met and spoken with both I can say they are both a bit slippery and the comparison isnt as far apart as you would imagine.

I have also met both and personally don't agree.

I suppose my point isn't really about the men themselves (perhaps Barber would have played Bellotti's role had he been in the business 20 years ago), but unless there is some sort of huge bigger conspiracy that I am too simple to see, the role the two men are playing at the club don't deserve to be compared. You might not like the decisions Barber is making, but he is not knowingly working against the club.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Read the thread, its about Barber not Bloom

This then implies that you believe Paul Barber is doing things at the club against the wishes of the Chairman and board. What is Paul Barber's "far darker ulterior motive" then?

 

[The Fifth Column]

I have also met both and personally don't agree.

I suppose my point isn't really about the men themselves (perhaps Barber would have played Bellotti's role had he been in the business 20 years ago), but unless there is some sort of huge bigger conspiracy that I am too simple to see, the role the two men are playing at the club don't deserve to be compared. You might not like the decisions Barber is making, but he is not knowingly working against the club.

Fair enough, can't argue with that.

 

[portlock seagull]

It is an utter disgrace to compare Paul Barber with Bellotti. I am extremely surprised someone of your standing, Harty, would come on here and say that. I don't doubt your passion, and there's no question how important you were during the campaigning years but that absolutely does not give you any right to slate Barber and even hint at a "far darker motive" - let alone come right out and use those words. I think people are in danger of completely losing context and sanity, the perception of a wider problem at the club is very dramatic and unhelpful.

Drama queen! Actually, we were saying near the same thing - there are parallels with the mid 90s at the moment. So it's not a disgrace, perhaps you're seeing too much black or white when other colours are available! Harty is quite right, where are the yoof of our support today demoing on Newtown road like we did? They just don't care or haven't been supporting for long enough to care. IN fairness the malaise and apathy reflects the wider social picture. We don't fight for anything anymore, even the younger generations meekly accept their fate which is to be mass un or underemployed by the establishment. Hmmm, think I've just turned into a drama queen myself! I'm just really hacked off as we all are. No offence. But frankly I'm not up to another fight against the board. Did my bit in the nineties and noughties along. The garden beckons, Christ, I'll be looking at sheds soon. My life is over isn't it...God I hate Brighton and Hove Albion. Why does it hurt so much? Why can't I be like my wife and simply not care? Why? Why us?

 

[drew]

Drama queen! Actually, we were saying near the same thing - there are parallels with the mid 90s at the moment. So it's not a disgrace, perhaps you're seeing too much black or white when other colours are available! Harty is quite right, where are the yoof of our support today demoing on Newtown road like we did? They just don't care or haven't been supporting for long enough to care. IN fairness the malaise and apathy reflects the wider social picture. We don't fight for anything anymore, even the younger generations meekly accept their fate which is to be mass un or underemployed by the establishment. Hmmm, think I've just turned into a drama queen myself! I'm just really hacked off as we all are. No offence. But frankly I'm not up to another fight against the board. Did my bit in the nineties and noughties along. The garden beckons, Christ, I'll be looking at sheds soon. My life is over isn't it...God I hate Brighton and Hove Albion. Why does it hurt so much? Why can't I be like my wife and simply not care? Why? Why us?

In the 90s we were in the basement division on the brink of falling out with a chairman that was intent of making money out of the demise of the club, playing at a decaying old ground that, despite some great moments, was an absolute shithole and had been for many a year. We have had three very successful years, a shiny new stadium and training ground and a chairman who, admittedly lives a little further away than Mellor, is a lifelong fan of the club and continues to pump money in. In all fairness, I don't think comparisons are in order.

What I do agree with is that we are all hacked off with the performance on the pitch. Perhaps the real problem is that the last 4 years of success have raised the expectations of the fans, whether long term or JCLs.

 

[portlock seagull]

In the 90s we were in the basement division on the brink of falling out with a chairman that was intent of making money out of the demise of the club, playing at a decaying old ground that, despite some great moments, was an absolute shithole and had been for many a year. We have had three very successful years, a shiny new stadium and training ground and a chairman who, admittedly lives a little further away than Mellor, is a lifelong fan of the club and continues to pump money in. In all fairness, I don't think comparisons are in order.

What I do agree with is that we are all hacked off with the performance on the pitch. Perhaps the real problem is that the last 4 years of success have raised the expectations of the fans, whether long term or JCLs.

You can compare some things if only the boards failure to listen to fans. It's ok to compare without saying they're the same, which they're not. I don't need reminding of the 90s. Lived 'em. Got the books, tshirt and newspaper clippings too. T shirt doesn't fit anymore mind

 

[A mex eyecan]

It's Bloom's dictatorship and he has us over a barrel as what would we have without him?

Not quite sure that 'got us over a barrel' is the right sentiment though. If he is right or wrong he stumped up more cash to get us to where we are now. So even if we disagree with how he hires or fires, we would do well to remember that without his massive impute there wouldn't be much hiring and firing going on ...

 

[GreersElbow]

I love these conspiracies to try and find a way to blame Barber, who's just Bloom's right hand man...

 

[Captain Sensible]

I totally get the parody. Whilst Barber is not the yes man of a greedy evil b'stard. He is the chief exec like Bellotti that's in charge as the club is in free fall. It's got to the point where we dare not challenge the management of the club. A bit like during the Bellotti reign.

 

[kevtherev]

All the good Bloom has done for this football club should never be forgotten. But his failure to act weeks ago, is damaging his reputation and if this goes on much longer he will undo all the good he has done. I am actually lost for words just how shite Hyypias tactics and team selection and motivational qualities really are. He is without doubt, pound for pound the worst manager I can remember......and whats more, if Barber wants to treat us like customers not fans, then I have no issues what so ever in cancelling my season ticket, as I am not happy with the product and will not contribute £50 a month of my hard earn't money to line the the pockets of people not fit to run a pub team.

 

[Giraffe]

I think it is a very fair comparison. They are certainly of a similar nature and corporate mindset. However their bosses are very different.

The core difference is Bloom has sunk £150million of his own money into the club, Archer put in £56.25.

But yes I can see similarities between Bellotti and Barber. People forget but for a while everyone thought Bellotti was great right up to it being unveiled that the Goldstone had been sold.

 

[Captain Sensible]

All the good Bloom has done for this football club should never be forgotten. But his failure to act weeks ago, is damaging his reputation and if this goes on much longer he will undo all the good he has done. I am actually lost for words just how shite Hyypias tactics and team selection and motivational qualities really are. He is without doubt, pound for pound the worst manager I can remember......and whats more, if Barber wants to treat us like customers not fans, then I have no issues what so ever in cancelling my season ticket, as I am not happy with the product and will not contribute £50 a month of my hard earn't money to line the the pockets of people not fit to run a pub team.

Well I was also of the opinion that to vote with our feet would hit Barber hard as Tony Bloom would realise something was terribly wrong when attendances and revenues dropped. It's starting to prove not to be the case. We have had dwindling attendances and general bad feeling about the direction of the club from penny pinching fans to Burke and Hyypia. It seems we as fans need to as a collective get together to protest at the way the club is being run. A simple managerial change is not going to fix it. We need a new manager and new management with 'football people' running things. Not suits and profit margins controlling everything.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Not quite sure that 'got us over a barrel' is the right sentiment though. If he is right or wrong he stumped up more cash to get us to where we are now. So even if we disagree with how he hires or fires, we would do well to remember that without his massive impute there wouldn't be much hiring and firing going on ...

Of course it isn't. It was an intentional turn of phrase to be honest.

 

[durrington gull]

Fozzie sat in Bellotti's office and said, with perhaps a hint of sarcasm thrown in, " David you either have an extremely switched on business brain or you are without doubt one of the biggest ***** to have ever graced this football club. And from where I'm sitting I don't think you're that clever." (He never played for the club again)

Whatever others on here might argue Bloom has given Barber the power to hire and fire, so how he can continue to oversee possibly the worst manager the club has had in almost 50 years and watch the fanbase erode before his eyes brings two theories to mind.

a) He has a far darker ulterior motive.
Or
b) He is as clueless and out of his depth as the manager he hired.

He's all but knocked the stuffing out of the support, 20 years ago after a game like that there would have been 300/500 people protesting outside the front doors in Newtown Road, now we have a quick boo mumble into our drinks and get the respective transport home.

Harty spot on mate - The biggest thing about all this is the lack of protest going on, the fans apathy is astonishing when you think of the utter turd been served up every week. 20 odd yrs ago we would have been outside protesting about the club sliding to Lge 1 but most fans have just accepted it, not even a concerted booing at the end got going - fans need to wake up very quickly and start showing the board their anger

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Met a director this week.
Asked him about the meeting ( which was Monday not Tuesday as reported in arsegas) and if there was vote on hyypia.

He said it's not down to us. It's the chairmans decision.

Just saying like.

And here lies the problem. Tony Bloom won't admit he's made a mistake and he's surrounded himself with yes-men who won't dare suggest to him that he has. What is obvious to the fans isn't getting through to the Chairman and the rest of the board are, frankly, not interested in what the fans think.

 

[Mayfair Seagull]

Whatever anyone says, there are a lot of us who feel that Barber is fast becoming a David Bellotti type character. The way he talks to us, the fans, through media channels and face to face is extraordinary. My father, (71yrs old and a STH since the 1950's) recently had a particularly unpleasant conversation with him, leaving my mother and other witnesses very shocked and upset.

In any other business or profession he'd have been sacked months ago.

 

[forrest]

Ok I'm ready to get shot down in flames here! To a point I think barber is doing a fairly good job. At the end of the day his job is to keep the club on a sound financial footing. Hell we may not all agree with everything he has done but at least we still have a club to support. Football is now big business like it or not.

Sport is all about money these days. Here in sussex we've already lost our top basketball side and recently the owner of our elite league speedway team took the decision to remove Eastbourne Eagles out of the top league to the bottom league because of money. Better to have a team to support at the lower end than no team at all.

Yes it's penny pinching in there by barber but at the end of the day that's his job.

 

[Ian Bairds Fist]

Ok I'm ready to get shot down in flames here! To a point I think barber is doing a fairly good job. At the end of the day his job is to keep the club on a sound financial footing. Hell we may not all agree with everything he has done but at least we still have a club to support. Football is now big business like it or not.

Sport is all about money these days. Here in sussex we've already lost our top basketball side and recently the owner of our elite league speedway team took the decision to remove Eastbourne Eagles out of the top league to the bottom league because of money. Better to have a team to support at the lower end than no team at all.

Yes it's penny pinching in there by barber but at the end of the day that's his job.

Getting a prosperous Championship side into League One would be an incredible achievement! I agree with others that have suggested there seems to be a dark alterior motive here.. The way he speaks to several fans is an utter disgrace and I don't want him representing our football club.