Interesting. With this and WSC's looks like the book's picking up interest beyond the club.
Debate trade unionists | Socialist Unity
Debate trade unionists | Socialist Unity
We Want Falmer review - A view from the left
- Thread starter Southy
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The Large One
Who's Next?
Paul Hodson and Stephen North’s We Want Falmer is the story of what can happen when fans’ complaints aren’t just heard but become the focus for a mass movement embraced first by the supporters, and eventually by the club too.
Fifteen years is an extraordinary length of time for any campaign to be sustained but this is how long it took for Brighton to secure its own ground after the Goldstone was flogged off to developers. The book, in the words of those involved in the campaign, records every twist and turn along the way, with the imagination, commitment and large numbers involved carefully accounted for.
There is little to fault as one obstacle after another is successfully overcome but by the end there is an element of doubt of what exactly has been achieved. Brighton isn’t a ‘phoenix club’ of the sort AFC Wimbledon, FC United and others have become.
The ownership structure of the club remains more or less intact, and it is surely ironic that the new ‘community stadium’ has awarded its naming rights to American Express. The years of campaigning shaped Brighton’s support as a highly effective force for change, one the club learned it could not do without, but now the new stadium is complete and the crowds have returned to sell out the stands what role for this near-unique legacy?
Nobody, well perhaps Palace fans might , would wish the kinds of calamities Brighton have had to battle to get here to return but for now it remains unclear how the battle to get the ‘Amex’ will change the club for good.
There seems to be an admiration not so much for what we've achieved but how we've achieved it. He seem to imply that what we have achieved isn't necessarily a good thing. Maybe I'm reading that wrong.
There also seems to be an implication that the club and the fans were two separate forces in these 14 years.
Fifteen years is an extraordinary length of time for any campaign to be sustained but this is how long it took for Brighton to secure its own ground after the Goldstone was flogged off to developers. The book, in the words of those involved in the campaign, records every twist and turn along the way, with the imagination, commitment and large numbers involved carefully accounted for.
There is little to fault as one obstacle after another is successfully overcome but by the end there is an element of doubt of what exactly has been achieved. Brighton isn’t a ‘phoenix club’ of the sort AFC Wimbledon, FC United and others have become.
The ownership structure of the club remains more or less intact, and it is surely ironic that the new ‘community stadium’ has awarded its naming rights to American Express. The years of campaigning shaped Brighton’s support as a highly effective force for change, one the club learned it could not do without, but now the new stadium is complete and the crowds have returned to sell out the stands what role for this near-unique legacy?
Nobody, well perhaps Palace fans might , would wish the kinds of calamities Brighton have had to battle to get here to return but for now it remains unclear how the battle to get the ‘Amex’ will change the club for good.
There seems to be an admiration not so much for what we've achieved but how we've achieved it. He seem to imply that what we have achieved isn't necessarily a good thing. Maybe I'm reading that wrong.
There also seems to be an implication that the club and the fans were two separate forces in these 14 years.
IT's a strange review. What do they mean by not seeing how it will change the club for good? We were going out of business before running at a loss in a decrepit, old athletics stadium. Now we're not - that looks like a pretty big change to me.
And that's before the new-found interest in the Albion by local kids is taken into account. I'd have thought that the preponderance of Albion shirts about town is the biggest indicator of all of how the club has changed.
Dirk Gently
New member
- Dec 27, 2011
- 273
I read it that the move to the Amex is likely to change to club away from being one where voices are heard and supporter activism can make a difference, to one where everything is middle-aged, middle-class and aimed at the corporate/family audience, whilst the more "traditional" support gets weeded out as not fitting the new image.
Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!
Primary data is fact
The ownership of the business (club) perhaps? At the time of the consortium takeover, it was stated and widely believed that BHA wouldn't never again have an individual shareholder with a majority of the voting equity - I don't think Dick Knight ever owned more than 25% of the club shares. Now we have a majority shareholder and chairman with 70%+, and all this was achieved with barely a comment amidst all the Falmer euphoria. Just a thought.
- Thread starter
- #6
I think what is interesting is we have become a club that is actually groundbreaking at the moment. As he says we are not a phoenix club like AFC Wimbledon and the only other club that has done anything comparable in recent times are Reading. However we have a much stronger fanbase and reach. Many of the people I see at the Amex look less like JCL's and more like older fans who stopped going in the mid 80's to early 90's and have come back to the club they supported when they were younger. And now they're bringing their kids. We are very lucky we have a fan as our chairman, but if he ever did need to sell the club, that's when we may notice the changes.
The Large One
Who's Next?
There was an awful lot of comment at the time. Questions were asked about Tony Bloom's ambitions in relation to being a majority shareholder.
He answered them fully, but there was also an acknowledgement from fans that, while it was - and for some may still be - a concern that one person had a 70% shareholding, there wasn't a great deal the fans could do about it.
Some people do comment on this change of emphasis in 'We Want Falmer'.
To me, it all brings into focus all that we are is everything Portsmouth is not.
Dirk Gently
New member
- Dec 27, 2011
- 273
Agree overall, and Albion's fanbase is historically bigger than Reading's, but I'd argue that Albion's reach is bigger than theirs is. Their old competition of Aldershot, Oxford & Swindon are all shadows of what they used to be, so Reading's effective "patch" really goes from West of London and virtually down to Bristol on the M4 Corridor, and from south of Basingstoke and Guildford/Surrey way up the M40 corridor to around Warwick. It's also one of the most affluent areas in the UK.
Albion's reach is much smaller - it doesn't go South, for instance.
Yes, there was plenty of debate about it and while it's true that the shareholding is in the hands of one person, he is a Brighton fan. How many clubs out there can truly say that their club is in the hands of true supporters? There are a handful out there but I'd rather be in Brighton's shoes than a club where the owner has no connection with the club whatsoever.
The other aspect of the Albion is the community aspect. This doesn't seem to be a meaningless slogan and there's genuine work going on to integrate the club into the wider Brighton community.
severnside gull
Well-known member
Perhaps if they want football clubs to be a force for change in society they should quietly retire to a Football Manager fantasy world.
In the real world, engaging directly in the political process is more likely (or perhaps not) to help them realise some of their ambitions for society
In the real world, engaging directly in the political process is more likely (or perhaps not) to help them realise some of their ambitions for society
Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!
Primary data is fact
Fair enough Al, I've either forgotten about what was said/going on in May 2009 or was concentrating on some chemo etc at the time - maybe these excuses are related? I'm generally interested in Tony Bloom's comments on this so do you have any links readily to hand? It'll ensure that I put my spuds in today rather than p*****g about on the internet. Ta in advance.
It's just typical TU thinking - owners/bosses and 'corporate' is bad. 'Change the club for good' = let the workers (ie the supporters) have more power to decide what the club should do. Didn't a conference team try that once? What happened to them?
Dirk Gently
New member
- Dec 27, 2011
- 273
Presumably you're talking about Ebsfleet / "My football club". If so, that was absolutely nothing to do with supporter ownership.
house your seagull
Train à Grande Vitesse
equally it would be naive to think that collectivism has not significantly shaped the club over the last 15 years*
*apart from the 100 million quid investment from one bloke.
True enough al, at the moment, but I still have problems thinking about the future post Tony Bloom. Look at what is happening at Reading at the mo and that migt give us a model. If you were a Reading fan would you believe john Madejskis' assurances or woudl you be a bit wary of this state of affairs...................
attila
1997 Club
Good review, well put. Our huge achievement was to win the battle, but although we did the spadework, any hard headed and realistic assessment is that it is Tony Bloom's money which has got us where we are. We are a club like any other now: all evidence points to the fact that that is what the majority of fans/consumers want, and that is what we have, albeit one where we are most certainly still listened to if we want to make our voices heard. I'm just enjoying the football and the beer these days
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But we did do EXACTLY what we said we'd NEVER do in allowing one person to have overall control.
now I don't have a problem with the reason why we had to get TB on board but one person having overall control was always one of the absolute cornerstones's of the fight to get rid of archer and make BHA a proper football club.
And this was how the argus reported it - no mention of the Blloms long involvement in club - which we all knew about but obviously didn't suit their conspiracy.....
Dick Knight tonight stepped down as Brighton and Hove Albion chairman to make way for multi-millionaire property developer Tony Bloom.
The move ends Mr Knight's 12-year reign at the helm of the Seagulls and sees him become instead the club's life president.
It has also been revealed that Mr Bloom is to fund the vast majority of the Falmer Stadium development - the cost of which has now spiralled to £93 million - through interest-free loans.
Businessman Mr Bloom takes over as chairman while becoming the Albion's biggest shareholder by converting into shares £18 million of loans he had made to the club. He now owns 75.61% of Albion.
He will fund the Falmer development by lending the club tens of millions of pounds more in unsecured loans, although the Albion will not reveal exactly how much he will hand over.
Those loans are due to be repaid in 2023 but Mr Bloom could convert them into shares of the club which would see him control more than 90% of the club.
Mr Knight, who still owns 6.42% of the club, said: “This is the natural progression for the football club. Tony's investment will mean no need for external funding, which is absolutely superb news for the club and its fans.
"Being chairman of the Albion has been the most rewarding period of my life. To be able to give something back to the club I've supported since I was a boy has been a privilege and I've enjoyed it immensely, all of this while we fought the long and relentless battle to secure our new home against all the odds.
“The club is now financially secure, the stadium is on its way and the club now has the opportunity to reach its true potential.
“We have come a long way from what Bob Pinnock, Martin Perry and I inherited twelve years ago and I am proud of what we, the directors, staff, players and fans, have all achieved together.”
Mr Bloom paid tribute to the outgoing chairman.
He said: "Nobody should be in any doubt that he saved the club from almost certain extinction at a time when no-one else was willing to come forward.
“Under his leadership we have had some very memorable times including our successful nine-year battle to secure the go-ahead for Falmer.”
The arrival of Tony Bloom’s millions has saved the club's Falmer Stadium dream, Albion chief executive Martin Perry said.
Without the entrepreneur's interest-free long-term loans, the new stadium could not have been built.
Mr Perry, speaking on the phone from his holiday in Egypt, said: “It has taken all the uncertainty out of the development.
“It is fantastic because the funding is secured, it's there and it's available to pay for the building of the stadium and to cover all the costs now.
“It gives us our stadium. We would not have the stadium without him. In the current financial climate with banks not being prepared to lend, there was no other way of funding the stadium.
“We suffer losses while we are at Withdean and those are being covered as well, so we are in a fantastic position.
“It's massive news for the club.”
now I don't have a problem with the reason why we had to get TB on board but one person having overall control was always one of the absolute cornerstones's of the fight to get rid of archer and make BHA a proper football club.
And this was how the argus reported it - no mention of the Blloms long involvement in club - which we all knew about but obviously didn't suit their conspiracy.....
Dick Knight tonight stepped down as Brighton and Hove Albion chairman to make way for multi-millionaire property developer Tony Bloom.
The move ends Mr Knight's 12-year reign at the helm of the Seagulls and sees him become instead the club's life president.
It has also been revealed that Mr Bloom is to fund the vast majority of the Falmer Stadium development - the cost of which has now spiralled to £93 million - through interest-free loans.
Businessman Mr Bloom takes over as chairman while becoming the Albion's biggest shareholder by converting into shares £18 million of loans he had made to the club. He now owns 75.61% of Albion.
He will fund the Falmer development by lending the club tens of millions of pounds more in unsecured loans, although the Albion will not reveal exactly how much he will hand over.
Those loans are due to be repaid in 2023 but Mr Bloom could convert them into shares of the club which would see him control more than 90% of the club.
Mr Knight, who still owns 6.42% of the club, said: “This is the natural progression for the football club. Tony's investment will mean no need for external funding, which is absolutely superb news for the club and its fans.
"Being chairman of the Albion has been the most rewarding period of my life. To be able to give something back to the club I've supported since I was a boy has been a privilege and I've enjoyed it immensely, all of this while we fought the long and relentless battle to secure our new home against all the odds.
“The club is now financially secure, the stadium is on its way and the club now has the opportunity to reach its true potential.
“We have come a long way from what Bob Pinnock, Martin Perry and I inherited twelve years ago and I am proud of what we, the directors, staff, players and fans, have all achieved together.”
Mr Bloom paid tribute to the outgoing chairman.
He said: "Nobody should be in any doubt that he saved the club from almost certain extinction at a time when no-one else was willing to come forward.
“Under his leadership we have had some very memorable times including our successful nine-year battle to secure the go-ahead for Falmer.”
The arrival of Tony Bloom’s millions has saved the club's Falmer Stadium dream, Albion chief executive Martin Perry said.
Without the entrepreneur's interest-free long-term loans, the new stadium could not have been built.
Mr Perry, speaking on the phone from his holiday in Egypt, said: “It has taken all the uncertainty out of the development.
“It is fantastic because the funding is secured, it's there and it's available to pay for the building of the stadium and to cover all the costs now.
“It gives us our stadium. We would not have the stadium without him. In the current financial climate with banks not being prepared to lend, there was no other way of funding the stadium.
“We suffer losses while we are at Withdean and those are being covered as well, so we are in a fantastic position.
“It's massive news for the club.”
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Freddie Goodwin.
Well-known member
Stark choice really, accept Bloom's offer or forget the stadium.
Also remember the stadium does not belong to Bloom, or the Albion. He's not a wiley buisnessman who's seen a prime peice of real estate where all he needs to do is run down a football club, already in decline, and nobody would really care, would they?
I do know of one Albion fan who would rather we had gone bust and started out in County League division 14 or something andstarted a heroric trail back to the league. It's s atrange notion and is a quirk of this guy who, after all those years of struggle, does not visit the Amex. Takes all sorts I suppose.
Also remember the stadium does not belong to Bloom, or the Albion. He's not a wiley buisnessman who's seen a prime peice of real estate where all he needs to do is run down a football club, already in decline, and nobody would really care, would they?
I do know of one Albion fan who would rather we had gone bust and started out in County League division 14 or something andstarted a heroric trail back to the league. It's s atrange notion and is a quirk of this guy who, after all those years of struggle, does not visit the Amex. Takes all sorts I suppose.
Cheshire Cat
The most curious thing..
I suppose that one difference between then and now is that Bloom is unlikely to want to sell the land that the stadium is built on for a retail park, given that he spent so much building it in the first place.
There are potential issues about one person controlling so much of the club - especially if interest wanes or money begins to run out, but it does boil down to the fact that the stadium was built because Bloom could afford to pay for it and was prepared to pay for it when nobody else both could and would (including the fans).
BHA was never likely to be run as a fans co-operative (can you imagine the aggro if NSC actually picked the team instead of just having endless meaningless polls on the best player of the moment)
There are potential issues about one person controlling so much of the club - especially if interest wanes or money begins to run out, but it does boil down to the fact that the stadium was built because Bloom could afford to pay for it and was prepared to pay for it when nobody else both could and would (including the fans).
BHA was never likely to be run as a fans co-operative (can you imagine the aggro if NSC actually picked the team instead of just having endless meaningless polls on the best player of the moment)