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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2017 23:37:52 GMT
Definitely chilled out somewhat after the interviews news has sunk in - it’s what we knew already to be fair. In a way it’s almost a relief. We finally got the truth albeit somewhat in bits.
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Post by paulpirate on Nov 24, 2017 23:37:52 GMT
accepted,he may of wanted the ground but he still talks out his arse I like wael and think he’s genuine but all the rest are snakes,most things that come out hamers mouth is absolute bollox It’s embarrassing and treats the fans like mugs I think Wael is a lovely bloke and has clearly taken to our great club I don’t like Hamer I didn’t from the first time I heard him talk but I do think he wants the club to be successful because that will make him money and I don’t know anything about Hani except that he holds the purse strings and doesn’t care much for football. Our best hope is that Wael and co can get him more interested. I honestly believe overall the consortium that has taken over want the club to be successful but they also don’t want to waste millions upon millions chasing something too quickly because they know that probably won’t end well. If I’d bought Rovers and felt the UWE deal wasn’t right I wouldn’t have gone with it either. I also wouldn’t throw crazy money at transfer fees when we average 8,500 fans 23 times a season. Lansdown could do it he wanted to do it they’ve been relegated , promoted , relegated , promoted they’ve stood still really sure they’ll get there in the end probably but I’d rather have a board who are a bit more savvy than a sugar daddy who just throws sh** at a wall and hopes in the end some of it will stick. Isn’t that what we all take the water out of them about? Well when I’ve said it I meant it. know what your saying,I would love to be sat in a 27k blue stadium with a owner chucking money at our club though
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2017 23:39:03 GMT
Long time listener, first time caller- felt I had to reply to this as to me I really don't get why anyone would think we are anything more than marginally better off with the current owners. We have transitioned from being owned by a well meaning, if error prone fan of the club, to being owned by an investment banker with no interest in football. Not only that, but this investment banker thinks he answers to nobody (DS doesn't communicate with the media) and has his investment secured against our home! Now, can you put a positive spin on that because I tell you what I am really bloody struggling. The dismissive way DS will not speak to us directly is especially sickening as it shows the contempt our owners have for the fans and paying customers of their 'investment'. So we have basically swapped imminent doom for a long drawn out death where no significant funds will be put into the club. DC will almost certainly leave and who will our budget allow us to bring in in place of him? We are going to sink without trace and then eventually Hani will sell the ground, re-coup his investment and then p*** off leaving us to form AFC Bristol Rovers and start from scratch. So ultimately all the Al Qadis offer us over Higgs is a few more years existence but in a neutered state where oblivion is all but inevitable. If that is an improvement then the Al Qadi's have successfully lowered expectations beyond belief. What can we as fans do? The debt is already beyond levels reachable by a supporter's trust. It looks like we have been left hoping there is some truth in the Ed Ware rumours. I would gladly have that lot back after hearing that car crash interview last night that confirmed what most of us feared. I’ll take that chance on the POSSIBILITY of a slow drawn out death over imminent doom every time thanks. Like I’ve said in many posts these last 24 hours it’s a really crap situation that we’ve got this bloke from Jordon who loves football has clearly fallen for our club but his older brother holds the purse strings and doesn’t really care much for football but at least we are investing and improving our club in this situation. We weren’t under Higgs and in my opinion I honestly don’t think we’d have a club to support now or at the very best if it hadn’t been for the take over D.C. wouldn’t have stayed and we’d probably be bottom of the conference after going in to administration and docked points. I’m not saying life is rosy I’m simply saying that we are owned by a very rich family who have said they want to do things slowly but surly over a period of time and not throw massive amounts of money at it quickly. They’ve done exactly that, but I didn’t see many people complaining at the time of the take over. I think the majority heard Wael say this and thought yeah right he’s just saying that because he’s a nice guy and doesn’t want to sound arrogant and now they’ve seen that what he said was spot on and are really dissapointed. When they took over I didn’t for one minute think we’d be the next Chelsea or Man City and I didn’t think for one minute that they’d spend and throw millions at it like the rosy face lady garden down the river has , why ? Because they never said they would. Fair points and I am not trying to urinate on your chips so to speak as I *want* to be convinced that they are going to turn out to be great for BRFC...but honestly I came away from that interview yesterday literally bereft of hope because there simply wasn't anything positive to report from it. Even the thought of a fluke promotion was shot dowm by Hamer who mithered that it would just cost money to stay in the championship. Every question seemed to come back to the subject of money and how this wasn't feasible or that wasn't feasible. It really did come across like there is currently no appetite from DS to spend any significant funds on the team or infrastructure and without that sort of investment how can we possibly dream of anything exciting like promotion? Even the mundane of treading water in league one looks like it will be beyond us without investment in January. So for me, unless we see investment in the playing side, hiring token commercial managers just feels like putting lipstick on a pig. I just don't see us even having a slim chance of anything apart from decline after that interview. DS just doesn't want to spend money where it matters. And for the record I wasn't complaining after the takeover but I thought we lacked a bit of humility banging on about billionaire owners when we didn't know who these guys were or their intentions. I guess that is perhaps to be exoected though after what we have had to out up with over the years. Still, as the old adage says 'if it looks too good to be true it probably is' and I couldn't help but be sceptical of them as it all seemed too perfect for a story involving Bristol Rovers. I started to think they were legit when we signed Sercombe but that seems a long time ago now and the events surrounding the collapse of the UWE have totally changed my perspective. Dwayne Sports have a touch of the Venky's Group about them.
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Post by socrates on Nov 24, 2017 23:51:47 GMT
I think Wael is a lovely bloke and has clearly taken to our great club I don’t like Hamer I didn’t from the first time I heard him talk but I do think he wants the club to be successful because that will make him money and I don’t know anything about Hani except that he holds the purse strings and doesn’t care much for football. Our best hope is that Wael and co can get him more interested. I honestly believe overall the consortium that has taken over want the club to be successful but they also don’t want to waste millions upon millions chasing something too quickly because they know that probably won’t end well. If I’d bought Rovers and felt the UWE deal wasn’t right I wouldn’t have gone with it either. I also wouldn’t throw crazy money at transfer fees when we average 8,500 fans 23 times a season. Lansdown could do it he wanted to do it they’ve been relegated , promoted , relegated , promoted they’ve stood still really sure they’ll get there in the end probably but I’d rather have a board who are a bit more savvy than a sugar daddy who just throws sh** at a wall and hopes in the end some of it will stick. Isn’t that what we all take the water out of them about? Well when I’ve said it I meant it. know what your saying,I would love to be sat in a 27k blue stadium with a owner chucking money at our club though But if they’d been chucking money at it for ten years without a clue what they were doing and in that time we’d been relegated then promoted then relegated then promoted then wouldn’t you be sat in that soulless quiet stadium thinking “ our owners got sh** loads of money , built this place but he doesn’t really know what he’s doing because in that time we’ve been relegated twice and promoted back to where we were in the first place ?” I’ve been supporting the Gas for over thirty years and in that time we’ve been promoted 4 times and relegated four times so we’re back at where we were when I went to my first game and we’ve been skint the whole time. I still feel we’ve got more potential now than ever maybe I’m over optimistic but maybe I just didn’t get my hopes up too much and that’s why I don’t feel let down. Higgs would have cocked up the UWE if it had happened of that I’ve got no doubt and with the dunfords it was simply a case of surviving and they were brilliant at that. This is different none of us no how it’s going to pan out.
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Post by paulpirate on Nov 25, 2017 0:06:41 GMT
know what your saying,I would love to be sat in a 27k blue stadium with a owner chucking money at our club though But if they’d been chucking money at it for ten years without a clue what they were doing and in that time we’d been relegated then promoted then relegated then promoted then wouldn’t you be sat in that soulless quiet stadium thinking “ our owners got sh** loads of money , built this place but he doesn’t really know what he’s doing because in that time we’ve been relegated twice and promoted back to where we were in the first place ?” I’ve been supporting the Gas for over thirty years and in that time we’ve been promoted 4 times and relegated four times so we’re back at where we were when I went to my first game and we’ve been skint the whole time. I still feel we’ve got more potential now than ever maybe I’m over optimistic but maybe I just didn’t get my hopes up too much and that’s why I don’t feel let down. Higgs would have cocked up the UWE if it had happened of that I’ve got no doubt and with the dunfords it was simply a case of surviving and they were brilliant at that. This is different none of us no how it’s going to pan out. hope your right mate,I was feeling positive at the start of the season,will be chuffed if we stay up now
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Post by stuart1974 on Nov 25, 2017 0:12:55 GMT
Steve Hamer should have agreed to be interviewed AFTER key discussions with the AQ family had taken place (with 2 or 3 agreed and key headline messages to impart) but not the day before a big meeting about budgets! The Chairman is just the messenger....but with no message. I think he's is as in the dark about the key issues regarding investment as we are. It's now incumbent on the AQ family (i.e. Hani, who appears to be guardian of the family's purse strings) to make up their minds and then tell the fans what their plans are. Are they in or are they out? Steve Hamer seemed to indicate, when he started talking towards the end of the programme about Steve Lansdown, that the AQ's do not have the financial appetite to invest in the club. I hope I misinterpreted that. The owners and the Chairman are in danger of underestimating the intelligence of the majority of the fanbase, and a dark cloud seems to be immersing the club, not helped by recent results on the pitch as well. We cannot be led up any more garden paths for much longer. For some reason I don't think we are the only ones supposed to hear that interview.
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Post by chippenhamgas on Nov 25, 2017 0:31:25 GMT
Will we ever discover the truth behind the reason we pulled out of UWE at such a late stage? There was always a small part of me (the over optimistic side) that thought the deal was not totally dead. When the press release was made the 'Headmaster' at UWE was giving media interviews saying the door will still open, happy to re-open talks etc. I thought if it truly was dead he'd have been happy to expand further with the media over the following months and his silence may have been a clue that secretly talks may have resumed. After listening to Hamer last night my conspiracy theory was blown apart! Anyway, I suspect the only way we'll ever hear any detail about the collapse of UWE is when Hamer leaves Rovers. If he's not paid off with a confidentiality clause in a severance package he may tell all? I agree with bluebutterfly. It makes no sense to pull out of UWE if Hani's sole motivation is investment and not football as without the revenue streams of a new, modern stadium they will steadily make a bigger and bigger loss on their 'investment'. Will he get to the point that regardless of his younger brother's desire to forge a profile in the football world and reputation of their family sell the Deeds to the Mem from under us? Yes it will become inevitable as the cost of sustaining the football club continues to rise as fans become more disgruntled with lack of progress and attendances fall. Hani will get fed up if he hasn't already and pull the plug, there won't be a thing we can do about it and there won't even be anyone to vent our anger at because they will be thousands of miles away in the Middle East. The mem will be gone and they will sell the name without the land for next to nothing.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2017 1:04:19 GMT
accepted,he may of wanted the ground but he still talks out his arse I like wael and think he’s genuine but all the rest are snakes,most things that come out hamers mouth is absolute bollox It’s embarrassing and treats the fans like mugs I think Wael is a lovely bloke and has clearly taken to our great club I don’t like Hamer I didn’t from the first time I heard him talk but I do think he wants the club to be successful because that will make him money and I don’t know anything about Hani except that he holds the purse strings and doesn’t care much for football. Our best hope is that Wael and co can get him more interested. I honestly believe overall the consortium that has taken over want the club to be successful but they also don’t want to waste millions upon millions chasing something too quickly because they know that probably won’t end well. If I’d bought Rovers and felt the UWE deal wasn’t right I wouldn’t have gone with it either. I also wouldn’t throw crazy money at transfer fees when we average 8,500 fans 23 times a season. Lansdown could do it he wanted to do it they’ve been relegated , promoted , relegated , promoted they’ve stood still really sure they’ll get there in the end probably but I’d rather have a board who are a bit more savvy than a sugar daddy who just throws sh** at a wall and hopes in the end some of it will stick. Isn’t that what we all take the water out of them about? Well when I’ve said it I meant it. The thing that would most likely get Hani more interested in the football would unfortunately be a cup run. A quarter final game shown around the world in the FA Cup against a premier big boy would have grabbed his attention as the clubs profile rose. Unfortunate...because D.C. is crap in the cups.
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Post by Jomo on Nov 25, 2017 2:33:26 GMT
Another thing, apologies if this has been asked already, but why is the Mem now considered by our board to be the "only option"? Seems to me that if they had enough heart and stomach for it, they'd at least explore other options. They can't have closed any doors on other options as they don't appear to have opened them in the first place.
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Post by Henbury Gas on Nov 25, 2017 7:18:20 GMT
That’s right and now we’re not. So things have improved. Just not as much as we were all hoping. But I still prefer our position now to when Higgs and co were here. I wonder if any of the board bashers could answer me , do you prefer our position now to when Higgs and co were here and do you think things are better or worse ? Thought I’d just bump my post because as far as I can see nobody’s given me an answer which considering the amount of negativity towards the board I thought some would have. I’ll say it again , are we in a better position now than when Higgs sold the club ? We are in a more stable position as a club since the takeover both on and off the pitch but its hard to see at the moment if we will stay that way
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Post by tommym9 on Nov 25, 2017 7:52:05 GMT
they are full of sh** and conned dc,players and fans This is unfortunately the truth. This is an opinion. And one I don't share.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2017 9:55:56 GMT
Lots of posts still making the assumption that we have very rich owners.But have we seen any evidence of their mega-wealth since they pitched up last year? UWE aside, getting on with developing the Colony would have given us all a huge positive statement about their intentions and ability to financially commit. Like him or hate him, Lansdown’s wealth, and how he made it, is pretty transparent. The AQ’s could at least give some indication that they are for real. We know that these days in football, owners need more emotion and less financial common sense than is normal in any other industry. We have an investment banker holding the purse strings who appears not to “get” the football business. Conclusion - sadly, we have the wrong owners.
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Post by mjhgas on Nov 25, 2017 10:07:10 GMT
Until we regularly sell out the Mem, we can't justify a new stadium.
Rovers fans that turn up at Wembley need to start turning up every week at home.
There is no evidence that "build it and they will come" works! 8,000 of us get what we can afford.
A winning team fills the ground.
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Post by Jomo on Nov 25, 2017 10:31:04 GMT
Until we regularly sell out the Mem, we can't justify a new stadium. Rovers fans that turn up at Wembley need to start turning up every week at home. There is no evidence that "build it and they will come" works! 8,000 of us get what we can afford. A winning team fills the ground. If you need evidence look no further than Swansea, Reading, Brighton, Wigan, Hull, even our red neighbours have higher attendances since their rebuild. It just so happens that it often coincides with a winning team, as that feel good factor creates a buzz. I'm not sure that regenerating stand by stand would have that effect though unfortunately.
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Post by Topper Gas on Nov 25, 2017 10:32:42 GMT
Thought I’d just bump my post because as far as I can see nobody’s given me an answer which considering the amount of negativity towards the board I thought some would have. I’ll say it again , are we in a better position now than when Higgs sold the club ? We are in a more stable position as a club since the takeover both on and off the pitch but its hard to see at the moment if we will stay that way How can a club £12m in debt to somebody not apparently interested in football be stable, unless SH has misrepresented Hani we could well up the swanny without a paddle. We seem a club now without any future or direction not sure that's ever been the case since we left Eastvillle. If Hani reads the forum and sees things differently I really think he needs to respond to DC's and SH's recent interviews just to try and keep the fans on side.
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Post by Antonio Fargas on Nov 25, 2017 10:43:46 GMT
We are in a more stable position as a club since the takeover both on and off the pitch but its hard to see at the moment if we will stay that way How can a club £12m in debt to somebody not apparently interested in football be stable, unless SH has misrepresented Hani we could well up the swanny without a paddle. We seem a club now without any future or direction not sure that's ever been the case since we left Eastvillle. If Hani reads the forum and sees things differently I really think he needs to respond to DC's and SH's recent interviews just to try and keep the fans on side. We're not in debt to Hani, are we. We're in debt to Dwane and Wael is part of Dwane. You know this.
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Post by socrates on Nov 25, 2017 11:01:21 GMT
Thought I’d just bump my post because as far as I can see nobody’s given me an answer which considering the amount of negativity towards the board I thought some would have. I’ll say it again , are we in a better position now than when Higgs sold the club ? We are in a more stable position as a club since the takeover both on and off the pitch but its hard to see at the moment if we will stay that way i agree, we don’t really know do we but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of our club like some are making out.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2017 11:29:39 GMT
Whilst I believed tha Al Qadis are a wealthy family, I never saw any evidence to suggest billionaire status suggested by some. Moreover, the wealthy do not hold their wealth in cash, it will be tied up in investments and properties and so their millions may not be readily available to spend so cash funding of the club may not be straight forward even if the will is there.
It's clear that the club was bought for Wael perhaps to keep him occupied and now we know that not all the family members see the purchase in the same way which must create some tension between the brothers. Hamer and DC listened to Wael's aspirations for the club but now we know the decisions are really Hani's to make and communication with Hani appears difficult.
We knew Wael wanted a new modern stadium, state of the art training facility, a development squad etc. and was in for the long-haul but we don't know how Hani saw things and how much of the family's wealth he was willing to spend to keep his little brother happy.
We still don't know how Hani see things and unless someone develops a proper business plan then Hani will continue to tighten the purse strings. I cannot see Hani putting up a couple of million each year without knowing there is a plan to get the club finances into a sustainable position.
I caanot see Hani or indeed anyone with a brain just squandering millions each year without a plan and clear direction of travel for the club.
To develop a plan you need expertise, knowledge of football finances, honest communication between owners and management and a clear shared vision backed up with realism. What is that vision and plan now?
None of this is in place at the moment and until it is then we operate on a short-term basis with little hope of anything improving.
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Post by amgas on Nov 25, 2017 12:01:53 GMT
So you think the only thing wrong with the Mem is the capacity ? If we had a modern 10K all seater stadium you may have a point, but while half of it is uncovered standing with poor facilities we are always going to struggle. Do you not get that many won't come because of the lack of covered comfortable seating ? Not everyone is fit enough to stand in the cold - look at are Family area poor view for the youngsters. Worse still do you think there are not people who arrive in Bristol who look at the price of the few seats at the Mem, don't fancy a wet terrace and go to Ashton instead ? Do you think a modern stadium could not create other revenue streams or get used for more than a game every couple of weeks ?
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Post by Topper Gas on Nov 25, 2017 12:03:01 GMT
How can a club £12m in debt to somebody not apparently interested in football be stable, unless SH has misrepresented Hani we could well up the swanny without a paddle. We seem a club now without any future or direction not sure that's ever been the case since we left Eastvillle. If Hani reads the forum and sees things differently I really think he needs to respond to DC's and SH's recent interviews just to try and keep the fans on side. We're not in debt to Hani, are we. We're in debt to Dwane and Wael is part of Dwane. You know this. LOL, you must be the only firom member who doesn't see that Hani holds the purse strings for the family or, if he doesn't, that's the impression SH is trying to give, at the end of day like any business somebody as to make the final decisions, it just seems our luck it's Hani and not Wael. As I've said if SH is misrepresenting the true position then Hani or Wael really need to come out and say before we find ourselves back in Div 2 with season ticket sales back to the norm.
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