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Post by aghast on Aug 26, 2022 21:49:50 GMT
Worth remembering in these troubled times…. It’s not just a stadium. ITS OUR HOME. Yes but if that was your actual home you wouldn't be inviting many friends back for drinks and nibbles.
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Post by yattongas on Aug 26, 2022 22:03:51 GMT
Having watched previous teams train at Frys, and various other temporary bases, I would dispute the above. 100% right Tilly, training at Cribbs with Porta Cabins and Andy Loo's in L1 and L2. That's a million miles away from where they train now. That's why we will / are attracting some decent players and loan signings now. Would Newcastle have let us have Billy to train on a potato field. No way, they would have checked out the training facilities before letting their star youngster come to us last season. The team only play at the Mem at 3pm on a Saturday (excluding Cups and Mid week I know). Then they are gone. They spend all week at the quarters training on an exact replica of the pitch at the Mem. Which by the way has previously been voted the best pitch in L2 (I'm sure L1 as well, although someone will I'm sure correct me.) You have to forgive our board for spending in the most important areas at the moment. Ie very good training facilities and a very good playing surface on a Saturday, to attract the right staff and playing staff. From a supporters view I get it, its a s**t hole. However we are still watching our team in L1 with on the face of it no financial pressures. Shiny new stadium with no money scrapping for players crap training facilities, no one wants to come to us. Or as I said above, infrastructure in place with hopefully a stadium in the future is the way forward for me. I bet if we asked the players how interested they are in the surroundings at L1 L2 level compared to the surface and training facilities, from my experience players want a good crowd a very good pitch and where they spend most of there week to be a great place. Think it’s only a few miles , not millions . 😃
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Post by rememberhalifax on Aug 27, 2022 3:39:01 GMT
Worth remembering in these troubled times…. It’s not just a stadium. ITS OUR HOME. Yes but if that was your actual home you wouldn't be inviting many friends back for drinks and nibbles. I would and if those 'friends' choose to judge me on a materialistic basis they aint my friends.
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Post by rememberhalifax on Aug 27, 2022 3:42:25 GMT
Until they deliver a new stadium then we can say they have achieved things Indeed, we still play in the worst stadium in the league, until that's sorted they have achieved nothing. debatable, they have prevented us from being the next , Bury, Scunthorpe, Oldham, Southend etc.
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Post by gashead1981 on Aug 27, 2022 5:56:19 GMT
Until they deliver a new stadium then we can say they have achieved things Indeed, we still play in the worst stadium in the league, until that's sorted they have achieved nothing. So a new training ground isn’t an achievement then? The sports sciences and first team coaching set ups aren’t an achievement either? Did you listen to Byron Anthoney on HAG on Thursday about the work he does with the academy? If you haven’t, then do so. On the viable side of the club, commercially we have been overhauled from 70s dinner dances, santas grottos and matchday lucky dips into better matchday experiences with fanzones, better club shop, bars, together with outside events such as the end of season awards. The money generated that goes back into the club is much more than it’s ever been. There’s loads more. No club is ever plain sailing and success on the pitch is always cyclical unless you are a top 6 prem club and even then it’s hard to maintain your level.
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Post by chilly1883 on Aug 27, 2022 6:57:55 GMT
Until they deliver a new stadium then we can say they have achieved things Indeed, we still play in the worst stadium in the league, until that's sorted they have achieved nothing. No they’ve achieved nothing? Apart from, promotion, more people attending, better atmosphere, and people feeling good about the place.
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Post by Big Jock on Aug 27, 2022 9:12:00 GMT
Worth remembering in these troubled times…. It’s not just a stadium. ITS OUR HOME. Yes but if that was your actual home you wouldn't be inviting many friends back for drinks and nibbles. On th contrary i believe yous should be proud of who yous are not worry how others view yous. Celebrate yer scars an flaws it’s what make us who we are.
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Post by Kingswood Polak on Aug 27, 2022 9:48:05 GMT
Yes but if that was your actual home you wouldn't be inviting many friends back for drinks and nibbles. On th contrary i believe yous should be proud of who yous are not worry how others view yous. Celebrate yer scars an flaws it’s what make us who we are. Well said BG. That is exactly as it should be but, unfortunately we live in a world where stuff is considered very important as it social status. I find it really quite sad as some of the most interesting people i have met have had little or nothing but have wonderful minds
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Post by mftc on Aug 29, 2022 10:38:50 GMT
Indeed, we still play in the worst stadium in the league, until that's sorted they have achieved nothing. So a new training ground isn’t an achievement then? The sports sciences and first team coaching set ups aren’t an achievement either? Did you listen to Byron Anthoney on HAG on Thursday about the work he does with the academy? If you haven’t, then do so. On the viable side of the club, commercially we have been overhauled from 70s dinner dances, santas grottos and matchday lucky dips into better matchday experiences with fanzones, better club shop, bars, together with outside events such as the end of season awards. The money generated that goes back into the club is much more than it’s ever been. There’s loads more. No club is ever plain sailing and success on the pitch is always cyclical unless you are a top 6 prem club and even then it’s hard to maintain your level. I think there is a major difference between image and substance. Paying an Events Agency to sort out the Concorde Player of the Year and a minor celeb to present the awards must have cost the club a small fortune and with no bar takings!. The sponsors effectively paid for the staff and players meals. It may not have looked so nice but if it was held at the Mem, there could be much, much more money generated. Stadiums events are pretty much non existent. Where is any proof the club earns more than ever before? (I would guess bar takings and shirt sales increases will be due to promotion rather than commercial expertise. The bars have been rammed for World Cup tournaments in the past (apart from the last one when the club couldn't be bothered). Will they let another tens of thousands of pounds, slip through their fingers again? How much did the agency/ directors/ actors get paid for the Step Up advert - only available to see if you clicked on a link if you were about to......... buy a ST anyway!!. How many STs were purchased due the advert? None? Still, a few people went to an awards ceremony on a jolly and their CVs look good. Have you seen the actor from The Outlaws at a game other than when he was paid to advertise the shirt sales? Hands up who bought one cos he was paid to advertise one? No one - right thats a good investment!?! We are paying for image. Even though I liked the series, if Christopher Walken was paid to wear a shirt and the club did a promo vid, ( at a cost) it would have absolutely no influence on me buying one. If the 70's dinner dances (I believe run at no cost to the club by the PC) still made a profit. Why get rid? (Other than the politics?). If the SC sold club merchandise and gave larger profits that the club would have made back to the club, why get rid? - Please don't believe the hyperbole of the "SC used the shirt sales profits to cover their losses" - that mistruth is totally disgraceful. Can you imagine Geoff Dunford or Tony the Till ever allowing that! C'mon dont believe the hype. The 50/50 is a success story, why try and reduce the income by upsetting the customers? Yes the sports science and coaching is good, but what a huge cost. The money spent on these are probably more than Graydon had on his entire squad! Is it true that we made a loss last season despite one of our greatest ever seasons? Why didn't the commercial department really cash in? A comic, mugs and posters all easily ordered through the Terrace at a cut. Yes, it is good Wael is prepared to throw millions away each year but it is just not sustainable. Whatever errors the club makes, the thinking seems to be don't worry Wael will bale us out and it worries me because one day he will have had enough. When things go wrong, there is a Tory style shut up and it will all go away mentality. - ticket fiasco, assault allegations, holocaust etc. Surely good business practice would be to be up front straight away. It seems the Fan zone is not a new idea anyway, but congratulations to Tom as it is very good. I don't like the grudges. Why penalise the Young Pirates? Overall Wael 9/10, Tom 7/10, Joey 8/10, the commercial dept and general customer service have a lot to improve on in my book.
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Post by Tilly's Thighs on Aug 29, 2022 11:06:38 GMT
Response to mftcThe Outlaws actor has been at games with his mates - do you know for a fact that he was paid to pose in the shirt? (I've no idea). I think investing in coaching, sports science etc is necessary for us to move forward and be competative. Benefits of this were seen last season. What has happened with the Young Pirates - are they no longer functioning? Used to be a great group for the youngsters to belong to. Hasn't David Bright been in charge of the commercial stuff for a while now? I do think that the club should listen to fans more, e.g. trying to push the e-tickets for season ticket holders, with no consultation, and at short notice.
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Post by Topper Gas on Aug 29, 2022 11:08:39 GMT
Do you seriously believe keeping a run down shop in Kingswood to sell the odd shirt makes economic sense, when everything is now available online with next day delivery?
Until we ever get a new ground we simply have to rely on Wael to throw away millions, or accept a lower grade of football.
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Post by baggins on Aug 29, 2022 11:10:56 GMT
Do you seriously believe keeping a run down shop in Kingswood to sell the odd shirt makes economic sense, when everything is now available online with next day delivery? Until we ever get a new ground we simply have to rely on Wael to throw away millions, or accept a lower grade of football. Not sure he throws away millions.
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Post by wertongas on Aug 29, 2022 11:26:49 GMT
it is right to say Wael may have saved the club from administration, but so did the Dunford's and Higgs, when we left Eastville we were in a lot worse situation than when Wael took over, we didn't own anything and the Dunford's astutely saved us turned the club around and got us our own ground. They had put as much into the club as they could and couldn't take the club any further so sold out to Nick Higgs . But under the previous owners we had our own training ground and when we were Eastville although we didn't own the stadium it did have a capacity of getting on for 30,000 and we managed to sustain what is now championship football for many years . When Wael and his family took over, Higgs I believe from what he said expected the the new owners to go on ahead and build UWE , it didn't happen and we are now no better off than we were in the 70's that is depressing. Wael keeping us afloat is no different to any of the previous owners, so i can't see where the progress is, fair enough thanks to the Dunford's we own our ground but there has been little other progress.
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Post by wertongas on Aug 29, 2022 11:28:08 GMT
it is right to say Wael may have saved the club from administration, but so did the Dunford's and Higgs, when we left Eastville we were in a lot worse situation than when Wael took over, we didn't own anything and the Dunford's astutely saved us turned the club around and got us our own ground. They had put as much into the club as they could and couldn't take the club any further so sold out to Nick Higgs . But under the previous owners we had our own training ground and when we were Eastville although we didn't own the stadium it did have a capacity of getting on for 30,000 and we managed to sustain what is now championship football for many years . When Wael and his family took over, Higgs I believe from what he said expected the the new owners to go on ahead and build UWE , it didn't happen and we are now no better off than we were in the 70's that is depressing. Wael keeping us afloat is no different to any of the previous owners, so i can't see where the progress is, fair enough thanks to the Dunford's we own our ground but there has been little other progress.
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Post by 2nd May 1990 on Aug 29, 2022 11:36:26 GMT
Yes but if that was your actual home you wouldn't be inviting many friends back for drinks and nibbles. On th contrary i believe yous should be proud of who yous are not worry how others view yous. Celebrate yer scars an flaws it’s what make us who we are. Taking my boy to the Mem for the first time on Saturday (we live in the North-East but are visiting family). Can’t wait. Asked him where he wanted to go. Half way line? South Stand if he wants to sit? Nah, he’s desperate to go in the Blackthorn and get the full Mem experience! Good for him. I love going to the Mem and whilst I acknowledge we need to move on for the sake of the club’s future, the club will lose a big part of itself when we move on. There will never be another Eastville, or Twerton or the Mem. It’s not possible with the way modern stadia are constructed.
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Post by baggins on Aug 29, 2022 11:43:05 GMT
it is right to say Wael may have saved the club from administration, but so did the Dunford's and Higgs, when we left Eastville we were in a lot worse situation than when Wael took over, we didn't own anything and the Dunford's astutely saved us turned the club around and got us our own ground. They had put as much into the club as they could and couldn't take the club any further so sold out to Nick Higgs . But under the previous owners we had our own training ground and when we were Eastville although we didn't own the stadium it did have a capacity of getting on for 30,000 and we managed to sustain what is now championship football for many years . When Wael and his family took over, Higgs I believe from what he said expected the the new owners to go on ahead and build UWE , it didn't happen and we are now no better off than we were in the 70's that is depressing. Wael keeping us afloat is no different to any of the previous owners, so i can't see where the progress is, fair enough thanks to the Dunford's we own our ground but there has been little other progress. You seriously can't see we're better off? Even though we now own our own ground, multi million pound training facilities, no debt, no loans, good budgets? And I'm not sure part of the Higgs - Wael buy out was that he expected a new Stadium. From what I can vaguely remember, Eastville was a dump.
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Post by Big Jock on Aug 29, 2022 11:53:55 GMT
I actually liked Nick Higgs, I think he did what he ‘could’, but sadly couldnae do what he ‘wanted’ with his limited budget. That said, th deal with Wael represented his (an other directors) best opportunity ta get their money back, which btw I dinnae blame him for. I believe he also thought maybe th Al Qadis had a better chance of seeing thru th UWE deal, but after more due diligence th family didnae see it as a good deal.
Jes my thoughts btw 👍🏼
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Post by Topper Gas on Aug 29, 2022 11:55:21 GMT
it is right to say Wael may have saved the club from administration, but so did the Dunford's and Higgs, when we left Eastville we were in a lot worse situation than when Wael took over, we didn't own anything and the Dunford's astutely saved us turned the club around and got us our own ground. They had put as much into the club as they could and couldn't take the club any further so sold out to Nick Higgs . But under the previous owners we had our own training ground and when we were Eastville although we didn't own the stadium it did have a capacity of getting on for 30,000 and we managed to sustain what is now championship football for many years . When Wael and his family took over, Higgs I believe from what he said expected the the new owners to go on ahead and build UWE , it didn't happen and we are now no better off than we were in the 70's that is depressing. Wael keeping us afloat is no different to any of the previous owners, so i can't see where the progress is, fair enough thanks to the Dunford's we own our ground but there has been little other progress. You seriously can't see we're better off? Even though we now own our own ground, multi million pound training facilities, no debt, no loans, good budgets? And I'm not sure part of the Higgs - Wael buy out was that he expected a new Stadium. From what I can vaguely remember, Eastville was a dump. We owned our own ground under the previous owners, the only reason we are debt free is that Wael keeps paying off the debts if he ever sold up and we were bought by another local business man would we really be any better off, as how would they deal with the £2m/£3m debts the new training ground etc run up annually? Our existence seems to rely solely upon Wael paying off our annual debts, not any great steps in the way the club is being run. The fear is that even Lansdown seems to have had enough of writing off debts annually.
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Post by Big Jock on Aug 29, 2022 11:55:30 GMT
On th contrary i believe yous should be proud of who yous are not worry how others view yous. Celebrate yer scars an flaws it’s what make us who we are. Taking my boy to the Mem for the first time on Saturday (we live in the North-East but are visiting family). Can’t wait. Asked him where he wanted to go. Half way line? South Stand if he wants to sit? Nah, he’s desperate to go in the Blackthorn and get the full Mem experience! Good for him. I love going to the Mem and whilst I acknowledge we need to move on for the sake of the club’s future, the club will lose a big part of itself when we move on. There will never be another Eastville, or Twerton or the Mem. It’s not possible with the way modern stadia are constructed. Well done pal an I hope yer wee lad enjoyed his day 👍🏼
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Post by Henbury Gas on Aug 29, 2022 11:56:34 GMT
it is right to say Wael may have saved the club from administration, but so did the Dunford's and Higgs, when we left Eastville we were in a lot worse situation than when Wael took over, we didn't own anything and the Dunford's astutely saved us turned the club around and got us our own ground. They had put as much into the club as they could and couldn't take the club any further so sold out to Nick Higgs . But under the previous owners we had our own training ground and when we were Eastville although we didn't own the stadium it did have a capacity of getting on for 30,000 and we managed to sustain what is now championship football for many years . When Wael and his family took over, Higgs I believe from what he said expected the the new owners to go on ahead and build UWE , it didn't happen and we are now no better off than we were in the 70's that is depressing. Wael keeping us afloat is no different to any of the previous owners, so i can't see where the progress is, fair enough thanks to the Dunford's we own our ground but there has been little other progress. You seriously can't see we're better off? Even though we now own our own ground, multi million pound training facilities, no debt, no loans, good budgets? And I'm not sure part of the Higgs - Wael buy out was that he expected a new Stadium. From what I can vaguely remember, Eastville was a dump.Being a old git and i can remember Eastville, calling it a dump is being polite.... a complete tip and sh&thole would be better
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