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Post by A Source (aka Angry Badger) on Sept 30, 2024 17:50:13 GMT
'Facts' 1) The ban for an ex-director who presided over as bad a period in our history as anything Higgs did, then threw his toys out the pram because him and his mates couldn't afford to takeover the club was completely justified and if you removed the emotional attachment of it being a football club you will completely agree with it. Try acting how Kevin did towards your local pub/restaurant/barber/butcher/baker/candlestick maker and see how much they want your custom. 2) High interests loans by trying to secure a sustainable future for the club, a level of ambition everyone on here strives for. When it failed the only person that lost out was himself. I'm sure there were opportunities to sell to the likes of the Venkys/Dai Young, but he safeguarded the club by selling to Wael. 3) He was shafted by Sainsbury's, we weren't the first and won't be the last 4) Was he on the pitch or in the dugout during the conference season? We had a budget that was probably top 7, that season everything that could've gone wrong did; the injuries were ridiculous, Wardy had the unfortunate situation with his wife that led him to take his eye off the ball and DC being parachuted in to soon. There were far worse Rovers teams that survived, but you play with fire enough times and you get burnt. He showed immense foresight to give DC the job longterm whilst everyone had their pitchforks out and showed immense leadership after a tough start. I'm sure he's had some time to reflect on his time at Rovers and I'm convinced he could be an asset to the board, like I said this happens all the time in the corporate world. I’d rather have Joey Barton back tbh. That’s how much contempt I have for Higgs and his CEO T.Watola Regarding point 3) If we weren't the first then that's an even bigger reason why he shouldn't have mentioned 'watertight' contracts |
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Post by gasheadowen on Sept 30, 2024 17:54:28 GMT
I’d rather have Joey Barton back tbh. That’s how much contempt I have for Higgs and his CEO T.Watola Regarding point 3) If we weren't the first then that's an even bigger reason why he shouldn't have mentioned 'watertight' contracts Probably not, but if that was the advice of his lawyers, maybe he got swept up in the excitement like the rest of us. We didn't lose the stadium because he said 'we have a watertight contract', yes in hindsight it probably wasn't sensible to get the fans hopes up, but there's plenty of people moaning the current mob tell us nothing so how does he win... |
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Post by gasheadowen on Sept 30, 2024 17:55:30 GMT
'Facts' 1) The ban for an ex-director who presided over as bad a period in our history as anything Higgs did, then threw his toys out the pram because him and his mates couldn't afford to takeover the club was completely justified and if you removed the emotional attachment of it being a football club you will completely agree with it. Try acting how Kevin did towards your local pub/restaurant/barber/butcher/baker/candlestick maker and see how much they want your custom. 2) High interests loans by trying to secure a sustainable future for the club, a level of ambition everyone on here strives for. When it failed the only person that lost out was himself. I'm sure there were opportunities to sell to the likes of the Venkys/Dai Young, but he safeguarded the club by selling to Wael. 3) He was shafted by Sainsbury's, we weren't the first and won't be the last 4) Was he on the pitch or in the dugout during the conference season? We had a budget that was probably top 7, that season everything that could've gone wrong did; the injuries were ridiculous, Wardy had the unfortunate situation with his wife that led him to take his eye off the ball and DC being parachuted in to soon. There were far worse Rovers teams that survived, but you play with fire enough times and you get burnt. He showed immense foresight to give DC the job longterm whilst everyone had their pitchforks out and showed immense leadership after a tough start. I'm sure he's had some time to reflect on his time at Rovers and I'm convinced he could be an asset to the board, like I said this happens all the time in the corporate world. I’d rather have Joey Barton back tbh. That’s how much contempt I have for Higgs and his CEO T.Watola So you've avoided addressing any of my points and are basically saying you don't like him because he banned your mate. And you accuse others of Cronyism, nothing more than a hypocrite. |
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Post by fatherjackhackett on Sept 30, 2024 18:00:47 GMT
I’d rather have Joey Barton back tbh. That’s how much contempt I have for Higgs and his CEO T.Watola So you've avoided addressing any of my points and are basically saying you don't like him because he banned your mate. And you accuse others of Cronyism, nothing more than a hypocrite. no hypocrisy here, I could easily write another 5 or 6 pages on Higgs. Everything I have said was true. The Wonga loans, The watertight Sainsbury’s contract, The total lack of scrutiny of the UWE deal (matchday income only FFS), the year of non league football (a cause for mourning, not celebration). All you offered were excuses, not points. Always someone else to blame. Are you related by chance? |
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Post by gasheadowen on Sept 30, 2024 18:10:15 GMT
So you've avoided addressing any of my points and are basically saying you don't like him because he banned your mate. And you accuse others of Cronyism, nothing more than a hypocrite. no hypocrisy here, I could easily write another 5 or 6 pages on Higgs. Everything I have said was true. The Wonga loans, The watertight Sainsbury’s contract, The total lack of scrutiny of the UWE deal (matchday income only FFS), the year of non league football (a cause for mourning, not celebration). All you offered were excuses, not points. Always someone else to blame. Are you related by chance? 1) The Wonga loans cost no one money but himself so why are they of concern to you. 2) The watertight contract was a shafting by Sainsbury's, as I said clumsy choice of wording by himself, but he was giving the fans an update 3) A very limited number of people know the true mechanics of the deal, why are we taking it as fact about the non-matchday income, could it not be a useful line Hani put out because he didn't want to pay to build it. 4) True, but as stated he wasn't on the pitch or in the dug out, he gave his managers the tools to do well that season and just about everything went against him. 5) I'm not related, just think he deserves some respect and could be an asset to the club, but you can't look beyond the fact he banned your mate. |
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Post by fatherjackhackett on Sept 30, 2024 18:14:08 GMT
no hypocrisy here, I could easily write another 5 or 6 pages on Higgs. Everything I have said was true. The Wonga loans, The watertight Sainsbury’s contract, The total lack of scrutiny of the UWE deal (matchday income only FFS), the year of non league football (a cause for mourning, not celebration). All you offered were excuses, not points. Always someone else to blame. Are you related by chance? 1) The Wonga loans cost no one money but himself so why are they of concern to you. 2) The watertight contract was a shafting by Sainsbury's, as I said clumsy choice of wording by himself, but he was giving the fans an update 3) A very limited number of people know the true mechanics of the deal, why are we taking it as fact about the non-matchday income, could it not be a useful line Hani put out because he didn't want to pay to build it. 4) True, but as stated he wasn't on the pitch or in the dug out, he gave his managers the tools to do well that season and just about everything went against him. 5) I'm not related, just think he deserves some respect and could be an asset to the club, but you can't look beyond the fact he banned your mate. it’s nothing to do with the ban, and everything to do with him being an awful custodian of the club. People here have little time for Tom Gorringe, but my god he brought some much needed off field professionalism into Rovers. Before then we still had a Twerton mindset in the boardroom, a 20th Century attitude that was proven to be woefully out of date. |
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Post by gasheadowen on Sept 30, 2024 18:22:00 GMT
1) The Wonga loans cost no one money but himself so why are they of concern to you. 2) The watertight contract was a shafting by Sainsbury's, as I said clumsy choice of wording by himself, but he was giving the fans an update 3) A very limited number of people know the true mechanics of the deal, why are we taking it as fact about the non-matchday income, could it not be a useful line Hani put out because he didn't want to pay to build it. 4) True, but as stated he wasn't on the pitch or in the dug out, he gave his managers the tools to do well that season and just about everything went against him. 5) I'm not related, just think he deserves some respect and could be an asset to the club, but you can't look beyond the fact he banned your mate. it’s nothing to do with the ban, and everything to do with him being an awful custodian of the club. People here have little time for Tom Gorringe, but my god he brought some much needed off field professionalism into Rovers. Before then we still had a Twerton mindset in the boardroom, a 20th Century attitude that was proven to be woefully out of date. Gorringe gave the bars a lick of paint and brought in season ticket cards that occasionally work; Barton did far more to drag the club into the 21st century, but you don't want him either. |
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Post by Quarters on Sept 30, 2024 19:42:43 GMT
it’s nothing to do with the ban, and everything to do with him being an awful custodian of the club. People here have little time for Tom Gorringe, but my god he brought some much needed off field professionalism into Rovers. Before then we still had a Twerton mindset in the boardroom, a 20th Century attitude that was proven to be woefully out of date. Gorringe gave the bars a lick of paint and brought in season ticket cards that occasionally work; Barton did far more to drag the club into the 21st century, but you don't want him either. Um, Barton told us he was reforming things to drag it up to date. He probably did the opposite. |
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Post by Topper Gas on Sept 30, 2024 19:59:30 GMT
Gorringe gave the bars a lick of paint and brought in season ticket cards that occasionally work; Barton did far more to drag the club into the 21st century, but you don't want him either. Um, Barton told us he was reforming things to drag it up to date. He probably did the opposite. We've no real idea what JB did behind the scenes, I can't see MT has done anything different than JB, other than change all the backroom staff and players and that's hardly worked out well so far. |
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Post by Quarters on Sept 30, 2024 20:09:22 GMT
Um, Barton told us he was reforming things to drag it up to date. He probably did the opposite. We've no real idea what JB did behind the scenes, I can't see MT has done anything different than JB, other than change all the backroom staff and players and that's hardly worked out well so far. Did MT appoint Friend? |
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Post by gashead1981 on Sept 30, 2024 20:25:42 GMT
Why would it be a wind-up? I'm not saying I was him to full on take over the club, but despite his faults he has at least 10+ years of experience of running a football club, plus he understands the club from watching the Gas for 60 odd years in a way the current owners probably never will. This happens in a lot of PLC businesses where an Ex-CEO works a couple of days a month in a non-executive/consultancy role. Some facts about Nick Higgs: He banned a very good person for ‘consistence criticism’, when all this meant was having a forum, similar to this one, that wasn’t fawning all over Box 1. I and quite a few others stayed away during this ban. He took out high interest short term loans against the club. Without the takeover by the Al Qadi family we would probably be looking at best us supporting AFC Bristol Rovers. He had ‘watertight’ agreements with both UWE and Sainsburys. Remember ‘the funding has been in place and has been for some time’? Everyone else’s fault but Higgs. Finally, and above all else, has actions led to us playing non League football, thankfully only for a year. That alone should render him out of any position of responsibility for all eternity. The fact that he is local and a lifelong fan is totally irrelevant. The man presided over one of the worst periods in Rovers history. On the pitch bad decision after bad decision, saved only by Darrel Clarke. Off it the club was run like a local corner shop with a level of cronyism that would shame Boris Johnson/ Keir Starmer. Just on point one, he didn't ban him personally, it was a collective decision that even involved the SC directors. Ken Masters, who was known to be a bit of a back stabber especially if it was for his own gain, voted in favour of the ban which gave the majority to administer it. Nick didn't even have to vote on it personally and even if he did vote not to ban the person involved, it wouldn't have made a difference, it wouldn't even have been a split decision. None of the above would have happened if everyone had come together, dropped their egos and the SC not given away any of their voting power on how the club was run. Not only that, it would have helped if the ones causing the trouble had the money to actually take us over, but they didn't, and when they didn't get their way just constantly harangued the people that could and did have the money. One excellent thing Nick was a very good negotiator of transfer contracts for players, for example getting as much money as he could for Ricky when he was sold and then the sell on fees meaning we were paid for years. He was the one who gave DC a chance as manage us which led to some of our best times with him in charge. I agree that his tenure was a choppy one on and off the field but no one should be vilified for eternity for having the balls to buy their football club and use their own hard earned fortune to help run it even if it wasn't as successful as we all wanted it to be, or could be run better in the eyes of others, or for some of the reasons you have stated. |
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Post by northridinggas on Sept 30, 2024 20:35:36 GMT
Some facts about Nick Higgs: He banned a very good person for ‘consistence criticism’, when all this meant was having a forum, similar to this one, that wasn’t fawning all over Box 1. I and quite a few others stayed away during this ban. He took out high interest short term loans against the club. Without the takeover by the Al Qadi family we would probably be looking at best us supporting AFC Bristol Rovers. He had ‘watertight’ agreements with both UWE and Sainsburys. Remember ‘the funding has been in place and has been for some time’? Everyone else’s fault but Higgs. Finally, and above all else, has actions led to us playing non League football, thankfully only for a year. That alone should render him out of any position of responsibility for all eternity. The fact that he is local and a lifelong fan is totally irrelevant. The man presided over one of the worst periods in Rovers history. On the pitch bad decision after bad decision, saved only by Darrel Clarke. Off it the club was run like a local corner shop with a level of cronyism that would shame Boris Johnson/ Keir Starmer. Just on point one, he didn't ban him personally, it was a collective decision that even involved the SC directors. Ken Masters, who was known to be a bit of a back stabber especially if it was for his own gain, voted in favour of the ban which gave the majority to administer it. Nick didn't even have to vote on it personally and even if he did vote not to ban the person involved, it wouldn't have made a difference, it wouldn't even have been a split decision. None of the above would have happened if everyone had come together, dropped their egos and the SC not given away any of their voting power on how the club was run. Not only that, it would have helped if the ones causing the trouble had the money to actually take us over, but they didn't, and when they didn't get their way just constantly harangued the people that could and did have the money. One excellent thing Nick was a very good negotiator of transfer contracts for players, for example getting as much money as he could for Ricky when he was sold and then the sell on fees meaning we were paid for years. He was the one who gave DC a chance as manage us which led to some of our best times with him in charge. I agree that his tenure was a choppy one on and off the field but no one should be vilified for eternity for having the balls to buy their football club and use their own hard earned fortune to help run it even if it wasn't as successful as we all wanted it to be, or could be run better in the eyes of others, or for some of the reasons you have stated. Well said. I don't know all the ins and outs of decision making then but I never doubted that he wanted the best for the club. |
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Post by ricardo on Sept 30, 2024 21:06:44 GMT
Whether you like or dislike Higgs, he is demonstrably the worst chairman this club has had in the last 40 or so years by pretty much every metric. Genuinely astonishing thread, maybe the original poster is doing this for a bet?
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Post by gasify on Sept 30, 2024 21:32:54 GMT
So we want NH back , Barton , Ollie, just cant wait for Garner and Martin Dobson to be suggested  How about Lansdown? |
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Post by gasheadontour on Sept 30, 2024 21:38:47 GMT
The plan for a Sainsbury's store at The Mem achieved planning permission. The watertight contract comments were probably to put pressure on Sainsbury's to go through with a deal they had agreed too but were stalling over. Essentially NH was giving a reminder to Sainsbury's of a potental PR disaster if they didn't keep to the deal. In those days supermarkets were agreeing deals for sites but pulling out of them.
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Post by Topper Gas on Sept 30, 2024 21:55:06 GMT
Whether you like or dislike Higgs, he is demonstrably the worst chairman this club has had in the last 40 or so years by pretty much every metric. Genuinely astonishing thread, maybe the original poster is doing this for a bet? It's Hard to say that's the case as how much did he spend of his own money for the returns he got compared to Wael and the Al Saaeds? Wael could have spent upwards of £30m and took us up just the one division, the new owners probably £5m in just 12 months and look like they could take us down a division. NH also got us closer to any chairman in the last 40 years to getting us a decent ground. Probably the next 40 years as well by the looks of things. |
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Post by Strange Gas on Sept 30, 2024 22:10:25 GMT
Totally bizarre debate here and other rear view threads, can we not just look forwards and stop looking back at every opportunity? Remember the good times for sure but you can’t bring back the past and shouldn’t need to. All these “good times” we think back to ran out of road for a reason at the time and nothing indicates they can be revived and sustained. The best is always yet to come! Forwards we go . . .
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Post by jungleboogie on Oct 1, 2024 8:11:50 GMT
Anyone know if he still goes to games? Wondering if it would be an idea to offer him a non-executive/consultancy type role on the board. I think we're missing both footballing experience and a Gashead in the boardroom and he obviously ticks both boxes. Can only assume you've been kicked in the head by a horse! |
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Post by fanboy on Oct 1, 2024 12:28:18 GMT
Some facts about Nick Higgs: He banned a very good person for ‘consistence criticism’, when all this meant was having a forum, similar to this one, that wasn’t fawning all over Box 1. I and quite a few others stayed away during this ban. He took out high interest short term loans against the club. Without the takeover by the Al Qadi family we would probably be looking at best us supporting AFC Bristol Rovers. He had ‘watertight’ agreements with both UWE and Sainsburys. Remember ‘the funding has been in place and has been for some time’? Everyone else’s fault but Higgs. Finally, and above all else, has actions led to us playing non League football, thankfully only for a year. That alone should render him out of any position of responsibility for all eternity. The fact that he is local and a lifelong fan is totally irrelevant. The man presided over one of the worst periods in Rovers history. On the pitch bad decision after bad decision, saved only by Darrel Clarke. Off it the club was run like a local corner shop with a level of cronyism that would shame Boris Johnson/ Keir Starmer. 'Facts' 1) The ban for an ex-director who presided over as bad a period in our history as anything Higgs did, then threw his toys out the pram because him and his mates couldn't afford to takeover the club was completely justified and if you removed the emotional attachment of it being a football club you will completely agree with it. Try acting how Kevin did towards your local pub/restaurant/barber/butcher/baker/candlestick maker and see how much they want your custom. 2) High interests loans by trying to secure a sustainable future for the club, a level of ambition everyone on here strives for. When it failed the only person that lost out was himself. I'm sure there were opportunities to sell to the likes of the Venkys/Dai Young, but he safeguarded the club by selling to Wael. 3) He was shafted by Sainsbury's, we weren't the first and won't be the last 4) Was he on the pitch or in the dugout during the conference season? We had a budget that was probably top 7, that season everything that could've gone wrong did; the injuries were ridiculous, Wardy had the unfortunate situation with his wife that led him to take his eye off the ball and DC being parachuted in to soon. There were far worse Rovers teams that survived, but you play with fire enough times and you get burnt. He showed immense foresight to give DC the job longterm whilst everyone had their pitchforks out and showed immense leadership after a tough start. I'm sure he's had some time to reflect on his time at Rovers and I'm convinced he could be an asset to the board, like I said this happens all the time in the corporate world. You appear to be delusional I’m afraid! Regardless of whether we believe the current owners are doing well or badly, there is one absolute certainty… it will never be as depressing as it was under Higgs! |
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Post by gasify on Oct 1, 2024 12:43:25 GMT
Um, Barton told us he was reforming things to drag it up to date. He probably did the opposite. We've no real idea what JB did behind the scenes, I can't see MT has done anything different than JB, other than change all the backroom staff and players and that's hardly worked out well so far. Didn't ge rip out what was there and started again with his mates? I am under the impression that we now have backroom staff and a DofF that is independent of the manager. That model has to be the model, we can't keep sacking and employing teams and teams of backroom staff. So, from that perspective MT was more forward thinking. |
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