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Post by pirate49 on Feb 5, 2016 9:08:42 GMT
"messed up" we were a mid table div 1 club with plans for a student accomadation financed new mem around the time NH took over with the only major debt being the Mem mortgage? From memory MT & KS were forced out around the time NH took over so he was hardly the only person who came forward. As far as the suggestion the UWE will build the stadium or Bath RFC want to share it there's little evidence that's even a possibility. In fairness, there is no evidence of anything ! So....all things are possible!  |
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Post by gashead1981 on Feb 5, 2016 10:17:01 GMT
It's easy to be sarcastic about those who knock Nick Higgs but what aspects of his tenure to date have actually been a success? Has he improved the facilities? Has he lowered debt? Has he made us sustainable? Has our league position improved? Has he put money in to the club that he won't get back (loans)? Has he always been honest and never misled the fans? If he becomes the man who sells out our ownership of the ground will it be ok to say bad things then? At what point will it be ok to say he really hasn't done as well as we would have liked? I dont necessarily want him gone, but I really, really don't want another 10 years like the 10 we've just had. Arise Sir Nick.... How about who stepped up to the plate when GD messed up the club and wanted out.... Only one person came forward.... Sir Nick of UWE ! Good point actually. Whilst its easy to be critical of the points Henbury has made, and some of them are fair and valid, there is a lot more that we as fans dont know the whole story about or only have snippets of information to go on. GD, as much as I am thankful to the bloke, is often looked back on with blue tinted lenses on. Largely under his tenure he took us into L2 for the first time, put the club up for sale, decided he didnt want to sell when no one would buy us, then hired in LL on huge money it has to be said and when it all started to unravel at board level in stepped NH with a larger investment and dear old Ron Craig took over as chairman, who was a calming influence over our club and one of the best we have ever had IMO. Nick has also managed the club through the economic downturn of the modern era, which do impinge on the clubs finances causing more debt to accrue. The football league too press further initiatives on the club that cost more money than they used to, something I only found out recently. Higgs can underwrite our debt in any way he chooses, whether its stated as a loan or shares, so we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat. GD loves his messiah like twitter messages but apart from getting us the Mem, which was more luck than judgement, he didnt do a lot either. His old man was our saviour. Nick and the boards appointment of managers have been their real undoing IMO. Dave Penny was stitched up by many of our own players, McGhee was a mistake, John Ward only wanted to stay to keep us up but was persuaded to stay on when his heart wasnt in it. Buckle, to be fair, on paper was a good appointment, his CV suggested the right credentials, he just turned out to be a total main sail. However he has got DC's appointment spot on and we are now on the up. If we get promotion this year, I think a large amount of the last 10 years can be forgiven. Facilities, financial stability will only really come with a new stadium, he has done his level best to get us that at least. How we get it now and going forward is just a matter of speculation at the moment which is why there are 275 pages to this thread, most of which is just conjecture and opinion. |
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Post by amgas on Feb 5, 2016 10:27:16 GMT
Is that strictly true ? - Geoff and Dennis were both involved at the start and I thought it was Geoff who talked his father into getting involved.
Really Gerry Francis was our saviour at that time with decent results on the pitch despite all the financial constraints .....
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Post by gashead1981 on Feb 5, 2016 10:32:16 GMT
It was his fathers fortune that was used, and his father did most of the negotiations with current owners, twerton and a few others.
I 100% agree about Francis.
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Post by Mancgas has left the building on Feb 5, 2016 10:35:24 GMT
Is that strictly true ? - Geoff and Dennis were both involved at the start and I thought it was Geoff who talked his father into getting involved. Really Gerry Francis was our saviour at that time with decent results on the pitch despite all the financial constraints ..... correct but kindly stop posting facts on this thread or it will grind to a halt I'd add Bobby Gould's miracles in his one year in charge at Rovers.Often over looked and at the time he maintained our record of never being relegated to the lowest division of the Football League. If we had been relegated that season we would be in the Southern League by now having dropped even further I suspect, and for his rag bag Rovers spirit and wheeling dealing I will be forever grateful. |
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 5, 2016 11:32:36 GMT
Surely DC was our real saviour as just look at how Torquay are struggling in their second season, or how Grimsby, Wrexham & Lincoln have just become Conference sides.
As far as "we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat." if that really is the case why as he took on the wonga loan and so far falied to repay any on the interest?? As NH ran out of money as far as spending it on Rovers are concerned?
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Post by Henbury Gas on Feb 5, 2016 11:34:35 GMT
Surely DC was our real saviour as just look at how Torquay are struggling in their second season, or how Grimsby, Wrexham & Lincoln have just become Conference sides. As far as "we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat." if that really is the case why as he took on the wonga loan and so far falied to repay any on the interest?? As NH ran out of money as far as spending it on Rovers are concerned? The Wonga loan is against the stadium not him. When the stadium/club is sold that loan will be on the new owners |
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Post by Hugo the Elder on Feb 5, 2016 11:43:22 GMT
Surely DC was our real saviour as just look at how Torquay are struggling in their second season, or how Grimsby, Wrexham & Lincoln have just become Conference sides. As far as "we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat." if that really is the case why as he took on the wonga loan and so far falied to repay any on the interest?? As NH ran out of money as far as spending it on Rovers are concerned? In the interest of balance its fair to say that following our poor start in the conference DC was under a lot of pressure and the rumour at the time was that the only board member who never wavered in backing him was Nick Higgs. You also have to say he has also always backed his manager with appropriate funds. |
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Post by Severncider on Feb 5, 2016 12:07:06 GMT
Surely DC was our real saviour as just look at how Torquay are struggling in their second season, or how Grimsby, Wrexham & Lincoln have just become Conference sides. As far as "we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat." if that really is the case why as he took on the wonga loan and so far falied to repay any on the interest?? As NH ran out of money as far as spending it on Rovers are concerned? In the interest of balance its fair to say that following our poor start in the conference DC was under a lot of pressure and the rumour at the time was that the only board member who never wavered in backing him was Nick Higgs. You also have to say he has also always backed his manager with appropriate funds.Have you asked DC to confirm that? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 12:20:52 GMT
In the interest of balance its fair to say that following our poor start in the conference DC was under a lot of pressure and the rumour at the time was that the only board member who never wavered in backing him was Nick Higgs. You also have to say he has also always backed his manager with appropriate funds.Have you asked DC to confirm that? Sack the board. |
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Post by Hugo the Elder on Feb 5, 2016 12:42:52 GMT
In the interest of balance its fair to say that following our poor start in the conference DC was under a lot of pressure and the rumour at the time was that the only board member who never wavered in backing him was Nick Higgs. You also have to say he has also always backed his manager with appropriate funds.Have you asked DC to confirm that? I accept that DCs budget is much less than Ward, Fuckle etc had. However, we have made signings like as Blissett, Gaffney, Lawrence and such. Many of us have been desperate for the club to run a more sensible budget so although DC may feel his budget has been cut you could argue that it's not a cut its just a more prudent amount and that previous managers over spent. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 13:09:06 GMT
Hi guys was it today?
Love Balders.
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 5, 2016 13:10:44 GMT
Surely DC was our real saviour as just look at how Torquay are struggling in their second season, or how Grimsby, Wrexham & Lincoln have just become Conference sides. As far as "we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat." if that really is the case why as he took on the wonga loan and so far falied to repay any on the interest?? As NH ran out of money as far as spending it on Rovers are concerned? The Wonga loan is against the stadium not him. When the stadium/club is sold that loan will be on the new owners That was my point you can hardly say we're safer under NH when he's taken out a £3m+ loan against the Mem which no other Chairman has ever done, time will tell whether any new owners are prepared to take on the debts or whether the club has to sell the Mem just to clear the debt, or stuggle on at the Mem whilst trying to pay down the loan. |
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Post by Langford Gas on Feb 5, 2016 13:11:18 GMT
Surely DC was our real saviour as just look at how Torquay are struggling in their second season, or how Grimsby, Wrexham & Lincoln have just become Conference sides. As far as "we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat." if that really is the case why as he took on the wonga loan and so far falied to repay any on the interest?? As NH ran out of money as far as spending it on Rovers are concerned? The Wonga loan is against the stadium not him. When the stadium/club is sold that loan will be on the new owners Am I reading that right ? surely thats like buying a house and being responsible for the sellers mortgage after ? |
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Post by baggins on Feb 5, 2016 13:23:53 GMT
The Wonga loan is against the stadium not him. When the stadium/club is sold that loan will be on the new owners That was my point you can hardly say we're safer under NH when he's taken out a £3m+ loan against the Mem which no other Chairman has ever done, time will tell whether any new owners are prepared to take on the debts or whether the club has to sell the Mem just to clear the debt, or stuggle on at the Mem whilst trying to pay down the loan. Well it's not as if we've had an asset to take a loan against since Eastville is it. |
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Post by simon1883 on Feb 5, 2016 13:31:24 GMT
The Wonga loan is against the stadium not him. When the stadium/club is sold that loan will be on the new owners , time will tell whether any new owners are prepared to take on the debts or whether the club has to sell the Mem just to clear the debt, or stuggle on at the Mem whilst trying to pay down the loan. Umm.... I think you'll find we had a mortgage against the stadium to buy the bloody thing...... |
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Post by lpgas on Feb 5, 2016 13:33:19 GMT
How about who stepped up to the plate when GD messed up the club and wanted out.... Only one person came forward.... Sir Nick of UWE ! Good point actually. Whilst its easy to be critical of the points Henbury has made, and some of them are fair and valid, there is a lot more that we as fans dont know the whole story about or only have snippets of information to go on. GD, as much as I am thankful to the bloke, is often looked back on with blue tinted lenses on. Largely under his tenure he took us into L2 for the first time, put the club up for sale, decided he didnt want to sell when no one would buy us, then hired in LL on huge money it has to be said and when it all started to unravel at board level in stepped NH with a larger investment and dear old Ron Craig took over as chairman, who was a calming influence over our club and one of the best we have ever had IMO. Nick has also managed the club through the economic downturn of the modern era, which do impinge on the clubs finances causing more debt to accrue. The football league too press further initiatives on the club that cost more money than they used to, something I only found out recently. Higgs can underwrite our debt in any way he chooses, whether its stated as a loan or shares, so we are actually more secure under NH than we are under GD. Higgs has the clout to more than keep us afloat. GD loves his messiah like twitter messages but apart from getting us the Mem, which was more luck than judgement, he didnt do a lot either. His old man was our saviour. Nick and the boards appointment of managers have been their real undoing IMO. Dave Penny was stitched up by many of our own players, McGhee was a mistake, John Ward only wanted to stay to keep us up but was persuaded to stay on when his heart wasnt in it. Buckle, to be fair, on paper was a good appointment, his CV suggested the right credentials, he just turned out to be a total main sail. However he has got DC's appointment spot on and we are now on the up. If we get promotion this year, I think a large amount of the last 10 years can be forgiven. Facilities, financial stability will only really come with a new stadium, he has done his level best to get us that at least. How we get it now and going forward is just a matter of speculation at the moment which is why there are 275 pages to this thread, most of which is just conjecture and opinion. GD ran the day to day things at the club his Dad oversaw everything. Higgs took us out of the league. DC got the job in the Conference because he knew the conference. He didn't "appoint" DC he was just lucky that he was here at the time |
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Post by lpgas on Feb 5, 2016 13:36:13 GMT
Can we have some more wild guesses, these old ones are boring now, how about NH nukes the Mem and sells the footage for millions, pays off the loans, collects the insurance and builds us a mini Wembley ? Sounds simple eh ? Apparently plan b is to rebuild the Mem to the original plans, except instead of student flats there will be accommodation for Syrian refugees in the corners. True story! When you say original plans, do you mead tearing down the West stand and replacing it with a wooden one? Seriously we HAVE to move, the Mem is sh** and as the old saying goes, you cannot polish a turd |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 13:38:09 GMT
Apparently plan b is to rebuild the Mem to the original plans, except instead of student flats there will be accommodation for Syrian refugees in the corners. True story! When you say original plans, do you mead tearing down the West stand and replacing it with a wooden one? Seriously we HAVE to move, the Mem is sh** and as the old saying goes, you cannot polish a turd Totally agree. If we stay at the Mem we will always be rag bag Rovers. |
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Post by Topper Gas on Feb 5, 2016 14:33:55 GMT
That was my point you can hardly say we're safer under NH when he's taken out a £3m+ loan against the Mem which no other Chairman has ever done, time will tell whether any new owners are prepared to take on the debts or whether the club has to sell the Mem just to clear the debt, or stuggle on at the Mem whilst trying to pay down the loan. Umm.... I think you'll find we had a mortgage against the stadium to buy the bloody thing...... Precisely that was a mortgage to buy the Mem, not just a wonga loan to pay off debts being run up on a daily basis, if you think that's a good way to run a business then so be it. |
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