I think if we’re going to dismiss this RS investment opportunity out of hand, we would do well to remember a few things.
Firstly, as a fan owned club we will very likely never develop BM to FL standards due to costs and the ad-hoc manner it has been developed to date due to the lack of a strategic plan.
Secondly, we have a major problem with a lack of volunteers at all levels. As far as I’m aware, RC and JT have agreed to remain in place only until negotiations with the investors are ongoing. Who out there is willing to step upto the plate or is it still ‘I would do but……’
Thirdly, we have a (perceived) history of poor and incompetent chairmen which at least dates back to the 60s when I first started going to Feethams. However, did we as fans not have a responsibility to become more engaged and work with the owners rather than the persistent ‘them and us’ culture? We still saw evidence of this at the recent FF where some would have happily joined in a public lynching! I do think though, that the past five years has seen a huge culture shift and the DFCSG would be a much more integral part of the club however it decides to move forward and this can only be a good thing.
An Inconvenient Truth
Re: An Inconvenient Truth
I don't think your first point is particularly relevant at the moment - we're so far off the football league, and will be if we stick to our current model, that it wouldn't be something to be overly concerned with right now.
We have much bigger issues to sort out, such as your second point, which is incredibly valid. One of the reasons why I'm fundamentally in favour of outside investment is that it would provide us with an injection of skills, time and money which we so desperately need to take us forwards (or even to stand still). The pool of volunteers, particularly those with the skills to run a decent sized semi-pro club, is nearly empty. If we don't get outside investment, what are we going to do when John Tempest inevitably calls it a day?
Having said all of this, do we accept the first offer on the table? Particularly when we consider who it's from. Would it be better to produce a public offer and see if we get anybody interested? Do we revamp our fan ownership model somehow? All difficult questions, all with risks and no obvious answer. I just hope the next step doesn't permanently split our fanbase
We have much bigger issues to sort out, such as your second point, which is incredibly valid. One of the reasons why I'm fundamentally in favour of outside investment is that it would provide us with an injection of skills, time and money which we so desperately need to take us forwards (or even to stand still). The pool of volunteers, particularly those with the skills to run a decent sized semi-pro club, is nearly empty. If we don't get outside investment, what are we going to do when John Tempest inevitably calls it a day?
Having said all of this, do we accept the first offer on the table? Particularly when we consider who it's from. Would it be better to produce a public offer and see if we get anybody interested? Do we revamp our fan ownership model somehow? All difficult questions, all with risks and no obvious answer. I just hope the next step doesn't permanently split our fanbase
Re: An Inconvenient Truth
We can pay somebody in a professional capacity to run the club - Tempest runs recruitment service so he will be knowledgeable in what can be achieved.
Secondly, the expectations and behaviour of certain fans at the FF was bang out of order and ultimately cost us at least one director in the long run. I see they haven't stepped up and are keen to get behind Martin Gray's pipe dream (ironic) of rolling the dice with zero guarantees and a completely different landscape in terms of money than we were used to when we were professional.
There is no logic as to why Raj would get involved and that to me makes it dangerous REGARDLESS of the history etc. There is simply no reason for a money-minded business man to get involved in a club with no infrastructure, no assets, a 20 year lease in terms of location and huge grants tying us to BM too.
Secondly, the expectations and behaviour of certain fans at the FF was bang out of order and ultimately cost us at least one director in the long run. I see they haven't stepped up and are keen to get behind Martin Gray's pipe dream (ironic) of rolling the dice with zero guarantees and a completely different landscape in terms of money than we were used to when we were professional.
There is no logic as to why Raj would get involved and that to me makes it dangerous REGARDLESS of the history etc. There is simply no reason for a money-minded business man to get involved in a club with no infrastructure, no assets, a 20 year lease in terms of location and huge grants tying us to BM too.
Re: An Inconvenient Truth
Nothing obvious, but hopefully the Netcafe will shed some light on his motives. Until the I believe the phrase is 'caveat emptor' - buyer beware although in this case the translation should be beware of the buyerTDS wrote:We can pay somebody in a professional capacity to run the club - Tempest runs recruitment service so he will be knowledgeable in what can be achieved.
Secondly, the expectations and behaviour of certain fans at the FF was bang out of order and ultimately cost us at least one director in the long run. I see they haven't stepped up and are keen to get behind Martin Gray's pipe dream (ironic) of rolling the dice with zero guarantees and a completely different landscape in terms of money than we were used to when we were professional.
There is no logic as to why Raj would get involved and that to me makes it dangerous REGARDLESS of the history etc. There is simply no reason for a money-minded business man to get involved in a club with no infrastructure, no assets, a 20 year lease in terms of location and huge grants tying us to BM too.