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Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:27 pm
by H1987
Vodka_Vic wrote:I've sometimes wondered what would have happened to us had George not rocked up.
We would have gone in 1999, probably restarted in Evostik Div 1 North, like Halifax did. The landscape wasn't as brutal in Non-League then. We'd probably still be at Feethams playing where we are now or even National League. Certainly better off than we are now. We would have had to have funded improvements to Feethams, but I certainly agree with Gramps that long term Reynolds did us more damage saving us than if we had gone then.
I honestly believe we'd probably be in the football league. If Reynolds hadn't shown up, maybe someone else might have. It's hard to know. Even if we went pop, we'd have risen back with a ground of our own. Feethams didn't even need that much work. If we didn't have the money, we probably would've mothballed the old west stand, but a bit of concrete for the terraces would hardly have been the biggest expense. It'd be football league standard now. The east stand wasn't even as old as the Riverside, which is generally considered a 'new' stadium still!

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:18 pm
by shildonlad
Ha ha my comment was more tongue in cheek about the current gateshead owner/chief financial advisor making reynolds look decent never expected a debate about reynolds. As for gateshead with a much reduced budget and a squad of local players and a young local manager they have been becoming more sustainable but the arcehole in charge hes been takeing the pee. Theres cost cutting and sheer lunacy when volunteers are sacked and 14 players are left and due to a transfer embargo the club could not even sign northern league players

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 5:02 pm
by Beano
Darlogramps wrote:
onewayup wrote:Sorry but we're we not going into administration when Reynolds stepped up and paid off the acquired debt To HMRC and other debts, I seem to remember the administrators were actually on the premises when George rocked up in his roller stopped the administration at that point paying off the required amounts. Otherwise we would have gone way back then. So we got a few more years with him.
And he left us in an even worse mess, in administration with the millstone of the Arena choking us.

It also doesn't excuse Reynolds' financial incompetence, bullying of staff, bullying of players, bullying of fans, bullying of journalists, hideous lack of planning, building a monstrosity of a stadium because of own ego, plunging us into administration, asking fans for a fight at fans' forums, his wife accusing players of throwing matches, and just generally being an arsehole.

Perhaps some people need to comfort themselves with the idea Reynolds was some happy-go-lucky wide-boy who didn't have devious intentions.

I'm sorry but it's all nonsense. The man was a bully, an incompetent and a crook who did untold damage to this club, which we've never really recovered from.

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Absolutely spot on, Gramps.

Reynolds killed the club but gets away with it because he is a ‘character’. Weird.

He was a nasty shyster, as anyone who received one of his unannounced visits can testify, and we never recovered from his reign.


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Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 6:56 pm
by onewayup
What I said was we got a few more years of league football because he stepped in, the administrators were already stripping the Worthington stand of fixtures when he rocked up and paid the debts, two of the board had remortgages on their homes which were about to be reprocessed had reynolds not turned up, yes he is a shysters egotistical sycophant
But there was no-one else prepared to help come in.
So to say we would have still been football league is wrong. We were about to be closedown end of, no one was willing to commit to the club plenty were engaged with plans to help us but not one was willing until reynolds. I respect your views but facts are facts. We'd gone until 5-05 on that particular day. His money pulled us back from the administration. Fact
What he did afterwards building the monster of a stadium was the start of the final nail. Which sees us where we are today. That is also a fact.

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:04 pm
by Wiseacre
We all felt Reynolds was a savior when he appeared because it was him or oblivion and if we'd won that match against Peterborough at Wembley - which we should have - we might be a league one club now. We'll never know but Georges form was well enough known at the time, why didn't we do the right thing at the time?

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 9:03 pm
by Beano
Wiseacre wrote:We all felt Reynolds was a savior when he appeared because it was him or oblivion and if we'd won that match against Peterborough at Wembley - which we should have - we might be a league one club now. We'll never know but Georges form was well enough known at the time, why didn't we do the right thing at the time?
It wouldn't have made any difference - the Arena would still have killed us as it did.

The council are as culpable as Reynolds; who the hell agreed planning permission?!

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 9:13 pm
by Vodka_Vic
Apparently in those days you couldn't refuse permission due to the fact that a new business would probably be a failure - only if locals objected amount could you refuse. Times have changed since then, and now you could raise an objection to something like such an over-grandiose project. I remember asking this very question myself about why it wasn't refused for those reasons. I don't know much more than that, but was told this by someone who hand a business at the time.

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:42 pm
by loan_star
The only leeway I would give Reynolds is that the buyers of his chipboard company went bust on him before they had paid the second half of what they owed him, the bulk of the first payment was put towards his ego trip stadium. It was around this time that he got even worse with criticism and upped his threats towards anyone who dared speak out. His behaviour, even in the good times, was very suspect however and this did him no favours either.

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:14 pm
by Seventynine
loan_star wrote:The only leeway I would give Reynolds is that the buyers of his chipboard company went bust on him before they had paid the second half of what they owed him, the bulk of the first payment was put towards his ego trip stadium. It was around this time that he got even worse with criticism and upped his threats towards anyone who dared speak out. His behaviour, even in the good times, was very suspect however and this did him no favours either.
so whats your real opinion on our situation , cut the bull s*** ..

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 11:48 pm
by loan_star
Seventynine wrote:
loan_star wrote:The only leeway I would give Reynolds is that the buyers of his chipboard company went bust on him before they had paid the second half of what they owed him, the bulk of the first payment was put towards his ego trip stadium. It was around this time that he got even worse with criticism and upped his threats towards anyone who dared speak out. His behaviour, even in the good times, was very suspect however and this did him no favours either.
so whats your real opinion on our situation , cut the bull s*** ..
What you on about? I’m passing comment on Reynolds!

Re: Steve Watson - new York manager

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 2:44 pm
by Maurice_Peddelty
Vodka_Vic wrote:Apparently in those days you couldn't refuse permission due to the fact that a new business would probably be a failure - only if locals objected amount could you refuse. Times have changed since then, and now you could raise an objection to something like such an over-grandiose project. I remember asking this very question myself about why it wasn't refused for those reasons. I don't know much more than that, but was told this by someone who hand a business at the time.
That's not the way it was. The 'Local Plan' that existed at the time did not have the area of land that the arena occupies allocated as land for development. Any planning applications for development on unallocated land could not be determined by the borough council (except to refuse it). The application was therefore called in by the Secretary of State for determination and after considering all of the facts took a decision in favour of the proposal subject to huge list of planning conditions.