For years I have stood behind the goal at Adams Park singing & chearing on our team through thick & thin. I stand with fans from all different backgrounds. For 90 minutes whatever our religious, political views, employment, age, man or women we are one. We suffer, have periods of joy, sometimes we are bored, we get annoyed feel cheated. For one moment in time we are together supporting the same team. How good is that. I know that I stand next to someone who has a different political view to mine,so what!
@HolmerBlue said:
Jesus wept.... new potential investors and all people can talk about is politics !?!?! Really ?
Did anyone know who the last Americans voted for ? Because there was no mention of it, no because it didn't matter. Does anyone know who the current club board vote for ? No, because it doesn't matter. Does anyone know who Gareth and the players vote for ? No, because it doesn't matter !!!
I think it's only because this came out of the blue and because his name was being googled and interesting facts were Gasroomed @HolmerBlue . I agree with you with regard voting though must admit if I found out the Gaffer or a player voted for the British National Party it would matter to me! (And possibly a few of his team-mates!!)
I hate politics, not least because it encourages people to simplify others and themselves into very broad categories, and make assumptions about motivation, when really we are all rather complex, with many shades of variation. The most profound danger to me is not the Left or Right in a vacuum, but a climate in which they push each other further to extremes, in constant reaction to each other - it doesn't matter which side tips off the edge first.
The dictionary definition of "bigot" is "a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions." I only just found that out recently (I guess I thought it meant "a large maggot"). It is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but the irony is, modern politics encourages everyone to be a bigot.
I have to say it again - there is a clear distinction between holding political opinions, and being an actual politician (which this chap happens to be.)
I'll also repeat that no-one has said that this should bar him from owning Wycombe Wanderers, but simply something that should be taken into consideration.
Some people have suggested hypothetical scenarios where they would be unhappy with certain politicians owning Wycombe - I'm sure everyone would agree with this when you get to the most extreme examples. On that basis it's just a matter of where you draw the line - for me, on initial impressions it doesn't seem as if Rob Couhig comes anywhere near that line.
Can we have a count up to see how many posters have come out against this proposal? I’m reckon it’s a maximum of two (although if there are only three posters on here @Wendoverman that is a commanding level of dissent).
I know it’s the done thing nowadays to massively generalise for effect, but it’s a bit lame in this instance.
I've done some digging on him and he seems a private bloke who makes all the right noises in interviews and statements around Yeovil’s proposed takeover.
Sure, we should be wary and proceed with caution but like the sound of his approach.
His plan seems to be to improve the match day experience by upgrading facilities, catering, entertainment, hospitality, and to some extent by investing in the playing budget.
I think a lot of people have espoused on this forum for a while that our lack of capital to invest in such improvements hinders our casual supporter base.
Floating support are much less likely to catch a bus to the end of an industrial estate to watch (often agricultural) football if the food at the kiosks, the queues, the parking, the kids entertainment, the stadium and the selection of crisps are all in a poor state.
@arnos_grove not sure anyone has come out against it. And there could be five posters on here. @Chris I may have given you a thumbs down by accident for your last post!
@bookertease said:
As long as he doesn’t ‘improve’ the match day experience by replacing the real ale bar with bleedin’ craft beer I’m all for it.
I’ll say it quietly, but I have seen a slow but steady up turn in the number of American real Ales available at the Great British Beer festival in the last few years.
They were after our women in the 1940’s and now our beer. Those yanks don’t know what’s sacred.
So, Cambridge Blue-please enlighten us with your alternative plan for paying off our huge debts and raising enough money to make our squad competitive in League One.
We turnover more then enough to be a competitive league club. Don't care about being a competitive league one club. Did nobody learn a lesson from Hayes?!?!
Bud light could stop play @arnos_grove. . And, forgive my higorance, I thought craft beer was real ale brewed in a small local brewery. I probably need educating (if it isn’t too late).
"...with a view to securing the backing of the Trust’s Legacy Members for the acquisition of a majority share in the future. It is intended that, at that point, neither the club nor its Adams Park stadium will hold any debt, nor will the assets be available to be used as security."
This is an important point as it precludes them taking a minority stake (no vote) with a view to loading the club with debt and putting us over a barrel when subsequently going for a majority.
No meat on the bones yet though, so look forward to hearing more detail.
I too am intrigued by this statement. I can't find another way to interpret it than the way you have, but at the same time I can't believe this to be true: this implies they would seek to invest enough to pay off Luby/Collis, the Chairboys Funders, and any other remaining LT loans (Kane, Howard, Beeks(?)) ... in return for a 49.9% stake of the club. This doesn't seem realistic to me?
I think this is the key point for me - just how much of a financial commitment is Mr Couhig making at this stage?
My cynical reading of the press notice - and I find it pays to be cynical when it comes to the dealings of this board - is that it may well be he's not investing many pennies (or indeed dimes) at all at this stage.
The notice does refer to an "investment of funds on and off-field" - but also that talks are at an advanced stage. Yet they felt the need to relaunch the 500 Club just weeks ago - which seems a pretty shabby thing to do to fans, many of whom won't be well off - if they knew investment was just around the corner... unless it was a paltry amount of investment at this stage.
I wonder if the majority of said investment comes in the form of staffing and services rendered. I see we're getting two new hands-on members of staff as a result of this deal; but are they being installed in lieu of cold, hard cash?
Here's a hypothesis: Mr Couhig installs his intimates within the management structure - they use the next few months to get a thorough view of whether the club could become a worthwhile commitment. In return they boost the marketing a little, maybe repair the big screen, get photoed alongside a marquee signing bought out of the 500 Club fund. The feel-good factor returns; they get their feet under the table, block any other bidders. If all goes well enough and it looks like the 75% threshold will be reached they decide in December to repay the charge on the stadium and then go for a vote for majority ownership while everyone owes them a debt of gratitude. Alternatively, if we're deep in the relegation mire come December or that threshold looks unassailable, they cut their losses and disappear.
There are a couple of lines in that press notice that give me cause for concern: "This will be a collective effort," Couhig says, and "positive change may not happen overnight". "Supporters will gradually be able to see that our combined efforts will pay off," he adds. Gradually. Collective. Combined. Not overnight. I think we need to know how much of this collective effort will come from his own pockets and how much from ours.
Also, while I'm being cynical, @James is very clearly just another account for the guy behind @rmjlondon. It's painfully obvious. Don't waste your time by indulging in his wind-up fantasies.
@micra said:
Bud light could stop play @arnos_grove. . And, forgive my higorance, I thought craft beer was real ale brewed in a small local brewery. I probably need educating (if it isn’t too late).
In the UK it doesn't, which essentially makes it a marketing term. It's definitely not real ale but just like real ale, there are very good and very bad examples. Because of the lack of a definition in the UK, multinational brewing companies increasingly deploy an indie style brand to pretend their craft beer has been made in a small shed by some plucky outsiders.
After reading the posts from Cambridge Blue, I would like to continue the efforts of Arnos Grove to derail the thread and agree that most US beer is rubbish but a few years ago I discovered the delights of Yuengling which I believe is made by the oldest brewery in America. A decent pint.
Actually @aloysius I don’t see anything particularly wrong or bad with that hypothesis. If I understand your ‘cynical’ view by the end of December we are likely as a club to be better off than we currently are albeit with a possible impending majority shareholding vote on the horizon.
As we are currently, financially at least, up s£&@ creek without a paddle, this seems to be progress.
We have probably at least six months to better understand what he/they want and are prepared to put in to get and as long as they keep to not putting us in debt to them or a loan on Adams Park it is fairly positive (in my opinion).
But onto more important matters. As @arnos_grove notes (and also educates) craft beer (in this country at least) is an over-priced, over-faffed, over-designed excuse for a beer. NEVER EVER trust anyone who thinks that drinking it is preferable to pouring it over my head for boring people endlessly about what an over-priced....
Comments
For years I have stood behind the goal at Adams Park singing & chearing on our team through thick & thin. I stand with fans from all different backgrounds. For 90 minutes whatever our religious, political views, employment, age, man or women we are one. We suffer, have periods of joy, sometimes we are bored, we get annoyed feel cheated. For one moment in time we are together supporting the same team. How good is that. I know that I stand next to someone who has a different political view to mine,so what!
I think it's only because this came out of the blue and because his name was being googled and interesting facts were Gasroomed @HolmerBlue . I agree with you with regard voting though must admit if I found out the Gaffer or a player voted for the British National Party it would matter to me! (And possibly a few of his team-mates!!)
I hate politics, not least because it encourages people to simplify others and themselves into very broad categories, and make assumptions about motivation, when really we are all rather complex, with many shades of variation. The most profound danger to me is not the Left or Right in a vacuum, but a climate in which they push each other further to extremes, in constant reaction to each other - it doesn't matter which side tips off the edge first.
The dictionary definition of "bigot" is "a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions." I only just found that out recently (I guess I thought it meant "a large maggot"). It is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but the irony is, modern politics encourages everyone to be a bigot.
I have to say it again - there is a clear distinction between holding political opinions, and being an actual politician (which this chap happens to be.)
I'll also repeat that no-one has said that this should bar him from owning Wycombe Wanderers, but simply something that should be taken into consideration.
Some people have suggested hypothetical scenarios where they would be unhappy with certain politicians owning Wycombe - I'm sure everyone would agree with this when you get to the most extreme examples. On that basis it's just a matter of where you draw the line - for me, on initial impressions it doesn't seem as if Rob Couhig comes anywhere near that line.
Can we have a count up to see how many posters have come out against this proposal? I’m reckon it’s a maximum of two (although if there are only three posters on here @Wendoverman that is a commanding level of dissent).
I know it’s the done thing nowadays to massively generalise for effect, but it’s a bit lame in this instance.
I've done some digging on him and he seems a private bloke who makes all the right noises in interviews and statements around Yeovil’s proposed takeover.
Sure, we should be wary and proceed with caution but like the sound of his approach.
His plan seems to be to improve the match day experience by upgrading facilities, catering, entertainment, hospitality, and to some extent by investing in the playing budget.
I think a lot of people have espoused on this forum for a while that our lack of capital to invest in such improvements hinders our casual supporter base.
Floating support are much less likely to catch a bus to the end of an industrial estate to watch (often agricultural) football if the food at the kiosks, the queues, the parking, the kids entertainment, the stadium and the selection of crisps are all in a poor state.
@arnos_grove not sure anyone has come out against it. And there could be five posters on here. @Chris I may have given you a thumbs down by accident for your last post!
As long as he doesn’t ‘improve’ the match day experience by replacing the real ale bar with bleedin’ craft beer I’m all for it.
Or even worse. Bud Light.
Or replaces Hershey’s for Cadbury’s
Hope this doesn't get voted through. Fan owned and proud.
@Cambridge_Blue ....and broke too.
I’ll say it quietly, but I have seen a slow but steady up turn in the number of American real Ales available at the Great British Beer festival in the last few years.
They were after our women in the 1940’s and now our beer. Those yanks don’t know what’s sacred.
So, Cambridge Blue-please enlighten us with your alternative plan for paying off our huge debts and raising enough money to make our squad competitive in League One.
We turnover more then enough to be a competitive league club. Don't care about being a competitive league one club. Did nobody learn a lesson from Hayes?!?!
Bud light could stop play @arnos_grove. . And, forgive my higorance, I thought craft beer was real ale brewed in a small local brewery. I probably need educating (if it isn’t too late).
Have you actually read the accounts, do you understand how much money we owe?
How much?
Don't worry @glasshalffull, just use the ostrich method and I am sure all will be well!
I think this is the key point for me - just how much of a financial commitment is Mr Couhig making at this stage?
My cynical reading of the press notice - and I find it pays to be cynical when it comes to the dealings of this board - is that it may well be he's not investing many pennies (or indeed dimes) at all at this stage.
The notice does refer to an "investment of funds on and off-field" - but also that talks are at an advanced stage. Yet they felt the need to relaunch the 500 Club just weeks ago - which seems a pretty shabby thing to do to fans, many of whom won't be well off - if they knew investment was just around the corner... unless it was a paltry amount of investment at this stage.
I wonder if the majority of said investment comes in the form of staffing and services rendered. I see we're getting two new hands-on members of staff as a result of this deal; but are they being installed in lieu of cold, hard cash?
Here's a hypothesis: Mr Couhig installs his intimates within the management structure - they use the next few months to get a thorough view of whether the club could become a worthwhile commitment. In return they boost the marketing a little, maybe repair the big screen, get photoed alongside a marquee signing bought out of the 500 Club fund. The feel-good factor returns; they get their feet under the table, block any other bidders. If all goes well enough and it looks like the 75% threshold will be reached they decide in December to repay the charge on the stadium and then go for a vote for majority ownership while everyone owes them a debt of gratitude. Alternatively, if we're deep in the relegation mire come December or that threshold looks unassailable, they cut their losses and disappear.
There are a couple of lines in that press notice that give me cause for concern: "This will be a collective effort," Couhig says, and "positive change may not happen overnight". "Supporters will gradually be able to see that our combined efforts will pay off," he adds. Gradually. Collective. Combined. Not overnight. I think we need to know how much of this collective effort will come from his own pockets and how much from ours.
Also, while I'm being cynical, @James is very clearly just another account for the guy behind @rmjlondon. It's painfully obvious. Don't waste your time by indulging in his wind-up fantasies.
Where have you been for the last 12 months?
Haha, you can't answer. How embarrassing for you.
Craft beer in the US does have a definition https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/craft-brewer-definition/
In the UK it doesn't, which essentially makes it a marketing term. It's definitely not real ale but just like real ale, there are very good and very bad examples. Because of the lack of a definition in the UK, multinational brewing companies increasingly deploy an indie style brand to pretend their craft beer has been made in a small shed by some plucky outsiders.
How's that for a thread derail?
There’s only one person on here embarrassing himself and it’s not me. Do your own research and you’ll discover exactly why we need investment.
Sounds like you have no idea how much the club owes.
After reading the posts from Cambridge Blue, I would like to continue the efforts of Arnos Grove to derail the thread and agree that most US beer is rubbish but a few years ago I discovered the delights of Yuengling which I believe is made by the oldest brewery in America. A decent pint.
Actually @aloysius I don’t see anything particularly wrong or bad with that hypothesis. If I understand your ‘cynical’ view by the end of December we are likely as a club to be better off than we currently are albeit with a possible impending majority shareholding vote on the horizon.
As we are currently, financially at least, up s£&@ creek without a paddle, this seems to be progress.
We have probably at least six months to better understand what he/they want and are prepared to put in to get and as long as they keep to not putting us in debt to them or a loan on Adams Park it is fairly positive (in my opinion).
But onto more important matters. As @arnos_grove notes (and also educates) craft beer (in this country at least) is an over-priced, over-faffed, over-designed excuse for a beer. NEVER EVER trust anyone who thinks that drinking it is preferable to pouring it over my head for boring people endlessly about what an over-priced....
Oh and don’t bite so easily @glasshalffull. You are encouraging them!
Who, the craft beer enthusiasts?