The Questions that Nobody asks

[Crazeenick]

Was anything interesting said on Radio Lanky?

[Trevor]

...or Diego as been working on promises of money all along and it's not being delivered any more.

[RedRedWine]

Some of those directors have recently become more involved again, now that PMG has sold up. We are placing a lot of trust in people like Rod Taylor, that Diego is legit.

PMG sold to Diego, not Rod. The only thing Rod might have to do is help dig the club out of the mire.

Fully appreciate that Rod hasn't bought the club, where have I said Rod is liable in any way shape or form?

All I have said is that the fans (myself included) are currently placing a lot of faith in the existing members of the old board (that's all of them, not just Rod...) that by not communicating to the fans exactly what is going on, they are standing by the statement that the club put out over the weekend amid rumours of debt collectors turning up at the ground; basically that the new owner is legitimate, has the best interests for the club at heart and that this is only a short-term problem.

I trust people like Rod and hope beyond hope that the statement the club put out is accurate. I find it difficult to believe that as successful businessmen in their own right, that that could be taken for fools. But if it isn't, and the statement/continuing lack of commumication precluded the fans from doing their level best to help in anyway they could, then I'm sure many people would feel let down and ultimately frustrated.... same goes for anyone withholding information.

[Gnasher]

(that's all of them, not just Rod... including the one you sponge free tickets from)

That's sinking to a new low and you know it. I haven't "sponged" a free ticket since I started voluntary work for the club about 16 years ago, prior to that I didn't watch football. Don't worry, I won't be sinking to your level to reveal anything about you.

[Keith]

(that's all of them, not just Rod... including the one you sponge free tickets from)

That's sinking to a new low and you know it. I haven't "sponged" a free ticket since I started voluntary work for the club about 16 years ago, prior to that I didn't watch football. Don't worry, I won't be sinking to your level to reveal anything about you.

I actually edited the original post before reading further down and seeing you'd replied.

RRW... behave

[Posh]

So sale agreed but no money changed hands would suggest that Diego & Abdul are withholding the money for some reason. Are they having second thoughts or are they not happy with the terms of the deal having been involved with the day to day running of the club for a month or so and realised the monumental size of the task at hand?

There's such a thing as an 'escrow' account. Let's say a deal was done but, given there was still due diligence to be done, then the shares swap hands but the money is held in a third-party escrow account controlled by solicitors who release the funds when every element is met.

Let's imagine a situation where a new owner uncovers a raft of problems and that the situation is much worse than they were told then they can withhold funds. If it is particularly bad they could just walk away from the deal and leave it to lawyers, accountants and insolvency practitioners to sort out the mess.

Entirely theoretical of course.

[mrpotatohead]

That's exactly what the medium said that JBC thinks happened

[marky No.1]

So sale agreed but no money changed hands would suggest that Diego & Abdul are withholding the money for some reason. Are they having second thoughts or are they not happy with the terms of the deal having been involved with the day to day running of the club for a month or so and realised the monumental size of the task at hand?

There's such a thing as an 'escrow' account. Let's say a deal was done but, given there was still due diligence to be done, then the shares swap hands but the money is held in a third-party escrow account controlled by solicitors who release the funds when every element is met.

Let's imagine a situation where a new owner uncovers a raft of problems and that the situation is much worse than they were told then they can withhold funds. If it is particularly bad they could just walk away from the deal and leave it to lawyers, accountants and insolvency practitioners to sort out the mess.

Entirely theoretical of course.

I like playing poker Mike, but I wouldn't enjoy meeting you at the table

3 pints later who knows

Do you think the 'loan' company has done this?

[Posh]

So sale agreed but no money changed hands would suggest that Diego & Abdul are withholding the money for some reason. Are they having second thoughts or are they not happy with the terms of the deal having been involved with the day to day running of the club for a month or so and realised the monumental size of the task at hand?

There's such a thing as an 'escrow' account. Let's say a deal was done but, given there was still due diligence to be done, then the shares swap hands but the money is held in a third-party escrow account controlled by solicitors who release the funds when every element is met.

Let's imagine a situation where a new owner uncovers a raft of problems and that the situation is much worse than they were told then they can withhold funds. If it is particularly bad they could just walk away from the deal and leave it to lawyers, accountants and insolvency practitioners to sort out the mess.

Entirely theoretical of course.

I like playing poker Mike, but I wouldn't enjoy meeting you at the table

3 pints later who knows

Do you think the 'loan' company has done this?

Mark, I don't know anything about what's really going on, I''m just speculating based on all the publicly available information I've seen and heard.

What I do know is that we should have had a Supporters Trust set up a long time ago*. Also that the club should have, as I told Mark Dixon more times than I care to mention, set up a proper Customer Relationship Management system to gather information on fans, supporters, sponsors etc. There is nothing to my knowledge and, in our hour of need, that would have been invaluable.

It's hard to believe we've been in the Football League for so long yet there are many non-league teams that were better run than us. As fans we've put so much faith in PMG and others that we've lost sight of the sheer scale of the problem.

We've been walking along a highly lethal cliff edge for years, knowing we've been walking along the cliff edge, slipped off the cliff edge a couple of times and even shoved a few people over the cliff edge just so we can stay on the cliff edge - and still we've done nothing. Now we're hanging from the cliff edge by our fingertips hoping a man in a white dress will come along and pull us up are now contemplating doing something. At the moment though, and as I said I know nothing else about what's going on, it seems to be the strategy is just to wait and cling on as long as we can. Even shout for help might be a good idea and I hope at least someone is doing that but I imagine it is a few individuals at best.

Bleak assessment but we can pull ourselves over the edge if we're willing and at worst break the fall if we lose our grip.

* To those who say why didn't you do it? I'd say the same back. I'd then say that I did challenge the 'former' owners and managers over this many times and fell out over it. I also put in many thousands of pounds and hundreds of man hours while at my former company and personally to setup the FLI websites, club shop, Globe Arena site, social media accounts (even paying out of my own money to promote the Shangai Clever former players games) and much more and rarely, if ever, got a word of thanks bar a name on a plaque. It leaves you cold after a while.

[marky No.1]

^^^

Sad but true

[KenH]

We can only hope that the new owners and the rest of the directors realise the errors made, both recently and over the past several years in terms of poor communication and not engaging with the huge number of supporters who are able and willing to give their time, expertise and maybe even money to help make the club stronger in so many different ways. Just how it used to be.

The move to the Globe and the "corporatisation" has been the catalyst for the current "them and us" situation. Long term fans and helpers have been alienated and far too many have just walked away. If the new owners and the board genuinely want to take the club onwards and upwards, they need to reverse the last few years and find ways to work WITH fans again rather than just treating them like cash cows.

[Seasider9601]

The move to the Globe and the "corporatisation" has been the catalyst for the current "them and us" situation.

Indeed Ken.

Wild Boar Steak anyone?

I've said it all along. Football club, not golf club.

Let's get OUR club back.

[Christies Child]

The move to the Globe and the "corporatisation" has been the catalyst for the current "them and us" situation.

Indeed Ken.

Wild Boar Steak anyone?

I've said it all along. Football club, not golf club.

Let's get OUR club back.

No sporting club can survive without 'corporatisation' but it should not be at the exclusion of the 'bread and butter...turn out in any weather' fan who some suggest is what has happened at our club.

For me BOTH sections need to be catered for and this is an area that our new owners (assuming that they are in it for the long term) need to address.

I'm hearing good things about our new Commercial Manager who has a difficult task in energising funds for our club. Let's hope that under his guidance that BOTH sides of the coin will develop.