Uncle Clarke part 812

[Taelee73]

Crazy to support a team, but not go because you don't like/rate the manager.

As for the owner, without him we would of disappeared into oblivion years ago. There was no other interest, do people not understand this?
There would still be no interest now either. Whatever his long term plan!/motives, we'd not have a Professional club as we speak if not for him. We may well go down the drain in the future because of the way he runs the club, the money he's loaning us, but his money/loans have meant we continue to have a club to support.

Enjoy the ride today and next season as one day it'll probably end.

[madgull]

We may well go down the drain in the future because of the way he runs the club, the money he's loaning us, but his money/loans have meant we continue to have a club to support.

This is my concern, who is ever going to take us off him? Let's say in a year we've failed to win promotion, Uncle Clarke pulls out, no-one is going to take on a club with 5/6 million of debt.

The club's survival then becomes "we HAVE to move", we agree a move to a small, 5k capacity multi-use stadium rented to us by Riviera Stadium Ltd, the council get a cheeky mil or two for Plainmoor, 150-odd houses get built on the site, netting Uncle Clarke a cool ~£40 million or so.

Makes throwing a few million at us a sensible (and much less charitable-seeming) investment on his behalf, I'd say.

Before I get the CO happy-clappers ask me what I'd do - get the council to agree to the above, but Riviera wipe out the debts as part of the deal / a sale and give the ground to the council, who allow us to rent it on the cheap in exchange for splitting profits of the extra facilities. Can't see any other way the club survives long-term.

[happytorq]

The club's survival then becomes "we HAVE to move", we agree a move to a small, 5k capacity multi-use stadium rented to us by Riviera Stadium Ltd, the council get a cheeky mil or two for Plainmoor, 150-odd houses get built on the site, netting Uncle Clarke a cool ~£40 million or so.

I confess I dont know much about house building, but 150 houses? On the land upon which Plainmoor currently sits?! I don't understand how there's the space for that.

[dawlishmatt]

No moaning from me. I've always liked him too. I hope he gets a new 2 year deal to get us back up and have another crack, he was close before.

Two year deal SG?. Johnson should be serving 2 years in Dartmoor prison for fraud for impersonating a football manager!!!!!!

[madgull]

I confess I dont know much about house building, but 150 houses? On the land upon which Plainmoor currently sits?! I don't understand how there's the space for that.

That's from a quick (and equally amateur) Google maps look comparing to some of the terraced houses nearby, but imagine in reality there will be at least a couple of flat blocks perhaps, probs even more profitable that way....

[Admiral]

This is my concern, who is ever going to take us off him? Let's say in a year we've failed to win promotion, Uncle Clarke pulls out, no-one is going to take on a club with 5/6 million of debt.

The club's survival then becomes "we HAVE to move", we agree a move to a small, 5k capacity multi-use stadium rented to us by Riviera Stadium Ltd, the council get a cheeky mil or two for Plainmoor, 150-odd houses get built on the site, netting Uncle Clarke a cool ~£40 million or so.

Makes throwing a few million at us a sensible (and much less charitable-seeming) investment on his behalf, I'd say.

Before I get the CO happy-clappers ask me what I'd do - get the council to agree to the above, but Riviera wipe out the debts as part of the deal / a sale and give the ground to the council, who allow us to rent it on the cheap in exchange for splitting profits of the extra facilities. Can't see any other way the club survives long-term.

Under no circumstances should we ever play in a stadium owned by Osborne. Then we’d eventually be both clubless and groundless!

[standupsitdown]

Under no circumstances should we ever play in a stadium owned by Osborne. Then we’d eventually be both clubless and groundless!

Totally agree.

[SuperNickyWroe]

Crazy to support a team, but not go because you don't like/rate the manager.

As for the owner, without him we would of disappeared into oblivion years ago. There was no other interest, do people not understand this?
There would still be no interest now either. Whatever his long term plan!/motives, we'd not have a Professional club as we speak if not for him. We may well go down the drain in the future because of the way he runs the club, the money he's loaning us, but his money/loans have meant we continue to have a club to support.

Enjoy the ride today and next season as one day it'll probably end.

Not quite correct I'm afraid.....
Osborne called in his debt for money owed and the club was his.
There were other interested parties before that happened, but for whatever reason, they wern't given the time of day.
I cant be ars*d to go through all the details again...
Troll back in the threads if you're bothered.
So GI took over and Osborne "created" Riviera Stadium Ltd to "run" the club...

[Southampton Gull]

Two year deal SG?. Johnson should be serving 2 years in Dartmoor prison for fraud for impersonating a football manager!!!!!!

Irony at its very best considering the crap you've tried passing off since you joined.......

[Mr Tea808]

I think GJ will be kept on, sadly I can see this from a mile off, for me and most fans it needs a fresh manager, with good ideas and a new positive outlook, it's gone very stale and it needs a clear out of manager, backroom staff and playing personel, but this will cost money, and Osborne wouldn't fund all that, it's all a bit to cosy behind the scenes...I do respect GJ for what he's achieved in the game, you cannot not , but it's 100% time he walked away and retired..

[culmstockgull]

Madgull , I thnk your figures are somewhat optimistic, I reckon 75 houses tops unless you go to blocks of flats, if he got the swimming pool, car park and the grass area that backs onto westlands lane just maybe 150. But the loss of community facilities would probably cost half the councillors their jobs, more of that later.
If you add up all the money he has loaned the club , house building costs on plainmoor, the costs of a new stadium and I do not see a profit.
We still have the conundrum of what is in it for Osborne,he is a businessman used to making a profit,if he doesnt, he has no qualms about closing things down.I think his original plan which is pretty much what we all believe was buy the club on the cheap, invest for a year or two to show willing , get the freehold for plainmoor, get the council to stump up some land, build a new stadium which he then owns or at least controls.Within the first 18 months that plan fell apart,no freehold and the council under the lib dems they say NO to any land or even any tangible support for the club.
Yet, he is still here, still funding the club, so what are his options, quietly fund prospective candidates in the torbay elections who are more sympathetic to his vision, seen that done in several parts of the country Tower hamlets for a start where the whole council was bought. Find a gullible billionaire to give him his money back with interest, more chance of winning the FA cup. He Is I agree is all about control although in our case remotely, even if he owned any new stadium and decided he wanted to pull out of football what is he going to do with a emoty stadium other than knock it down and put something else on it, which is even more costs.

[brucie]

Look at the stats. After Andrews left in January we fielded a striker on the bench in only ONE game for the remainder of the season.

In all the season games our substitutes contributed a total of 3 goals. Dorking subs contributed 15 goals.

It hardly needs a brain of britain to work out that our lack of fire power was a major factor in our relegation. Not having a back up striker on the bench cost us big time.

Such squad mismanagement is criminal - our league status was tossed away.

I'd just like to ask toastkid if he thinks that playing without a striker on the bench from January to the end of the season is acceptable. Obviously that is the fault of the manager so he's got to be responsible.

[happytorq]

Look at the stats. After Andrews left in January we fielded a striker on the bench in only ONE game for the remainder of the season.

disagree with you here. 57 goals is better than 10 teams in the division. in contrast only 4 teams have conceded more than us. So it's not "not scoring goals" that's doomed us.

I don't have the numbers to hand - or the patience to find them - but if I had to guess I'd say it's a lack of focus that's cost us points more than any one particular stat.how many times we were in possession of a decent result going into the last half an hour or so and then still managed to throw them away.

just off the top of my head I can think of Dagenham (h), Southend (h), Bromley (h), Altrincham (a), Yeovil (a), Maidenhead (h) - this one in the 4th or 5th minute of stoppage time; if that stayed a draw, we'd be out of the relegation zone - and the true sickener for me, Dorking (a). got noses in front of being behind just prior to HT, then Evans gets sent off and we collapse like a flan in a cupboard. I don't know how much you can blame the manager for players failing to do that basic stuff necessary to at least make Dorking fight for any point. think we let the same goal in twice, with 15 minutes of going a man down. whatever level you play at, that's laughable.

[Southampton Gull]

Strikers cost money. It's obvious to anyone that we weren't blessed with a budget to have the luxury of a striking talent sat on the bench. Not saying you're wrong but our meagre squad was bulked out with loanees who presumably didn't cost much and only at the death were we able to recruit players and look where they were plucked from. No matter what your views are on the culpability of the Manager I'm of the opinion he did the best he could within a limited budget.

[desperado]

Those are incredible statistics.
So unlike Johnson who in the past often had 3 or 4 strikers on the bench.
Even at the start of the season we only had Goodwin, Jarvis who was out for the first 10 games, and the useless Andrews.
I even found some games at the start of the season when we had no striker on the bench.