Can we change

[pcplod]

Can we change
As I start this thread i want to make it clear that it i not a reflection on anybody of how the club i being run or who is running it. This thread is for people who want our club to survive and thrive in the future so i am asking anybody who wants to bring negativity to do it someplace else.

For a long time now any money that comes into the club is swallowed up by the cost of having a semi- professional football team. Any revenue we had is gone due to this same reason. As a result the club as whole has suffered hugely, we have no training pitch, no pitches for our schoolboys or ladies teams to play on and a clubhouse that is in bad need of repair.

If you take a step back and look at the whole club and not just the LOI team it is in need of a complete overhaul. Financially we as a club cannot afford to be paying wages every week to the senior football team at this present time but with carefull planning and time we can build our club to be one of the strongest in the country.

First we need to go completly amature with our football, I am not saying leave LOI before you all go crazy i am saying stay in LOI football but without such extravagant overspending. We need to invest in our schoolboys so that in five years time when we have financial stability we will also have players of quality at our disposal.

The only area were money does come in regularly is falling down around us if we can develop this then i am sure even more revenue can be gained from this.

I am not offering a quick fix here i am offering a plan which will take five maybe ten years but in the lifetime of our club that is a small price to pay. We need to take the preesure of finding wages for players every week away so that we can get investors and fundraise properly, basically i am saying if we go amature for a few years we will have breathing space to try and build our club up instead of slowly but surely running it down.

I finally would like to ask everyone to be productive with your input into wedensday meeting and not let it be wasted on the blame game as we need to be frank and honest so that we may be able to grow as a club and not wither away

[rambler14]

Can we change???........................YES WE CAN!:D

[Ram72]

Yes of course we can change.
But do we want to change?
Some of us do and others dont.

[don ramo]

Can we change
As I start this thread i want to make it clear that it i not a reflection on anybody of how the club i being run or who is running it. This thread is for people who want our club to survive and thrive in the future so i am asking anybody who wants to bring negativity to do it someplace else.

For a long time now any money that comes into the club is swallowed up by the cost of having a semi- professional football team. Any revenue we had is gone due to this same reason. As a result the club as whole has suffered hugely, we have no training pitch, no pitches for our schoolboys or ladies teams to play on and a clubhouse that is in bad need of repair.

If you take a step back and look at the whole club and not just the LOI team it is in need of a complete overhaul. Financially we as a club cannot afford to be paying wages every week to the senior football team at this present time but with carefull planning and time we can build our club to be one of the strongest in the country.

First we need to go completly amature with our football, I am not saying leave LOI before you all go crazy i am saying stay in LOI football but without such extravagant overspending. We need to invest in our schoolboys so that in five years time when we have financial stability we will also have players of quality at our disposal.

The only area were money does come in regularly is falling down around us if we can develop this then i am sure even more revenue can be gained from this.

I am not offering a quick fix here i am offering a plan which will take five maybe ten years but in the lifetime of our club that is a small price to pay. We need to take the preesure of finding wages for players every week away so that we can get investors and fundraise properly, basically i am saying if we go amature for a few years we will have breathing space to try and build our club up instead of slowly but surely running it down.

I finally would like to ask everyone to be productive with your input into wedensday meeting and not let it be wasted on the blame game as we need to be frank and honest so that we may be able to grow as a club and not wither away

its not neagtive its just more realsitic, we cant go amature, it would cripple us, you forget there is now relegation in teh first division, there should be a set structure put in place, and not be deviated from unless we change division, you get a squad of 20 players, 14 of which will get E100 a week, the other 6 get E50 a week, thats E3400 every 2 weeks, you put in a win bonus and a clean sheet bonus, of say E400 2 for the win and 2 for the clean sheet, that money is put into an account that can only be accesed with 6 signatures (3 players 3 commitee mambers) and the money is split evenly amongst the players at the end of season, like a christmass bonus youd get in any other job, you can maybe add on goal bonuses aswell but thats a direct payment to one person,

the bar, oh the bar, what can we say about this, firstly it isnt falling down (in what sense is this happening cause its not physical) some people are jut odd and wont drink there for whatever reason(maybe the like to get there tea for free), i personally would prefer to go to the clubhouse for a few rather than the town, but like any other pub with similar problems theres just notin you can do its purely down to personal preference,

youths probably the most hit with the current state of the clubs infrastructure, i dunno whats happening with local busineses helping out and a few good spirited people, but ive heard there are talks that we may have a training pitch next year, if only for the youths to play there games on, and let just the senior team in coleman park (playing and training) and everyone else use the training pitch, realistically we need 3 if not 4 pitches sure we have from under (what) 7s to 20s, ladies, dunno but i think the A team is gone, and the senior team, theres lot of teams and they were spread over i think 3 pitches last year, it is somthimg that has to addressed quickly


our problems are no more worse or better than other clubs, every club has problems, we will look after our ones, and help out where we can, but the handfull that do help out need more help, its our job as fans to help

[pcplod]

Have a look closely at clubhouse it is damper than pitch i am there at least twice a week freecing with the cold it is a fact wake up

[bellavistaman]

i always think its too warm if anything no air con

[don ramo]

god another 2 hour sweataton wednesday,

the clubhouse had a new roof put on only 2 years ago, i find it very comfortable whenever im there

[jebus]

Criticise Cobh all you want lads, but I won't hear a bad word said against that tidy little bar you lot have down there.

:mad:

:p

Seriously though it's a good spot :)

[don ramo]

Criticise Cobh all you want lads, but I won't hear a bad word said against that tidy little bar you lot have down there.

:mad:

:p

Seriously though it's a good spot

its a great spot:)

[pcplod]

I never said it wasnt a great spot i really enjoy going there but if it was refurbished IMO it would generate even more business have a look at wall where the board is in the lounge and you will see what i am getting at.

It does get fierce warm in there but it also gets unreal cold in winter nights.when there is only the bare few in there you would nearly need thermals on.

[Redshanks]

Jasus, I cant believe people would go on the defensive to avoid a serious debate about facilities (existing and absent ones).
I dont think Plod was attacking anyone but merely advocating a change in our way of thinking, with a particular emphansis on the future and youth.
All Iv'e seen so far by the above posts, are some weak excuses to leave things as they are -"theres nothing at all wrong with our club -feck off".

As for the clubhouse- it is damp, just look a bit left of the board where the roll of chairmans/ officers names are and you will see the paint peeling off the wall. It is old and sometimes cold. The days of bucket to collect rainwater are gone but it still needs an overhaul.
The chairman told us once that the building was designed as a pigery. The clubhouse is but one small aspect of our problems -Need I say more!

The question by Plod should be changed from not "can we change" to
"DO WE WANT TO CHANGE"?

[rambler14]

I was told by several people over the weekend that the taxman is due to make an unfriendly call today along with the county sheriff:eek:
This could mean the end which would mean we'll have no time to change!:(

[jamesd]

I have been accused of been negative in the past and as been admitted before, I have been wrong.

But I must say that a lot of what plod has been saying is worth considering. I am not sure I would call it going amatuer as that phrase can cause a lot of fear and unrest.
I would call it using the talents and skills of less expensive players but who when given the chance can be every bit as good if not better than some of those who have gone before them.

Another way to cut costs is for people to volunteer to drive to games and bring the team with them. I know its not ideal, but damn it, other clubs do it and they get on with it. Look at Cobh Mens Basketball Club, They do it all the time and they won promotion to Division One. Next step for them is National League!!

We can turn it around and we can change if we really want.

[don ramo]

I have been accused of been negative in the past and as been admitted before, I have been wrong.

But I must say that a lot of what plod has been saying is worth considering. I am not sure I would call it going amatuer as that phrase can cause a lot of fear and unrest.
I would call it using the talents and skills of less expensive players but who when given the chance can be every bit as good if not better than some of those who have gone before them.

Another way to cut costs is for people to volunteer to drive to games and bring the team with them. I know its not ideal, but damn it, other clubs do it and they get on with it. Look at Cobh Mens Basketball Club, They do it all the time and they won promotion to Division One. Next step for them is National League!!

We can turn it around and we can change if we really want.

i wouldnt consider a 6 hour trip in a car and arriveing an hour before the game good preperation for a game, its a good idea, but the basketball team probably were playin mainly cork teams, were in a national league,

no way will the club go amateur, it just wont work, you could give it a go but we all know what will happen, we have to be more realistic with our costs and not give what we dont have, no matter how good the player is,

also i think we need to take the hit and hire a qualified person to take over the day to day running of the club, volunteer work will only take us so far, you need full time professionals to run this club, over a million euro came through the club in 2007, you cant be depending on volunteers to keep track of that sort if money, no matter how qualified they are, they still have jobs that have to take priority,

[rambler14]

Another way to cut costs is for people to volunteer to drive to games and bring the team with them. I know its not ideal, but damn it, other clubs do it and they get on with it. Look at Cobh Mens Basketball Club, They do it all the time and they won promotion to Division One. Next step for them is National League!!


Didn't they disband last year?

[jamesd]

Didn't they disband last year?

No they actually got promoted from Division 2!!

Look, I realise there are no quick fixes and as I already said, using the word amatuer is frightening to say the least, but think of it this way. If we were to say we have a professional club, then players are entitled to expect professional wages.

I would rather have 15 or 20 people who wanted to play regarless of what they get back, rather than having a wage bill that will cripple the club.

[Redshanks]

Spot on there Jamesd.
I see R14's contribution to this was to relate a five month old rumour that the Taxman and sheriff were calling to the club today. He also seemed to be taken in by what appears to be another false rumour regarding the demise of Cobh Basketball club.
Why dont people ever run with good-news rumours?

The fact that people are still talking about the taxman breathing down our necks is there because we know he or she will eventually make that call. Surely that in itself should put this professional/amature debate in its proper context.
We won Division 1 last year and can do again, but lets build and learn to walk again before we try to run. I would prefer for us to take five years to reach that stage again where we have a healthy-strong and committed club thats ready for the challenges ahead, rather than a badly prepared single team club that limps from one game to the next and still doesnt know if it will be around for the next season!
A club with with more than one team and rooted in its youth, will also have away bigger support and community base!

I take on board Jamesd point about not using the A word and to call it something else!

[marty]

Would be great if we can push on and start making sense,i agree we should be amature to an extent maybe only paying expences to players at least we could guarantee the players that we attract would be giving 100 per cent.The town is full of businessmen and it really could be sorted within the town without the need for heavy investment from ppl we dont know......Unfortunatly if the current board are still in place next year I and a few more like me will be no longer supporting the club financially I just cant find it within me to support such a shower--Change starts from the top then and only then will this club be anb attraction to support.

[don ramo]

stop complainging about the board how about people get behind then rather than be against anything they do,
what the hell do you expect them to do on a voulntary basis, and who would want the position barry has with all the ***** that comes with it, some of the stuff said about barry is totally uncalled for,
a debth built up dureing his tenure a debth that could just as easily be E300,000, or the E1,000,000 that i heard at one stage,

people talk a lot about facts they dont know, all you people who seem to know a lot, i will be sitting at the back wednesday night waiting for your knowledge to be bestowed upon me,

im personnally looking forward to hearing the flies

[marty]

Its not 300,000k,you really are missing the point he has not got the best interests of the club at heart surely this has been seen the way he led everyone along through the season with no records or data.PPl are already walking away that have been around for years yet its deemed acceptable by the likes of you. Wasnt it you don who stated lastyear "Sure worst case we might lose the bar" it was said in relation to our horrendous debt situation.Its ppl who come out with statements like this really have the wool firmly over their eyes.

[don ramo]

Its not 300,000k,you really are missing the point he has not got the best interests of the club at heart surely this has been seen the way he led everyone along through the season with no records or data.PPl are already walking away that have been around for years yet its deemed acceptable by the likes of you. Wasnt it you don who stated lastyear "Sure worst case we might lose the bar" it was said in relation to our horrendous debt situation.Its ppl who come out with statements like this really have the wool firmly over their eyes.

no wool hear, just a not blindly follow sheep who dont know where there goin, fact of the matter is barry is chairman and will be for at least 14 more months, and unless a suitable replacement is there when election time comes hell be here a lot longer,

this is the reality of cobh ramblers in december 2008, do you hate barry so much that youll happily stand by while the club burns to the ground, the way its made out is, that if barry doesnt go there will be no fans here come march,
im not a political person, im just in touch with reality and know what i have to do to help cobh ramblers and wont let some petty stuff spoil it for me, ive heard so much bull **** the last few months people doing anything to discredit the man, so he got us in debth, so did other chairmans, you also forget with his conections he raised a substantial amount to help the club, during the sunderland game, he does ticket sales and other fundraisers, not to mention he negotiated a very nice deal with goodyear this year, he made us tax compliant once to get the development done, now hell have to do it again, and i believe he can,



P.S i never said it was E300,000 read what i said properly

[Redshanks]

There is one word of wisdom in what Don Ramo said there. Regardless of what is said or not said at tomorrow nights meeting, it does seem that some people are prepared to cut off their noses despite their faces. Let the club burn rather leave Barry Walsh there to serve his term out to the next election.
No patience - just pure and blind hatred.
If this club is to be saved -movement must come now, not in 14 months time when the current chairmans term is up and its too late!

[marty]

I dont hate the man just dont agree with his plan for the club he seems to be doing things backwards,bottom line their needs to be a seperate commitee set up for the youths which the current board will have nothing to do with and this needs to be about securing the underage future for the club and town.The sunderland game would have went ahead no matter who was in charge that was more to do with keane

[Redshanks]

Everything you said there Marty is correct, but the seperate committee you mention will hardly be created with the blessing of the existing committee, nor are they likely to step aside just because it might be the right thing to do.
We badly need to come up with a way of bringing about these changes now.

Lets all be honest here. - We all know our club is terminally ill and we have been fed a slow drip-feed to this reality for the last 6 and more months. Some of us may even be relieved when it finally happens, some are very sad and desperately want to find a cure, while others still are in blatant denial.

My guess is that we all will be feeling just the same way when we leave that meeting tonight - but does that mean we should walk away -or do we believe our club is worht saving?

[Ram72]

Lets go to the meeting tonight with an open mind and leave the chairman tell us how bad things really are, and let him tell us what plan is in place to get the club out of the mess it is in. If there is no plan in place or going to be put in place it will be time for both the chairman and committee to step down and leave new people in to run the club and and start putting things right.
We have had several meetings this year and there hasn't been any plans put in place to keep the club afloat.
So let's go in tonight with an open mind and keep the meeting constructive and don't let it turn into a slagging match like previous meetings, because that wont do anyone any good especially the club.

[Redshanks]

You cant go in there with an open mind when you know well that some people are more interested in ousting the existing chairman and committee than they are about finding solutions.
Remember the Chairman and his squad have 14 months left to serve and will not step down for anyone, simply because they technically did nothing wrong but have run the club in the same way and under the same structures as all who had come before them. If there is anything wrong with how things are done, its down to us for failing to deal with the existing structures under the constitution -you know that one which no one wants to discuss or consider changing!

I personally woul;dnt blame them for not wanting to step down -Why should they when we insist on giving them the tools to remain where they are!

[6yardpunisha]

Lets go to the meeting tonight with an open mind and leave the chairman tell us how bad things really are, and let him tell us what plan is in place to get the club out of the mess it is in. If there is no plan in place or going to be put in place it will be time for both the chairman and committee to step down and leave new people in to run the club and and start putting things right.
We have had several meetings this year and there hasn't been any plans put in place to keep the club afloat.
So let's go in tonight with an open mind and keep the meeting constructive and don't let it turn into a slagging match like previous meetings, because that wont do anyone any good especially the club.

spot on but going by past performances it becomes another slagging match with disputes and arguments from 20 years ago still coming to the fore, IMO this club is beyond redemption until all the past disputes are put aside and the club members work together. This i think will never happen and I would say the AGM will be my last meeting to attend as im so p****d off with the whole lot up there.