Club in Tatters?

**Rovers Maniac** · 08/07/2008, 9:34 AM

Originally Posted by akearins

A meeting of just shareholders to me is just wrong.I know more fans who go to every home and away game, are season ticket holders, 400 club members and lottery buyers but not shareholders so they are not entitled to atend but will be the same people who will be approached to provide financial assiatance. At every AGM 30-40 shareholders turn up and only a handful have anything to say.
At the last AGM it was suggested and agreed that a public meeting must be held, but no sign of it Now is the ideal time for this and get tell teh fans exactly the position we are in and what we can do to ride this out.
I mean its not 40 or so shareholders who keep the club afloat its the masses who now need to be feel included.
Id say open this meeting up to anyone who wants to come, make all feel welcome and part of the club, for this has been a grievence with supporters in the past.Just look at Hughie Blain who organised Poker classics and is constalntly tryiong to raise funds for the club, is someone like him not entitled to listen to what has to be said at this meeting and maybe sugegst some solutions or do we let loyal fans hear it second hand.

Id say open up to the public,set out a frameowrk for the meeting and limit speakers from the floor to a set and agreed time to allow everyone have their say.

If it really is a community club as we are told then open it up to the entire Sligo Rovers community

Totally agree should be opened to these people.

**sligo1** · 08/07/2008, 10:32 AM

Hi Alan,
Does the Trust not have 2 members on the committee and if so are they not able to report back to the Trust with up to date reports?
I thought the idea of Trust members on the committee would be a link between the people running the club and the ordinary supporter.
Out of curiousity,how is the Trust getting on?Have you anything lined up?

**akearins** · 08/07/2008, 11:04 AM

True we do have members on the management committee and glad to say if we require anything to be asked at managemet level or any proposals they will bring them to the meetings.We do not recieve any top secret information or nothing that would not be printed in the local media.Also if they require any assiatance from the trust they will ask us.

As for Trust activities we are in the process of developing the new website, we have a fundraising race night planned for August and we scheduled a supporetrs BBQ for the Cork game in Harrys Rosses point, but now the game is switched to Sunday we will need to re-schedule this.We still put up posters around town for the Home games and organise the buses (Feo and David deserve credit for this).Also we have our own merchandise which we hope to advertise on the site when complete.
Also waiting on 2 new flags for matches to arrive.

We now meet every fortnight in the glasshouse 7-8 so anyone who would like to come along your more than welcome

**dublinred** · 08/07/2008, 3:11 PM

Originally Posted by Rovers Maniac

Totally agree should be opened to these people.

Must be open to everyone if things are as bad as the rumours and we lose another 2 players this week.

**Redzer** · 08/07/2008, 3:30 PM

Well it's not as if a election is going to take place. So there's no reason not to allow ordinary fans into the meeting.
Everything that happens will be in the public very soon after anyways. It seems from some of the previous posters that they know exactly whats happening, so the official secret act will not be breeched.
Let in anyone who is genuinely interested in the future of Sligo Rovers. Everyone has a part to play if we are to be successful.

**akearins** · 08/07/2008, 3:45 PM

Let in anyone who is genuinely interested in the future of Sligo Rovers. Everyone has a part to play if we are to be successful

Spot on Redzer after all its the masses that will donate to any fundraisers so should be invitede to attend.You cant exclude the majority and then expect them to assit financially.

The club doesnt belong to just the shareholders it belongs to everyone

**clubman** · 08/07/2008, 5:41 PM

Unfortunately with all the goodwill in the world at the end of the day this is just a meeting and that's all. Nothing will and can be decided regarding the running of the club or otherwise. If any motions were to be proposed on the night nothing can be discussed as there is no agenda other than fundraising. The statement from the club on the back page of the Weekender speaks volumes for the tone of this meeting. So if you are prepared to grab a lotto book and walk the streets of sligo then this meeting is where you can sign up. If you are interested in proposing suggestions or supporting any good suggestions on how they future of our club can be made secure then unfortunately this meeting won't or can't discuss this.
At the last AGM a member from the floor asked for an EGM be called and nothing has come of his request.

**Redzer** · 08/07/2008, 7:13 PM

All so true, Clubman. So whats the reason for members only? Afraid they will hear a few alternatives suggestions?
So it's the same old faces again and again. And as for your friend who called the EGM, I guess half the meeting will be taken up listening to him go on and on.
As you say if we sell a few lotto books and ask the players to take a pay cut, sure we'll get by.

**Knappagh Red** · 08/07/2008, 8:20 PM

People are talking on this thread as if membership is a closed shop, its the price of a pint a week for 3 years to be a member for life, people giving out about not being able to go to meetings should overcome their laziness and fill out a form and become a member. The membership was advertised in all the local papers for a month at the start of the season with a free season ticket for everyone who signed up, what more could the club do about it?

**clubman** · 08/07/2008, 9:45 PM

Originally Posted by Redzer

All so true, Clubman. So whats the reason for members only? Afraid they will hear a few alternatives suggestions?
So it's the same old faces again and again. And as for your friend who called the EGM, I guess half the meeting will be taken up listening to him go on and on.
As you say if we sell a few lotto books and ask the players to take a pay cut, sure we'll get by.

As I've mentioned in other posts it's all about changing the structure of the club.
Why members only?
I suppose the only answer to that one is that's how the club operates presently.
That's the rules.
So the obvious answer is become a member - the price of a pint as one person stated.
But as someone else asked where does the money generated go? Into ground development.
So the members (the people that make the decisions on how the club is run) have paid their membership money into a fund to develop the grounds and no money goes directly to the club. Yet the people that keep the club going on a weekly basis (the ordinary supporter) can't gain access to the meeting that decides the future of the club.
Should the structures be changed?

**sligo1** · 08/07/2008, 10:01 PM

Believe it or not the money should be sitting in an account in the Bank and only used to repay a member that wants to sell back his share or to a members family if the member dies.
I'm not sure if you can borrow against it though.
I wonder does that account exist and what would happen if every member wanted their shares redeemed at the one time!!

**red arrow** · 09/07/2008, 9:19 PM

clubman i agree with everything you posted and its well said. my idea of 500 x200 (or 200 x 500) is just that a short term solution which would give the club a bit of breathing space to tackle the long term problems. you hit the nail on the head when you said that we should be proud that we own our ground but unfortunately we are not utilising it to the full i.e. to generate income for the club. its absolutely useless having so many acres of prime land lying idle all thes years. not for one minute am i suggesting selling the ground to raise funds but why cant we bring some business person or persons on board who have the club at heart and the community and do something (maybe a 2nd all weather pitch) to generate an income for the club but that they can also draw from that income. the club would give them the land to develope it and both parties would share the income off it. this is just one idea. properly run (and that includes properly running the the current all weather pitch which nobody seems to know what is being earned of it) and on a professional basis they would generate circa k3 conservatively per week.
what about a bowling alley again properly and professionally run (like the one in carrick on shannon). there are so many options but at the moment we all know the big stumbling block is THE TRUST. i use the word trust as a general statement but from what i hear not all the members are against developement on a wider scale so that the club can benefit financially from it without selling any of the ground. this is a very important part of the "restructuring" of the club. but there are many stumbling blocks and hurdles to surmount and this has being the cancer for a long time now. this is what needs to be sorted out. this is what the general public should be calling for and have a right to know. why all the cloak and dagger over the years. is it not time to shine a light on the murkey ongoings once and for all. then an d only then can the club move forward. i fear for our current situation greatly because we have agood team a good manager but now we need a miralce. i do believe and am led to believe that there are bodies out there who are willing to come on board and secure the future of sligo rovers but only if ther is total transparency. this will not happen this year as the first move on the chess board has to be made by the "trust" then when the way is made clear the good people will come.

**SligoBrewer** · 09/07/2008, 9:26 PM

Originally Posted by red arrow

. there are so many options but at the moment we all know the big stumbling block is THE TRUST. i use the word trust as a general statement but from what i hear not all the members are against developement on a wider scale so that the club can benefit financially from it without selling any of the ground. this is a very important part of the "restructuring" of the club.

. this will not happen this year as the first move on the chess board has to be made by the "trust" then when the way is made clear the good people will come.

What ****ing Tosh. The trust have done nothing but good work since it was established and yet you attack them. Idiot.

**Rovers fan** · 09/07/2008, 9:32 PM

Originally Posted by SligoBrewer

What ****ing Tosh. The trust have done nothing but good work since it was established and yet you attack them. Idiot.

Is he not on about the trust who own the ground? I could be wrong

.

**SligoBrewer** · 09/07/2008, 9:35 PM

Originally Posted by Rovers fan

Is he not on about the trust who own the ground? I could be wrong

.

Well then he should have said the Trustees.

**srfc1928** · 09/07/2008, 9:36 PM

Originally Posted by red arrow

clubman i agree with everything you posted and its well said. my idea of 500 x200 (or 200 x 500) is just that a short term solution which would give the club a bit of breathing space to tackle the long term problems. you hit the nail on the head when you said that we should be proud that we own our ground but unfortunately we are not utilising it to the full i.e. to generate income for the club. its absolutely useless having so many acres of prime land lying idle all thes years. not for one minute am i suggesting selling the ground to raise funds but why cant we bring some business person or persons on board who have the club at heart and the community and do something (maybe a 2nd all weather pitch) to generate an income for the club but that they can also draw from that income. the club would give them the land to develope it and both parties would share the income off it. this is just one idea. properly run (and that includes properly running the the current all weather pitch which nobody seems to know what is being earned of it) and on a professional basis they would generate circa k3 conservatively per week.
what about a bowling alley again properly and professionally run (like the one in carrick on shannon). there are so many options but at the moment we all know the big stumbling block is THE TRUST. i use the word trust as a general statement but from what i hear not all the members are against developement on a wider scale so that the club can benefit financially from it without selling any of the ground. this is a very important part of the "restructuring" of the club. but there are many stumbling blocks and hurdles to surmount and this has being the cancer for a long time now. this is what needs to be sorted out. this is what the general public should be calling for and have a right to know. why all the cloak and dagger over the years. is it not time to shine a light on the murkey ongoings once and for all. then an d only then can the club move forward. i fear for our current situation greatly because we have agood team a good manager but now we need a miralce. i do believe and am led to believe that there are bodies out there who are willing to come on board and secure the future of sligo rovers but only if ther is total transparency. this will not happen this year as the first move on the chess board has to be made by the "trust" then when the way is made clear the good people will come.

Great post Red Arrow, its crazy that the club is sitting on acres of land a stones throw from the town centre. Sligo is lacking in so many recreational facitities that this land could facilitate. Arena 7 in Letterkenny is a classic example of what could be achieved on a small area of land i.e bowling, bar , restaraunt, arcade, play area etc. all this was made by converting an old potatoe chip factory ! Im not saying sell the land but it should be better utilised

**clubman** · 09/07/2008, 9:47 PM

I've no doubt red arrow that you're a true Rover. Yet when I read your post there are many similarities of posts on Rovers boards down through the years. The most important issue on all levels is the club - SRFC. No matter where the topic of Rovers raises it's head everyone has an opinion. Eventually the finger pointing starts and eventually it will rest on the shoulders of one man. Unfortunately it's not as clear cut as it might seem. Rovers and contraversy seem to go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other. There's a businessman in Sligo Town, very well respected both in business and in football, who when asked on how the situation in the Showgrounds can be resolved once and for all he will give his opinion. It's a very detailed opinion and I've heard him express it time and time again. Basically what he suggests is the the club should start from scratch. Drastic measures are required here and it will take a huge decision along the way for someone to be brave enough to stand up and lead the way. In order for the club to start from scratch it will first have to hit rock bottom. Looking and listening what is happening to our club one can only assume that the time has come. In just a matter of weeks as a football club we will be down to the bear bones - playerwise. There will be absolutely nothing to work on going into next season and if the monster is a man of his word he'll have walked. 2009 looks like when SRFC will have hit rock bottom if all the signs are true. Then it will be time for a new beginning or just fade away.
Like you red arrow I too have heard the stories regarding the business people waiting in the wings. Like you, my love for Rovers enables me to live in the hope that it is true.

**sligoman** · 09/07/2008, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by SligoBrewer

What ****ing Tosh. The trust have done nothing but good work since it was established and yet you attack them. Idiot.

, clearly he is talking about the ground "owners"

**deecay** · 09/07/2008, 10:15 PM

If only they built the astro beside the railway track

**Rovers Maniac** · 09/07/2008, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by clubman

I've no doubt red arrow that you're a true Rover. Yet when I read your post there are many similarities of posts on Rovers boards down through the years. The most important issue on all levels is the club - SRFC. No matter where the topic of Rovers raises it's head everyone has an opinion. Eventually the finger pointing starts and eventually it will rest on the shoulders of one man. Unfortunately it's not as clear cut as it might seem. Rovers and contraversy seem to go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other. There's a businessman in Sligo Town, very well respected both in business and in football, who when asked on how the situation in the Showgrounds can be resolved once and for all he will give his opinion. It's a very detailed opinion and I've heard him express it time and time again. Basically what he suggests is the the club should start from scratch. Drastic measures are required here and it will take a huge decision along the way for someone to be brave enough to stand up and lead the way. In order for the club to start from scratch it will first have to hit rock bottom. Looking and listening what is happening to our club one can only assume that the time has come. In just a matter of weeks as a football club we will be down to the bear bones - playerwise. There will be absolutely nothing to work on going into next season and if the monster is a man of his word he'll have walked. 2009 looks like when SRFC will have hit rock bottom if all the signs are true. Then it will be time for a new beginning or just fade away.
Like you red arrow I too have heard the stories regarding the business people waiting in the wings. Like you, my love for Rovers enables me to live in the hope that it is true.

Thank god you are EX MC (well i hope you are), what an opinion want the club to fold after 80 bloody years you want our club to fold? We have something clubs would give their right hand for and that is a sense of pride and tradition. People have bloody worked themselves to the bone over 80 years, look at Cork how many clubs have they gone through? And you want to throw all that away some clubman you are.