General Consortium Takeover - News and Rumours

[Essexyellows]

Well Kidlington is somebody’s back yard and as you say these serious businessmen won’t move forward without confidence.
They haven’t moved forward since March so perhaps their confidence on a new site is low
Another question
If land can’t be found/falls through will these serious businessmen leave?

Buying land is the easy bit.
And nobody will know barring those involved.
I would expect that purchase to be via some kind of holding company and could have happened years ago, last week or not yet.

In my experience landowners who are selling land with a caveat of bad news for locals (housing, warehouses, etc etc) tend to keep that very quiet, take the money, and retire out of the firing line.

 

[Colin B]

Name calling? I haven’t insulted you in anyway. The negativity you speak of must be to do with the OUSP, well sorry I don’t agree with it and I am certainly not alone I’m saying that.
I have no issues with the ownership change I have rightly asked when it will happen but not been rude about it amin any way. I quite rightly ask questions about the stadium as I and others are entitled to. You seem to know we are moving which if you been privileged to know first hand is fare enough.
Regarding the ITK’s possibly knowing but are responsible enough to not to post all over the internet is crap, they certainly don’t keep nothing else from the internet as responsible people so why now?
But I have in the past been rude to others as they have been rude to others as well so we will say no more on that.
My fat fingers have taken great pleasure in replying to your post as if memory serves me correct and I’m getting on in age so I maybe wrong but your post is the first you’ve replied or commented on to me.

I don't want to enter into a long chain of dialogue on this Bazzer, and your reply to me is reasonably balanced. But when you refer to "the ITKs" I presumed I was included in that, as someone who has knowledge of what's going on, and it was being referred to in this way that I found tiresome and unnecessary.

I know I'm in a privileged position, being on the inside of certain things, and I use that privilege wisely, which includes not posting confidential, or sensitive, information on here. But every now and then the unfounded negativity and scepticism (and there are many who post it) gets the better of me, and I feel the need to respond. I'll draw a line under it now by hoping that you'll trust me when I say that there are many many positive things happening in the background, that will set our club on its most positive path ever, but you'll just need to show a little more patience until all is revealed, and trust the process.

 

[bazzer9461]

I don't want to enter into a long chain of dialogue on this Bazzer, and your reply to me is reasonably balanced. But when you refer to "the ITKs" I presumed I was included in that, as someone who has knowledge of what's going on, and it was being referred to in this way that I found tiresome and unnecessary.

I know I'm in a privileged position, being on the inside of certain things, and I use that privilege wisely, which includes not posting confidential, or sensitive, information on here. But every now and then the unfounded negativity and scepticism (and there are many who post it) gets the better of me, and I feel the need to respond. I'll draw a line under it now by hoping that you'll trust me when I say that there are many many positive things happening in the background, that will set our club on its most positive path ever, but you'll just need to show a little more patience until all is revealed, and trust the process.

I do understand and yes I know you aren't always giving ITK information compared to others. You are intelligent enough to know when snippets of alleged ITK information people do react especially when ITK are either toying with members or have just fed some uncorroborated gossip, yes I'm one of those to react.
yes I do believe you when you say there are many positive things happening.
all the best.

 

[Essexyellows]

I don't want to enter into a long chain of dialogue on this Bazzer, and your reply to me is reasonably balanced. But when you refer to "the ITKs" I presumed I was included in that, as someone who has knowledge of what's going on, and it was being referred to in this way that I found tiresome and unnecessary.

I know I'm in a privileged position, being on the inside of certain things, and I use that privilege wisely, which includes not posting confidential, or sensitive, information on here. But every now and then the unfounded negativity and scepticism (and there are many who post it) gets the better of me, and I feel the need to respond. I'll draw a line under it now by hoping that you'll trust me when I say that there are many many positive things happening in the background, that will set our club on its most positive path ever, but you'll just need to show a little more patience until all is revealed, and trust the process.

Thanks for the update Colin and I am sure many of us do understand all the confidential stuff that some are privy to and that there are also some who think they are privy to the same!

The only thing that "sticks" for me is that the owners seem to forget us in the process.
They may well own it but it is our club as you say and without us what is there? Where are we on their radar? Are we there at all?
They`ll happily expect us to turn up, spend good money and endure the "facilities" but apart from that, we hear nothing except snippets or speculation.
As an example of "forgetting us", if a long-term supporter of the club stops spending £300+ after 30+ years does the Club care or want to know why?
Does someone like AT look at a database of these people and do anything?
Basic customer care keeps those people coming back and it is far too easy, especially in the post covid world, to lose them forever and that helps nobody.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

How do you know they haven't moved forward since March out of interest?

What I meant is we were told about the change of board in March and we’ve heard nothing since other than the ITK’s telling us it will happen

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Do you know that or is it total idle speculation?
My suspicion is that a huge amount is going on behind the scenes and just because it isn't in the public domain , that doesn't mean that ' they haven't moved forwards since March'.
Unless you know something most of us don't?

No Foley
Forgive me for being sceptical but my first game following the Yellows was back in 1966
In the seventies a new ground was brought up we waited
In the eighties a new ground was brought up we waited
In the nineties a new ground was built and left uncompleted
In naughties we were robbed blind and moved to a half built Algerian ruin
Since then we have been forced to pay extortionately high prices to stay there
New owners have come and gone and tried and failed to buy it or move nothing has happened
Now with new owners we are told by many on here be patient.
I’m now 66 how much longer have I got to wait, I fear by the time we have the promised stadium I may not be around to see it

 

[bazzer9461]

No Foley
Forgive me for being sceptical but my first game following the Yellows was back in 1966
In the seventies a new ground was brought up we waited
In the eighties a new ground was brought up we waited
In the nineties a new ground was built and left uncompleted
In naughties we were robbed blind and moved to a half built Algerian ruin
Since then we have been forced to pay extortionately high prices to stay there
New owners have come and gone and tried and failed to buy it or move nothing has happened
Now with new owners we are told by many on here be patient.
I’m now 66 how much longer have I got to wait, I fear by the time we have the promised stadium I may not be around to see it

I’m 60 and I’m thinking the same

 

[Essexyellows]

Instead of "ITKs" we will have to form "SIABs" - Seen It All Befores."

Me - aged 57.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

I’m 60 and I’m thinking the same

Yes us of a certain age being told be patient doesn’t work Im afraid

 

[SteMerritt]

Instead of "ITKs" we will have to form "SIABs" - Seen It All Befores."

Me - aged 57.

Do I qualify, being a mere youngster at 49? I'm firmly in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp after the ground move efforts of the 80s and 90s . Are there pin badges?

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Instead of "ITKs" we will have to form "SIABs" - Seen It All Befores."

Me - aged 57.

That’s the trouble Essex, we have lived through broken promises by various owners, have been taken on a journey in the wrong direction and still we wait for what we all dreamt of,a finished stadium
I remember going along to see the stadium being built at various stages and got so exited , thinking this is going to happen.
But it never did, the plans for the stadium when completed looked great alas we should have known.
I know I come across in a negative fashion to Scotchers, Colin and others who are full of enthusiasm and I really hope this does come to fruition however with this clubs history on developments they must look at the other side of things

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Do I qualify, being a mere youngster at 49? I'm firmly in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp after the ground move efforts of the 80s and 90s . Are there pin badges?

Absolute Puppy
You must have seen only half the games in that time at our real home
I feel sorry for all of those under 30s who probably can’t remember the Manor and have had to put up with this shite stadium, they won’t know real atmosphere at a home game

 

[Essexyellows]

That’s the trouble Essex, we have lived through broken promises by various owners, have been taken on a journey in the wrong direction and still we wait for what we all dreamt of,a finished stadium
I remember going along to see the stadium being built at various stages and got so exited , thinking this is going to happen.
But it never did, the plans for the stadium when completed looked great alas we should have known.
I know I come across in a negative fashion to Scotchers, Colin and others who are full of enthusiasm and I really hope this does come to fruition however with this clubs history on developments they must look at the other side of things

I remember myself and a group of friends trundling along and choosing ST seats in the East Stand "off the plan" and thinking "It`ll look great when it is finished".......... and twenty years later it still isn`t.

 

[SteMerritt]

I remember myself and a group of friends trundling along and choosing ST seats in the East Stand "off the plan" and thinking "It`ll look great when it is finished".......... and twenty years later it still isn`t.

We had a group of about 10 of us meet up and do the same at the old Supporters' Club.

I guess the youngsters will have to Google 'Supporters' Club', that'll be an alien term to them. The amount of autographs I managed to get in the mid-80s in there as all the players came in after a game for a beer or two.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

I remember myself and a group of friends trundling along and choosing ST seats in the East Stand "off the plan" and thinking "It`ll look great when it is finished".......... and twenty years later it still isn`t.

Even a temporary stand at the other end would look better, Gillingham have had one for about 25 years

 

[uptheus]

Do I qualify, being a mere youngster at 49? I'm firmly in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp after the ground move efforts of the 80s and 90s . Are there pin badges?

There’s a new pin badge of the Kassam!!

 

[SteMerritt]

There’s a new pin badge of the Kassam!!

Is it completely made to original spec, or missing something vital, like the pin for instance?

 

[uptheus]

I remember myself and a group of friends trundling along and choosing ST seats in the East Stand "off the plan" and thinking "It`ll look great when it is finished".......... and twenty years later it still isn`t.

Why build a 4th stand when we cannot fill the 3 we have you’ll hear them cry!!

It was finished to the level that Kassam needed to get the green light on his other adventures (main reason he took control of the club), but his finish and what’s morally (not that he’d know about morals) right finished are 2 different things!

Also remember hearing from FOUL at the time that all was going to be great, but I never trusted Kassam the day he walked around the Manor, and haven’t since.

 

[Foley]

No Foley
Forgive me for being sceptical but my first game following the Yellows was back in 1966
In the seventies a new ground was brought up we waited
In the eighties a new ground was brought up we waited
In the nineties a new ground was built and left uncompleted
In naughties we were robbed blind and moved to a half built Algerian ruin
Since then we have been forced to pay extortionately high prices to stay there
New owners have come and gone and tried and failed to buy it or move nothing has happened
Now with new owners we are told by many on here be patient.
I’m now 66 how much longer have I got to wait, I fear by the time we have the promised stadium I may not be around to see it

Yes totally get that. Not quite your age but catching you up quickly!
Like you I remember a lot of the promises and let downs. Most of those were when the Councils seemed to be pretty anti oufc ( I believe that has changed a lot) and owners without the real financial backing (Herd, Leneghan, Eales), or didn't care less ( Maxwell, Kassam).
I believe that this is different though ( I believe the comments from Colin and a couple of others)
All we can do is remain patient but like you I want to live to see us in the Championship in a new ground.

 

[Colin B]

Yes us of a certain age being told be patient doesn’t work Im afraid

Not sure if that's aimed at my earlier comment to Bazzer, but what I said is "a little more patience." Emphasis on the word little.

By the way, I'm 65, so if it works for me, why shouldn't it work for you?