Trust statement 17:37 - Jun 23 with 4299 views | electricblue | interesting reading..... Trust news / meeting with the club First of all, thank you to everyone who has signed up already for the 2020-21 season, whenever that might eventually start. We are completely blown away by how many people have taken the time to sign up already, especially so many people who are joining up for the first time. If you are one of those, please take the time to give us your feedback because ultimately iit is your Trust and the feelings of the membership will always dictate the direction that we take. We met with Dale CEO David Bottomley on Tuesday morning to discuss a number of issues that have arisen over the past three or four weeks, as well as offering feedback from Trust members to the club. The report from this meeting is being sent first of all to Trust members as a benefit of membership, and will appear on the Trust website on Wednesday morning for everyone to read. Please respect this members' benefit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We started the meeting with a full and frank conversation about the club, decisions taken and how it needs to significantly improve communication with supporters, taking on board comments directed to the Trust from members over the last few days. The fans forum in February had shown that the more open and transparent the club is with the supporters, the more they will back the club once they are in possession of the full facts of the situation, with a need to involve stakeholders on decisions. There was a clear need for the club to display both leadership and direction, as too often they have been reactive rather than proactive. We discussed the finances at the club, how the Covid-19 crisis had impacted them, and how we are having to re-examine the club’s model given that we may not be able to rely on the transfer market and cup runs in the future, as we have done in the past. The Trust are currently undertaking a research project with a view to attracting families to the Crown Oil Arena. Amongst the Trust committee, we have been allocated a club each from the eight EFL clubs to win Family Club of the Year over recent seasons and will produce a mini report on each to find out what they do well before compiling an overall report for the club. That report will also be published on the Trust website. Ian Henderson situation: The leak on Thursday night. Given that this has never happened to the club before, how was it possible for the news of the retained list to be leaked by a BBC Radio Manchester journalist on Thursday evening? The leak came from a source close to one of the players who was released and was 100% not from the club. Why wasn’t Ian Henderson’s departure accompanied by a proper and fitting tribute from either the Chairman or the Manager given everything he has done for the club? This could have made a significant different to the events over the weekend. Given it took Gary Jones over six years to return to Rochdale following his departure, how have we reached the stage where another club legend leaves the club under a cloud? The club accepted the criticism over this and agreed, that in hindsight, this was something that should have been done and considered in the future. Is it correct that Ian Henderson was unaware of his release when the leak appeared on Thursday evening? Why did the club terminate Ian Henderson’s relationship with the club via email rather than via telephone call or face to face? As released in the chairman’s statement on Monday, the matter had been discussed in a telephone conversation between Ian and Brian Barry Murphy on 13th June. If this is simply a case of negotiations breaking down between the two parties, is this something that could still be resolved? It was stated that it was not the club that closed the door on the negotiations, and you can never say never in football. Questions from us: Now the 2019-20 has ended for us, when will we get to know about season tickets, new kit etc? Information on new season tickets would be released within the next fortnight. We are looking to re-open the club shop on a limited basis from Saturday 4th July, with the new kit available from mid July. Any decision on the season ticket plan that we discussed at our meeting two weeks ago? The club were delighted to accept our proposal. The Trust would formulate a plan to be announced before the end of this week. We asked several questions about the new season and fans attending matches. We are one of a growing number of clubs within the EFL who are not wanting a return without crowds. There has been very limited information from the EFL regarding any start date at this point. Clubs are tentatively talking about a possible return date about 1st October operating under a 30% capacity. There is a Senior Executive from the EFL who is part of the Government’s working party on (is) “Letting Crowds Back into Sporting matches”, but it must be reiterated that this very little coming from the EFL with regards to this. Questions from members: How many/which other investors have you held discussions with? Whilst the specific details must remain private between Dale and possible investors, the club have spoken to a number of possible investors with a view to taking the club forward Why did you turn down the Altman/Marcelli approach? Unfortunately, the club are bound by the non-disclosure agreement in place between both parties and are unable to go into details. When did you become aware of the private shares transfer to Altman/Marcelli? The club were made aware of the sale of the shares in October. Are you aware of any other transfers of shares since June 2019 and if so how many and to whom? The other significant trade in shares was the purchase of Martin McCleoud’s shares by Director Andrew Kelly. With the share register now in the public domain, the Trust would be looking in depth into this and will report back to members about any significant changes. How will the stadium be protected with any incoming investor? The Board of Directors were very mindful in ensuring that any investment was for the best interests of the football club which carried a level of protection in itself. It was essential that the club brought in an investment to take the club to the next level. Every manager since Steve Parkin had lamented the fact that we don’t have a training facility of our own, and this was essential for the club - not just one for the first team, but for the academy as well. It is vital that improvements are made to the infrastructure of the club. One club at our level was given as an example as earning £400,000 over a season from pre-match dining alone. Amongst the changes being discussed by the EFL were stricter wage budgets at this level, and beyond that they were looking at bringing in rules ensuring self-sustainability — with the club currently reliant on transfer fees and cup runs, changes will be needed with the infrastructure of the club to help us achieve that. We had some questions with regards to now postponed EGM. Due to the level of detail in the questions, these (questions) have been passed on to the club’s legal team, and will be reported back as soon as we can. We had some questions regarding Dale Lotto. However, with two members of the Trust committee being Lotto agents, it was felt that it would more appropriate to hold a separate meeting when one of those could be present. We discussed this with the club and they are happy to arrange such a meeting with our Lottery Partners at Total Gaming Solutions present. When this meeting is arranged, we will notify Trust members. [Post edited 23 Jun 2020 17:53]
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| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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Trust statement on 17:45 - Jun 23 with 4232 views | TVOS1907 | Care to elaborate..... | |
| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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Trust statement on 17:46 - Jun 23 with 4243 views | electricblue | Am i allowed to post what was said. | |
| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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Trust statement on 17:50 - Jun 23 with 4214 views | fitzochris |
Trust statement on 17:46 - Jun 23 by electricblue | Am i allowed to post what was said. |
I won’t tell if you don’t. | |
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Trust statement on 17:51 - Jun 23 with 4200 views | kel | It’s TOP SECRET and only 20% of 1 % can see it. | | | |
Trust statement on 17:53 - Jun 23 with 4181 views | electricblue | See my opening post.. | |
| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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Trust statement on 17:54 - Jun 23 with 4154 views | TVOS1907 |
Trust statement on 17:51 - Jun 23 by kel | It’s TOP SECRET and only 20% of 1 % can see it. |
That's a 500th. | |
| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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Trust statement on 17:54 - Jun 23 with 4161 views | kel |
Trust statement on 17:54 - Jun 23 by TVOS1907 | That's a 500th. |
Well we need a town hall do to celebrate then. | | | |
Trust statement on 18:19 - Jun 23 with 4015 views | RaymondJohn | A separate meeting with the club and lottery partners, with 2 trust ex agents. Now then, what about having the Lottery Manager there who is the only one with answers that matter not what the lottery partner spins, ridiculous. | | | | Login to get fewer ads
Trust statement on 18:20 - Jun 23 with 4002 views | fitzochris |
Trust statement on 18:19 - Jun 23 by RaymondJohn | A separate meeting with the club and lottery partners, with 2 trust ex agents. Now then, what about having the Lottery Manager there who is the only one with answers that matter not what the lottery partner spins, ridiculous. |
That’s actually a fair point. | |
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Trust statement on 18:22 - Jun 23 with 3982 views | 442Dale | Such info is for everyone to read and shouldn’t be staggered in its release, so not sure on the members’ benefit line though accept others may disagree. | |
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Trust statement on 18:35 - Jun 23 with 3914 views | electricblue | The board have not learned much from the Feb meeting.. Once again in my eyes it is what we want to know and nothing else.... I think Wilbraham was more open and honest in his interview.. The lack of dialogue with the EDL again proves how bad an organisation they really are. The possibility of a 1st October season start will that mean the season runs into june ! When the season starts and when league matches should be played twice a week until cup games to make sure the season runs along...... [Post edited 23 Jun 2020 18:42]
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| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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Trust statement on 18:50 - Jun 23 with 3833 views | RaymondJohn |
Trust statement on 18:20 - Jun 23 by fitzochris | That’s actually a fair point. |
But wont happen , TGS would not allow it. | | | |
Trust statement on 19:33 - Jun 23 with 3606 views | jonahwhereru | The answer about protection of the stadium when looking to increase investment, sorry but that is just a load of nothingness. It may as well be white noise. It is not that difficult to ring fence an assist. If the banks can ring fence their high st operations at the behest of the government, I am sure with a modicum of expansive thinking a solution could be found for the stadium so that it could not be part of any leveraging, asset stripping et al. Come directors think, think. | | | |
Trust statement on 20:09 - Jun 23 with 3489 views | 442Dale |
Trust statement on 19:33 - Jun 23 by jonahwhereru | The answer about protection of the stadium when looking to increase investment, sorry but that is just a load of nothingness. It may as well be white noise. It is not that difficult to ring fence an assist. If the banks can ring fence their high st operations at the behest of the government, I am sure with a modicum of expansive thinking a solution could be found for the stadium so that it could not be part of any leveraging, asset stripping et al. Come directors think, think. |
Agree with a lot of that. The reporting of the answer around the stadium went off at a tangent around investment and training grounds etc. It needed answering specifically and that should have been clearer in the questioning/clarification of the answer. | |
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Trust statement on 20:38 - Jun 23 with 3373 views | TalkingSutty |
Trust statement on 20:09 - Jun 23 by 442Dale | Agree with a lot of that. The reporting of the answer around the stadium went off at a tangent around investment and training grounds etc. It needed answering specifically and that should have been clearer in the questioning/clarification of the answer. |
...and that’s what I’m getting at with the Q&A sessions. If there is no challenge to the answer then in the end there becomes more questions than answers. It sounds like I’m having a go at the Trust again but I’m really not. If they start off their statement by saying how they had a full and frank discussion then why are the answers to their questions not followed up and investigated more? If the CEO or Directors don’t want to be cross examined then the Trust should state that...I suspect that is the case! The Stadium issue was a open goal, they should have been like a dog with a bone with that one. [Post edited 23 Jun 2020 20:45]
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Trust statement on 20:54 - Jun 23 with 3303 views | TVOS1907 |
Trust statement on 20:38 - Jun 23 by TalkingSutty | ...and that’s what I’m getting at with the Q&A sessions. If there is no challenge to the answer then in the end there becomes more questions than answers. It sounds like I’m having a go at the Trust again but I’m really not. If they start off their statement by saying how they had a full and frank discussion then why are the answers to their questions not followed up and investigated more? If the CEO or Directors don’t want to be cross examined then the Trust should state that...I suspect that is the case! The Stadium issue was a open goal, they should have been like a dog with a bone with that one. [Post edited 23 Jun 2020 20:45]
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The dog's usually being taken for a walk by Col... | |
| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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Trust statement on 20:57 - Jun 23 with 3297 views | 442Dale |
Trust statement on 20:38 - Jun 23 by TalkingSutty | ...and that’s what I’m getting at with the Q&A sessions. If there is no challenge to the answer then in the end there becomes more questions than answers. It sounds like I’m having a go at the Trust again but I’m really not. If they start off their statement by saying how they had a full and frank discussion then why are the answers to their questions not followed up and investigated more? If the CEO or Directors don’t want to be cross examined then the Trust should state that...I suspect that is the case! The Stadium issue was a open goal, they should have been like a dog with a bone with that one. [Post edited 23 Jun 2020 20:45]
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Won’t disagree with some of those points. Not sure anyone would agree a specific question about the stadium was answered in full by saying “The Board of Directors were very mindful in ensuring that any investment was for the best interests of the football club which carried a level of protection in itself” and then leading into the obligatory ‘Steve Parkin wanted a training ground’ mention. They should be more than willing to accept that if that was the only response on the stadium, that it requires further clarification over whether any future investment can guarantee the ground is protected. | |
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Trust statement on 09:26 - Jun 24 with 2909 views | judd |
Trust statement on 20:57 - Jun 23 by 442Dale | Won’t disagree with some of those points. Not sure anyone would agree a specific question about the stadium was answered in full by saying “The Board of Directors were very mindful in ensuring that any investment was for the best interests of the football club which carried a level of protection in itself” and then leading into the obligatory ‘Steve Parkin wanted a training ground’ mention. They should be more than willing to accept that if that was the only response on the stadium, that it requires further clarification over whether any future investment can guarantee the ground is protected. |
Isn't the stadium an asset of community value for a few years to come yet? I'm baffled by the Steve Parkin claim also. It reads to me that because Parkin did not have a training facility a club at our level now earns £400,000 per year from someone dining alone? Perhaps they've bought a few of our pies? Interesting that yet again the lotto needs a separate meeting. Thanks for taking the trouble to attend and report on this meeting Col. | |
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Trust statement on 13:20 - Jun 24 with 2693 views | Suggers | From some of the critique here, I assume there will be strong interest in becoming Trust Board members from many folks on here. | | | |
Trust statement on 13:29 - Jun 24 with 2668 views | 442Dale |
Trust statement on 13:20 - Jun 24 by Suggers | From some of the critique here, I assume there will be strong interest in becoming Trust Board members from many folks on here. |
Hopefully some will as, has already been mentioned elsewhere, it’s a thankless and time consuming role which at times can be very frustrating. Those who have done it previously and are now will fully understand that. The Trust are also very open to constructive criticism and ideas from members too, which is why for anyone who does wonder about joining, it’s worthwhile as any feedback can help them out. | |
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Trust statement on 13:50 - Jun 24 with 2626 views | NDGN82 |
Trust statement on 19:33 - Jun 23 by jonahwhereru | The answer about protection of the stadium when looking to increase investment, sorry but that is just a load of nothingness. It may as well be white noise. It is not that difficult to ring fence an assist. If the banks can ring fence their high st operations at the behest of the government, I am sure with a modicum of expansive thinking a solution could be found for the stadium so that it could not be part of any leveraging, asset stripping et al. Come directors think, think. |
There's a good chance it can be ring fenced but then what value is there in the shares for the investors? If you're not buying the stadium, the club is worth diddly squat to a businessman/woman, and lets be honest the majority of potential investors will be business people As fans we all like to think the name, the 'club', etc is worth millions but in reality it isn't so by removing the biggest asset altogether from the equation you're left with no potential investors | | | |
Trust statement on 16:15 - Jun 24 with 2498 views | judd | "When did you become aware of the private shares transfer to Altman/Marcelli? The club were made aware of the sale of the shares in October." "As a result of the Americans share purchase, I became worried whether the result of the alleged price they had paid,..." | |
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Trust statement on 08:00 - Jul 17 with 1996 views | judd | "We had some questions regarding Dale Lotto. However, with two members of the Trust committee being Lotto agents, it was felt that it would more appropriate to hold a separate meeting when one of those could be present. We discussed this with the club and they are happy to arrange such a meeting with our Lottery Partners at Total Gaming Solutions present. When this meeting is arranged, we will notify Trust members. " Did anything ever happen re: this? | |
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Trust statement on 08:43 - Jul 17 with 1937 views | scarrow | 1st October goes against the dates other clubs are talking about - 29th august, 12th September The season would have to finish at normal time due to Euros from what others are saying and 12th September start has 11 midweek matches as it is. They might not get there own way with the 1st October as a starting point | |
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