| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. 22:38 - May 16 with 5351 views | nottsfan81 |
Notts fan here.
We have been exactly where you are now, wondering how you have managed to drop into the non leagues. To be a Club with a proud history to not even be in the football league and it hurt so much.
In all honesty, for us it had been coming for 20 years - even in our brief good times in those years it was all built on sand and thats why we fell back again so easily. Our attendances were going down every season and every season was a bit of a slog with just a couple of good seasons in between. As a club we were broken from top to bottom.
When we went down we were on our 2nd ego maniac of an owner who had spent money he didnt have and now needed to sell the club asap, we have been lucky to find owners who have been happy to spend some money but most importantly have stabilised the Club and put in place long term plans that are achievable rather than wild promises that would never happen.
We spent 4 seasons down here, the first is the hardest. The first time you have to play in FA Cup qualification game, the FA trophy, playing teams you had heard of before and watching them beat you on a plastic pitch where they had 11 men behind the ball for 90 mins.
There is a culture shock, but once you get over that you find the NL is its own bubble and has its plus points. For example there is no transfer window so you find in the later months of the season loads of players moving between clubs in the division, youll be on tv more than you have been in years and will soon be complaining that Adam Virgo is biased.
But also you find that as long as you do well, and I dont necessarily mean promotion - its took us 4 seasons, that going to games will be enjoyable again. We finished in the playoffs every season and although that has brought some heartache it also means during the season we have got to see our team win a lot more than it has done in years.
We now have an average attendance higher than at any point since we redeveloped the ground in 1993 and that includes time in the Championship, and its the 3rd highest in 40 years, all whilst our neighbours got promotion to the EPL.
So embrace what is coming ahead for you - Oldham came across as arrogant at the start and it didnt help their cause at all. Be humble and accept you are where you deserve to be right now.
But also know that better times do lie ahead and hopefully one day like us you will enjoy the best season of my life (ive watched Notts for 30 years) and the best day of my life at Wembley. We feel ready now with a new lease of life to move forward but I will always love the NL and what it has done for us |  | | |  |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 22:58 - May 16 with 5260 views | dale1968 |
What a great post Cheers.. |  |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:04 - May 16 with 5257 views | JimmySquirrel61 |
I would duck for cover if I was you mate 
There are some die hard Notts haters on here because of what happened under Munto,I've tried to explain but some have refused to take any notice (blackdogblue,TVOS and 442 being the main culprits)
I didn't hate being in the NL and glad that we are out,it took four years and nearly took longer but this season going toe to toe with Wrexham and the playoffs will stay in my memory forever,at least they haven't got the shenanigans of Dover to contend with |  |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:21 - May 16 with 5220 views | 442Dale |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:04 - May 16 by JimmySquirrel61 |
I would duck for cover if I was you mate
There are some die hard Notts haters on here because of what happened under Munto,I've tried to explain but some have refused to take any notice (blackdogblue,TVOS and 442 being the main culprits)
I didn't hate being in the NL and glad that we are out,it took four years and nearly took longer but this season going toe to toe with Wrexham and the playoffs will stay in my memory forever,at least they haven't got the shenanigans of Dover to contend with |
He doesn’t need to. It was a decent post and acknowledges previously rubbish regimes.
Nobody needs to explain, we lived through it - your lot collected players that weren’t affordable throughout an entire season and celebrated their achievements. Similar to Bury a few months before they disappeared. |  |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:37 - May 16 with 5198 views | nottsfan81 |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:04 - May 16 by JimmySquirrel61 |
I would duck for cover if I was you mate
There are some die hard Notts haters on here because of what happened under Munto,I've tried to explain but some have refused to take any notice (blackdogblue,TVOS and 442 being the main culprits)
I didn't hate being in the NL and glad that we are out,it took four years and nearly took longer but this season going toe to toe with Wrexham and the playoffs will stay in my memory forever,at least they haven't got the shenanigans of Dover to contend with |
If it helps....
I was one of 55 people who voted against the deal and was shouting it was a scam. Stopped going to Notts, hated the love in with Hughes and was ok with us going back down because to me we cheated that season. It's not an opinion all fans hold but I fell out of love with Notts and it took me a few years to get over it and go back. | | | |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:52 - May 16 with 5178 views | JimmySquirrel61 |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:37 - May 16 by nottsfan81 |
If it helps....
I was one of 55 people who voted against the deal and was shouting it was a scam. Stopped going to Notts, hated the love in with Hughes and was ok with us going back down because to me we cheated that season. It's not an opinion all fans hold but I fell out of love with Notts and it took me a few years to get over it and go back. |
That's pretty much my sentiments exactly nottsfan,that love in with Hughes made me feel sick every time I saw that stupid celebration being done by the kop faithful,then if you thought that it couldn't get any worst we had bloody Trew and Hardy to contend with,both barking mad egoists in their own way,our current owners are the best and well balanced that we've had in decades and hopefully we can finally put the madness behind us | |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 05:48 - May 17 with 5085 views | TalkingSutty |
Good post and all very positive but the Notts situation was completely different to ours. To return to the EFL there needs to be the desire and ambition in the boardroom and i believe we have the opposite to that. When Jim Bentley was appointed as manager last year he was obviously the last roll of the dice regarding our fight to stay in the EFL. He was backed a little bit in the January transfer window but that didn't work and shortly after should have been sacked and replaced. To do that involves further expense and commitment to the new manager regarding a competitive budget. Instead they held on to Bentley until relegation was more or less unavoidable and then sacked him, to replace him with a player with no managerial experience whatsoever. A cheap option and a person who will act out instructions on behalf of the board and a consultancy company who will be pro-active in identifying and selling players. The manager will be forced to select youth team players and work with players not of his choosing. It's pretty obvious the club is being run down, the Chairman and Directors have put enough money in. Instead of accepting help from those who have walked the walk in the past they have decided to bring in a consultancy company and the demise of the club continues at full pace from what we are witnessing. Unknown people with no skin in our club, they can do what they want and then move on to their next project. Bottomley is a football consultant, anybody can do it, even those with very bad credentials. We don't even know the identities of those calling the shots at our club and we are all just sitting back and accepting it, unbelievable really after what we have all been through over the last few years.
This season will be a battle to survive and i think another relegation looms, very soon we will be in a stadium that we will find impossible to run and I fear that might be the ultimate aim of those we now have calling the shots at the club, the sale of the stadium and the land. The more that option becomes a neccessetity the more attractive the club becomes to outside investors/ developers.If we can't afford the bills and maintenance then what other option is there? I personally think that as a fan base we are asleep at the wheel with this current board but there are those that support them so they are allowed to just plough on, the same happened with the last regime. The easiest option is to just do nothing and that's what we are currently doing.
I would like the supporters trust, shareholders and fans to identify a new Chairman and Directors who are ideally local to the Town and call a vote of no confidence in Simon Gauge and the Directors at a EGM. Ideally the Trust can also be fully involved in any partnership and be part of the decision making going forward. The disrespect and ignorance that the current board show to the supporters tells us all we need to need and they obviously aren't fit for purpose, they've proved that since they took control of the club. I'm fully expecting them to go on a charm offensive within the next week or so though because there's money to be made from the fans. [Post edited 17 May 2023 7:46]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 06:04 - May 17 with 5060 views | NorthernDale |
Agree 100%, there seems a lack of ambition within the club, with the cutting of the player budget, the appointment of McNulty and over the summer, we will see a fire sale of players. Combined with a sense of contempt for the fans and their opinions or ideas to revitalise the club. [Post edited 17 May 2023 6:38]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 12:26 - May 17 with 4698 views | 49thseason |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 05:48 - May 17 by TalkingSutty |
Good post and all very positive but the Notts situation was completely different to ours. To return to the EFL there needs to be the desire and ambition in the boardroom and i believe we have the opposite to that. When Jim Bentley was appointed as manager last year he was obviously the last roll of the dice regarding our fight to stay in the EFL. He was backed a little bit in the January transfer window but that didn't work and shortly after should have been sacked and replaced. To do that involves further expense and commitment to the new manager regarding a competitive budget. Instead they held on to Bentley until relegation was more or less unavoidable and then sacked him, to replace him with a player with no managerial experience whatsoever. A cheap option and a person who will act out instructions on behalf of the board and a consultancy company who will be pro-active in identifying and selling players. The manager will be forced to select youth team players and work with players not of his choosing. It's pretty obvious the club is being run down, the Chairman and Directors have put enough money in. Instead of accepting help from those who have walked the walk in the past they have decided to bring in a consultancy company and the demise of the club continues at full pace from what we are witnessing. Unknown people with no skin in our club, they can do what they want and then move on to their next project. Bottomley is a football consultant, anybody can do it, even those with very bad credentials. We don't even know the identities of those calling the shots at our club and we are all just sitting back and accepting it, unbelievable really after what we have all been through over the last few years.
This season will be a battle to survive and i think another relegation looms, very soon we will be in a stadium that we will find impossible to run and I fear that might be the ultimate aim of those we now have calling the shots at the club, the sale of the stadium and the land. The more that option becomes a neccessetity the more attractive the club becomes to outside investors/ developers.If we can't afford the bills and maintenance then what other option is there? I personally think that as a fan base we are asleep at the wheel with this current board but there are those that support them so they are allowed to just plough on, the same happened with the last regime. The easiest option is to just do nothing and that's what we are currently doing.
I would like the supporters trust, shareholders and fans to identify a new Chairman and Directors who are ideally local to the Town and call a vote of no confidence in Simon Gauge and the Directors at a EGM. Ideally the Trust can also be fully involved in any partnership and be part of the decision making going forward. The disrespect and ignorance that the current board show to the supporters tells us all we need to need and they obviously aren't fit for purpose, they've proved that since they took control of the club. I'm fully expecting them to go on a charm offensive within the next week or so though because there's money to be made from the fans. [Post edited 17 May 2023 7:46]
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Sutty, where on earth are we going to find a new board? I guarantee the current board had no idea how bad things were when they put up their £25k to be come directors. And if they had done, they wouldn't have bothered....
I know you were misty-eyed when Dunphy reappeared but he simply doesnt have the cash to pour into this money-pit and I'm pretty certain there aren't another 5 or 6 people who do and would want to either.
It was Dunphy's masterplan whennh3 was Chairman, to keep his fingers crossed for a decent cup tie or a player sale to balance the books.. in other words we have been living beyond our means for years. Covid killed off the crowds , Bottomley spent a fortune on the pitch and now we are where we are, the Directors have now put in another £75k apiece to see off MH and SG and RK have put even more in.... so do you know 6 or 7 people with £100k+ each to spend on a football club with the likelihood of having to put more in every year?
The board is trying to bring in an investor, they may be trying to sell the whole club, who could blame them? They have families to think about too, just like Dunphy did when he pulled out.
I get it, you are angry , so am I, but we dont have the proverbial pot...we have been run over by a supine BOD that let Bottomley think he was the Abramovich of L1 spending money we needed on stuff we didnt need. But this isnt the fault of the current board, without money we are stuffed, and by the way, so are lots of other football clubs, they cant keep losing money forever, see Morecambe for details.
The only game in town is either a new investor or dramatic cuts in staffing or both. If those dont work, its over. Football is in a crisis we are just one of the first to find out, but we wont be the last. RAFC is not sustainable on crowds of 2000, no club is, especially when mediocre players are getting 2-3 grand a week in wages. We are in the last chance saloon, and must cut our cloth accordingly or find new ways to raise £1m a year.
As I see it, we have 12 months, maybe 2 years to become a sustainable club. Crowds need to be up to 4000 per game and we need to be raising at least another £500k in non- football activities to survive. Even with an investor it will be difficult. Getting arsey and blaming the Board will only hasten our demise and if the ground gets sold, in the process to allow shareholders to get some of their money back, so be it.
As my father- in- law used to say.." you can't shit without shite". |  | | |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 14:20 - May 17 with 4571 views | TalkingSutty |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 12:26 - May 17 by 49thseason |
Sutty, where on earth are we going to find a new board? I guarantee the current board had no idea how bad things were when they put up their £25k to be come directors. And if they had done, they wouldn't have bothered....
I know you were misty-eyed when Dunphy reappeared but he simply doesnt have the cash to pour into this money-pit and I'm pretty certain there aren't another 5 or 6 people who do and would want to either.
It was Dunphy's masterplan whennh3 was Chairman, to keep his fingers crossed for a decent cup tie or a player sale to balance the books.. in other words we have been living beyond our means for years. Covid killed off the crowds , Bottomley spent a fortune on the pitch and now we are where we are, the Directors have now put in another £75k apiece to see off MH and SG and RK have put even more in.... so do you know 6 or 7 people with £100k+ each to spend on a football club with the likelihood of having to put more in every year?
The board is trying to bring in an investor, they may be trying to sell the whole club, who could blame them? They have families to think about too, just like Dunphy did when he pulled out.
I get it, you are angry , so am I, but we dont have the proverbial pot...we have been run over by a supine BOD that let Bottomley think he was the Abramovich of L1 spending money we needed on stuff we didnt need. But this isnt the fault of the current board, without money we are stuffed, and by the way, so are lots of other football clubs, they cant keep losing money forever, see Morecambe for details.
The only game in town is either a new investor or dramatic cuts in staffing or both. If those dont work, its over. Football is in a crisis we are just one of the first to find out, but we wont be the last. RAFC is not sustainable on crowds of 2000, no club is, especially when mediocre players are getting 2-3 grand a week in wages. We are in the last chance saloon, and must cut our cloth accordingly or find new ways to raise £1m a year.
As I see it, we have 12 months, maybe 2 years to become a sustainable club. Crowds need to be up to 4000 per game and we need to be raising at least another £500k in non- football activities to survive. Even with an investor it will be difficult. Getting arsey and blaming the Board will only hasten our demise and if the ground gets sold, in the process to allow shareholders to get some of their money back, so be it.
As my father- in- law used to say.." you can't shit without shite". |
Well i see things differently than you and i don't believe that it would be impossible to find a new board. I said a few months ago that there are other avenues that we should have explored before Simon Gauge and the Directors decided off their own bat that they were going to take the club off in a direction of their own choosing, to hell with what the 500 or so shareholders, the Trust and the fans think.
At the moment the club is in very real danger of losing both professional sporting clubs in the Town, that is something that can't be allowed to happen and i believe that the local council, the EFL/ FA, politicians etc would be under massive pressure to ensure that didn't become a reality,bearing in mind the fate of our nearest neighbours Bury. The Dale Trust would be well within their rights to voice their concerns publicly regarding the possibility of this happening, especially at a time when the inclusivity promised by the current board has not materialised. The Chairman and Directors have shown their true colours when it's come to inclusivity.
My suggestion would have been a consortium made up of somebody like Chris Dunphy and his associates, The Dale Trust, RMBC and Hornets. Ask RMBC to buy back the stadium and rent it back to the club or buy back a share in the club to release capital and help pay off SG and the Directors. Rebrand the stadium as the Rochdale Community Stadum, or something similar and make it a real inclusive club that the Town can be proud of. RMBC could justify the purchase in the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneers and it could be promoted as a sporting co-operative. Oldham Council have just donated £1 million to Oldham Athletic to lay a new pitch for the benefit of the football and rugby clubs. Bury Council have donated £500k. There is a large sum of money been awarded to RMBC from the Government as part of the levelling up scheme and something like this would benefit the local community in the long run. I mentioned all of this to Simon Gauge and to the Trust Rep on the board about 5 weeks ago and the response was the normal dismissive one..RMBC won't be interested etc etc. They didn't even want to listen.
Where there is a will there is a way and I think this idea would have interested supporters of both sporting codes in the Town whilst ensuring ownership of the stadium is still in safe hands. Obviously you can and probably will pick holes in all of this but i'm not apologising for challenging what I've seen going on at the club over the last twelve months, the last few months in particular.From what I've seen the current board aren't fit for purpose when it comes to running the football club, it's hardly surprising though when you think very few of them have probably never even been inside a football club boardroom before. [Post edited 17 May 2023 14:54]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:01 - May 17 with 4461 views | Sandyman |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 14:20 - May 17 by TalkingSutty |
Well i see things differently than you and i don't believe that it would be impossible to find a new board. I said a few months ago that there are other avenues that we should have explored before Simon Gauge and the Directors decided off their own bat that they were going to take the club off in a direction of their own choosing, to hell with what the 500 or so shareholders, the Trust and the fans think.
At the moment the club is in very real danger of losing both professional sporting clubs in the Town, that is something that can't be allowed to happen and i believe that the local council, the EFL/ FA, politicians etc would be under massive pressure to ensure that didn't become a reality,bearing in mind the fate of our nearest neighbours Bury. The Dale Trust would be well within their rights to voice their concerns publicly regarding the possibility of this happening, especially at a time when the inclusivity promised by the current board has not materialised. The Chairman and Directors have shown their true colours when it's come to inclusivity.
My suggestion would have been a consortium made up of somebody like Chris Dunphy and his associates, The Dale Trust, RMBC and Hornets. Ask RMBC to buy back the stadium and rent it back to the club or buy back a share in the club to release capital and help pay off SG and the Directors. Rebrand the stadium as the Rochdale Community Stadum, or something similar and make it a real inclusive club that the Town can be proud of. RMBC could justify the purchase in the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneers and it could be promoted as a sporting co-operative. Oldham Council have just donated £1 million to Oldham Athletic to lay a new pitch for the benefit of the football and rugby clubs. Bury Council have donated £500k. There is a large sum of money been awarded to RMBC from the Government as part of the levelling up scheme and something like this would benefit the local community in the long run. I mentioned all of this to Simon Gauge and to the Trust Rep on the board about 5 weeks ago and the response was the normal dismissive one..RMBC won't be interested etc etc. They didn't even want to listen.
Where there is a will there is a way and I think this idea would have interested supporters of both sporting codes in the Town whilst ensuring ownership of the stadium is still in safe hands. Obviously you can and probably will pick holes in all of this but i'm not apologising for challenging what I've seen going on at the club over the last twelve months, the last few months in particular.From what I've seen the current board aren't fit for purpose when it comes to running the football club, it's hardly surprising though when you think very few of them have probably never even been inside a football club boardroom before. [Post edited 17 May 2023 14:54]
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You are assuming that the required 75% of shareholders would be willing to agree such a stadium sale. Giving up our main asset and security after all those years of "the stadium company" causing havoc, and what it took to get the stadium back under RAFC control, will be a bad move IMHO. |  | | |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:20 - May 17 with 4410 views | TalkingSutty |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:01 - May 17 by Sandyman |
You are assuming that the required 75% of shareholders would be willing to agree such a stadium sale. Giving up our main asset and security after all those years of "the stadium company" causing havoc, and what it took to get the stadium back under RAFC control, will be a bad move IMHO. |
I realise that's what it would take but beggars can't be choosers. The choice would be to agree to RMBC having a stake in the club and it being a true community club for the whole of the Town, with our Trust having a pro-active roll. The stadium would also be safeguarded.
The other alternative is to carry on with the outside investor route and open the club up to all the potential pitfalls that could bring with it. Investors will want a return for their money and.a big say in running the club.
I believe the first option would give the fans a real say in how the club is being run and it would eliminate the chances of us losing the club for good. If it's a choice between RMBC and outside investors i would take my chances with the council everytime. I'm putting forward an alternative opinion, i'm well aware that some fans are happy with the board and their plans to bring in outside investors. Their opinions are also just as valid. [Post edited 17 May 2023 15:44]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:47 - May 17 with 4340 views | 442Dale |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:01 - May 17 by Sandyman |
You are assuming that the required 75% of shareholders would be willing to agree such a stadium sale. Giving up our main asset and security after all those years of "the stadium company" causing havoc, and what it took to get the stadium back under RAFC control, will be a bad move IMHO. |
Fair points. However, what about this scenario…
- investor comes in and buys the currently available shares.
- they then buy shares off existing shareholders, either large or small, increasing their shareholding to ensure they have overall control.
Questions:
- Would having 51% of shares allow this overall control?
- Would that enable them to propose a further share issue and win a vote at an EGM enabling the shares to be issued?
- Could they then buy all these new shares if other shareholders were unable to, thus enable they reach 75% ownership of all shares?
Depending on the answers to those questions, it could be possible for 75% of shareholders to agree on any decisions around the stadium. Please can someone clarify that such a situation is always prevented from occurring.
Before anyone says why would current shareholders, large or small agree to sell their shares to enable such a scenario to develop, further up the thread someone said about people having “families to think about”. A sale is a sale, whoever chooses to make it.
If you bought shares in the club to keep it “fan owned”, irrespective of how much you paid, then decisions could be different in the future when it comes to selling. It’s worth considering that £500 or £1000 may have as much an impact to some as £25,000/£50,000 does to others. [Post edited 17 May 2023 16:17]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:59 - May 17 with 4286 views | electricblue |
The uncertain future of RAFC is truly a scary situation and the club are in freefall into the abyss.
We welcomed the fan own idea put forward by SG and the BoD and now that as not worked and with the trust being the biggest shareholder the should be banging on the chairmans door demanding answers cor its members.
Murray is ever so quiet and have the BoD gagged him!
I for one think that SG and BoD dont give a toss about who owns what or how many shares their primary goal will be to get their out lay back simple as that...
This BoD told us that tbere is money etc and the say few months later the cub is skint so why let RS blow a huge amount on 3 players...
Sorry but i have no faith in this board at all and a major dislike is their several of communiation they are a typical board who say nothing what so ever unless it benefits them.
I like what TS said about involving RMBC etc and other parties.... |  |
| My all time favourite Dale player Mr Lyndon Symmonds |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 16:01 - May 17 with 4279 views | HullDale |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 16:12 - May 17 with 4256 views | HullDale |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 16:01 - May 17 by HullDale |
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Wrongful Trading
"If a company’s insolvency is not temporary, continuing trading as normal will fall under the second category — wrongful trading. Whereas insolvent trading can be carried out without the risk of legal punishment, the same cannot be said for wrongful trading. In fact, it is a very serious offence, one that can have severe penalties for guilty directors.
Wrongful trading is a term that applies to insolvent companies that continue trading, despite knowing that the company is both insolvent and has no reasonable chance of returning to a state of solvency. Wrongful trading also applies to scenarios wherein directors allow a company’s debt to continue rising, despite having no means of making repayments. Oftentimes, this happens in conjunction with the previous example."
https://www.clarkebell.com/blog/is-it-illegal-to-run-an-insolvent-company/#:~:te
That quote above should give some confidence that 'investment' is on the horizon - we have a board of intelligent people who will know the personal risks associated with keeping 'Rochdale AFC Limited' trading whilst insolvent (& with no clear sign of the situation improving) probably outweigh the money they would lose selling their shares at a loss.
I fear we have ended up in a situation much like other clubs locally, albeit via a different route. Where Oldham had an owner with dubious intentions, Bury had dreamers who saw the club as a plaything with other people's money, where Stockport had a BoD who sanctioned wages they couldn't really afford, we have a group of Dale fans, backed by Graham Morris, who stepped in at great personal expense (both financial and mental) to save us from the hostile takeover but who, since that point, have presided over the worst period in our history. Yes, they inherited a complete sheetshow, but at the same time their decisions, attitude and lack of communication have led us to this point.
I'm frightened that we have a situation where the club is worth nowhere near where it was valued, the BoD can't afford to get out at a loss, there is no obvious way of plugging the gaps without causing further (potentially terminal) damage, the fanbase is hugely divided, it will be a real struggle to leverage our main asset to improve the here and now (cash in the stadium), it feels there is a reluctance from the club to engage with their largest shareholder or fans, and all the time our competitors for next season are moving forward.
Worried doesn't even come close. [Post edited 17 May 2023 16:13]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 16:21 - May 17 with 4223 views | Rodingdale |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 14:20 - May 17 by TalkingSutty |
Well i see things differently than you and i don't believe that it would be impossible to find a new board. I said a few months ago that there are other avenues that we should have explored before Simon Gauge and the Directors decided off their own bat that they were going to take the club off in a direction of their own choosing, to hell with what the 500 or so shareholders, the Trust and the fans think.
At the moment the club is in very real danger of losing both professional sporting clubs in the Town, that is something that can't be allowed to happen and i believe that the local council, the EFL/ FA, politicians etc would be under massive pressure to ensure that didn't become a reality,bearing in mind the fate of our nearest neighbours Bury. The Dale Trust would be well within their rights to voice their concerns publicly regarding the possibility of this happening, especially at a time when the inclusivity promised by the current board has not materialised. The Chairman and Directors have shown their true colours when it's come to inclusivity.
My suggestion would have been a consortium made up of somebody like Chris Dunphy and his associates, The Dale Trust, RMBC and Hornets. Ask RMBC to buy back the stadium and rent it back to the club or buy back a share in the club to release capital and help pay off SG and the Directors. Rebrand the stadium as the Rochdale Community Stadum, or something similar and make it a real inclusive club that the Town can be proud of. RMBC could justify the purchase in the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneers and it could be promoted as a sporting co-operative. Oldham Council have just donated £1 million to Oldham Athletic to lay a new pitch for the benefit of the football and rugby clubs. Bury Council have donated £500k. There is a large sum of money been awarded to RMBC from the Government as part of the levelling up scheme and something like this would benefit the local community in the long run. I mentioned all of this to Simon Gauge and to the Trust Rep on the board about 5 weeks ago and the response was the normal dismissive one..RMBC won't be interested etc etc. They didn't even want to listen.
Where there is a will there is a way and I think this idea would have interested supporters of both sporting codes in the Town whilst ensuring ownership of the stadium is still in safe hands. Obviously you can and probably will pick holes in all of this but i'm not apologising for challenging what I've seen going on at the club over the last twelve months, the last few months in particular.From what I've seen the current board aren't fit for purpose when it comes to running the football club, it's hardly surprising though when you think very few of them have probably never even been inside a football club boardroom before. [Post edited 17 May 2023 14:54]
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Completely agree with this. The board just aren’t interested in improving our turnover. There have been countless suggestions on this message board and partnerships with public bodies, and local businesses is the way forward. The extract from the accounts shows we are pretty much reliant on the new investor, but we need partnerships with those who are able to grow every aspect of the club, not least it’s commercial/ hospitality business which remains woeful. | | | |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 16:39 - May 17 with 4187 views | NorthernDale |
The board are nice, but to some extent naive, potentially amateurish in terms of running a football club and at the same time, having a slight contempt for the fans and their ideas. The fans come from a varied background, with experience in different fields and have ideas in generating income, but we have one thing in common, a love of the Dale. That is why I think Dunphy involvement in some capacity would benefit the board and club, because he may listen and as experience of successfully running a football club. | | | |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 17:17 - May 17 with 4101 views | DaleiLama |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 15:47 - May 17 by 442Dale |
Fair points. However, what about this scenario…
- investor comes in and buys the currently available shares.
- they then buy shares off existing shareholders, either large or small, increasing their shareholding to ensure they have overall control.
Questions:
- Would having 51% of shares allow this overall control?
- Would that enable them to propose a further share issue and win a vote at an EGM enabling the shares to be issued?
- Could they then buy all these new shares if other shareholders were unable to, thus enable they reach 75% ownership of all shares?
Depending on the answers to those questions, it could be possible for 75% of shareholders to agree on any decisions around the stadium. Please can someone clarify that such a situation is always prevented from occurring.
Before anyone says why would current shareholders, large or small agree to sell their shares to enable such a scenario to develop, further up the thread someone said about people having “families to think about”. A sale is a sale, whoever chooses to make it.
If you bought shares in the club to keep it “fan owned”, irrespective of how much you paid, then decisions could be different in the future when it comes to selling. It’s worth considering that £500 or £1000 may have as much an impact to some as £25,000/£50,000 does to others. [Post edited 17 May 2023 16:17]
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"Questions:
- Would having 51% of shares allow this overall control?
- Would that enable them to propose a further share issue and win a vote at an EGM enabling the shares to be issued?
- Could they then buy all these new shares if other shareholders were unable to, thus enable they reach 75% ownership of all shares?"
Pretty sure this has been covered on here before 442, as I asked the same question as your last one.
In order of your questions, from what was discussed previously, I believe the answers are:
- Yes
- Yes
- In theory, all current shareholders have to be offered the opportunity to buy the same % of new shares (at the new share issue price) as their current holding in order that their holding does not become diluted. I say in theory, because if any shareholder has already bought the maximum they want or simply doesn't have deep enough pockets to maintain their original %, they will automatically have their holding diluted.
The same thoughts went through my head as yours.
Edit - see 49thseason's post at 13:08 on 1/5/23 - Dunphy withdraws bid by TomRAFC 30 Apr 2023 17:01From his Facebook:
"Rochdale AFC
Now that the shareholding has been published, it is perfectly understandable that the board would be reluctant to walk away without some sort of recompense.
Unfortunately, I have to tell you, that I am unable to personally invest the amount of money required, and as I cannot ask my associates to do what I am not prepared to do, I have no option but to withdraw.
For a few years, I have watched in sadness as our beloved team sank out of league one, then to the bottom of league two. I promised myself (and my wife) that I was not going to get involved, but in that final week I felt compelled to give it ‘just one last shot’.
Like many of you, Rochdale AFC has been in my life longer than anyone or anything and to watch it slip out of the league was hard. I am sure Simon felt the same, but as a former chairman, I know better than anyone the pressure he would have been under.
I put forward a proposal in which myself, and other experienced associates offered our services to the club. The offer was made with the best interests of the club at heart, but I was unaware of just how many shares the BoD actually owned, and how much money they had invested. I would like to take this opportunity to commend them for preventing the hostile takeover bid.
I understand that there are other ‘interested parties’ and sincerely hope that they will be able to offer a clear way forward, secure a successful future for the club and ensure the continuation of professional sport in Rochdale.
I would like to thank all of you for the kind messages I have received and would reassure you that I remain committed to the club and would be willing to meet and talk with those who would help to protect the club we all love.
Christopher Dunphy"
I have no reason to disbelieve it, but he also alludes to the fact that the articles of association have to be adhered to in terms of issuing new shares, so there could be some protection in them? He says hopefully? [Post edited 17 May 2023 17:25]
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 17:25 - May 17 with 4071 views | blackdogblue |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 23:04 - May 16 by JimmySquirrel61 |
I would duck for cover if I was you mate
There are some die hard Notts haters on here because of what happened under Munto,I've tried to explain but some have refused to take any notice (blackdogblue,TVOS and 442 being the main culprits)
I didn't hate being in the NL and glad that we are out,it took four years and nearly took longer but this season going toe to toe with Wrexham and the playoffs will stay in my memory forever,at least they haven't got the shenanigans of Dover to contend with |
Fook off Rodent… 😀 |  |
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| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 17:53 - May 17 with 4017 views | davidab2202 |
| The NL revitalised my club and could do the same for you. on 16:39 - May 17 by NorthernDale |
The board are nice, but to some extent naive, potentially amateurish in terms of running a football club and at the same time, having a slight contempt for the fans and their ideas. The fans come from a varied background, with experience in different fields and have ideas in generating income, but we have one thing in common, a love of the Dale. That is why I think Dunphy involvement in some capacity would benefit the board and club, because he may listen and as experience of successfully running a football club. |
Just a thought but when we had our" better years" under Chris Dunphy ,did he have wealthy Board members to back him than the current incumbents thus position we find ourselves in at the present time
We have always been a club that has needed either a good cup run ,or player sales to balance the books and in any season were these were not forthcoming then there would be a considerable shortfall which needed covering and this situation has probably been the case since the days of Fred Ratcliffe
It must be a nigh on impossible position to find sufficient people with enough interest in RAFC plus sufficient money to invest that it doesn't really matter if it disappears down the pan as may well be the case
I know if ever I had sufficient money to make a difference, I think my Wife and family would have me sectioned before letting me invest in the present situation | | | |
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