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Reply | AGM Tuesday.
at 08:21 11 Dec 2024
I've sent a email to the Trust in relation to the ridiculous 10am start, it's obviously designed to deter attendance rather than encourage it. I can't believe the Ogden family are supportive of that. To be honest I've all but given up on the Supporters Trust and sending the email was against my better judgement. The worst thing to happen has been Murray Knight going into the Boardroom, this has in fact weakened the Trust rather than strengthened it. A total disaster i think. The Trust has been reduced to a timid weak kitten and is neither use nor ornament as it stands. They have no voice whatsoever and the whole set up needs disbanding and setting up again in a different supporters format. One that is stronger and fit for purpose, one that is aligned with how the Ogden family see the club going forward in the future. |
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Reply | Mount Rushmore
at 11:52 18 Nov 2024
It's a post born out of frustration. I honestly feel like finding out where Cameron lives and going down to see him face to face, a suggestion I've put to others. I'm fed up with individuals in high places holding petty grudges and putting their own personal agendas before the football club. We want a club that treats everybody with respect don't we and one that pulls everybody together for the good of the club. We have a wonderful opportunity to make this club good with the Ogden family and any individual who isn't on board with that needs to be replaced. I'm also fed up with our Supporters Trust pussy footing around Simon Gauge and that includes the Trust representative on the board..subservient the lot of them and bloody frightened to death of upsetting him. [Post edited 18 Nov 12:12]
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Reply | Mount Rushmore
at 11:41 18 Nov 2024
Well you will be aware of their fantastic contribution to the club, neither of them did it for recognition but when others at the club are being recognised and awarded honorary positions at the club then these two as a example should certainly be. They should be welcomed and given the same matchday privileges as any other serving Director, or those previous. The fact that they haven't takes some explaining, neither of them feel welcomed and nobody at the club has reached out to them. It could be rectified straight away but the person who makes all the decisions at the club has chosen not to do so. As i said, the Trust have tried to rectify this wrong. We have a Trust Ditector in the Boardroom but still nothing happens. It's like the rest of the club, nothings changed has it. We have new Directors in the Boardroom, when are they going to get a grip of the club and ensure good people like Chris Dunphy and Jamie Sarsfield are treated properly? [Post edited 18 Nov 11:43]
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Reply | Mount Rushmore
at 06:40 18 Nov 2024
Yes, it's a strange choice that when we're talking about people who shaped the history of the club. I notice Jack is also on the honours list in the programme, a life president or similar. No doubt he's been a good kit man but we have people who've invested a awful lot of their own money to save the club and they are treated like imposters. People like Jamie Sarsfield and Chris Dunphy, our most successful Chairman ever, who made a real difference to the club and are now snubbed and treated like lepers for no reason. They stand wiling to help the club in any way they can, Cameron needs to speak to them.
There's clearly attempts been made to airbrush worthy individuals out of the clubs history and ostracise them from the club. I think thats something Cameron Ogden should be made aware of and is something that should be one of the topics at the fans forum if he is in attendance. No point mentioning it to Simon Gauge. I believe the Trust have approached Simon Gauge about this and Murray Knight is aware but the can is continuously kicked down the road and there's no appetite to reach out to them. George Brigham also banged the drum very loudly but probably ended up frustrated. At the start of a 'New Era' you would like to think that this isn't a vindictive policy, if it is then it's petty and childish and reflects very poorly on the person who should be looking for unity and inclusion. A personal refusal to put the interests of the club first and embrace individuals who have made a real difference to the club and could help him and the club in the process. These are open goals and big wins for the club but somebody within the club is blocking progress and it's harming the Ogdens family football club. The club can't progress with people like that making decisions, carrying grudges and pettiness doesn't belong in football clubs, we're fed up to the back teeth of people like that and i thought the new era and Ogden takeover would have eradicated all that sort of childish stuff from the Boardroom. It is childish and it needs calling out for what it is. It's ridiculous and disrespectful.
Cameron Ogden could do a lot worse than sit in a room for a hour with a mix of maybe a dozen life long Dale fans/ Shareholders and have a full and frank discussion with them to really get a feel of what concerns the fans have. Chris Dunphy lives up the road from the club, they would get on like a house on fire if they had a meet. Make contact and go to his house for a brew, I'm really surprised Cameron hasn't already done that. Instead of just listening to Gauge and his fellow Directors, go and speak to our best Chairman ever who oversaw two promotions and the redevelopment of the stadium and then go and have a pint in the Cemetery with a bunch of fans and listen to their aspirations and concerns. Chris Dunphy and his associates also have relationships with influential people in the Town and the Council, they negotiated with RMBC their investment in the club and also went through the process of getting permission to redevelop the stadium. It's madness that their experience isn't being tapped into by the Ogden family, they will probably help to open doors for them. I'm sure Chris would help and advise in that area if he was aked. Cameron or one of his own Directors needs to make the approach though to ensure it's done in the correct manner. What would they have to lose and I'm certain Chris would help the club in any way he could. [Post edited 18 Nov 8:42]
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Reply | Mount Rushmore
at 14:54 17 Nov 2024
David Kilpatrick
Chris Dunphy
Gary Jones
David Clough
The two best Chairman, our iconic captain, the superfan
If there was a mini collective award for a Mount Rushmore then i would give it to Simon Gauge and ALL the other Directors who put in their own money to buy back the shares from MH. They still all need properly recognising for that, especially the ones who have since left the club. [Post edited 17 Nov 15:42]
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Reply | Mount Rushmore
at 14:50 17 Nov 2024
Yes, i phoned Dusty. This is a great idea by the way, it would be more fun if we could have a villians version though and a explanation why?🙂 |
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Reply | Mount Rushmore
at 14:40 17 Nov 2024
What's a Mount Rushmore? Edit..googled it. [Post edited 17 Nov 14:45]
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Reply | What’s our worst squad ever?
at 14:06 17 Nov 2024
Statistically but they were playing at a higher level than those players who followed. The squads i remember as the poorest are the ones towards the late 1970s. I didn't see the 73/74 team. Things only seemed to buck up when Danny Bergara became manager. No disrespect but the likes of Helliwell and Boslem didn't even look like footballers, we had local pub players on the fringes of the first team late 70s, early 80s. Mind you Bill Williams and Geoff Thomas went on to great things. Speaking of which i was in the Cemetery pub with Geoff last week. [Post edited 17 Nov 14:11]
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Reply | The Bigger Picture
at 13:50 17 Nov 2024
Yes, i get that, a competitive budget in respect of aiming for a play off place was how it was described during the summer. He mentioned improving on last season, that should have us in or around the play offs. I think that's what the fan base expect when you speak on matchdays and listening to numerous interviews from the players i think that they expect the same thing. I havent heard anybody say they dont expect us to finish in the play offs to be honest. We certainly shouldn't be seeing the type of performances that we saw yesterday. Maybe McNulty has spoken with Cameron last week prior to the radio interviews and expectations have now been reset. [Post edited 17 Nov 13:52]
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Reply | The Bigger Picture
at 13:20 17 Nov 2024
Punching above our weight in terms of budget? I believe Wealdstone are a part time outfit and they beat us comfortably yesterday. At no point did we look like scoring. Apart from the win at Fylde i can't remember when we last put in a good performance that resulted in a win. Halifax had us chasing shadows, we dug in and managed to win the game. We scored the injury time winner with our only shot on target during the second half last week. Neither could be classed as good performances. Hartlepool away was the last good league performance i think. [Post edited 17 Nov 13:22]
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Reply | The Bigger Picture
at 08:55 17 Nov 2024
Fantastic post and thanks for your time in composing it. It would be great if you and other supporters could forward something similar to Cameron Ogden. The opportunities to question how the club is being run are being closed down, the decision to remove the shareholder forum is the best example of that. Who made that decision, was it Cameron Ogden? A fans forum isn't the best platform to discuss in detail the things that need addressing so fans are left to find other ways of channelling their concerns. No good submitting a question to the Trust, if its going to upset somebody in the Boardroom it won't get asked and it certainly wont get challenged. So there's nowhere else to go apart from straight to the source. The Ogdens own the Club, they need to know how shareholders and fans feel in respect to how their club is being run. We have two Chairman, i have no faith in Simon Gauge after his last performance at the AGM, so i'll direct any concerns i have to Cameron Ogden. [Post edited 17 Nov 9:18]
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 08:04 17 Nov 2024
Back from a injury and he's played out of position, as a consequence so is McBride. Our two forwards both played out of position, well McBride isnt really a forward as such. We have Henderson on the bench who has scored three in his last four games i think. As 442 rightly pointed out, the squad is unbalanced and it's over loaded with similar type wide players. It's what Hill did when Dunphy was Chairman, collecting players like stamps. It was highlighted during the summer recruitment that we needed strengthening through the spine of the team in particular..Goalkeeper, central defender and another goalscorer who we can keep on the pitch.
The on loan keeper from Wrexham came in at the last minute, we've used four keepers already this season and we aren't halfway through yet. So we now have a young kid with no experience at this level as our number one goalkeeper, the most important position on the pitch. Good luck to him. The centre of defence is still a running sore, i accept Ferguson has done well in his limited appearances but i don't have confidence in him and it's clear that Jim doesn't neither, he sees him in training every day. Rodney is always going to miss games, he's consistent with injuries and Hendo is 40 years old, so that's another area that wasn't addressed. In the meantime Jim's signed a load of wide, utility players who let's be honest are very inconsistent and raw at this level.
So the criticism of McNulty in respect to the make up of the squad is warranted, irrespective of the good players he's also signed. How does he keep all those players happy and how can he have clarity of thought when it comes to team selection? It's like every game is a experiment and even more so when it comes to the substitutions. [Post edited 17 Nov 8:24]
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 07:12 17 Nov 2024
Loyal to our new owners, as a fan that should be the number one priority. I know I'm a dinosaur expecting loyalty from McNulty but four months in to his contract isn't good. On a separate note, i have doubts as to whether next Saturday lunchtimes game will go ahead looking at the weather forecast for the rest of the week. Oldham have good frost covers, we could do to give them a ring and double up with theirs and get them down early. |
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 03:32 17 Nov 2024
The end of a bad week for the club, in particular the Ogden family. Apparently Cameron invited over 250 of his business associates to yesterday's game in an attempt to drum up investment and sponsorship for the club. Hired out an entire pub and put on presentations etc. To organise something like that takes some planning and no doubt it will have been a costly exercise. Such a fantastic thing to do. Look how he's been rewarded.
Listening to McNultys interview it sounds like the manager and players didn't fancy the game before a ball had been kicked...they didn't like the pitch and had already identified that prior to the game. After the events of this week i can't imagine Cameron will be very impressed, he's pulling his tripe out trying to drum up investment while his manager is being interviewed for another job, four months into a three year contract (i realise that doesn't bother some fans). Then we throw in a performance like that and the manager tries to kid people that it was the pitch and the referees fault. Insulting people's intelligence and disrespecting our opponents. The bigger picture here are the Ogden family and the football club, i think McNultys disrespected both, just my opinion obviously.
A big part of ' Team Rochdale' and the special bond died for me last week, things now feel a bit different and that's down to McNulty. You look to your manager to provde unity and instead he did the opposite.The players will now know he has one eye on his next move and it looked like it was reflected in their lacklustre performance, a spark was missing. I understand some fans don't have a problem with what went on with McNulty and Burton but try putting yourself in the shoes of Cameron Ogden, deep down he must be so disappointed. [Post edited 17 Nov 7:00]
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Reply | AGM change
at 05:59 15 Nov 2024
I don't think anybody is underestimating the work put in by any volunteers down the years, they all should be commended. The Trust members should be commended also for renewing their memberships and contributing financially, supporting functions, submitting questions, purchasing shares etc. Without the members there is no Supporters Trust, so it's a team effort from everybody, as was witnessed in the recent battle with the hostile takeover. You don't have to have served on the Trust Committee or volunteered to voice your opinion, or even criticise how you view the running of the Trust. All Trust members should be encouraged to do that.
I've posted previously on this particular thread and since the Bottomley turmoil ive spoken to several members of the Trust Committe and volunteered my services but not had a response, that's fine and i don't take it personal. I know i'm not for everybody. I spoke to a ex Chairman of the Trust, Col, during the Morton House saga and he said that further down the line the Trust needs a complete overhaul of how it is operating, big changes needed to be made to make it stronger. To ensure that people in the boardroom are challenged and held to account properly if needed, by the Supporters Trust. To avoid another scenario where one individual in the Boardroom is allowed to do as he pleases with the club and the Trust have to just fall in line. He has since left his position as we know and i dont think that we have really seen any of those changes implemented. I don't think the fan in the Boardroom is working how we envisaged, it seems more of a hinderence to me. Just my opinion.
I look at the Trust now and i see a committee full of very good people, i know them all and they love the club, they must do to volunteer their services. Unfortunately though i still look on our Trust as being very subservient to those in the Boardroom, not much has changed. In fact i think there's now a fear and a feeling of 'treading on egg shells' when it comes to dealing with the Co- Chairman Simon Gauge.. nobody wants to upset Simon. If that is the case then Cameron Ogden and fellow Directors needs informing and it needs to be done in an official capacity, not word of mouth. It needs properly documenting. Weve had enough of that, its been going on too long now and needs addessing properly and not putting in the 'too hard to do' tray. Does the Trust Director properly challenge Simon or does he just keep the peace and act as a convenient buffer for him, compromised by his position, a position that doesn't seem to have any defining structure to it?
I submitted a question at the recent Q&A meeting with the Directors ( Simon Gauge) but it didn't get asked. It was suggested to me by a Committee member that it didn't get asked..'because Simon wouldn't like it'. I'm not sure if the meetings are minuted, the Q&A are published later though. My question was 'If at any point i lost confidence in how the club was being run on a day to day basis and also with individuals within the Boardroom, what is the procedure to escalate this up to the owners of the club, the Ogden family?' I asked that question as a Shareholder and a Trust member and i thought it was a fair question bearing in mind we now have new owners. A recent Director almost killed the club remember and very few dared to challenge him..so the question was very relevant. I'm assuming somebody on the Trust Committee vetted the questions and decided which ones to ask. Subservient and keeping the peace, all phrases that I used further up the post.
So yes i would go on the Trust Committee but it would be conditional on me being involved in the meetings with those in the Boardroom and i would want people alongside me who if needed wouldn't be afraid of having difficult conversations and challenging those who need challenging. Grown up meetings with no egos in the room and if something needs saying then you say it, everybody working together as a team including Cameron and Simon. Maybe Cameron could think about utilising one of his own recently appointed Directors as a point of contact for the Trust Committe, should they have any concerns that they want to address in confidence.
I do think that the Trust needs a full reset and it should start with a one on one meeting with Cameron Gauge and his family, let them outline how they want their Supporters Trust to work, their vision for it within the structure of the club. Start with a blank sheet of paper with no outside influence from others. The Trust should really be showing leadership with the promise of the Golden Share on the horizon and working hand in hand with the Ogdens and the Board of Directors. Individuals who don't like that need replacing, the club can't progress if we don't all work as one. Serious question, is EVERYBODY in the boardroom fully supportive of Cameron and his family's fantastic gesture in respect of the Golden Share? There has always been a 'us and them' with Simon Gauge and some of the daft decisions coming out of the club tell me that's not changed since the Ogdens became involved. I would suggest that it's become even more ingrained since the Trust Director went into the Boardroom and that position has become akin to a human shield which needs to be penetrated before getting through to Simon. The fans have been worried all week about the manager leaving, the only way to find out what was happening was to listen to Cameron Ogden on Radio Manchester, why didnt the club inform the fans via their official website? Not worthy of knowing obviously, it's very poor and another example of how the fans are viewed.
I'm certainly not posting to criticise those who serve on the Trust Committee but I do honestly feel as though something radical needs to happen to make the organisation more relevant in the Ogdens future plans for the Club. There's a place for selling raffle tickets and organising fund raising functions but the promise of the Golden Share should have the Trust Committee hammering down the front door of the Ogdens family home and shouting at them ...'We're here and we have a army of fans to support you and we want to be involved in everything'. If individuals try to put up a human barrier, trample over them if its for the good of the club and call them out very loudly at every opportunity, get them challenged properly. All of us need to think about how the Trust can be remodelled and given a proper voice going into the future. If it's the start of a new era then it's the time to re-think how we can make the Trust stronger. I think it needs to start with a new mindset from not just those involved with the Trust committee but also the trust members and the whole fan base.
Sorry for the long post, my cats been ill overnight so i've been up looking after him. [Post edited 15 Nov 8:56]
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Reply | Mcnulty
at 05:40 14 Nov 2024
You got bags more buzz at Burtons..apparently |
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Reply | AGM change
at 21:04 13 Nov 2024
You would also think that having Murray Knight acting as a Trust/ fans representitive in the Boardroom would increase communication and inclusivity between the Trust members, fans, shareholders and those running the club. Gagging the shareholders at the AGM for probably the first time in the history of the club does the opposite of that and it is another example of making stupid decisions and aggravating the shareholders/ fans. I'm surprised Cameron Ogden agreed to that change and also disappointed. Sensitive stuff is discussed at AGMs and some questions might not be for the public domain, such as a fans forum. I would expect Murray to have challenged those in the Boardroom on that also, he represents the Trust members and the Trust are a major shareholder. You would have hoped that he would have done that and reported back to the Trust Committee. This fan in the Boardroom thing isn't working is it, or its not working in the manner that we thought it would do. [Post edited 13 Nov 21:58]
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