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Thread | Dunphy withdraws bid
at 17:01 30 Apr 2023
From 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" |
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Thread | Article in The Telegraph
at 22:28 16 Feb 2023
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/02/16/dortmund-roma-fans-chipped-save-
There were a few wry smiles at Rochdale when news circulated that Manchester City have enlisted a lawyer who can command up to £80,000 a day.
On that sort of rate, the fees of Lord Pannick KC, who will fight City’s case against alleged financial regulation breaches, would cover the League Two club’s annual £1 million financial deficit in just two-and-a-half weeks.
“For me that is just inconceivable,” says Guy Courtney, one of Rochdale’s directors. “Man City have got their own priorities of course, and I fully respect that, but I do think it’s in the interests of the wider football pyramid, of which the country should be very proud, that there is more support generally down through the leagues.”
Having fought off a hostile takeover last year to become the north of England’s first entirely “fan owned and fan led” club, Rochdale now face a different, if no less pressing, battle on the pitch to stay in the Football League, a status they have proudly held for more than a century and are desperate to preserve on so many levels.
Jim Bentley took over in August when Robbie Stockdale was sacked and the former Morecambe and Fylde manager has since had his work cut out.
Five points adrift of safety at the foot of League Two, Rochdale’s game at home to fellow relegation battlers Gillingham on Saturday is very much of the “must win” variety. Time is running out, they need points on the board and Courtney is hoping the fans can once again rally, as they did when former shareholders Morton House MGT took the club, its directors and the Dale Supporters Trust to the High Court.
“We came together to fight off that hostile takeover and now what’s really important is we stay together as a collective from the board, management and playing staff through to other staff at the club and the supporters,” he said. “The more support we can get the better.”
There have been efforts to assist Bentley and his squad. Half-a-dozen signings were made in the transfer window last month and the club have just moved to City’s former Platt Lane training ground in Manchester in the hope the new surroundings can, in Courtney’s words, “provide a boost as we move into this crucial period”.
For the previous 3½ years, the club has been using Rochdale sports club as their training base but the need for a permanent home is paramount. Although Rochdale own their Crown Oil Arena stadium (better known as Spotland to most), renting training facilities sets them back around £500,000 a year, which represents a huge drain on finances. A potential training site in Heywood has been identified and offers hope of a brighter future, not least as Rochdale believe a community facility the public could access might be worth up to £500,000 in annual revenues. “That would be the financial deficit plugged,” Courtney says. Yet finding investors to help fund an estimated £5m project is proving easier said than done.
“A training ground would be a game changer,” Courtney added. “Obviously it would be a massive asset for the local public as well to have a training ground facility that can be used by the community at different points.
“One of the first priorities we had as a board was to move that forward but to fund it is a different kettle of fish. It’s disappointing the club has never got to the position where it has its own training ground. It does hold us back. We are speaking to potential investors and would welcome any serious enquiries.”
It has not helped that the Rochdale board spent the best part of a year fighting to keep the club out of the clutches of Morton House MGT. A bitter, hugely stressful battle was finally settled last August, when Morton House transferred its shares in the club to the Rochdale board.
The Dale Trust, whose secretary Murray Knight sits on the club’s board, did a remarkable job crowdfunding to help cover legal fees, with around £60,000 raised and donations coming from all over the world, including Borussia Dortmund and Roma fans. Yet Courtney — a lifelong Rochdale supporter — and the board’s other six directors, all of whom have strong local ties, had to find around £500,000 between them to buy Morton out.
'The stress was profound'
“They were pretty dark, worrying times on an individual level, a family level and as a fan,” Courtney said. “The Supporters Trust did an incredible job and there was lots of support from the fanbase and wider football community.
“That soaked an incredible amount of time up from the board, finding ways around that situation to get the ownership back into the hands of people who cared about the club.
“The stress was profound. I’m normally quite a relaxed character but there were sleepless nights, stress, it was always in the back of the mind, worrying about the implications.”
Rochdale’s owners welcomed Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review into English football and are now awaiting publication of the long-awaited government white paper on football governance with great interest. Like many lower league sides, they are not after handouts but the introduction of an independent football regulator and a system that provides a fairer redistribution of wealth and better enables clubs to become self-sustaining.
“When you look at the history of clubs like Rochdale, they’re so important for the town in which they’re based,” Courtney said. “They need some support on a national and local level in order to succeed.
“There was a real fear among the Rochdale community, Rochdale fanbase and wider football community that we would end up like Bury and Oldham and the struggles they’d had and, of that northern Manchester club base, we’d be the last one to really hit the buffers.
“We’re having problems on the pitch now but off the pitch we’ve worked really hard to keep us together. I do feel now that the club deserves a bit of luck, a bit of good fortune and some support.” [Post edited 16 Feb 2023 22:30]
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Thread | Questions for the fans forum
at 10:35 6 Feb 2023
I fear there is a risk that the fans forum could become quite toxic, with the mic being passed from person to person wanting to have a good old rant. Cathartic as that might be, there's enough crucial questions to be asked to take up the entire evening. I'd hate for us to come out the other side of this opportunity non the wiser on some crucial topics due to an excessive amount of time spent bickering.
What are the questions people are most keen to hear asked and answered.
On the playing side:
Why was Brierley allowed to go on trial when we needed him in the squad?
Why has Eastwood continued to be selected/seen as an upgrade on O'Donnell?
On the club side:
After the specific statement in the Chairman's letter at the EGM that the share release was not designed to enable a takeover, when was his mind changed and does he see how this differs from the information people based their votes on at the EGM?
What is the role of George Delves, and is there a reason he does not sit on the panel at Forums?
Has the club tried to access outside support from someone with experience of running a football club? [Post edited 6 Feb 2023 10:41]
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Thread | Rochdale folk festival
at 09:53 13 Jun 2022
Wandered into the midst of Rochdale folk festival this weekend, I hadn't a clue it was on.
Live music across the many great pubs in the town center. Got to see some fantastic acts, free of charge, along with some fantastic real ale in the Flying Horse and the Medicine Tap.
It might not be everyone's thing, but I saw countless people pop in for a drink and stay for the sort of music they might never think to give a chance.
Well done to whoever organised it. Just the sort of thing that can showcase the town. [Post edited 13 Jun 2022 15:05]
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Thread | Chris Dunphy's book signing
at 09:45 13 Jun 2022
Just a quick nod to Chris and anyone else who went along to the book signing at Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Brilliant to be with so many Dale fans sharing memories. Loads of niche stories and differing versions of events. Even got to put some faces to names on here, which is always nice.
Chris had time for everyone. He came and sat with folks afterwards and told some great stories. Special mention for his wife, Kim, who had as many brilliant stories as Chris did.
I hope there's another event of some kind in future. |
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Thread | Up the Dale, tat for sale
at 10:01 8 Feb 2022
Like most of us, I've been trying to think of different ways I can help with the fighting fund.
I'd imagine a fair few of us have something we've been meaning to stick on eBay or gumtree, or DVDs/books/CDs we've been meaning to send to ziffit/music magpie.
If you're hard up and you can't do this then that is completely understandable. If you can, then spare 5 minutes and donate the profits to the crowdfunder.
Be sure to sneak a copy of the leaflet in with whatever gets sold:
https://we.tl/t-YyTVjjTRf6 |
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Thread | Undisclosed fees
at 15:05 8 Jan 2022
With transfer rumours beginning, I'd like to take the chance to preempt the tiresome comments about undisclosed fees, which rear their heads every transfer window.
They wouldn't be so bad, if they weren't usually a pre-cursor to whiny comments about "typical Rochdale".
At every level, in modern football most fees are undisclosed. Unless you'd like would-be buyers to know our price, wanting to know because you'd "like to" is not a good enough reason for either club to release that information.
They often come out eventually. Sometimes they might even be accurate. [Post edited 8 Jan 2022 15:09]
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Thread | Dan Altman's social conscience...
at 18:07 1 Aug 2021
Mr Altman has been speaking up about some very worthwhile causes. Anyone who wishes to discuss why his share sale runs contrary to his principles can share their views with him here...
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/activity:6822880506221273088
Dan Altman
Founder of smarterscout.com and North Yard Analytics — Co-Founder of NYK Capital Management — Rochdale AFC supporter
Today we're dialing down the smarterscout presence on social media to focus on our main sources of revenue growth: clubs, agencies, media outlets, and betting services. Social media were critical to our early growth, and they brought us members from around the world. They also opened an unexpected door at an important time.
That door was the door to activism. For the past two years, I tried to use the smarterscout platform to support the rights of Black people, LGBTQ+ people, and others who had been denied equal rights by society. Why? Because if I had a platform, I had an obligation to use it to help people as much as I could.
There was a mix of reactions. We were accused by onlookers of "wokeness," as though that were some kind of sin. Some said we were just doing it for marketing. Well, we weren't doing it to promote smarterscout — but we were pushing progressive values and a fairer society. So in that sense, guilty as charged.
Another favorite of mine was the accusation of "virtue signaling". This could only have come from someone incapable of believing that the owner of a company would want to support human and civil rights publicly. Maybe this person was trying to figure out where the percentage was (I don't know, and I don't care). Maybe this person was asking why these rights were worth supporting (please, read a book).
In fact, profit is the furthest thing from my mind when it comes to social issues. (And believe me, I've thought about profit and social investment quite a bit: https://lnkd.in/eJ-tBAK) This is why I put our money where our mouth was by joining Common Goal. We make a donation every year out of our revenue. The return goes to society, not to us.
Our platform isn't very big. We have about 25k followers on social media and 17k members on our site. But I never thought that we'd be able to reach so many people. So I did what I thought we had to do — what I'd want my kids to do, too. And I hope that we brought them a tiny bit closer to living in a better world than ours.
https://lnkd.in/eHWdqxP [Post edited 1 Aug 2021 18:21]
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Thread | The reason for the delay announcing BBMs contract extension... Really?
at 13:09 25 Mar 2021
From the information we have so far, BBM was given the extension when we were in midtable following two big wins. It's been said that the board opted not to announce this due to a poor run of form.
A poor run of form takes weeks to accrue. The only way a poor run of form could be a barrier to the announcement can only be explained if they had held off making the announcement in the first place.
It's baffling.
Alongside the lack of clarity around Mr Altman and Mr Marcelli, and the CEO's stark refusal to answer questions that have been asked of him ever since he entered the role, the elephant in the room has become a herd. |
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Thread | All is not lost... Maybe? Hopefully?
at 15:13 7 Mar 2021
There's been a lot of calls for positivity at a time when positivity is hard to find. Poor performances, possible sackings and boardroom mysteries and misdemeanors aren't exactly the stuff of which dreams are made. Not to mention the genuine risk of relegation.
I am one of those people unable to walk away. Dale was the heart of my childhood. When I moved away for uni, every Saturday without Dale was tough to take. I fully empathise with those who are ready to walk away but I hope they make their reasons know to the club. I wouldn't want to see genuine acts of protest dismissed as being the byproduct of what has been a period of hard times for everyone.
If I can't bring myself to walk away, where do I find my sliver of hope? Don't worry, this isn't a clichéd call for unity.
For me, the club does have an open goal decision-wise. A chance to bring in new blood with the relevant experience and give us the best shot at some kind of rebuild. To say thank you for your service to a CEO and manager who couldn't help but be out of their depth, and give the club the best chance to get back on track. As much as I would prefer to see them go, perhaps taking a step away from the tone of driving them out of the club, which is something I've been guilty of myself.
Or maybe it's just been a bit sunnier recently and I'm really looking forward to my tea. |
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Thread | What do we still need?
at 14:04 12 Sep 2020
The obvious gaps for me are a left back and another out and out striker. Preferably a left back who can get forward in the same way to McLaughlin and an experienced physical presence kind of striker. Some Newby/Baah/Done can run off.
Who's out there/who would you realistically like to see signed up? |
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