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Reply | Hartlepool sack Kevin Phillips......
at 14:17 27 Apr 2024
I would take him on for pre-season to work with the forwards, particularly Mitchell, on finishing. You cant teach his sort of predatory instincts but he must have a wealth of knowledge about increasing your chances of scoring that he could pass on.... Taking 15 or so of the many very presentable chances that were created and not taken this season would have probably got us well into the play-offs. Thats 1 more goal in every 3 games or so. Turning 5 draws into wins is worth 10 more points turning 5 single goal defeats into draws is another 5 points... it adds up quickly. 15 goals, 15 points and we would be 4th or 5th alongside Alty. |
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Reply | Retained list
at 14:26 25 Apr 2024
Loanees....
Hayes current contract at Fleetwood expires in June 24 would sign in a heartbeat.
Mellor would sign if available current Wycombe contract isnt clear,
Chapman, contract at Hudds ends this summer .. would sign if possible
Cant see any ot the others being available unless Mather is released at United even then he would attract interest from clubs with deeper pockets than ours
We need a better target than Mitchell , I think we will lose Nevett and will consequently need pretty much a new defence, having only Gordon and Ferguson on the books.
John is neither full back or midfielder, Jack of all trades, master of none is not what we need and at his reported salary the negotiation will be difficult.
EEL... another who may not want to take a salary cut, but at 33, his choices are diminishing.. if he signs all well and good, but there will be others and younger available for the sort of money he will want.
Henderson.. the epitome of a legend but does he have the legs for another season, and what sort of money will he want? Equally he might think its time to cash in on his qualifications and be looking for a new career. Either way we need to find a replacement striker to feed,off a,new,target man
Jimmy K. I think he will sign on at a sensible salary, he is a better midfielder than left back but his "play anywhere"attitude is a valuable resource
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Reply | Galloway speech. Football related
at 18:21 24 Apr 2024
As much as many will be hiding behind the sofa with every mention of Galloway, you have to admit that he certainly mentions Rochdale more than many of his predecesors have done and he speaks with authority and presence. |
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Reply | Investment update
at 11:27 24 Apr 2024
That will be the Shareholders Register, and probably goes back to the original incorporation. Obviously they have to have some sort of list of current shareholders to send Emails to us.
.. QED whilst you are in the book, they didnt put you on the email list... or they have misspelled something in your email and you are not receiving them. A letter is your best chance of fixing things. |
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Reply | Investment update
at 09:23 24 Apr 2024
Probably two different lists, possibly on different PCs. Probably not good data protection....These problems are symptomatic of long term lack of investment and training across the whole club. Noone has ever put money into sales, marketing , customer acquisition or retention and all the other essential tasks that proper companies undertake. Unfortunately you have slipped off a list and no one has noticed, and, you are probably not alone....keep plugging away at them if only for the sake of others who dont even realise what they are not receiving. |
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Reply | Investment update
at 20:48 23 Apr 2024
Thankfully there is no requirement to do anything about the Email , assuming you don't want to buy a few shares that the the Ogden's are happy to buy anyway?
I am not belittling the issue, as a shareholder you should be on the Email list if that is their chosen method of contacting us. Write to the club in the strongest terms and ask that they add you to the list and A) send an email to prove it and B) write / text to you that they have sent it , which might indicate a system problem of some sort if the Email isn't received..... |
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Reply | 24/25 Kit Vote
at 20:39 23 Apr 2024
And white socks ! Or at least Blue or Black and White hooped socks, maybe all 3! |
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Reply | Investment update
at 18:46 19 Apr 2024
I have read the statement twice and it only gets better....off- pitch sustainability would be a fantastic goal to achieve, and with a full time business development specialist to drive it, far more than the lip service we have managed so far.
A new facility for training , academy and community use in Rochdale is a real challenge to the the Council.. back us...! we need to start a campaign writing to local councillors to support the idea before the May elections...
They also recognise that a serious shot at getting to at least the play-offs is on the agenda, a couple of decent strikers would help bring that to fruition.
Safe to say I am thrilled by this statement. Next season is my 64th and I admit there have been times when I thought we might not get another go, so my gratitude to the Ogden family is deeply felt, "aude et praevalebis".......( if you know, you know.) |
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Reply | Fa Cup replays
at 14:20 19 Apr 2024
From the FA's website...lots of stuff about the romance of the competition, exactly what their latest edict seeks to put an end to.....What a shower they are. ( my thoughts in brackets)
"More than simply the showpiece occasion to bring down the curtain on an English season ( well, thats not happening any more), it became the world’s cup final, the best loved and most watched domestic game on earth, the fixture that people all over the planet would do anything they could to catch.
It is the competition that fostered professionalism, created and fuelled the rivalry between clubs great and small ( but we dont give an actual toss about the smaller ones) , instigated the game’s global television market ( this is the bit that really interests us) and yet still reminds us that, be they ever so mighty, the biggest and the best in the world can still be brought down to earth by a committed bunch of journeymen ( but not after a replay because the high and mighty dont like them) , hurling themselves around on a mud heap (and presumably there will be more mud heaps if the cash from lucrative replays against Premiership clubs are not happening any more) on a bitingly cold January day. "
We should also ask where the £33m the Premiership is apparently coughing up in lieu of replays will be going... is it a one off? Will all participants get the same amount and if not why not? |
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Reply | Fa Cup replays
at 13:44 18 Apr 2024
The same clubs playing each other over and over again has become tiresome for many fans especially the ones supporting clubs outside the top six, the whole point of the FA Cup is the potential for upsets... the money men don't like upsets.. and once again the FA has backed the moneybags vs the rest of us... but... the Premiership has deigned to pass £33m to the lower leagues to recompense them for not getting replays. And you can bet the Championship will get 90% of that with the lower echelons of the National League getting about 50 quid and a warm handshake to cover the cost of travelling from Cornwall to Blyth.. it would be more cost effective to just concede at round 1. |
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Reply | Boreham Wood at home take 3!
at 18:18 17 Apr 2024
I dont think the Ogdens will be bailing anyone out. Their money is there to support the club not go outside the club into private pockets. The best Simon and the current BoD can hope for is that the team is successful and the value of the club appreciates to the point where more, new investors might be tempted to come on board by buying them out and putting money into the club at the same time. I have no doubt the Ogdens know lots of high net-worth individuals who might become interested with time. All this is way into the future and very uncertain, so maybe the loans will be repaid at some point but at the moment there are more urgent matters to fix and its hard to imagine the club repaying loans before improving other aspects of the club. |
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Reply | Boreham Wood at home take 3!
at 17:07 17 Apr 2024
I am not worried about him continuing if he wants to, the role will become easier and he will still hold a huge number of shares and loans so I think his views are worth considering. The power will lie with the Ogdens and they will make the big decisions but on balance I would rather have him inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in....If the Ogdens can get us running properly, I don't have any particular worries about him continuing. Running a failing business is a really difficult job and I have seen it break tougher men than Simon, the stress he was under was obvious to anyone who cared to look, and he is not getting his money back unless the club is in very good shape, so in that sense it probably depends most on how he gels with the new owners, who may want a change of Chairman but still keep Simon on the Board. At the end of the day I dont think anyone has deliberately set out to harm the club, decisions had to be made and as ever, they look different with the benefit of hindsight, The circumstances of the last few years have been unprecedented and it may be that other decisions may have brought better outcomes , we will never know, but there is no guarantee. At least he made decisions when many would have bottled it and didn't hide from making them and for that alone I think he has something to offer. " Any decision is better than no decision"
https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/a-bad-decision-is-better-than-no-decisio |
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Reply | Boreham Wood at home take 3!
at 14:56 17 Apr 2024
I think SG will continue as Chairman, but I suspect he now realises he needs help. A new Commercial Director and a Director of Football would be the minimum in addition to a couple of Ogden representatives.
I rather hope we can find a commercial director from another industry rather than from a football background, I think we need a much wider skill set than a lottery manager at a L1 club or a social media manager from a Prem club, we need someone with a wide business background including print and online media, PR, and responsibility for developing off pitch profits. Its a huge job but vital to the club and getting it right is a challenge but one of the Ogden brothers is involved in recruitment, albeit the Texas oil industry, so, who knows, maybe there is a Texan who could bring some can-do attitude and innovation....
I am encouraged that conversations have taken place with politicians, and the likes of the Rochdale Development Agency, clearly they are taking a much wider view of where support can come from... or not!
The club needs refreshing from top to bottom and running like a proper business that sees profits as a really good idea, finding more of those profits somewhere other than the 23+ matchdays will be the challenge. A successful football club with significant community outreach programmes could be a major step forwards for the whole town. Its not often these opportunities arrive. I just hope everyone feels able to get on board rather than sniping from the wings or playing political games. |
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Reply | Boreham Wood at home take 3!
at 22:45 16 Apr 2024
An apology..
I thought we might be turning a corner .. I was wrong.. I apologise....
Tonight was utterly clueless, If Mitchell is a centre forward I am a semi -skilled brain surgeon. I have no idea what the plan was for tonight, but it was obvious after 10 minutes that it wasn't working. This team is incapable of scoring against the Dog and Duck from the Bacup Sunday League. No aggression, no apparent urgency... last home game of the season, an opportunity to make a statement and sell tickets for next season and we yet again spent most of the game in our own half playing chuckle brothers.. to me, to you.....to me, to you...I have no idea what McNulty is trying to prove, and I am not sure he does.
Still, its another season all but ticked off and we will hopefully to start next season with new owners... I guess beggars cant be choosers but please, lets not play another season trying to set another world record for sideways passing .. its all so bloody tiresome. |
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Reply | Dorking
at 11:58 14 Apr 2024
I have very mixed feelings about this season, "its been frustrating"seems to be the overwhelming thought when I look back, we started with another virtually new team, unknown oppositions and a dread of another horrid time. Some of our players took time to establish themselves, others looked no better than when they got us relegated. The manager clearly hadn't changed his spots.
As the weather got worse so did the results, and the slide down the table began. We just were not capable of killing teams off. The opposition worked hard, if occasionally somewhat agriculturally, threw men forwards and defended in numbers.. I think we could have all guessed that was what might be expected, our response to that simple game plan has been to keep the ball and move gradually from defence to attack, unfortunately, this team is shot-shy and dreadfully wasteful in front of goal. And the lack of pace going forwards has presented the opportunity for our opposition to organise defensively.
I think the last few games have been slightly better, using more width and trying to bring Mitchell into the game earlier, albeit with his back to the goal he should be shooting at. Speaking of Mitchell, he reminds me of the a product of a the PE teacher in the film "Kes" ... " Mitchell.. you are the tallest , play centre forward" .. sadly the lad is only a shadow of what I would regard as a centre forward, cant head, isnt robust and not greedy enough in front of goal, he could easily have bagged 20+ if he had more of the sort of "attitude" that got him sent off.
I do sense that the "walking football" has developed into something more akin to what is needed to be more successful , we are clearly experimenting with wingers and are making chances , especially when they put their foot to the floor and attack with pace and power, having Rodney available has been a big plus lately, he isnt the messiah but we have been better when he has played.
Next season, we simply have to score more goals, turn draws into wins and lose fewer games. KH reckoned you can only lose 10 games if you want to be in the promotion places, maybe 12 in this league. But you have to score goals, lots of them.
Do that and the crowds will come. Settle for more of the same and they will not.
Equally we need to have a bit of luck, the injury list has been longer than the team sheet for most of the season, McNulty will surely have a better idea of what sort of players we need and in which positions.. Goalkeeper, centre half x2 , left back, striker x2 , wingers, another summer of wholesale changes...
Fingers crossed, the Ogdens will finalise a deal and some of the financial constraints will be lifted and the next phase of the club's history can begin with a changed atmosphere and renewed positivity around the place. Make no mistake, there will not be extravagant expenditure and the academy, in whatever form it takes, will need to be front and centre in the search for new talent, but we can at least start to look up again rather than continually checking how many points we are above the trapdoor. |
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Reply | Match Postponed.
at 18:39 9 Apr 2024
Light rain all day on Thursday... It doesn't dry until next week when the kids are back at school....ɓut then its back to zero temperatures...just as my prize Azelea comes into flower... |
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Reply | Pitch Condition
at 11:23 9 Apr 2024
Persisting down at the moment and due to rain heavily until lunchtime, clearing slowly and then stopping at tea time , Fine through the evening.. Yesterday was OK until plate evening and it rained until late into the night. I normally wouldnt worry about it if they have sorted out the drain problem from a few weeks ago ..and hopefully its got 2 or 3 hours before kick off to with a drying wind. |
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Reply | Targeting Groups
at 12:13 8 Apr 2024
You are correct in thinking we need more people in the ground, especially as at this level the visiting support is generally poor. But... 4000 x £13 × 23 games ( 13 £ from total ticket revenue divided by total attendees for 2022.) Only delivers £1.38m.
We need to generate at least a similar amount from off- pitch activities.
A training ground with community access to 2 x 4g pitches could raise £100+ per pitch per hour for 4 or 5 hours a day per week so say £250 x 5 hours x7 days x50 weeks could raise another £400k after costs.
A dark kitchen utilising the existing kitchens at the ground sould make £250 / 300 per night given the size of the potential customer base.. so say another £100k
A lottery could all another £100 - £200k
A well-run club shop could add £50k
Parties and celebrations should add £50k
Bars £50k-100k
A couple of good local pre- season home friendlies would help.. Burnley, Bolton, City United?
Add in improved sales and marketing and we get closer to £2 - £2.5m.. I wonder if Computacenter would like to sponsor us? At least the IT would be taken care of.....The good thing about having proper business people running things would be that their connections are at a much higher / wealthier level than we are used to., |
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Reply | Club Appeal Red Card..
at 16:23 6 Apr 2024
In Professional sport, attitude is vital. I have no doubt the Ogdens will drive the business side of the club to new heights, when you have some cash and a stellar reputation for making more, lots of things that are impossible right now become more than possible. But its on the pitch where we have to add all those minute improvements that add up to big improvements. Having an "A" badge or whatever is only the start for the coaches, to become successful, you have to do the things that successful clubs do as routine. Ideally I would send McNulty down to Brighton or Brentford for a few days to shadow their managers and coaches, get him over to the USA to look at the University set ups, make some contacts for possible future, staff exchanges and technology transfer and even find some future players.
We have to dump " little Rochdale " and become "worldwide Rochdale". The more "can do" attitude and professionalism we show the Ogdens the more they will be confident in allowing us to put more of their money into the development of their investment. Let's become a centre of excellence on and off the pitch. |
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Reply | League 1 clubs interested in Rodney
at 12:21 4 Apr 2024
So about 1,goal every other game.. its a good return if he were to play 46 games but theres the rub, he has only played the equivalent of 10 games so far this season. Without knowing what his medical problems have been, its difficult to decide if he is worth trying to hang on to or to try and find a replacement. McNulty will know and will make the decision if there is room within his budget and if he deems the risk to be acceptable. Equally Rodney will weigh the options and make the best decision for his future finances.
I think the forward line might cause most of McNulty's problems for next season with a number of possible departures: Sinclair, Rodney, Henderson. Will Mellor want to sign? Hayes? Can we turn Uchegbelum into a prospect? Afuye? ..And what about the youngsters like Kelly and Dos Santos are they ready yet ? . Decisions decisions.... |
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