 | Forum
Reply | Salford looking for investment......
at 19:54 23 May 2024
They promised us that Kingsway would not turn into a vast area of warehouses, but that promise was broken, so I tend to take their intentions with a giant pinch of salt when it comes to deciding what they want there. My guess is a stadium with decent parking and facilities to house conferences and events would employ more people than a vast automated warehouse, and yes there is a high-tech new materials site there but its hardly going to be like the Cambridge Pharma Park is it? Even the Graphene developments went out of Manchester rather than staying close to its inventors and the Graphene Research Centre... The problem is that its difficult to attract well paid talent from the leafy shires to the urban jungle of Rochdale especially given the recent publicity the town has attracted.
Maybe the drains comment was a bit tongue in cheek , but its always harder to fix inherent problems on an existing site than it is to build-in solutions from new. I just think its time to move on and have bigger thoughts and ideas and I include RMBC, The Gtr. Manchester Authority and the football club... Who knows , perhaps Starmer will throw a sack of money he hasn't got at Rochdale .... |
| Forum
Reply | Just a fun trip down memory lane..............................
at 12:19 23 May 2024
Mike, you must be much older than I imagined, the Operatic Society ( now Rochdale Musical Theatre Company) have not played a G&S show since 1929! I think the Hipperdrome was knocked down in 1970 and for a while, the Society played at the Regal Cinema before eventually moving to the Gracie Fields Theatre in 1977 when the new Oulder Hill School opened. Not that the GFT was ready for hosting shows as the Society had to invest a large wedge of money to build a flying gallery above the stage to enable cloth backdrops and lighting bars to be hauled in and out .
Alas, the GFT is no longer useable as a Theatre thanks to the Private Finance Initiative ( PFI ) which led to it becoming effectively privately owned, and lettings ceased and the RMTC has had to move into the Champness Hall where a great deal of money needs to be spent to turn it into a genuine theatre. However, despite the difficulties, the RMTC has just performed 9 sell-out showings of Beauty and the Beast there to standing ovations. |
| Forum
Reply | Salford looking for investment......
at 23:02 22 May 2024
The RMBC problem lies in having the stadium in the middle of a densly populated area with limited parking. The " discussion" last season about parking around the stadium was something of a shot across the bows, although to be fair, anyone buying a house in the area will have realised there is a football ground there.
Whilst far from falling down, there is much wrong with the stadium currently that a new one would fix , from drainage of the pitch to gas in the kitchens ....A brand new stadium could also house better spaces for entertainment and events to bring income from other sources.
Maybe ultimately, the Atom Valley development along the M62 might offer an easier development opportunity than the Turners site. |
| Forum
Reply | Hat tricks
at 15:42 21 May 2024
And its been 6 years since the last one....I guess playing out from the back and barnstorming victories with lots of goals are mutually exclusive... |
| Forum
Reply | Meet the board
at 21:08 16 May 2024
I concur TS. At one time, I used to hire a box during the week at Wigan Athletic occasionally for sales team meetings, they had everything available , screens, projectors, notepads, whiteboards etc. And if I remember correctly they had 3 restaurants running 7 days a week and all at sensible business prices. . . revenue making virtually 365 days of the year and all accomplished with pleasant and knowledgeable staff.
Catering for 1 big occasion 23 times a year or so is unlikely to be hugely successful even if you pull in an occasional funeral or works "do" as well. Staff are temporary, inevitably different people are going to end up doing different jobs without much leadership or prior knowledge. I would be interested to know how well last years Christmas Parties were received....
As I have said many times, the way forward in everything is quality with sensible prices. If the Ogden's are able to fund some redecoration and bring in some serious, knowledgeable, middle management there is much that can be achieved. We have been hamstrung in the past by never having the cash available to do things properly, hopefully this can now change even in a modest way to start with and the profits kept to finance even more developments. Getting a decent electricity deal would be a start and then perhaps putting gas into the kitchens from the monies saved. |
| Forum
Reply | Just a fun trip down memory lane..............................
at 08:44 15 May 2024
I really have no idea it was nearly 50 years ago .... I have no idea when winning draws and all that stuff was introduced in the CLL especially as Rochdale didnt win much in those days. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. |
| Forum
Reply | Club Statement. Deal done
at 21:11 14 May 2024
Easy if you thought about it .. secret = not common knowledge or in the public domain. In strictest confidence because I would not have removed what I did remove without a good reason to persuade me to....
That's it no more.. All's well that ends well. Maybe ask me again in 10 years time. |
| Forum
Reply | Club Statement. Deal done
at 19:24 14 May 2024
TS...There are some things that I observed and some things I was told in confidence before and after the event. I can give you my observations but I will not break a confidence.
1. It was clear that there were major shareholders in the room seemingly acting in concert who were not pleased by the idea of creating 9m new shares and the consequential dilution of the value of their shares.
2. My view was that the Trust vote in favour of the resolution just about cancelled-out their shareholdings and headed off a more serious challenge. Especially when the " room" seemed generally in favour of accepting.
3. The "plot" was, I think, an expectation that the resolution would be defeated and at that point the Chairman would also face a new resolution from the floor to stand down and be replaced in a Bottomley-esque manner.
4. In the days preceding the EGM I made a comment on here that I was personally asked to remove and did so in the interests of a secret negotiation that was taking place which was explained to me in strictest confidence.
Clearly there were very few people who knew what was in train at the EGM, certainly not those who were keen to oppose the resolution. Their plan could have been completely disasterous, hence the attitude of the Chairman...... perhaps my term "plot" is a little strong, but the importance of their manoeuvers being defeated is, in retrospect huge.
Its also probably best if we let what is past stay in the past , I wont be going any further with my answers and it would be helpful if others didnt ask more questions. Suffice it to say that we are now in a new era and will be better for it than would otherwise have been the case. |
| Forum
Reply | Club Statement. Deal done
at 14:40 14 May 2024
I have spent some time looking at what goes on at Harvard Business School, exceptional is understatement,. One ofmits key strengths is is Alumni which numbers something like 85,000 members including Sir Peter and Cameron Ogden, members are encouraged to reach out to other members to get help to improve their businesses.... they also seem to want their students to have big ideas and implement them!
I looked at a 3 day course on Media, Entertainment and Sports ( $12k) amongst the participants were Oliver Khan, (goalkeeper) Tim Cahill ( former Everton player and now possible Evertion take- over deal negotiator) and TV actor Eric Christian Olsen from NCIS LA...
https://www.exed.hbs.edu/business-entertainment-media-sports/ |
| Forum
Reply | Just a fun trip down memory lane..............................
at 14:25 14 May 2024
I played against Garner at Dane Street in 1976, the hot summer! The wickets were bone hard , ideal for his bounce and pace.. on the Wednesday night beforemthe game, we had a nets practice and every conversation revolved around Garner... The Captain, Bernard Burke, and the committee had a cunning plan which they would not discuss.. I arrived at the ground on the Saturday to find a completely saturated pitch! The "plan" had involved Rochdale Fire Brigade pumping water from the River Roch onto the Dane Street pitch for most of Thursday and Friday.. Pudding would have been an understatement. Garner was charging in and his huge feet sounded like a small child playing in a puddle.. he did take a few wickets but largely because of sheer pace than any movement or bounce. Ultimately I was called on to bat out the final over.. I was number 11 for a reason, but my claim to fame is that I faced the full over and ended not out .. for none! Job done points shared, noone seriously injured.. Littleborough rather less than amused!
I only wish I had recorded all the stories that the older players used to tell, it would be a best seller... |
| Forum
Reply | Just a fun trip down memory lane..............................
at 17:14 13 May 2024
Since there isnt much elst to talk about, it might as well continue....Jimmy Cotton....
I never knew him, as anything other than "Little Jimmy", but he used to always be at Dane Street when I played there and usually at the away games too, I think he usually managed to cadge a lift back to Rochdale from Dave Stevenson and Wilson Hartley.
I think he walked it to Walsden on at least one occasion. Funny little bloke but harmless I guess. [Post edited 13 May 17:16]
|
| Forum
Reply | Released Players
at 15:17 12 May 2024
You would expect a few of 16 / 17 year olds might join the first team ranks, maybe we can develop some sort of apprentice scheme? .. There is a breadth of expertise within the Ogden Trust to advise on ways of getting grants etc for young players and probably skillsets for writing bids... eventually this will all have to tie into the new training centre when its ready. The problems will be around educational content, qualifications gained and FIFA/ FA rules and regulations. At least we now have a much wider range of competences looking at the situation.
I would personally like us to start some sort of US operation working with the "soccer" courses in their Universities. The sheer numbers of players indicate that many of them would be perfectly capable of playing at our level and higher. Maybe we could offer US courses to our young players in collaboration with a US University too? I think Edward Ogdens company Spencer Ogden Recruitment have an office in Texas ( and other offices world-wide) so he may be able to point us in the right direction.... |
| Forum
Reply | Club Statement. Deal done
at 11:17 10 May 2024
Yes, the shareholders meeting was a seminal moment, there was a plot in the room tp oust a man who had put money into the club and who had reached the end of his ability to continue doing so. Was he expected to take such a move lying down and simply walk away from his investment? I was there, I saw a man under huge stress and threat who fought back with the truth as he saw it "either we create the conditions required to sell the club or the club will fold" Brutal, maybe, accurate probably. Was any alternative suggested? No. Are you in any doubt that without the Ogdens putting money in before securing a deal the club would have folded?
The Chairman slapped the room with simple facts ... " there is no more money" as shareholders it was a message we had to hear, tough, uncompromising simple.
Taking another line, what, precisely, was the other option? Who in the room had the cash to do anything more than delay the inevitable and ultimately lose their investment in the process?
Yes the board may have made mistakes, what board doesn't? But they have muddled through and with help have arrived at a solution none of us imagined, credit to them. Credit too for accepting that their loans could be turned to equity to facilitate this deal.
The past is the past, its gone, we cannot change it we have to let it go. If our new owners are happy to have existing directors continue, why would we be unhappy about it? Its time to stop looking over our shoulders and to concentrate on the road ahead, rocky though it may still be. We are back in the game and gratitude is my overwhelming emotion. The future is brighter than at any point over the past 5 or 6 seasons, maybe ever. |
| Forum
Reply | Club Statement. Deal done
at 19:30 9 May 2024
W Edwards Deming made the whole Japanese car industry profitsble after ww2 by focusing on quality. Thst should be a focus for the whole club, mistakes cost money irradicating them sames money... Lee Iacocca saviour of both Ford And Chrysler once said that any CEO worth his salary should be able to slice 10% off the overheads of any company without affecting outputs.
Then you have opportunities for which money is required to seed them, we have been unable to undertake a number of initiatives simply because there was no cash.
Ultimately we hope to have a new training centre with an artificial surface (surfaces?) that can be rented out when they are not needed by our 1st team or Academy. The new commercial person will have ideas too. I now have no fears that becoming self sufficient off the pitch is entirely possible and may well happen faster than we perhaps anticipate. And finally, don't forget the Ogdens move in much wealthier circles than most of us can imagine, maybe there are people they know who want to get involved too? |
| Forum
Reply | Club Statement. Deal done
at 19:05 9 May 2024
Or maybe the "spare" shares can be deleted?
Anyway I am in no doubt the new Directors will know what to do. The expertise and attitude at the top of the Club has taken a decided turn for the better, and the appointment of a new commercial manager starting soon is a decisive first step.
I dont think we can complain that prices will rise, especially until such time as the off-field activities start to kick in with meaningful amounts of cash, I suspect we will get further announcements fairly soon... Amateur hour has been and gone and real business brains are now in charge, probably for the first time ever. Lets get the whole town rocking behind them. |
| Forum
Reply | Marketing update
at 20:51 8 May 2024
Hopefully the start of a proper CRM system that can be used for many different purposes.. i was playing with Googles Bard AI ( now gemini.) this morning and it writes excellent sales letters ( I was thinking we could use it to approach City, United and Burnley fans to come to COA on a deal of some sort when their team,is playing away and we are at home.) Coupled with "x" , farcebook and the rest its a quick and easy way to get offers out to different market segments and use the CRM to track and repeat...
Equally perhaps we will finally overcome the " didnt get the message" problems once and for all.
Using digital media is clearly in our interests going forward, its really one of the best ways we can cut costs and improve contacts.
Any sign of a new commercial Director yet? |
| Forum
Reply | Option on Hayes activated
at 11:24 3 May 2024
If he wants to leave, I dont think there is much they can do about it, they can offer a contract but he is free not to sign it. I doubt they will guarantee him game time so he really wouldnt be in any sort of better position.
He seems to like being at Dale and perhaps more to the point, we like him,. A full season here would see him on his way up the divisions for all the right reasons..but I have no doubt others will be watching the situation too. I would be disappointed if Jim hasn't had a conversation with him now that the Ogden deal has been more or less finalised and the future looks rosier. |
| Forum
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. |
| Forum
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
. |
| Forum
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. |
| | 49thseason
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 2524 | | Comment Votes: | 1 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 2525 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.