An open letter from Ehab...

Correct, well said

 

Well done...was that so hard?

I was genuinely asking because I've only been at games since the fish out Dolan out era and even then I was obviously very young so didn't care or understand what was happening outside match days.

 

I lived in Hull and was a (youth) season ticket holder from 1967-72 then left to go to Uni. I remember the "other **** owners" whilst living in Leicester, Norwich and Salisbury, attending games when I could, some away and home games when I came back to see my family. My memory of these owners was that they wanted a big crowd and tried to encourage fans to attend. They may have been robbing the club blind but did not seem (in my opinion) to hold the supporters in contempt, as they understood that bums on seats increased revenue. The Allams, however, seem (again in my opinion) to hold everyone in contempt, and (until now when the parachute payments have gone) go out of their way to demonstrate it. Unsurprisingly, they have alienated many. Football is an entertainment industry. If people dont get a feel good factor then they wont attend. It takes a long time to foster this feel good factor if the team is not particularly setting the world on fire. Adam Pearson knew this and so did Don Robinson. Both achieved much merely with their attitude to the fans and entertaining them. The Allams have demonstrated (to me) that they hold the like of me in contempt. Unsurprisingly, I hold them in contempt back. I don't think there is a way back. Sorry to be so long-winded.

 

I was only trying to save myself some typing. You got me in the end

 

Sorry, this is in reply to HT2.

 

How did you feel that connection??

 

Just felt, like the rest of the lads I knew at the time, that it was our club come what may and the owners, at least after Needler, wouldn’t be here that long. All though we have had as good a time on the pitch under the Allams as for any similar period in our history that feeling has been drummed out of a lot of fans.
I just wish we could have got to the PL under Adam Pearson and seen what would have happened then.

 

Good post. There again expect nothing less from someone living in Bridlington.

 

They, the owners, are the reason people like me don’t go & will therefore always be to blame for my current decision not to attend.

Do you not understand that principle?

If people stopped attending, as their own personal point of principle, because the owners, had created an environment that meant you couldn’t believe or trust them. Also you believed, quite strongly, that they had got away with so much that they shouldn’t have. Add to that many other reasons including feeling strongly that the removal of concessions is a piss take & the name change application is a piss take which will last forever along with believing that any decision reversals are carried out with a false largesse. Then you’d have good reason to blame them for having to miss out on attending games because your personal principles don’t allow you to.

It doesn’t stop there though. If you also think they treat you, as a customer like ****e, abuse goodwill and are as disingenuous a pair as you will ever meet. That they pretend to listen & claim to work with the fans but in reality you think they’re not. You see them as having lost any moral high ground they could ever hold. As a supporter you feel strongly that their actions are damaging the club, as do many other supporters & non supporters. They’re the enemy in all of this, sometimes forgotten. Then you have a good argument & reason to uphold your personal point of principle.

If supporters have stopped attending because they feel the club has been infected by the disease of our current owners who you genuinely believe to be worse than most other owners then your personal principle surely won’t allow you to attend especially if you already choose not to put a single penny into the Allam coffers while they progresses their campaign against the club. Remember reversals are false sentiment & their personal characteristics are the same as they have always been.

If you consider all of the above to be true & have made a personal commitment not to return until the current owners have gone then surely they are to blame & will always be to blame for a personal point of principle. In fact anybody who has made that commitment would never go back on their personal principle just because they have made a couple of false concessions?

They certainly wouldn’t announce that the owners are no longer to blame for their non attendance.

The owners are not beating me, they’ve never even come close.

 

Yes, but apart from that...?

 

Great post,Sir Ben

 

Just seen Sjoke v vermin on Quest, that fearsome cauldron {insert betting sponsor name here} Stadium looked half empty.

Are they angry with their owner too, or just doing **** in the second tier so fans have drifted away?

 

Lots of empty seats on view.

Perhaps someone is declaring a bogus attendance?

These things do happen.

 

If you watched the whole game, there was a mass exodus after Leeds scored their third.
Highlights probably were selectively edited ?

 

Oh dear, Ben.

It's not a blame game.

I think most of us are like-minded in regards to how obnoxious and totally beyond contempt the owners are.

We don't need to reinforce that perspective, they seem to achieve that all on their own

I haven't sought to have argument, or to find fault in others. I have stated my individual point of view, but I have not criticised others for having an opinion other than my own. Unfortunately some responders and their likers have taken this as an opportunity to create an argument, which, also unfortunately, is fairly typical of them.

Yes, that's disappointing because it was just my opinion, no more than that.

The point I wished to make is that the Allams have frustrated all of the best intended initiatives to reverse their deliberate mismanagement of our football club. They carry on regardless, and I believe the most positive action now, at this time, is to support the team, if you can and feel like you still care enough. But I really do have better things to do than swop negative posts with a few argumentative posters.

So what is this really all about?

It's not about businessmen and their machinations. We're far from there.

Ben, notice this. It's about our club, not their club, but yours, the supporter that you might or might not be, it is your club and team. It's not bricks and mortar, or shirt and trakkies, it's people, players, belief. Far bigger than the morals of the arse hole Allams.

Sometimes owners don't need to beat anyone. It's just that they use supporter loyalty to be devisive.

You can say and think what you will about me. I have been consistent and honest in my approach to the Allams. I detest them. But I recognise we must adapt and not work on dogma.

The tone of yours and Kempton's words disrespected me. I can live with that. But I find it difficult to understand how your thinking now helps dealing with the problem we have.

I support the Trusts involvement in the future of our club, but seriously question its historic stance in how it has related to the Allams. I've never changed in that.

There are now too many what-could-have-beens to find fault, moving forward and the next game is the best focus. I think a change of thinking is needed by absent supporters, but I respect their honestly held beliefs whatever.

But nevertheless, why not make it personal jibes on an anonymous board?

 

Just saw 'highlights'

That club went uo with us in 2008 and were constantly held up as the loudest fans in the league, the passionate Potteries and many on here compared us unfavourably with them.

You rarely saw an empty seat at their home games and their owner laid on free transport for free to away games in recent PL seasons.

Ain't no substitute for a winning team

 

All true.
There was a lovely fella, a Stoke fan, who used to inhabit one of our local pubs. His passion could start a brawl in an empty room. A bit Geordie-like

 

You saw plenty of empty seats pre-promotion, they gathered more PLW than we did.

 

I'm sorry you have chosen not to go. But the price for adults was ridiculously low previously.
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it 9 quid a week for a membership.
Now it's unfortunate if you're caught in a pension trap or whatever but seriously it's 9 quid a week.
If you want to go you can make sacrifices for that.
First season in the pl and it was the first. It ive had a season pass as never needed or wanted one. Before.
I scraped the money together as I was unemployed.
Went to the game with my lad, straight home. No beer before. No beer afterwards.
No drinks food at the game for my lad. Took food and drink with me.
If you want to go then I think 9 quid is easily doable out of anyone's budget.