Bristol Rovers chairman goes mental!

[Beefy]

A mate of mine supports Bristol City and he just emailed me something that the Bristol Rovers chairman posted on their main message board after their 4-0 defeat against Yeovil on saturday. Haven't got a link but have no reason to believe it wasn't genuine.... :

"Yes I am ashamed,

I am ashamed I have wasted 17 years of my life for this football club,

I am ashamed I have put in half a million pounds to act as club banker

I am ashamed I have put in personal guarantees putting my house on the line house.

I am ashamed I have people in my employment working on club matters.

I am ashamed I attended a Sportsmans dinner as guest of the club auditors instead of going to Leyton Orient.

I am ashamed I have to sometimes put my family and my work before the club on rare occasions.

I am ashamed I hurt so much after watching some of our players rolling over and die during todays game.

I am ashamed I supported our last Manager, who let us down so very badly, and told me on many occasions he was not a cheat!

I am ashamed I feel sorry for Phil Bater.

I am ashamed that people think I want all of this cr*p from people with hurt pride like myself who feel they can give me abuse.

I am ashamed I cannot go out at night and enjoy myself.

I am ashamed I agree with you that if the players cannot be bothered why should the supporters and Directors?

I am ashamed I am typing this now when I swore I would give myself 24 hours to cool down...........

After today's performance I am ashamed to be Chairman of Bristol Rovers Football Club."

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Don't think I've ever heard a chairman or manager come out with something like that before. Funny stuff.

 

[Ron Manager]

But actually makes him sound like he really cares - can't imagine Ron Martin having anywhere near enough passion to type something similair.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Ron Manager @ Mar. 17 2004,13:03)]But actually makes him sound like he really cares - can't imagine Ron Martin having anywhere near enough passion to type something similair.

Don't underestimate our Ron. He might not wear his heart on his sleeves, but he's made of stern stuff.

And if there's one thing I've gleaned from my meetings and phone chats with Ron, it's that he's not one of life's losers. He wants to succeed, because he wants to succeed. And that's OK with me.

Matt

 

[Ron Manager]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Mar. 17 2004,13:27)]

Quote[/b] (Ron Manager @ Mar. 17 2004,13:03)]But actually makes him sound like he really cares - can't imagine Ron Martin having anywhere near enough passion to type something similair.

Don't underestimate our Ron.  He might not wear his heart on his sleeves, but he's made of stern stuff.

And if there's one thing I've gleaned from my meetings and phone chats with Ron, it's that he's not one of life's losers.  He wants to succeed, because he wants to succeed.  And that's OK with me.

Matt

Having only ever briefly met RM, on a train back from Leyton Orient last season, I shall concede the point. I know from reading your past posts that you've spoken to him on a few occasions Matt, so will have a more well informed opinion of him than myself.

The main point of my post was that I actually found the rantings of the Brizzle Rovers chairman quite refreshing. People who run clubs maybe should wear their heart on their sleeves a bit more often - after all, isn't that largely what the game is about?

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Ron Manager @ Mar. 17 2004,14:40)]People who run clubs maybe should wear their heart on their sleeves a bit more often - after all, isn't that largely what the game is about?

Maybe. But maybe not. In times of such financial penury for the lower leagues, a lack of sentimentality in the boardroom is probably a good thing.

There's no way, had it been John Main's decision, that we would have gone with a silver strip for the final. However, Ron made that very tough business call - and the club is £60K (i.e. Lawrie Dudfield plus £20K) better off.

And I know that I'd rather have Lawrie next season, than blue shirts on Sunday.

I'm more than happy for a manager to be like Martin O'Neill - basically, a fan on the touchline. Running up & down, screaming, shouting... We've all had a go at opposition managers who have been to Roots Hall and done that (e.g. Strachan when he brought Coventry to Roots Hall a few years back). But, deep down, I was only moaning because I was jealous.

So, yes, a manager that wears his heart on his sleeve IS a good thing. We all know that if you opened Tilly up, you'd find SOUTHEND UNITED FC running through him like letters in a stick of rock. And we adore him for it.

But a sentimental chairman? No thanks. The Brizzle Rovers chairman has done a crafty ploy there. He has "opened his heart up" on a fans' website and said "I'm hurting just like you, I'm as frustrated as you are..."

The point is, however, that he shouldn't be. He's the one that should be making all the hard decisions, in order to ensure that he has:

*Players that can be bothered, and that roll over and die.

*A club that hasn't required him to act as banker to the tune of £0.5m (let's not forget, after all, that The Gas enjoy some of the highest gates in Div 3, Hull & Huddersfield aside).

*A manager (whom he appointed) that isn't a cheat and that doesn't let him down.

His e-mail was, looked at cynically, a cunning piece of PR, a clever ploy. I don't doubt that, at the time, he did write it in a fit of passion - and it is a very human reaction to empathise with that, to feel his sufferring, to admire him for being human, being vulnerable.

But would I rather have him, or a granite-faced man who ran a tight ship and ran it ruthlessly well?

Well, there's no contest. And, given time, Ron Martin definitely has the personality, the drive and the ability to be such a granite-faced man, IMHO.

Matt

 

[the dark deshrimper]

Quote[/b] (Ron Manager @ Mar. 17 2004,13:03)]But actually makes him sound like he really cares - can't imagine Ron Martin having anywhere near enough passion to type something similair.

It seems Ron has passion for whatever team will give him his pay check, which is fair play to him.

Having said that, the club has stayed together and he hasn't left us when we went through troubled times

 

[BluePartridge]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Mar. 18 2004,10:51)]*Players that can be bothered, and that roll over and die.

I don't want players that roll over and die, is that a mistake tsk Matt with your reputation!

Anyway very nice speech there Matt I'd rather hear a fellow fan like you say that than Ron going on about how cr*p everything is!