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Post by cooperman on Feb 18, 2017 11:34:23 GMT
It didn't take long for you to come on here and try and get your post count up did it Mancot? To put the record straight about your claim that 'obscene amounts of money' were spent in the early years, let me just say that you are so far off the mark on this claim. Yes, the playing budget may have been exceeded now and then, but it was always in control. Let me give you an example. Matty McGinn. The board decided to extend the playing budget one year to accommodate the permanent signing of Matty, following a successful loan spell at the club. The manager was then told that he'd have to release some players to balance up the playing budget. Matty scored the goal that clinched the championship for us, so I could say that that was a justified move. Some players signed don't always work out, and are subsequently released (as you refer to Trundle etc - however, the player may actually not be on as much as you may believe given they maybe a free agent etc. So, very low risk. There was of course an issue that revolved around the previous bar manager at the club that did hurt us in the year that we made a significant loss. This being in the same year that we'd also given then go ahead for the Legends Lounge refurb - that was required as we were having to turn businesses away due to the lack of room in there at the time - this has now paid for itself which was always the intention and end goal. Funnily enough I know you claim that the LL is an 'elite' which is an amazing claim given I've seen yourself and colleagues in there, and there is definitely no 'elite' or 'us and them' situation at the club. We're all fans at the same level at the end of the day. Some have more money than others and choose to spend it on a LL season ticket, (others like myself would end up in the Blues Bar). I have no problem with anyone frequenting the LL that has paid for the privilege. To suggest that we bought three titles is simply insulting to those that made it happen. Skelmersdale in the first year kept us oh so nervous that day in Garforth, and if Northwich hadn't imploded then I'm sure we would have been pushed all the way in that season too. I simply believe momentum took care of the Conference North, but let's not forget we were in about 6th or 7th position going into November in that league I think! Chester FC is a fan owned club - have you renewed your membership yet? It would be nice to know you'd put your money where your mouth is for the 2016/17 registration. Considering you bang on so much about fan involvement and this being a community club, I sincerely hope you have paid the £12 to help boost the membership that you are constantly sniping at having a low figure on. I think we're at a point no where each fan should ask themselves, is there anything I can do to help my club. Take a look at what Danny McNally has done, he's taking the lack of atmosphere on the Harry Mac terrace by the scruff of the neck and trying (successfully) to raise funds to help do something positive - good on him. I only hope others come forward and offer their support to him and other areas that need improvement instead of moaning about what we haven't done. I've sent a few ideas in to the CFU chairman this week to see if they believe they would be good ideas to implement - if they are great, they could help the club raise over £60k in one concerted effort, if not a great idea for any reason whatsoever then I'll try and think of others. Better to have tried than not tried at all. We don't have a sugar daddy, neither would most of us want one given our past. yes, we'd all love to see our club flush with money, but let's try and do it the honest way, and not one that will see our club fold again. We all have a job to do as Chester fans whether we like it or not, it's in our blood, so why not spread that feeling onto others, rope them in, get them signed up as a Chester FC owner, get them down on matchdays - of course it costs £16/£18 to attend, but that's the average for this league. Premier League & Football League have one reason why they can throw so much advertising and special offers to fans during the course of the season...TV money. That's something that we clearly haven't enjoyed the luxury of at our level. I'm sure the £10 terrace would be tried out if we could rely on TV money to cover the risk element of that idea. It was mentioned last night that the police bill for the Wrexham home game was £7k - so that's the live TV appearance money on BT Sport wiped out in one hit, same for the Tranmere game, which again wipes out the £7k tv fee - what a great shame that is. So, for those sniping, think about the reasons behind why the club haven't done this and haven't done that (they have more than likely been given a serious amount of thought but may have turned out to be unworkable/impractical and haven't been implemented), and always keep trying to think of ideas to push the club forward. We're all Chester fans at the end of the day, aren't we? Banksy |
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Post by cooperman on Feb 18, 2017 11:41:04 GMT
I have to say I disagree with you on this banksy, and totally agree with mancot. I know you've done a hell of a lot for the club, but so have a lot of us. you seem to post on here as if your some kind of a superfan / privelidged type and your just like the rest of us.
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Post by marner93 on Feb 18, 2017 12:17:40 GMT
Why don't YOU go down and pose these questions? I WAS WATCHING THE LIVE STREAM Well don't bleat about people asking the wrong questions, when you weren't there yourself to ask the right ones. |
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Post by Blacon Blue on Feb 18, 2017 15:07:21 GMT
I have to say I disagree with you on this banksy, and totally agree with mancot. I know you've done a hell of a lot for the club, but so have a lot of us. you seem to post on here as if your some kind of a superfan / privelidged type and your just like the rest of us. Nah not Jeff Banks mate, he's all about Jeff Banks. |
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Post by marner93 on Feb 19, 2017 16:12:22 GMT
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Post by Newted on Feb 20, 2017 0:25:10 GMT
Maybe we can get Brian burns to take lawsuits out against some more fans. That way we could have the biggest budget in the league next season Remember Banksy and the gang on the bus with the players as if it was them that won the league, how embarrassing |
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Post by Lobster on Feb 20, 2017 5:45:21 GMT
Maybe we can get Brian burns to take lawsuits out against some more fans. That way we could have the biggest budget in the league next season Remember Banksy and the gang on the bus with the players as if it was them that won the league, how embarrassing They were club directors, so it kind of was. |
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Post by Al on Feb 20, 2017 8:26:40 GMT
Maybe we can get Brian burns to take lawsuits out against some more fans. That way we could have the biggest budget in the league next season Remember Banksy and the gang on the bus with the players as if it was them that won the league, how embarrassing I'll never forget the moment Banksy popped up with that last minute winner away at Lairds... |
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Post by histsci on Feb 20, 2017 9:43:02 GMT
This thread is getting a bit personal with regard to how people are talking about Banksy. I think we could all do with calming down a bit.
As for Sychdyn Blue's basic point - that an opportunity was missed in the early years - may well be true (I think in some respects yes, but others no) but it's not constructive in any way. It has just given people an excuse to air well-worn grievances when we should really be thinking about what we can do now about it. The flag thing is a good start. There are loads of ideas that get mentioned. It'd be worth thinking about how, realistically, these things could be organised/paid for etc. without having to rely on the CFU to lead every initiative.
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Post by btb on Feb 20, 2017 10:06:43 GMT
This thread is getting a bit personal with regard to how people are talking about Banksy. I think we could all do with calming down a bit. Agreed with this. Let's not turn an interesting thread in to a point scoring exercise. No volunteers, then there would be no bus parade. these guys are damned if they do, damned if they don't. We've had guys like Alan and Jeff who have made themselves known and available to supporters. And we've had others on the board who Ive had no idea who they were/ are. I remember Tranmere away last year seeing our directors in their Chester ties going up to the hospitality suit and I've no idea who any of them were. I know which type of director I prefer. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2017 11:35:41 GMT
As somebody with a demanding job, I cant make meetings or view online. It would maybe constructive of the CFU Secretary to issue the board and staff reports from all of the CFU members meetings to enable the membership to see what their elected representitives and paid employees are working on, and how they are progressing towards their targets. There are several board members and paid staff that I am sure are working hard, but I wouldn't know them from Adam nor know what their input is. This would be very useful in allowing us to judge come AGM time. There were minutes issued of meeting previously, but I can't find anything since April 2016.
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Post by Jack on Feb 20, 2017 12:16:55 GMT
You could argue it's your duty to do a little more than ask questions. So why don't you ask a few more searching questions of the board and what the plan is to address this issue? Or do you enjoy sitting on that fence of yours?
I care passionately about this club, I still believe in the 100% Fan Owned Football Club for the Community at it's very core.
What I do not have is the time to offer more than I do, with a similar situation to yourself with two very young children, and a busy full time job which could be able to get even busier in the coming weeks.
Does that make my points (or anyone elses for that matter) any less valid? Does that mean my opinion and ideas mean nothing and should be discounted?
It's grating to read somebody continually take issue with things yet offer no solution. As you say, you care passionately yet choose to take a condescending tone and ridicule those who went to the meeting to ask a question. If people want to complain about Cleggy's volume, good for them. That's their right. You didn't go. Did you send in any questions? Have you attempted to meet Mark Maguire to put forward your plethora of ideas? I haven't done either of those things, so I don't feel it appropriate to criticise those working hard to move us forward, particularly when all of them do so voluntarily. It's easy to put forward ideas, but we require people and willingness to make them happen. I can't offer anything right now, so commend anyone who can? |
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Post by Firestick Frank on Feb 22, 2017 17:32:10 GMT
This has been raised in another thread concerning the paid employees roles and whether they are 'value for money' but thought best to mention in this thread that I have previously suggested that the board members are held fully accountable to the membership by each reporting back the details of their individual portfolios, their objective(s), their targets within said objective(s) and updates on whether or not they are meeting those targets and if not, why not, on a quarterly basis (probably more feasible than monthly). This really should alleviate the concerns the fanbase have of what the board are actually doing.
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Alan
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Post by Alan on Feb 22, 2017 18:20:02 GMT
This has been raised in another thread concerning the paid employees roles and whether they are 'value for money' but thought best to mention in this thread that I have previously suggested that the board members are held fully accountable to the membership by each reporting back the details of their individual portfolios, their objective(s), their targets within said objective(s) and updates on whether or not they are meeting those targets and if not, why not, on a quarterly basis (probably more feasible than monthly). This really should alleviate the concerns the fanbase have of what the board are actually doing. Hi Sychdyn Blue, While I don't think it right I personally put this into a public forum, as it is the CFU membership that elects the boards, if you email me with your name and CFU membership number, I will be more than happy to provide you with a brief outline of who is doing what and how they are working towards their objectives; my contact details are below - You can also find out each individuals portfolio and contact details on the City Fans United page.There is also the opportunity to ask any Director a question, regarding any element of their role, at the monthly CFU meetings. If you login into the CFU website with you membership login details, and select board meetings, a breakdown of the minutes from each month round table meeting can also be found there too. It's also worth noting, that whilst each individual has their own portfolio, we collectively meet regularly to discuss the wider objectives and needs and if required, we can then delegate certain tasks taken from that meeting and pigeon hole them into a certain area for working on by an individual with experience. So, for example, we held a three hour strategic meeting this past Monday to identify areas where we can improve the City Fans United membership and what fund raising opportunities we can explore. In the current absence of Directors to look after these portfolios, we are collectively starting to take on tasks until we can fill these roles through co-option. Again, if anybody is interested in helping to ease the workload and join the board, they can email CFU secretary Marion Needham at marion.needham@chesterfc.com. Many thanks, Alan |
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Post by garoldblue on Feb 22, 2017 18:42:19 GMT
This has been raised in another thread concerning the paid employees roles and whether they are 'value for money' but thought best to mention in this thread that I have previously suggested that the board members are held fully accountable to the membership by each reporting back the details of their individual portfolios, their objective(s), their targets within said objective(s) and updates on whether or not they are meeting those targets and if not, why not, on a quarterly basis (probably more feasible than monthly). This really should alleviate the concerns the fanbase have of what the board are actually doing. Hi Sychdyn Blue, While I don't think it right I personally put this into a public forum, as it is the CFU membership that elects the boards, if you email me with your name and CFU membership number, I will be more than happy to provide you with a brief outline of who is doing what and how they are working towards their objectives; my contact details are below - You can also find out each individuals portfolio and contact details on the City Fans United page.There is also the opportunity to ask any Director a question, regarding any element of their role, at the monthly CFU meetings. If you login into the CFU website with you membership login details, and select board meetings, a breakdown of the minutes from each month round table meeting can also be found there too. It's also worth noting, that whilst each individual has their own portfolio, we collectively meet regularly to discuss the wider objectives and needs and if required, we can then delegate certain tasks taken from that meeting and pigeon hole them into a certain area for working on by an individual with experience. So, for example, we held a three hour strategic meeting this past Monday to identify areas where we can improve the City Fans United membership and what fund raising opportunities we can explore. In the current absence of Directors to look after these portfolios, we are collectively starting to take on tasks until we can fill these roles through co-option. Again, if anybody is interested in helping to ease the workload and join the board, they can email CFU secretary Marion Needham at marion.needham@chesterfc.com. Many thanks, Alan Best get your membership renewed SB! |
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Post by Harry Lime on Feb 22, 2017 18:45:55 GMT
As somebody with a demanding job, I cant make meetings or view online. It would maybe constructive of the CFU Secretary to issue the board and staff reports from all of the CFU members meetings to enable the membership to see what their elected representitives and paid employees are working on, and how they are progressing towards their targets. There are several board members and paid staff that I am sure are working hard, but I wouldn't know them from Adam nor know what their input is. This would be very useful in allowing us to judge come AGM time. There were minutes issued of meeting previously, but I can't find anything since April 2016. I'd second this. I've been to about 50% of the CFU meetings over the past 3 years or so. I don't personally know any of the board members to talk to. I attend because I'm interested in our club and it's future. I believe it's important to support and sometimes challenge the decisions being made. That's how it works. Quite often you learn more from the answer given to a well thought out question, than you did from the original figure or comment. I've never felt like a second class citizen. The Directors seemed genuinely pleased that people had come along to hear what's going on. Don't sit at home thinking I won't know anyone, or no-one will talk to you. We are all CFC supporters. We care. That's why we're there. We like to talk to fellow supporters about our club. The bar is open too. There has been occasions where a board member gives an update on their portfolio, and you feel they've not done much. Bill Smith was a worst culprit. I've not generally had that opinion the last 2 or 3 years. The problem we have though is having to vote on why someone might want to be a Director. That may not bear any relation to what they can actually deliver. Given the large turnover of Directors we need to ensure that those that are delivering are voted back on. Questions need to be asked of the others, why aren't you delivering? Maybe they just need more support, from inside or outside. Maybe they're not up to it. NWAS is correct. We need more information about who is working on what. How it is progressing and when it will be delivered. Now I've time to reflect on the £20k forecast loss for this season, I'm a little more relaxed about it. Lawrence did highlight this as likely in November. Given our playing budget is around £350k ( from memory), a loss of under 6% isn't a disaster. As a one off anyway. Given the previous season's in this division have been mainly disappointing. I think this has caught up on a this season. Despite the improvement in results, and actually getting up to 7th at one point. The appointment of Macca would have put some off. The retention of many disappointing players from the previous season would have put others off. The lack of an 'exciting' signing would have put others off. The really worrying this is the drop in crowds has continued despite the results. The home record was well above expectation, but still the crowds were down. Somehow we need to have a winning team, playing attacking football and scoring goals. On a limited budget. Easy eh! We probably have the best manager we can expect. One that understands his remit and responsibilities, unlike his predecessor. The signing of a new young striker would certainly help boost the crowd. We shouldn't underestimate people's perceptions of what's going on at the club. Look at some of the crap posted on here. By people who know more about the club than those who don't attend most of the games. Bear in mind if all we do is exaggerate and moan to people about how bad it is, why would they come and watch us. I'm not a big fan of the £10 terrace idea in general. However, it could be a good idea to introduce it for the final few games. Maybe the Easter game and the last one, at least. It may drag a few down that otherwise wouldn't bother. As a long term solution, I believe it's more of a risk than a benefit. |
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