Rams Trust: A Letter to the Club

[MaltRam]

57 minutes ago, Steve How Hard? said:

I got tyred of listening to him tbh.

Was it the way he spoke.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Needlesh
Edit: Sorry. Too late to the wheel pun fest.

[Eddie]

A lot of people on here seem to agree with some or all of the sentiments expressed within the letter - just not with who expressed them.

 

 

[Philmycock]

Jim Wheeler should tread carefully before speaking on other people's behalf 

[GB SPORTS]

3 hours ago, HuddersRam said:

Full transparency from me (Ryan) on this one: I was approached to offer some thoughts about what could be done and signed this purely from my personal viewpoint that the club is in disarray and we've spent over a year now not being communicated to whilst seeing the name of the club dragged through the mud.

As just an individual, I felt comfortable doing so because I agreed with the points made, but more importantly because I think that going forward, there needs to be a more united voice for supporters as a whole, rather than the array of random splinter groups which appear when crisis arises every few years. 

I'm not a member of RamsTrust or any supporters groups for that matter, just someone who is looking to try and do something. And I know that we all are but hey, every little helps I guess. And one thing I just want to make clear - absolutely, 100% don't think my name would hold anymore weight than any other individuals would. I live hundreds of miles from PP at the moment in a tiny studio flat, and had to wait until 2018 until to get my first season ticket. I've even been known to cancel Rams TV during the off-season. I'm just a Derby County supporter who was approached and is happy to try and help, all with the best of intentions. 

Understand that in the past supporters groups have been divisive and often don't speak necessarily on behalf of supporters whilst all battling against each other. Maybe this is one of those times, and if so I hold my hands up.

Thanks chap, At least you have the bits to put your head over the wall, much appreciated. 

When I discussed this last night with one or two other Rams they were more concerned about the wording than the sentiment. I then got appointed (unofficially) to present a pov to the club that was more balanced. 

I don't think for a minute that. Anyone involved with the letter is being malicious it just isn’t drafted very well. 

[May Contain Nuts]

What was it I rather drunkenly typed the other day, before this letter got sent?

Oh yeah. Bad PR turning other fans against them. Appearing to take a position of false authority. Piggybacking off other more competent organisations and claiming success as their own. Not accepting outside views that disagree with them.

Then I read this thread.

Amazing how little has changed between 2003 and 2021 in some respects - thankfully it doesn't appear anyone will be resorting to any of the nastiness, just grumbling, but they really could do with updating their image.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Coconut

[CornwallRam]

The problem is that to explain our current position and our immediate future, the biggest question has not been asked and we won't find out for many years. Why has Mel let the club get into the current, apparent, state?

We know about the FFP and EFL stuff - that's a mighty hurdle but one that a wealthy and engaged owner could overcome without the club disintegrating. Covid must have weakened every club. Yet it appears that Mel has been funding the club with loans and chosing some very unfortunate takeover bids to accept. 

I think a wealthy and engaged fan owner could have avoided using loans and could have been more selective in trying to sell the club. It must surely be easier to sell a club that doesn't externally appear to be a basket case, even with the EFL issues. Until we know why Mel has done this, nothing makes sense. Once we do know, the other questions become irrelevant. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by CornwallRam

[Angry Ram]

3 hours ago, Curtains said:

We aren’t precious.  

We just don’t agree slamming MM and th club all the time is the answer or the way forward. 

What is your position on Mel and the club. 

 

If you don't know my position on MM, you've been on Mars. The club is in a bad way, I am concerned now that our cyclical curse has started again and we are 10 years from being competitive again. It's a FUBAR and it sits at one door.

[Curtains]

17 minutes ago, Angry Ram said:

If you don't know my position on MM, you've been on Mars. The club is in a bad way, I am concerned now that our cyclical curse has started again and we are 10 years from being competitive again. It's a FUBAR and it sits at one door.

I think it is reconcilable and in years to come we might say you know what Mel was right about the finance situation in Football and particularly the unfairness in the Championship and lower leagues compared to the ridiculously rich Premiership 

[Angry Ram]

4 minutes ago, Curtains said:

I think it is reconcilable and in years to come we might say you know what Mel was right about the finance situation in Football and particularly the unfairness in the Championship and lower leagues compared to the ridiculously rich Premiership 

I'm not disputing the fairness of parachute payments or any sort of financial level playing fields. ESL / Premier League, same thing. Elite ring fencing their product although the PL have done it by stealth and it's now a game of musical chairs as to who has the dosh.

My point is how has he run DCFC, knowing it's a poo show out there. Where were/are his checks and balances at board level? 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Angry Ram

[Curtains]

Just now, Angry Ram said:

I'm not disputing the fairness of parachute payments or any sort of financial level playing fields. ESL / Premier League, same thing. Elite ring fencing their product. 

My point is how has he run DCFC, knowing it's a poo show out there. Where were/are his checks and balances at board level? 

Now that’s a different matter. 
 

Well his project has ultimately failed with a few helping hands along the way taking him for a ride allegedly .

The project was to gain promotion to the lucrative Premier League and unfortunately it hasn’t happened.

The Academy by and large has been a success story but even that is costly.

Mel has made mistakes gambling on different managers that haven’t worked out even though some have and we have had fun along the way as fans going to Wembley etc .

Mel has tried to reason with the EFL about TV money and parachute payments in my eyes they took it completely the wrong way as have other Football clubs. 
 

He was actually trying to make the Championship more viable .

All the EFL have done is s/@t on him. .

Mel has made mistakes and as far as I know is still a rich man and not in the best of health at the moment.

What do you ultimately want him to do mate !

[StockholmRam]

17 hours ago, Nuwtfly said:

It is a shame there was not an opportunity to be consulted on it, whether that be a vote or something. I would suspect that the vast majority of this forum would have likely supported what all these other fan groups have come together to support. 

We would have agreed, eventually, after a 500 page thread discussion... 

[Gringo]

Anything to do with the Rams Trust is toxic in my eyes, they had their 5 minutes of "fame" during the 3 Amigo's fiasco. Since then I struggle to see what they have achieved for supporters and club.

[BaaLocks]

17 minutes ago, Curtains said:

Mel has made mistakes and as far as I know is still a rich man and not in the best of health at the moment.

What do you ultimately want him to do mate !

Everybody, including him, wants the same thing - the sale of DCFC to credible new owners. To move beyond our club being some sort of one man battering ram against the EFL, beset on finding ways to circumvent FFP and prove it's unfairness. One that balances risk against reward by not going out and spending £10m on a couple of very average players on deadline day. A club that is run professionally and with the checks and balances in place to make sure dreams don't strip away sanity.

And, personally, I would like this so as to protect his legacy. If in ten years time he can be sitting with us watching the team surviving in the top flight we can all write this off as a punt that didn't come off. But if we're a division lower than we are now, piecing it all back together nobody - least of all MM - will be happy what that means to the way the fans of this club remembers him.

So get well soon Mel, all the best finding the ideal suitor for this club and getting us back on the even keel it most certainly isn't at the moment.

[VulcanRam]

I'm probably in the minority but I'm not a fan of these open letters demanding this or that, I often think it's more for the egos of those involved than much else. That said, fan power has been thrown into the spotlight in recent times and I guess this has emboldened everyone a bit. 

Some of the questions asked are reasonable particularly for people wanting clarity over ST refunds etc. But sweeping questions like is the future of the club secure and asking for details of what quite clearly would be covered by commercial confidentiality/NDA (financials etc) just make it all look like a bit of grandstanding. As for this fan on the Board nonsense, don't even get me started. We are a privately owned business and unless we own shares have no right to demand to be part of any decision making process and as people have said on here, how can one person or one group represent the views of all supporters? Do people also think they have the right to ask to see the in-depth details of all of Mel's other businesses? Presumably so. 

I love going to the cinema, or the cricket, I have to go to the supermarket, but do I have the right to demand to see their accounts or have a say on how those businesses are run? Of course not. 

Btw I can tell anyone who wants to know why no details of ST have been released for next season, and that's because the club is waiting until the FA confirms how many supporters will be allowed in the stadium before announcing anything. Once we know that, the ball will start rolling. 

 

[Angry Ram]

1 minute ago, Curtains said:

Well his project has ultimately failed with a few helping hands along the way taking him for a ride allegedly .

Hands he employed and would have known what they were doing.

2 minutes ago, Curtains said:

The Academy by and large has been a success story but even that is costly.

Won't pay for itself and we are developing for other teams. 

2 minutes ago, Curtains said:

Mel has made mistakes gambling on different managers that haven’t worked out even though some have and we have had fun along the way as fans going to Wembley etc .

100%, not all his fault but what was his fault was the direction he wanted us to go in.. He was all over the place with those appointments.

[Yani P]

9 hours ago, Mostyn6 said:

How does one become part of the RamsTrust? Some of the most Trustworthy Rams fans I know are nowt to do with it. Is it a closed shop? What is their manifesto? Who assigned them “credible” status? 

It is a self importance group..nothing more nothing less..

[ossieram]

47 minutes ago, Asheville Ram said:

Anything to do with the Rams Trust is toxic in my eyes, they had their 5 minutes of "fame" during the 3 Amigo's fiasco. Since then I struggle to see what they have achieved for supporters and club.

They are one of the reasons the 3 amigos got their sticky mits on the club in the first place. 

[Yani P]

3 hours ago, Philmycock said:

Jim Wheeler should tread carefully before speaking on other people's behalf 

One inflated ego..

[BaaLocks]

4 minutes ago, ossieram said:

They are one of the reasons the 3 amigos got their sticky mits on the club in the first place. 

Go on, you'll need to explain that one to me. Please.

[ossieram]

Just now, BaaLocks said:

Go on, you'll need to explain that one to me. Please.

They were the group pushing the co op bank to take the club away from Lionel Pickering. The bank then sold the club to the 3 amigos for the price of a pint of @Davefavourite cider.