Rams Trust: A Letter to the Club

[Archied]

4 hours ago, Steve How Hard? said:

I got tyred of listening to him tbh.

Yep he spoke out of turn

[Archied]

32 minutes ago, ossieram said:

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

Absolutely spot on

[Archied]

24 minutes ago, ossieram said:

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.

Exactly as I remember it , I joined it back then but left it quick smart because of such agenda s

[Yani P]

4 minutes ago, Archied said:

Exactly as I remember it , I joined it back then but left it quick smart because of such agenda s

Hopefully any new owners won't let them anywhere near the Club..

[Wolfie20]

1 hour ago, VulcanRam said:

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. 

 

Don't believe you are in the minority

[RoyMac5]

41 minutes ago, ossieram said:

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.

Pickering wouldn't sell to 'the local interest' though would he?

[BaaLocks]

42 minutes ago, ossieram said:

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.

Ah, that's the one. One day they're powerful enough to influence a bank to force sale of the football club, the next they're a bunch of self importants with no right to speak on behalf of the fans. Don't worry, lot of water under the bridge, so we'll leave it there but I'd forgotten about that 'chapter' of the story.

But thx for the reply, appreciate it.

[LeedsCityRam]

4 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Pickering wouldn't sell to 'the local interest' though would he?

What was the story here Roy?

Seen you mention it a couple of times but genuinely not heard it before

Edited May 18, 2021 by LeedsCityRam

[RoyMac5]

16 minutes ago, LeedsCityRam said:

What was the story here Roy?

Seen you mention a couple of times but genuinely not heard it before

Gosh my memory isn't 100% on it - hence the question mark - but at the end of his tenure (he was ill too) he was trying to sell the club. We were in debt to the Co-op Bank - the ethical bank - with biggish debts. There was local interest looking to buy off him but he wouldn't sell to them (perhaps theirs was a low offer?). It all went a bit Pete Tong and the Bank stepped in. They then sold us to the 3 Amigos for £1 each.

Someone on here will have a much better (and probably different slant) memory of it than I do. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by RoyMac5

[Gringo]

The Co-Op bank called in their loans and put the club into liquidation, it was they who sold the club for £3 to the 3 Amigo's not Lionel, I believe there was some animosity between Peter Gadsby and Lionel Pickering although that information came from one of Lionels friends so I cannot verify its authenticity. Lionel paid £1m for the club invested £10m of his own cash and got no thanks from the fans, (sound familiar) he famously went on radio Derby and said " to the moaners and whining fans "If you can do better, where's your money - and if you don't like it, go and watch Forest.” 

I bet Mel would like to do something similar.

Edited May 18, 2021 by Asheville Ram
grammar

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, Asheville Ram said:

The Co-Op bank called in their loans and put the club into liquidation, it was they who sold the club for £3 to the 3 Amigo's not Lionel, I believe there was some animosity between Peter Gadsby and Lionel Pickering although that information came from one of Lionels friends so I cannot verify its authenticity. Lionel paid £1m for the club invested £10m of his own cash and got no thanks from the fans, (sound familiar) he famously went on radio Derby and said " to the moaners and whining fans "If you can do better, where's your money - and if you don't like it, go and watch Forest.” 

I bet Mel would like to do something similar.

Derby County fraud exposes English football's 'fit and proper' test | Derby County | The Guardian

"It quickly turned out that the money the trio had brought to support their takeover was a £15m loan, costing 10 per cent interest a year, from a company, the ABC Corporation, registered in Panama. The source of those millions has never been confirmed; they dealt with an ABC representative in London, Philip Englefield. Senior sources at Queens Park Rangers, who had also borrowed money from ABC – around £10m – believed their money came from Michael Hunt, the former Nissan UK managing director who in 1993 was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the UK's largest ever tax fraud. At Derby Keith said of ABC: "We can't categorically say who was involved." But Sleightholme said they had no dealing with Hunt.

Presented with the ABC money to reduce £27m it was owed, the Co-Op Bank put Derby into receivership. Then the club was immediately sold to Keith's consortium. The manoeuvre cost the former chairman, Lionel Pickering, who had overseen Derby's 1997 move to Pride Park, £12m and significant sums were also lost by other shareholders, including the property developer and Derby County supporter Peter Gadsby.

Judge Ian Alexander, who on Monday at Northampton Crown Court sentenced Keith to 18 months in prison for false accounting and Mackay and Mackenzie each to three years for conspiracy to defraud, said those three had become "controllers of the club for the sum of £3". Lowe was sentenced to two years for money laundering.

[Yani P]

Good old Mike Hunt 

[Eric the half a ram]

6 minutes ago, Yani P said:

Good old Mike Hunt 

Shouldn't that be every one loves.........? ??

[ossieram]

35 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Pickering wouldn't sell to 'the local interest' though would he?

Because he believed the local interest was more interested in making a quick profit than actually taking the club forward. 

[RoyMac5]

3 minutes ago, ossieram said:

Because he believed the local interest was more interested in making a quick profit than actually taking the club forward. 

Or they weren't offering enough - it was partly The League of Gentlemen wasn't it? Who later saved us.

Edited May 18, 2021 by RoyMac5

[ossieram]

Just now, RoyMac5 said:

Or they weren't offering enough.

They wanted it cheap to maximise their profits when they sold. 

[OoooMarkWright]

20 minutes ago, Asheville Ram said:

The Co-Op bank called in their loans and put the club into liquidation, it was they who sold the club for £3 to the 3 Amigo's not Lionel, I believe there was some animosity between Peter Gadsby and Lionel Pickering although that information came from one of Lionels friends so I cannot verify its authenticity. Lionel paid £1m for the club invested £10m of his own cash and got no thanks from the fans, (sound familiar) he famously went on radio Derby and said " to the moaners and whining fans "If you can do better, where's your money - and if you don't like it, go and watch Forest.” 

I bet Mel would like to do something similar.

I don’t remember there being that much animosity towards Pickering, the odd murmuring of discontent. Fair play to him for the Forest quote, a classic! The same can be said now, but we’re hardly after blood with Mel Morris, but it’s obvious he’s had a mare. Pickering was a great chairman, one of our finest. It’s a shame Morris couldn’t do half as good a job. 

[GB SPORTS]

15 minutes ago, Yani P said:

Good old Mike Hunt 

Transported back 30+ years to Porkies in an instant.

[NottsRam]

10 hours ago, I DONT MIND said:

I Have already sent an e-mail last night expressing that from myself and some close Rams that this doesn't speak for us as a whole.

i think the letter is misguided and trouble making at a time when it isn't needed, i am a member of the official supporters club and i see it is been signed by one of the officials, again no official consultation has took place.

Don't usually get annoyed about anything DCFC other than results but is has really irked myself and a few others close to me.

 

COYR.

Just to be clear, every branch committee of the Supporters Club was consulted before the letter was signed by the representative and i believe the unanimous response was to sign.  If you have an issue with this you really need to take it up with your branch at committee level.

[winktheram]

18 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Derby County fraud exposes English football's 'fit and proper' test | Derby County | The Guardian

"It quickly turned out that the money the trio had brought to support their takeover was a £15m loan, costing 10 per cent interest a year, from a company, the ABC Corporation, registered in Panama. The source of those millions has never been confirmed; they dealt with an ABC representative in London, Philip Englefield. Senior sources at Queens Park Rangers, who had also borrowed money from ABC – around £10m – believed their money came from Michael Hunt, the former Nissan UK managing director who in 1993 was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in the UK's largest ever tax fraud. At Derby Keith said of ABC: "We can't categorically say who was involved." But Sleightholme said they had no dealing with Hunt.

Presented with the ABC money to reduce £27m it was owed, the Co-Op Bank put Derby into receivership. Then the club was immediately sold to Keith's consortium. The manoeuvre cost the former chairman, Lionel Pickering, who had overseen Derby's 1997 move to Pride Park, £12m and significant sums were also lost by other shareholders, including the property developer and Derby County supporter Peter Gadsby.

Judge Ian Alexander, who on Monday at Northampton Crown Court sentenced Keith to 18 months in prison for false accounting and Mackay and Mackenzie each to three years for conspiracy to defraud, said those three had become "controllers of the club for the sum of £3". Lowe was sentenced to two years for money laundering.

5 years later, still the 'ethical bank' https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10455131/Former-chairman-of-the-Co-op-bank-uses-crystal-meth-and-crack-cocaine.html