Alan G Bryant wrote:Let me get this straight, are you saying Gavin was there and he wasn't asked one single awkward question?

How odd.
You were there, but pretending by this comment that you were not

Willthiswork wrote:http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/1 ... ey_Parade/

For those that would prefer to read the article on here by Chris Kirwan and Andrew Penman. Copied and Pasted from the South Wales Argus

Dragons chairman says Newport County have a great deal to play at Rodney Parade
Chris Kirwan and Andrew Penman

Newport County have a lease to play at Rodney Parade until 2023




DRAGONS chairman David Buttress insists Newport County AFC would not be able to get a better deal elsewhere if they were to leave Rodney Parade.
County share the stadium, which is owned by the Welsh Rugby Union, with rugby clubs the Dragons and Newport RFC and have a lease to play their home games there until 2023.
The Exiles told fans at Wednesday night’s open supporters’ meeting that the cost of playing at Rodney Parade has increased by 100 per cent since the ground was taken over by the WRU last summer.

And director Kevin Ward warned that it is “not viable” for County to continue to play at the city centre venue unless changes are made to the current agreement.
Ward said: “My view is that the preferential position would be for us to remain in this venue but if we are to carry on in our current situation and the current terms of licence we play under, it’s not viable.”
But Buttress, who was appointed by the WRU to lead the Dragons last September, is adamant that the football club is getting a great deal.
“I would be astonished if Newport County or anyone could do it cheaper,” said the chairman, who is a minority shareholder in the Dragons.
“I see the numbers in great detail and I can’t believe how cheaply the team here stage a professional game and their dedication and hard work is incredible.

“I have nothing but admiration for the guys operationally here; this is the busiest professional ground in Britain and it takes a lot of effort.
“We are an open book and definitely want to help Newport County in any way that we can, and we have done that over the last six to nine months.
“In effect we support them financially because we paid to stage the game, putting it all on and doing the work, and they pay us retrospectively.
“In effect we are a free creditor for them and we are happy to do that because this is their home as well.
“I would be astonished if anyone can stage professional football cheaper than we do, and if they can then I want to hear the feedback because if we can do it better or cheaper we will do.”

County are seeking to renegotiate the terms of their lease and Buttress is keen for them to stay.
He added: “Our home is their home. Next year we are going to share the ticket office, which is something that we have instigated, and we want to make things work for them.”



The Newport Wrote :
So I now ask myself what is the deal we have with the WRU. I'm sure it wouldn't be breaking any rules or Laws by letting the fans of a fan owned club know how much money we actually pay the WRU to play at Rodney Parade.

Clear as mud, then. It’s a non-viable bargain.

So the Landlords have changed and increased the rent. We have been getting larger crowds so is it average attendance linked?

I'll always believe that when we moved to Rodney Parade, we were informed very clearly, words to the following effect: " The only kind of lease the League will allow us to have, is a ten year rolling lease, so that we have ten years in hand at any given time.".....

How have we ended up with a lease that expires soon if we're meant to have "ten years in hand at any given time"...?

girl saturday wrote:

The Newport wrote:

The Newport Wrote :
So I now ask myself what is the deal we have with the WRU. I'm sure it wouldn't be breaking any rules or Laws by letting the fans of a fan owned club know how much money we actually pay the WRU to play at Rodney Parade.

And therein lies fundamental issue No 1 for me.
Communication of the real kind. Yes its been said before and yes things have improved (Token gestures) with the additional staff & Board members but there is no proper connection between BoD and fans which leads to No 2.
Its okay bleating about only 30K donated by fans!! This is the responsibility and duty of the BoD to have worked on this as any business does with their "Customers", I speak with many at Games (many from this message-board) and the overall feeling, which I share, is that as long as there is no feeling of inclusion, many feel they simply do not trust them enough to give/donate their hard-earned.
As a business there is a duty to make customers/guests/supporters feel part of everything, most County fans feel that they are only appreciated when the begging bowl makes its reoccurring appearance.
I do appreciate that all BoD members are volunteers but we have to be fit for purpose as in any viable business,
Having sat in many modern management Boardrooms, Customer Service IS at the heart of EVERYTHING you do, ignore it and your business model is UNVIABLE.

Great post and absolutely spot on the board who I accept do it on a voluntary basis and I do respect them for that do nothing to persuade me to spend / donate more and appear to be very much a clique and in many supporters eyes divisive.
The Operational Chairman does not appear to have the support or confidence of the fans and this needs to change either the individual or the individual needs better communication / pr to bring fans on side the £30k pa from trust members may then grow.

girl saturday wrote:

The Newport wrote:

The Newport Wrote :
So I now ask myself what is the deal we have with the WRU. I'm sure it wouldn't be breaking any rules or Laws by letting the fans of a fan owned club know how much money we actually pay the WRU to play at Rodney Parade.

And therein lies fundamental issue No 1 for me.
Communication of the real kind. Yes its been said before and yes things have improved (Token gestures) with the additional staff & Board members but there is no proper connection between BoD and fans which leads to No 2.
Its okay bleating about only 30K donated by fans!! This is the responsibility and duty of the BoD to have worked on this as any business does with their "Customers", I speak with many at Games (many from this message-board) and the overall feeling, which I share, is that as long as there is no feeling of inclusion, many feel they simply do not trust them enough to give/donate their hard-earned.
As a business there is a duty to make customers/guests/supporters feel part of everything, most County fans feel that they are only appreciated when the begging bowl makes its reoccurring appearance.
I do appreciate that all BoD members are volunteers but we have to be fit for purpose as in any viable business,
Having sat in many modern management Boardrooms, Customer Service IS at the heart of EVERYTHING you do, ignore it and your business model is UNVIABLE.

Get thee to the Boardroom Kate. 100% agree.

It is not a great post , it is another post from someone that simply does not grasp the concept of owning a football club. The club have not forced the rewards and benefits because they have not needed to, the windfalls and cup monies have ensured that, so why ask supporters for money that is not needed yet, could you imagine the outcry? All they are highlighting is that without these windfalls we will need to cough up to compete in league 2 or look at other viable options.

To put it another way, If you own a car, you have to find the money for the repairs, the same with the house you own, so why should we expect to own a football club for £10 yet complain when we have to pay for the repairs? It is our responsibility to find the money as we currently own the football club.

We can argue all day about the why's and wherefores of directors making this decision or that decision, but we need to remember that in 3 years we have not been asked to pay for any repairs, I cannot think of many other league 2 club owners that can say the same.

Alan G Bryant wrote:It is not a great post , it is another post from someone that simply does not grasp the concept of owning a football club. The club have not forced the rewards and benefits because they have not needed to, the windfalls and cup monies have ensured that, so why ask supporters for money that is not needed yet, could you imagine the outcry? All they are highlighting is that without these windfalls we will need to cough up to compete in league 2 or look at other viable options.

To put it another way, If you own a car, you have to find the money for the repairs, the same with the house you own, so why should we expect to own a football club for £10 yet complain when we have to pay for the repairs? It is our responsibility to find the money as we currently own the football club.

We can argue all day about the why's and wherefores of directors making this decision or that decision, but we need to remember that in 3 years we have not been asked to pay for any repairs, I cannot think of many other league 2 club owners that can say the same.

My own opinion is that 'fit for purpose' was the key phrase in the post.

You suggest that someone does not grasp the concept of owning a football club. Then you compare the County to owning a car. Fundamental difference - you own the car/house, lots and lots of others own £10 parts of the Trust. A huge amount of people are involved. A bit of a difference don't you think?

Once again I will ask you - who are the hysterical minority that you previously mentioned?

Alan G Bryant wrote:It is not a great post , it is another post from someone that simply does not grasp the concept of owning a football club. The club have not forced the rewards and benefits because they have not needed to, the windfalls and cup monies have ensured that, so why ask supporters for money that is not needed yet, could you imagine the outcry? All they are highlighting is that without these windfalls we will need to cough up to compete in league 2 or look at other viable options.

To put it another way, If you own a car, you have to find the money for the repairs, the same with the house you own, so why should we expect to own a football club for £10 yet complain when we have to pay for the repairs? It is our responsibility to find the money as we currently own the football club.

We can argue all day about the why's and wherefores of directors making this decision or that decision, but we need to remember that in 3 years we have not been asked to pay for any repairs, I cannot think of many other league 2 club owners that can say the same.

In my view what Kate has said is the best post I have ever read on this board. I genuinely wish she was on the board of Newport County, perhaps she might reign in some of the egos. She also gets the point far too many involved with the club miss. If people don't feel included and involved they won't part with their cash.

Alan G Bryant wrote:It is not a great post , it is another post from someone that simply does not grasp the concept of owning a football club. The club have not forced the rewards and benefits because they have not needed to, the windfalls and cup monies have ensured that, so why ask supporters for money that is not needed yet, could you imagine the outcry? All they are highlighting is that without these windfalls we will need to cough up to compete in league 2 or look at other viable options.

To put it another way, If you own a car, you have to find the money for the repairs, the same with the house you own, so why should we expect to own a football club for £10 yet complain when we have to pay for the repairs? It is our responsibility to find the money as we currently own the football club.

We can argue all day about the why's and wherefores of directors making this decision or that decision, but we need to remember that in 3 years we have not been asked to pay for any repairs, I cannot think of many other league 2 club owners that can say the same.

Ask any engineering manager and they'll tell you there are two kinds of maintenance - planned and reactive.

Planned maintenance can be managed as the parameters are known, the costs are stable and you don't get too many nasty surprises.

Reactive maintenance usually occurs when the machinery is run without attention until it fails. You then have to scramble around hoping you can find someone to fix it whilst hoping you can find the money to pay for it.

Sound familiar ?

County ranger wrote: The Operational Chairman does not appear to have the support or confidence of the fans and this needs to change either the individual or the individual needs better communication / pr to bring fans on side the £30k pa from trust members may then grow.

You've written this after an open fans meeting with the chairman in attendance but with no questions if this kind raised at all.

whoareya wrote:

Alan G Bryant wrote:It is not a great post , it is another post from someone that simply does not grasp the concept of owning a football club. The club have not forced the rewards and benefits because they have not needed to, the windfalls and cup monies have ensured that, so why ask supporters for money that is not needed yet, could you imagine the outcry? All they are highlighting is that without these windfalls we will need to cough up to compete in league 2 or look at other viable options.

To put it another way, If you own a car, you have to find the money for the repairs, the same with the house you own, so why should we expect to own a football club for £10 yet complain when we have to pay for the repairs? It is our responsibility to find the money as we currently own the football club.

We can argue all day about the why's and wherefores of directors making this decision or that decision, but we need to remember that in 3 years we have not been asked to pay for any repairs, I cannot think of many other league 2 club owners that can say the same.

Ask any engineering manager and they'll tell you there are two kinds of maintenance - planned and reactive.

Planned maintenance can be managed as the parameters are known, the costs are stable and you don't get too many nasty surprises.

Reactive maintenance usually occurs when the machinery is run without attention until it fails. You then have to scramble around hoping you can find someone to fix it whilst hoping you can find the money to pay for it.

Sound familiar ?

I generally find that Engineers completely understand the cost/consequence of PPM's and repairs. It is when the bean counters get too involved because they think they understand that problems inevitably occur.

whoareya wrote:

County ranger wrote: The Operational Chairman does not appear to have the support or confidence of the fans and this needs to change either the individual or the individual needs better communication / pr to bring fans on side the £30k pa from trust members may then grow.

You've written this after an open fans meeting with the chairman in attendance but with no questions if this kind raised at all.

And a classy, professional and respected Comms/PR individual is now a director on the Board.

girl saturday wrote:

The Newport wrote:

The Newport Wrote :
So I now ask myself what is the deal we have with the WRU. I'm sure it wouldn't be breaking any rules or Laws by letting the fans of a fan owned club know how much money we actually pay the WRU to play at Rodney Parade.

And therein lies fundamental issue No 1 for me.
Communication of the real kind. Yes its been said before and yes things have improved (Token gestures) with the additional staff & Board members but there is no proper connection between BoD and fans which leads to No 2.
Its okay bleating about only 30K donated by fans!! This is the responsibility and duty of the BoD to have worked on this as any business does with their "Customers", I speak with many at Games (many from this message-board) and the overall feeling, which I share, is that as long as there is no feeling of inclusion, many feel they simply do not trust them enough to give/donate their hard-earned.
As a business there is a duty to make customers/guests/supporters feel part of everything, most County fans feel that they are only appreciated when the begging bowl makes its reoccurring appearance.
I do appreciate that all BoD members are volunteers but we have to be fit for purpose as in any viable business,
Having sat in many modern management Boardrooms, Customer Service IS at the heart of EVERYTHING you do, ignore it and your business model is UNVIABLE.

Absolutely bang on