OLDCROMWELLIAN wrote: To try to get back to the original post on this thread, How accurate is this report of 5k per week? For which player? and who is this rich man who is bankrolling Mansfield and his relationship with the 'strike breakers'?

I don't know for sure but I would think there is minimal relationship between Mansfield Town's current owner and the original strike-breakers. The only link is through the people of Mansfield itself who were at the forefront of forming a breakaway union from the NUM, which voted to go back to work and ultimately lead to the death of mining in this country. To some 34 years is a long time but some will never forget and never forgive...and part of that is to wish ill-will on anything to do with the people of that region.

I work with a few Mansfield fans and none of them has mentioned anything regarding this
Doesn't mean it's not true but would be surprised if none of them know about it

wattsville_boy wrote:

OLDCROMWELLIAN wrote: To try to get back to the original post on this thread, How accurate is this report of 5k per week? For which player? and who is this rich man who is bankrolling Mansfield and his relationship with the 'strike breakers'?

I don't know for sure but I would think there is minimal relationship between Mansfield Town's current owner and the original strike-breakers. The only link is through the people of Mansfield itself who were at the forefront of forming a breakaway union from the NUM, which voted to go back to work and ultimately lead to the death of mining in this country. To some 34 years is a long time but some will never forget and never forgive...and part of that is to wish ill-will on anything to do with the people of that region.

I will never forget or forgive either? I witnessed the suffering and sacrifices made by the South Wales mining communities 34 years ago and previously also; but I don't believe in stereotyping everybody from a region. I'm not responsible for my ancestors sins either.
I'm sure we can agree though that it would be a great start to the season if we give them a good hiding (metaphorically of course) come 4th August ?

OLDCROMWELLIAN wrote:

wattsville_boy wrote:I'm with Uptheport on this. Never forget...and never forgive. If you'd come from a mining community you'd understand...

Whilst agreeing with you on this. I fail to see the connection with Mansfield's current team, or am I missing something?

Exactly ...good comment

If we're tarring people with the same brush, miners are people who threaten to murder 83 year old women while her two sons (my uncles) are in work.....cos that's all they wanted to do was work. Not Mansfield admittedly, but Bolsover...very close geographically.

newgroundrodney wrote:If we're tarring people with the same brush, miners are people who threaten to murder 83 year old women while her two sons (my uncles) are in work.....cos that's all they wanted to do was work. Not Mansfield admittedly, but Bolsover...very close geographically.

Perhaps it time to concentrate on what unites us and not what divides us UTC and all their supporters.

newgroundrodney wrote:If we're tarring people with the same brush, miners are people who threaten to murder 83 year old women while her two sons (my uncles) are in work.....cos that's all they wanted to do was work. Not Mansfield admittedly, but Bolsover...very close geographically.

Here's something for you to think about UPTHEPORT.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... illed-1984

From the archive, 1 December 1984: Taxi driver killed by striking miners
A concrete block thrown from an overhead motorway bridge hits car taking a working miner to Merthyr Vale colliery

Two striking miners were last night charged with the murder of a taxi driver who was taking a miner to work at Merthyr Vale colliery in Mid-Glamorgan.
The two men were Mr Reginald Dean Hancock, aged 21, of Rhymney Bridge, Rhymney, Mid-Glamorgan, and Mr Russell Shankland, 20, of Manest Street, Rhymney. Both men are single. Merthyr police said last night they would appear this morning before a specially convened magistrates’ court. A third person was last night still helping police with their inquiries.
Mr David Wilkie, aged 35, was killed when a concrete block and a four foot long concrete post were dropped on his car from a bridge 20 feet above the A465 Heads of the Valleys road near Merthyr Tydfil. The taxi went out of control and crashed into an embankment.

Both missiles hit the car, which was in a police convoy, and the concrete block, measuring 18 inches by 9 inches, smashed the windscreen and pinned Mr Wilkie to his seat. He sustained multiple injuries and was dead on arrival at hospital.
The working miner in the back of the taxi, Mr David Williams, aged 35, was unhurt.
The Chief Constable of South Wales, Mr David East, later told a press conference at Merthyr police station: ‘This is not industrial action. This is not picketing. This is murder. Whoever threw those things down must have known the likely consequences.’
He recalled that in September the assistant chief constable, Mr Viv Brook, had warned that someone would be killed if pickets continued throwing pieces of concrete from motorway bridges.

Striking miners had then been attempting to stop convoys of lorries taking coal to Llanwern steelworks. ‘The style of attack today is similar,’ Mr East said, ‘but with any inquiry you must keep an open mind.’
Twenty-eight policemen have been injured in clashes involving hundreds of police and pickets at the colliery, where two men have been reporting for work for a fortnight.

This is an edited extract.

Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland were convicted of Wilkie’s murder at Cardiff crown court. On appeal, the convictions were reduced to manslaughter and they were released in November 1989, five years after the killing.


Should they have had their Murder charge reduced to Manslaughter ? I say "no". They knew what they were doing a 20 year old and a 21 year old, they know right from wrong. If I was one of judges at their appeal I would have said to my fellow judges they Killed that taxi driver who was just doing what he normally did let's just say for the last 4 years or 5 years of his life. And two or three Murders came along took what he did for living providing for his family. He was someone's Son, someone's Husband, and let's not forget someone's Father. To die at such a young age. And the two or three people that killed him on that day in December 1984, will be ok they were just in prison having three meals a day, going to the Gym most days watching what's going around the world on the Television. I don't know maybe seeing their families about three or four times a month. So Is five years in prison long enough, I say "no" they should had at least 15 years or even 20 years to reflect on what they did 1984. And after they were released they should be made to compensate the family of person they had killed (I know money isn't everything but it does help to take away some of the problems in life) that sad day, the day that they Murdered a law abiding citizen Mr David Wilkie, aged 35, Who was just doing his everyday job.

Yes I'm angry, to bloodily right I'm angry.

Don't really care what anybody else pays just look at accrington last season, enough said

countymadbel wrote:Don't really care what anybody else pays just look at accrington last season, enough said

They had an investor pumping money into them.

Thought they had one of the lowest budgets in the league?

The Newport wrote:

newgroundrodney wrote:If we're tarring people with the same brush, miners are people who threaten to murder 83 year old women while her two sons (my uncles) are in work.....cos that's all they wanted to do was work. Not Mansfield admittedly, but Bolsover...very close geographically.

Here's something for you to think about UPTHEPORT.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... illed-1984

From the archive, 1 December 1984: Taxi driver killed by striking miners
A concrete block thrown from an overhead motorway bridge hits car taking a working miner to Merthyr Vale colliery

Two striking miners were last night charged with the murder of a taxi driver who was taking a miner to work at Merthyr Vale colliery in Mid-Glamorgan.
The two men were Mr Reginald Dean Hancock, aged 21, of Rhymney Bridge, Rhymney, Mid-Glamorgan, and Mr Russell Shankland, 20, of Manest Street, Rhymney. Both men are single. Merthyr police said last night they would appear this morning before a specially convened magistrates’ court. A third person was last night still helping police with their inquiries.
Mr David Wilkie, aged 35, was killed when a concrete block and a four foot long concrete post were dropped on his car from a bridge 20 feet above the A465 Heads of the Valleys road near Merthyr Tydfil. The taxi went out of control and crashed into an embankment.

Both missiles hit the car, which was in a police convoy, and the concrete block, measuring 18 inches by 9 inches, smashed the windscreen and pinned Mr Wilkie to his seat. He sustained multiple injuries and was dead on arrival at hospital.
The working miner in the back of the taxi, Mr David Williams, aged 35, was unhurt.
The Chief Constable of South Wales, Mr David East, later told a press conference at Merthyr police station: ‘This is not industrial action. This is not picketing. This is murder. Whoever threw those things down must have known the likely consequences.’
He recalled that in September the assistant chief constable, Mr Viv Brook, had warned that someone would be killed if pickets continued throwing pieces of concrete from motorway bridges.

Striking miners had then been attempting to stop convoys of lorries taking coal to Llanwern steelworks. ‘The style of attack today is similar,’ Mr East said, ‘but with any inquiry you must keep an open mind.’
Twenty-eight policemen have been injured in clashes involving hundreds of police and pickets at the colliery, where two men have been reporting for work for a fortnight.

This is an edited extract.

Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland were convicted of Wilkie’s murder at Cardiff crown court. On appeal, the convictions were reduced to manslaughter and they were released in November 1989, five years after the killing.


Should they have had their Murder charge reduced to Manslaughter ? I say "no". They knew what they were doing a 20 year old and a 21 year old, they know right from wrong. If I was one of judges at their appeal I would have said to my fellow judges they Killed that taxi driver who was just doing what he normally did let's just say for the last 4 years or 5 years of his life. And two or three Murders came along took what he did for living providing for his family. He was someone's Son, someone's Husband, and let's not forget someone's Father. To die at such a young age. And the two or three people that killed him on that day in December 1984, will be ok they were just in prison having three meals a day, going to the Gym most days watching what's going around the world on the Television. I don't know maybe seeing their families about three or four times a month. So Is five years in prison long enough, I say "no" they should had at least 15 years or even 20 years to reflect on what they did 1984. And after they were released they should be made to compensate the family of person they had killed (I know money isn't everything but it does help to take away some of the problems in life) that sad day, the day that they Murdered a law abiding citizen Mr David Wilkie, aged 35, Who was just doing his everyday job.

Yes I'm angry, to bloodily right I'm angry.

You are correct of course that murder should be severely punished and my heart goes out to the families involved - as it does to the many communities destroyed by that Thatcher government and the countless lives that prematurely came to an end through various factors including suicide as a result of her heartless policies driven by pure hate and ideology.

Spot on Mike killing someone is wrong end of

The Tories are guilty of killing mining communities including those that took their own lives

A certain perspective seems to be lacking in some of these posts.

I hate the Tories. I detest everything they stand for. I have a very low opinion of strike breakers. They take all of the benefits of that come from the sacrifice of other working people with none of the cost. Those who during the miners strike brandished fists full of money in the faces of striking pickets, those paramilitary thugs aka the West Yorkshire Police, who attacked miners at the battle of Orgreave, those scumbags in Thatcher's cabinet, deserve contempt.

However if I saw one of them drowning I would throw them a lifebelt and I have no problem condemning those who used violence against the strikebreakers.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:A certain perspective seems to be lacking in some of these posts.

I hate the Tories. I detest everything they stand for. I have a very low opinion of strike breakers. They take all of the benefits of that come from the sacrifice of other working people with none of the cost. Those who during the miners strike brandished fists full of money in the faces of striking pickets, those paramilitary thugs aka the West Yorkshire Police, who attacked miners at the battle of Orgreave, those scumbags in Thatcher's cabinet, deserve contempt.

However if I saw one of them drowning I would throw them a lifebelt and I have no problem condemning those who used violence against the strikebreakers.

Agreed