New beginnings - 25% Truth, 80% Bollocks

[ThreeDrawsMentality]

Andrew Hawes is covering the shenanigans tonight at 6pm on BBC Wilts. I wonder if Kieran Maguire will be making a guest appearance.

[Super Hans]

Fed up of the club being pass the parcel between terrible owners. When will it stop?

I'm genuinely amazed at the gates we get.

The statement has quick cover up written all over it.

[RobertT]

Fed up of the club being pass the parcel between terrible owners. When will it stop?

I'm genuinely amazed at the gates we get.

The statement has quick cover up written all over it.

I think this was luck - Covid rebound (pent up demand to watch games) and a new owner coincided to give a feel good/need to see the team feel.  One of Clem's successes really, that he converted that to Season Ticket sales, achieving the highest numbers beyond Fitton's chase for 6k and the Premier League I imagine.  On the plus side, that creates sticky customers, who likely attend most matches and spend money at the game - problem there is that Catering contract and the fact these would otherwise have been walk-ups with higher per match revenue.  Overall, I think it was a win - the number of individual match purchases would likely have suffered last season and drifted into this one.

[JoeMezz]

Fed up of the club being pass the parcel between terrible owners. When will it stop?

I'm genuinely amazed at the gates we get.

The statement has quick cover up written all over it.

I bought Clem’s BS at the time as I’m sure many will have. I’m not giving any more money to the club if I can avoid it. Too many lies for me but respect people (my old man included) who will continue to support no matter the circumstances.

[Wobbly Bob]

I suspect that it wasn't BS or an act at the time.

Possibly a case that the reality of running a football has dawned on him big time.

[Mooneyraker]

I suspect that it wasn't BS or an act at the time.

Possibly a case that the reality of running a football has dawned on him big time.

Plus ever increasing pressure from his silent partners to deliver returns...?

I don't doubt that Clem isn't enjoying this anymore but it could only ever have ended in tears. It was inevitable.

[JoeMezz]

I suspect that it wasn't BS or an act at the time.

Possibly a case that the reality of running a football has dawned on him big time.

Worrying if he didn't know what he was getting into given that he was a shareholder for a good period of time and many football clubs ran at a lost, it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

[RobertT]

I suspect that it wasn't BS or an act at the time.

Possibly a case that the reality of running a football has dawned on him big time.

I actually do think there has always been a degree of BS from Clem.  I cannot buy into a narrative that he invested 1.15m into the club and then stuck around for 4 years as a non-exec Director who was going to be responsible for developing the ground without gaining any insight into the business and characters involved.  He is not stupid - he got into a fight with Power to force the shares being issued in his name, which gave him the right to buy the club a number of months later.  His entire shtick when he took over was some sort of breath of fresh air, as if being brand new to the place, and he plays dumb quite well on some of the legacy issues.  No way he didn't know much of it, and the company he keeps is hardly squeaky clean.

Don't know that I think he is a wrong-un, just not that wet behind the ears that he didn't know precisely what he was doing or trying to do.  I don't think his intentions are nefarious, I just also don't think they are altruistic in any way shape or form.  he is part of a crew all trying to protect their little bit of the club/interests/investments etc.  He says what he thinks needs to be said in public - if you look at his interviews from 4 years+ ago, they are essentially the same as they have been since taking over, in terms of reason for being involved and plans etc.  None of it delivered, either with Power or after Power.

[Wobbly Bob]

Yeah, fair points JoeMezz & RobT, probably not far from the reality.

I had the impression that Clem was pretty much frozen out by Power in terms of access to the inner sanctum.
Maybe that was only the case once it became apparent that it was all going to kick off over the share transfer.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

If you coughed up £1.15m and 4 years later still hadn’t received the legal ownership of shares, alarm bells would have been ringing way before it all came to a head.

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

Back to square one with me with all of this.
Fucking hate this basket case of a football club. It’s shit and at this moment in time wish I could just kick it in the long grass and walk away.

It doesn’t help the individuals that we have within the Club, problem is now I tarnish Clem in the same way. Hope to be proved wrong but just not sitting comfortable with any of it.
Fear the worse, although been here before.

Just wish we could have a fresh start without any of this bullshit baggage.

A new low for me on the field Saturday - the worst in my entire near on 50 years supporting this shite.
That was unacceptable but I stayed to the end.

[RobertT]

I mean, the Catering deal seems to be the new bogeyman, this one:

https://www.thecaterer.com/news/foodservice/lindley-wins-13m-swindon-town-fc-stadium-catering-deal

Public knowledge, with Press Releases at the time and on the books for 4 years before Clem showed up I think (it was 2017? or was it 2018?).

It would have been due up this year, but Clem decided to rip it up two years ago and bring it in-house, which is why Centreplate (who acquired Lindley) took up the Winding-Up order petition against the club, because they were kicked out I presume.  Unable to earn their income.  I mean, it may be a pain in the arse, but it is not from a new and unknown boot kicking it.

Things like that are not the reason a business runs out of cash - at least not unknowingly.  He would have been well aware of the situation for years.  They've been adding it to the AB minutes for ages.

Now, a cynic would suggest Clem chanced his arm here - ripped up the contract and tried to get some cash through the door while they played legal hardball.  Given some of the other stuff we have done, and the people involved, it's not an unlikely scenario.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

£1.3m a year for 10 years for the catering right?

How the fuck could they expect to make any profit out of that?

You’d think Centreplate would be glad to get out of that

[Jimmy HaveHave]

Power may have been a rogue but wasn’t one to shy away from the fans and done his fair share of interviews letting us know what was going on even if it was bullshit.

[RobertT]

£1.3m a year for 10 years for the catering right?

How the fuck could they expect to make any profit out of that?

It was everything,  including events held at the CG.  So matchday concessions, Hospitality, your Uncle Brian's 70th birthday and so on.