Thetownend.com

Is it just me that finds the sight of Mike Spearman pictured sitting alongside our manager at Rotherham more than a little stomach churning.
This is a man that was on the board responsible for the actions of the Hunt/MacMahon era that lost the respect of so many fans. Going into administration (twice) resulting in local suppliers and traders losing thousands of pounds and some even going out of business.  The Brady bunch fiasco and worst of all being a constant vocal fan of  Diamandis a figure no honest company would even consider employing . The fact that we still have a team to watch is still a matter that all of us should consider more than a little fortunate and is no thanks to this man.
I still see Spearman, Puffett and co on match days parading around as if they still ran the club, thank fuck they dont.

Spearmans alright. It the other cunts who i would quite happily rip their heads off and shit down their throat.

Mike Spearman was chairman during the Ardiles and Hoddle era and is Swindon Town through and through.He certainly does'nt deserve to be bracketed along with Hunt,Carson or Sir Seton Wills.Wait until you've met the man and then see what your opinion is

My impression of Spearman and Puffett is that they are genuine fans. Yes, they both sat on boards that did no favours for our football club, but as you have pointed out it was Hunt, Brady and later Diamandis who were really calling the shots.

Animalwilliams - that's completely out of line in my opinion. Spearman and Puffett lived and breathed this club and kept its head just about above water when nobody else was interested in funding or running the club. Prior to and during the first administration, Cliff Puffett was continually begging fans to come out and support the club to get it through another week. If it wasn't for him - you may not have a club now. Do not put those two in the same bracket as Diamadis, Brady, Donegan, Blatchley or Hunt or anybody else who came here seeking personal profit or self-promotion with complete disregard for the fans. I bet Mike Spearman and Cliff Puffett don't walk around like the won the place - but if they did, they'd be entitled to. 

I also find it difficult to be too hard on SSW. He may have been incompetent, but he did seem to have the best for the club at heart.

It's that fat Greek cunt that I want to die slowly and painfully.

Careful now, or Barry/Whits might end up with a visit from the coppers. Believe me, he's got previous for it.

I've no problem with Spearman. I remember an evening away game at Watford in the late nineties. Spearman was walking around the away fans stand thanking every Swindon fan for their support and shook everyone by the hand. He chatted to most and really engaged with the fans, a proper true fan and Swindon through and through.

You cannot damn everyone by association.  As others have said, Mike Spearman is one of us...no doubt about it.  I remember him walking around the stand on a bitterly cold November afternoon up at Hartlepool handing out club shop vouchers to the fans who had made the trip to say thanks.  Yes, he sat on the same board as some others we would rather forget.  But I wouldn't judge him too harshly for that (especially when I know I know so little about what went on back then).

Mike Spearmint is a top bloke and I have all the time in the world for him, hes mint.

I was at that game and remember him handing out the vouchers which I thought was an excellent touch. When he said 'thanks for travelling all this way to support us' I didn't have the heart to say I had come from Edinburgh which is basically just up the road!

I think Mike Spearman goes to every away game, I always see him when I go away anyways. True fan.

Spearman and Puffett are ok in my book.  I've been thanked by Mike S. many times at away games, still remember the genuine concern shown by him that my son, who was suffering from a broken ankle, had to get back to the SAS travel coach on crutches after travelling to Ipswich for a midweek game.  And wasn't Mike removed from the chair by a coup d'etat when he was on holiday?  Came back to find somebody else sitting at the head of the board.  Cliff is a genuine supporter, sat with him on Stratton Bank when he was trying to entice fans back to the club with a £10 offer including a free burger!!  And don't ever tell me that Sir Seton was not a supporter, he may have had some dodgy friends, but his heart was in the right place and his money saved the club on several occasions - who can forget that night at Brentford when we came so close to extinction before Lady Seton Wills coughed up the cash to keep the club rolling.

Seton Will's problem was his poor judgement in having an advisor such as Diamandis. James Wills, I found to be a grade A  twat.
I think Mike Spearman doesn't deserve to be lumped in with the likes of Diamandis, Holt, Carson etc, whereas James Will's does.
As for Puffet, I think he was more supportive of Diamandis & Co than he should have been, but maybe that was because Seton Wills was.

Got to disagree with you on the Puffet/Diamandis link.  I did some contract work for Cliff and at the same time was doing some work at STFC, Cliff was off the board by then and he asked me if I had met Diamandis.  When I told him that I hadn't Cliff marked my card about him and it certainly wasn't a ringing endorsement!!

Complimentary boardroom tickets, free booze, travel etc. I think I would be at most away games with those perks.

Spearman is stfc through and through. Don't think he would have done anything to harm the club deliberately. Misguided maybe? but plenty of genuine people have been regarding club matters over the years

When Spearman  was chairman during the MuckMahon era I had a friend who would regularly write to him telling him, in no uncertain terms, where he thought the club was going wrong.

Rather than roll his eyes at another fan who thought he could do better Spearman rang my friend and invited him into the club to chat face to face about his thought. My mate asked if I, as someone else who was always fairly vocal about what I thought the club should be doing, could go along, this he was assured, would be more than fine.

So one afternoon, we both bunked off college early, spent a good few fascinating hours at the CG, with Spearman taking us to the board room and discussing our concerns, then giving us a full tour of the stadium.

Though it got a bit heated between my mate and Mike over the sale of Fjortoft, to the extent that I had to intervene and suggest we move the conversation on, Spearman was never any thing but charming and made us feel like our views really mattered to him.  He ended our encounter, having just taken us round the home changing rooms, by requesting that my friend write to him on a monthly basis, updating him with his thoughts on 'how we're doing'.

Two things stuck out for me. Firstly how great he was with people, we were both 17/18 at the time but he was in no way patronizing, and spoke candidly, and with some charm, through out. Secondly his love for the club, and interest in the players from the first team down to the kids really shone through. He loved Swindon Town as much as us, we might not have be convinced by everything he said, but we both agreed after he was a true fan

He gave up a lot of time for us that day, something he really didn’t have to do, I think he deserves a lot of respect for that. On this occasion I’d say  don’t judge a man by the company he keeps…

Would you also be putting in the hours - without pay - that some of these people do at the club?

Puffett was certainly one of those that was ruled by Mikey D, if Mikey said jump he'd ask how high he could never make a decision without Mikey agreeing to it, yes they fell out in the end but dont paint Puffett as whiter than white as he is not and also had a hand in the way the club was run back then, and he knew a lot that was going on at the club and kept quiet for a long time.

Then there's Spearman....for me both those guys are just hangers on, they have no official role at the club but like to swan around the exec areas as if they are important and they are not of course but like to feel it....dead wood

For me these 2 are like the kids at school who like to hang around with who's popular in the hope that they will become popular themselves.

I think enough has been said about SSW and his son Tim nice but Dim James due to them this club could have gone under.

He's a cunt.

That's rich coming from you...

He wasn't even nice !

It isn't and he's a cunt.

If you read the match day progs, then his name is usually somewhere sponsoring various stuff.

puffet dosent sit in the board room he pays and sits in the chairmans lounge, spearman does part of the matchday tour i would think he still pays to an extent. free booze????

Be interesting to hear what Banbury Red thinks of him.

Iv always thought he was a sound bloke. A real supporter.

Looks like someones got a man crush :girlgiggle:

Utter twat.

Nothing wrong with Mike Spearman in the past and present. Like some posts on here already, a very decent bloke and still does plently for the Club.
When the new regime took over they knew the cancer in the Club and Mike was not one of them hence he is still around.
Don't know enough about Cliff Puffett but I can say a friend who sits very near me at Swindon knows him as a personal friend and does not say a bad word about him either.

We all know Diamandis was enemy number one. I have no time for Bob Holt who lied to my face in meetings, Sandy Gray or Wills "Tim nice but Dim" Junior. Diamandis was running the Club and nobody stood in his way. SSW was completely in the dark and gave him far too much control but learnt the hard way.
Even wee Willie can come out with some credit albeit very small.

That Chapter is well and truly behind us and when I see what is happening to Darlo that was us if Fitton and Co did not take control.
Diamandis had a dream. A big hotel on the back of the Clubs finances............We were a lot fucking closer to meltdown than many people realise.

I remember the Brighton game when we lost 3-0. As I walked away from the Ground that dark night. I remember looking back from the grass outside the DR Stand and saying "goodbye under my breath".
Tired of protesting, tired of arranging plots and gaining info and this was overtaking watching football.
I had enough and was going to give up watching the Town.
In a bizarre way being an Oxon lad and detesting all things "yellow" I realised I still had a purpose. Not seeing the Pox triumph over us. I could still "do my bit"

How times have changed.

Still think its a little sad that Paul Davis & Mex Red are not sharing in the "glory" now as they were right in the mix during those bad days.

Mike Spearman is a true gent and Swindon through and through. Have you ever took the time to talk to him ?

No probably not cos you're never at games anymore.

That's a bit harsh on DV Ralphy, he's Swindon through and through. He's probably got a really good reason why he doesn't go to games anymore.

I just remembered, it's because we're playing in League 2...

He loves Swindon Town,that will do for me.

There are many genuine reasons why people can't go to games Lee; finances, family or work commitments, living away, etc.

Because the team you support is playing in the basement division isn't a reason to stop going, imho.

Yawn.

There is obviously a very good reason why I think he's a cunt and its not because I havent gone this season or because I havent spoken to him, alright?

I think he was refering to Spearman !

I was talking about Spearman Herthab!! :D

It's an age thing.

Did he laugh at your beard?

Yours or mine :eek:

I've forgotten.

Funnily enough I did mean to post about Mike Spearman when some of the old Northampton memories were being shared around a couple of weeks ago.

Mike has put more into the club - definitely financially, and probably emotionally - than most of us could ever dream or dare.  He's not 'rich' rich but like very, very few others, stuck his hand in his pocket when the club most needed it and helped keep his, and our Saturdays alive.  Of course he hung around whilst a succession of chancers, crooks and well intentioned dreamers had their go, like wee Willie he had an 'investment' to protect...and unlike some he probably couldn't afford to lose it.

If that makes him guilty by association, so be it, but I think it's fair to say he saw through the likes of Brady ("fifty quid bottles of wine, fancy aftershave and helicopters - who the fuck does he think he is" - billed later to the club) and the Greek a long, long time before most of us.  Doing something about it as we all know, was easier said than done.

On one of those lively occasions at Northampton in the eighties, I was a teenager in the pub outside the ground with Mike.  The double decker turned up, it was going off everywhere and the police locked us in the bar and shut it.  Mike, who it's fair to say, has always enjoyed socialising with a drink or two wasn't putting up with being barricaded in a pub which was shut.  He took us out through the fun and games and to a pub a decent walk away with its own micro brewery.  The world was OK again.

And then the end of season we had apocalyptically low crowds at the it, when breaking 2000 was actually a relief, no rewards for guessing who dragged me off my skinny arse in Witney to keep the faith.  Mansfield at home, Sunday afternoon - only a team sheet instead of a programme - my lift was waiting for me.

Fast forward nearly thirty years and by any consideration Mike is now a genuinely old man, and like the other fella in the programme last week still a regular at 80 odd.  If I'm fortunate enough to reach that age, with the passion to get up and go and watch my team play in the fourth division at Rotherham in January, the least I expect is a free fucking mince pie.

I tip my hat to you Sir.

Some belting posts in this thread.  Thanks Christy and Pets (in particular).

My father has travelled away with Mike over the years to many games, especially in the 90s enjoying the hospitality at grounds courtesy of Mr Spearman, so you can count him as a freeloader as well  :)

(like father like son etc)

no doubt we all remember TUMDFC.

And the fat greek having his driveway painted.

Seconded - finding this thread fascinating..... Spearman sound like a good egg to me.

j

And all this because the Adver published a pic of Mike S. and PDC at Rotherham!  Oh, and Flashheart, that driveway painting will go down in STFC history!!!

I'd like to thank the tit who started this topic.  Without it my (already reasonably high) opinion of Spearman wouldn't have risen so much

I suspect this was only started as a wind up designed to cause a reaction,   I'm glad it did.

Nice post Duke, but would add that whilst things have drastically improved under PdC we're far from the glory days we all crave. Yes results are going our way and fingers crossed we'll go up, but we can't be satisfied with promotion from Divvie 4, when and I mean when, we return to the Championship that's when the glory days will return to the CG.

Back on topic I don't have anything against the likes of Spearman or even Willie Carson to be honest, for different reasons. The likes of Spearman and Ray Hardman put a lot of work in for very little return. Carson was just flogged a very bad sales opportunity and wanted his cash back when he realised. Can't blame him for that. I always think it's so easy to say 'if I had money I'd invest in STFC', I know unless I had a severe amount of cash available any football club wouldn't be seen as an investment opportunity for me, especially a club like Swindon.

I was ambivalent until I went to the "fans forum" where they had James Wills, Diamandis, Carson  & Andronique on the panel.
My memories of is are that James Wills was a very unpleasant person, Diamandis was a cunt, Andonique was talking out of his arse & Carson was a jumped up twat who wasn't very nice to boot. Oh & Cliff Puffet sat on the front row with some bloke who turned red when having a go at the Orange campaign. Isn't he something to do with Supermarine now ?

I'd be interested to know why Dv thinks Spearman is a cunt?
If you are throwing it out there then let's read why you think he is a cunt.

My guess is that it is something to do with selling players.

Serious hat on now. I have a bloody good reason as why we think he's a cunt. This is far from a DMR style go against the grain post. However, its one of the few chapters of mine and my families life I am not willing to discuss on a public forum. There is also a very good reason why I am the only member of my family who has set foot in the County Ground since about 98/99. To sum it up he still owes my family a big, big fucking apology.

I know that sounds like a bit of a cop out but tough shit, I dont feel like I have to explain myself to you guys.


Your guess is fucking stupid.

I'll go first.

One of your family was involved in the anti-McMahon protests and Mike S said some nasty about them in the press?

Not even close, you can drop it now...

Did Spearman beat your dad in a game of Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock?

Show us on the doll where he touched you.

Did he cut off all of your family member's feet?

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

You cunt, ive just spat my bacon sandwich over the screen

 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Post of the year so far

did he force your family into a game of naked twister????i love that game my nan always wins :nod:

So many of you have missed your true calling in life. Why you arent successful comedians I will never know.

Especially that guy who copied a joke The Simpsons did in 1994. Hilarious

:)

 :soapy tit wank:

I won an Award in 2002 - Nationwide Supporter of the Year.

Won £2,000 and just got married. I gave £1,000 of it to Swindon Town FC when they were in difficult financial times. God knows how much I have put into the Club now through tickets and sponsoring games.
F**king madness. Suprised I am still married. Mind you her in doors has started going to games now ;)

If I won more money I would do the same.

Bigamy is a crime and sentence all in one.

This is a cracking set of posts.

Just to revert to serious part of this thread, sorry, it can get out of hand again later if it wants.

At Molyneux in 19xx sorry can't remember the exact year (1997 or 1998 though?), but it was when we at the 69er made our 'McMahon and Hunt Must Go' banner with my can of black spray paint and an old sheet,
Spearman was doing the rounds of the stands talking to fans.  He had a carrier bag with him and I asked him if he had a banner like mine as I had it in my carrier bag.  He was not very happy, gave me an earful, then went off to the other end of the pitch, returned with Rikki Hunt and insisted I had a long chat with Rikki for Rikki to set me straight on why I should put my banner away and persuade me how I was wrong in my view of him and McMahon. 

I wasn't wrong of course, but have never had a particular opinion of Spearman, apart from based on that blinkered support of someone who obviously shouldn't be allowed anywhere near any serious business venture and certainly not near a football club.

Just thought I'd share that tale.

Spearman once gave me a free STFC hat at Carlisle away.

My head was pretty cold.

This makes him A-OK with me.  :thumb:

I read a lot of post on here but barely bother post myself (mainly because my boss sits on a desk to the side of me). But with this one I had to throw in my thoughts -not that anyone will really care.
Anyway as a young supporter of Swindon Town at the time, I always remember Mike Spearman being a nice guy, who always took time out to come and chat to the fans at home and away games. As a young supported it made you feel welcomed and that you had an appreciation of supporting the club when everyone around you in the town took the easy option by supporting Man Ure, Liverpool etc from the comfort of their sofas at home.

'I'd like to point out now that Mike Spearman never touched me in anyway and that I'm not suffering from Stockholm Syndrome either.'

It also seems that most on here agree that Spearman was a decent chap except for two or possibly one (are animalwilliams and DV Canio the same person?) that he probably had his heart in the right place with regards to the club if not a bit misguided at times. The fact he's still involved in the club isn't a bad thing. The fact he's still involved when so many have been and gone shows me his loyalty to the club.
 But to go out of your way to write that someone is a cunt (DV Canio) and when someone asks you why they're a cunt, you reply that 'you're not going to discuss why' (on the same forum you've called them a cunt) is pretty pathetic and also cuntish. You've got expect some comments back and the odd guess as to why you don't like him.

Also the fact someone is quoting 1994 Simpsons jokes shows how original and timeless the Simpsons is 18 years on. Unlike The Big Bang Theory which is possibly the worse sitcom/comedy I've ever had to sit through and I've watched 'Mike and Molly' and 'Mad About Alice Starring Amanda Holden' before.

Anyway did anyone see Ray Hardman the other day?

Fuck me, this thread is hilarious.

We've got one or two prepared to say why they think Spearman is a cunt, one claiming to have good reason for thinking he's a cunt - but apart from revealling the period when he first started thinking Spearman was a cunt, wont say why - and a few more who have completely ignored the subject but have told us what fucking ace fans they are.......

I have no idea if Spearman is, or is not a cunt. I don't know him.

From what's been said so far, he does seem to have an unfortunate habit of hanging out with some of the many serial cunts that have been involved with the club over the last few decades though, so maybe he's one of those teflon cunts.

Quite a few people who've met him seem to think he's a decent bloke and the club seem to use him as some sort of well informed STFC ambassador nowadays, which is fine with me.

From the pics I've seen of him in those massive glasses, he looks a bit like a dodgy uncle who maybe shouldn't be left alone for too long with the kids at bathtime, but, I'm all for leaving him to get on with whatever he does for the club.

If he's good enough for JW and PDC, he's good enough for me  :nod:

I'm sorry folks but in all this madness wrt Spearman is or isn't etc this post made me spit out my earl grey tea across my keyboard. Classic.

Dunno why you'd think nobody would be interested in your posts? Your view is as important as anyone elses.
Post a bit more often.

Hanging around with cunts seems to be an occupational hazard for Swindon Town fans.....

As for the Spearman Rhino love in, I met him once in one of his away trip handshake expeditions.

Apart from Wray, the only club executive to have given me any attention whatsoever.

He'll do.

only time i have talked to him was when he told me to stop protesting about diamandis, silly old fucker.

 I was brought up with the axiom...never trust an STFC chairman, and nothing has ever come close to undermining the proposition.

 On the surface they could seem OK...Wilf Castle, for example, was fine purveyor of lardy cake and brown bread, similarly Eric Lane's chitterlings and caul were of a high standard.  Nevertheless it never stopped the TE wanting Wilf to be sent as Britain's representative at the Vietnam War.

 No way in the world would I have bought a used car from Maurice Earle...or painting and decorating from Brian Hillier.

 Rikki Hunt's Kestrel companies.... ::)

 Cliff Puffett's multi-agg I suppose might have been OK for a bag of sand and gravel.

 The exception to the rule would be Cecil Green...who like honest Bri had a painting and decorating co, but was a man who I've never heard a bad word spoken against.

 Carson...I loathed since Question of Sport.  Andrew Fitton promised much, but managed the ignominy of 2 defeats to non league sides on his watch, added to the worst Div 3 side in 50 years.

 Just watch when Wray ceases to be interim chairman.  :)

Just to bump this rather than start a new thread has Spearman been listed as Honorary President for a long time, must confess never noticed before?

Not sure how long he has had that role but I almost always see him at games when I can get there, home and away, going round pre match meeting and greeting Town fans, always comes accross as a nice bloke.