27th of November 2002

27.11.2002
So day one of the 'new era' is almost over, with no change in the atmosphere on the BBS. An 'us and them' atmosphere prevails, which cannot benefit the long term future of the club. Divide and conquer ? Already happening in spades. I am not in favour of what has happened, any more than I was in favour of the concensus option that BFC2003 offered. Strong leadership is required, but the autocracy that has come out of the ashes of the old club cannot be good in the long term. For one family to hold the future of the club, it's very existence, in their hands, cannot be right.

Although an open style of management is promised, can this be delivered in reality ? Can a goldfish skip ? Those who have sold raffle tickets, walked through the night, rattled buckets and begged family and friends to sponsor seats will feel the most aggrieved, as they strove, in a very personal and meaningful way, to benefit the survival prospects of the club. That the reformed club now has the same Chairman as before will stick the longest in the throats of those who gave so much of themselves. For what ? Are the long term prospects of the club any more rosy than they were before all this started. Probably not. And yet.. the club is still here, and that at least is something that we all ought to be grateful for. That Doyle has put his money on the line is beyond dispute, otherwise the Administrators would not have backed his bid. As someone pointed out on here only a few days ago, iSOFT use Robson Rhodes as their company accountants, and the balance sheet shows that they were paid around £120,000.00 last year for their services. So arguably they would be more likely to favour a bid from Patrick Cryne, given their existing relationship.

Given that this has not happened indicates, to me at least, that PC has either not put in a bid, or that bid was not as beneficial to the creditors as the Doyle bid. To suggest that a multi million pound company like Robson Rhodes could be 'influenced', as has been the suggestion of some posters, is to indicate a total lack of understanding of how the real world operates. There has been speculation that McCarthy has been approached to take over the management of the club. Given that he could command a salary of around £20k a week at many clubs, I find this difficult to accept, though I would jump through hoops if this proves to be correct. Seemingly a meeting has been arranged between him and PD for this Thursday. A club just out of administration paying a new manager £1 million per year? Nah - Step forward Glynn Hodges, reluctant manager, but already on the payroll and in charge for the last two league victories.

I hope I'm wrong. As my oncologist says, 'hope for the best, but expect the worst'. New directors will need to be found, and PDQ, otherwise there won't be much need for outside caterers at the Board meetings. They should be interesting though. Have you ever known any family that can agree over even the most basic decision, much less things that can affect their net worth to the tune of millions. And who is going to be brave enough to join in this family affair and 'put his money where his mouth is' as Doyle senior so succinctly puts it ? Not many, although a meeting between Cryne and PD is rumoured to have aleady taken place.

But 'chinese whisper' type rumours are very much the order of the day. Some are picked up and run with faster than the baton in the 4 x 100 metres relay, and at every changeover the story becomes more grandiose, whilst managing to carry even more weight. The bulletin board was usurped by a small number of PTA members tonight (Prats Tw@ts and @rseholes in teacher speak), so much potential meaningful debate time was lost, as posters gave up rather than try to talk over or around the tossers causing the problems.

Not that I was aware of this until later. Been to T & M's tonight for a meal and a few bevvies. They don't know much about football, though T had been polite enough to listen to the reports of the days events so that he could chat about them. He told me he was surprised that the council had sanctioned the investment of ratepayers money to buy the club, but said he was pleased for me that it had all ended happily !!

M is an absolute star, and someone from whom I draw a great deal of inspiration, as she had breast cancer 23 years ago. She had a mastectomy, and as recently as three years ago reconstructive surgery to rebuild the breast. She did not need it. She is one of those naturally vivacious, attractive people that you meet only rarely. We make one another laugh, and she is invariably sympathetic, supportive and understanding. She knows only too well the dangers of a recurrence, even now, and because of this is always well read and understanding of current treatment options.

My oncologist said last week that he was going to try and get me accepted onto a programme of treatment that has proved quite succesful, but which is not yet widely available. The manufacturers are only allowing treatment to be given to patients for whom traditional chemotherapy has been tried and failed. M was aware of the development of these new 'smart' drugs, and, as ever, we came away from their house feeling better, and pleased to have them as friends. She knows what cancer patients need to hear - optimism and good news stories. If I can give you one piece of advice when talking to someone with cancer it's this - NEVER EVER say, 'Oh I used to know someone who had that'.

Night all, and many thanks again for the fantastically supportive postings. I am 'cutting and pasting' them all, so that I can read them when times get tough.