Sorry if posted already, but Dickie - worra legend!

Paid for a new players' balcony at Headingley with his own money - us tight Yorkshiremen can dig deep!

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/cricket/bird-funds-balcony-as-reward-for-champions-1-7134984

Maybe we can tap him up for a new scoreboard.

 

Only if it gets him on Look North

 

It's so they can get a Birds eye view of the play ....

 

Dickie has given all the money from his books to the charity he set up. He hasn't as deep trouser pockets as some on here make out.

 

Don't get this attitude. Dickie has never been anything but a massively proud Yorkshireman and tarn fan. Turns up at Oakwell come rain or shine, whether the cameras are there or not. He's never belittled his club, town or county. We should cherish him.

 

I think most do Mickey. Lej is Dickie IMO.

 

I don't get it either. Some people just like having a pop at anybody that stands out. I could understand it if he acted like Parky, who only watches us when we're playing at Reading and only comes to Barnsley when he's working or the press are about, but I never understand why Dickie gets stick.

 

There was some criticism of him for not doing more during admin. Also against Parkinson.

 

Mmm, I didn't chuck anything in the collection buckets either, so they can lump me in with Dickie. If the collection money would have been safeguarding the club it would have been a different matter. Even then, between me and Dickie we wouldn't have been able to stump enough money up. Instead, every penny that was collected went to the players whose stupid wages got us into the mess in the first place, whilst people like you and me, who worked in the back offices at the club, were given the chop.

If every Reds fan at the game with the buckets gave a quid it would just about cover Mike Sheron's wages for playing for the reserves that week. I don't recall seeing Mike Sheron leading the collections. In fact, and I know this won't be popular on here, but the only player who seemed to give a **** was Chris Morgan. I have a big problem with clubs going into administration and expecting the fans to try to find the money to essentially keep paying the players.

Having a pop at Dickie for the mess the club was in was well out of order. He may be wealthy compared to us, but he's nowhere near the level that Cryne is, which is what we needed at the time. Just the idea that we would ask someone to basically pay £80-90k per week to ensure the poor players got paid is laughable. I can't imagine that any other Reds fan would do that, because nobody else had the money that Cryne did. We just have to be thankful that Cryne had enough money to lose, because that is more or less what has happened to every penny he has put in and I wouldn't even like to guess at how much that is.

 

Bloke's an absolute bonafide legend of my town and one of the nicest I've ever spent time with. Emotional chap, mind. But when's that been a crime?

 

Im a firefighter and recently fitted a couple a smoke alarms at his property. Id heard a few comments about him being this and that but ive always taken folks as I find em. Dickie was a thoroughly decent and engaging fella. Sure his walls were daubed with his photos and achievements but so wud mine if I had done and been so much. He didnt brag or owt but was happy to tell and explain stuff, which suited me cos I was extremely interested and so were the rest of my crew tbf. He had a good knowledge on BFC and you could tell he was a proper fan and wanted best fo super reds. I thought he was a top bloke, the type thad wanna drop on in a boozer and just sit listening to tales with a few pints. Cant see why folk cud ave a bad word to say to be honest, proper tarn lad done good for me.

 

Not saying that Dickie isn't a decent bloke or a trueTarn fan and proud Yorkshireman. Just saying that he is a self publisist. You know a bit like that barber bloke at tarn end. Oh and Parky has put his hand in his pocket for sport in Barnsley but did it insisting his name was not mentioned

 

But he isn't really though, is he? Whenever the cameras rock up at Oakwell - first thought is 'who can we doorstep for a quote?' Dickie? Ian MacMillan?? It's inevitably Dickie and he obliges because he's a friendly sort. I'd hardly call that self-publicising.

 

I know Dickie Bird. I quite like him. Certainly as a representative of Barnsley, but also he's a decent enough bloke. I always talk to him when I see him. My dad's brother was a good friend of his before he moved out to Australia and often sees him when he returns to Barnsley for visits. My dad's wife and her family all know him. I've been to a number of dos when he's there. You'll not hear me slagging him off, but he definitely is what some people accuse him of being.

That doesn't mean he's a t.wat or that he deserves some of the criticism he gets, but some of the stuff said seems fair enough to me. He's essentially a referee that became famous and he's probably the most famous referee of any type in the commonwealth. How often do referees become famous? Not infamous, people don't know him because he did something wrong, nor is he known for being the best there ever was in his field. He's probably up there, but he doesn't have the same reputation as say Collina had in football for being the best of the best. Dickie is famous for having a big personality, or, to put it another way, self promotion. It's not even a criticism that really, it just is. He liked to put himself out there and he liked to be in the limelight.

As far as the generosity goes, what he's done at Headingley is a great gesture, but. Nah, I'm not going to go there. However the people of Staincross and Mapplewell will have plenty of stories for you.

 

Ex girlfriends dad was big pals with Dickie. Would see him at their house often during the early 90's due to their work with the wombwell cricket lovers, although the women of the house weren't keen on him. Later in the 90's maybe '98?? was walking home past asda when he pulled up next to me in his xk8 and asked me which way to Staincross?? Bizarrre!!