Issa wpms And trust

Shame. Written off. Thanks, Villa and Baggie fans.

You have a very good understanding of what went on all those years ago exile , and. How he came to get his hands on club, Not that he ever really wanted that, the biggest prize at the fair was always the freehold , and only one man. Was ever going to get. The golden ticket

We all know that our future is. At best bleak , as the freehold issue And the ramifications from it are yet to truly manifest themselves , As said the only way out I can see is activate the leave clause at next rental break , and start afresh,

Him being owner / landlord. For so long. Has made the freehold issue just. The symptom of a vicious cancer that. Is deep rooted into the very fabric of the club , And do we really want to own something so badly tarnished, Leave him to wander round his empty decaying mausoleum. And let him reflect how he killed Walsall football club , and move on.
The freehold was never coming back. Once he. Got it into that. Pension fund, and it never will,

Note that to be fair to the Trust, the accounts were passed at the last AGM. Looks like theyā€™ve just not been filed. Someone needs to pull their finger outā€¦

1 Like

Is anyone else finding this subject becoming more and more confusing / alarming , is there a can of worms that needs opening ?

Iā€™m finding it ever more distasteful in the way itā€™s trying to discredit a bona fide group who are part of the working party.

If there are disagreements and you decide to walk away, then thatā€™s a decision to be respected. Constant posts trying to rubbish the organisation you walked away because of, trying to question their right to existence, trying to suggest they should be wound down because someone has, seemingly, forgotten to file the accounts, all suggest sour grapes.

Itā€™s a shame. From everything that Iā€™ve seen and read, ISSA have done some excellent work since their inception, at a grass roots level. Why not just concentrate on continuing this fine work instead of wasting energy on disputes which, to be quite frank, must look extremely petty in the eyes of the powers that be at Walsall and will certainly do nothing to persuade them to allow more fan involvement.

5 Likes

In some respects I can see where the board are coming from. The role of the fan board member would be to report back to fans on what had been discussed. That would set them aside from the other board members as regards to maintaining confidentiality. Some of that discussion could commercially or legally sensitive. I was on the board of a largish charity and I had to sign a None Disclosure Agreement about one particular issue we were dealing with because if it had got into the public domain it would have seriously compromised the viability of the charity.

This is the major point. Itā€™s absolutely ridiculous and Pomlett Gamble and Mole must be looking on with one eyebrow raised thinking ā€œthis is the level of intelligence the fans have? Why should we listen to themā€.

4 Likes

Agree fully :+1:t2:

1 Like

Obviously a bit of a different arrangement here ( from todayā€™s Guardian)

What I find problematic is the principle that I mentioned on another thread last week, namely that the acid test for this regime would be when a scenario presented itself where the interests of the club were opposed to rather than alligned with the interests of Bonser, for me this gives the answer to that question, or at least a very strong hint at the answer. Its interesting that the board can imediately find fault in the detail of the proposal of fan representation in order to dismiss it in principle, and yet in respect of the purchase of the freehold are more than happy to agree to it in principle whist giving no attention to the detail, other than the fact that in reality its financially unworkeable. Like I say big red light for me. Its clear we have a board that still very much want to keep the fans and the general public at arms length, and joining up the dots, thatā€™s because of the relationship with Bonser.

3 Likes

And also, no way are we having any of them sitting in on board meetings.

1 Like

Yeah. For an organisation that is ā€œrepresentative for all the fansā€ there are a fair few here who think that was a silly suggestion in the first place that make ā€œour representativesā€ look pretty daft.

In a nutshell

3 Likes

Donā€™t think this is correct.

Itā€™s not a criminal act to not supply the FCA with accounts, you can just be struck off their register. They may prosecute if they find illegal activity, but I donā€™t think the non-submission is a criminal act in itself.

Really do need less of this hyperbolic nonsense on these threads.

4 Likes

The pennyā€™s dropped with me regarding something Pomlett said in one of his interviews a couple of months ago. He said, in the context of the club aiming to grow and reach the Championship that change ā€œwould not be incrementalā€. At the time I honestly didnā€™t have a clue what he meant, but I reckon I do now, the reason change on that scale isnā€™t going to be incremental, is because there isnā€™t going to be any!! Any change to the way the club operates is going to be via the big bang of new ownership, and thatā€™s it folks. Weā€™ve got this regime, basically a continuation of the Bonser model, and custodians of his asset, just with someone elses name on the chairmanā€™s car-parking space, and then one day in the future someone else might buy the club. Thatā€™s the plan.

In the meantime all we can hope for is some improvement in the areas that this regime can afford and have the remit to affect, ie minor infrastructure, match-day experience, and hopefully on the pitch. None of those areas are looking greatly improved so far, especially the latter, but then we need 5.000 home fans before that occurs! Plus weā€™ve got the same cognitively constipated board members that we had before. Its all a bit depressingly familiar for me, so Iā€™m just putting all this off the field stuff on the mental back-burner while waiting for the sugar-daddy to rock up with Bonserā€™s lottery win in his sky-rocket. Iā€™m just going to concentrate on the footballā€¦that should cheer me up!! :woozy_face:

3 Likes

They really have been taking the ā– ā– ā– ā–  for years with this then.

I think he was saying, quite rightly, that to get to the Championship and stay there would mean a step change in investment and support. The quote you mention was ,I think, at the same time he talked about getting in foreign investment if we wanted to compete above Division 1 level. Common sense to me as it quite clear that the club as presently funded and supported could not compete at that level without massive investment.It is the price clubs like Walsall have paid for the Premiership being created and all the riches which trickle to Championship Clubs but rarely reach our level. Just look how well last yearā€™s division 1 teams are doing in the Championship!!!

3 Likes

Yep, but when we talk about ā€œinvestmentā€ what that would have to involve is many many millions of pounds. So thatā€™s basically having someone come in with that kind of money has to be new ownership surely? Nobodyā€™s going to come to Walsall, invest millions so that Stef Gamble can tell them what to say and when to say it. If Pomlett can be a vehicle for that and can get the club in better shape in the meantime (ie at least back in league one and getting decent crowds) then great. Letā€™s hope he also knows a bloke down the pub with a spare Ā£20m.

1 Like

So basically if I understand this correctly the powers that be at Walsall realistically need to start planning for the future of Walsall FC post Bescot. Suits me. The club itself is an entity that doesnt need to be chained to some one sided f**k job in staying at Bescot. Many businesses relocate when their circumstances and future plans and their current home becomes unsuitable. There is no reason in the long term for Walsall to stay at Bescot if the cards are always going to be stacked against the club.

F**k it, sod the lease and move on, if Uncle pension pot wants to fight a legal battle in his retirement years then sod him , daft sod. Walsall FC was around before him, it should be around after him. He can keep his ex sewage works plot and sell it commercially. No reason why the club should remain shackled to his land grab.

3 Likes

Nail. On. Head. Yours is the most accurate post on this forum in its history.

I have been a Saddlers supporter since 1987 and I was a regular at both home and away matches until I moved to Australia in 2001.

I will not be renewing my iFollow subscription next season and I will not be bothering to stay up beyond midnight to watch any more Saturday games this term.

It has taken 33 years of false hope but, finally, I am quitting Walsall and, unlike getting off hard drugs, I will not experience any withdrawal symptoms from ridding myself of the Saddlers.

The only thing more disgraceful than the Jeff Bonser/Leigh Pomlett era has been the lack of media scrutiny applied to the circumstances in which Walsall finds itself after leaving Fellows Park. I had a letter published in the Sports Argus in the early 1990s when I was a teenager in which I asked more questions than the likes of Joe Masi and Liam Keen have ever asked. If you think Pomlett is anything other than a Bonser stooge then you are living in cloud cuckoo land.

I would be interested in supporting an AFC Walsall-style phoenix club if one ever gets off the ground but, judging by the origin and content of this thread, I doubt one will because Saddlers fans are so splintered. For now at least I am going to concentrate on pursuits that do not take my support for granted.