message for michael white

[Uncle Urchin]

As leader of the Havering Borough Council you have many serious and sometimes onerous responsibilities, your choice of career but one I do not envy you and in the main you seem to be a decent man trying to do a decent job, much credit for many things (although a little less violence on our streets would be welcome by us all I am sure) Anyway, back to the football forum issues, how on earth do you explain this...

 

Council steps up search for Boro's new home after football league pulls plug on ground-share.

 

The Ryman Football League has refused to sanction a proposed ground-share between Romford FC and AFC Hornchurch.

 

Havering Council is now striving to protect Romford Fc's long-term future by finding them a new home in the borough.

 

Due to the club's uncertain future at their current ground, Ford's Sports Stadium, Rush Green Road, Romford, the team are in need of a new home ground. Romford FC has a long historical association with the borough and has continued to deliver extensive programmes of activities in the local community.

 

Over the last 6 months the Council has been exploring the possibility of the club relocating to Hornchurch Stadium to ground-share with AFC Hornchurch. Unfortunately, the Ryman Football League has refused to sanction the proposal and has threatened to demote AFC Hornchurch to a lower league if the ground-share goes ahead. The Council feels that due to the rich and charitable history of the club, Romford FC's future should be protected and a new home ground found in Havering. The Council will challange the league's decision while urgently searching for other potential sites in the borough.

 

The Council is also encouraging the creation of a trust to manage Hornchurch Stadium and help maximise the community's use of the facilities and create additional finacial benefits.

 

Leader of the Council, Councillor Michael White, said: "Romford FC has been an integral part of the borough for many years. We are disappointed with the Ryman League's decision and will work to ensure a long and successive future for the club in Havering."

 

In reply Steve Gardener said: "We are disappointed the ground-share was unable to take place and accept the Council did all it could to facilitate the share.

 

We are pleased the Council continues to recognise the excellent community work we undertake and am confident the Council will continue to assist us in a search for a permanent home, ensuring Romford FC are able to continue to serve the local community for many years to come."

 

RFC have no more status than any other sporting facility in the community and in fact far from having a rich history have actually only been in existence for 12 years in their latest guise. They have also owned two grounds of their own and squandered the wealth derived from those grounds.

 

Now you may wish to work to support a long and successive future for many sports clubs in Havering which I would have thought would be your priority as leader of a large Borough with many diverse and culturally divided needs, and you also may wish to derive more income from the stadium through a trust, but the fact remains that the Stadium was derelict under your control until we took over the management of it in 2002 and totally transformed it into the excellent facility it is today, with I may add little financial support from your Council, in any event you would be well advised to get your facts right first and try to understand the nature of NL football and its emotions and working class roots before attempting another ill advised and poorly researched attack on our football club, which had you succeeded would have not only destroyed 8 youth teams in Hornchurch, Cranham and Upminster but would have most likely served to put both AFCH and RFC out of business. A more transparent and forthright approach however from both your own publicly funded entity and also RFC officials may well have yielded more fruit. Fortunately in life, the bully rarely succeeds in the ultimate.

 

Stick to politics Mr White and spend your time and budgets making our streets and parks safe for our elderly and our children and those to follow them and leave NL football to those that understand it, really care about it, pay for it and truly support it without political agendas or gerrymandering for votes.

 

Karl Williams

 

A Hornchurch Fan

[Eastside Urchin]

what a fecking idiot.

I think we should storm the town hall

[urchinman1961]

does this mean we are staying at the bridge or we still looking for a new ground

[Uncle Urchin]

Originally Posted By: urchinman1961

does this mean we are staying at the bridge or we still looking for a new ground

we are alway looking at options for a new ground and currently are awaiting the feasibility reports on two sites suitable for development...as always the problem is not actually finding a site..its getting politicians to give the required planning for it...(mind you with all this support for local sports clubs being bandied around perhaps we may get some assistance in that respect)...

my guess is that we shall be at the bridge for a couple more years at least..

[Mach the Knife]

You must have done a lot of searching to find this article because it is way down the list. I wonder if it will be headlines in the Recorder on Friday.

Basically Mr White knows nothing about football and his statement of a few months' ago "We have a duty to maintain the stadium", well why don't the council start then! The council have hardly touched Hornchurch Stadium for years, mind you they do empty the bins periodically. The stadium is maintained by HXFC staff mainly and has been so for years.

If Romford were to move in would they have done their bit so to speak, I hardly think so, they obviously wanted a freebie.

Why don't the council move the Boro into Romford dog track, in Romford and with a bit more grass for matches, it can hold the 100 or so people that attend their games.

Leave Hornchurch alone as with the athletics the stadium is currently being used to its capacity every week.

Maybe Mr White should come and watch a match there to prove his support.

[Uncle Urchin]

The Council feels that due to the rich and charitable history of the club, Romford FC's future should be protected and a new home ground found in Havering.

 

the more you read it all the more it fckn well grates....in the last 6 years we have raised and donated tens and tens of thousands of pounds to various mayors charities which include little haven and the st francis hospice..I'd like to know how much RFC have donated....charitable my ar5e... they'd rob the saddle off a nightmare...

[urchinman1961]

the greyhound track would be quite fitting as the council seems to prefer the underDOG i.e rumford who have messed things up in the past and think nothing of ruining hornchurch just so they can get on but its the same old thing people who no nothing about football but have a bit of clout actually make things worse so congratulations on keeping rumford the laughiing stock that they are once an urchin always an urchin

[JAY]

If hes that botherd about romford then why not try and find them some land in havering instead of groundsharing with us I dont want them over bridge Avenue.

[Mach the Knife]

I just wonder why Romford's future is uncertain at Rush Green, why can't they stay there or are the council not telling the complete story.

The council have wasted a lot of money on local matters whilst not attending to those that are important.

What happened to Collier Row at Sungate? What happened to Brooklands?

These are questions the council should be asking before they try and push their problem onto somebody else, ie HXFC.

[JAY]

Originally Posted By: Casey Jones

I just wonder why Romford's future is uncertain at Rush Green, why can't they stay there or are the council not telling the complete story.
The council have wasted a lot of money on local matters whilst not attending to those that are important.
What happened to Collier Row at Sungate? What happened to Brooklands?
These are questions the council should be asking before they try and push their problem onto somebody else, ie HXFC.

I cant see why the council wont just give them Rush Green or help them redo Sungate or Brooklands Why come over bridge Avenue I think Mr White will come across some angry Urchins

[and1inthetree]

the council don't own rush green - fords do. fords refuse to lease the ground to them for the 10 seasons required for admission into the ryman league, so while they stay there, they'll stagnate and slowly die. as we saw last night, a crowd of 58 which is about half of their average.

 

as for sungate / brooklands, i could be wrong, but previous incarnations of romford owned them and then sold them to allegedly line their own pockets to the detriment and ultimate demise of the club.

 

i'm all for the council helping out local sports clubs, but feel the reasons they've given are rather flimsy as unc has pointed out.

 

perhaps the council could help us out with planning permission etc to allow us to vacate their stadium which they allowed to become almost derelict.

 

still think that if they're comitted to finding them a ground and want the club to survive, then somewhere in, ooh say ROMFORD, would be more beneficial to the long term survival of the blue and gold sexagenarians.

[Mach the Knife]

Of course this is all assuming that RFC win the ESL, they are about middle at present and have lost players to Ilford so where's the justification for moving them as Enfield, Concord, Barkingside are all better teams and more fully equipped for Ryman league.

 

[Urchins]

Originally Posted By: JAY

I just wonder why Romford's future is uncertain at Rush Green, why can't they stay there or are the council not telling the complete story.

I cant see why the council wont just give them Rush Green

I may be wrong but I think that Rush Green stadium is actually in Barking & Dagenham not Havering.

[Mach the Knife]

Ford Sports and Social Club

RM7 0LU

Another suggestion: RFC to share with West Ham training ground at Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex

[Richard Macey]

Does Michael White read this forum or is this a copy of correspondence that has been sent to him ?

 

[Eastside Urchin]

another angle on this is that romford completely f*cked up last time they groundshared with us,some fans were banned from the club and many others refused to come to the bridge when we played them in the league a couple of seasons ago as they in their own words "hated the place"

[Uncle Urchin]

Originally Posted By: Spuddy

Does Michael White read this forum or is this a copy of correspondence that has been sent to him ?

I think it would be pretty much odds on that it was on his desk at 8am this morning...

[cantos]

I would like to see Romford share with us.It would give me options on seeing a game.

[Dagger03]

To clear up a few of the items raised -

 

The RM postcode does not indicate that the location is within Havering - this prefix also applies to some areas of the boroughs of Thurrock and also Barking & Dagenham. Example Dagenham & Redbridge FC is RM10 - Aveley FC is RM15.

 

Sungate - this is in the borough of Barking & Dagenham - it was in Havering until the boundary changes in 1990 - it is not council owned.

 

The Fords Sports ground is in Havering. The boundary between Havering and Barking & Dagenham is down the middle of the main road. It is not council owned.

 

The Romford Stadium is also privately owned.

 

When the new club known as RFC were formed, 1992, (and they are not linked in any way at all with any past club of a same or similar name), my recollection is that enquiries were made both for grounds at Oldchurch Park (not suitable for senior football without a lot of expense and certainly not ready for senior football for the coming season).

 

And also at the Dog Track - this was not suitable because the flower beds on the bends meant that there was no longer room enough for a full size pitch - and yes, the dog stadium used to be used for football cup finals, usually the Romford and Dist Lge finals and I think the Business Houses Lge finals, and also for Romford Schools matches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MCP]

Originally Posted By: and1inthetree

the council don't own rush green - fords do. fords refuse to lease the ground to them for the 10 seasons required for admission into the ryman league, so while they stay there, they'll stagnate and slowly die. as we saw last night, a crowd of 58 which is about half of their average.

as for sungate / brooklands, i could be wrong, but previous incarnations of romford owned them and then sold them to allegedly line their own pockets to the detriment and ultimate demise of the club.

i'm all for the council helping out local sports clubs, but feel the reasons they've given are rather flimsy as unc has pointed out.

perhaps the council could help us out with planning permission etc to allow us to vacate their stadium which they allowed to become almost derelict.

still think that if they're comitted to finding them a ground and want the club to survive, then somewhere in, ooh say ROMFORD, would be more beneficial to the long term survival of the blue and gold sexagenarians.

Spot on

and Unc if we have only been around 12 years or whatever what are the two grounds we have owned and squanderd? Sungate and ...