Gloucester City facing eviction from Whaddon Road

[missunderstood]

If it goes tits up, then Gloucester loses a part of its community.

 

Some people think that the club is worth fighting for. I agree that they are right, even if 97% of Gloucester doesn't give a toss about The Tigers.

 

Had Kingsholm flooded, the Council would have bent over backwards. We've always been the poorer relation.

 

I'm having difficulty in trying to understand why you feel the council taxpayers should be doing anything about your clubs predicament. It was privately owned land that was flooded and its hardly their fault the club didnt have adequate insurance.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

What I'm saying, Alan, is that if Kingsholm had been affected instead of Meadow Park the Council would have behaved far differently. They would not have let a 'beloved jewel' in Gloucester's crown suffer like we've had to.

 

Yes, there is blame on the club's side too (quite a bit, as it turns out) but the Council have also thrown up barriers.

 

It's getting to the point where fans have just had enough. If Hughes/McGurk do not step down by December then we may as well forget it, as those two are holding us to ransom.

[missunderstood]

What I'm saying, Alan, is that if Kingsholm had been affected instead of Meadow Park the Council would have behaved far differently. They would not have let a 'beloved jewel' in Gloucester's crown suffer like we've had to.

 

Yes, there is blame on the club's side too (quite a bit, as it turns out) but the Council have also thrown up barriers.

 

It's getting to the point where fans have just had enough. If Hughes/McGurk do not step down by December then we may as well forget it, as those two are holding us to ransom.

 

What exactly do you think Gloucester council would have done if the flooding had taken place at the rugby ground.

 

The reality is that councillors are elected to prioritise how council tax payers money is spent, and a council that spent millions of pounds on a stadium for a failing football club would be crucified, and rightly so.If supporters want to see their team back in Gloucester its their responsibility alone to find the money needed.

 

If the rugby club ground was publicly owned it would be a different matter, but unfortunately for the football club, thats not the case.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

They would have certainly pulled their fingers out quicker to offer help.

 

Gloucester RFC is the big deal in town, and as the sporting epicentre of Gloucester it gets every means of support. Gloucester City, by contrast, gets very little. The Council have, in the past, helped out financially with loans etc. for Gloucester RFC (partially funding the Jewson Stand at Gloucester RFC) so council tax payers money has been spent there. Yes, most of the funding comes out of the bank accounts of Ryan Walkinshaw (son of former owner Tom Walkinshaw) but any problems and the Council will offer help in a heart beat.

 

Had it not been for the help and good grace of Forest Green Rovers, Cirencester Town and Cheltenham Town helping us out, we would have been facing extinction a long time ago.

 

What I will, however, say in the Council's defence is that Gloucester City has not helped itself throughout time. Financially, the club has treaded water for years before the 2007 summer events at Meadow Park and they have been bad debtors. Eamonn McGurk's money has been the blood that has kept us going for so long (he owns a company named Keyway, in case anybody is curious) and without him bailing Gloucester City out year after year we would have had this scenario far sooner.

 

My hunch is that the £20,000 will be paid off, as Eamonn is trying to call the Council's bluff. Get the fans on the Council's back for stalling the new stadium and put pressure on them to let the Sudmeadow/Meadow Park redevelopment go ahead - the only problem then being how far the Council would dig its heels in.

 

It's all about he who blinks first.

[Big J R]

MOST local 'Councillors' are only in local politics for their own kudos and will always tow the partly line.

 

I have been asked recently to become more involved in politics locally, but have always declined, as I will NOT tow a party line that I, nor who I would represent agree with.

 

Lets face facts - In these days of recession, anyone who holds the ace card which can lead to big money will go for the money rather than local interest.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Big J R

[missunderstood]

They would have certainly pulled their fingers out quicker to offer help.

 

Gloucester RFC is the big deal in town, and as the sporting epicentre of Gloucester it gets every means of support. Gloucester City, by contrast, gets very little. The Council have, in the past, helped out financially with loans etc. for Gloucester RFC (partially funding the Jewson Stand at Gloucester RFC) so council tax payers money has been spent there. Yes, most of the funding comes out of the bank accounts of Ryan Walkinshaw (son of former owner Tom Walkinshaw) but any problems and the Council will offer help in a heart beat.

 

Had it not been for the help and good grace of Forest Green Rovers, Cirencester Town and Cheltenham Town helping us out, we would have been facing extinction a long time ago.

 

What I will, however, say in the Council's defence is that Gloucester City has not helped itself throughout time. Financially, the club has treaded water for years before the 2007 summer events at Meadow Park and they have been bad debtors. Eamonn McGurk's money has been the blood that has kept us going for so long (he owns a company named Keyway, in case anybody is curious) and without him bailing Gloucester City out year after year we would have had this scenario far sooner.

 

My hunch is that the £20,000 will be paid off, as Eamonn is trying to call the Council's bluff. Get the fans on the Council's back for stalling the new stadium and put pressure on them to let the Sudmeadow/Meadow Park redevelopment go ahead - the only problem then being how far the Council would dig its heels in.

 

It's all about he who blinks first.

 

From an outsiders point of view the whole situation looks rather odd to me. The proposed stadium looks quite spectacular, and with flood protection measures very expensive. Who is going to pay for its construction and will the club need a mortgage, do the club have any idea what the running costs will be, and can the club afford to to play there with no guarantee of increased attendances.

 

To me it certainly doesn't look a very viable proposition to anyone that may be asked to put up money to fund this project.

[Eastside Urchin]

Brilliant Alan,you spend large chunks of your day on a football forum (s)

Get worked up to the extent that it causes you to think venom when your rival local club does well,to the extent you write to the local press etc,but still you refuse to believe you are one of those sad bastards

Edited March 19, 2013 by Eastside Urchin

[missunderstood]

Brilliant Alan,you spend large chunks of your day on a football forum (s)

Get worked up to the extent that it causes you to think venom when your rival local club does well,to the extent you write to the local press etc,but still you refuse to believe you are one of those sad bastards

 

If you believe any of that you really are a fantasist.

[Eastside Urchin]

So you don't write to the local press or go "snooping" to the council or its representatives to get info???

[missunderstood]

So you don't write to the local press or go "snooping" to the council or its representatives to get info???

 

Haven't sent a football related letter to the Recorder for at least two years, and as a council taxpayer I am entitled as anyone else to ask how my money is being spent, and thanks to you putting my email address on this forum I have had more than enough information from people that once had connections to your club.

[Eastside Urchin]

Hardly going to have any detrimental effect on he club now,is it.

Clue is in the phrase "once had connections to your club"

Completely different club from the one you disliked so much

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Update from Pitchero:

 

 

'Club owner Eamonn McGurk and city council leader Paul James will discuss the future of Blue Square Bet North Gloucester City at tonight's landmark open meeting.

McGurk and James will be joined by members of the Gloucester City Supporters Trust, chairman Nigel Hughes and first-team manager Dave Mehew for the specially-arranged meeting at the Hallmark Hotel on Matson Lane (7.30pm start). Items up for discussion will include the club's perilous financial state as well as the next steps for the proposed new stadium on the site of the old Meadow Park ground.

In was recently revealed that unless the crisis-hit Tigers were able to plug a £25,000 hole in their finances by the end of the current league season, they might be forced to fold.

A series of record-low crowds at their third adopted home have left the club with the very real danger of having bills to pay and no means to pay them.

A benefactor has been found to pay the club's most urgent bill – their rent at Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road ground – and a new groundshare deal is expected to be sealed in the coming days.

That will stave off the threat of relegation out of the Football Conference – something that will prove crucial in attracting and securing investors and grant funding for building the club a new ground.

At the end of February, owner McGurk revealed to the Gloucester Citizen that he had spent in excess of £250,000 on the planning process for a new ground on the site of the club's former home.

McGurk also said that his spend on the Tigers since becoming involved with the club 16 years ago had risen to above the £1 million barrier, something that was forcing him to reign in his funding.

As part of the meeting, the club will outline their plans for a restructured executive committee for next season as they bid to add vital areas of expertise to the behind-the-scenes function.

They have already appealed for experts in marketing and communications, legal advice, finance and communications to join an eight-strong executive for next season.

The meeting will also discuss ways that the rank and file supporters can do their bit for the cause in terms of fundraising as well as scouting for business leads for new investors.'

Sounds very good, and the steering committee also has a meeting this week in Gloucester and we'll be looking at doing what we can as well.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Update from thisisgloucestershiire.co.uk:

 

MANAGER Dave Mehew revealed to Monday night's packed open meeting that Gloucester City's staff and players have agreed to forgo part of their wages in a bid to keep the Tigers alive.

Mehew made the revelation to a thunderous round of applause at the Hallmark Hotel in Matson Lane where a crowd of around 100 turned up to hear the latest on the Tigers' plight.

 

 

While the club's current predicament was laid bare for all to see, with the chairman Nigel Hughes once again affirming the need to fill a £25,000 financial hole, there were moments of positivity too.

 

Hughes kicked-off the evening by revealing that an extended groundshare deal with Cheltenham Town was agreed and that the contracts were due to be signed on Thursday.

 

 

That will secure City's place in Blue Square Bet North for next season, meaning that the sterling work of Mehew and his team in regaining their place in step two of the non-League pyramid will not go unrewarded.

When given his chance to speak about the club's on-field achievements, Mehew gave a passionate response.

As well as saying that he had unanimous backing from his squad to defer part of their wages for the remainder of the season – a figure that will save the Tigers £4,000 – Mehew also looked to the future.

 

Mehew said: "I love proving people wrong as Gloucester City manager and I know that there is a passion for football in the city.

 

"I honestly believe that with the squad that I've got, and with some of the excellent youngsters that we've got coming through we can catch Forest Green Rovers.

 

"I used to play for Forest Green and I know what that club is about, and I want to emulate that.

 

"I firmly believe that with the characters we've got in our dressing room we can push for the play-offs in this league."

 

On the subject of moving back to Gloucester, the club's planning advisor Paul Duncliffe revealed that plans were coming together for a new stadium at Meadow Park.

The new project would see the plans "scaled down" after the ambitious plans for a community stadium and commercial land were "parked" by the club's executive board.

 

Duncliffe explained: "The previous scheme was difficult to deliver and we decided to scale down the plans. In the past three weeks discussions with the City Council have continued.

 

"The plan uses the existing stadium which is around five acres and not the other area and will see a new stadium and flood defences.

 

"It would tie in with the existing land and not be as complex as the previous scheme.

 

"Hopefully the club will be back banging on the city council's door with these plans by mid April."

 

But, the club also confirmed that it was having meetings with third parties regarding other sites in the City and that it was not going to plough on with the Meadow Park scheme regardless.

City Council leader Paul James revealed that while he and the council "would put pressure on people to be helpful", other sites were being looked at.

Looking back on the original Meadow Park plan, James said that emotion had to be taken out of the decision.

 

"The original plan was exceptionally complicated and if we are moving to a scaled-back version, I hope it won't be as complicated for it to get through," he said.

"Also there are alternative sites and some that didn't exist when the club was considering the (original) plans. We are looking at those and meetings are happening this week."

 

James also agreed with a point made by meeting chairman Colin Peake, who said that it was an embarrassment that the club was still away from home after six years.

 

"Bringing Gloucester City back home is a priority for the council," James said.

 

"I agree that it's an embarrassment that the club is still away from home and I want to put that right as quickly as we can."

 

Other highlights included a fantastic and passionate speech from long-term fan and the club's current vice chairman Phil Warren.

 

Warren sat on the City Council's Football Task and Finish group after the floods of 2007 and said that while it was tempting to find someone to blame, the club's plight doesn't boil down to one person.

 

He said: "It has been hugely difficult. If we could blame somebody, then great. But tell me who, because I don't know who it is."

 

The club also revealed that talks had taken place with Gloucester Rugby about a possible groundshare at Kingsholm, but that it would have proven far too expensive.

 

Owner Eamonn McGurk revealed that it would have costed in excess of £10,000 per game to play at the home of the rugby club.

 

That figure was backed up by Paul James who had spoken with Gloucester Rugby's managing director Stephen Vaughan on the morning of the meeting.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Lo and behold our MP Dickie Graham has got involved in the stadium plans:

 

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Big-response-Richard-Graham-s-Gloucester-City-FC/story-18685117-detail/story.html#axzz2PzwOOX9u

 

Can you spot what's wrong with his 'great idea' for a stadium at Gloucester's Civil Service ground?