People's opinion ?

[redbrez]

What's people's opinion s about the investment?

I know we don't have a lot of information , but I support John Ryan 100 % , having listen to what he said yesterday.

I think if we stay at status quo, we will be a league one side, which isn't a bad thing, but why not try and emulate Blackpool or Swansea ?

I'm not saying 40 million will guarantee promotion, but surely we would be pushing for play off places and if we did win promotion, it would be great to see full houses ever week in a twenty thousand seated stadium , and too methis is the only way to push our fan base up, hopefully when we did get relegated we would keep most of the fan base and have a healthy wedge to rebuild.

The only danger for me if we did win promotion is trying to buy success in the premiership, that would be succidal.

You only live once and this could be are best chance of becoming a strong championship / weak premiership side, or no investment and a good league one side/ strong league 2 side with a dwindling fan base

So a massive yes from me, lets be brave and give it a go.

Not my biggest gripe but if we got to the premiership we might get thousands more young kids interested which for our fan base would be great.

[MartinB]

Don't really mind, great to see great players but I'd rather have "the likes of James Husband & Paul Quinn" than Ilunga & Chimbonda...the feeling of winning promotion whether to the championship, premiership or from the conference all felt equally great.  I'd rather us be a little club that plays decent football, promotes local youth and takes some big scalps along the way. Just like some of the Penney & SOD era's...magic moments. If we can continue to make a small profit every year and maybe bring ticket prices down and costs within the ground all the better for everyone IMO. Investment can only last so long....just look at Blackburn Rovers, Coventry, Pompey and Leeds...all jokes of clubs.

[RobTheRover]

I understand the chance of investment is not dead, however our first and foremost concern has to be for the longevity of the club.  If ANY future investor wants to risk our future against short term gain then they will have a huge fight on their hands.

Who really wants to go through 97/8 again?

[donnymatty]

Its a big risk in my opinion. IF we got to the premiership because of this investment, (it doesn't always guarantee it), and did go flinging silly money around in the prem, then the future of the club will be secure. Crowds will rise, even if we got relegated could do what Blackpool are doing by selling dirt cheap season tickets to get the fans in and stay and use the parachute payments/promotion money instead.

If we didnt reach the Prem though, I think this is when things start to go wrong with the investors possibly pulling the plug on us.

[DonnyOsmond]

I'd love to see us progress to the Premier League, etc but I also don't want it to be just a short term aim. We need to have owners who are looking at the long term for the club, so we don't end up going up due to a large amount of investment then plummeting down the leagues due to the new owners losing interest in the club and leaving us with crippling debt. So I'm left a bit unsure, I want to trust JR's opinion on these guys but then TB must have a reason why he isn't keen.

I'd love to see us do something similar to Swansea aswell as having an excellent youth team which is regularly producing for our first team.

[idler]

One question that I never thought to ask is what happens to TB & DW after the investment.
JR is wanted to stay and carry on by the new owners, but maybe if there is no future role for the other two they just don't want to fade away.
This might just have a bearing on things.

[Copps is Magic]

You have to situate this question in the general scheme of the game.

This league is basically split in two; teams who have parachute payments and/or foreign owners chucking money at it vs. those who have vastly inferior budgets.

The things is, £20-£40million, even directly invested into the playing squad, doesn't even remotely guarantee you promotion anymore. (It's a gamble).

The little spinets we have heard from the Irish mafia - associates with unsavory histories, not presenting any hard and fast budgets and not gaining the favour of Bramall doesn't fill me with any confidence that this consortium has fully thought through a long term, sustainable plan for the club.

The trouble for us - yet again - is that we are at a cross-roads. People will call me nelly negative but the squad we have assembled is not good enough to stay up (this is a result of a 'sustainable' budget, although this still means the main directors putting money in). The changes needed to make that squad stay up are hilariously obvious that every fan is posting the same comments (rarely happens). But those changes would tip us over the edge from being a 'sustainable' club.

My faith at the moment is firmly placed behind Bramall. Clearly, he has a greater business sense at this moment in time compared to the other two amigos. Ryan wears his heart on his sleeve and chairman's like the fan he is. Watson is clearly being guided around by Ryan and Baldwin.

I want to wait and see what Bramall is trying to negotiate as a first preference, status-quo as a second preference and Irish mafia as a fading memory (unless they come back with clearly laid out plans, with different guarantees).

The premiership is not the be all and end all either. It's predictable and over-hyped.

[steve@dcfd]

But it's not about individuals this a team of owners not one man like it used to be. Therefore all three must worked together for the best long term future of the club. If it is party politics then the three must sort it out. JR will be happy with the Irish bid because yet again he will be the spokesperson for the club and assisting the new owners to get players. But there must have been something wrong with the bid if the other owners could not agree. It is up to the Irish consortium and JR to make sure the bid proves not only extra funds, which we all want, but proves to all the other major shareholders its right for the club. But status quo with no more funding will end up with our team relegated.

[Sprotyrover]

What are the intentions of the'Irish Rovers' £20 million into the team and a further £20 million over the next 4 years sounds very nice but what are the finer points. Why are they looking at Irish players ?are they after developing us into an English version of Celtic with a large Irish fan base?
Why has Jr sprung this out of the blue on TB and DW
Is there a conflict of agendas here,are there two factions with two different thoughts on how the area should be developed.

[MrFrost]

But it's not about individuals this a team of owners not one man like it used to be. Therefore all three must worked together for the best long term future of the club. If it is party politics then the three must sort it out. JR will be happy with the Irish bid because yet again he will be the spokesperson for the club and assisting the new owners to get players. But there must have been something wrong with the bid if the other owners could not agree. It is up to the Irish consortium and JR to make sure the bid proves not only extra funds, which we all want, but proves to all the other major shareholders its right for the club. But status quo with no more funding will end up with our team relegated.

Agree 100% and it needs sorting out sooner rather than later. The longer it drags on, the more uncertain things become.

[Copps is Magic]

Mr Frost, I hate to break this to you, but this won't be 'resolved' for months. Things like this just don't work that quickly.

[MrFrost]

Mr Frost, I hate to break this to you, but this won't be 'resolved' for months. Things like this just don't work that quickly.

We don't know how long it has been going on for.

[steve@dcfd]

Mr Frost, I hate to break this to you, but this won't be 'resolved' for months. Things like this just don't work that quickly.

We have not got months if extra funding on top of the budget is not provided we will be in a very precarious position in the league. Goals win games and on the evidence of yesterday we need more. Also the defence may need to be improved.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

But it's not about individuals this a team of owners not one man like it used to be. Therefore all three must worked together for the best long term future of the club. If it is party politics then the three must sort it out. JR will be happy with the Irish bid because yet again he will be the spokesperson for the club and assisting the new owners to get players. But there must have been something wrong with the bid if the other owners could not agree. It is up to the Irish consortium and JR to make sure the bid proves not only extra funds, which we all want, but proves to all the other major shareholders its right for the club. But status quo with no more funding will end up with our team relegated.

Agree 100% and it needs sorting out sooner rather than later. The longer it drags on, the more uncertain things become.

If it means getting the right outcome they can take as long as they like for me. You can't put a time limit on the future of our club.

[Wild Rover]

I am not totally unbiased. But, JR, TB, DW are not going to be around forever, do they seek ( all or one of them ), to sell out now, or in 2,5,10 years time. NOW is a good time, years down the line DRFC may be in L1, or 2, and selling then would not net anything like their investment in DRFC.
The Irish "Consortium" do have a past, but, that is mainly money changing hands between them for "Dealings" which were not declared ( allegedly ).
Did Roman Abramovich not have a murky past, Have the Glasers not been seen as "Milking the golden cow", Usmanof seems ok, but who knows, i bet Many club owners, if people dig deep enough have murky pasts, not just Denis Obrien and his associates.
There are clubs who would benefit from this investment from DO'B , why should it not be DRFC. He may have some ulterior motive, after all he does nothing for nothing. Maybe its as simple as paying 40 million to get DRFC to the Premiership, then sell club on for 100 million. If it takes 3 years to do that , then he has made 20 million a year, and good luck to him.

[The Red Baron]

I find myself very torn on this one- as the owners clearly are- but I'm coming to the conclusion that the "status quo" is not an option unless we accept that our future lies outside the Championship. Five years ago with a team that had largely come up with us from League One we held our own for a few seasons. Now, I can't see that being possible. We might just last one season, but not any more.

I'd be very interested to see what-if anything- TB has up his sleeve in terms of new investment. Maybe it won't be as much as the Irish are proposing, but maybe it will be enough, and over a long enough period of time, to see us establish ourselves at this level. Because although we're headed one way only with the "status quo," I firmly believe the wheels came off last time around once we started chasing the Premier League dollar.

Over to you, Terry.

[Wellred]

I find myself very torn on this one- as the owners clearly are- but I'm coming to the conclusion that the "status quo" is not an option unless we accept that our future lies outside the Championship. Five years ago with a team that had largely come up with us from League One we held our own for a few seasons. Now, I can't see that being possible. We might just last one season, but not any more.

I'd be very interested to see what-if anything- TB has up his sleeve in terms of new investment. Maybe it won't be as much as the Irish are proposing, but maybe it will be enough, and over a long enough period of time, to see us establish ourselves at this level. Because although we're headed one way only with the "status quo," I firmly believe the wheels came off last time around once we started chasing the Premier League dollar.

Over to you, Terry.

When did we start chasing the Premier League dollar?

[danumdon]

I would believe that the bottom line is JR would never do anything that he thought would damage the club or bring about its demise, i would hazard a guess that in his long business career he has had to deal with people who you wouldn't want your daughter to bring home, sometimes these are the facts of life and you try to do your best with a poor hand, i would believe John has weighed up all the options and this must seem the best hand available to play.

However, TB also has a long reign in business and i would imagine he usually gets the deal to fall to his way of thinking, another who would only have the best interests of DRFC at heart,

options eh!

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

I am not totally unbiased. But, JR, TB, DW are not going to be around forever, do they seek ( all or one of them ), to sell out now, or in 2,5,10 years time. NOW is a good time, years down the line DRFC may be in L1, or 2, and selling then would not net anything like their investment in DRFC.
The Irish "Consortium" do have a past, but, that is mainly money changing hands between them for "Dealings" which were not declared ( allegedly ).
Did Roman Abramovich not have a murky past, Have the Glasers not been seen as "Milking the golden cow", Usmanof seems ok, but who knows, i bet Many club owners, if people dig deep enough have murky pasts, not just Denis Obrien and his associates.
There are clubs who would benefit from this investment from DO'B , why should it not be DRFC. He may have some ulterior motive, after all he does nothing for nothing. Maybe its as simple as paying 40 million to get DRFC to the Premiership, then sell club on for 100 million. If it takes 3 years to do that , then he has made 20 million a year, and good luck to him.

Which is all fine, but for me we need to be seeing exactly what the long term effect and legacy is going to be.  I'd much rather have a league 1/2 club and bounce around the football league a bit, than chase the premier league and potentially go bust.  No issue with investment but it mustn't come at a price and that's assurances we need to see, I haven't myself seen anything like that.

There's so many unanswered questions at the moment that's for sure.

[Lifelong supporter]

I agree this is a very difficult topic with no easy answers but I find it strange that so many prefer TB's view of things rather than JR's. Everyone is questioning the Irish investors' motives but I don't recall anyone questioning the motives of TB and DW when they came on board and effectively took over the club with their joint voting powers. We don't need to question JR's motives because we know he is as fanatical a fan of any of us, is a true supporter and as soon as he made any money he shovelled it into the club. That's one reason for trusting him and his judgement to take us on to the next stage.

[Dare to dream!]

What if we got the investment and achieve the dream? Doncaster Rovers in the premier league. That's something I want, badly.

[RedJ]

On the flip side, LS, as much as I'd trust him, JR is a fan as you say and that is a reason why he might make a decision based on short term gain i.e. pushing for the Premier League, because he wants to see his team compete at the top level, whereas the more detached Bramall can see things from a businessman's perspective without emotion getting in the way.

That's my take on it anyway.

[steve@dcfd]

If the deal was that good for the club then it would have gone through. It should not be JR against TB and DW. If that is the case then all three need to sort it out, I hope JR is not using the whispers to others to win his case and make the other two look bad. They have kept their counsel and confidentiality. This is not the way we need the investment to stabilise and move forward.

[Lifelong supporter]

On the flip side, LS, as much as I'd trust him, JR is a fan as you say and that is a reason why he might make a decision based on short term gain i.e. pushing for the Premier League, because he wants to see his team compete at the top level, whereas the more detached Bramall can see things from a businessman's perspective without emotion getting in the way.

That's my take on it anyway.

I think it's a good point. But, as someone said previously, JR must have been used to dealing with all sorts during his business career and when it comes to caring about Rovers and trying to look after the club's long term interests I would lean towards him rather than TB. In fact I'm still not sure why TB agreed to join the Board in the first place because he was never a fan and attends few games even now. Was it just a philanthropic gesture?

[DonnyBazR0ver]

It's certainly not the way Swansea did it. They did it by gradual improvement and growth fully backed by the fans and their co-operative.

You can't take recruitment out of the managers hands, and I can imagine X and Y player being recruited against the wishes of the manager and on contracts that Gavin would not normally approve because they don't make prudent business sense. And what would happen, PD and GB would be given their marching orders and before you know it you've got people like O'Leary and Ridsdale at the helm!   

You need a co-ordinated business plan but you can't just chuck £20m at it with proper financial planning and recruitment planning. 

[Wild Rover]

I am not totally unbiased. But, JR, TB, DW are not going to be around forever, do they seek ( all or one of them ), to sell out now, or in 2,5,10 years time. NOW is a good time, years down the line DRFC may be in L1, or 2, and selling then would not net anything like their investment in DRFC.
The Irish "Consortium" do have a past, but, that is mainly money changing hands between them for "Dealings" which were not declared ( allegedly ).
Did Roman Abramovich not have a murky past, Have the Glasers not been seen as "Milking the golden cow", Usmanof seems ok, but who knows, i bet Many club owners, if people dig deep enough have murky pasts, not just Denis Obrien and his associates.
There are clubs who would benefit from this investment from DO'B , why should it not be DRFC. He may have some ulterior motive, after all he does nothing for nothing. Maybe its as simple as paying 40 million to get DRFC to the Premiership, then sell club on for 100 million. If it takes 3 years to do that , then he has made 20 million a year, and good luck to him.

Which is all fine, but for me we need to be seeing exactly what the long term effect and legacy is going to be.  I'd much rather have a league 1/2 club and bounce around the football league a bit, than chase the premier league and potentially go bust.  No issue with investment but it mustn't come at a price and that's assurances we need to see, I haven't myself seen anything like that.

There's so many unanswered questions at the moment that's for sure.

But, with the greatest of respect, what you say could happen with any new owner. Ryan is not top of my love list, but i do believe he would do what he considers best for DRFC short and Long term.
The second interested party, TB's , i find difficulty believing this "Thing" materialised at such short notice, that with Ryan having no knowledge of it ( he is Chairman for gods sake ), leads me to believe KM2 are simply going for more for shares. wouldnt be surprised if down the line the "Irish" take ownership.

[Leebtyler]

But it's not about individuals this a team of owners not one man like it used to be. Therefore all three must worked together for the best long term future of the club. If it is party politics then the three must sort it out. JR will be happy with the Irish bid because yet again he will be the spokesperson for the club and assisting the new owners to get players. But there must have been something wrong with the bid if the other owners could not agree. It is up to the Irish consortium and JR to make sure the bid proves not only extra funds, which we all want, but proves to all the other major shareholders its right for the club. But status quo with no more funding will end up with our team relegated.

Agree 100% and it needs sorting out sooner rather than later. The longer it drags on, the more uncertain things become.

If it means getting the right outcome they can take as long as they like for me. You can't put a time limit on the future of our club.

you can when it means being an invest-able championship side or a poor league 1 side, i know which id rather chuck £40m at.

[steve@dcfd]

Quote
JR must have been used to dealing with all sorts during his business career and when it comes to caring about Rovers and trying to look after the club's long term interests I would lean towards him rather than TB

Who with McKay started the failed experiment when we were in the championship. This was for the good of the club but the long term was never thought of.

[Wild Rover]

Not sure about Ryans involvement in a lot of things at DRFC, at least not at the outset of them. O'driscoll Sacking , DS appointment, WMcK, Sale of BS, Contract renewals, all those things dont have JR stamped on them.

[CusworthRovers]

I worry John has had enough over the last few years or he's smart enough to know we need to move on and progress again, or possibly both.

Is this 'a desperate act' or 'canny business acumen' for each of these

1. Bringing the KM2 in
2. The experiment and bringing Willy in
3. Bringing the Irish bid in (with it's chequered background)