worrying issues behind the scenes too

[bpoolrover]

I was not for the takeover bob,it's just if there is no problem with us sliding down the leagues we might as well have been took over and had a pop at getting to the promised land,then when it went wrong do what is happening now

[podrover73]

It starts from the bottom and the bar is looking like a fire sale, the walls with the pictures on need a bit of filler and a link.of paint but nothing is being done. Whatever happened when Jr was here the bar was stocked correctly and their were enough programmes to go round.

[RobTheRover]

Thats right.  I'm sure JR handled those things personally.

[podrover73]

Thats right.  I'm sure JR handled those things personally.

go on then who is handling the removal of the optics and the programme debacle then

[Donny Viking]

There's no point attempting to reason with the vocal minority who attempt to rewrite recent history to justify their hatred of TB. The pantomime baddy who stood in the way of JR and their path to glory.  Booo. He's behind you!

I don't hate him. I just said he has no ambition.

Just because he doesn't have the same ambition as you - that doesn't mean TB has no ambition.  TBs ambition is to see us in the championship, with a business model that keeps us there by our own means.  That's quite a challenge.  It's easy to throw money at it, with no guarantee of success. But what happens next? We continue to rely on an owner to keep us from the administrators door.  I don't want to be a yo- yo club, my ambition is to see us as a long term championship club.  I just accept it may take us a few years to get there.  Problem is many fans want immediate success, they almost think its an automatic right. 

[River Don]

Thats right.  I'm sure JR handled those things personally.

go on then who is handling the removal of the optics and the programme debacle then

The bar and catering are dealt with by Centreplate not the club.

The club announced that due to unforeseen circumstances there was a problem with last nights programme. Maybe a problem at the printers, at a guess. If you contact the club they will sort you out.

[RoversDave]

 Minor point, they were selling programmes in the Club shop when I walked by after the game.

[Colin C No.3]

Did anyone else notice how short the grass looked tonight?

Who are they selling it on to?

[GazLaz]

Did anyone else notice how short the grass looked tonight?

Who are they selling it on to?

I think PD must have been smoking it going by his interview comments.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Went in the Rovers bar before the game apart from the pie and a pint offer I noticed that the tetleys and San Miguel pumps had been taken out and half the optics were missing. Worrying trend that is showing on the pitch too, the owners are running the club on a shoestring from top to bottom.  threadbare bench, threadbare bar. 

Sam Miguel and Becks were removed from start of league season. First friendly I think they were still on tap. First home match there was all the furore because the BVB were just not prepared and Centreplate decided to re-organise things and one of their excuses was because they couldn't sell enough ale.

Unfortunately, won't be returning to BVB until they put back what was not broken.

[AlonzoDrake]

Bramall has said for a while he would sell if somebody has the best interest for the club - but nobody with liquid cash has come forward. I don't understand why many of you feel Bramall has no interest in the club, yet each season he throws over a million in to keep it a float, yet claim he won't sell to the gathering millionaires knocking at his door.  He either cares about the club or nobody wants to buy it.  It can't be neither.  Also the club dying is also not in his interest - it just doesn't make sense.

He may care enough to keep us afloat, but to me, he has zero ambition, and as long as we stay in business, it's some kind of achievement.

Go to bed. Have a good night's sleep. See if your brain starts working in the morning.

My brain is fine. I'd dare say i've more idea what i'm talking about than you have. You keep your rose tinted specs on, there's a good lad.

Now, that's a leap of purest faith Mickey me old mucker, saying that your brain is fine -- never been the case you old reprobate you.

Despite current gloominess, and ignoring mm's agent provocateur role, Rovers are just about in the best position they have been in structurally and financially since the glory Doherty days of the 1950s. We're consolidating just now, and indeed it's tough to take all this after the heady mix of five seasons of tier 2 football and two promotions from tier 3 during the past seven years.

Thank you Terry Brammall for all your great work and faith in the club

[silent majority]

Well said Alonzo.

I've been supporting this club a long time, and I would say that behind the scenes we are in terrific shape, more so than we have ever been. There's still a few things that need attention but it does give confidence for the short and long term.

[The Red Baron]

Martin- I'm sure what you say about how the club is run is correct, but I don't see that perception reflected much on here. And there's the rub: I doubt we'd be hearing about pies, beer, optics and buses if the team was winning and playing good football.

Whether we like it or not, football clubs are ultimately judged by what they do on the pitch. Rovers sound to me like a retailer who has a great business plan, an excellent logistics network and shops which are staffed by people with a wretched customer service ethic. No-one says how good their produce is, just how bad the service is.

I'd feel a little happier if those behind the scenes were concerned by how disappointed the fans feel with what is being served up, especially at home. Because no matter how well they run things, people will not turn up to watch a team which keeps losing and keeps playing poor football.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Pretty much agree with that TRB.

I think it would be useful for Gavin to may be do a short update on camera and acknowledge where this issues are and what progress is being made to address them. Perhaps they should do a monthly update  available through all media and take a pro-active rather than a reactive apporoach.

Also get the Centreplate guy on Camera and man up to a wider audience.   

[BobG]

And if Gavin ever were to speak up Baz, ask him what on Earth is happening (if anything...) with the CRM platform! The biggest waste of money in aeons yet it could pave the whole of Belle Vue way in gold if they used it right.  I think I remember someone claiming it was 'all going to be put right' last time the subject came up - probably 2 years back now. I've still not seen even one sign they remember the thing exists let alone actually used it as God intended it to be.

BobG

[redwine]

I know many on here will not like this, but John Ryan's mouth often wrote cheques that he couldn't deliver, in my opinion.

[BobG]

Lol! That's well known Wine. (I really wanted to type 'Wino' there!) It was one of the reasons why the KM2 stuck a knife in him a couple of years back now. They were fed up writing out the cheques to back up the loose lips.

BobG

[the vicar]

No one seemed to have a problem at meet the owners night?

oh yes they did 'cos i did, i told them the team was threadbare and we would be in trouble if you was there to hear it

[Chris Black come back]

I'm a realist. We don't have much support and we don't have much money. To all those demanding money from the KM2, why should they? If they walked away, who would step into their shoes and cover the £2-3m loss each season? They have no hope of ever getting any of that money back. Year in, year out millions poured down the drain by these two - and by JR before them.

Doncaster Rovers is a LOSS MAKING ENTERPRISE. No bugger turns up to watch and therefore we need the generosity of owners to make ends meet. Damn right they don't want to keep throwing more down the pit.

Now, there is a separate issue of the budget in place for the manager. This is one of the very largest in this league. The finance provided has been sufficient to put together a squad of players mostly with Championship experience. We should be pushing for play offs. Instead we are playing truly awful football and getting the results this deserves.

Who is to blame?

[silent majority]

TRB/Baz,

I understand exactly what you are saying.

Eighteen months ago we put this club in a really good place, we were getting results on the pitch but off it we made major strides. IRWT had taken off, it set the tone for everything that followed and achieved national and international recognition. We had a great plan that we hoped to follow, and then two botched takeover attempts put paid to all that. That was very disappointing and really set the club back.

We are making progress in putting all that back on track. But the one aspect we can't influence is performance on the pitch. We can affect everything else but that. I agree that's what's causing most upset to most people, myself included, but you or I can do little about it apart from voicing our concerns.

It's with some justification that I can vouch for the management team that runs the club (not playing side) when I say we will straighten out the issues. I've spoken to the club at length today about last night. We're meeting up again shortly and hope to start reporting improvements on key areas.

I can guarantee that the staff at the club feel just as keenly about the issues as we do. I know Gavin, Shaun and the rest of the management team react exactly the same way as we do, they're not immune. So the choice is simple, tell them how you feel and then buckle down and work out how you're going to fix it.

[River Don]

Ironic that so many third party partners (busses, food and printers) all failed the club on a night when they could have done without any added criticism.

[Sheepskin Stu]

Ironic that so many third party partners (busses, food and printers) all failed the club on a night when they could have done without any added criticism.

It's like 10000 spoons when all you need is a knife.

[sheriff2971]

TRB/Baz,

I understand exactly what you are saying.

Eighteen months ago we put this club in a really good place, we were getting results on the pitch but off it we made major strides. IRWT had taken off, it set the tone for everything that followed and achieved national and international recognition. We had a great plan that we hoped to follow, and then two botched takeover attempts put paid to all that. That was very disappointing and really set the club back.

We are making progress in putting all that back on track. But the one aspect we can't influence is performance on the pitch. We can affect everything else but that. I agree that's what's causing most upset to most people, myself included, but you or I can do little about it apart from voicing our concerns.

It's with some justification that I can vouch for the management team that runs the club (not playing side) when I say we will straighten out the issues. I've spoken to the club at length today about last night. We're meeting up again shortly and hope to start reporting improvements on key areas.

I can guarantee that the staff at the club feel just as keenly about the issues as we do. I know Gavin, Shaun and the rest of the management team react exactly the same way as we do, they're not immune. So the choice is simple, tell them how you feel and then buckle down and work out how you're going to fix it.

It's the basics though isn't it that we are failing at.
Are there any genuinely really creative ideas that can be used to recapture the imagination of the Doncaster public (performances on the pitch obviously - but others)?

[River Don]

Sheriff

I do think the club are trying to get the basics right.

There are the ongoing problems with Centreplate, who don't go too long before slipping back towards more expensive, poor quality products and poor service. Eventually it looks like they will have to make a change there if they want to see real improvement.

For instance the issues with atmosphere in the ground are recognised by the club and I'm sure they genuinely want to improve things and are open to ideas from the VSC and the wider fan base.

Ultimately though it's always performance on the pitch that matters most and for a long while, particularly at home, it's not been as good as we all would want to see.

[sheriff2971]

Sheriff

I do think the club are trying to get the basics right.

There are the ongoing problems with Centreplate, who don't go too long before slipping back towards more expensive, poor quality products and poor service. Eventually it looks like they will have to make a change there if they want to see real improvement.

For instance the issues with atmosphere in the ground are recognised by the club and I'm sure they genuinely want to improve things and are open to ideas from the VSC and the wider fan base.

Ultimately though it's always performance on the pitch that matters most and for a long while, particularly at home, it's not been as good as we all would want to see.

The problem is, you're never going to have a decent atmosphere in a stadium with 5000 fans spread around 3 stands. It just doesn't work. The club won't support a singing section or let us use a drum again, so ideas are really limited.

[River Don]

The club did support a signing section, it was withdrawn after concerns came from the police.

They are still looking at a new singing section in another part of the ground, I believe.

I'm not sure what the story is with the drumming to be honest, have the club stopped it?

[Sheepskin Stu]

Come they told me,
Pa rum pum pum pum 

[sheriff2971]

The club did support a signing section, it was withdrawn after concerns came from the police.

They are still looking at a new singing section in another part of the ground, I believe.

I'm not sure what the story is with the drumming to be honest, have the club stopped it?

From what I can gather, it was breaking some kind of health and safety rules, although I could be wrong.

If they're looking for a enw singing section, they've been looking a hell of a long time. But still, with 5000 fans spread all over the place, would it work? The first priority for me, is to try getting the fans we are losing back. Performances on the pitch will do that, but unfortunately it's not something that can be relied upon.

Massively reduced tickets for the Leyton Orient game in my opinion with a decent marketing campaign. Yes they may lose money on this fixture, but if you can win a couple of hundred back, maybe it would be worth it in the long run?

[River Don]

So health & safety and the Police, not the clubs fault?

Still, plenty of clubs have drumming, I'd be surprised if they're stopping it throughout the game.

I do think if they get a recognised section with undesignated seats for singers it will prove popular and will improve the atmosphere. The problem is this wasn't thought about when the stadium was opened and now they have sold season tickets all over the stadium. So it's a matter of identifying an appropriate area and then moving season ticket holders away from the seats they like, which can't be done quickly.

[Bristol Red Rover]

A singing section with unallocated seats is so obvious. Plenty of other suggestions have been made too and the club need to get off their arses and deal with it. Far too slow in responding to this - like 5 years too slow.

I remember the discussions before the Keepmoat was built about THE most important factor being that it was designed to be able to create an atmosphere. That was flatly ignored and the club continue to fanny around barking up the wrong trees.

As for moving people from their chosen seats, give them the option of keeping a ticket for the unallocated area, or moving, and give them a voucher for a shirt for the trouble. Do it today ffs. If that still pisses people off, those people are looking to be pissed off, so the club would be doing them a favour.