John Ryan on facebook

[Bentley Bullet]

If grammar is such an important attribute for a football club Chairman maybe the club should offer Suzie Dent the role.

[Campsall rover]

Ryan wanted to flog us off to a dodgy hedge fund and foisted the 'Experiment' on us designed by Willie McKay. Yes Ryan was the talisman back in the dark days but that was in contrast to Richardson who was a criminal and gangster!!! JR, in my opinion is an iffy businessman just like all of them. Ludicrous breast implants that nobody really needs is a shocking way to make your millions. I really want us to be independent of all those kind of characters.

So all business men are dodgy?   Think that’s one heck of a statement.  Think you should withdraw that & I am sure you didn’t mean that. Hopefully.
There are tens of thousands of very decent business men & women in the UK.

Now I don’t know JR personally but he started a business from scratch. He obviously did his homework on whether there was a demand for that service.
It’s a significantly large industry so obviously there is a demand.  Now whether it’s ethical or not I don’t know. It is Legal if the industry standards are followed.

I don’t think it is right to criticise JR for being an entrepreneur is it.  Don’t remember anyone disapproving when he saved us from oblivion and when his vision and determination took our Club into the Championship on that magical day in May 2008

Yes JR was desperate to not only keep the Club in the 2nd tier but wanted to give the club the opportunity to go to the Premier League.
He didn’t have the funds to achieve that so he tried to find some way of achieving it. 
Yes it was a path he shouldn’t have tried to take. Fortunately it never happened and I would imagine we have Bramall & Watson to thank for that.  That obviously precipitated the big fall out between JR & TB/DW

I am very sure when JR looks back on that time, he will have major regrets about Sequentia, and knows he made a massive error of judgement along with the experiment which was just an act of desperation. It was badly thought out although I am quite sure was done with the right motives.

Yes JR left the club in a bit of a cloud and he got it badly wrong at the end of his tenure but we should next never forget what he did in saving DRFC & what was achieved while owner of this club.

By heck we could do with some of his vision and enthusiasm at the Club right now.
What we do have is a Chairman who we hear not one squeak from. One who doesn’t even looks as though he wishes to be at the MTO meetings.  One who shows no empathy with the fan base.

We have a Chairman who has presided over dismal failure and seems disinterested in changing anything to arrest the alarming slide on the playing field.

TB appointed him Chairman presumably because he has an astute business head. I don’t think TB expected to see all the money he has provided to be frittered away on desperately poor Managerial, Coaching and Player recruitment.
TB is probably thinking do I really want to throw any more significant funds into what he may see as a black hole.
Who is responsible. Now I am not looking for scapegoats and more than one person will have been culpable for our demise. Many errors have been made.

The fact is the buck stops with the Chair and that person is DB
Is it time for a change? We certainly need a change of direction. We need some investment, that investment is required to get some real recruitment done this summer. An experienced Manager & Assistant/Coach to replace Schofield & Gribble. Far too big a risk to keep a coach who is so blinkered to his “process” a playing method which is flawed at League 2 level.
Some serious player recruitment that will give that Manager the best possible opportunity to finish top 3 next season.

[Mike_F]

Now I don’t know JR personally but he started a business from scratch. He obviously did his homework on whether there was a demand for that service.
It’s a significantly large industry so obviously there is a demand.  Now whether it’s ethical or not I don’t know. It is Legal if the industry standards are followed.

Not that it matters a great deal (or at all) in the context of the discussion but just to make a correction on that point it's my understanding that JR was employed by Transform and bought his way into the business, eventually taking over so he didn't start it from scratch but he did take on a big personal risk through the MBO.

[Upton Rover]

Ryan wanted to flog us off to a dodgy hedge fund and foisted the 'Experiment' on us designed by Willie McKay. Yes Ryan was the talisman back in the dark days but that was in contrast to Richardson who was a criminal and gangster!!! JR, in my opinion is an iffy businessman just like all of them. Ludicrous breast implants that nobody really needs is a shocking way to make your millions. I really want us to be independent of all those kind of characters.

That was purely his dream to take us to the Premiership, it did backfire but it was his dream, he tried

[roversdude]

If grammar is such an important attribute for a football club Chairman maybe the club should offer Suzie Dent the role.

Yes please

[knockers]

If grammar is such an important attribute for a football club Chairman maybe the club should offer Suzie Dent the role.

Or Kelsey!

[Bentley Bullet]

As I've said before, it may be justified to solely blame John Ryan for bringing McKay to the club, and its subsequent failure, but would he have been given all the credit if the experiment had been successful?

[BradwellRover]

These fans that are slagging him off were back in the day singing “one John Ryan” at every game. Fickle.

He is a fan just like the rest of us and is worried about the state of the club again just like the rest of us!

I never sang ‘one John Ryan’, although I certainly respect some of what he did for the club.

But, we shouldn’t ignore the negative things, like threatening supporters with libel, the experiment, the playing himself thing, the VC firm takeovers, and the constant stream of over the top pronouncements (both positive and negative). I was always worried about his temperament and felt he was one strop away from leaving us in the lurch…which eventually happened.

Despite what the ‘internet thinks’, two things can be true at once. He did really good things, and some less than good things in my opinion.

You don’t need to break everything down to for or against.

[bpoolrover]

These fans that are slagging him off were back in the day singing “one John Ryan” at every game. Fickle.

He is a fan just like the rest of us and is worried about the state of the club again just like the rest of us!

I never sang ‘one John Ryan’, although I certainly respect some of what he did for the club.

But, we shouldn’t ignore the negative things, like threatening supporters with libel, the experiment, the playing himself thing, the VC firm takeovers, and the constant stream of over the top pronouncements (both positive and negative). I was always worried about his temperament and felt he was one strop away from leaving us in the lurch…which eventually happened.

Despite what the ‘internet thinks’, two things can be true at once. He did really good things, and some less than good things in my opinion.

You don’t need to break everything down to for or against.

he didn't leave us in the lurch thou, he left us in a far better position than we are in now

[BradwellRover]

What would have happened if the current owners hadn’t stepped up at that point?

[Bentley Bullet]

How many current owners do we now have at the club that were owners back then?

[DearneValleyRover]

Just the one BB

[Bentley Bullet]

What would have happened if the current owners hadn’t stepped up at that point?

Only one of them did.

[BradwellRover]

Ok, I should have said ‘other’ owners, it doesn’t change the fact that JR could have facilitated a big crash when he left, if third parties had decided not to step up. 

Just to clarify, the use of ‘current’ was just a summary term, not a comment in support of them.

[silent majority]

These fans that are slagging him off were back in the day singing “one John Ryan” at every game. Fickle.

He is a fan just like the rest of us and is worried about the state of the club again just like the rest of us!

I never sang ‘one John Ryan’, although I certainly respect some of what he did for the club.

But, we shouldn’t ignore the negative things, like threatening supporters with libel, the experiment, the playing himself thing, the VC firm takeovers, and the constant stream of over the top pronouncements (both positive and negative). I was always worried about his temperament and felt he was one strop away from leaving us in the lurch…which eventually happened.

Despite what the ‘internet thinks’, two things can be true at once. He did really good things, and some less than good things in my opinion.

You don’t need to break everything down to for or against.

he didn't leave us in the lurch thou, he left us in a far better position than we are in now

That's debatable. Financially we are in a much more secure position.

[Alan Southstand]

We certainly had a far better squad and that’s not debatable!

[Glyn_Wigley]

Telling the truth isn't 'slagging off' JR. It's just that some of us aren't blinded by his halo to his flaws.

[Lesonthewest]

Ryan wanted to flog us off to a dodgy hedge fund and foisted the 'Experiment' on us designed by Willie McKay. Yes Ryan was the talisman back in the dark days but that was in contrast to Richardson who was a criminal and gangster!!! JR, in my opinion is an iffy businessman just like all of them. Ludicrous breast implants that nobody really needs is a shocking way to make your millions. I really want us to be independent of all those kind of characters.

That was purely his dream to take us to the Premiership, it did backfire but it was his dream, he tried

Exactly this, he had his faults, & yes got it wrong at the end. But the man is a legend, & I will be forever grateful for the times I for one had, during his time with us. It was a brilliant ride & THE best time to be a Rovers fan.

[Drover]

Ryan wanted to flog us off to a dodgy hedge fund and foisted the 'Experiment' on us designed by Willie McKay. Yes Ryan was the talisman back in the dark days but that was in contrast to Richardson who was a criminal and gangster!!! JR, in my opinion is an iffy businessman just like all of them. Ludicrous breast implants that nobody really needs is a shocking way to make your millions. I really want us to be independent of all those kind of characters.

So Terry Bramhall and Dick Watson are/was Iffy businessmen?

[Fal]

Telling the truth isn't 'slagging off' JR. It's just that some of us aren't blinded by his halo to his flaws.

Funnily enough those same people think this current board can do no wrong….

[Bentley Bullet]

Ryan wanted to flog us off to a dodgy hedge fund and foisted the 'Experiment' on us designed by Willie McKay. Yes Ryan was the talisman back in the dark days but that was in contrast to Richardson who was a criminal and gangster!!! JR, in my opinion is an iffy businessman just like all of them. Ludicrous breast implants that nobody really needs is a shocking way to make your millions. I really want us to be independent of all those kind of characters.

That was purely his dream to take us to the Premiership, it did backfire but it was his dream, he tried

Exactly this, he had his faults, & yes got it wrong at the end. But the man is a legend, & I will be forever grateful for the times I for one had, during his time with us. It was a brilliant ride & THE best time to be a Rovers fan.

I wonder how many Forest fans say exactly the same about Brian Clough.....

 "He had his faults, & yes got it wrong at the end. But the man is a legend, & I will be forever grateful for the times I for one had, during his time with us. It was a brilliant ride & THE best time to be a Forest fan."

I wonder how many Forest fans instead gloat over Clough's last season in charge.

[Lesonthewest]

We certainly had a far better squad and that’s not debatable!

Also this chairman is presiding over a dwindling fan base, that's not debatable either. Wonder how that will effect the finances, mind you we could always bring a friend.

[Goole Rover]

Well if that's true Mike then let him watch us all drift away.

I agree Mike but he didn't do himself any good sitting with the fans at Barnsley a demotivation for the players. A bit selfish in my opinion.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Telling the truth isn't 'slagging off' JR. It's just that some of us aren't blinded by his halo to his flaws.

Funnily enough those same people think this current board can do no wrong….

It's a good job I'm not one of them, then, isn't it?

[Goole Rover]

Sorry I was on the wrong page I was referring to Mikes statement on John Ryan.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Ryan wanted to flog us off to a dodgy hedge fund and foisted the 'Experiment' on us designed by Willie McKay. Yes Ryan was the talisman back in the dark days but that was in contrast to Richardson who was a criminal and gangster!!! JR, in my opinion is an iffy businessman just like all of them. Ludicrous breast implants that nobody really needs is a shocking way to make your millions. I really want us to be independent of all those kind of characters.

That was purely his dream to take us to the Premiership, it did backfire but it was his dream, he tried

Exactly this, he had his faults, & yes got it wrong at the end. But the man is a legend, & I will be forever grateful for the times I for one had, during his time with us. It was a brilliant ride & THE best time to be a Rovers fan.

I wonder how many Forest fans say exactly the same about Brian Clough.....

 "He had his faults, & yes got it wrong at the end. But the man is a legend, & I will be forever grateful for the times I for one had, during his time with us. It was a brilliant ride & THE best time to be a Forest fan."

I wonder how many Forest fans instead gloat over Clough's last season in charge.

I don't recall Cloughy barefacedly lying to the Forest fans but I'm willing to be corrected.

[Lesonthewest]

We certainly had a far better squad and that’s not debatable!

Also this chairman is presiding over a dwindling fan base, that's not debatable either. Wonder how that will effect the finances, mind you we could always bring a friend.

Telling the truth isn't 'slagging off' JR. It's just that some of us aren't blinded by his halo to his flaws.

Don't think there are many blinded to be fair, maybe some more appreciative for what he did for us, which far outweighed his shortcomings in my opinion.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what he did too. But the last thing I want for Rovers is a Chairman who lies to the fans, no matter how charismatic he is.

[Drover]

Don't think J.R. is wanting to be Chairman again,I think he is frustrated and hurting like the rest of us,and shocked at how far we have fallen performance wise,in league standing and entertainment wise on the pitch etc,I think he is saying,something needs to change,higher up than the team manager,not TB,but the current chairman,but not for him to comeback,just we need to try and find a better chairman now.

[Drover]

These fans that are slagging him off were back in the day singing “one John Ryan” at every game. Fickle.

He is a fan just like the rest of us and is worried about the state of the club again just like the rest of us!

I never sang ‘one John Ryan’, although I certainly respect some of what he did for the club.

But, we shouldn’t ignore the negative things, like threatening supporters with libel, the experiment, the playing himself thing, the VC firm takeovers, and the constant stream of over the top pronouncements (both positive and negative). I was always worried about his temperament and felt he was one strop away from leaving us in the lurch…which eventually happened.

Despite what the ‘internet thinks’, two things can be true at once. He did really good things, and some less than good things in my opinion.

You don’t need to break everything down to for or against.

He left allowing TB and DW to take full control of the reigns because basically,they could not agree how to take the club forward and how to run it,different opinions,different ideals,further more he wrote off his loans,that is NOT leaving us in the lurch,If he left us with no one else responsible enough to take control then that would be leaving us in the lurch! He made some mistakes,especially close to him leaving,but we all do,he doe'snt deserve to be persecuted at any easy chance,as neither does Terry Bramhall.