Make of break summer for Rovers...

[spn1974]

After 2 fantastic seasons in the championship JR and the board now have a huge decision to make about next year, do we carry on in the same way as last summer or lets keep our players and invest in the team. My opinion is the latter, a few of the fringe players are now out of contract freeing up much needed cash to for wages for some new talent and if SOD can be given a few quid to improve the team...ie Sharp, Shackell and some wise free signings maybe Elliot Ward and 1 or 2 others Donny would have a serious squad who could challenge for a top 6 finish and then who knows.....the Premiership maybe!!! why not!!

[Alan Southstand]

It would also be nice to know which way they're going, sooner rather than later, as people dither as to whether to get a season ticket, or not.

It's been well publicised that SOD still doesn't know what budget he has to work with for next season, yet, and we have quite a few players OOC!

[watto-drfc]

i agree but alot of players are contracted till the end of June. lots of clubs don't announce anything till July 1st

[DMnumber4]

I see the summer of 2010 as very much the crossroads for DRFC.
Do we:
a) go 'all out' and spend more than we have in trying to get PL football and live off the parachute payments?

b) trim the squad accordingly, replacing the quantity with quality?

c) settle for 'steady progress', but running the risk of 'lacking ambition' with other clubs interested in our key assets eg. SO'D, RO'K, JO'C and Stocky?

I think we're caught somewhere in between b and c. We want to progress, but at a rate which fits in with the players and managements ambitions. All about balance IMO.

[graingrover]

I feel that were Sharp and Shackel to be  signed up ,plus season long loanees like JET and Jordan Mutch  be captured we could achieve 9,000- 10,000 season ticketholders and push average gates to near 13,000. If such a squad were to hit form and be in the top six then we would fill Keepmoat and give the Directors more encouragement to buy the ground .

[Wello]

The council and the big nobs made a massive mistake when they decided about the naming rights of the stadium, after DFS wanted to buy it outright, looks a poor decision now as Mr Kirkham has just sold his business for over 500 million, oh how nice a few million of that would have been on players if the big nobs would have let him have naming rights.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

But then the council don't buy players do they

[Wello]

Trust me he would have.

[bpoolrover]

graingrover wrote:

I feel that were Sharp and Shackel to be  signed up ,plus season long loanees like JET and Jordan Mutch  be captured we could achieve 9,000- 10,000 season ticketholders and push average gates to near 13,000. If such a squad were to hit form and be in the top six then we would fill Keepmoat and give the Directors more encouragement to buy the ground .

i cant see us getting anywhere near that no matter who we sign,people just dont have the money at the min.

[deebee]

I was talking to Mr Kirkam the other day we share the same barbers. He is a very good friend of Dick Watson who has been trying to get him down to watch matches, but he says he has no interest at the moment.I also tryed to get him to watch us but I think I was flogging a dead horse.

[RoversAlias]

Wello wrote:

The council and the big nobs made a massive mistake when they decided about the naming rights of the stadium, after DFS wanted to buy it outright, looks a poor decision now as Mr Kirkham has just sold his business for over 500 million, oh how nice a few million of that would have been on players if the big nobs would have let him have naming rights.

Why would it be any different to now? One of our owners sold Keepmoat for hundreds of millions of pounds, you don't see it being put in the tranfer kitty.

[Dagenham Rover]

deebee wrote:

I was talking to Mr Kirkam the other day we share the same barbers. He is a very good friend of Dick Watson who has been trying to get him down to watch matches, but he says he has no interest at the moment.I also tryed to get him to watch us but I think I was flogging a dead horse.

I was always under the impression he never had any interest in footie or Donny Rovers whatsoever.
But I did hear a snippet the other day that may well make the summer very interesting  

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Just to add more fuel about more money, Mickey Walker appeared to be 'hosting' two well to do gentleman in very nice mercedes cars last Saturday. Both were wearing Rovers ties but didn't appear to be familiar with the set up.

I tried to listen in on their conversation, but it was just tittle tattle.

My first thought was they looked like new money. I didn't recognise them and I don't know what Kirkham looks like.

[RobTheRover]

This is Lord Graham Kirkham....



As others have said, he has been invited to join the board on numerous occasions, and declined them all.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Nope. One of them looked similar but definitely not him.

[CusworthRovers]

Kirkham has not been interested in anything akin to local sports.

His passion is buying his way into Conservative hierarchy (aka very rich powerful people) and even royalty. I understand his love his horses, ie Polo and Eventing, more for the well to do set.

Now this buying into and fitting into the ruling class has been achieved he may look elsewhere, and who knows DRFC is a very attractive brand from where it was for any business person.