Ask Me No Questions...

We?re moving to Kirkby and those who still believe the vote will make the slightest bit of difference to that are sadly pissing against the wind

We?re moving to Kirkby and those who still believe the vote will make the slightest bit of difference to that are sadly pissing against the wind. There may well be a sizeable number, even a majority, of fans that will vote ?no? but looking at the surveys and based on the posts to this and other sites, for every post supporting the move there is counter post rejecting it so, with the undecided having to make a decision, I would guess it will probably only be around 60-40 one way or the other. Not enough to dissuade, not that I believe it would anyway, our ?guardians?.

One thing that is really annoying me is the number, (majority), of posts from the pro-Kirkby contingent who ?accuse? the ?Kirkby Resistance? as saying ?no? based purely on an emotional attachment to GP.

I assume that the majority of posters read TW and other sites on a regular basis, sometimes I wonder, and, in my experience of it/them, the majority of fans ?resisting? the ?Deal of the Century?, although wishing a redeveloped GP was an option, are intelligent enough to understand that this is very unlikely and a move to a new stadium is essential but, it?s where we move to that causes concern.

Let?s look at the reasons many cite as why ?no? must be the vote.

Doesn?t feel right ? No it doesn?t, but I suppose you could say any move would be strange. Moving the Pier Head to Otterspool wouldn?t feel right, you?d still get the ferry there but?Or maybe this ?gut feeling? is linked to something mentioned further down the page (if you can be arsed reading that far)?

Erosion of fanbase ? The safeguarding of future fans I believe to be in our hands, not the club?s, if we do as we have always done, as our fathers did, (my family are RS by the way, ?born not manufactured?), then it?s arguable that we should continue unabated.

History ? Can?t be changed it?s there, it?s done, nothing can take it away from us.

Tradition ? Bit trickier, we can still have a Toffee Lady, still wear the same colours, I?m sure we?ll find some decent pubs with EFC persuasions for pre and post match discussions, we will still have the fans currently occupying the Lower Gwladys trying to break the world?s fastest football chant record but one of our biggest ?traditions? is striving to live up to our motto and this is where some concerns lie over Kirkby. I have seen pro Kirkby posts using the terms, ?state of the art?, ?stadium to be proud of?. Now I don?t profess to have knowledge of construction costs but a ?£75m? stadium doesn?t go hand in hand with labels which, surprisingly, the PR machine of EFC, whose job it is to convince/assure us that the biggest and most controversial decision in living memory of our club is the right one, have chosen to stay clear of.

Trust ? Now this to me is the biggy. Those in favour suggest that we should trust the board to do what?s right for the club, oh how I wish. To trust them on this decision you would first have to already trust in them and, in my mind, this is the whole crux of the problem. We are asked to trust people who have continually been very secretive about just about everything, people who, yes, before the ?BK is a True Blue? brigade respond, bought out PJ, (after sitting quietly on the board while it was all going on), people who have lied over investment, FSF, to maintain their position when under threat, (i.e. for personal benefit), have made phoney bids for players, Owen, and then failed to tell us where the money went afterwards, people who say they have no other alternatives BEFORE they sit down with LCC.

Don?t get me wrong, as some people may remember, I am not a big fan of Warren Bradley at all and believe his council to be contributory to this whole sorry situation, (and I don?t believe he has any alternatives that include viable financial partners), but the fact remains that Bradley himself admitted he hadn?t even met BK until Christmas AFTER he was ?tipped off? that EFC were talking to Knowsley. If this is the case when did BK actually explore all opportunities with the council to enable them to make comparisons and end up with Kirkby as the best option? Was the very strong link with Leahy, who is a big supporter of BK, an advisor to the club, who stands to gain personally from the deal, (more outlets, more turnover, more profits, bigger bonus), and would know exactly which buttons to push for the desired response, the reason we didn?t even consider a plan B? Tesco will have identified the site in Kirkby a long time before any exclusivity period began, and would have been aware of the criteria needed by KMB to get permission to build, so did BK not ?renew? discussions with the council, who had had a change of leadership since the last cock up, because Tel had already tipped him the wink? Conspiracy theories I know but the question still remains unanswered.

I can tell you now that I was pro move but undecided on Kirkby as the location as I was awaiting the finer details to see ?what we were getting?. After Wyness? comments this week I am now, for what it?s worth, decided on ?no? and it has absolutely nothing to do with emotional attachments to GP, (and I live 50 yards from it), or for that matter the city boundary.

The change of stance on the fan?s vote, the lack of a basic business requirement, (a contingency plan), the carefully worded statement, (all the quantifiable parts of the deal were vague in content , ?more or less debt free? implies debt free but actually means no additional debt, as his reference to Arsenal indicates, ?nice stadium?, no mention of the phrases used by our pro Kirkby fans, whereas the non so quantifiable were very specific, ?extra(?!) £10m for players each season?), these all tell my head, not my heart, that all is not as black and white as it seems and, on lesser decisions, if I trusted someone, I would probably take the risk and go with it but a decision of this magnitude requires 100% honesty and clarity for me to follow, (it?s not like moving house and then finding out your neighbours are crap so you move back is it?), something in very short supply from this board.

I can?t help but think, (note, think) that this deal is made to suit the board and their ?friends? in the knowledge that, no matter what, we will still turn up in our droves which will more than likely mean more income but would we be maximising the long term income potential by moving out of the city? Who knows at this stage, but I would like to make my decision content in the knowledge that all this has been looked at, preferably by an independent body, that all options have been explored and judged on their merit and all the findings made public. If this is the ?Deal of the Century? then the club has nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing this as they will show the ?dissenters? once and for all that they can be trusted with the future of OUR club.

So please, ?yes? men, have your vote for whatever reasons you believe to be correct, trust in the board by all means, you?ll be getting your choice anyway, but do not dismiss those of us who choose to question where there is no clarity by suggesting we are merely emotional, short sighted idiots. It takes a lot more thought to question the CEO?s ?deal? than it does to merely quote it.

How many times have you heard the phrase ?If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?.

I hope I?m wrong and you?re right, I really, really do.

Reader Comments

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer