Well, well, well.
Previous posts in this series have talked about the managership of Bangor City being a poisoned chalice, and also given props to SVJ for his football knowledge.
Now never in a million years did I or anyone else expect him to be named assistant manager at Mosta FC, over in Malta.
All SVJ has tweeted about it is that Mark Miller is the head coach out there. We await full confirmation of the rest.
The Vaughans have lots of history in Malta, including Floriana and Hibernians. Malta is a lovely place. Everyone ought to visit at some stage. But it is one thing going on holiday, and another thing getting in a spot of hot water like this.
To be fair, the Floriana experience seems to have been at least at one stage kinda positive for fans. Some familiar names in there, too. Gary Roberts, for one. A great player with serious flaws. We've all got our own stories though, our own troubles. City had a great season with Gary as slightly reluctant but ultimately marauding right-back, before he left under something of a cloud post-Europe. And he did possibly the most Gary Roberts-esque thing ever when, on his 30th birthday he first missed a penalty (he never missed pens) and then kind of quite rightly got sent off for a horrendous two-footed late challenge. Watch it here.
This story is breaking at the moment so expect a lot more to come out. Some rumours include:
* The return of two Bangor legends - Wembley scorer Paul Whelan and Sion Edwards - as management team, with an emphasis on local talent.
* local businesses getting together to boycott the club in terms of dealings and supplies
* bankruptcy notices being sent out.
Nothing at all in terms of facts yet (11.45am, Friday 23 November). But bloody hell, it's kind of exciting isn't it. The message boards are going mad... well. Madder. And there's only one these days to go mad. But still. What a fucking story eh. Tragic, sad, unnecessary, bullshitty, bollocksy, exciting.
City play tonight. SVJ will be there, apparently, still in charge. We wait for more info. The owners have been saying recently things like, "If you want the club back then buy it back". In fact, their loans are their only collateral because the loan-to-shares hasn't ever been authorised. The EGM and the AGM both failed to happen because of irregularities in their calling. So the BCFCSA remain major shareholder, and those loans remain a debt.
And one that people would be quite frankly stupid to buy up. Expect administration by the end of the season. Where that leaves the club, well, we can all guess can't we.
Interesting times.
Friday 23 November 2018
Thursday 15 November 2018
Sunday 11 November 2018
AMWAT: Recap
* U19s are losing players everywhere - and losing matches too
* the former groundsman is said to be looking at legal action to get his wages. He had been groundsman for 25 years.
* there is someone who is banned from football, involved in the club in several ways. And shouting at everyone else.
* the BCFCSA, which had gone dormant, is now reactivating itself. A meeting is scheduled. This is sensible, ahead of a crucial AGM vote re. transfer of loans into shares.
* crowds continue to fall to half of last season's average, and probably an eighth of what a successful and honest team on the pitch would attract
Since I started writing what's more or less a personal diary of this season, I've lost all faith in football. I've lost 35 years of support and love and frustration and the occasional triumph. I've lost the possibility of heading to weird little places and meeting people I've not seen for months or years, and having a jar with them like it'd been only a couple of hours.
I've written less poetry, less prose, fewer words. It feels I am a bit blocked-up by this bullshit. I'm entirely less motivated by anything now. Just... whatever. Treading water.
But.
The meeting of the BCFCSA and what might come of that is a spark that might relight the flame. I am sick of being downbeat and lost and holed.
Course, you could say that the old club was lost a couple of years back when this path was taken, for whatever reason. Course, you could say we'd be in Cymru Alliance now anyway, skint and struggling. But ya know. It'd've been relatively honestly done, at least. I think most of us - a lot of us anyway - are ready for the edifice to fall.
What was it that Malcolm McLaren used to say? Believe in the ruins?
Mind you, one of his other slogans was Cash from Chaos wasn't it. Which is kinda where we came in.
In years to come we'll know Who Killed Bambi.
* the former groundsman is said to be looking at legal action to get his wages. He had been groundsman for 25 years.
* there is someone who is banned from football, involved in the club in several ways. And shouting at everyone else.
* the BCFCSA, which had gone dormant, is now reactivating itself. A meeting is scheduled. This is sensible, ahead of a crucial AGM vote re. transfer of loans into shares.
* crowds continue to fall to half of last season's average, and probably an eighth of what a successful and honest team on the pitch would attract
Since I started writing what's more or less a personal diary of this season, I've lost all faith in football. I've lost 35 years of support and love and frustration and the occasional triumph. I've lost the possibility of heading to weird little places and meeting people I've not seen for months or years, and having a jar with them like it'd been only a couple of hours.
I've written less poetry, less prose, fewer words. It feels I am a bit blocked-up by this bullshit. I'm entirely less motivated by anything now. Just... whatever. Treading water.
But.
The meeting of the BCFCSA and what might come of that is a spark that might relight the flame. I am sick of being downbeat and lost and holed.
Course, you could say that the old club was lost a couple of years back when this path was taken, for whatever reason. Course, you could say we'd be in Cymru Alliance now anyway, skint and struggling. But ya know. It'd've been relatively honestly done, at least. I think most of us - a lot of us anyway - are ready for the edifice to fall.
What was it that Malcolm McLaren used to say? Believe in the ruins?
Mind you, one of his other slogans was Cash from Chaos wasn't it. Which is kinda where we came in.
In years to come we'll know Who Killed Bambi.
Friday 2 November 2018
A Man Without A Team: The End Game?
We now know why Bangor City failed the licence, and it's not particularly happy reading. Here's the auditors' rather uncompromising explanation, courtesy of the Daily Post.
And here's an analysis by a Chester City fan. Chester were also taken for something of an interesting ride by the same owners, and that didn't end well either.
There's also been much coverage of a money-laundering crackdown promised by the government.
Now whether that extends to semi-professional football clubs, or is relevant in any case, is debatable.
What isn't debatable is that fans - ordinary fans, people who just want to watch a game - are talking about tipping off the national economic crime centre about their own club.
Let's just pause to let that one sink in.
Meanwhile the comrades continue to gather outside of the walls. There will be another way, but it will be messy getting there. When long-standing supporters like J D-J feel alienated, things really are in the end game.
There's a residual angle being pushed forward by regime-ish characters, and that is that the former administration are culpable because they authorised the handover of power to the current regime. There's some twisted logic to it isn't there. Like, "it's your fault, you knew they were bad apples". Which is kind of like the Fast Show character that is a bit of a geezer, who tells you he's gonna take your stuff, and duly does.
Whose fault is it? The person who's been told they're gonna get robbed, but falls into the trap anyway? Or the person doing the robbing?
Obviously, it's the robber isn't it.
Anyone trying to blame the innocent person for naivety is on very shaky moral ground indeed.
There is an AGM coming up, at which the shareholders will vote on whether the regime's loans can indeed be converted into shares. This would make VSM majority shareholder. It might well be the case that absentee shareholders don't vote. That would be another step toward the end. Once the VSM loans are shares, the club will be responsible for servicing that debt should they call it in. And that means whoever might want to take over will have to find the best part of 500k to clean up the club.
And, well, what was that about the new crime centre?
Ay, ay, ay. What tangled webs.
And here's an analysis by a Chester City fan. Chester were also taken for something of an interesting ride by the same owners, and that didn't end well either.
There's also been much coverage of a money-laundering crackdown promised by the government.
Now whether that extends to semi-professional football clubs, or is relevant in any case, is debatable.
What isn't debatable is that fans - ordinary fans, people who just want to watch a game - are talking about tipping off the national economic crime centre about their own club.
Let's just pause to let that one sink in.
Meanwhile the comrades continue to gather outside of the walls. There will be another way, but it will be messy getting there. When long-standing supporters like J D-J feel alienated, things really are in the end game.
There's a residual angle being pushed forward by regime-ish characters, and that is that the former administration are culpable because they authorised the handover of power to the current regime. There's some twisted logic to it isn't there. Like, "it's your fault, you knew they were bad apples". Which is kind of like the Fast Show character that is a bit of a geezer, who tells you he's gonna take your stuff, and duly does.
Whose fault is it? The person who's been told they're gonna get robbed, but falls into the trap anyway? Or the person doing the robbing?
Obviously, it's the robber isn't it.
Anyone trying to blame the innocent person for naivety is on very shaky moral ground indeed.
There is an AGM coming up, at which the shareholders will vote on whether the regime's loans can indeed be converted into shares. This would make VSM majority shareholder. It might well be the case that absentee shareholders don't vote. That would be another step toward the end. Once the VSM loans are shares, the club will be responsible for servicing that debt should they call it in. And that means whoever might want to take over will have to find the best part of 500k to clean up the club.
And, well, what was that about the new crime centre?
Ay, ay, ay. What tangled webs.
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