OPEN MEETING: DATE, TIME, VENUE CONFIRMED

[jimjam]

Mr Reilly did a great job of alienating the fans. I came away from the meeting convinced that his loan scheme,at best,was a risky gamble that would eventually lead to the club's demise.
A shareholder stated that Reilly was 'the only game in town'. This may be true but no deal is surely better than a bad deal....unless you're a major shareholder of course!
One thing the BOD's have got right is that this takeover loan not being in the best interests of the club.
At the end of the day an EGM will be held and the major shareholders, not the fans, will call the shots and decide our fate.

[tommysermanni]

What would Reilly know about Albion Rovers fans ? Has anyone ever actually seen him at a game ?.

Don't forget one of his key 'selling points' was to strip the Club of it's name, identity and ground.

We've all see bullies before and this is what this guy sound like.

Having said that he seems like a man who can't read or doesn't care about the support.

To this end I think we as fans need to be organised to deal with what seems to be coming our way.

We have an outstanding fan base who love and care for the Club. I don't want to single anyone out in particular but there are guys on here who have Rovers best interests at heart.

Perhaps we should look at organising a working group in order to combat any hostile takeover.

[stewmelrover]

Having read some of the reports on the meeting via the facebook page, and recalling the utter mad rubbish of his plans for a'Shamrock Rovers', I would be utterly astonished that anyone even remotely connected with the club could be 'backing' this person. Really? Reilly?

[fergie]

I was at the meeting last night . I would like to clarify a few things for the majority of regular posters on here who weren't at the meeting.

First of all I had no idea Mr Reilly would be in attendance at the meeting and there was no doubt about the fact he had a very aggressive manner which in my opinion was the wrong way to approach rovers fans in attendance as first impressions last. He asked for fans opinion on Individual board members to start off with, which was the wrong thing to do. He also said that "we fans" should have pitched forks ready for the current board as he says it was their fault we have ended up in the lowland league and if things continue with them we will go to the wall. In fairness he was constantly shouted down with every single point he tried to make but I could understand why people were angry as he got their back up from the outset.

In fairness to MR Reilly he was shouted down when he mentioned "Fans are irrelevant " However he did get a chance to expand on this and he said "Normal fans don't have a say, only shareholders do" This is a very important point so I wanted to clear this up and Eunan already mentioned this in an earlier post. I'm stating this again as people who weren't there have jumped on the "Fans are irrelevant part"

Bucky made some good points in his earlier post about the current board that I agree with as did others. I would like to add that I personally think the board invited MR Reilly to the meeting to take the heat off themselves and I think they played a blinder with it as several things on the agenda weren't discussed.

Let me mention a couple of things that haven't been mentioned already. Former Rovers Chairman Frank Meade was in attendance at the meeting as was former Director Robert Watt and Frank made a speech that he would be willing to come back to the club to help out and he said Robert would as well. He also said he wanted that on record that he would be wiling to do so, so I am putting it here. Whether that would be part of the current boardroom setup or with Mr Reilly only I don't know . Mark Hunter (Current Finance Director) openly admitted at the meeting Frank is a lot more experienced than him and he doesn't need the job which led Reilly to have a go at him. I believe Mr Hunter took the job as no one else with financial knowledge was around at the time . I did suggest that the current board should discuss things with Frank and Robert as they worked for the club for years previously and know what's involved. Frank also said that "even though he hasn't worked at the club for years he could guess the current financial status and he would only be 2k out at the most". He stated that he think the club will survive the season but unless we get an invite into the league cup next season he said he can't see us lasting longer than mid-way through next season without investment. This comment to me is very worrying as Frank is a qualified accountant and a shareholder and he has a very good idea of the club's current financial position .

Paul Reilly stated that he would keep the Albion Rovers Name in the event of a takeover and I knew this months ago as that was posted on here. 

Sandy spoke very well at the meeting and called for a united front with all Director's and Fans. Ronnie's wife Isobel made a great speech and Ronnie made good points too as did others. Having worked in Sales/Marketing companies etc for some very big and very small start up companies for most of my life, I have met many Director's/Business Owners who were very similar to Paul Reilly with their aggressive approach to Business so I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he was trying to make points rather than shouting him down. Don't get me wrong though fans had every reason to be angry, especially as many would have been surprised at his approach and wouldn't have came across that style before. He stated that a 500k Loan would add 3.5k per month to Sandy's budget, I asked him who would pay it back and he said the club would through capital gains which Bucky already touched on is a risky strategy.

Bobby Cameron is currently in talks with the SFA about a development at the Coatbridge end which would involve 5g five a side pitches being used for ladies teams. training etc. He said this would save the club 16k. Reilly said said this was pointless and it wouldn't bring in any investment. Brain(Nanook) quite rightly called for EGM at the meeting and Jordan and Bobby said they would agree to this at the end of the meeting but Ian Benton and Mark Hunter never agreed or disagreed . I heard others in attendance saying that previously requested EGM's have been declined by the board and someone also said that the 4 current board members don't get on. In my opinion an EGM is required. I thought Jordan handled the meeting well and I believe him and Bobby Cameron have the best interest of the club at heart but I do believe that Ian Benton and Mark Hunter are more interested in keeping the lights on and the books balanced than getting out the lowland league. I took from the meeting and from what I heard in the grapevine that the club is totally skint and the only way forward is investment from somewhere. Reading between the lines I don't think that Paul Reilly will get Shareholder's approval to do anything so we would need to hope someone comes forward with money from somewhere or we will be confined to the lowland league for a long time to come without some sort of investment.

[fergie]

Nov 30, 2023 20:31:43 GMT stewmelrover said:

Having read some of the reports on the meeting via the facebook page, and recalling the utter mad rubbish of his plans for a'Shamrock Rovers', I would be utterly astonished that anyone even remotely connected with the club could be 'backing' this person. Really? Reilly?

I have just posted . I was at the meeting last night and Reilly said he would keep the Albion Rovers name in the event of any take over and he stated that he would never change it to Shamrock Rovers when pressed by several people in attendance. So many incorrect rumours on here today! 

[bucky]

Nov 30, 2023 20:36:11 GMT fergie said:

I was at the meeting last night . I would like to clarify a few things for the majority of regular posters on here who weren't at the meeting.

First of all I had no idea Mr Reilly would be in attendance at the meeting and there was no doubt about the fact he had a very aggressive manner which in my opinion was the wrong way to approach rovers fans in attendance as first impressions last. He asked for fans opinion on Individual board members to start off with, which was the wrong thing to do. He also said that "we fans" should have pitched forks ready for the current board as he says it was their fault we have ended up in the lowland league and if things continue with them we will go to the wall. In fairness he was constantly shouted down with every single point he tried to make but I could understand why people were angry as he got their back up from the outset.

In fairness to MR Reilly he was shouted down when he mentioned "Fans are irrelevant " However he did get a chance to expand on this and he said "Normal fans don't have a say, only shareholders do" This is a very important point so I wanted to clear this up and Eunan already mentioned this in an earlier post. I'm stating this again as people who weren't there have jumped on the "Fans are irrelevant part"

Bucky made some good points in his earlier post about the current board that I agree with as did others. I would like to add that I personally think the board invited MR Reilly to the meeting to take the heat off themselves and I think they played a blinder with it as several things on the agenda weren't discussed.

Let me mention a couple of things that haven't been mentioned already. Former Rovers Chairman Frank Meade was in attendance at the meeting as was former Director Robert Watt and Frank made a speech that he would be willing to come back to the club to help out and he said Robert would as well. He also said he wanted that on record that he would be wiling to do so, so I am putting it here. Whether that would be part of the current boardroom setup or with Mr Reilly only I don't know . Mark Hunter (Current Finance Director) openly admitted at the meeting Frank is a lot more experienced than him and he doesn't need the job which led Reilly to have a go at him. I believe Mr Hunter took the job as no one else with financial knowledge was around at the time . I did suggest that the current board should discuss things with Frank and Robert as they worked for the club for years previously and know what's involved. Frank also said that "even though he hasn't worked at the club for years he could guess the current financial status and he would only be 2k out at the most". He stated that he think the club will survive the season but unless we get an invite into the league cup next season he said he can't see us lasting longer than mid-way through next season without investment. This comment to me is very worrying as Frank is a qualified accountant and a shareholder and he has a very good idea of the club's current financial position .

Paul Reilly stated that he would keep the Albion Rovers Name in the event of a takeover and I knew this months ago as that was posted on here. 

Sandy spoke very well at the meeting and called for a united front with all Director's and Fans. Ronnie's wife Isobel made a great speech and Ronnie made good points too as did others. Having worked in Sales/Marketing companies etc for some very big and very small start up companies for most of my life, I have met many Director's/Business Owners who were very similar to Paul Reilly with their aggressive approach to Business so I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he was trying to make points rather than shouting him down. Don't get me wrong though fans had every reason to be angry, especially as many would have been surprised at his approach and wouldn't have came across that style before. He stated that a 500k Loan would add 3.5k per month to Sandy's budget, I asked him who would pay it back and he said the club would through capital gains which Bucky already touched on is a risky strategy.

Bobby Cameron is currently in talks with the SFA about a development at the Coatbridge end which would involve 5g five a side pitches being used for ladies teams. training etc. He said this would save the club 16k. Reilly said said this was pointless and it wouldn't bring in any investment. Brain(Nanook) quite rightly called for EGM at the meeting and Jordan and Bobby said they would agree to this at the end of the meeting but Ian Benton and Mark Hunter never agreed or disagreed . I heard others in attendance saying that previously requested EGM's have been declined by the board and someone also said that the 4 current board members don't get on. In my opinion an EGM is required. I thought Jordan handled the meeting well and I believe him and Bobby Cameron have the best interest of the club at heart but I do believe that Ian Benton and Mark Hunter are more interested in keeping the lights on and the books balanced than getting out the lowland league. I took from the meeting and from what I heard in the grapevine that the club is totally skint and the only way forward is investment from somewhere. Reading between the lines I don't think that Paul Reilly will get Shareholder's approval to do anything so we would need to hope someone comes forward with money from somewhere or we will be confined to the lowland league for a long time to come.

Did he expand on what his plan for the club is? Reading between the lines there is no plan beyond him getting his feet under the Boardroom table.

[Rovergrant]

Excellent report Fergus, thank you.

[fergie]

Nov 30, 2023 20:48:29 GMT Rovergrant said:

Excellent report Fergus, thank you.

No problem Grant

[fergie]

He said He has plans in place for months Bucky but he never expanded on them, he did say that 300 fans is not enough to keep the club going and he would aim to get more coming. God knows how he could do that, he also added that his plans involved adding more terracing. The subject was quickly changed

[bucky]

Nov 30, 2023 21:00:36 GMT fergie said:

He said He has plans in place for months Bucky but he never expanded on them, he did say that 300 fans is not enough to keep the club going and he would aim to get more coming. God knows how he could do that, he also added that his plans involved adding more terracing. The subject was quickly changed

I thought as much - initially he was building a 10,000 all seater and that’s already been scaled back to some work on the terracing. Pie in the sky.

Just for clarification- it wouldn’t be an investment of capital to the club but Albion Rovers taking on a massive loan only to be given back to Reilly for him and his mates to play on the stock market roulette wheel?

I think the club is f**ked.

[fergie]

Nov 30, 2023 21:08:22 GMT bucky said:

Nov 30, 2023 21:00:36 GMT fergie said:

He said He has plans in place for months Bucky but he never expanded on them, he did say that 300 fans is not enough to keep the club going and he would aim to get more coming. God knows how he could do that, he also added that his plans involved adding more terracing. The subject was quickly changed

I thought as much - initially he was building a 10,000 all seater and that’s already been scaled back to some work on the terracing. Pie in the sky.

Just for clarification- it wouldn’t be an investment of capital to the club but Albion Rovers taking on a massive loan only to be given back to Reilly for him and his mates to play on the stock market roulette wheel?

I think the club is f**ked.

Thanks for clarifying that Bucky and agree 100 percent! It certainly looks that way !

[arfcdm]

Good in depth post fergie.

Lots of clubs have been taken over by people promising the earth and delivering absolutely zero. The exceptions generally come from Saudi Arabia with oil money to burn, I'm assuming he isn't in that bracket.

Our club will only survive with decisions being made by people that genuinely care, not by someone who has spied a club in the doldrums and looking to exploit something.

[welshrover]

Whilst not an option that many will like, it may be better to go bust and reform as a Supporter Owned Club.

We have one locally, Chester FC, formerly Chester City and whilst they are not pulling up any trees they are holding their own in a league which is probably on a par with the LL and do appear to be doing ok financially.

The sticking point for Rovers would I suppose be ownership of the ground, Chester were very lucky as the Council took possession of it and lease it back to the club, I think at a subsidised rate.

[sam]

I thought at the time this ‘open’ meeting might turn into a bit of a rabble and at times wasn’t disappointed.
Mr Reilly, when given the microphone, tried to turn it into the Jeremy Kyle show and although I’ve had my doubts about the performance of some on the board Mr Reilly actually had me circling the wagons.
He never mentioned who his business partners were and they were not in attendance last night.
Frank Meade, stood up to say that financially Mr Reilly’s lot were the only folk who had shown an interest in providing funds and without significant investment it would be a very long road back.
Frank, a past Chairman and someone I have a lot of time for, did not ‘back’ the consortium but stated something that I believe most folk already knew

In fairness to Mr Reilly his comment regarding who was irrelevant was aimed at minor, and non, shareholders as they would not really be involved if it came to his lot purchasing the shares of majority shareholders.
However if your going to try and get folk on your side Mr Reillys performance last night left a lot to be desired and he did not make a very good impression on many of the folks who turned up last night. (Maybe his ‘business’ partners… if he actually has any, should be looking at who they employ to do their scut work)

At the end of the day his performance actually took the pressure away from the board, which wasn’t… in my opinion what I travelled up the road for

[GFC1]

Thanks for the posts on tonight's meeting guys, unfortunately I was unable to attend.
Having read all of the above am I the only one that find it a little coincidental, that it appears this evening was arranged for Mr Reilly, who nobody is any the wiser who he is fronting. Thankfully, it appears you all done your bit in keeping him in is place.
Finally I find it rather interesting that Frank & Robert were in attendance. After leaving our club previously I think I am right in saying that had stints at Livingston & Dumbarton. They have now offered there services to return ??
Finally, It is reassuring that Sandy & Bobby continue to put their 100% in and I thank them.