WATR (The Rovers Trust)

[lraC]

26 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

There is definitely a lot of presumably non members demanding action which to me is unfair.

I am not a member and from the outside the group seem to be very pally with Waggott etc and his charm seems to be working on them where they start singing from the same hymn sheet. You see the response to season tickets whereby minor changes to pricing that ultimately wont move the dial are painted as a huge success story driven by the group. There is clearly a desire to want to feel important and valued and as if they are making a big difference. But a lot of spare time must be spent so you can somewhat understand it.

Ultimately I dont believe that anything they do will make any difference, bar more trivial matters like matchday experience. The culprits are in India unaware of such meetings. 

I do believe getting Pasha to attend one of the meetings, could help and I know there have been several attempts at doing so, but he conveniently seems to have avoided every one so far.

I believe there is some sort of a promise in place, that he will attend a future meeting, but don't hold your breath.

[J*B]

1 hour ago, lraC said:

Josh,

Sorry for breaking the site rules, I had no intention to do that and if you can PM me and let me know what I did, I will ensure I do not purposely do that again.

I take on board any criticism aimed at me, but would point out to you and to others, who maybe have taken any offence at my post, that I have got off my backside and taken Waggott to task over certain things and although I can't say very much about it now, also made certain people who will be judging the owners quite soon, fully aware of some of the apparent misdemeanours that have gone on over the last 14 years.

As people who know me on here know, I am not able to attend many meetings or matches for that matter, due to where I live, but do try to do my bit when, both from afar and in person, when I am in the UK. 

It wasn’t you - it was the post you quoted that broke the rules. You’re all good!

[Mike E]

One of my ongoing criticisms (not necessarily as a negative, but as a point to improve on) that remains, and was a constant annoyance to me when I was on the RT board was that while we were ‘critical’ as much as ‘friend’, it was very difficult to publicise the ‘critical’ side without coming across sniping.

I feel that the problem remains, as even the criticism of the club comes across friendly, or gets mixed up in the ‘friend’ communication.

But since being out of the loop, I can see how it can come across as more friendly than critical.

[Leonard Venkhater]

2 hours ago, lraC said:

Josh,

Sorry for breaking the site rules, I had no intention to do that and if you can PM me and let me know what I did, I will ensure I do not purposely do that again.

I take on board any criticism aimed at me, but would point out to you and to others, who maybe have taken any offence at my post, that I have got off my backside and taken Waggott to task over certain things and although I can't say very much about it now, also made certain people who will be judging the owners quite soon, fully aware of some of the apparent misdemeanours that have gone on over the last 14 years.

As people who know me on here know, I am not able to attend many meetings or matches for that matter, due to where I live, but do try to do my bit when, both from afar and in person, when I am in the UK. 

"Dies IraC "lol.

I can vouch for you.. I have been at several meetings, which you have flown back to attend!

Edited July 10 by Leonard Venkhater

[Mattyblue]

I’ve been a member since day dot and I fully appreciate the balancing act. Indeed I think the marketing prospectus put together last year was excellent as was the Watford game.

However, those are initiatives for gentler times, for a club that is listing a bit and just needs a push in the right direction, the ‘critical friend’.

Yet as we sit here in July 2024 surely this club has gone beyond that, we look to be at the precipice of a collapse down the divisions, indeed if we can continue to trade at all - so where does the WATR board draw the line with tinkering at the edges and a campaign more akin to SOS can begin?

[lraC]

2 hours ago, J*B said:

It wasn’t you - it was the post you quoted that broke the rules. You’re all good!

Cheers Josh.

[wilsdenrover]

5 hours ago, J*B said:

It wasn’t you - it was the post you quoted that broke the rules. You’re all good!

You should have let him sweat a bit longer 😁

[glen9mullan]

Wrong thread 

Edited July 10 by glen9mullan

[RoversClitheroe]

20 hours ago, lraC said:

LI have got off my backside and taken Waggott to task over certain things and although I can't say very much about it now, also made certain people who will be judging the owners quite soon, fully aware of some of the apparent misdemeanours that have gone on over the last 14 years.

L

I'd be interested to hear more if possible.

[RoversClitheroe]

@Miller11 I'm a member but live too far away to attend events.

Is there ever zoom meetings?

 

[lraC]

51 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

I'd be interested to hear more if possible.

I can't expand on what I have said for now, but maybe after the court hearing, I can. 

[Miller11]

1 hour ago, RoversClitheroe said:

@Miller11 I'm a member but live too far away to attend events.

Is there ever zoom meetings?

 

It’s definitely something we can look to introduce. We need to find ways to better engage with the membership and this could be an effective way of doing so.

[RoversClitheroe]

3 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

It’s definitely something we can look to introduce. We need to find ways to better engage with the membership and this could be an effective way of doing so.

Think it'd be great I'd love to actually get involved, rather than just pay a fee.

[J*B]

40 minutes ago, Miller11 said:

It’s definitely something we can look to introduce. We need to find ways to better engage with the membership and this could be an effective way of doing so.

If there's anything we can do on this, we're open to it. General thoughts off the top of my head:

We can stream it on the forum, social channels (as well as yours to help reach)?

We could make a user group, like subscribers, for 'WATR Member' and give people within that group access to a WATR questions/comment submission form?

We can send alerts to members with the latest minutes from meetings?

There's a lot we could do to help if it was wanted...

[OldEwoodBlue]

8 hours ago, J*B said:

If there's anything we can do on this, we're open to it. General thoughts off the top of my head:

We can stream it on the forum, social channels (as well as yours to help reach)?

We could make a user group, like subscribers, for 'WATR Member' and give people within that group access to a WATR questions/comment submission form?

We can send alerts to members with the latest minutes from meetings?

There's a lot we could do to help if it was wanted...

And ad versions for none members, leading to more interest, memberships and ad free.

This shit is your bag J*B but sounds like a great potential collaboration to me.

[Forever Blue]

21 hours ago, J*B said:

If there's anything we can do on this, we're open to it. General thoughts off the top of my head:

We can stream it on the forum, social channels (as well as yours to help reach)?

We could make a user group, like subscribers, for 'WATR Member' and give people within that group access to a WATR questions/comment submission form?

We can send alerts to members with the latest minutes from meetings?

There's a lot we could do to help if it was wanted...

Could the same be done for a protest group? I appreciate that isn’t really WATR raison d’etre.

[davulsukur]

On 11/07/2024 at 11:27, J*B said:

If there's anything we can do on this, we're open to it. General thoughts off the top of my head:

We can stream it on the forum, social channels (as well as yours to help reach)?

We could make a user group, like subscribers, for 'WATR Member' and give people within that group access to a WATR questions/comment submission form?

We can send alerts to members with the latest minutes from meetings?

There's a lot we could do to help if it was wanted...

Like @RoversClitheroe, I'm basically a silent member of WATR. All these ideas are great for increasing engagement.

[Mattyblue]

I take it the fence is soon to be clambered down from?

[Forever Blue]

12 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

I take it the fence is soon to be clambered down from?

The silence is deafening. 

[Mattyblue]

‘Rudy Gestede is an excellent appointment’ had me a click from cancelling my direct debit there and then.

[OldEwoodBlue]

On their summer hols probably.

This time last year they were planning the Fans Takeover vs Girona.

No games at Ewood this year, clearly can't afford the costs. Bolton had 7000 on yesterday against Fiorentina.

These days you struggle to tell the difference between the club and their volunteer employees. MOU.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

17 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

‘Rudy Gestede is an excellent appointment’ had me a click from cancelling my direct debit there and then.

What chance have we got?

[Miller11]

No summer holiday for me this year, just having my tea after getting back from Wigan, apologies for the deafening hour silence.

To clarify a few things:

We have discussed budgets and finances a lot during our MOU meetings. Last time round we were told that Venky’s envisioned no problems in remitting funds when they applied to do so with the ED, albeit under the restrictions (costed and guaranteed). Additionally they were hopeful the requirement for a guarantee would soon be removed and the court issues all resolved.

This was followed up with specifics around the wording in the court document where it was reiterated that they believe they could send money over. We were also told that Waggott can only tell us what the owners are telling him. He asks them to send money over when required. when that wasn’t possible he had to make up the shortfall with sales and cost cutting. In my personal opinion, the last 18 months has been about preventing any winding up orders, which has been done successfully, and mitigating fan unrest, which hasn’t.

We then asked if any money had been requested from them - we were told it had.

We then asked if it had been sent yet, and we were told not yet, but it was expected.

Obviously this was some time ago, not sure of levels, or whether it has materialised. We wouldn’t ever be told transfer budgets or any other commercially sensitive or contractually private information. My guess would be that something has occurred in the last week or so as suddenly their appears to be a green light in terms of incomings, to what level remains to be seen.

I don’t attend fans forum meetings, but I expect similar discussions were had with them.

 

Presumably the heavy looking activity on here tonight has been triggered by the piss weak lineup we fielded against Wigan? I haven’t read every post. Can’t argue with that, the squad needs major work. Apparently incomings are on the way, and evidently outgoings are too.

As a slight aside, I’m not sure everyone on this thread who thinks they are a member are - we can check for you. Also, we are getting calls to take a more confrontational stance, rip up the MOU, cease engagement etc from people who categorically aren’t. We always respond to member emails, we don’t monitor this thread 24/7.

We are constantly telling the club that the current situation is not acceptable, and the mass unrest that is permeating the fanbase is being exacerbated by their lack of communication, and obviously their lack of action.

We’ve complained loudly that we have been told about projects, and how the likes of Phillips and Wharton were heralded as the future of our club for years to come, and they’ve both been shipped off in their teens and barely a penny spent replacing them.

I’m not sure what anyone thinks abusing Steve Waggott would achieve for us. I’ll tell you what us publicly calling for Venky’s to sell the club has done when it’s happened in the past - absolutely nothing. That said, we’ve made it very clear that the one positive thing anyone could possibly say about them as owners over their tenure has been the level of funding. The second they become unwilling or unable to fund us there is nothing positive about their ownership of Rovers.

For the moment we need to keep trying to exert influence using the means we have available to us, obviously it’s a pivotal few weeks coming up though.

 

 

[Mattyblue]

Yes Miller we are upset because we fielded a weak team in a friendly.

Have a read of the transfer thread. Rumours yes, but the jist being Gallagher following Sammie out the door and the owners preparing their exit.

What I am after is a warm fuzzy feeling from WATR that there is a line and we are getting very close to it, where it stops being about being a ‘critical friend’ and marketing prospectuses and the like and if you have a plan for when you are looking to pivot to campaign mode to help save this football club.

 

Edited July 27 by Mattyblue

[Forever Blue]

‘Exert influence’. You’ve no contact with the owners and Waggott admits he just does what he’s told. 
 

How do you propose to exert influence, besides calling for the owners to go?