Time for protest, meeting Saturday

[Silent Blade]

Mass protests puts off prospective buyers from taking an interest in this club (I assume it would cost about £30M to buy out McCabe?). How many protests in the club's past has achieved things for the better? Absolutely none!

 

[Sean Thornton]

Aims would presumably be - Accountability, an understanding of the leadership structure / 3 year plan and a visible Chairman with football experience, based in this country who is committed to driving the club forwards.

"What do we want ?"

"Accountability and an understanding of the leadership structure"

"When do we want it?"

"Aw for fucks sake Sammon you useless twat"

 

[Jan Age]

When did you last see United mentioned in a national newspaper?

Every Saturday in the football pages... but I take your point.. however it would be shared through Twitter and Facebook etc. and they would pick up on it as an interesting story to run with... the only interesting thing to happen at the Lane this season!

 

[Sean Thornton]

Mass protests puts off prospective buyers from taking an interest in this club (I assume it would cost about £30M to buy out McCabe?). How many protests in the club's past has achieved things for the better? Absolutely none!

Badly organised ones will SB. A non aggressive one may show how much the fans care. The idea is to make a point, not burn the ground down.

 

[Jan Age]

Aims would presumably be - Accountability, an understanding of the leadership structure / 3 year plan and a visible Chairman with football experience, based in this country who is committed to driving the club forwards.

Get yer sen down to Fanny's Satdi!

 

[AnotherBlade]

But... if everyone did it... no doubt the press would pick up on it and ask what it was about... as I posted elsewhere and Sitwell mentions above.. exactly what is our desired outcome? who are we aiming it at? do we even know?

I think it would be a long drawn out thing, unlike the Liverpool walkout, doing the same or interchangable things game on game to get noticed.

An immediate objective should be to get noticed by the media.
Phipps et al all know whats going off, they are just hiding, but will be keeping tabs on things, so it will be received.
In terms of desired outcome, surely to force the board into dialogue and a transparent strategy / better backing and investment being the aim, or simply to apply pressure where they are unwilling until they think it's all so shit they are desperate for off one way or another.

Demand for transparency in transfer dealings / subsequent budget.
Demand for a Derek Dooley replacement

Not very well thought out answers, which highlights that we do need to be clear on these objectives before getting stuck in.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Who exactly will this protest be aimed at ? You have to have a target or objective for a protest otherwise its purpose is questionable and meaningless.
Im out.

Ah, the Old Chestnut.

Dragged out of the cupboard by those unwilling to protest whenever a protest is mooted.

 

[Silent Blade]

Badly organised ones will SB. A non aggressive one may show how much the fans care. The idea is to make a point, not burn the ground down.

Will the protest be a peaceful one? Dream on!

 

[Whiston Blade]

Mass protests puts off prospective buyers from taking an interest in this club (I assume it would cost about £30M to buy out McCabe?). How many protests in the club's past has achieved things for the better? Absolutely none!

We have never gone up via the play-off's but still people keep saying it will happen one day...

 

[Sean Thornton]

Will the protest be a peaceful one? Dream on!

The idea seems to be. I don't see anyone suggesting anything else.

 

[Pierre's PC]

My idea when Weir was manager was a pants protest ,like the Spanish wave white hankies. Everyone takes their pants off and wave them in the air at a certain point in the game ,like 52 mins for the amounts of points we are likely to accumulate.

I'm practicing right now rwaaarr

 

[MobileBlade]

Why not do it at the Southend game. Then it could be combined with the Sky fixture change protest. Economies of scale and all that.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

Every Saturday in the football pages... but I take your point.. however it would be shared through Twitter and Facebook etc. and they would pick up on it as an interesting story to run with... the only interesting thing to happen at the Lane this season!

As Darren's poll article suggests, this has been going on for years - in my case, 59 of them. Another 59 years from now, the same things will be happening, we'll have crap players, we'll be selling one or two good ones for nowt, the fax machine will still be there, the board asking fans to stick together with the club etc. etc.

It's called being a Blade, it's your calling, your reason to live - just think, you could be an Arsenal or Man Utd fan, wondering if you dare show your face in the office on a Monday when your team has lost. We know that feeling, it's there every bloody Monday or Wednesday.

"Keep buggering on"

Winston Spencer Churchill

 

[INTERUNITED]

I think we should all take some geese in, and aim them in the direction of Nigel Adkins during the greasy chip butty song. When they all start pecking him in the eyes he can see how we feel watching this shit every week.

 

[Silent Blade]

We have never gone up via the play-off's but still people keep saying it will happen one day...

Protests never got us promotion too

 

[Esablade]

Mass protests puts off prospective buyers from taking an interest in this club (I assume it would cost about £30M to buy out McCabe?). How many protests in the club's past has achieved things for the better? Absolutely none!

£30M?

He sold 50% of the club for a quid and the promise of a bit of investment..
Looks like the The Prince has fulfilled his side of the bargain re: investment....let's say it was £10-15 million? (Two years losses at £5 million per year+running costs/transfers/desso pitch?)

Why would the Prince put more in without McCabe matching it?
McCabe should either sell him the other part for a further quid on the promise of more investment or buy him out...for say £10-15 million..whoops!

It's a conundrum alright!!!

 

[Bergen Blade]

Our main problem is the lack of long term planning. Is the aim of the protest to tell the board that we have to get promoted next season? We want another expensive one year plan?

 

[Esablade]

I think we should all take some geese in, and aim them in the direction of Nigel Adkins during the greasy chip butty song. When they all start pecking him in the eyes he can see how we feel watching this shit every week.

This would be doable..!

 

[Sean Thornton]

I think it would be a long drawn out thing, unlike the Liverpool walkout, doing the same or interchangable things game on game to get noticed.

An immediate objective should be to get noticed by the media.
Phipps et al all know whats going off, they are just hiding, but will be keeping tabs on things, so it will be received.
In terms of desired outcome, surely to force the board into dialogue and a transparent strategy / better backing and investment being the aim, or simply to apply pressure where they are unwilling until they think it's all so shit they are desperate for off one way or another.

Demand for transparency in transfer dealings / subsequent budget.
Demand for a Derek Dooley replacement

Not very well thought out answers, which highlights that we do need to be clear on these objectives before getting stuck in.

McCabe has lived through the BIFA ego trippers and the fans groups where people scream stupid claims at him, call him a crook etc. he won't start off with any dialogue. If I'm right, this group wants to make a point, that the fanbase or a large percentage of them, are getting to the end of their tether. A stand up slow handclap is a good stArting point and unless it turns into the rape of the Sabine women as Silent expects it might make them think. Which is always a starting point. It's all well and good U.S. all moaning on a forum, when it's inside the ground and peaceful, it's a different matter.

 

[sitwell]

Ah, the Old Chestnut.

Dragged out of the cupboard by those unwilling to protest whenever a protest is mooted.

Great answer you are right though Im not a protestor ,too many more important things to do in my life. You haven't answered the question ,who and what is the protest aimed at and what are the aims.

 

[INTERUNITED]

This would be doable..!

Yes, I can see the wisdom in that!!!

 

[Sean Thornton]

Inflatable geese! Sorted

 

[Silent Blade]

£30M?

He sold 50% of the club for a quid and the promise of a bit of investment..
Looks like the The Prince has fulfilled his side of the bargain re: investment....let's say it was £10-15 million? (Two years losses at £5 million per year+running costs/transfers/desso pitch?)

Why would the Prince put more in without McCabe matching it?
McCabe should either sell him the other part for a further quid on the promise of more investment or buy him out...for say £10-15 million..whoops!

It's a conundrum alright!!!

Can you think of anyone who would pay £10-15M while we are a League 1 club and losing money?

 

[SUFC Guy]

I usually walk out at 3.01pm anyway so it won't affect me

In all seriousness if you want to do something like this then it would be better staged in front of a 'live Sky game' for maximum exposure. 84th minute is too late as some will be going anyway.

I would go for 69 as the growing consensus is that we have been sh@fted from all angles anyway

 

[Roygbiv]

Could hand out some fliers before the game asking fans to meet up to discuss how best to protest. I don't know. I don't think most fans can even be arsed to protest at the moment and that's just how the board like it. They've sucked the passion and drive out of the majority of us

 

[west_yorks_blade]

What about chipping in for a few giant flags to pass around the crowd?

'Sack the Board'

'Give us our club back'

'The following players are shit ...
'
On second thoughts 'the following players aren't shit...' Would be simpler - just billy sharpe's name on it.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Great answer you are right though Im not a protestor ,too many more important things to do in my life. You haven't answered the question ,who and what is the protest aimed at and what are the aims.

As you say, Sitwell, you're not a protester. It's not really for you to be setting the terms for those who feel a desire to protest.

 

[Kev Gee]

I dont see how anything done on a match day can affect anything as the owners dont attend anymore.

The only way to get the message across would be to boycott away games, merchandise, season tickets.
However that would only damage the club when it came to buying players.

 

[TJB.]

Not the time.

The fans are split enough as it is and any kind of protest is only going to cause more division if it doesn't have all of us on board pulling in one direction for the same cause. If we're not all on the same page, the protest will fail and cause resentment between fans.

I for one wouldn't be willing to come on board with any protest because I want to give the board the chance to back Nigel Adkins in the summer without the shackles of the wages of a huge squad left over from previous administrations. I also want to see what Nigel Adkins can do for this football club when he is backed and he has the chance to assemble a squad.

Someone on another thread has spoke of a Soton fan who said Nige succeeded because he was well backed by the board. This NEEDS to happen in summer and, if that happens, Nige needs to show that he and his staff are worthy custodians of the chequebook and are capable of assembling a squad which can challenge for automatic promotion.

If one or both of these things doesn't happen, I'll be willing to take action as a fan. The only possible outcomes I see of a protest movement starting now, when the season is practically over and we're playing shite, are outcomes of unpleasantness, division and chaos. I don't want that.

Patience is a bloody hard thing to ask for when we're in such dire straights with no light at the end of the tunnel, but it's the only way in my eyes. To be clear, I'm in no way advocating sitting on our hands and doing fuck all. I'm saying this summer is an absolutely golden opportunity for board and management to grab this club by the scruff of its neck, show some fucking balls and thunderfuck it into the Championship. There will be no better opportunity presented to us than the blank slate which will present itself when all the contracts of these 15 or so mediocre slags are up.

If this opportunity is not taken, then we absolutely have to act. And I struggle to see who would be on a different page if it isn't.

 

[Damski]

What are you protesting, and what do you aim to achieve?

If we're bottom of the table, winless in 15 and shipping goals at an alarming rate, then yes, by all means.

We won 4 days ago and are mid table. We have the 4th highest scorer in the league. We've been top half all season. It's shit to lose to Bury and play so badly, for sure. No one wants that. But a "protest" (some of the ideas in this thread are embarrasingly dense) when we're in this position would show us as entitled and ungrateful. Just deal with it. Maybe we'll win the league in March next season, maybe we'll get relegated. It's football, and there's 23 other clubs trying to beat us to it. All these exasperated posts seem to assume we have a divine right to storm the league. We don't. Sorry to crash your indignation party.

I let go of my promotion hopes after the Swindon game. Not ruling it out entirely, but I won't be disappointed if we don't do it.

I would honestly be quite embarrassed if anything like a walk out happen. Something about toys and a pram.