after watching yet another shambles at hillsbro yesterday i thought it mighnt be interesting 2 get peoples views on the ken bates situation having watched the owls 4 35 years i have seen some good sides and bad but i have 2 say this is the worst by a long way no skill no passion no idea a lot of people say dave allen is a sheffield lad and a wed ite thats all wel and good but is he really capable of taking wed forward i think not love him or hate him kb has the exp and football knowledge 2 bring in people from an higher level ie a manager and coach which in turn will attract better players the money issue with bates is unclear but can the owls really get any worse on or off the pitch

I'm not convinced about him, and I thought some of the scenes at Hillsborough on Saturday were shameful.

you r right some of the scenes were disgracful but the display by some of them so called prof footballers on 8000 grand a week was scandlous if u have been following the owls for years u can sometimes 4giv defeat wot is unacceptable is no effort and no pride chris turner sheffild lad or not isnt up 2 the job they have had alot of injuries ete but look at weds position in the league and look at the teams above them its disgusting as 4 ken bates he cannot take this club any lower thats a fact we need is influence 2 bring in top manager which in turn will attract hopefully some players who can atleast play the game

phew - can i suggest the use of punctuation?

However you make a fair point.

I stayed on the Kop for a bit at the end of the game to watch the protests - but my abiding memory is two Owls fans apparantly fighting each other on the Kop, and during the pitch invasion a father with his young son on his shoulders running towards the Directors and giving the ****** signal, with his young lad copying him. Charming :(



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I appear to have been edited - for those who were wondering the fella was doing the old ground coffee movement used by Gareth Hunt.

Ken Bates is the man behind the Wembley debacle; years late, 10's if not 100's £M overspent, Sport England ie. taxpayers, conned out of grant money (it was promised there would be a running track)etc etc .
Chelsea £80M+ in debt 'til bailed out by a Russian "businessman".
Highest ticket prices in Premiership.
I would be very wary.

Dave Allen is a businessman, his casinos and dog track are a license to print money (fair do's, he has much improved Owlerton stadium) so we have to ask why as a non-football fan he has got involved at S6? His determination to avoid administration is good news for major shareholders, himself included and the Co-oP Bank
I'm not sure if the Club and fans would be better off with the option of administration, as turning the club around by paying off the debt could take 15 years. Most of us can't wait that long.

If I had to guess, Mr Bates is looking at administration and putting his money into team building after that act and that is why Mr Allen and the bank are so anti-Bates... they would lose lose a very large sum of money. Even so, the prospect of Ken running the club with Dave Richards looking over his shoulder is a scenario which leaves me feeling distinctly uneasy.

As you know i am a ex pro & having been playing regularly in South America, have been a SWFC fan for many years, since 1979 to be precise & i have seen most of the games that have been held at Hillsborough, a fine stadium, that overshadows that pigsty nearer to the centre.

I have had most videos & newspapers sent me over the years & i am sure this time we know that it is the board who employ a manager & he buys the players, this situation with the owls has always been around since the 70's, just we had fortune & luck in the late 80's early 90's.
Most of the board have been there since the 70's & are old ex businessmen that are set in their ways. A complete clearout is needed, nutts deep!

Mr Bates is a idiosyncratic eccentric guy, but a winner that doesn't live in the past, he will do wonders for the owls & is a breath of fresh air. Whenever he talks, he inspires me to want to buy a season ticket & putting bums on seats , Wednesday need, he says also that Owls fans will be gobsmacked by who he names as new coach!
So i defy any Wednesday fan to say this is bad, after all the miserable times we have been through

I say bring in Bates now, spend some much needed money, put a decent manager in place and get Wednesday moving back in the right direction!
We can always argue about the rights and wrongs of the man later - lets do whats best for the club now.

I read somewhere that Bates said that if he got control he would be considering the option of a 'Sheffield Wed Village'. I think the guy is talking rubbish.

The idea of a mystery Egyptian Billionaire & that he promises the fans will be gobsmacked by who he will appoint as manager, is enough to convince me he's worth a go!

After all the crap we've seen & negativity, we've been crying out for this!

Originally posted by Romario
So i defy any Wednesday fan to say this is bad, after all the miserable times we have been through

That's true, I suppose. It was like New Labour. Many people knew they'd be bad, but felt the country needed a change.

It's only football, with local pride at stake, not the wellbeing of the nation.

I say go for it. Let Bates take over. I doubt he's in it for the money anyway. What's the worst he can do?

PS - you're not the Romario, Brazilian world cup winning hero, are you? I was a great admirer of your talents when you played for PSV; well before you became a household name at Barcelona ;)

Originally posted by Abdul
PS - you're not the Romario, Brazilian world cup winning hero, are you? I was a great admirer of your talents when you played for PSV; well before you became a household name at Barcelona ;)

Funny you should mention that Abdul, I was thinking along the same lines. The guy was electric over a short distance and him and Bebeto were a lethal strike force for Brazil.

just been on a owls website and massive flood of postssaying chris turner will be out of hillsbro next week . this is a good source at the club and according 2 website 100%, lets hope so " up the owls"

Ken Bates wants the club to go into administration FACT, that way he can get control for next to nothing and then introduce phase two of his plan...groundshare...and sell off the hillsborough site.

All the current media interest is to unsettle the current board and make the bank (who we owe lots of money) nervous and pull the plug.

Booooo Ken Bates....

As for Turner leaving next week - I don't think so m8. We couldn't afford to pay him off.

Regardless of how inept the current (and past board) is, it's becoming more and more apparent that Bates is a weasily untrustworthy individual that has a hidden agenda.

The fans are being used as idiot pawns in his game, and most of them just don't see it.

Originally posted by Romario
The idea of a mystery Egyptian Billionaire & that he promises the fans will be gobsmacked by who he will appoint as manager, is enough to convince me he's worth a go!



Don't know about the Egyptian billionaire (Al Fayed???) but the mystery coach is almost certainly George (biscuit tin) Graham.
Don't mind Bates taking over but do not want a man who left his last two jobs under a cloud.

Originally posted by Tony
........it's becoming more and more apparent that Bates has a hidden agenda.
That'll be in his beard somewhere then, Tony:D

I'm sick, as many other wednesday fans are also, of seeing 25,000 loyal fans go home every week disappointed and ashamed of their side
The board and the players do not deserve their support. Total clearout I say.

Crooks got us into this mess

So maybe a crook like Bates can get us out.

WE HAVE NOTHING, so there is nothing to lose.

I think Bates would turn it around - he might be untrustworthy, a liar, a cheat, a backstabber and all the rest.... but in the end he is a damn good businessman who can bring in funds and oddly enough, Wednesday is a business which need funds....

Could be a marriage made in heaven - you might be calling him Uncle Ken - saviour of the Owls soon enough hey!

Originally posted by 1Man&hisBMW
I think Bates would turn it around - he might be untrustworthy, a liar, a cheat, a backstabber and all the rest.... but in the end he is a damn good businessman who can bring in funds and oddly enough, Wednesday is a business which need funds....

Could be a marriage made in heaven - you might be calling him Uncle Ken - saviour of the Owls soon enough hey!

well said couldnt have said it better myself :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

the sooner the better 4 me , seems as tho dave allen and chris turner are hanging on on the pretense that bringing in a few average players will apese the owls fans; i think not.

How can folks think he's a good businessman? Look at the Wembley stadium fiasco.
Bates has been lucky twice and been bailed out of bankruptcy. By Harding and then this Russian who has more money than he knows what to do with.

Originally posted by Ned Ludd
How can folks think he's a good businessman? Look at the Wembley stadium fiasco.
Bates has been lucky twice and been bailed out of bankruptcy. By Harding and then this Russian who has more money than he knows what to do with.


Lucky....thats the word. Every businessman needs luck now and again, and if its on your side then you will be doing better than most. People dont just bail out a near bankrupt businesses unless its worthy of doing so, has potential, or has an expensive commodity on its books.

If its premier league football wednesday want they will have to learn that most of the clubs in the top 20 and running with what you might call 'questionable' funding and financing methods.

As for the russian, i dont think he threw a few hundred million at it without asking his advisors first.