31 August 2001

Haha - Fans 2 Club 0. The reapproach to the FL by Koppout has once again been rejected. Which now makes life VERY interesting. Koppout has been offered the chance of an EGM from the FL - however, to do so he needs 7 other chairmen out of the 72 league clubs to even force one. Which could prove problematic for him - if he struggles just to get that, who knows what will happen if it comes to pass. Whatever, expect a letter writing campaign to hit the road yet again, make sure you have plenty of stamps.

What else can Koppout actually do? Well, the ESS tonight reckons on two things - firstly, the much vaunted legal action, but the League's moves re: the EGM makes that almost unlikely - if Koppout ignores it, he'll be bringing WFC and himself into disrepute by ignoring the legal channels. If he goes through the EGM and fails, he has got no case whatsoever. The restraint of trade bollocks doesn't apply, WFC are still trading, we DO have somewhere to play and the League DO have a get-out clause called "exceptional circumstances" which should nullify this. The second option is for Koppout to bleat to the FA - they themselves probably won't want to risk conflict with the FL, but again, save your licking tool for a few stamps on envelopes.

Meanwhile, the club have issued this really bizzare statement :

"WIMBLEDON FOOTBALL CLUB & MERTON COUNCIL

Following recent remarks in the media and on the Council’s website, the Club would like to thank the Mayor of the London Borough of Merton, Councillor Stuart Pickover, and the leader of Merton Council, Councillor Andrew Judge, for their public support for finding a solution to our homelessness.

While the Club will continue to pursue the Milton Keynes option, it will happily consider any serious, detailed and properly funded alternative proposals that Merton Council can put forward.

Wimbledon FC has never left Merton. The Borough is the main beneficiary of the £1m plus that the Club spends each year on its Football in the Community and Academy programmes. Given the state of the Club’s finances this is a considerable sum. The council say that it values the Club and the Club hopes that the Council can now provide the full and unequivocal support that is needed to secure a viable home for the future."

I say it's bizzare, because to me it's a bit of a face saving exercise. It is not accepting ANY responsibility for looking at grounds, funding etc, and basically expecting others to fund it. Which may be reasonable in itself, EXCEPT....... that at least one major partner in the past has been presented to WFC and guess what? It was turned down. So yet another piece of PR bullshit, the amount of times that's happened must be in the 1000s by now. Also, the club's supposed financial perils are being bought up again - I wonder where the £17m has gone from transfers? Let alone the parachute payments of £3m or so? If we are supposed to be in debt by £7m, and we have incomings of about £20m, then how the fuck have we accumilated debts to the tune of £27m? Yes, I know we've supposedly bought it down to £7m now, but this really stinks. It would be extremely libellous to mention fraud, but there appears on the surface at least to be something SERIOUSLY iffy going on. Especially when TB's main task last season was cutting down on the wage bill........

Coincidentally, at time of writing, the WFC web site mysteriously has this statement above gone missing. Hmm.

Oh, and for those who like conspiracy theories, the architectural firm behind the MK Doomedtofailuredome is HOK and Lobb. As in the very same company that looked (supposedly) at WGS. Double hmm.

More later, assuming I don't get taken off the air.

 

27 August 2001

Like most normal souls, I decided to forgo the Notting Hill Carnival, and instead decided to head up to deepest Lancashire for Groundhog Day, aka North End 1 Bell End 1. Far better performance all round today, certainly from Saturday. I think the three straight defeats weighed on the mind of all of us today, especially the bollock kicking from Saturday. We dominated the first half more or less, had a couple of chances before close to half time Shipps delighted us all with a 25 yard volley. Cue much rapture. The second half saw PNE get back into the swing of things a little bit more. Whilst we looked a bit more solid defensivewise, we failed to clear a corner on 63 minutes and basically they scored with a nice strike. The rest of the game seem to peter out, but I would have accepted a draw before today, certainly.

Anyway....

Plus points: We didn't lose. Shipp's goal was nice. Good attacking in parts. Darren Holloway returned and looked good. So did Jobi McAnuff. And Andy Roberts. About 300-400 of us, making quite a racket. Team seemed a lot better without Darlington there.

Minus points: Conceding that goal. As mentioned above, I don't really rate Darlington that much, he came on and didn't inspire me at all. Voodoo makes me shit myself at times.

When next in Preston: Visit the National Museum of Football. Very interesting stuff indeed.

Quotes: (1) "There's only 4 seats for Wimbledon fans" - stupid Lancastrian cow in above mentioned location. Tried to be funny but neglected to see that there in fact 5 Dons fans in front of her. That's what inbreeding does, I suppose. (2) "Bodyguards, give us a wave" - chant aimed at you-know-who in the directors box. (3) "Think big" - Peter Cork to me after I said that it was going to be a draw today. Worse, he patted me on both shoulders before he said it.

Truth is stranger than fiction: Bank Holiday Monday. Preston away. 1-1 after taking the lead in the first half. This game could have been rehashed from last year.

Was it worth it? Well, it made me avoid Bank Holiday telly

In a nutshell: We're getting there.

 

Of course, I've kept quiet up till now about Koppout's big statement. This is it - please do not stand near anything valuable whilst reading:

"Last week The Football League turned down our application to relocate to Milton Keynes. We have now had the opportunity to consult our legal advisers regarding the merits of the decision and the process by which it was reached and have been advised that these were both deficient and unlawful. We have therefore written to The Football League explaining our reasons for contesting its decision and have requested that it reconsiders and consents to the move.

We remain convinced that the move to Milton Keynes is the only possible way in which the club can survive and thrive. This has always been our sole concern. We still hope that we can achieve the move harmoniously in liaison with The Football League and with our fans."

Dear oh fucking dear. That statement just about sums the guy up. Now, I could rant and rave a lot about him, but I won't. I could call him a liar, a coward and a professional con merchant who just deceives his way through whatever he can do, and I just have. However, I'm going to remain quite calm about this. Why? OK then - Koppout has been described as a spoilt little rich kid, and on reading the above, I can think of no better way to describe him. Read the above, and it could be rewritten as "I'm Charles Koppel, you must do as I say or I'l scweam and scweam until I get my way".

Koppel is basically arrogant to the point of banality. It will also be his downfall, as he is driven by it. He will ultimately fail because the FL have already told him not to bother coming back over MK. There is enough evidence that I know of that could take every clumsily conceived spin line apart, let alone the stuff I don't know about. WISA have good lawyers - very good lawyers apparently - and of course we have got Merton Council on our side now. And rumours (and I state rumours) from the MK end suggest that MK Council are basically pissed off with having their name linked with the murder of WFC and instead are more keen for MK City to rise through the pyramid system, so Koppouts attempt at the big I Am God routine seems even more lame than before.

So, why is Koppout doing it? Simple - he's likely to get a nice big payoff at the end of it should he succeed. That's why he's going on with it when common sense (and the FL) dictates he shouldn't do so. His track record at WFC is appauling anyway - his claim of 75k leaflet drops in the Guardian becomes more iffy when you consider it was supposedly placed in the paper AFTER MK was announced. Brunswick, our PR company, are paid £200k out of WFC coffers - now, if we're in such bad shit that we have to move to Bucks, why are Brunswick getting a nice wedge for doing fuck all? Again, these are things that WFC have yet to fully explain. In fact, they've hardly explained at all - just made a statement and expected people to swallow it. Some people do swallow of course, thankfully there's nothing a bit of, ahem, "pushing" in the other direction will sort out.

More on this as and when it becomes available.

 

25 August 2001 [FINAL EDITION]

The conflict still continues, but to other matters first : London Brunch 0 Twittering Canaries 1 was a sickener - it was played in heat that quite frankly even the England cricket team would struggle in (what do you mean "they don't need heat to struggle"?). A last minute goal is always a kick in the bollocks - especially when I suppose we generally had about 50% of the play. And from wanky defending as well. So, what was the craic? Healdy played, he didn't do too badly. No Trond or Willo (Gier was in his place). Shipps and DC laboured a little bit up front, I don't think the midfield (Ardley and Roberts mainly) are quite good enough to supply the right balls for them. Still....

The $0.02

Plus points: Were there any? All right, we didn't look too bad in the first half I suppose.

Minus points: When TB says that some players are not playing to their high standards after the game, I don't need to do a big "minus points"

Hot: The weather. Too bloody hot.

Quotes (or Chants): "Shipperley. Connelly. Shipperley. Connelly" - sung to the tune of "He's Killing Our Club, we don't know why. Charlie Koppel is gonna die". Come on, you must know it

Reality check: This is actually relegation form.

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) This is the first time since 1989 that we've lost to Naarwich. (2) Did I tell you how bloody hot it was?

Black cats, lucky rabbits foots... : I am going to get rid of this AIK Stockholm shirt I am currently wearing - since I've worn it, it's played 3 lost 3.

So, was it worth it? Guess.

In a nutshell: Wake up boys......

Of course, I know exactly what you're really here for tonite - yup, the protest report. All right, so it wasn't the passion and intensity of the Brum game - at least the sit-in wasn't - but some significant things happened today. Here's the run-down

Walk for Wimbledon: Very well attended, guestimates between 200 and 1500 at given points, probably about 800 on average. Including one Mayor of Merton, Stuart Pickover (more on him later). Got press coverage certainly. Nobody became ill over it, except hopefully WFC.

Sit in: Sadly, about 1k at most stayed behind, despite the almost desperate pleas of some WISA people (including one who tried a bit TOO hard and got ejected) to get people to stay behind. Still, in a way, it wasn't so bad - basically, people had got wind that the club were going to make an official statement. Then when the club had got wind of this, they withdrew it. Quelle surprise. To make matters worse, they wouldn't allow anyone to use the PA system - not WISA, not Pickover, not even the coppers themselves (and boy, that's gone down really badly with them). Great move, WFC, trying to prove how hard you are by picking fights with EVERYONE.

Anyway, Dr Willett came on, had to shout without the aid of any amplification, and basically told you what I said above. Pickover came on, said basically nothing that we didn't know already, and even seem to hint that Safeway's application could be scuppered by the council. But you didn't hear that from me. From my own point of view, the sit in picked up momentum and I certainly went away happier than when it first started. We will HAVE to try something different next time, a behind-the-game sit-in will lose its impact. It worked for Brum for obvious reasons. It eventually worked today, because it gave Merton Council the chance to put their side of the story without the club getting in the way. But next time, forget staying behind like that, at least on that scale. To be fair, WISA know this....

Koppout's statement: And boy, if ever this was a cop-out, this was it. No, I didn't buy it, but I read the statement in the program, and boy if every anything could make you seethe, cry and burst out laughing at the same time, this was it. Basically, Koppout repeated EVERYTHING he's ever said about why MK is our only hope. He started it off with a "we are naturally disappointed". Er, YOU may be naturally disappointed. We're not. The rest of it looked as though it had been written two weeks ago - find out Koppout's old quotes about MK, cut and paste it and you've probably got what he said. Yup, it really was that. Of course, he had to try and make it fresh to appear that he wasn't copping out (no pun intended - honest), so instead he tried to shift the blame for the ST cockups to the box office (yet another set of people WFC are pissing off), and the coup de gras - he said that WFC placed 75000 leaflets or so in the Wimbledon Guardian over the summer to get people involved with WFC - only 2 people replied. Hmm, are you sure that you put in 75000? Are you really sure? Like you are really sure there was less than 10k for Brum? Or other such figure manipulation exercises that are just a tad too fishy? For the record, I certainly didn't see WFC literature in the Guardian over the summer, trust me my nan will find out those sort of things. More lies?

Clearly, the statement proves one thing and one thing only - Koppel has NOTHING to say about it. He is fucked - when your major statement to the world consists of rehashed lies, you're dead. If WFC were serious about legal action, they would have done it at 7pm the day the FL told them to fuck off. The FL would have done their legal homework, I would presume that WFC would have done as well (though in truth I'm not holding my breath on that score) - a fortnight of silence from WFC shows that IMO at least, they've just been caught stealing from the caketin one too many times and can't think of a plausible explanation.

Coincidentally, I was asked today why this site has been toned down recently. Well, I didn't know it had, but some of the utterly slanderous stuff I used to write in my younger days has apparently been missing. If so, here goes : Charles Koppel is on hard drugs. Don't believe me? OK then, look at his picture in somebody else's program. Look at his eyes - they look fucked. Look at the utter delusion (all right, absolute spazmo bilge) he writes. Look at his complete inabilty to see sense on ANYTHING. The way he keeps fucking up contract signings. See where I'm getting at? The guy's very strange, look at the company he keeps : Peter Wankelmann, who is known in the record industry for being a crackhead, probably means something different when he says he's "lining up" stuff with Koppout. Suddenly it all makes sense - and I always wondered why people keep calling him Charlie....

And if that isn't slanderous enough, Koppout, Thorley and Reg Davis are involved in a paedophile ring based in Buckinghamshire. There, I've said it - now I demand a decent solicitor.

Oh, and Koppout was getting MAJOR grief from a few people in the Main Stand at half time. Result? Koppout just smiled. What an arrogant, self centred pathetic company bankrupting specimen of a human being. Mind you, he WAS probably freebasing at the time...

Yellow and Blue: The "unofficial" program. Sold 1800 out of 2000 copies, and that's only because the other 200 were in a co-ordinator's car. I have a copy in front of me, and it quite frankly rocks. It's better than any other "unofficial" program I've seen, and it beats the shit out of the Official stuff. The club are scared of it, so much so that there was even a PA announcement at half time telling people that there is an unofficial program being sold and that the official one is blue and has "Dons" written on it. Haha, I await the fake Reg Davis column in the next one, where the mock-up makes him to look like an old twat who wheezes a lot and goes on ad nauseum about Wolves. What - you mean that is the proper Reg Davis column? Anyway, major kudos to all involved. Seriously appreciated from this end, and many, many others as well.

Now what? Good question. We have plenty of people on our side now - the press, the council, I think after today the coppers as well, we definitely have the club on the run. They are showing their true colours - they have a yellow streak the size of the Atlantic and Pacific put together, with the PR handling of Neil Hamilton and the business acumen and ethical approach to life of Robert Maxwell. The momentum being built up is real - I think the Walk, the Y&B and the sheer comedy of WFC's attempts to stifle the sit-in has made people sit up and realise just what a great club being run by paedophiles this is. Obviously, we need to keep this in the public eye, although just as importantly we need to keep badgering the club more than anything as well. IMO anyway, the big pisser for WFC will be if we can get enough finance together to make a bid for the percentage of the ownership of the club. Make enough noise about trying to buy it, and even if the bid fails, the PR coup for us will be so great the club could not resist any longer. Keep it going, we're doing the right thing.......

Two other things - one, I found it very surreal to see the Mayor of Merton standing on the pitch looking like a retired rugby player on holiday in Malaga. And his Comms Guy standing there with a tattoo and a beer gut as well sans shirt. Secondly, I overheard Mr Pickover coming back (for the record, Pickover is from Manchester, supports Man Utd, his son went to school with my brother, lives in a semi, is a very keen walker - he often walks from Richmond Park to his house and is in fact my local councillor) and this is what he said (more or less):

"Even if it goes wrong, at least we've dealt with it all transparently. They're such nice people to deal with as well......."

Sleep tight.

 

 

25 August 2001 [AM EDITION]

Nice AM edition for you today - hell, I must be bored....

The Walk For Wimbledon is today, chances are that if you're doing it from Wimbledon or PL you won't be reading this anyway. It's going to be very warm today, so just don't get sunstroke. I'll probably be at the Thornton Heath meeting point (assuming I even get there before 1.30pm) so I'll see you there.

We are expecting a Koppout statement in the program today. No, I've no idea what it'll say, though somebody has already said "we aren't going to like it". Hmm - the only thing we are going to like ATM from Koppout is his immediate resignation and a total denouncement of MK. What I am expecting is a load of waffle, and quite a bit of "we are still considering all options". At the risk of sounding like a broken record over this, the club really doesn't have a lot of choice over MK now - the league have blocked it, and pre-empted any legal action as we all know.

Bit of an idle thought here, ignore it if I'm repeating myself - as mentioned on the very same day as the FL rejected MK, there were inklings that the club knew about it as early as before the Brum game. Which makes the delay even more bizzare - surely they can't be that fucked over it? Considering this, I'm not too sure how much of a surprise it really was for WFC to find out that MK was blocked. I guess we'll find out later today more of what's going on. Maybe.

Meanwhile, to further compound our delight and WFC's misery, KIR's boating exploits continue. No, he didn't get arrested but he could face a MAJOR fine. Major as in a certain percentage of his personal fortune may be taken away or something. This is making lots of column inches in Norway, apparently, and I'm sure he has much bigger fish to fry than Koppout's spoilt child routine at the moment. In case you didn't know, Koppout was in Norway on Thursday.........

As for today, what's happening? Well, yellow and blue balloons for starters. There's going to be a sit in for 25 minutes in the unlikely event of getting Koppout to come out and hopefully kill himself in front of us. We doubt if he's got the guts to do it, but if he does - we're all turning our backs on him. I hope that enough people turn up for this sit-in, a lot of it will depend on Koppout's statement today in the program. (personally speaking, I think it's a risky venture - we won't get 4000 staying behind now, I would guess 2000 at best. After this anyway, we have to stop the sit-ins and try a new tact - outside the club offices is my preferred option, and IMO we should have done that instead. Still, I'm not the one planning it all). Assuming anyone buys it of course - the boycott(s) are still in place, though you CAN buy refreshments. However, for £1.50 you will also be able to buy the new unofficial WFC program, "Yellow and Blue". I'm told it looks very nice, you may even get to see a recognisable photo or two in there :) Please buy it.

Oh yeah, and we're playing Naarwich....

More later

 

21 August 2001

Look, I'm sorry, but if Burnley on Saturday was the result of falling asleep, then what the fuck Seagulls 2 Seaweed 1 was about I just do not know. We looked like we just didn't give a flying fuck. Too many sideways passes, not enough penetration, not enough directness - I guess tonight we thought we just had to turn up and these pesky lower division teams would succumb to the Fu of the Mighty Wombles. Sorry, but in football, you do have to work hard to win games, believe it or not. The first half was lethargic and dull at best, the second half was, well, we lost 2-1. Need I say more?

Onto the SW19 My Two Cents bit:

Plus points: Well, we scored.

Minus points: We treated this game like a training session. This is fast becoming last season early doors all over again. And it was our early season form that fucked us last season.

Did Kelvin fuck up? Actually he didn't, but that's because Feuer was playing. Personally, I can't see why we should have to keep either Heald or Feuer and get a decent keeper. All right, I suppose Feuer was OK tonight, but it's late and I'm pissed off...

Where to improve: Right, stop fucking poncing about in the right area and you may get some shots in. Is it THAT difficult? I lost count of the amount of oh-so-pretty-passing stuff which we rightly used to mock teams like QPR and Naarwich that went on today. And where are they now? Hexactly.

And if you want to know why WFC fans are so bitter......: Withdean. Uses park-and-rides, temporary stands etc, and do well because of it. WFC could do the same with Plough Lane, but it takes courage, dedication, vision and a degree of decent marketing to do that. Our lot are just imcompetent chickenshit who have monumentally failed as custodians of WFC and as human beings. WFC (the business) deserves to go bankrupt, and all those who have taken out of the club for their own personal game (or to hide their sheer professional incompetence) deserve to suffer with it.

Vicious rumour: KIR got nicked in Norway last night over a fake powerboat racing licence. Don't think that he'd be too happy Koppelchio banging on his door wanting a lawyer ATM.

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The whole Withdean experience. I suppose this is what watching pre-season tournaments in Austria must feel like. (2) Were we really that bad?

Question: When was the last time we played in the first round of any domestic competition? And when was the last time we lost in one as well?

Was it worth it? What, £16.50 to watch that? Hmm, yes it was, I enjoyed it very much. And if you believe that, you'll believe that Koppout tells the truth.

In a nutshell: Birdshit.

 

20 August 2001 [AM EDITION]

Just to bring you up to speed on a couple of things I've heard over the weekend, both of which are very interesting : firstly, the MK Citizen On Sunday is reporting that WFC that Wankelmann's white elephant may be considering quitting the FL and joining up with this new proposed Atlantic League. Thinking about it very logically, this is the ONLY way they can actually get round the FL totally outmanovering them, and even this is problematic : Wanklemann kind of let something slip in this article when he said "we are committed to bringing professional football to MK" which may not involve WFC at all. A source at WFC (probably either totally made up or coming from Reg Davis, which is the same thing) is saying that WFC is "seriously considering" this Atlantic League thing - could be more bluster, could be substancial, though with anything at WFC at the moment, it's probably a lot of one and a bit of the other. You decide which is which. I have to admit, I don't know what is happening with regards this Atlantic League, I thought it died the death TBH. However, by resigning from the league, it would leave an extra place free in the FL.....

Here's the thing I'm wondering - could MKFC become a totally brand new club from scratch? Leaving WFC where we are at the moment? I know that Wanklemann's record of talking shite is well known, but the guy clearly wants a club at MK. Doesn't matter whose, he did after all try the same trick with QPR (they wised up, Koppout is too stupid to think the same). Koppout thinks it has to be WFC, he has claimed he signed an agreement to go up there. But it's becoming increasingly apparent that he hasn't really thought it through properly. Which leaves me onto my second thing....

In deepest Oslo, KIR is in shit. Basically, he lost £100m last week on the stock exchange and is trying to buy out Kvaerner. In a nutshell, he needs all the dough he can get. And let's face it, WFC is costing him money and causing him a great deal of embarrasment. If WFC (read CK) was to take legal action, it will take time and, more importantly, money. The Atlantic League principle, as pointed above, is their only real hope of getting WFC up there : however, the FL may receive an application from Koppout to leave, but the FL don't have to accept it (some interesting clauses in FL rules, apparently, to the effect of "the FL can do what they bloody well like"). Do you think that the FL will want another load of emails and letters coming through their comms rooms saying "don't approve the resignation"? And don't think that the AL proposal won't go unchallenged either. All this may suggest to me that KIR is looking to get out of WFC and quick. Roekke has enough problems at Molde anyway, and he won't want more headaches coming from us. This one is getting more interesting by the day. Keep tuned..

 

18 August 2001

Well, back to normality I suppose - Claret and Blue 3 Black and Blue 2, but we didn't play that badly. Indeed, we were almost the better side (a fact confirmed by a few locals afterwards), except for the period between the 12th minute and the 40th minute. So, what happened? Well, we went 1-0 through the resurgent David Neilsen slotting past the goalie. Then it all went wrong - firstly, Jemaine Darlington (who the SW19 jury is still out on) did a horrible passback to KD, who totally miskicked it, letting their player in. Secondly, a penalty, converted. Then thirdly, and probably the most embarrasing of all, a Burnley corner, powerfulish shot, KD totally ballsed up the handling and then, well, you can guess the rest...

Second half? Pressure from WFC a lot of the time, DC hit the post, Ardley came close and we got back into it via a Neil Shipperley header. Oh, and it totally pissed down. The SP? Certainly:

Plus points: The excellent way we came back after throwing it all away. Good linkup beween Neilsen and DC. Good general passing, especially in the wanky conditions

Minus points: Our defence is crap. And if KD keeps fucking up like that again, expect Paul Heald to get an indian summer

The referee's a............... : Complete and utter goat blowing child raping cunt. Bottled it, basically.

Will the jury please give their verdicts on the following players please? Jermaine Darlington didn't exactly inspire me today, as mentioned above, though he is new. And am I the only WFC fan who felt that we didn't look as good when we took off Neilsen and put on Wu Tang? Yeah, I know I have cast doubt on one of the Most Exciting Players In A Long While but he just doesn't look as skillful.

Quotes: (1) "You're an Oompa Loompa" - anonymous WFC fan (you know who you are) taking the piss out of me. Apparently it's a thing from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. What, Mr Koppel has started working at Paynes now? (2) "The reason we're 3-1 down is because the fans are protesting. Why can't they do that after the game? They ought to get behind the team. It's true" - Womble in the gentlemens after the 3rd goal went in. Now, I would have thought that it had very little to do with it, so I'll take issue here : the team are highly paid professionals, they should motivate themselves in front of a silent audience. They aren't likely to be effected by fans who only did anti-CK stuff for a little while anyway. And what is so wrong with protesting against a man who given his way would have taken that very same team away. At the moment, it really is a case of Love The Team, Hate The Club.

Yuk: The weather

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) Had I taken the train back, instead of cadging a lift back, I would still be on the Preston to Euston route even now. (2) Watching a game of cricket at Burnley Cricket Club. Not any old game - BCC 2nd XI vs Bakeley (?) 2nd XI in the Lancashire League as well. Last I saw, Bakely 2nd XI were 42-3. Should have stayed and watched that instead. (3) Me demolishing a KFC Bargain Bucket worth of food....

A little dicky bird tells me.... : WFC have blocked their emails over MK going beautifully wrong. Now, that's hardly the way to endear yourselves to us is it? Contary to what WFC believe, you will need us a lot more than we need you, trust me.

Was it worth it? Don't know, probably not

In a nutshell: We probably will play worse and win this season..

 

17 August 2001 [FINAL EDITION]

And after all the excitement and euphoria of yesterday comes............. nothing. Well, nothing from WFC as such, more on them later. However, plenty of others getting in on the act - the Football League have already pre-empted any legal action from WFC on "restraint of trade" - Burns says that the FL's decision is final and that it can't be a restraint of trade as WFC are still trading. Owch. WISA and Merton are plugging Plough Lane more than ever, which leaves WFC.....

It appears that the sheer quickness of the decision by the FL has seriously shaken the club. It took about 18 odd hours for WFC to make even one comment, and the press release they DID release was something a 10 year old could have written (I won't bother publishing it here, needless to say that WFC received the ruling by fax - this despite Burns phoning up Koppout personally straight after the result - and are considering all options). I went over to SP today (was working) and there were no cars from the VIPs anywhere. From the tone of the statement, WFC are seriously pissed off with the ruling - if anything, they've had a severe rebuke from the FL over it, and I doubt if that will temper their anger.

So, what next? WFC are in a bit of a quandry it appears - the feeling is that they want desperately to take it to legal means, but the FL are indiginant over this, and as said very early this morning WFC would probably get seriously damaged by a court case anyway. Thinking about it, not only will WFC have to fight against the rules of an organisation that they're a member of, but it's pretty likely that they'll have to prove that they're in financial stuck. And a simple "we're £8m in debt" comment by Koppout ain't gonna impress the High Court is it? Also, I would wager that the entire way WFC does business would have to be examined in court, and that would get a few people sweating. There are other options - firstly, the Premier League are an unknown quantity, some suggest they're more pro-MK than the FL, but then I don't think anyone's actually asked them yet about it. If they are more pro the move, then this puts them on a collision course with the FL, so logic wise at least, they should be siding with our Preston friends. The old "asset stripping" comment comes into play - you know, sell the best players to get the money back. Except I thought that was illegal anyway (if not, why when teams like Hull and Wolves came close to going under, their players weren't sold? Transfers only seem to balance the wage bills, not count as anything more tangible), so that may not be as immediate an option for WFC as first thought.

There are two other options for WFC. One is for the club to sack Koppout and BRG takes over again, and rebuild the now burnt bridges. Deckchair arranging? Perhaps, though check out January 2001 news archives (when I put them up of course :) ) for BRG's hints on what he really thinks of CK - there could be hope on that score. The other option is for the Nogs to sell up, and this may not be as unlikely as it may seem. I have no doubt that there is at least one person who is currently eying up WFC, I can't prove it, just an instinct on this. If somebody comes in with a £15m offer for the club, I bet it will change hands quicker than you can say "tax loss". For KIR certainly, who is getting a bit of a rough ride in Norway, this going on is the last thing needed, and the first opportunity he gets to bolt, he'll take it. You watch.

Other than that, it really is a case of "wait and see". We can sleep much easier tonight, I bet there are some at WFC who will need to burn a lot of midnight oil though. Try not to laugh at their predicament, they did after all bring it entirely on themselves, and just look forward to Burnley tomorrow....

 

17 August 2001 [DEAD EARLY AM EDITION]

And lo, on the 16th day of the 8th month of the..... that's enough. Perhaps the most major shock of the blue for, well, can you remember when? Neither can I, but here's that FL statement in (I guess) full:

'Following a long and detailed discussion, the Board has concluded that the proposed move by Wimbledon Football Club to Milton Keynes cannot be sanctioned.

'League rules clearly state that, clubs should play in the conurbation from which they derive their name or are traditionally associated unless given the approval to do otherwise by the board.

'To allow this move would have created a precedent at odds with the heritage of football in his country.

'Our football clubs are the heart and soul of their local communities, and that is something that cannot be transferred from place to place.

And here's the best bit

'The Football League will now actively encourage Wimbledon Football Club to work in partnership with their supporters and with Merton Borough Council to find a long-term solution to their homelessness.'

Excellent - looks like all that supporter representation has paid off. I have to admit, the timing came as an utter surprise - we were led to believe that it would take up to 9 months, that everything would be considered thoroughly. Needless to say, the fact that this has been rejected "unanimously" could mean anything - whether it really WAS going to be decided today, or whether just too much grief has happened within the last 14 days is anyone's guess. Personally, I suspect the latter. After all, how would YOU feel if you got 1000+ phonecalls a day (or so I'm told) about a certain situation. To be honest, I had heard stories from as early as Monday that the FL (or was it FA?) had rejected it, but it's very easy and sensible to be cynical.

As for WFC, they're going to make a statement tomorrow (Friday morning) which I'm sure will be a rather meek "We are disappointed at such a move but we will consult our fanbase" type thing. Frankly, those at WFC who were pro-MK are fucked. Koppout certainly is - his position has surely become untenable. It appears that he was the major mover in MK, so I find it almost impossible to believe that he can stay now. Unless of course he tries the legal assault, which knowing him is very possible. That will fuck him up - I doubt in all sincerity if he has a legit case. Don't believe me? OK then, WFC are a member of an organisation, namely the football league. What tends to happen is that if you join this organisation, you do have to abide by their rules. And as the FL state, their rules state the 25-mile radius. Of course, if THAT is on "legally suspect" ground then I'm sure the known lack of interest by WFC on other, more local, sites, are going to be taken apart in court.

Speaking of other, more local, sites, Merton have sent out letters to 30 councils around the SW19-M25 Corridor asking whether they'd dig a club like us on their doorstep. Tie this into the bolded out comments above from the FL and I guess we can all sleep easier tonite....

 

13 August 2001 [PM EDITION]

I'm off to the reserve game to badger WFC employees, so here's an update for you now. Apparently, the reason why nobody was wearing Maximuscle shirts was because they weren't actually on sale yet. Though whether that would make any difference is of course anyone's guess.

Bit of fallout from Saturday : major positive stuff for the fans protest from all the papers, one suggested that Koppout sheepishly left the ground 10 minutes before before only giving a quote "I am not resigning". Hmm, maybe he'll get pushed? Major publicity for the Walk For Wimbledon - there was sadly, less support for the proposed SW19 fundraiser, Wank For Wimbledon, where we all tug ourselves for as long as it takes to walk from Plough Lane to Selhurst Park. Guess we can't find much KY Jelly.

Further proof that the club itself is undergoing a huge seige mentality ATM - Graham Thorley went onto the pitch as we all know and made a complete tit of himself. However, it now transpires that Thorley alledgedly tried to get at General Lee whilst he was making his speech - had to be physically restrained - and even called one other fan a "wanker". No idea whether such things are true, but it's very clear that the club ARE shitting themselves over this. It looks like they want some sort of get-out clause and as it stands, all they can hope is that the animosity blows itself out within a couple of weeks. That may happen, but they have a much more damaging thing to come this week - the Football League meet up, and although they aren't going to decide on the dratted scheme just yet, a WISA delegation revealing to them just exactly what's going on may make Koppout's week even worse.....

And if that wasn't enough, strong rumours from the concrete cow end that even if the thing was decided Thursday and evil prevaled, the MK Toilet Bowl MegaComplex would more than likely be called in by the DoE - a previous (and much smaller) complex around the same area was blocked. Which will TOTALLY fuck Koppel's plans to sell out by 2003.

Oh, and Wankelmann is still apparently not having much luck with getting finance for it..........

 

11 August 2001

First game of the new season, two major results - firstly, WIMBLEDON 3 Bluenose Bastards 1, and of course Fans 1 Koppout 0. More on the protest later. As for the game itself, it was pretty much as where we left off last season. In fact, I thought it WAS the same game last season. Come to think of it, it was the same scoreline as well - and we went 3-0 up then. Oh well. Shipps and DC made their "proper" debuts with goals apiece, though the third was a rather nice OG. When you consider that Brum were yet again most bookies tip for auto promotion behind Shitty and Watford, it did run out rather too comfortable in the end.

Anyway, enough of that shit, let's get to it:

Plus points: The way we just bossed the game big time. From early doors as well. Stunning debuts for Connelly and Jermaine Darlington (and yes, I know I said how unimpressed I was at him at Northampton). David Neilsen was sublime. Wu Tang looked the part. Defense looked pretty solid even without KC. The crowd support during the 90 mins.

Minus points: Trond's injury - bugger. Shipps looked out of it a bit.

The ref was a.......: good one, as it goes. Please do not faint.

Usual big club rubbish: Brum fans. 2000 of them - apparently - and generally as quiet as Charles Koppel during an audit.

Still crap: The SP Roadstar jumbotron. Even managed to put CPFC up instead of WFC.

Was it worth it? Certainly

In a nutshell: Watch out first division....

 

Of course, you're not really interested in the game today are you? Thought not. In which case, here is the report of the protest, which is probably the most important thing for a long, LONG while. Read on.

Well, the major result today, as expected, was Good 1 Evil Purveyors of MK Dons 0. MAJOR emotion as you would probably expect. The day started out with loads milling about in the pubs - and this was about 11am apparently. Plenty of old faces about as well, obviously the predicament really has bought people together. The players came out, and a mass of balloons filled the place. Extremely impressive, hope it came out well on the telly. The game came and went (not too much anti-Koppout stuff as promised, enough to keep people interested), and then the big one. About 4000 at least stayed behind, which is majorly impressive. The usual chants of "You can stick your Milton Keynes up your arse" and "We want Koppel out" abounded. This went on for about 20 minutes before the first breakthrough - an annoucement on the PA suggested a WFC representative would come and talk to us. Rumours from it being Koppout to TB to Peter Cork (???) abounded, but it was left to the Director of Comms, Graham Thorley, to addressed the pissed off Womble massive.

Needless to say, the guy absolutely bricked it. When the guy turned up trying to act all important, he was given a rather welcoming "who are you?". The intent from the club was clear : a piece of paper with some soothing words, that will placate this vocal minority that Koppout sneers at. I think I made out what he was saying - something about how much our support is valued (oh boy, Koppel's lies are getting more outlandish by the day), a quote of "whatever the outcome of the proposal" and a quick burst of "sit ins are not the answer". Well, that's all I heard, because we weren't having ANY of it. I don't think I have heard anyone at WFC so drowned out. The guy looked like Koppout's hatchet man in all of this. Still, the guy had the guts to come out there. Though it only antagonised people more.

Now, had the sit-in ended there, the coppers would have had about 4k pissed off people who I think were ready to tear somebody limb from limb. Whether this next bit was planned or not I have no idea, but I think it did send everyone out on a high - General Lee (who earlier gave me a bottle of Fosters for nowt - "going spare", apparently) clambered onto the pitch, and let rip. Basically, he apologised for his language, called on CK to quit (after denouncing MK of course), then challenged the owners ("if they have any balls") to either find a ground in Merton or give the club to somebody who will. All rousing stuff, and it certainly has fired up people.

So now what? We need to keep the momentum going, that WILL fuck Koppout. The guy is shit scared at the moment - if he isn't, then explain his non-attendance on the pitch and his very brief statement in the program (no I didn't buy it) - but he's relying on opposition blowing out soon, that's his real hope. His next move will be to write to all ST holders explaining the club's predicament - he wants it to have the desired effect, though given the general mood he'll probably end up antagonising people even more. Certainly, many there today will keep doing it, though after a while the sit-in form of protest will be lessened in effect. Diverse attempts at publicity ("stunts", as the CUNW describes it) will have the same effect as today, and that will really put the pressure on Koppout. If we keep it up, I am pretty certain that CK will quit, because he'll have nowhere to go. Especially if his comments to the shareholders at the AGM become common knowledge - remember, it is NEVER a good idea to lie at your very own AGM.......

Couple of other things - not too sure if boycotts really work, though program sales, club shop sales (did you see ANYONE in a Maximuscle top who wasn't playing today?) and concession stand sales appeared to be much less busy than usual. I noticed in somebody else's program that WFC themselves are now doing the official travel - funny that. And if I was doing "Quotes" for the protest, I give you this classic : "Thorley looks like he's got a second class degree from Leicester De Montford University - that's what all Communication Directors at first division clubs have got". Now THAT was classy......

 

10 August 2001 [PM EDITION]

Firstly, hope you can read this :)

Secondly, so much has happened in the last 48-72 hours, it's nigh on impossible to write in great length what is going on (bit like the last entry) so here's a breakdown. Firstly, the WISA meeting on Wednesday went very well indeed, probably THE biggest turnout for such an occasion. Plenty of non-WISA people, including some I have never seen at a WISA meeting before, were there. You can read the plans elsewhere on tomorrow, but please - SUPPORT THE TEAM. It's not their fault that MK is on the horizon - they can't say a lot on it and have to toe the party line. Many of them apparently aren't that keen on it anyway.

As suspected, the final decision on MK won't be made tomorrow. Already, we've had a "no" publically from Barry Hearn and now Geoffrey Richardson of Bradford. David Burns of the Football League quoted today that MK is by no means a foregone conclusion and are contacting Merton to see why we can't go back there. Merton Council have come out and said that whilst there are only two places in Merton, WGS and PL, WFC have done nothing to help. So, what to make of all this? Well, it appears that WFC are close to being flushed out over grounds. Soon, WFC will need to prove just what exactly they want from a stadium - just a stadium? Or some complex thing? If it's the former, then WFC have no case to answer. Plough Lane has been hinted at by more than one person........ If it's the latter, it could be more problematic : there was an article in a planning application newsletter today ("Planning" if you must know) that seem to suggest that there was nowhere for a MK-size project in the South London area. Which is obvious. And Koppout will use that sort of stuff to further his Bucks white elephant (though that particular article has a bit of dubious nature to it - it was apparently a misquote from an internal memo and was leaked by............... Koppout), so be warned.

Actually, Koppout himself may be feeling it a bit. The Mirror yesterday made a note that Koppel baracaded him in his Mayfair offices this time last week and (I paraphrase) "wasn't convinced by his own arguments over MK". His current stance of "it's our only hope" smells of pleading. I think the guy is scared and desperate over this, but that makes him more dangerous. I don't think he predicted the backlash quite that well, and Burns' comments today has compounded that. I don't think the ratification of the move being delayed for up to 9 months or so is helping him one bit, especially as the FL clearly want to know what WFC have done for the last 10 years. The fun is getting going, and I for one would like to see WFC finally forced to come clean. What happens after that almost becomes irrelevant at this point.

Oh, there's a game tomorrow as well. New season. Forgot about that. Let's keep the pressure up, the future of YOUR club really does depend on it..

 

6 August 2001

I think it's all happening now - firstly, sorry there's no Colchester report. It was that shit, and it was nothing more than a glorified reserve game anyway. We lost 1-0 after conceding a goal within the first 30 seconds.

Secondly, MK bollox latest - it's rather too hectic for me to put into words what's going on. Basically, the crunch time - maybe - is 16th August up in sunny Preston. However, it appears that Koppout and the Space Cadet have only submitted a basic financial plan for it. So basic that it's apparently only two sheets of A4 long. Hmm, even my essays at college weren't that short. I reckon that the decision will be delayed somehow, just a hunch. Oh, and your humble editor has been featured in picture form for the Wimbledon News and the South London Press.

I've decided to link this for you:

It's self-explanatory, just get down there, and there'll be plenty to discuss. You don't need to be a WISA member to come BTW.

Thirdly, yes, this site HAS been down most of the day. I've put much more in detail on http://update.sw19s-army.co.uk . I'd also like to point out that you can now access this news page directly on http://news.sw19s-army.co.uk, the chat site on http://chat.sw19s-army.co.uk and the guestbook on http://guestbook.sw19s-army.co.uk. I'm sure that the club have nothing to do with it closing down like this. Honest.

Finally, a quick thought I had today - assuming the worst happens in all this, ie the move to MK gets approved and subsequent legal arguments get quashed, there's something, well, "nice" about "Real" Wimbledon starting up again. It will be a major slap in the teeth for those who think we'll just trundle off like sheep up north, and maybe Wimbledon could run without all the bullshit associated with it? Just a though. And now, off to bed....

 

3 August 2001 [FINAL EDITION]

Well, that was one of the most seriously weird games I've been to, even for a pre season friendly. In case you didn't know, it was Not Going To Woking 0 Not Going To MK 4, DC scoring yet again - by far the best player in a striking position I have seen for a LONG while - with DC scoring a brace and Mark Williams netting the fourth apparently. I say "apparently" because I was having a piss at the time. And the first person to say "Crewe" to me gets it.

As for the game itself, to be honest I don't know. As you probably would expect, the general minds of those there tonight weren't on the goings on on the pitch. I honestly can't remember much about tonight's game, hence the even more strained match reports than usual. Primarily because we were giving MAJOR league abuse to those who deserved it. And this is what went down......

Plus points: We won. 4-0. Again, away from the dump that many of us wouldn't mind playing at in two years time at the moment (ironic, eh?). LOADS of anti-MK/CK/WFC being butt fucked chants, in fact, I can't remember any other subject being chanted about. WFC and Brentford fans getting on well, signing each other's petitions etc. The realisation that maybe things won't be so easy for Koppout and co.

Minus points: The realisation that this may be our penultimate season.

The general feeling: There is utter hatred for certain people at WFC. You will know who they are. The mood was defiant, determined but pissed off. TBH I don't think the players really knew what to do. I think they may need to get used to it.

Basically, if your name is Charles R Koppel, you live in Putney, you are the chairman of WFC and you've been linked with relocating to Buckinghamshire, you are a marked man my friend. I don't think ANY WFC owner, chairman etc, has been subject to so much as he has, all with perfectly good reason.

Chants: So many, none of them particularly complementary. Off the top of my head : "You can stick your Milton Keynes Up Your Arse". "Oh Charles Koppel, lives in Putney. He's got a 5 bedroom semi". "Why do you treat us like shit?". "No To Woking". "Judas" (that one to Reg Davis, who also got told to fuck off back to Wolverhampton), and "He's Fat, He's Round, He Stole A Million Pounds, Sam Hammam".

Sam Hammam? Yup, he was there. Went in the Griffin pub apparently (full of WFC) to act like he was the saviour of WFC. Modest as usual. Needless to say, the guy ended up in tears. Next time he tries a pathetic stunt like that, I hope somebody glasses him (assuming that hasn't happened already)

We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town, beep beep: The West London branch of the Met. Took down the above left banner, threw out the CUNW for "foul and abusive language" at half time (only ejection, thankfully) and basically acted like Genoa rioters. I doubt if sending two West Norwood coppers down helped matters......

Quotes: "Not enough people care at WFC, that's why the League will approve the move" - rather dejected Womble outside the ground after the game. Hmm, I dunno, there's loads of life left in this.

Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The whole thing. (2) The realisation I'm at Colchester tomorrow. (3) The stewards trying hard not to laugh at some of the, ahem, more "fruity" chants..

Was it worth it? At the moment, any little single action is worth it. Don't be kidded otherwise.

In a nutshell: Birmingham is going to be tense..

 

3 August 2001 [PM EDITION]

It's been one helluva 24 hours (and a bit) since you-know-what broke. Here's the latest: Barry Hearn, one of the 8 FL bods who will decide our future has already come out and said that the move is "illegal". Plenty of column inches on this, some trying to justify the move (including a couple of ex-players - you will never ever be forgiven), others coming up with more sense. Plenty of work going into the protests etc. Tonight, we play Brentford at Griffin Park, many are meeting up at Waterloo at 5pm (at the pub above Burger King, I think). There's a joint effort between WFC and Bees fans, and of course SW19 will update you all on it tonight.

Loads of letter writing going on, especially to the Football League (who have said they WILL consider every letter from WFC fans when the board meeting goes ahead) - go to http://www.wisa.org.uk/addresses_leaflet.html for names, contacts etc.

Unsurprisingly, WFC are keeping quiet ATM, except trying the spin routine that they've been doing over the last 24 hours. The club offices yesterday were guarded by security guards, with an utterly twattish Reg Davis (is there any other sort of Reg Davis?) trying to wind people up. Although it probably won't make much financial difference, the amount of cancelled merchandise, kit sponsorships etc, coupled with Chris Phillips' resignation has a lot of symbolism. The resistance is growing.

More tonite

 

2 August 2001 [PM EDITION]

It's ironic that on the day I relaunch SW19, on a day where it pisses down etc etc, we get, well, you know. So, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Well, firstly, this thing is FAR from over. Believe me - Wanklemann hasn't even got planning permission for the MK White Elephant yet, and according to a councillor from up there, it could well end up being called in by the DoE. The Football League haven't given any permission for it - yet - and their meeting is on 16 August. At the moment, these are our two main hopes if you will. Both are MAJOR obstacles, both if "we" use them correctly will scupper this thing for good.

In the meantime, what can be done? Well, today I went down Plough Lane, got my photo taken with some other WFC fans, a few interviews etc, all came across well enough. That's a start, "we" need to be winning hearts and minds with this - already a joint fans protest thing for Brentford tomorrow is taking shape. I myself am in contact with the Observer, here's hoping on that score. The club are feeling it financially as well - loads of kit sponsorships have been withdrawn, merchandise cancelled, program sellers quitting - even Phillo has tended his resignation letter. This is a timing proportion of immense stupidity on behalf of WFC - yes, people have paid for their STs, but they aren't going to get rid of them just yet. Talks of pitch invasions (illegal of course but highly justifiable IMO) are going about. WFC clearly didn't want to let this out of the bag but were forced into it, which is exactly what was needed from "our" point of view. We know where we stand now, and that's a quarter of the battle over with already

Thoughts? Opinions? Well, CK is now public enemy #1 clearly, and this is from somebody who has supported him quite vigourously over the past 12-18 months. He clearly has to quit over this - not only over the MK thing itself but the now blatant secret dealings over all this. A point already made by WISA. I can get hold of his email and fax nos if it's a good idea. Time will tell whether R&G replace him or sell up (if "we" stop it of course) over it, but needless to say those who run WFC are probably less thought of than Hammam at his club-destroying worse, and THAT'S saying something. Other than that, it just leaves me to say for now, the battle has begun. Dig out your bayonets.