Fez, I've had good chats with the Leeds fans running the campaign against Bates, and I've had dealings with Mr Allam jnr and senior. Taking them head on is playing their game and in my opinion doomed.
In my opinion, the campaign group has it spot on in their reasoned approach. It accepts Mr Allams position, and tackles it from that perspective with dignity and respect. That encourages others that look into it to take the group seriously, people like the FA and Premier League.
What's needed is an exit strategy that keeps Mr Allams dignity and doesn't look like a climb down. My guess is there'd need to be some barb against the council in it too.
I'm not on the group, but in my opinion, and I suspect it's happening anyway, we need to be approaching Councillors and pushing the MP's involved a bit harder for them to step in as mediators.
One things for sure, anyone that looks into it realises doing nothing simply isn't an option.
You/they/we are taking them head-on, we just donât realise it or give the situation its rightful status. AA plies smoke and mirrors, deceit and dishonesty against our collective supportiveness and integrity. Letâs be clear, we have been taking him on and him us, from the day we discovered the lies. It is not whether or not we are seen to be taking him on; it is how we are taking him on that can make a difference.
The Bates analogy, which has run within some posts, has some credence yet he has moved on and I donât recall anyone getting one over on him. Years ago I was fortunate enough to play under Peter Osgood (in the twilight of his brief player/manager days) and his frustration with Bates was a mirror image of ours with AA â only a tad more colourful!
I have said he must be taken on at every level and that includes the FA, PL, FSF, MPs, HCC and any other body with a voice of reason. All of the listed can have an opinion on the rights and wrongs of the name-change, some may say it is for the owner to determine, but they should be prodded and poked by their responsibility to others.
The FA and the PL are the only ones that I understand to have some sort of responsibility in this; it is time that the ground-rules for name-change are openly declared and made available to all. It is essential that a time-line is drawn up to record how we and AA have got to this point. The FA and the PL should be asked, very publicly, on how they view the manner of it. Itâs a time for accountability and the use of the press to challenge the procedure; not just for our club, but as a reference point for the future of football clubs in this country.
The only exit strategy for AA is the door and the sooner the better. Who, in their right minds, would gift him the club stadium? I would rather stick with the guidance of HCC who will change by selection over the years.
If you're on about me thinking hard if I'll replace my pass, I don't like the fact it looks like he takes us for fools and seems to have lied to us, I also see it as a very damaging and backward step, and one I don't want to be associated with. There's plenty of other issues I don't like with the modern game. If I wasn't hooked way back when I was, the experience as it is today wouldn't have got me coming back.
In this we have a shared view; I will return to amateur football and enjoy the grass-roots of a game I have enjoyed for years, but even that is now a joke and too political (money!) for its own good.
