http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...ent-to-northampton-the-fans-revolted.25295442
Interesting comparison
Interesting comparison
When Coventry were sent to Northampton, the fans revolted . . (1 Viewer)
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Certainly makes me feel proud to have stayed away, been part of the bigger protest, and that it had it's part to play.
Threat probably means that DMCA letter, the bribery thing is interesting too, quite a strong allegation.
From The Herald in Scotland - just today....
"Those Saturday afternoons spent in self-imposed exile will be tough to contend with. The threats issued and bleak scenarios painted by a club board panicking over revenue streams drying up will prey on your darkest fears and tug at your emotions.
You have to be strong. You have to retain an unshakeable belief in your principles. You have to be prepared to go to the wire. That is precisely what the overwhelming majority of Coventry City supporters did when their owners Sisu, a hedge fund, moved them out of the Ricoh Arena following a dispute over rent and forced them to spend the whole of last season playing 35 miles away in Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium as part of a proposed three-year agreement.
They simply refused to turn up at the games. Even though the club was in administration, they refuse to buckle amid threats they were putting its future in even greater peril.
Unless the team was moved back into Coventry, they would not be giving the board a single penny more. They would back the team during their away fixtures, but the 'home' matches were a no-go zone.
When the battle was over and Steven Pressley's side played their first match back at the Ricoh, a 1-0 win over Gillingham in League One last Friday night, there were almost 28,000 punters in the ground to relish every single moment.
Boycotts are sometimes the only option left to a frustrated fanbase that feels cornered and powerless.
That description certainly applies to a sizeable section of Rangers followers left demoralised by one horror story after another emerging from the bowels of their troubled club and Jan Mokrzycki, spokesman for Coventry's Sky Blues Trust, takes great interest in the news that talk of an all-out boycott is now in the air around Ibrox.
He believes it could succeed. What he points out, though, is that supporters must remain united and there has to be a definite end goal in sight whether that exists in the form of legally-binding assurances over the future of Ibrox and Murray Park or something altogether more revolutionary.
"Rangers is a massive club with a huge fanbase," said Mokrzycki. "If those supporters stick together, they can make things happen. That is what has happened at Coventry. We had a very clear message that we wanted the team back in Coventry and had a march in July, involving between 8000 and 10,000 people, to show the potential support there was if the team did come back.
"One thing we said to supporters at the start was that they should put themselves in the shoes of the owners. People will say they are all about business. Well, business is about money. You deprive them of what it is they are after and they will listen. They don't care about the history or the community, but if you can affect their bottom line and show you will support them if they do as you want, their bank balance tells them they had better listen. You have to have a clear message and be united, though.
"If they had been getting 5000 or 6000 at Sixfields, we would still be there. They could have kept things ticking over. When they were getting 1500, it became unsustainable."
Should current conversations over an Ibrox boycott lead to a sustained campaign of staying away, however, Mokrzycki warns that those involved are likely to face all manner of emotional blackmail and carrots-on-sticks from the club directors.
"They tried every tactic of bribery and threats with us and it just didn't work," said Mokrzycki. "In the eyes of some people, the view was almost that it might be better if we went bust because we could start all over again. No-one believed they would ever let the club go bust, though, because that would have seen them walk away from the money they had piled into it. Most folk saw it as an empty threat.
The problems faced by Coventry City supporters were different to those troubling a large percentage of the Rangers legions, but their story shows the power that those in the stands are still capable of wielding.
"For us, it was because people objected to the club being moved out of the city," explained Mokrzycki.
"The owners were incredibly unpopular anyway, but ours had a fairly fractious relationship with the supporters and had treated them with disdain for some time. The decision to move the club to Northampton was seen by the vast majority of supporters as not necessary. This was a calculated bargaining move by the owners with absolutely no care or thought for the supporters. The majority looked at it, didn't agree with it and were not prepared to support it. Our support went from around 12,000 home fans to something like 1200.
"You support a team because it represents your community. If it is playing in Northampton, it is no longer representing your community."
"Those Saturday afternoons spent in self-imposed exile will be tough to contend with. The threats issued and bleak scenarios painted by a club board panicking over revenue streams drying up will prey on your darkest fears and tug at your emotions.
You have to be strong. You have to retain an unshakeable belief in your principles. You have to be prepared to go to the wire. That is precisely what the overwhelming majority of Coventry City supporters did when their owners Sisu, a hedge fund, moved them out of the Ricoh Arena following a dispute over rent and forced them to spend the whole of last season playing 35 miles away in Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium as part of a proposed three-year agreement.
They simply refused to turn up at the games. Even though the club was in administration, they refuse to buckle amid threats they were putting its future in even greater peril.
Unless the team was moved back into Coventry, they would not be giving the board a single penny more. They would back the team during their away fixtures, but the 'home' matches were a no-go zone.
When the battle was over and Steven Pressley's side played their first match back at the Ricoh, a 1-0 win over Gillingham in League One last Friday night, there were almost 28,000 punters in the ground to relish every single moment.
Boycotts are sometimes the only option left to a frustrated fanbase that feels cornered and powerless.
That description certainly applies to a sizeable section of Rangers followers left demoralised by one horror story after another emerging from the bowels of their troubled club and Jan Mokrzycki, spokesman for Coventry's Sky Blues Trust, takes great interest in the news that talk of an all-out boycott is now in the air around Ibrox.
He believes it could succeed. What he points out, though, is that supporters must remain united and there has to be a definite end goal in sight whether that exists in the form of legally-binding assurances over the future of Ibrox and Murray Park or something altogether more revolutionary.
"Rangers is a massive club with a huge fanbase," said Mokrzycki. "If those supporters stick together, they can make things happen. That is what has happened at Coventry. We had a very clear message that we wanted the team back in Coventry and had a march in July, involving between 8000 and 10,000 people, to show the potential support there was if the team did come back.
"One thing we said to supporters at the start was that they should put themselves in the shoes of the owners. People will say they are all about business. Well, business is about money. You deprive them of what it is they are after and they will listen. They don't care about the history or the community, but if you can affect their bottom line and show you will support them if they do as you want, their bank balance tells them they had better listen. You have to have a clear message and be united, though.
"If they had been getting 5000 or 6000 at Sixfields, we would still be there. They could have kept things ticking over. When they were getting 1500, it became unsustainable."
Should current conversations over an Ibrox boycott lead to a sustained campaign of staying away, however, Mokrzycki warns that those involved are likely to face all manner of emotional blackmail and carrots-on-sticks from the club directors.
"They tried every tactic of bribery and threats with us and it just didn't work," said Mokrzycki. "In the eyes of some people, the view was almost that it might be better if we went bust because we could start all over again. No-one believed they would ever let the club go bust, though, because that would have seen them walk away from the money they had piled into it. Most folk saw it as an empty threat.
The problems faced by Coventry City supporters were different to those troubling a large percentage of the Rangers legions, but their story shows the power that those in the stands are still capable of wielding.
"For us, it was because people objected to the club being moved out of the city," explained Mokrzycki.
"The owners were incredibly unpopular anyway, but ours had a fairly fractious relationship with the supporters and had treated them with disdain for some time. The decision to move the club to Northampton was seen by the vast majority of supporters as not necessary. This was a calculated bargaining move by the owners with absolutely no care or thought for the supporters. The majority looked at it, didn't agree with it and were not prepared to support it. Our support went from around 12,000 home fans to something like 1200.
"You support a team because it represents your community. If it is playing in Northampton, it is no longer representing your community."
There were more then that. A
few local figures were threatened with action, and a that is the sole reason some went quiet, there were also a few less known figures that received threats.
That is what you are dealing with and some still see them as martyrs.
That is why the fight is far from over until we rid this City of the Evil hedge fund.
But it won't be long now.......
PUSB
few local figures were threatened with action, and a that is the sole reason some went quiet, there were also a few less known figures that received threats.
That is what you are dealing with and some still see them as martyrs.
That is why the fight is far from over until we rid this City of the Evil hedge fund.
But it won't be long now.......
PUSB
Not for me to name names Nick leave that to others don't want to be next on their list.
As for Martyrs just read the posts on here there are one or two, they may not say it directly but most of us can read between the lines of their posts.
As for Martyrs just read the posts on here there are one or two, they may not say it directly but most of us can read between the lines of their posts.
and a threat of building a new tin pot stadium or could that be a bribe too.
Take your pick.
Nail on bonce ... You support a team because it represents your community. If it is playing in Northampton, it is no longer representing your community."
It was as Jan says pretty easy to "boycott" sixfields as we only had a fan base of less than 10,000 last year - a fifth of them went to sixfields. Rangers probably have 40,000 so by the same logic 8000 would still go.
Still, nice of Jan to rewrite history and not mention the fact the Court Case had a far bigger effect than the boycott ever did.Perhaps because that was nothing to do with his precious Trust.
Still, nice of Jan to rewrite history and not mention the fact the Court Case had a far bigger effect than the boycott ever did.Perhaps because that was nothing to do with his precious Trust.
None . Not sure why that myth still gets any airtime.
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But you are saying that every person who went to Sixfields was a CCFC fan? "Home" obviously, before you try that.
Were you there then? Course not. So you read it on here. Which is full of cockeyed rumour and jaundiced wishful thinking.
Like all your posts too.
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Yes. Every person who went to Sixfields was an Ultra Loyal CCFC fan.
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ooops.... Works with a bloke who lives in Northampton, he supports pool and hi kids support the cobblers... They went on a regular basis
Crikey, you must be hard to live with, you're so aggressive ! No I didn't go but I know a few who did, some regularly, others just to have a look...............The great majority of City fans I know wouldn't touch it with a barge pole I might add. It's nice of you to like all my posts, cheers !
I'm lovely actually. You just can't stand the truth etc
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Is this including the referee, linesmen, ballboys, catering staff, our opponents players and even their supporters?
Everyone except YOU because it was 30 miles too far.
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Andreas when is the "penny going to drop" you are a cock for going to Sixfields simple as that !
Well you are well known on here as a simpleton so I suppose that has a sort of fuckwit logic.
Going to Yeovil or is it too expensive for you?
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There will be a lot more going against Yeovil now they are playing at home even though it's more expensive than Sixfields. Thanks to the NOPM/KCIC guys, who forced the club owners to do a U turn. Just need to keep the pressure on so Timmy stops his 'I'm going to build a new ground' crap.
