Reproduced below is a Q&A that was done for the media last week. It should give clarity as to what is planned for the Stalybridge game, and also help to clear up any misconceptions that may exist.
To be clear,
it represents the view of the contributors only in order to give context behind the initial idea and the planning. It was not supposed to represent the views of everyone who will leave the ground at 3.15pm on Saturday, as much as there will undoubtedly be many people who don’t choose to leave the ground who agree strongly with many of the points below.
You can also follow on Twitter - @GoodbyeRowley
https://twitter.com/GoodbyeRowley Who is behind this? The group of disgruntled supporters who are organising this are all long-term supporters who spend a great deal of money watching the club all around the country. Many of these people have also given up their time on numerous occasions over a number of years in a voluntary capacity. They are Altrincham supporters who want what is best for the football club.
Why are they doing it?
Feelings have been expressed at fans forums, internet message boards and on the terraces themselves. Nothing is working. We have been patronisingly dismissed as an “angry minority” in a club Strategy Review, to which many had refused to contribute. This is our way of saying to Grahame Rowley that enough is enough.
Over the past few years managers have been selected either without a full and proper recruitment process, without the required due diligence, or have been chosen based on personal friendships with the chairman. This is not good enough for a football club like Altrincham, whose manager’s job still holds a certain prestige, and as a consequence of those catastrophic decisions made by Grahame Rowley we now are heading towards the lowest level that this famous football club has ever played at.
Relations between the chairman and supporters have been destroyed by the chairman. There have been rows with the chairman on terraces, the supporters have been insulted and had their reputation tarnished in the national media, and have even been criticised within the official match day programme.
What will happen on the day? This has been carefully thought out to not cost the football club money that they cannot afford to lose. In fact we believe that people who are already boycotting under the current chairman will want to come along and make their point, and so the walk-out may actually increase match day takings for the football club.
On the day, we will be entering the ground as normal. We will be supporting the team vocally and passionately for the first 15 minutes. On the 15 minutes mark it has been agreed with the stewards that a specific gate will be opened by which we will all leave the ground. This will be the home-end exit gate furthest away from the turnstiles as we are aware that people may still be entering the ground, and we don’t want to cause any un-necessary disruption for either the match day safety team or supporters who choose to stay and watch the game.
All supporters are then invited to the Tatton Arms in Altrincham where food will be provided, and we are hoping to show an old Alty game on the TVs for fans to enjoy in lieu of the Stalybridge game.
The organisers appreciate that there is a lot of anger and resentment within the fan base towards the current chairman, and are appealing for anyone joining the protest to do so with respect to other supporters who choose not to leave the ground.
How many supporters will be walking out? Not sure. We will be working hard to spread the word beforehand and giving out leaflets on the day of the match.
This protest isn’t just about supporters walking out of the ground, we also consider the withdrawal of vocal support after 15 minutes, contrasting with the 75 minutes of near silence that will follow, will be another clear signal to the chairman and the board that enough is enough.
But at the same time we also appreciate that there will be many more left in the ground who share our view but feel it more appropriate to stay behind to watch the match having paid their hard earned money to enter the ground only 15 minutes earlier.
Why now? With relegation all but confirmed already, the Strategic Review was the final straw. Many were suspicious that it was being used as a mechanism for preserving the status quo and this proved to be correct. At an open meeting last Sunday to present the findings of the Review, personal friends of the chairman and members of the football management team were allowed to make their point at length in support of the current board, whereas fans who wanted to raise grievances with the chairman had the microphone physically wrestled from them.
The breakdown in relations with the chairman is now irreconcilable, and we are calling on him to go now in order that the club can unite behind a new chairman and move forward. As we head towards the lowest moment in 114 years of Altrincham Football Club, it is vital that we don’t start next season in the Evo-stick League in same fractured and divided position that we are in now. The club needs to be all pulling in the same direction as we begin the long climb back to Conference National football, and there is no chance of that happening under Grahame Rowley.
Why 15 mins? There is no relevance for the 15 minute mark. It was felt that this would be enough time to get behind the players at the start of the game, but then make our point by leaving then.
It was proposed that we walk out on the minute that marks the number of points we have this season, but this was announced with 3 away games to play before the next home game and so there were concerns this would cause confusion if we were to pick up points between now and then.
Doesn’t Grahame Rowley do a lot of good for the football club/wouldn’t the football club struggle without Grahame Rowley? Grahame Rowley’s service to the football club over the years has been appreciated and is recognised, and there are many others whose voluntary efforts are equally as appreciated by the supporters. The football club was around for over 100 years before Grahame Rowley became the chairman, and it will be around for a long time after Grahame Rowley is the chairman. The time and effort he puts into the club and the community activities is admirable, but it does not make a good football club chairman.
With responsibility comes accountability. Grahame Rowley is the chairman, and it is actually hard to argue that there is anyone out there who could have done a worse job over the past two years in terms of managerial appointments or supporter relations than Grahame Rowley.
Do you want Grahame Rowley to step aside and remain involved, or is this protest calling for him to leave the football club completely? We are calling for him to step down as chairman. Any future appointments within the football club should be a decision for any potential incoming chairman.
Are you against the building of the Community Sports Hall? No. We are categorically
not against the Community Sports Hall. This is a fantastic addition and provides a vital revenue stream for the football club. The issue is that the additional income is not providing any tangible benefit to the football team under the current leadership. To suffer the gross mismanagement that we have done over the past few years, with the financial resources behind us that we have, makes it even more unpalatable for the supporters.
We strongly believe that the chairman should be judged from the playing side, not how well the books balance or how many people attend yoga in the Community Sports Hall, and so the Community Sports Hall is irrelevant in the context of the planned supporter’s action.
Who should be the new chairman? To be clear, there is no new potential chairman behind the fans in this protest. What we would like to see is a public appeal for a new chairman to come forward.
As a football club, we remain an attractive proposition for anyone looking to get involved or to invest, and we play in one of the wealthiest areas of the country. In the past Grahame Rowley has publically stated that he would be happy to step aside for a new chairman, although he has provided no actual evidence of this so far.
Now is the time to make shares available and to appeal publicly for a new chairman or investor to come forward. No one knows who could come in to do that job because no one from within the club ever dares to ask.
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Altrincham fans protest (Stalybridge H) : Q&A
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