Would you still support the Wanderers if it was being funded by illegal money?

Breadman wrote:If it were proven that the funding was sourced illegally, I'd be petitioning for change and would boycott the club until it was resolved.

And all these comments along the lines of "I don't care where the money comes from" are, in my opinion, a sad indictment of where we've come to as a society.

"Yeah, I know that the purchase of our latest striker was financed by trafficking teenage girls for prostitution, but hey....he's scored 5 in 6, so I'm happy!"

Seriously.....?

It's a fucking game, people........

It's a game funded by a whole bunch of dodgy people so where do you draw the morality line?

For example former Burnley Chair Barry Kilby's firm is the world's largest supplier of scratch cards.

Do we boycott Burnley for the debt, misery and addiction caused by their Director to line his own pockets/prop up the Dingles?

Just about every club is funded in part by what might be considered dodgy practices by some and there are far worse examples than Kilby. Working conditions in Venky factories for starters.

So yes - it's only a game and yes - some things are immoral (to some) but who are the moral police that should determine the suitability of an investor in our club?

There's a world of difference between printing scratch cards and being the head of a "legitimate" business empire which was has its roots in overtly criminal activity.

I did some digging on Abramovich when he took over at Chelsea and the mods on the BBC 606 board went into full-on paranoid lock-down mode and I nearly got banned, after receiving an e-mail from them citing their Libel Policy and what would happen to me if I tried posting it again (including possible prosecution).

None of the stuff I found was supposition, it was all established fact and was openly available on the web.

It just seems that if you're a bit dodgy, the FA, The Premier League, The Football League and everybody else involved in running the game, aren't bothered.

Look at Shinawatra at City.

Was he a "fit and proper person".......?

No, but he was minted, so it's blind-eyes all round and a chorus of "Crack on, son."

It's all rotten and I just hope I'm still around when it all goes tits up so I can sit back and have a good laugh.....

Natasha Whittam wrote:I'm not even sure I support Bolton anymore. There must be more to life than watching useless wankers attempt to play football.

The next time you're walking down Wembley way,(When we're in a cup final) sticking your chest out, proud as fuck to be a wanderer, drinking a can, or whatever you drink (pimm's I bet) , i'm going to throw your comment above, right at you.

 

wanderlust wrote:

For example former Burnley Chair Barry Kilby's firm is the world's largest supplier of scratch cards.

Do we boycott Burnley for the debt, misery and addiction caused by their Director to line his own pockets/prop up the Dingles?

     

Breadman nails it in the first sentence of his last post.

Any road this is what will be going on down t'Turf tomorrow and it's all the demonic Kilby's fault......


'In a first in English football, the 'My Club Lottery' App, accessed through smartphones and tablets, allows you to purchase tickets for all upcoming half time draws at Turf Moor'

'The launch of the My Club Lottery App is the brainchild of ex-Clarets Chairman Barry Kilby, who is a sufferer of prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer in men'

'Mr Birtwistle MP said: "I am extremely grateful to Burnley Football Club and Barry Kilby for donating all proceeds from their matchday lottery draw at this Saturday's match to the prostate scanner appeal'

'My Club Lottery App and Website
Smartphone and tablet users should search for 'MY CLUB LOTTERY' in the Apple Store or Google Play (Android), register and follow the instructions'


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Abramovich is a gangster. End of.

Well said, that native American.

He um heap bad man, bring fire-water to Ural Mountains, get braves pissed and steal all oil.

boltonbonce wrote:Abramovich is a gangster. End of.

He started off selling ducks on a market.

Breadman wrote:There's a world of difference between printing scratch cards and being the head of a "legitimate" business empire which was has its roots in overtly criminal activity.

I did some digging on Abramovich when he took over at Chelsea and the mods on the BBC 606 board went into full-on paranoid lock-down mode and I nearly got banned, after receiving an e-mail from them citing their Libel Policy and what would happen to me if I tried posting it again (including possible prosecution).

None of the stuff I found was supposition, it was all established fact and was openly available on the web.

It just seems that if you're a bit dodgy, the FA, The Premier League, The Football League and everybody else involved in running the game, aren't bothered.

Look at Shinawatra at City.

Was he a "fit and proper person".......?

No, but he was minted, so it's blind-eyes all round and a chorus of "Crack on, son."

It's all rotten and I just hope I'm still around when it all goes tits up so I can sit back and have a good laugh.....

Apart from the first sentence, that's my point exactly i.e. the "authorities" turn a blind eye (unless there's a media expose in which case they suddenly wake up)

Copper understandably leaps to the defence of Mr Killjoy, but there is a serious point to it i.e. the morality or otherwise of the activities that provide the funds shouldn't solely be based on the criterion of whether or not they're based on criminal activity i.e. "legal".

"Legal" is what suits the lawmakers and doesn't necessarily reflect what's "morally right" if there is such a thing. Legal war in Iraq, legal 3rd world working conditions, legal oil share purchases from workers etc.

So when it comes down to the "fit and proper persons" malarkey, it all depends on individual perspective. If you happen to be a scratch card addict who can't afford to feed your kids as well, you may well have less control over your spending than the average crackhead - just a different perspective.

That's probably why I am not so fussed about the lack of due diligence shown by the FA - it all comes down to relative dodginess and there is no universal moral ground anyway - just a blind assumption that it exists.

I'd still support the club but I'd want the 'dirty' money stopped pronto and if it wasn't I'd stay away.

If the dirty money brought us a world class player , who gives a shite.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:I'd still support the club but I'd want the 'dirty' money stopped pronto and if it wasn't I'd stay away.

I'm with Peter on this one.


What I would really like to know is how the ' fit and proper person ' checks are actually carried out and by whom.

There are umpteen examples of dodgy characters buying into football and yet every time the wheel comes off nobody seems to be brought to account from the authorities who allegedly carried out the due diligence.

Portsmouth are a classic example. Notts County were another club who were bought by foreign ownership and promised the good times with Sven at the helm. It turned out to be a false dawn and it transpired that they never really had the finances that they claimed they had.

Man City with Shinawatra has already been mentioned.

The owner of Birmingham City, Carson Yeung is currently on trial in Hong Kong for money laundering and Birmingham were at one point under serious danger of going into administration.

The football authorities should publish the rules and regulations for their fit and proper persons tests and they should be available for public scrutiny before any new owner can take over a club.

The current situation at Southampton is also rather odd. The fans deserve better.

Do you think a Chelsea fan thinks" I shouldn't be enjoying this "2-0 victory, just as Torres bangs in a thirty yard volley?

scottjames30 wrote:Do you think a Chelsea fan thinks" I shouldn't be enjoying this "2-0 victory, just as Torres bangs in a thirty yard volley?

I'm sure they don't but that doesn't mean it is right.

Knuckle-Draggers who sit in pubs in their replica football shirts with their mates saying "It's not my fault our owner's bent, if it wasn't us getting his money, it'd be some other club, so I'm not arsed. I'm a proper fan and I just support the team froo fick and fin cos that's what proper fans do. All that behind the scenes stuff doesn't bother me" are a big part of the problem.

Until people start getting some sort of perspective back, it'll never improve.

And there'll be a steady stream of foreign "investors" queuing up to get a slice of the pie.

And before you know it, your team is now playing in a different coloured strip and they've changed the club's name because it's lucky where they come from.

Fuck the fans and what they want, it's happening.

Then people start to finally realise that they're powerless and before you know it, the club you've supported for 40 years is now called something else, playing in a stadium 20 miles from your home town in a neon yellow strip and bears absolutely fuck all resemblance to the thing you first fell in love with.

It's all about greed.

Reebok Trotter wrote:

scottjames30 wrote:Do you think a Chelsea fan thinks" I shouldn't be enjoying this "2-0 victory, just as Torres bangs in a thirty yard volley?

I'm sure they don't but that doesn't mean it is right.

Lets not go into politics here RT, we'll be here forever.

scottjames30 wrote:

Lets not go into politics here RT, we'll be here forever.

Just read post 43 by Breadman. Spot on.

Are you a psychic? 

Lottery numbers for tomorrow night please RT.

Post number 43 was going to be:

5, 12, 14, 19, 25 and 44.

This is all getting weird now.......

Sorry, I meant 34... double vision and all that!