Meet the Chairman (Postponed)

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Brian Bollen
Is there any prospect of ever owning our own ground again?

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Diamond Forever
<> Courtesy of Pesadilla, copied and pasted from P & B:-

1. Alan Love has some link to the club where players get preferentially (or solely) signed from his agency. Espoused by Airdrie10 who seems to have (or have made up) some sort of knowledge that this guy is involved. Nobody else seems to know anything much about it though a few seem to remain suspicious.

They tell me their thoughts and I still get some belters like some guy saying an agent called Alan Love was at the heart of the club.
Alan is a football agent who had Kevin McBride, Taylor Morgan and Nico Sumsky as clients - none of them are in the top team squad now!
So to say he is at the heart of the club? Wow. Look, if I have ever had any involvement football-wise as far as it went was recommending Nico to the former manager.
I never once, though, interfered when he wasn’t played and was ultimately let go.

2. EWB was brought in with a view to being manager, undermining Bollan. evidenced by a post on here from a Dundonian with no connection to the club saying EWB will be the next Airdrie manager a month before Bollan left. I personally believe this despite what the chairman said in his last love letter to EWB.

WHEN GARY BOLLAN ELECTED TO LEAVE FOR FORFAR AND CUT THIS SEASON’S MANAGERIAL CONTRACT SHORT THERE WERE CHARGES YOU HAD HUNG HIM OUT TO DRY AND FAILED TO SUPPORT HIM. HOW DO YOU REACT TO THAT?

The simple fact of the matter with the incumbent manager and his staff I inherited is that we supported him early with 30 PER CENT MORE budget than he had the year before.
That didn’t increase the quality of the players, though, it increased the quantity.
Before I arrived there were first-team coaching staff who did it for the love of the game and when I got there all of a sudden they appeared on the payroll because I had rolled up with my hard-earned money.
So, yes, I get frustrated when people say I did not support Gary Bollan because I did.
I told him from Day One that I would not get involved in the football operation, I am not here to pick teams.
The manager or the head coach does that and I trust their judgement.
Right up to the day Gary Bollan walked out of the door for Forfar I did NOT interfere one iota in the selection or tactics.
Since I got involved in this football club I have heard and read a lot of rubbish, the accusation that I didn’t support Gary Bollan is the biggest load of rubbish of all.

3. Liam Watt was sent out on loan. Why would we send out our top scorer, who changed a game just the previous week, on loan? Either the lad wasn't happy with Eddie or Eddie threw his toys out. Either way, not good. I'd like more detail on this as it looks horrendous from a fans perspective.

However, more pressing than that for me though is the question of how we can possibly afford F/T football on the paltry crowds we pull. even if our crowds go up by 100 or so, if we have a full time squad even on minimum wage, the numbers don't add up. Faria is on a 2 1/2 year deal and supposedly being accommodated at the moment. This seems like absolute madness.

Yes, I saw Hugo Faria taking stick after one game at Brechin and then I get my motives doubted because we signed a 32-year-old midfielder?
We see Hugo as a man who will bring on our younger players and help to educate them. He has already done that with the likes of Academy kids Lewis Gracie and Arran Ross on the training field. People don’t see that.
And look how well he played at Dunfermline on Friday night. He was immense and showed every inch why we brought him here.

I'd rather pay decent money to attract the best P/T players and mix in our youth. Paying poor F/T wages will only attract poor F/T footballers.

I'd also question EWB's "philosophy". Brought in to play attractive possession football, we're currently playing completely the opposite. Yep, you've got to adapt to the tools available, but this is turgid, dire viewing. This 11 men behind the ball at a corner is awful stuff. I grant you, it wasn't pretty under Bollan but I don't think we ever had so little possession and bypassed the midfield so completely. Is this guy just talking a good game?

Finally, I look at the squad and I see many players who wont be there next year. Part time players who wont be with us, and players who'd like to be but aren't good enough. Have the board really thought out the massive, swinging changes needed to take us up to the next level?

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DBW1878
A Message from Airdrieonians Supporters' Trust:
While we await news of Eddie's situation, we've decided it is appropriate to postpone the scheduled Q&A. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, but we're sure you will agree this is the right thing to do.

Please join us in wishing the manager a speedy and full recovery.