A Supporter in Exile
By Monkey 1
November 26 2008
Monkey 1 was a regular at Kingston Park and most away games and was also a frequent contributor on the Message Board. For some time now he has been in self imposed exile from Kingston Park and all things Falcons. Here he explains the reasons behind his decision.
I arrived home, fed the cats & put the shopping away. I switched on the computer for it to slowly rumble into life while I made a cup of tea, a bit like Grindal used to slowly rumble into life feeding the ball out of a scrum, there was often time for a cup of tea then as I remember. It all seems so long ago now. There was an email from Touchy waiting for my attention. I knew what the content would be from the title: You need a new hobby. The content confirmed my fears:
It doesn't look like you'll be back at KP in the foreseeable future so you need a new hobby
25 November 2008, 12:36 pm
Newcastle Falcons chairman Dave Thompson has ended months of speculation regarding a takeover of the club, by revealing he will stay at the helm.
Thompson had been in talks with three groups about the possibility of a buy-out, but insisted: "The constant speculation has had a negative effect on the team, and I want to end it now by saying that I will continue as majority shareholder to give the club the stability it needs."
Although I have been in exile from all things Falcons since April I still keep in touch with as many people as I can. I have been following the ownership issue, the resolution of that will dictate if I ever set foot in KP again. I do not read the message board anymore, my exile is total, but I know that there are some who have no idea who Monkey1 is and will have not the foggiest idea what all of this is about. If you are sitting comfortably then we will begin. I have been an ardent supporter of the Falcons for many years, a regular on away trips and indeed one season, my daughter & I travelled to every game, home & away, including all European games & even the pre-season games in Ireland. It was the rather ambitious & failed attempt to get to a game in Perpignan that year which earned me the undeserved reputation for inept travel plans. I was one of the most prolific posters on the message board, writer of occasional articles, in the habit of writing nonsense stories during the summer breaks, and an editor of the site.I nailed my colours very firmly to the mast when Fletcher was removed as DoR, Bates taking his place as acting DoR. What the club needed at that point was investment, and the first investment being a DoR with outside experience. I have no idea how Bates may or may not succeed as a DoR, but he will not at this club, and not in these circumstances. The problem of a cosy atmosphere at KP had already been identified as a serious concern, Thompson himself had referred to it, that it must stop. Bates of course is part of that cosy club, that merry band of mates, the chaps all sticking together. No matter what his merits, Bates was part of the problem, not part of the solution. We needed a DoR from outside of this circle.
At this time we had what on paper should be a decent enough little squad, a good number of genuine first class players, and enough experienced players to more than make up the numbers, but something was terribly wrong. Even with unlimited resources, the salary cap prevents clubs from signing up squads of 50 superstars. Like other clubs we had players who would never rise to international importance, but who should be solid enough premiership players, able to compete at this level. Week after week I watched this sorry band fail to live up to what should be expected of them, the only conclusion left was that the coaching was failing to achieve, it was widely agreed that there was no other explanation. So we come to March & April 2008. Bates has been in charge as interim DoR, he failed to achieve, the performances were simply awful to watch, for the more emotional type of supporter it was gutting stuff. I was so disgusted with what I saw as the club rotting from within that I decided that if Bates was appointed as permanent DoR I would turn my back on the club until Thompson left KP, the blame must lie right at the top. The club needed an experienced DoR from outside, somebody to shake the place up & extract the performance of a large club from a small but in theory able enough squad of players, instead Thompson delivered what appeared to be the cheap option. For that reason I decided on my own cheap option, I would do what many have threatened to do as their only way to be noticed, I would not renew my season ticket. More than that, I refused to attend the last 2 or 3 games of last season, I decided that the only thing I can do to affect the club was to not turn up, never, under any circumstances whatsoever. Because supporting the Falcons was a major part of my life, the break had to be absolute, no sniping from the trenches on the message board, nothing. I was genuinely concerned that I would turn into a deranged anti-Thompson loon anyway if I continued to vent my spleen on the message board, such was my anger at the time. I could have become the first editor to get banned. That anger had started to subside over the months, it became remote, but I started missing the games, the people, I really am missing supporting my team enormously. There was one small light of hope at the end of the tunnel, news emerged that Thompson was looking to sell the club. That lifted my spirits. No matter how badly the team were playing, even if relegation was a certainty & I would need a map of Bedford (I actually have one) and games next season would be played in a cold & windswept field with no beer & only nettles to stand in, I would buy my season ticket out of the same sort of bloody mindedness that has kept me away for so long. I do not even know several of the team these days but oh the joy of catching up & being able to cheer them on until my voice was destroyed, Just the way it used to be & just the way it should be. All of those hopes have been dashed to pieces with today’s news. Touchy also sent me a link to an interview with Thompson on BBC radio. That link sums up the whole situation. The description of the interview is “Newcastle Falcons chairman Dave Thompson tells BBC Radio Newcastle he promises a stable stewardship of the club, and urges fans to back the club at the turnstiles and cheer on the team.” The actual link though says “This content doesn’t seem to be working. Please try again later.” I couldn’t agree more, the content hasn’t worked for years & it now looks like I won’t be trying later, at least not for a very long time. We are all entitled to air our views, and Dave Thompson’s view is that we should back the club, his club, with our hard cash & we should cheer on the team that appears to be being very poorly served by his club. Well I very much doubt that Dave Thompson will be interested in my view, but I have no intention of backing his club through the turnstiles, I regard his stewardship of the club as being stable in the same way that death is a stable condition, and I cannot cheer on my team because in my opinion he is killing it, and the only way in which I can protest at that is to stay away. His view is that the constant speculation has had a negative effect upon the team, my view is that his continued ownership of the club has had a negative effect upon the team. I could issue a rallying call to counter that of Thompson’s, to perhaps boycott a specific game, to demonstrate using empty stands the feelings of the supporters, but I suppose I am no longer a supporter, hard though that is to come to terms with, so it is not my place to do so. There is enough of a protest being made already anyway & it appears to be achieving sod all, thousands like myself staying away. I have been told that a huge number of former season ticket holders are protesting with their wallets & feet like myself, so far to no avail. I suspect the message will be ignored right up to the end, when a post-it-note is left asking the last supporter to please turn out the lights. There will be those who are wondering why after months of silence I have decided to type up this rambling collection of thoughts. Well today I got the bad news that Thompson is staying, my hopes of catching up with everybody soon to support the team & catch up on news have been dashed. My life is too busy to stay in touch, Cn’H moving up here, a refugee of the Morpeth flood, I simply cannot keep in touch with everybody, I thought I could at least spare the time to say that I care. There will be those who think that as I am no longer a supporter I have no right to say anything, that I have said I will stay away & should do so. Well I will continue to stay away, but I think that the years that I have followed the team at home & to far flung places, the thousands of hours that I have put into supporting the club, and tens of thousands of pounds cheering them on, I may be indulged for a few moments to express my sorrow at today’s news.
A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: FalconsRugby.org.uk (IP Logged)
Date: 26/11/2008 10:09
A Supporter in Exile
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: DGNTR (IP Logged)
Date: 26/11/2008 22:06
Well said Monkey, from the heart all that.
I've not been to KP now for a couple of months, I too shall stay away until Thumper and Bates have gone. I won't be lining his pockets any more.
All very sad, my association with the club goes back to 1978.
I've not been to KP now for a couple of months, I too shall stay away until Thumper and Bates have gone. I won't be lining his pockets any more.
All very sad, my association with the club goes back to 1978.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: steve1888 (IP Logged)
Date: 27/11/2008 06:20
I least Monkey doesnt point it out nearly everyday
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: Mally (IP Logged)
Date: 27/11/2008 22:44
I'll be honest I seriously considered staying at home on Friday night and watching the match on the tv as my own little protest - but I can't do it. Just can't stay away. I really hope that the club realise that even the 5000 odd of us who are till turning up are not content with what we are watching.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: TouchLine (IP Logged)
Date: 27/11/2008 22:54
How can they realise if you keep turning up irrespective of the rubbish dished up?
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: Mally (IP Logged)
Date: 27/11/2008 23:05
There are people at the club do read the boards you know. ALso I still have this vein of optimism in me which says that the week I choose not to turn up is the match when the turning point will be.
The team are still my team and I will still support them.
The team are still my team and I will still support them.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: TouchLine (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 09:07
Quote:Lso I still have this vein of optimism in me which says that the week I choose not to turn up is the match when the turning point will be.
Please don't go then!!!
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: Andy Mac (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 13:32
I didn't bother with the Tiggers match last season and went out for a pals birthday instead.
Tonight, its a mates birthday in town, but I'm at the match....
Tonight, its a mates birthday in town, but I'm at the match....
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: Rugby Rose (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 14:16
Quote:Mally
There are people at the club do read the boards you know. ALso I still have this vein of optimism in me which says that the week I choose not to turn up is the match when the turning point will be.
The team are still my team and I will still support them.
Me too Mally - see you there perhaps -
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: citizen-slacker (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 14:19
I may be relegated repositioned to the frozen North this evening, so see you there.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: TouchLine (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 14:23
I'll be repositoned to the settee with a log fire and a can or two. I will think of you freezing your nuts off though.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: Mally (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 17:35
Repositioned is much the better word - bring a hot water bottle!!!! I'm off to hunt out those handwarmer heat packs I've got hidden away somewhere!
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: TouchLine (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 17:48
What a lovely night to welcome Crouch & Hold to the North East.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: Get Stuck In (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 18:12
That was a very moving post by Monkey 1 and, while I don't agree with him, I don't doubt a lot of genuine supporters feel the same way about the sad decline of our club.
Chairman Thompson has tried to sell the club, but there is no-one out there. What else can he do? He has sunk six million pounds of his fortune into a rugby club that will be out of the Premiership, either this season or next. I don't suppose he has another six million spare to carry on getting nowhere?
I don't like Thompson's style of leadership, and I don't like the way star players were isolated. But I do respect the way he has declared that he will stay at the helm in the face of so much negative flak from the fans (outright hostility in some cases).
Above all, however, I salute the true fans who will be at KP tonight to cheer on their team, through thick and thin. It is them - not Monkey 1 - who are the true spirit ofthe club.
Chairman Thompson has tried to sell the club, but there is no-one out there. What else can he do? He has sunk six million pounds of his fortune into a rugby club that will be out of the Premiership, either this season or next. I don't suppose he has another six million spare to carry on getting nowhere?
I don't like Thompson's style of leadership, and I don't like the way star players were isolated. But I do respect the way he has declared that he will stay at the helm in the face of so much negative flak from the fans (outright hostility in some cases).
Above all, however, I salute the true fans who will be at KP tonight to cheer on their team, through thick and thin. It is them - not Monkey 1 - who are the true spirit ofthe club.
Re: A Supporter in Exile
Posted by: DGNTR (IP Logged)
Date: 28/11/2008 19:25
"But I do respect the way he has declared that he will stay at the helm in the face of so much negative flak from the fans"
Don't kid yourself GSI, there's a lot been going on that you don't know about it.
Don't kid yourself GSI, there's a lot been going on that you don't know about it.
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