I smell desperation – firstly, it was revealed via an LBM press release that Koppout had tried to go for a stadium on PGPF. You know, the same site that was sold to WFC in 2000 on the sole premise that it wasn’t going to be a stadium. If you read the guestbook you’ll know my views on this. However, this morning Koppout decides that he’s not going to even pretend to like us anymore. Witness this from the Graudian, you may need Prozac before reading:
“I do not believe that any local solution can be found,” Koppel says. “It is clear that it cannot be Merton – in that respect there is no doubt. We have 3,400 season ticket holders of which 600 come from Merton. Merton has been a non-starter for about five years. The issue is that people have not wanted to go public with that fact. “
First things first – Koppout has not looked at Merton at all. Well, all right, the WGS thing which is starting to smell more than his arsehole after yet another PR mauling. Didn’t stop him trying the PGPF thing though. Secondly, the fact is he’s only been involved at WFC since 2000 – as far as I know he didn’t know anything about Merton in 1996 – if he’s referring to the original WGS thing, that was in 1994.
Thirdly, he’s trying to present “facts” to us. OK then, here’s some facts back. WFC have not done any noticable plugging of WFC in Merton for years. Trust me, I’m a Merton resident and there has been fuck all to suggest that WFC exist. Only 600 may live in Merton but how many were born in Merton? I know at least 7 people in this situation. Wonder why Koppout isn’t mentioning ST holders who live in Sutton, Kingston, Wandsworth etc? Because he doesn’t want to go public with that fact?
He continues:
“We’ve got reports that go back to 1997, when the council had identified only one site, the greyhound-racing site. That happens to be an operating business, but I met with Jarvis Astaire of the Greyhound Racing Association. He said, understandably: ‘I’m tired of being seen as the solution to something that isn’t my problem.'” Koppel did a feasibility study anyway. “It was cost-prohibitive. Sixty million pounds for a dual-usage stadium? That’s an expensive compromise.”
Well, actually, it’s two now. And like I said, the feasibility study is starting to stink. And whilst you’re clearing away Koppout’s stench, read this utter gem:
“Wimbledon changed tack, looked at a merger with QPR. Uproar. “What it did tell us was that the history and identity of the club could not be toyed with.”
Honestly, I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or just go round to Putney and kill him.
“Within the M25 it is difficult to find a piece of land which is big enough and which hasn’t got a designation such as Metropolitan Open Land.”
Yawn. Give it up Koppel, we know you want 10k spaces, motorway links and your sacred cow, the hotel/conference facilities. No other club needs to do it – why should you? Oh, here’s your reason…
“Look at QPR. Who is coming forward there? And they actually have assets – they own their ground, have an average crowd of 12,000. In terms of infrastructure they are massive compared to us. But they’ve been in administration for six months. Because we have no assets we cannot even get an overdraft. A 19-year-old student has a better credit rating than us”
So then, why has a 19 year old student got a better credit rating then? Because you can’t run a business, that’s why. Funny how we managed to fund buying John Hartson isn’t it? Or how we can pay Brunswick £200k pa to totally fuck your lies up even more isn’t it? Yet this doesn’t stop you trying to get PGPF, or MK for that matter….
You would think that Koppout would have given up on us, but this next bit will totally amaze you. At least the guy has stopped pretending he doesn’t hold us in contempt:
“Koppel is promising subsidised transport, reduced season ticket prices and a stand called the Original Don or Plough Lane – “or whatever they want to call it” – at Milton Keynes. He is also emphatic that the club would remain Wimbledon FC.
“I think we’ll have a lot who want to be part of it. I accept we’ll have some who won’t. They’re the ones who’d prefer we went back to Plough Lane and played Third Division football. My view is they’re not true supporters; true supporters want the club to be successful, not die.
“I know they’ll say they have a history and identity with the club and they’ll never leave it. But they will. They’ll end up buying a season ticket at Fulham. People will stay for a year, but it will drop off and drop off, and in five years’ time we’ll be playing Southern Conference football against Kingstonian in front of 400 fans.”
Now, where shall I begin here? OK then – this proves once and for all just what a nasty piece of work he is. He was told by the FL to co-operate with fans, in fact he’s done the exact opposite. He’s totally reneged on his promise to include all fans in this, not that he ever was anyway. You don’t need me to tell you how insulting calling his fuckwit scheme after a bit of our real home is. And as for the comment about “true fans” and how we won’t stick around, well, words utterly fail me. Seriously. I think he’s just shown his true colours to the world over this, and anyone reading this will NOT take that extremely nasty comment.
Why is he saying it? Well, I honestly reckon we’ve got to him. He’s tried to ignore us, now he’s trying to take us on, questioning our loyalty. And one thing you do not do is question fans loyalty. There is a school of thought that suggests that DimDim actually wants people to have a go at him, and I’m sure somebody will. Not that I would condone such actions of course, though given the way Koppout has consistently failed to spin anything correctly, he’ll probably gain no sympathy from anyone if he did find himself all roughed up.
This swipe suggests to me that he really has nowhere to go and is now just trying anything. It’s a desperation tactic that all soon-to-be-desposed chairmen try, I’m sure Brighton and Hull chairmen made similar comments before they ended up in oblivion. One thing is certain, Koppout clearly cannot work with WFC fans any more, for him it really is MK or bust. Sadly for him, MK looks as unlikely as him ever getting a personality.
More later.