Dear Gavin,

As you are no doubt aware the WRU, who are ultimately our landlords are at the very least considering scrapping the Dragons. This of course is but one of their options and it would be remiss not to accept that the most likely outcome is that, certainly in the short term, the status quo will prevail.

Nonetheless whether we like it or not, there is an ongoing threat to our football club. Worrying though this it, the threat to the professional rugby club in Newport must be of as great a concern to them as being homeless is to us. Which gives us perhaps an unrivalled opportunity to make common cause with the Dragons in ensuring the future of professional football of both codes continues in Newport.

Could I suggest the following?

Approach the Dragons now. Make a joint representation to Newport City Council (NCC) to purchase Rodney Parade. The NCC would then be in a position to lease jointly to both clubs the use of Rodney Parade. It makes safe the historic stadium for future generations. It ensures that both the leading clubs in each code have a far more certain future. It enhances the name of Newport. And when one considers the total annual budget of NCC it does so for a comparatively minimal sum. Much of which, perhaps all will be recouped via rent.

Of course if you do this you might be rebuffed by the Dragons. If the Dragons go along with you, you might be rebuffed by NCC. But in either of these two events you will have lost nothing and you will go down as the first Newport County chair to really try to solve a problem which has been a drag on our club since 1988.

On the other hand both might say yes.

Kind regards,

Brendan aka Stan A. Einstein.

Simple question, Stan. Can we assume you have sent this 'open letter' to Gavin through normal delivery systems (the postal service and/or email) and are not using this forum as the sole means of communication.

excessbee wrote: May 17th, 2022, 10:21 pm Simple question, Stan. Can we assume you have sent this 'open letter' to Gavin through normal delivery systems (the postal service and/or email) and are not using this forum as the sole means of communication.

I bet half the board keep abreast of stuff on here

You may be correct, but that shouldn't make this forum the primary channel for communication. It is after all an unofficial forum. There is no obligation to respond.

excessbee wrote: May 17th, 2022, 10:38 pm You may be correct, but that shouldn't make this forum the primary channel for communication. It is after all an unofficial forum. There is no obligation to respond.

I've sent you a pm.
Brendan

Received and responded.

On reflection there is a certain lack of logic in my suggestion that you send an 'open letter' as an email or formal letter....... It wouldn't be 'open' unless you post in on a wider platform.

A very well-constructed letter Brendan and a credit to you. I recall similar letters in the past though, with nothing heard back.

If Mr F has any business acumen and wants NCAFC to prosper in the future, he’ll already have tried your suggestions although sometimes in these things, timing is key.

I’d have personally added fuel to the fire by asking when we might actually own our own training ground also - in or around Newport which must be one of the most affordable places in the UK to buy property or land right now.

DeePeeNCAFC wrote: May 17th, 2022, 11:35 pm A very well-constructed letter Brendan and a credit to you. I recall similar letters in the past though, with nothing heard back.

If Mr F has any business acumen and wants NCAFC to prosper in the future, he’ll already have tried your suggestions although sometimes in these things, timing is key.

I’d have personally added fuel to the fire by asking when we might actually own our own training ground also - in or around Newport which must be one of the most affordable places in the UK to buy property or land right now.

Very kind of you to say. So thank you.

As for what may or may not have happened or been said in the past, well that's the past and there's no future there.

Gavin Foxhall is the chair of Newport County. So it's his decision to make. For me it's a no brainer as we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. And sometimes we are all galvanized by adversity. That ourselves and dragons are not only in the same storm but for once also in the same boat does give us a unique opportunity to work together.

Another thing I would do if it were my decision to make would be to do it publicly. Certainly lobbying NCC. There are a lot of people in Newport who take an interest in County or Dragons or both. And those people all have votes.

As always I am interested in the views of others.

I’d take the H out of Foxhall first though.

I'd be very surprised indeed if this subject hasn't been under intense and continuous discussion among all the parties involved,

George Street-Bridge wrote: May 18th, 2022, 8:41 am I'd be very surprised indeed if this subject hasn't been under intense and continuous discussion among all the parties involved,

Until the move by the WRU a week or so ago the idea was at best a remote possibility. However that's not really the point. What I would be interested in is whether you believe we should do this and if yes whether we should do it publicly. If you disagree I would be interested in why.

Well, if I were chair I doubt I'd respond to a communication from someone who regularly abused me as "gormless" on the forum he has put his open letter on.

There's a hole in your logic - if it really is a hot-off-the-press thing, only a live issue for a matter of days, why would the club's first moves be in public? FWIW I'm sure it will have been under regular discussion at very least since the skids were placed under NRFC''s tenure.

I'd only go public as a last resort rather than first but with little expectation the council could be bounced.

Isn’t it a League requirement to have at least a 10 year tenure, against which we currently have one year left at best?
With the unsettling news about the potential demise of the Dragons, I would be very surprised, not to say disappointed, if the Board were not already giving this issue the priority it deserves. Unfortunately for us communication remains as poor as ever.

My feeling is having our 'own' ground is as much a blessing as a curse - for clubs like [say] Harrogate, Sutton or Solihull (if they come up which we all hope they do!) who have organically built up from small beginnings albeit more compact and limited facilities its a different concept (not least because those traditional 'non league' [now league] clubs I feel they will never generate as big as crowds as we potentially could) but for us and our weird and wonderful travails and history my view is I'd rather rent - but off whom is the question? No doubt I'd rather be paying Newport Council (likely via leisure trust?) than the WRU - BUT do not really want that yoke of a hulking half full and frankly - 1 stand and one newish terrace apart (North terraced could do with a roof?!) - a somewhat dilapidated stadium albeit in a great location - after some teething troubles we seem to have hit a point where we rub along OK with Dragons and relations seem to be as good as they have ever been - there have been casualties and I do feel for Newport RFC a little but overall I see RP as 'home'...

So...we are not hampered by renting [off whoever] as having our own stadium means we are solely responsible for upkeep which can drag clubs down - BUT as others have said we need security of tenure which I feel we have now but in the medium to longer term perhaps not - all possibilities need exploring - including as back up a refurbished Newport stadium (which we could buy tomorrow but obv covenants would mean we'd need to retain athletics track and ultimately fund a new one elsewhere which can cost a lot - Newport Harries/Lliswerry runners [athletics clubs who currently use that venue] as well as Welsh Athletics - would rightly want guarantees on that) but by far favoured option is to stay at RP for the next several decades and work together with whoever might own/rent it along with us to gradually improve - ultimately within the next 15-20 years a new 6-8000 capacity stadium on the RP site/elsewhere [if RP retain Bisley and build new stand on other 3 sides retraining at least 1 terrace - similar to Burton's or Fleetwood's grounds] for County and the senior [regional or club] in the city to share which in a relatively small and economically challenged city makes sense for all parties

George Street-Bridge wrote: May 18th, 2022, 9:23 am Well, if I were chair I doubt I'd respond to a communication from someone who regularly abused me as "gormless" on the forum he has put his open letter on.

There's a hole in your logic - if it really is a hot-off-the-press thing, only a live issue for a matter of days, why would the club's first moves be in public? FWIW I'm sure it will have been under regular discussion at very least since the skids were placed under NRFC''s tenure.

I'd only go public as a last resort rather than first but with little expectation the council could be bounced.

My mother used to call me gormless all the time. If a good idea were to be rejected because the chair of a football were so thin skinned as to believe being called gormless once was 'regular abuse' then frankly we are in real trouble.

You are of course entitled to the view that this matter will have been under discussion since the 'skids were put under Newport RFC' but in any event the option is there now in reality not as some inchoate idea. So again I am still intetested in what you think of the idea, not though in a futile discussion as to whether it has been under discussion.

Finally you say that only as a last resort should this be done publicly, if it be done at all. I strongly disagree with you is this. If the club push forward this agenda I believe it would have the effect of galvanizing the supporters who are for the most part voters in Newport. I see the electorate clearly stating and campaigning for something they want as democracy, not as you see it the Council being bounced. As they say in Northumbria 'Shy bairns get nowt'.