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Merger

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Dutch Toffee

Dutch Toffee

Not worth a penny
Forum Supporter
Don't really have any idea how to describe my feelings at the moment. Today it was announced that my home town club Fortuna Sittard, is going to merge with arch-rivals Roda Kerkrade at the end of the season.

I'm afraid there's no way back for us and I'm about to lose the first love of my life. More than 30 years of support, sharing glorious moments, low points, joy and despair with my mates are coming to a close.

Through Fortuna, I also discovered my love for the mighty Blues. Can any Evertonian (or football fan for that matter) imagine the feeling after receiving such news? Not even six months ago, I lost one of my best mates in a car accident, coming back from an away game. Just to find out today, it was all for nothing. He would turn round in his grave, if he knew what happened. Very close to tears, as it hurts that much and I feel enormously betrayed by our totally inept board and those ******* inbreds from our FA.:@:(
 

The thought of Everton merging with anyone let alone the RS would make me fume. As you say, all what the club has gone through in the past, all the achievments would just be a waste of time.
 
They never take into account the feelings of fans anymore. It as all about making money.
It can never be the same for you now watching them, because it is essentially no longer YOUR team.

I always wonder how the fans of American sports feel when their team suddenly moves to another part of the country. It is no longer their team, but they still carry part of their name and history.

You still have Everton though (y) I'm sure that can get you through my friend (y)
 

Just interested to know the reason for the merger mate?

I think it is something we may see over here soon with some league teams in the lower leagues.
 
gkpaul said:
Just interested to know the reason for the merger mate?

I think it is something we may see over here soon with some league teams in the lower leagues.
Click to expand...

Where do I start, explaining this one? Ten years ago, the city council of Sittard, asked Fortuna, if they were prepared to move to a new stadium on the outskirts of our city. According to them, we would be getting a brand new stadium on a site that was destined to become a busisness park. In change for that new stadium, the city council would get the stadium and the ground around it, to build high quality houses on.

After we moved, the stadium was never finished from the outside. The interest in the busisness park from investors proved virtually non existing. Fortuna tried to get the zoning plan changed, so that retail was allowed, but our council didn't want to know anything about it. On top of the problems regarding the stadium, years of mismanagement start to show of on the pitch, finally ending in relegation. The last nine years have been absolutely awful and I think we would top the League, if there was a ranking of the worst performing clubs in this millenium.

After a lot of legal battles and fending off numerous threats of bankruptcy. We were declared debt-free in the summer of 2005. However, the newly installed board once again managed to made a mess of it. There have been a lot of internal and external wars, between board members and with sponsors. The supporters also despise the current chief executive and blame him for the state our once great club is in now.

Earlier this year, Roda also anounced they have huge financial difficulties and declared big debts. According to them, bankruptcy is just a matter of time, if there isn't a merger.

The Dutch FA on top of it, desperatly want to trim down the numbers of clubs in the first division. At least from 20 to 16, preferably before the start of next season. So they threatening the clubs (who they think should dissapear), be it through mergers or by withdrawing their licenses.

When talking to the sponsors however, they all give clear indications they would be prepared to put money into Fortuna. Only reservation in doing that, is the stepping down of our chief executive and preferably also the rest of our board. In refusing to do that, they put the whole club in jeopardy. Instead of trying to act in the best interest of the club, they started to work towards a merger. ending in the announcement yesterday, that the merger was a fact, from next season on.

An awful lot of people (roda and Fortuna) are very pissed off about this and are looking at every possible way, to prevent this sickening merger to ever happen.

Hope I made it a bit clearer. Sorry, but don't speak English well enough, for such delicate financial assesments.
 
Dutch, thats a bitter pill to swallow for all fans by the sounds of it. Sounds very political which is a huge shame too.

Sounds like theres more mergers on the cards and that normally means clubs near by one another. I bet the people in charge never stop to think that the fans of both clubs will probably be bitter rivals too.
 
gkpaul said:
Dutch, thats a bitter pill to swallow for all fans by the sounds of it. Sounds very political which is a huge shame too.

Sounds like theres more mergers on the cards and that normally means clubs near by one another. I bet the people in charge never stop to think that the fans of both clubs will probably be bitter rivals too.
Click to expand...
Yes, the Dutch FA want at leat three mergers.
Go Ahead Eagles & AGOVV Apleldoorn
Telstar & FC Haarlem
Fortuna & Roda (preferably also with MVV Maastricht, but their chairman wants nothing of it).

Fortuna and Roda are very bitter rivals. It's that bad, you can't even get out in eachothers territory, without the risk of getting battered. It's just like the rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord, but on a smaller scale.
 

Power addicts at board level. dodgy local political decisions. probable splits among the fan base due to all this.
I've seen this film before.

Can imagine what you're going through Dutch. Genuine fans like yourself who've dedicated years of time, money, physical and emotional energy to the team, don't get any consideration.
 
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