Jack Dunnett

[Untouchable]

Apologies if there is another thread on this but I couldn’t see one.

Dunnett passed away earlier this month:

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2019/october/jack-dunnett-obituary-291019/

 

[Humblebee]

Apologies if there is another thread on this but I couldn’t see one.

Dunnett passed away earlier this month:

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2019/october/jack-dunnett-obituary-291019/

Can't forgive him for what he tried to do to our club.

 

[wanderer paul]

Yes. A good age. NLB went to interview him a few years ago.

Wouldn’t want to be negative about him....

 

[North London Bee]

A very forceful and strong willed man - even when we met hm a few years ago. Handshake like a vice!

 

[TW3Bee]

Can't forgive him for what he tried to do to our club.

Never forgive, never forget, but also never speak ill of the dead.

Still part of Brentford's history.



RIP.

 

[Beefletch]

I agree with TW3’s comments. That said when I sat in the Braemar Rd Stand on that fateful night in ‘67 I could have cheerfully throttled him. RIP

 

[Houghton Bee]

c
u
n
t

hope he rots with Noades. Despite their best efforts we're still here and growing ever stronger while the collective memories of them erode soon to be forgotten

 

[rebus]

Not speaking ill of the dead is completely hypocritical if you did it when they were alive. Just Saying. Hitler was part of Germany’s “history” but they don’t RIP him.

Dunnett gambled with our future and eventually failed and took his ego elsewhere. He didn’t see any problem in consigning us to the dustbin to remove himself from any financial obligations. No RIP from me.

 

[horshambees]

Would never RIP Dunnet.It has been well chronicled to what he did too BFC and rightly condemned and here we still are thankfully.
The one story I know about his time at Notts County was that he nominated one stand for his own benefit. The club paid him a rent to use it.Even during tough times they paid Dunnet every week/month/game to use their own stand.
Noades went one better. He got paid for use of the Stadium.
Football is better off without them around you would hope.

Would like to add that Dunnet sold the West Stand to Derek Pavis for £500,000 who then charged the Football Club to use it even during 18 months of administration.

 

[Humblebee]

Without looking it up, seem to remember he took our manager Billy Gray with him and then sacked him and took our next manager Jimmy Sirrel, who did well for them there. No RIP from me.

 

[RodBee]

Bitter memories of 1967 and but for a small group of dedicated fans led by Peter Pond-Jones and a syndicate financed by Ron Blindell our team would not be here today.

 

[Brentford Bob]

Not speaking ill of the dead is completely hypocritical if you did it when they were alive. Just Saying. Hitler was part of Germany’s “history” but they don’t RIP him.

Dunnett gambled with our future and eventually failed and took his ego elsewhere. He didn’t see any problem in consigning us to the dustbin to remove himself from any financial obligations. No RIP from me.

Spot on.

**** Dunnett
**** Noades
and when he shuffles off, **** Webb as well.

 

[Debut1949]

Johnny Brooks, Billy McAdams, John Dick, Mickey Block, Mel Scott, Matt Crowe, Dai Ward, John Fielding etc provided Brentford fans with a great deal of enjoyment during Dunnett's period as Chairman. These players are still remembered with fondness almost 60 years later. I for one am pleased that I had the opportunity of seeing these players playing for Brentford. I well remember being at the "survival game" in 1967 against Southend but do not allow the Brentford / QPR machinations of that time to sully my great memories of the football of the preceding Dunnett years.

 

[rebus]

Johnny Brooks, Billy McAdams, John Dick, Mickey Block, Mel Scott, Matt Crowe, Dai Ward, John Fielding etc provided Brentford fans with a great deal of enjoyment during Dunnett's period as Chairman. These players are still remembered with fondness almost 60 years later. I for one am pleased that I had the opportunity of seeing these players playing for Brentford. I well remember being at the "survival game" in 1967 against Southend but do not allow the Brentford / QPR machinations of that time to sully my great memories of the football of the preceding Dunnett years.

It was built on sand though. That team almost bankrupted us. The Nat West bank provided the avenue for those players, not Dunnett. He simply guaranteed an overdraft, just like Noades did. It just proves most football fans don't give a sh*t where the money is coming from or who the owner is as long as the team wins on a Saturday. That thinking has allowed many clubs to sadly disappear, the latest being Bury.

 

[Banana]

Just reading about the West Stand at Derby in a David Conn article in the Independent dated 6th December 2003. Well worth a read.

Says the Dunnett was made bankrupt in 1994 and was still bankrupt in 2003 aged 81. Oh well

 

[Houghton Bee]

a reminder of his (and his wife's) views on Brentford, the fans and 1967;

https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2017/february/im-backing-brentford-part-three-jack-dunnett/

 

[favershambee]

He is part of Brentford FC history perhaps for the wrong reasons, but he has one part of notable history signing Ian Lawther in the House of Commons possibly the only player to sign there.

 

[Newport Pagnell Bee]

It was built on sand though. That team almost bankrupted us. The Nat West bank provided the avenue for those players, not Dunnett. He simply guaranteed an overdraft, just like Noades did. It just proves most football fans don't give a sh*t where the money is coming from or who the owner is as long as the team wins on a Saturday. That thinking has allowed many clubs to sadly disappear, the latest being Bury.

Well said.

 

[North London Bee]

It was all about him. He was never a Brentford fan but saw his involvement with the club as a way to promote his political career locally and gain support from the community.

As soon as he was elected as MP for Nottingham he lost what interest he had and was simply looking for a way out that would, of course, benefit himself too.

The interview we had with him a few years back was really chilling.

 

[Ealing Bee]

Not speaking ill of the dead is completely hypocritical if you did it when they were alive. Just Saying. Hitler was part of Germany’s “history” but they don’t RIP him.

Appreciate the sentiment, but placing him in the same category as Hitler is maybe a bit strong!

Esp since he was on the other side back in the day:
(From his Wiki page) "[Dunnett] served in World War II in the forces, first in as another rank in the Royal Fusiliers and then in the Cheshire Regiment from June 1941 - December 1946, reaching the rank of Captain. He took part in the invasion of Italy in September 1943 at Salerno. He was wounded in action near Cassino."

Anyhow, whether remembered fondly, remembered bitterly or forgotten, he's dead, and Brentford FC lives.

 

[moribee]

IMHO this doesnt belong on this thread. Its an insult to many named

 

[Bobanall]

Jack Dunnet

No honest person can sit in the middle of the road chanting that a man is a c--t for what he was about to do (and almost did) and 50 years later wish him to RIP. - I'll risk being struck down from above by saying that I certainly will not.

 

[rebus]

Appreciate the sentiment, but placing him in the same category as Hitler is maybe a bit strong!

Only you would draw that conclusion from what I wrote. Try reading it with <insert bad guy> instead if that helps.

 

[Banana]

I see the club just found out he’s dead....

 

[beespobs]

My abiding memory of the protest meeting in the Braemar Road Stand was the stirring speech by the former "Desert Rat"who explained how thoughts of Brentford kept him going during his time in the war torn desert.

 

[Humblebee]

I see the club just found out he’s dead....

They must read the GPG......

 

[BURFORD BEE]

One shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.......................

 

[West Wilts Bee]

The mans a grade a ****. i lived for the bees then as i do now. so forgive me for speaking my mind. I remember the back page of the daily Mirror "GOODBYE BRENTFORD". all this crap about the players he signed is bollox yes good players but in his efforts to get he club into the 2nd division failed and he skint the club. That is all there is too it. No RIP from me, and I suspect the club was just been curtious Good riddence from me.. Well said Rebus

 

[HerefordB]

I was sat in the Braemar Road stand that cold emotional night with my Dad all those years ago. I was a just a kid and my Dad bought 20 shares for £10 to help keep the Club alive. The thought that Brentford could be swallowed by QPR was devastating for me. We blamed Dunnett then as I blame him now. I could never forgive what he so nearly succeeded in doing.

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

Just reading about the West Stand at Derby in a David Conn article in the Independent dated 6th December 2003. Well worth a read.

Says the Dunnett was made bankrupt in 1994 and was still bankrupt in 2003 aged 81. Oh well

Got a link please?

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

It was built on sand though. That team almost bankrupted us. The Nat West bank provided the avenue for those players, not Dunnett. He simply guaranteed an overdraft, just like Noades did. It just proves most football fans don't give a sh*t where the money is coming from or who the owner is as long as the team wins on a Saturday. That thinking has allowed many clubs to sadly disappear, the latest being Bury.

Not speaking ill of the dead is such a weird concept but is a GPG favourite. Never understood why.

 

[Brentford 4 Life]

Spot on.

**** Dunnett
**** Noades
and when he shuffles off, **** Webb as well.

Summed it up perfectly.

 

[OhBeehave]

Obit in The Torygraph just popped up on Twitter. It's behind a paywall but I have a subscription (I thought I was signing up for a month only to discover I should've read the small print that it's a minimum six. I now have four months to go before I can cancel. ) so I can make a PDF or copy and paste. Nice pic of him with Bobby Ross at GP actually.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituar...citor-mp-property-developer-served-president/

 

[moribee]

I was sat in the Braemar Road stand that cold emotional night with my Dad all those years ago. I was a just a kid and my Dad bought 20 shares for £10 to help keep the Club alive. The thought that Brentford could be swallowed by QPR was devastating for me. We blamed Dunnett then as I blame him now. I could never forgive what he so nearly succeeded in doing.

Says it for me. Proud of my shares

 

[Bill Benn]

We have lost so many great Bees fans some who never made half his age who we have R.I.P would be very hypercritical of me to do the same for him and disrespectful to them.

 

[Banana]

Got a link please?

No. Different device. However I deliberately put in enough info for you to find it very easily using your favourite web search engine

 

[WisBee]

......ten shillings a pop was a lot of money to a 17/18 year old in his first job working at Barclays in Shepherds Bush earning about £450 per annum, but it was money well spent.......

I detested then what Dunnett was trying to do to our club, I detest it to this day and I can't bring myself to wish him peace in the afterlife (if there is one?)

 

[BURFORD BEE]

Not speaking ill of the dead is such a weird concept but is a GPG favourite. Never understood why.

Plain old fashioned good manners and common decency. We may have good reason to loathe him. I can still recall being in the Brook Road stand all those years ago. I remember singing “ let’s have Dunnett for dinner “
My hate for QPR has remained undaunted for over 50 years.
Nevertheless he was someone’s father, grandfather etc and I don’t rejoice in the death of another human being with the absolute obvious exceptions of those committing unspeakable acts.

 

[Idaho Bee]

Dunnett by name and Dunnett by nature.

I was at the southend game, brought my 10 pounds of shares and still have the "Goodbye Brentford" mirror article.

That's why Mondays game for me is the biggest game of the season and I hate them with a Peter Gilham level of passion.

I see you one Noades and Dunnett and raise you one Matthew Benham. ?

 

[Banana]

Relevant parts from The Telegraph Obit.

In 1963 Dunnett became chairman and principal shareholder of Brentford, then in the Fourth Division. The next year Scunthorpe United’s Northern Irish international Ian Lawther became the first player to sign for a club at the Commons, Dunnett being too busy to leave the building to complete the player’s £15,000 move to Brentford.

By January 1967 the club was losing £500 a week and needing gates of 11,000 to break even; barely 6,000 fans were turning up. Dunnett, who was meeting most of the losses, opened talks with QPR’s chairman Jim Gregory for Brentford to disband with Rangers moving to Griffin Park; Dunnett would receive £262,000 for his stake. Fellow directors complained the deal was being done “over their heads”, and fans staged a “Down with Dunnett” demonstration.

Ron Blindell, the ex-chairman of Plymouth, formed a consortium to rescue Brentford. Dunnett told shareholders: “I don’t want to go on living on a volcano for the rest of my life,” but when the club’s overdraft ran out he guaranteed the next fortnight’s wages. After trying to conclude a ground-share with QPR, and with the League and FA starting inquiries into the club’s affairs, Dunnett resigned in February 1967. The club’s website dates its revival from then.

Within weeks, and with one eye on his constituency, Dunnett had joined the board of Notts County, the League’s oldest club, putting in £20,000 and taking with him Brentford’s manager, Billy Gray.

 

[Humblebee]

That's why Mondays game for me is the biggest game of the season and I hate them with a Peter Gilham level of passion.

Likewise.

 

[Wise old Bee]

Plain old fashioned good manners and common decency. We may have good reason to loathe him. I can still recall being in the Brook Road stand all those years ago. I remember singing “ let’s have Dunnett for dinner “
My hate for QPR has remained undaunted for over 50 years.
Nevertheless he was someone’s father, grandfather etc and I don’t rejoice in the death of another human being with the absolute obvious exceptions of those committing unspeakable acts.

I think that's right. We may not have liked him but your last paragraph is spot-on. I worked quite closely to Dunnett for seven years and did often think of mentioning the events of 1967 to him but it was better to pass on that.

 

[TW3Bee]

Plain old fashioned good manners and common decency. We may have good reason to loathe him. I can still recall being in the Brook Road stand all those years ago. I remember singing “ let’s have Dunnett for dinner.

Dunnett by name Done it by nature.

 

[Infatuated Bees Alter Ego]

Nothing good or decent to say here about his demise.

 

[horshambees]

The man is in the same league as Noades imo.
I find it ironic that there are many who hate QPR because of 1967,and rightly so, but this man is the one who came up with the idea and yet we are meant to respectful in his passing?
I for one could not and will not mourn the passing of this man and if by some surreal reason the club decides to offer a minutes silence or applause then I shall remain seated.

I was only 4 in January 1967,but it is part of my clubs history and its future which I have enjoyed, endured and enveloped.

 

[barry]

I feel 100 % the same, horshambee..
Wonder What
Sir Peter Gilham thinks about this bloke ?...

 

[horshambees]

I feel 100 % the same, horshambee..
Wonder What
Sir Peter Gilham thinks about this bloke ?...

I feel he would smile, understand our sentiment, keep his counsel and be as diplomatic as possible.

 

[West Wilts Bee]

The man is in the same league as Noades imo.
I find it ironic that there are many who hate QPR because of 1967,and rightly so, but this man is the one who came up with the idea and yet we are meant to respectful in his passing?
I for one could not and will not mourn the passing of this man and if by some surreal reason the club decides to offer a minutes silence or applause then I shall remain seated.

I was only 4 in January 1967,but it is part of my clubs history and its future which I have enjoyed, endured and enveloped.

Good post mate. nothing wrong at all in disliking the bloke . I have hated him since he tried to fold our beautiful club, that has given thousands of us so many great memories ,since 1967. and I would be a hypocrite to change my mind just because he has popped his clogs

 

[ruislip bee]

Good post mate. nothing wrong at all in disliking the bloke . I have hated him since he tried to fold our beautiful club, that has given thousands of us so many great memories ,since 1967. and I would be a hypocrite to change my mind just because he has popped his clogs

If the club try and give this bloke a minutes silence or clapping I reckon they'll get a minutes booing from my age group.

 

[Newport Pagnell Bee]

If the club try and give this bloke a minutes silence or clapping I reckon they'll get a minutes booing from my age group.

Wouldn't boo the bloke but a minute's "anything" for him would be a massive error of judgement by the club; as would black armbands. He deserves no respect for what he tried to do.