Radio Sheffield Manager Special

Born in France (won't need visa until mid-2019 and his contract won't be that long anyway )

 

Haha he will still need it as he will be sold to Everton by then

 

So it seemed Hecky had calmed down a little by last night. He was still reiterating the same concerns - notably about effectively developing young players for the benefit of the bigger clubs. But he sounded calmer. He said that some of the players brought through had 'grown' more quickly than the club, but that he would like the club to grow in time, so that something could be built upon (I paraphrase).

Here's a thing though. Yids has reportedly declined the offer of a new contract. You'd presume that that is because we can't match what he thinks will be available to him when his contract expires (12 months?). So in order to keep these players by upping the deals on offer we'd have to gamble upon their developing as Hourihane, Mawson, Roberts and Yids have. That isn't always predictable, and we've had a few that haven't come on as expected. By the time you realise they will exceed expectations it's too late, and they know they can do better. So can we ever 'grow' and move to the next phase, or are we destined to continue a a yo-yo club, occasionally (as now) punching above our weight? It's a conundrum, for sure. There again, will Trump have led us to mutual destruction by then? Who knows.

 

Players are now thinking if they refuse to sign they are going to be immediately sold. We have to start and hold them to their original contracts. If they don't want to sign an improved offer it should be a sign that they will be leaving when the contract ends .We can then start to work a replacement into the team in the second half of the season instead of trying to work people in pre-season.

By doing it this way it's the player that's taking the gamble and would be more inclined to sign knowing that the club is phasing them out and being less attractive to other clubs.

Or if someone were to offer stupid money then fine.

 

We did try that with Marley Watkins, turned a £1million bid in january & left for nothing 4 months later, so its a tough call at the best of times.

 

This is why we need lots of competition in the squad then if we feel we can sell without leaving a "hole" in the team that's ok. I think last season two of the "three. we let go left gaping holes that didn't get filled which impacted on the team.

Good point about Marley but was that the right decision or the wrong decision? As you say they are tough calls.

 

That seems to be the line that Arsenal are taking with Ozil. They're gambling that if he wants out he'll have to put a shift in to impress potential suitors when his contract expires at the end of the season. If he doesn't and his performances are as indifferent as they were last season then then he'll be a less attractive proposition and will probably be on a lower salary at his new club than he was offered to stay at Arsenal.

 

The problem is we didn't have a CEO for ages. As such we lost 6 - 12 months in the transfer market. We clearly have a list of future targets, plan B options if players leave, dont cut it etc. We also will be tracking these players progress to timing right for bids. Trouble is we didn't have anyone to act on this. What we are seeing now is the club playing catch up, at the worst possible time, a week or two prior to season start.

We have also to remember that Hecky recently suggested some of this crop now in the squad wont make it and he indicated he is underwhelmed with progress last few weeks. Note that most if not all new signings came on 3 year deals.

Finally, i worry how our club is run. This isn't a dig a Patrick as he can run it how he sees fit and i respect that fully given its his money. If i was the owner, which i never intend to be, i would have a director of football (Who manages all footballing aspects, allows Hecky to get on coaching the first team, allows the U23, U18, fitness staff etc coaches to report in) and a CEO who manages commercial, marketing and business matters. I think the unilateral management approach is high risk and misses the opportunity for synergy from other experienced people and as we see is an issue for business continuity. I would have the DoF and CEO on the board, an independent chairman (as we have now), the owner. BTW the DoF doesn't have to be a separate role and could be Hecky as well as his first team role. Then look for 2-3 other investors who want to buy in 20-30%, form a bigger board, more advice and experience and challenge to the singular thought process. Its doesnt have to be 100% ownership or 100% out,. for me and we need more management expertise to allow the coaches to coach. I would have a 3 year strategy with the 'football' plan central. Other plans (commercial, marketing including a community programme )should be built around this and balanced to ensure sustainability but with a clear goal for football and game experience progression

Sorry for the long post but i know a thing or two about business management and strategy. ;-)

 

Correct, and if as you say the performance is indifferent the Arsenal offer would no longer be on the table.

We may sell less players this way be we have to compensate by selling at retail prices instead of trade, then we should be able to keep the team strong without leaving holes.

 

I am not saying you a right or wrong with your plan, but I applaud you for a constructive post. Many times posters come on here & hammer the club for everything & anything , but when challenged about what their blueprint would be to solve problems, very rarely is an answer offered. Well done Red.

 

Thanks Red CB, clearly we don't know what's happening behind the scenes to make any informed judgment. What I do know is that the majority of Strategies fail not because any plans are wrong, but due to poor execution, whatever the business. This past 6 months we haven't had the capability (maybe even desire) to execute his part of the plan and this came across in Hecky's frustration on Saturday. I'm not saying that my plan is better or worse than Patrick's or anyone else's, its what I would aim to do, based on what I know if I was in the warm (getting hotter) seat

 

I don't understand why we need a CEO to sign players. The CEO doesn't scout for or identify players to sign. If there's no one at the club to draw up and sign a contract for a player, who draws up the contract for the CEO'S job? We have a chairman and a board of directors who appoint the CEO. They could certainly sign a player. Perhaps the right players at the right price simply weren't available. Speculation on here as to why players haven't been signed is just that, speculation, not fact.

 

Well Hecky certainly thought he needed someone. I would expect it to be more the CEO than first team coachs job to negotiate commercialy with agents, tie up contracts etc

 

You are right but don't forget that the board of directors and higher ups is made up of a part time chairman, an owner who has other things on his mind and can't devote much time to the club and Barry Taylor.