In defence of the Board

Listen to the interview.

 

Trust...thats the issue i have with our board.
They have promised so much and delivered very little.....im talking how they came into the club and promised us how they would use their international experience to further our club....they havent (sponsorship and other). I also have issues and questions around what happened at Nice and how that may mirror here. I cant fathom why professional businessmen have failed from a minimum of two excellent seasons to build but instead decided to implode.
Imho failure to plan......which we know leads to plan to fail.
Then of course we have the lies and soundbites which if you arent used to continues to grate.
Lastly the sheer contempt they show for THE most iimportant people at the club.....the fans.
So no ...i will not be defending them.

 

I think the board sleptwalked into a summer of carnage. They should’ve been more proactive with the CEO issue, given he was on a fixed term contract, and could’ve done more to keep some of the back room staff at the club.

While I didn’t think much of a lot of his interviews in the last 48 hours, I do have some sympathy for the new CEO. His answer about the 750k was poor, but Conway was asked the question in a similar forum at the start of the season and just batted it away with “it was part of the agreement”. No follow up, and barely a mention afterwards. Nobody has asked the recipients of this payment and club co-owners for their views either. The parties directly involved get a free pass while an employee takes the flak.

On the West Stand, he seems to come across as offended at the idea that it’s a financial decision. And I’m inclined to believe him on what the motivation to close the stand was. The fact that the north stand turnstiles aren’t operational is a symptom of how much neglect the stadium has suffered from in the last 20 years, and it’s shameful that more wasn’t done to resolve the west stand issues while playing behind closed doors. That said, the communication was poor, and his apology for that was a government minister style apology “sorry if you felt that way”…

 

Having listened to the interview yesterday, it isn't out of context. He's been a bit too transparent in revealing sales are a priority over performance. Doing well last year did nothing for player sales, so we have to change our playing style as a result. Listen to it if you are sceptical.

 

Without any profits you're going to struggle to get results. At our level we won't win football matches and be 'successful' without selling players from time to time.

I was never a fan of the group of people taking over but there's a lot of pointless gnashing of teeth on here at the moment IMO, in amongst the genuine off field concerns.

 

Not that I know anything about footlball, but I'd suggest that the very notion of that is absolute ********.

 

“We want you to be transparent… no, not that transparent”

Did he actually say that sales are a priority over performance?

 

Everything feels always worse / better when the team are struggling / doing well. When we are playing poorly the off pitch issues seem to be focused more upon. When we are doing well they seem to be ignored. It doesn’t mean they don’t exist though.

 

The comment re 5th place finish and zero value from players was a poor one. But I think he is looking at the big picture, which is how do we level up. Unfortunately we need our players to have value because when we do eventually sell them we want to maximise that value so we can replace them with equal or better promise/quality. He isnt a fan of the club and therefore not thinking in the same way. He never said the club are prioritising profit over onfield success. IMO he is saying there is no point finishing 5th and not increasing value in any of your players, because you need someone to offer big money for a Helik/Styles/Woodrow. The fact that they are still here means we didnt and if we had then our recruitment might have then been very different. Playing a bit of devils advocate because I hate the comments from the CEO as a fan.

 

If we were in the top 6, nobody would be complaining.

And due to demand, I suspect the North Stand turnstile issue would have been sorted by now as well, to accommodate even more fans. (Which btw stinks of poor maintenance - surely once a month of movement and lubrication should have stopped this happening).

 

We are sitting at the bottom of the table because our coaches players and recruitment are not good enough.
We had one ..flash in the pan.. season and some thought they were superstars.
We stayed up the season before only on a Wigan points deduction.. And this season as been poor since the start.. baring half a game at Qpr.
Look at Luton and Coventry.. you don't have to spend a fortune.. but you do have to spend.
The club is in a woeful state.. from top to bottom.. amateur hour from the owners to the coaches and recruitment staff..

 

That can't be so. They'd be in for far more cash if had have got promoted than any amount of player sales.

 

Just because someone is transparent it doesn't mean you have to like and accept it. If you're going to own a football club for all the wrong reasons it is probably not the best idea making comments like he has.

Have you actually listened to the interview? I've given my take on it.

 

All financial answers are far away in the Camel Paint building Hong Kong. Is it an office or just a PO Box?
Never really tried to look into our owners interests and reported wealth.
Only just started, right at the beginning with 7day hotels and the investment / share sales to Carlyle Group and Sequoia investments. Which lead to the creation of Plateno Hotels group and the Keystone Lodging holding company.
Trying to find more info on PMG, Newcity capital and Lee investment based in Florida. Like how many folk are employed by them? and a bit more about their dealings. There's very little web based promotion or presence. If you're trying to get further investment and attention in relation to your products / company surely this would be the way to go.

 

Apologies for the sarcastic nature of my response first of all. It’s the only way I know.

Yes, I heard the interview and my take on it is mixed to say the least. The idea that the playing style is a direct reason for the fact no acceptable bids came in seems bizarre to me. I’d imagine he is aware that there’s been a virus knocking around over the last year or so. It was also a point that he didn’t even need to make.

On the other hand, I did agree with the bit about the style last season being unsustainable. If Ismael was still here (and he hasn’t done multiple seasons at any one place from what I can see), I’d expect the style to evolve. But the fact that there were no significant sales does give a cause for concern. If Ismael was still here, we’d need to find that 2m elsewhere, whilst also needing to replace Dike and possibly Mowatt. If we don’t sell players for a profit, and I’m assuming no profit has been made from the sales of Chaplin, Solbauer or Simoes, mainly because the club would’ve been quick to tell us, then the club goes into debt.

Overall, I didn’t take the interview to say that sales took priority over performance. But acknowledges that sales will be needed. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see. I’ll judge him after a transfer window or two.

 

Because the team were doing well last year some people were waiting for the next step rather than thinking everything is ok tbh .
What we are getting from these owners is Boom and Bust rather than steady progression.
One year we doing fine and getting promoted or very nearly next we’re fighting relegation .
This says somethings wrong with the business model imo coupled with the infighting and the stadium scenario wouldn’t you say they have a case to answer ?

 

I think we were more supreme mega men

 

What utter nonsense. It may mask the issues and deflect but several highlighted the £750k when the accounts were published and highlighted the dwindling reserves to perilous levels.

Asking questions over suspicious actions should occur at the time they are revealed.

What happens on the pitch is different and separate to what happens off it and at board and ownership level.

Please don’t downplay the questions sought by people as frivolous, you do other fans a great disservice.

 

It all went quiet when we were in the Play Offs last season.

There are issues to be resolved, but this has been heightened by recent results and the West Stand.