Duff linked to Swansea

Phew! My faith is restored!

 

It’s news like this that really damage the club. The persistent failings behind close doors, it rubs people up the wrong way real bad. Never once has this club ever just shut up shop and said “no chance, don’t bother coming back with another offer” it’s always been us rolling over and accepting it.

Peterborough have always held off, reaped the reward of it and then sold on further down the line for millions more. It’s ******* infuriating! I was 100% getting a season ticket this year after missing last year due to how the club was ran, now I’m genuinely not bothering… why? Because we’ve been here time and time again and they get it wrong a lot more than they get it right. Therefore I’ll instead see how the side do under the new manager before spending my hard earned money.

This club could have really good support but the feeling amongst the casual is “what’s the point?” And I have to say I get it, what is the point? Rebuilding every summer as the club opt to roll over instead of holding their nerve. I get clubs have to sell at this level to stay above the water but we just take the piss with it. We are basically a league academy, a constant open shop window. The only issue is we sell the occasional Marks and Sparks item for Poundland money.

Really deflated with this news. Let’s hope Khaleds big news really is as big as he made out.

 

You said nobody is bigger than the club. Of course they are. I can think of a several ex players, who could buy us out..

 

I agree with this, certainly for players. I think it was Moore where we basically openly said "we'll accept the best offer we get." Gobsmackingly amateurish.

 

It's this pub team mentality that's putting me off buying a season ticket. The business model was simple for season ticket sale boosts - no gimmicks, no BS slogans, no big signings, al you had to do was keep Duff. Bam - 3,000 more season tickets sold, minimum.

The long term financial impact of Duff staying will outweigh the immediate compensation.

 

I’m fairness (and I have been a vocal critic of the club for this reason) they are at least making noises to address this in terms of stating that we no longer have to accept the first offer etc..

I don’t think you can conflate today’s events with this as ultimately, he’s got a release clause and if that’s the case there is very little that we can do.

I am hugely frustrated at todays events as it’s just Groundhog Day isn’t it, but what can the board do? Pretty much nothing if there’s a release clause which Swansea meet, and Duff wants to leave.

I’m a little disappointed at him to be honest, given his comments at the start of the season, then jumping ship after less than a year.


I think the bigger picture is why are we marketing ourselves as a ‘selling club’ and that this is our business model? That’s no way to start a negotiation and long term impact on the fan base will be that people will inevitably feel ‘is it worth it’

 

That’s final paragraph is bang on, nailed it.

 

This whole narrative has to go away. There are, should that be, were things the club could've done. They could've presented a plan to Duff, with some backing, that would allow him to build on last season, even allowing for one or two inevitable departures. We could even have got a new contract to him. We offered him a three year deal when we were in a far worse position last summer, what's to stop the club offering him a new contract. I have very little faith that either have happened in this instance.

One question for Khaled on his next round of media duties would be, what have they actually done this summer to try and keep him. Because from his most recent interviews, it sounds like the plan was to hope nobody came in for him.

Every club is a stepping stone, but why are we a club that people cannot get away from quickly enough?!

 

Do they refund on season tickets? Asking for a friend....

 

Be interested to know the answer to that one too, just so I can let my friend know.

 

Another one, bang on my friend.

 

The solution to that problem is to not put a sell-on clause into a contract when it concerns a new manager that we really really like the look of and want for the forseeable future. The selling club mentality has now extended to the manager, and I'd argue we can't afford the pay off in certain circumstances.

 

Flip your question round. What have we got to offer managers/players other than putting them in the shop window for a bigger move.

If every fan on Twitter/Facebook who is appalled by the very thought of Duff or Andersen leaving bought a season ticket, paid for iFollow, bought a shirt etc etc, the club would be in a better position to invest more money in the playing squad/coaching team and wouldn’t rely on the money from trading players/managers to avoid having to keep pumping money into the club.

Football is all about money and unfortunately due to the size of our town and the fragility of our support, we’re pitching ourselves at about our level, as a League one play off team.

 

If the owners / board want the club to grow, and increase the fan base and reduce the fragility of our support, then they have to invest more of their money into it. Losing the head coach every time we have a good season isn't going to get us anywhere. You say our level is a League one play off team. Another League One play off team managed to secure their head coach to a new contract before the play offs.

There is something about the culture of the club that needs to change, that goes back as far as when Heckingbottom got the job, in that succession planning has become the foundation of the club's model, rather than just a necessary thing to do. If we do that, we will be able to offer more to our head coaches and players.

Plus, I don't think there's many people appalled at the idea of Andersen leaving in the summer to be honest.

 

By the same token, if we didn't fold like a deck of cards every time, we might sell some more shirts and tickets - it's a recursive argument. We've pretty much always taken the money. Immediately.

 

How do you know we haven't offered him a new deal? When asked the question last week Khaled said he wouldn't discuss individuals contracts. You're assuming we haven't offered him something because he's now linked with a move away. It's equally as plausible that Duff didn't want to be tied to anything longer than 3 years. It's all ifs buts and maybes.

I guess the reason we position ourselves as a stepping stone club, is because it's a way of making us an attractive proposition to talented young players. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. It's a way of us getting better than we can generally afford. I'd say it's the reason we're generally bouncing between the top of league 1 and the bottom of the championship, rather than lower league 1/2 like teams like Bradford, MK Dons, Swindon etc.

 

Here to be made a fool of but I think MD is a man of his word and won't go. So far all I've seen is speculation, until it is made official I prefer to believe that he will stick to his word.
Everything about MD screams hard work, no shortcuts ... I remain confident he will be our manager come kick-off.

 

I guess we will see. Assuming he does move, if we have offered him a new contract, I would expect that to become known. In fact, if an offer was in front of him now, I would expect that to have become known by now to be honest.

 

He hasn’t been offered a new deal, 100%. So if they even try that excuse, they are liars. They’ve done this before. Don’t believe everything they spout.

 

Swansea to Cheltenham in an hour?

No chance.

Swansea to just the other side of Cardiff in an hour maybe.