Radio sheffield interview with Neerav

I think people are wise and can see when the rug is being pulled, whilst it should never get to personal abuse, surely you can sense the levels of anger, frustration and sheer sadness amongst the fan base at present.
Appreciate it was a completely different board and he may of only been a tiny cog in the 2017 takeover, but we were a Championship club with a positive balance sheet.
Whatever people's thoughts on Patrick Cryne, with far less resource to pull from than Neerav, we were financially managed better, with less staff, better players and more success on the pitch.
We are a shambles at present and far closer to L2 than the championship sadly, we've self inflicted damage on another scale.

 

I think sumat isn't working and we need a reset. Connell been crap for two years and Phillips and DKD are quite happy being big fish in a small pond with very little heart or desire. That was brutal but honest.

 

I don’t think it’s a lack of heart or desire for the most part although I can see why some question that when you see Humphries efforts.

Phillips & DKD are the least of our worries. We need pace & stamina around them & a forward who can hold a ball up to complement them two players.

 

I love how the only thing you don't like is Humphrys wage.

 

Which is quite feasible if we sell said players. Barnsley will go on.

 

It was 25 not 23 mate... hammill was a good signing going 442 also helped the turn around. The data gave us some great signings scowen, winnall, conor, Roberts, pinnock, Watkins, yiadom I could go on. The signing over 25s is working great this season? Humphrys, cosgrove?

 

Always thought Humphrys would be on a good crack, he left wigan where he loved as they couldn't agree wages with him then came here. 5k a week wow wouldn't pay him in washers.

 

I dread to think how they plan to deliver "fast attacking football that gets the fans out of their seats" I have an awful feeling they'll defend the last 2 transfer windows as successful, maintain we have a top 3/4 squad and try to attempt to play high press, think we are in for a very difficult season 25/26

 

I wouldn’t have thought Mads and Kitching were among our top earners considering where we signed them from.

 

Both signed new contracts with us though. And in the championship at the time?

 

Even then, they weren’t here for much longer

 

Not sure how relevant the length of time they were with us after signing a contract is on the wages they were on?

 

I like Neerav's candour. Regardless of what you think of the answers, he's given direct answers to the questions asked, so fair play to him for that.

I read the Chronicle article first, and was alarmed at the comment regarding not putting funds in for much longer. However, when you hear it in the interview it's expressed in the wider context of football finances being completely broken. He said that football can't continue in that way and expect owners to continuously keep plugging the gaps, so it's less of a direct statement of intent than it comes across as in the article.

Beyond that, I found it as depressing an interview as most others have, mainly on the basis that what he's talking about in positive terms is diametrically opposed to the evidence of what we're all seeing with our own eyes. It reeks of his reliance on the data he's being fed, presumably by Sormaz, and it raises alarming questions about the quality of that data upon which we've become so reliant.

A top 3 or 4 squad? Give me a break. I suspect the only two people who actually believe this is the case are Sormaz and Neerav, and whatever data they're using to tell them this is, I'll be kind, questionable to say the least. The implication is that the Head Coach was the issue as to why a so-called top 3/4 squad is operating in mid-table, but the truth is this is nowhere near a top 3 or 4 squad.

Then the comment about 5 players playing the in the Championship in the next couple of years. If it truly is a top 3 or 4 squad, then the natural implication is that you'd expect at least 8 of them to be playing in the Championship, via the promotion that you've announced you think they're capable of. It actually undermines the earlier statement about the strength of the squad.

Then we have the Watters xG comments. Let's take them at face value and assume they're accurate for the moment but, if so, the natural interpretation of this is that he must be one of the most significant under-performers in terms of converting chances in the league. High xG, and an actual goals tally that is nowhere near top of the list is a red flag, not something to be singing the praises of. Again, anyone who's watched Watters will equate this with reality, as he's quite often reluctant to take shots in preference of seeking a pass to a teammate, which is not the desired attributes of a clinical striker.

The player recruitment model he described is far from agile enough to react to the demands of a short transfer window, and I'll have to respectfully disagree with him regarding the squad not being weaker after the window than before it.

Ultimately, the overarching thing I've taken away from that interview is that he's become reliant on data that appears to be utterly worthless in accurately articulating what we're all seeing with our own eyes, and the fact that he's fully supportive of the person in charge of providing that data rings alarm bells for me.

Fair play to him for agreeing to be interviewed, and for calling things as he sees them. Sadly, I think very few supporters are going to hear the interview and agree with much of the content within it.

 

Wages get cut upon relegation.

 

Just pointing out that they haven’t been paid the amounts (whatever they were ) for that long.

 

I’m on here, the BBS, on the record saying:

- The squad is a playoffs at best squad, I believe it finishes somewhere between 6th and 12th depending on how good the manager is (something I repeated from August until now, at regular intervals regardless of results at the time).

- I disagree with the owners having to cover losses with their own cash. I believe the first aim for any custodian of our club should be to run the ship sustainably. Live within its means. Not to risk its future.

- I have no issue with the club selling our best performing players for a huge profit. I openly encourage it.

- Darrell Clarke was getting the bare minimum from the squad this season.

- High intensity, physical, front foot football is my favourite brand.

- I hope Conor Hourihane is the next head coach.

- Football is financially knackered.

- 12 months in the role of Sporting Director, a brand new position at a 138-year-old club isn’t enough time to fairly judge that person.

- Recruitment in the last couple of windows has been very disappointing and the two successes (Roberts and DKD) were hardly diamonds found in the rough.

Based on that, I struggle to find issue with what he’s said in the interview. I don’t think Humphrys is a £5,000 a week player, but see my point on recruitment and football finance.
He referred to Farrugia positively. I see a poor defender, but it’s early days. I don’t agree that Gauci is understudy to Martinez either. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here. It’s Robin Olsen.

The obsession with data frustrates the life out of me. I hate any reference to XG and running the numbers etc. Data is a great tool, it’s helpful and every club uses it. But football is a team game. A lot of it is about emotions. Personality. Engagement. So much goes into a successful side that data hasn’t a scooby doo about.
We use it. Great. Fabulous. But stop going on about it. Because the stuff we see on the pitch suggests we might well have bad data. We have just had Josh Benson starting his first game in two years, out of position at right wing back. Not the actual ‘Premier League’ right wing back we borrowed. Data my anus. For the record, I love Benson (should have had that on my list further up) and don’t disagree with him playing there. I’d pick Jon Flatman there before this Dexter kid.

So I do have issues. I don’t think it was necessary to reference a minority who boo for example. No Reds fan wants to boo. They all want to cheer and back the players, the club. They love the club. They pay to support it. And the majority have done, long before Neerav or JAQ had ever heard of the town. Maybe stop piping in Man Utd music pre-kick off too? Or changing the team colours. Stuff like that.

But, by and large, I didn’t find as many faults with the interview as others clearly have. I just hope he and the rest of the owners actually implement the changes he hinted at. Reduce the spend. Sell players and reinvest. Employ a coach who fits the brand you say you want. If that means a few years of transition, so be it. Build something. And I hope Jon Flatman’s plans for better facilities and more focus on the matchday experience comes to fruition. Because that helps the atmosphere which should help the team and so on. Right now, the football and the stadium are equally as depressing.

Hope this made sense.

And remember, it’s only my opinion. Not a fact. And I appreciate different ones and respect all who care enough to share them.

 

Dunno mate. He referenced free transfers costing us £5,000 a week. Benson wasn’t a freebie.

 

If they got the hell out, tomorrow, then what?

 

There's only one man that can spin this car crash interview into a positive....... @Brian Mahoneys Waist, over to you sir

 

Your missing the point of why people are so angry. He having to put money in because of the incompetent way he and his minions are running the club yet refuses to see the reality of the situation and change course. Some fans know that the status quo is not sustainable long term and are worried some fans stick their heads in the sand and only take them out to kiss the chairman's arse for bank rolling his failures.