genuine question again as the last 80 odd posts since I last posted don’t seem to answer it…. What are the “ownership issues” people are worried about? Is it just Sartori’s shares or is there a rumour KLD wants to sell? Or are people wanting him to sell? Im not seeing anybody actually answer that but a few people have posted about it as being things that need sorting this summer. genuine question here, not “point scoring” or any of that nonsense. I’m on holiday so haven’t checked the boards since Friday
Chunk...if I may and tell me to eff off (I'm never offended) if i overstep the mark here. Just take a step back and reflect on the happenings today. I've had the honour to have a few pints with you. You're a cracking bloke, a die hard fan and an excellent poster on this forum. Take some time out from the board and come back invigorated. But most of all, keep smiling buddy
I dont post this lightly mate, and have thought about things. My opinion is at this moment in time we are going backwards. Since Speakman landed we have enjoyed an upward curve over a season and a half, this season though is going backwards, and in some alarming ways. Maybe that is exacerbated by a stronger league. The squad has not been adequately improved to attempt a promotion push in my opinion. I think some players we have signed are some way off first team level. We still have failed to bring in a centre forward worthy of the title and our cente midfield is still a cause for debate. We seem to have an incessant need for Jobe to be in the side and I am suspicious enough to think some commitments on game time may have been given to get him here from Speakman and Dodds old club. I am not sure how the club thought we could be as competitive with the players brought in versus those going out. Then I think the head coach situation has been embarassing. They can choose to sack Mowbray, that is their perogative. But to spend 2 weeks to end up at an out of work Beale is incompetence for me. Sacking him after so short a time makes the club weaker when negotiating for the next guy. How much does all this cost us and take away from other areas of investment? Sorry, but I think Speakman has a lot of explaining to do. I hope KLD is demanding some explanations from him, they need to be given in my opinion. Right now I dont really trust Speakman to lead a search for a new gaffer and I hope KLD is having the same doubts. Maybe part of our next phase of improvement KLD wants needs a more effective man in that role. He might have rated an A on his first 18 months, but he isnt repeating that this year. As always just an opinion.
This is all fair. I give Speakman some leeway considering the Neil and Mowbray appointments were pretty much perfect and both were “difficult” decisions in that they were unpopular. Speakman has proven he cares about appointing the right person not the popular one. And by making this decision I think the club are also showing they’re willing to admit mistakes and care little about how that makes them look versus what’s right for the club. Next appointment, as always, is key. Get another one wrong and it’s game over. But he’s earned this mistake (if that makes sense?) for me.
Fair points, mate. In Speakmans own words, did they have adequate processes in place to achieve optimal outcomes?
I like the fact the club gave an up an coming coach a chance tbh. We are in a position to do that. I feel we could of given him more time but then I don't know the circumstances of why they got rid. Hopefully not a knee jerk reaction to a section of fans. Which I doubt. So I'm trusting their judgement. I'm still on board with KLD and Speakman. We're a league above where we were and played some great football. We're going through a blip. This is the best the club has been for many years.
To be fair, if it’s an opinion, then you don’t need facts. Context, detail, thought process I agree with. That’s my opinion like
Always trying to smile mate amd thank you for the kind words. As I said last night, I am at a real crossroads in my supporting life and to be honest struggling with football in general. Part of me wants us to be up their fighting with the best, not worrying about tomorrow but the here and now, but that's the road to ruin, then part of me wants the slow and steady sustainable approach, take our time and it will come. Then I sit and weigh it all up and wonder what's the point in either approach as which ever route we take we can't compete with clubs owned by nations or are breaking rules left, right and centre so why not just stay as we are are now, Mid to top of the championship, affordable to watch games, generally winning or drawing more than we lose, watch some decent football and young players and maybe a run to the later stages in the cup. Your quite right that some time away / lurking rather than posting is a sensible idea while I process things. Hopefully catch up for a beer again soon mate
I get all that, i suppose my point is we are still in a pretty good position and thats thanks to him. Mistakes have been made but all sporting directors make mistake so its up to speakman to prove hes learned from it. We need to nail the striker position in the summer for sure, we have tried to fix it but it hasn't worked - at least we are trying to fix it. The bigger mistake would be to just sign any striker for decent money (to get a decent championship level striker is going to cost a decent fee n wages) and give them a few yr contract - i still worry about a Grigg type deal just to get a proven championship striker in Cm is an issue, i think it's actually a bigger issue than cf so they need to improve in that area in the summer. Folk say they dont trust him to get it right but hes got 75% of his appointments right so that's a cracking success rate. (I think johnson was a good appointed as he started giving youngsters a chance n started to change our style of play) The league is def tougher this season, possibly the best the championship has ever been and i think we have suffered 2nd season syndrome. You find it happens loads, newly promoted teams do well when they get promoted then struggle more the season after. The issue with this model is we arent truly going to see how good the signings weve made are until a yr or 2 dwn the line. We def need more ready for championship players in the summer. The pressure on speakman is always massive, as it should be in his position and think summer is likely make or break for him Of course KLD should be asking questions of his performance this yr but thats true for every position at the club.
While I agree with you completely about the head coach and mostly about the recruitment, I think the nature of the DoF/head coach model and particularly the recruitment policy means you have to anticipate a duff season, a poor vintage, from time to time. Especially this early in its implementation. I know you've mentioned the Liverpool Boot Room. I've repeatedly talked about Ajax and Barcelona and you can also look at Ferguson and Wenger and Herbert Chapman's time at Arsenal. There's a clear link between continuity and long term success. While I don't think Speakman should be untouchable, I think unless things go backwards very quickly, he needs at least 5 and probably 10 years in post to get this all bedded in properly. A couple of seasons of consolidation in the Championship and a chance to fine tune the model is probably what we need. The club has been so badly run for so long, I've been wishing for something like KLD to happen forever. I have all the patience in the world for this approach.
Another season of experience for this young team also, would love to think they were all here next season, but I cant see it
I think you've got the balance right here. Beale was a mistake, Speakmans mistake. But the fact that he's addressed it so quickly is both surprising and a positive in my opinion. Many fans talk about Speakman and his huge ego. But he hasn't let it get in the way of admitting his mistakes and taking decisive action. It's sensible to wait until the end of the season now as well. Have a look back at how they got this one so wrong and take time to make the correct decision. He does need to get this one right though. Beale is the first appointment that we've got badly wrong, but even with the right appointments, the turnover has been too quick. The next man needs to be here for a few years and to get us back into the Premier League. He needs to be backed (relatively) to be allowed to do that as well. I'll leave most of the speculation for a later date, but if Clarke is leaving this summer, it might be wise to spend some of that money on a top coach and allowing him his some of his own backroom staff.
What the Falk review of the sacking, I have only opened it and burst out laughing at the opening music
Unfortunately Downie and SSN hit the nail on the head for me yesterday, the writing was already on the wall we’d decided we didn’t like him from the get go. He wasn’t “uncle tone” the likeable northern father figure who’d get away with poor results because he ate Jaffa Cakes and talked ****e with journos at pressers. Next appointment needs to be spot on because we’ve gone backwards this season imo.
I dont claim that, you are making that assumption. I know that the top table are being offered a idea by KS that will not work up here, if KLD thinks this idea will work how come we have lost 3 managers in a short space of time. IMHO it's because it's not workable, also making rash appointments like Beal, claiming they had been in discussions for a few weeks was and is total bollocks. If Juan sells his shares and KLD does not want to buy them, where will that leave us. We need stability in a manager a coaching staff and a team. We need to get rid of the press that continue to unsettle things in the club, like Chelsea did, ban the know trouble makers from the AOL and pre match pressers.
