Quote from him in today's sun. " if you get pass the 50 people in chat rooms and go into Cardiff today talk to the 22000 fans who turn up at the new stadium I delivered for them I'd say 99 per cent would say I did a good job " ok you lot who are the 50 that have been rude about him
He was one of the stepping stones that got us to where we are today. Sometimes the stone can be rugged or slippery!
A few years ago, when Sam was ready to see us go under it was Risdale who saw the club just (by fifteen minutes) avoid the drop into oblivion. Then we got the stadium built - Sam's bloated idea to begin with, but it was Risdale who delivered a more realistic build when Sam was not trusted by the council to deliver anything. A lot of bad points to PR, but credit where it is due - in his regime we went to Wembley (twice!) amd saw attendances go from 14,000 average to 22,000. Also, he was pretty strong on fighting our corner about the way we were treated for away games.
The only thing proven from this quote is how much the 50 people had an effect on Peter . P.S. It's lot easier stating the quote than lining up 22,000 people & getting 21,780 to say you did a " Good Job " .
the riddler is a disaster and a tosser, he has ruined every club he has been involved with and left them in so much debt that he had to walk. how he manages to crawl his way into another club is beyond me. barnsley, leeds,cardiff and now bottom of the league plymouth, all this crap he got you the stadium bollox, you would have got a new stadium without his methods and would have had much less debt to pay off. you are well rid of that man who paid himself a fortune first and the clubs tax second....
Discussions about Peter Ridsdale are invariably highly emotive. Most supporters of the clubs he has been involved with have a strong opinion about the man - some more informed than others. I don't suppose that many (if any) of us on these message boards are privvy to all the information regarding his involvement with the various clubs, but it would appear that his introduction into each club was under heavily differing circumstances. Surprisingly, there are quite a few Leeds fans who do not hold PR exclusively responsible for their decline. In fact, many see him as a victim of the demands of a club that saw anything less than being up there withe Man U's etc. as being unacceptable. As far as his time at Cardiff, it's important to remember the state of affairs when he came in, and the general history of the club. Sam Hamman was the most recent (and probably the most ruthless) in a line of owners who thought they could take advantage of the potential of the club. Of course, there is no getting away from the fact that we (some say blindly) embraced the influence of Sam Hamman, despite having seen what he did to Wimbledon. So, as I understand it, we were in huge debt and rudderless when PR came in. He set out three very clear objectives at the very outset; to get the new stadium built, increase the support and find new owners within 5 years, at which point he would leave the club. As has been already mentioned, some of his methods were questionable, but even then, you could be forgiven for calling it tough love. Which ever way you look at it, it is clear that the club is better placed when he left than when he came in, albeit with a flirtation with administration. I'm sure he benefited from his period with us, but would we have got the job done with a cheaper alternative? I guess we'll never know, though again, I'm sure opinion will vary greatly. I suppose the philosophical questions are; where would be now without SH and PR, and if the answer is still bouncing around the lower leagues, would we be better off? The answers depend on what you want from supporting a football club. Anyway, for me, PR was an uncomfortable but necessary protagonist in a period in the history of the club.
Swan, everyone knows his methods were/are not conventional. He did not cause all Cardiffs debt by a long shot, we have Sam to thank for the majority of the lingering debt. He delivered the stadium when the council refused to deal with Sam. When Sam left he almost put the club into administration by holding the club to ransom. He did not put Plymouth into debt, he was there to help, did what was asked and left (as far as I am aware). Leeds, he didn't do that on his own! Not an angel by any stretch of the imagination but not totally responsible for all the ills of the games either.
well its odd that he was chairman of all those clubs at the time taff, nobody can be as unlucky as him without bad chairmanship and he walked away making sure he made himself a few quid even though he caused a lot of extra debt that could have been avoided. you wont find any good praises from any other clubs fans about the man, he is a con merchant out to make himself money and sod anyone or club that gets in his way. loved the praises but passed the blame when it was not for his benefit..
Hi superswan and seasons gretings to you fella. As I said earlier, everyone has an opinion about PR and some will be stronger than others. It may be deemed to be a terribly selfish opinion, but for us, his involvement worked for us, and many of the "cons" that he pulled, proved to be of benefit to the club (as far as I can see). With regard to his personal gain, I'm not sure that I'd like to put a price on what he did. Still, it's water under the bridge now and anyone thinking of employing him now has more info to consider. Good to talk and I hope you're enjoying your first season in the Prem. I hope it continues to go well for you.
" Clingo with Lingo " I have thought you should have been a writer on more than an occasion . Great post #10 was, like reading an editorial !! Merriest of Christmases
happy new year to you clingo, good to see you again pal, the riddler should never be allowed in football,,,ever...
Superswan, who was chairman of the Swans when you went into admin. Don't hear you bandying his name around. As far as I know, PR hasn't taken anyone into administration. PR has paid the debts of all the clubs he's been at (not personally of course). I'm with Clingo. PR was a necessary evil. I disagreed with his approach at times, but he delivered to his word, and as soon as the Malaysian's arived he was off, no doubt with a wedge in his back pocket, as he said he would be. I must admit to prefering the lot we've got now, but would we be here without Ridsdale and Sam, probably not, we'd have done the dishonourable thing and entered admin! A lot of successful businessmen away from football are ruthless and sail close to the wind. They aren't there to be liked, they are there to do a job (and line their own pockets). The only thing football chairmen have is a safety net (which may be taken away in the near future) if things go badly wrong. So, Sam took a punt, got us out of the lower divisions but put us in a lot of debt. Without the latter, would he have acheived the former? Probably not. Ridsdale took a floundering ship and pumped out the bilges and added a new bridge and a coat of paint, securing a new captain in the process. The ship is now on an even keel with the course set and the seas calming. Not sure we should take out lifejackets off just yet but the liferafts can be stored away. At least we didn't need a salvage crew to haul us off the sea bed. Oh!! Came over all nautical for a while there.
I wish the name Ridsdale was banned from this site as id rather not comment. Superswan is spot on - he shouldnt be allowed near a football club again. Ridsdales comments are rubbish. I reckon if I spoke to 20 City fans today. 15 would say he was a disaster. Sam Hammam holding the club for ransom? When did this happen? From what I can remember he took a small payout when others said take it or the club goes into admin. Millions in fees received and Sam not paid back a penny whilst in the meantime we didnt pay HMRC took out high interest loans which still need paying and other creditors not paid. The stadium goes over budget. So many millions in new debts , winding up orders , loads of talent sold for millions , fans conned for ST money when in fact we were under a transfer embargo and Steve Borley who is also owed millions has to step in go to Malaysia and bring in investors who have saved the club. Meanwhile Ridsdale takes out huge wages and bonuses. I could go on. Sam was totally reckless , Ridsdale was worse. Neither should be allowed near football clubs. I give him very little credit if any for the stadium build. I give the credit to Borley and PMG. Ridsdale big asset is his gob. A brilliant speaker.
