You pick up the papers and read about different clubs and the issues we / they all have .......... and I know we have had our share but when you look at TF and the board we have, we really are lucky to have them here. Owners of clubs are often aloof to the football side of things, partly because they come from other parts of the world and may have no real interest in football as a whole. Often, they are company boardroom types who only have 'turning a profit' in mind and everything else in secondary ( at very best ) Then you get the type of owner that wants to dictate to the manager who he wants to play and so on ........... we all know where that goes. Others just want to trim all costs from the club and so the slide begins. Some, through sheer ignorance upset the whole playing roster, the manager and coaching staff, not to mention the fans. I could nominate many a club name here where all these type of situations have and or are happening but that would achieve much except upset the fans. My point is we have a person like Tonz who endeavours to keep us in touch with current and future projects, who will spend the coin as requested by the manager and someone who has a plan for the club moving forward ................... and to top it off, has expressed a real passion for his newly acquired club. I really can't think of any other owner of a club that I would rather have here instead of Tonz .................. He's OK by me.
Aussie, I am not going to disagree with you. TF is genuinely a sweet, nice human being and a good bloke who puts his money where his mouth is. If your Sister was going out with him, you would be delighted as you know he is not a c... but a nice guy. From the point of view of running a football club however, I am reserving my opinion till a later date. Lets see where we are at the end of the forthcoming season. If we are still back in the Championship, I will not be a happy man and will reserve the right to criticise him then for his running of the club. If however, we bounce back at the first attempt, I will heap praise on him as that would be a fantastic achievement for the whole club including himself. Lets be cautious with our praise for the moment. Yes he is spending his money on the club. Will he eventually lead us to a better or a worse place?? Only time will tell.
He's more than ok by me, couldn't wish for a better owner. He's been badly let down by 'football people'. I worry that if we don't see some progress on the pitch this season he might feel that this isn't the game for him, which mens we are relying on Harold to deliver.
Great approach!! So he can work his butt off, continue to invest in the club - build a new top class training facility and youth development structure, plan for a new stadium (all to protect the future of our great club). But if he doesn't get us promoted he's a tosser. What a blinkered view. It's taken years to put us down the leagues and in a rotten position. It doesn't all change overnight. We're damn lucky to have someone with the forethought to invest in the infrastructure of the club as well as the expected playing side.
It's impossible not to like the man. However he has shown no signs of learning anything yet. Backing Harold 100% whatever he says or does is fine for now. However our Harold is a master at manipulating his employers into getting what he wants. The lessons need to be learned. All the 'superstars' bought by Hughes and Redknapp, with the exception of Samba, who seems for some reason or other still to be regarded as a messiah ( at least in Russia) are being moved on with practically no resale value. The rumours (for that is all they are at the moment) suggest we will have to pay this lot at least 50-75% of the remaining value of their contracts) to get them off our hands. We look as though we will be starting the season with a bunch of overage, injury-prone players, no creative spark and all we actually hear from our owners is positive progress reports without any facts being presented when it comes to new stadium or investment in our youth set up and scouting network. I too would like to see my team playing in a brand new stadium to crowds of 40-50,000 each week but that is just ridiculous. Who wouldn't. What we would like and what can be achieved realistically are quite different. In many ways the situation is very reminiscent of our last owner who was a fan. Chris Wright. The only difference is that CW was a Rangers fan before he bought up. TF became one. Neither had a clue about what was involved. Both got suckered into chucking away bucket loads of money. One thing is for sure though. If at some point, it becomes clear that the cost is too great, we will find that it is the club, in one way or another, which will be saddled with the debts and us who will suffer. May be not a fact in Tony's case yet. But that is a prediction which I make and which I hope will not come to pass. Tell me I'm wrong and I will say show me the financial facts. Now that really would be meaningful communication with the fans. Positive tweets and spin do not cut it for me.
