He seems like a good guy. He needs to appoint new recruitment team ASAP. A bit ironic that we are having this discussion as the man himself must decide who is the best man to manage us. Not an easy task, I hope he gets this one right.
If we can get FPP in I'm not sure there's a worthy role for him. His decisions on the football side have been poor so I would say the very first thing FPP would need to do is hire a good Director of Football type. But if he has nowt to do with football, and assuming we still have a commercial director, what does he do? Help out fans with ticketing issues like a glorified Chris Waters? I don't see him wanting that. Then there's the issue that if these people come in they'll want a highly professional outfit. Donald is far too close to the fanzines, too prone to speaking out on social media, too likely to let his mouth go at supporters club events. I don't think they'll want him on the inner circle tbh. I still quite like the bloke, I think ultimately he does want to do the right thing, but last season and the start of this was his chance to make it work at Sunderland and sadly he (with hindsight) got the managerial appointment wrong, got the recruitment set up wrong and as such looks unlikely to even be capable of leading a club our size out of league one. If (big if) the future is rich investors aiming for the Premier League, I just don't think he fits anywhere. I do hope he is fairly remunerated for his efforts here though
I like him but I do sometimes wonder if hes bitten off more than he can chew when he joined us. Doing the RR podcasts is excellent, but I knew that Twitter was going to be a disaster and I hate the thought of some of plebs on there somehow representing the fan base. I have never studied his Eastleigh adventure THAT closely but it does look to me that he failed in his aim despite lots of money. Which makes me wonder if hes crap at picking managers.
Great post, Janey I really like SD, and truly believe, he has the club's best interests at heart. Yes, he's made mistakes along the way, (he's only human, just like the rest of us) his openness, is a breath of fresh air, but that openness, has led to abuse of himself and his family, which is disgraceful imo. As Janey said, his willingness to want to help supporters and their families, through tough times, is admirable, and certainly not something he does, just to gain publicity. I don't subscribe to the views of some posters, calling him a chancer and a charlatan, as I think he's a genuinely decent bloke, trying to sort out the mess, that was overseen by Ellis Short, and trying to secure a deal for some much needed investment. Understandably, because SD can be vague, with some of his answers concerning finances, there are questions arising, from posters, who have a far better grasp, than I do, of money matters, concerning the club, and SD. I'd love to see the completion of the takeover/investment, from the Dell group, and if SD stays on at the club, I certainly wouldn't be unhappy.
He's been here around 18 months now and despite all of his patter I don't feel I know the bloke at all. Panic buying Grigg without even checking his fitness levels was ridiculous. When he talks about finances etc he is very vague yet chooses his words very carefully when he needs to ie "investment" instead of takeover. Overall I'd say he's failed by not getting us promoted and I don't understand why he wants to be Chairman so much. Sell the club and enjoy your money Stu marra.
I have to say that one of my major misgivings was his penchant for twitter. It worked very well at the beginning to die to fans being starved of of info during the final 2 or 3 years of short tenure. Now though, in the face of animosity etc he has done a rapid retreat I understand some of his reasons but I dont believe he has done himself any favours with the fans. The old adage 'of you stand the heat etc etc'is very apt. However it also smacks of him being unable to cope with adversity. Is that really a good look or trait we want in our owner
I don't think the bloke's attitude to our youth players gets enough coverage as he's sold some very promising kids to bigger clubs without much fanfare. These kids are our future. It's like owning an animal sanctuary with a freezer shop next door.
I think he's well meaning, and in a lot of ways I agree with his general method of working. I don't want a team full of overpaid players and wasted millions in 2 years time either. Yes, the club should be sustainable and healthy, it should never be out of control the way that it was under Short. But ultimately being a club owner is also about calculated investment. He is not just a CEO who manages the business, he is the owner and that means you also are prepared to risk something meaningful to you (money) in order to achieve success. Investment is a gamble where the stakes are big but the rewards huge. If he's not willing to invest his own money, he needs to move on. As things stand, he's really not done more than continue Bain's cost-cutting. We have stripped back to the bare minimum on scouting, and the first team really isn't better than the other top teams in the division. If you got offered the chance to buy Apple in 1998, would you try and run it like it's then competitors at the bottom of the tech industry? Or would you invest in the talent and make the bold decisions to get back to the very top? Donald is contracting the club down to League One level and we will soon lose any of the playing and coaching talent that could theoretically place us above other teams in the division as a result. Think about it, when McGeady leaves, who is honestly better than League One in that squad? If we act like a league one team, we will forever be a league one team. He needs to at very worst square his debt to the club and then if he makes money from a sale, I will be very happy for him. Until then, I will struggle to feel that he is acting like the owner of a sleeping giant, more like a guy who can't believe his luck and will ride it until it runs out and then run.
We have not had a proper manager since 1973 and the legendary Bob stokoe why ? Murray blew it in 1985 by not bringing in brian clough, now we want jose here for the big time but will they listen i don't think so.
Many would say stokoe won the fa cup on the back of work by billy Elliott. The fa cup was as good as it got for him. Other than that day he did nowt. He was a good manager for second tier
Please be aware, lads, that 'ivorlot' is Monty . . . . he never makes any sense, when he contributes we need pinches of salt, but he's still our Monty
None of this makes sense, was Reid not a proper manager? Bob Murray in 85? Jose in the third division? Was this post meant for RTG? Ronnie
Alan Brown also deserves a lot of credit for the 1973 team. Stokoe apart from that cup run, was a disaster for the club long term. But anybody who experienced that cup run and the effect it had on the town could not begrudge the statue outside the stadium, just a shame as far as I am concerned is that there is not another close by of "Old Big Head" holding a European Cup. ( In Dreams ).
