I do wish people would stop thinking that the pension fund is in danger if we don't do well. There is almost nothing to lose for the pension fund. Our investment comes from the high risk section of the portfolio. The fund is completely safe as the bulk of the money is invested in almost guaranteed return areas and we are considered a high risk investment and the cash that is spent on ITFC comes from the high risk section, meaning no risk to the overall fund if it doesn't work out. So just to make it clear.......there is no risk to the fund and it is not reliant on our success!!!!
There has to be some jeopardy? I mean if we got relegated how can here be any asset appreciation? How can there be no risk?
Somebody, can’t remember who now, had a gambling problem so we don’t generally condone or talk about gambling and odds on here. The only informed decision is not to play, unless you’re playing for leisure and not profit.
Because it’s a small fraction of the portfolio that will yield a good return to the fund if we get back into the Premier League. Risk is mitigated by having a diverse portfolio of interests.
Because the portfolio is massive. The bulk of the fund is invested in safe ventures with almost guaranteed return. There is then a high risk section where a small portion of the fund can be used on high risk/high reward investments. It is a separate area/budget of the overall portfolio and poses no risk to the bulk of the cash.
Sure. I get that, and agree/understand it. But there’ll still be a lot happier if we’re in the PL with 30k fans than stuck in L1 with 20k die hards. But on that assessment which I’m very grateful for San Diego it’s a reassuring time to be a fan.
I think as long as there is tangible progress our owners will be more than happy. Football is a funny business and not one that you can turn profitable in a short space of time. If the curve is going in the right direction then the investors will be pleased.
So he’s ended up back at Chesterfield as they are ‘a project with stable owners’. He never came across all that smart in his interviews and indeed compared to KMs thoughtful, measured, intelligent and cliche free interviews I think MA made the right choice.
I agree it's very refreshing to have a manager who doesn't seem to be hiding anything and he talks sensibly but my gut feeling is he is also the first manager probably since Burley who hasn't been undermined in one way or another by what's going on behind the scenes as he's the Boards unanimous choice. Whilst Cook clearly didn't perform very well it seems he was also undermined, I think that has been highlight by how Ashton was so front and centre in everything during his reign and many times it made me uncomfortable that he was doing things you'd expect a manager to do, he clearly was undermining Cook and now he's got his man he's gone into the background which I think is the right thing to do.
Yeah there def seems to have been a clash of ideas on how to run a football club. and it does have to be settled and joined up to stand a chance of success. Do you think perhaps cook couldn’t function in a much more modern set up? He wasn’t the only big cog in the wheel? I do think already we are a stepping stone for KM. I’m sure his ambition is to manage the biggest clubs in Europe. And Ashton is seemingly aware that things don’t last forever and wants a set up where a new coach can come in and it’s not a total root and branch upheaval at the club.
Cook probably wanted more control, he is a manager so someone who probably wouldn't have got quite as involved in the coaching side and wanted more say over certain football related matters. Plus he has years of experience and success so knows what works for him, all this clearly clashed with Ashton who has a very clear way of how he wants things run. Some things just really didn't feel right, there hasn't been that feeling so far under McKenna with Ashton staying behind the scenes...whether that will change when Mckenna gets more experienced who knows but i guess he's Ashtons man so there's that level of trust. There were rumours that last season Paul Cook was interviewed for the Bristol City job but turned it down because he didn't want to work with Ashton. I think most experienced managers could work in a modern set up but they bring that experience and are probably more set in their ideas and know what they want. If you look at Cooks record with coaches he's developed alot with good names in football, so in my eyes he was all about getting a good team around him who could inspire the first team to perform, bringing the best out of his staff by setting goof standards when you don't have the control in parts of the club that becomes difficult. McKenna is a coach who knows the deal and probably has always worked in a situation where he doesn't have control over certain parts of the system. I would prefer our Manager and CEO to have more equal responsibility in the club as we've seen with alot of clubs higher up the pyramid than us alot of CEOs have big personalities which doesn't work out well and IMO is often one of the reasons there is now a bigger gap between the fans and the club. The question is though what happens is Ashton moves on or is moved on, he hasn't stayed at one club for a particularly long time, and his staff seem to move with him. Under an old fashioned set up we rarely had a complete change of staff behind the scenes, only the coaching staff which happened anyway.. the difference now is the CEO appointed those staff not the manager
Good luck to Paul Cook there. He’s honest and a decent manager at the lower level, just not for elite football.
I guess the need to be involved is so great. He was a top manager at one point. Where did he go after city ditched him?
According to the BBC he has been out of work since being sacked by Southampton in 2018 ! Bit of a drop ( no offense to Bradford) !
Chesterfield's fortunes seem to be on the slide since Paul Cook took over. Bit gutted bearing in mind they are my hometown club and was looking forward to seeing them back in the league.
