[Archived] John Williams And The Board

[dannyboy1206]

The obvious reason that MH wants to leave is lack of money for new players but whose fault is it that we haven't got any money or new investment. John Williams, The trustees or the rest of the board

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

We can't offer money we don't have.

For what it is worth, I think John Williams is a great servant for the club.

[dannyboy1206]

What about the fans?

[S15]

What about the fans?

Do you want Hughes chained to the bench so you can worship him forever?

[dannyboy1206]

I meant attendances

[gbax]

We can't offer money we don't have.

For what it is worth, I think John Williams is a great servant for the club.

Not sure about the Board and the Trustees, but I know that it would not have been a decision taken lightly by John Williams. I've met him several times and unlike Hughes, this bloke is now and has been for sometime Rovers through and through. Ewood is no longer just a place of work for him, it's also his passion. Plenty of other (bigger) clubs have tried to steer Mr. Williams away from Rovers due to the successful ship he runs, but he has stayed very loyal. This bloke has been as important to Blackburn Rovers in the last 10-15 as any million dollar or 30 goal-a-season signing.

As with a players (or my staff at work - not on the same wages) if they want to go or are not happy it is no good for all concerned for them to stay. John W has to think beyond Hughes, not tomorrow, not next week but several years. If he stays through choice or we force him to stay, do we go through this situation again and again till Hughes decides it's in his interest to go. After the Newcastle will he/won't he, it might be in the interest of Rovers and better for the club long term if the CLUB decides when it's time for him to go/let go. If that time is now, sad as it is, I personally have 100% confidence that John Williams will make the right move!

Hey, but that's just my opinion!

[AggyBlue]

Hey, but that's just my opinion!

One I share too.

If only he could pick a football team

[topper]

Not sure about the Board and the Trustees, but I know that it would not have been a decision taken lightly by John Williams. I've met him several times and unlike Hughes, this bloke is now and has been for sometime Rovers through and through. Ewood is no longer just a place of work for him, it's also his passion. Plenty of other (bigger) clubs have tried to steer Mr. Williams away from Rovers due to the successful ship he runs, but he has stayed very loyal. This bloke has been as important to Blackburn Rovers in the last 10-15 as any million dollar or 30 goal-a-season signing.

As with a players (or my staff at work - not on the same wages) if they want to go or are not happy it is no good for all concerned for them to stay. John W has to think beyond Hughes, not tomorrow, not next week but several years. If he stays through choice or we force him to stay, do we go through this situation again and again till Hughes decides it's in his interest to go. After the Newcastle will he/won't he, it might be in the interest of Rovers and better for the club long term if the CLUB decides when it's time for him to go/let go. If that time is now, sad as it is, I personally have 100% confidence that John Williams will make the right move!

Hey, but that's just my opinion!

Very well said. If MH is the fact that Rovers have saved millions in the transfer market then you have to say that losing MH could cost the club £20M+ in player transfer fees. Is the rumoured £5M compensation enough??? I would say not.

[Mr. E]

The problem in the first place is appointing people who are there for the short term. We do not have any money, we have almost never had any money, and that should be obvious to anyone wanting to work for Rovers. This can not be revelation for Hughes or anyone else.

[Hughesy]

I dont think the board/ JW could do anymore in terms of Hughes - its obvious he wants out, so let him - but ensure our club gets a good deal from it.

We must move quickly however and then our new manager can get a look at some of the Euro games.

Next - If bentley is still after a move - sell him, but not for less than £15m. Onwards and upwards for us, Way down for him!

I just hope the board dont get caught up in the 'pick British' as there are not that many great British managers.

[Oklahoma]

I think JW and the board have done a fantastic job for the club.

With a low transfer budget, they got a good manager and brought a lot of good players (credit to Hughes for that as well).

But, with a competition that can spend a lot more than Rovers, the club is very competitive, doesn't do crazy transfers, it is a good place for a manager to work.

[Eddie]

We are owned by a trust worth hundreds of millions...they could have done more.

The fans didn't show up in the numbers that they could have.

[LeChuck]

We can't offer money we don't have.

Didn't the trustees withdraw their funding when the TV money increased? I've said this a few times but I'll repeat it here:

That extra £3-4 million for a player or two might have seemed a lot a year/6 months ago, but it might look a tiny sum to have paid this time next year...£750k per place remember. We could easily (and probably will) finish mid-lower half next year, and that alone will cost millions in prize money. Had Hughes been given more funding, we probably would have made Europe this season and Hughes probably wouldn't be tempted by Man City...Chelsea is a different matter of course, but whether they really want him or not remains to be seen.

Given that Hughes made it blindingly obvious throughout last season that he would be be off unless funding improved, I think the board have let him down, and I believe they'll regret doing so when we're scrapping around the bottom half (unless we make a miraculous appoint of course, but quality managers seem hard to find at the moment).

The fact that Hughes had to settle for a half-fit Vogel after the January window had closed sums it all up for me...there was a chance then to show him we had ambitions to challenge for European places, but instead he was forced to try and work magic on another cheap signing.

[AggyBlue]

The fans didn't show up in the numbers that they could have.

We couldn't have got that many more in. The home areas looked almost full for most matches from where I sit. A couple of thousand for some games but less than that for many.

[Eddie]

I'm not saying we could have sold out every game, but it could have been a bit better. My main gripe would be with the board. I'm still not overly critical of them, but they either have to put up or get out, they aren't doing either fast enough for my liking.

[Paul]

We are owned by a trust worth hundreds of millions...they could have done more.

The fans didn't show up in the numbers that they could have.

That one really takes the biscuit. It's the supporters fault now. How many times have you been to Ewood? One or is it less?

[krislu]

Having a go at the fans and the board just show complete ignorance! Of course the Trustees might have trown more money at Rovers, but they have their investments to look after. One have to understand that a proffesional investor dont give a rats ass about Blackburn Rovers, they just want a return on their investment which is larger or equal to their best alternative.

There is a quote saying; Q:"what is the fastest way to become a millionaire?" A:"being a billionaire and investing in a Air Plane company" => That quote would work just as well if you replace Air Plane with Football Club...

[Beta Ray Bill]

Having a go at the fans and the board just show complete ignorance! Of course the Trustees might have trown more money at Rovers, but they have their investments to look after. One have to understand that a proffesional investor dont give a rats ass about Blackburn Rovers, they just want a return on their investment which is larger or equal to their best alternative.

There is a quote saying; Q:"what is the fastest way to become a millionaire?" A:"being a billionaire and investing in a Air Plane company" => That quote would work just as well if you replace Air Plane with Football Club...

At that rate, the Walker Trust will be worth nowt, owning both a plane company and a football club!

[krislu]

At that rate, the Walker Trust will be worth nowt, owning both a plane company and a football club!

Oh dear, poor @#/?s...

[Alan75]

I'm not saying we could have sold out every game, but it could have been a bit better. My main gripe would be with the board. I'm still not overly critical of them, but they either have to put up or get out, they aren't doing either fast enough for my liking.

I tend to try and keep out of personal remarks, but there's only one word that springs to mind after reading that post.

"Muppet"

[Darth Paul]

Having had the pleasure of John Williams time for over an hour to discuss Rovers related matters in his office I can honestly say that this man, although not originally a Rovers supporter prior to taking the job, is now Blue and White through and through and the turmoil of the past 24 hours will be as much of a problem to him as it is to us. I am also confident that he will get the right man, whoever it may be or what some of us may think about that man.

However I believe that the people behind Jack Walker's Trust fund need to take a serious look at themselves. IMO they have done the bare minimum required to keep in line with our late benefactors wishes, and given the changing climate of the game over the past decade the annual payment we received up until recently has been nowhere near enough to keep us competing at a level which we could have, which in turn really could have made us as near to self financing as most clubs can get, ie finishing in the top 4.

Regardless of Jack's wishes for the club and its ability to run itself, if he were still here today there is no way a top, top manager like Sparky would have been allowed to be disillusioned by a lack of spending power, and money would have been made available. I think in their hearts the members of the Trust will know this, if they even care, but at least they can point to a set of criteria which I feel has been fairly inflexibly hidden behind since they were created, with a couple of notable exceptions, ie the Andy Cole transfer. I dont think a club of our size can ever really be self financing and as also as successful as Jack would have wanted. Which then would he have wanted for his beloved Club, given the choice?

In at least a couple of our last few seasons we could have really kicked on, particuarly as we were still in the hunt for a Champions League place until quite late in the season when Bellamy was here (I think the 3-2 Spurs defeat may have dashed our hopes) and now depending on which staff we retain that could be a distant dream to which heights we may never again reach.

Sure we have been close a couple of times in the past, finishing 6th etc but we shouldn't take that for granted. Even a good new manager may not achieve that at Ewood. Even the "career jump" that is Man City have never finished higher than 8th in the Premiership.

Keep the Chairman, change the backers, for the sake of BRFC.

[CAPT KAYOS]

However I believe that the people behind Jack Walker's Trust fund need to take a serious look at themselves. IMO they have done the bare minimum required to keep in line with our late benefactors wishes, and given the changing climate of the game over the past decade the annual payment we received up until recently has been nowhere near enough to keep us competing at a level which we could have, which in turn really could have made us as near to self financing as most clubs can get, ie finishing in the top 4.

Regardless of Jack's wishes for the club and its ability to run itself, if he were still here today there is no way a top, top manager like Sparky would have been allowed to be disillusioned by a lack of spending power, and money would have been made available. I think in their hearts the members of the Trust will know this, if they even care, but at least they can point to a set of criteria which I feel has been fairly inflexibly hidden behind since they were created, with a couple of notable exceptions, ie the Andy Cole transfer. I dont think a club of our size can ever really be self financing and as also as successful as Jack would have wanted. Which then would he have wanted for his beloved Club, given the choice?

In at least a couple of our last few seasons we could have really kicked on, particuarly as we were still in the hunt for a Champions League place until quite late in the season when Bellamy was here (I think the 3-2 Spurs defeat may have dashed our hopes) and now depending on which staff we retain that could be a distant dream to which heights we may never again reach.

Sure we have been close a couple of times in the past, finishing 6th etc but we shouldn't take that for granted. Even a good new manager may not achieve that at Ewood. Even the "career jump" that is Man City have never finished higher than 8th in the Premiership.

Keep the Chairman, change the backers, for the sake of BRFC.

Maybe Darth Paul but does anybody know what the terms or 'wishes' of Jack where, bar the Trustees themselves and probably major representatives of the club?

To me its abit unfair to criticise the Trustees when we really don't know what the terms of the Trust document entail. As you state I am sure in their hearts they probably are aware of what was probably required, but would it really have been good enough/ the best for Rovers?

We could easily have been in a position of the Coventry , Rotherham, Bradfords etc but we are not - we have competed and still are - so effectively the trust has suceeded in its capacity as to what you would imagine it was set up for.

The problem now is with the game - not Rovers (just take alook at Mr E's comments and the thread he has started to generalise the feeling of difference to the modern game) -and the scandolous amounts of money washing through it with the need for more!

As I have said before - it may or may not come to a stagnant end but my feeling is the league structure will collapse as we know it unless teams break away into a more regulated structure.

Only the City clubs will survive with serious 'investment /debt ' - is that what you want for the Rovers?

[stuwilky]

I'm not saying we could have sold out every game, but it could have been a bit better. My main gripe would be with the board.

You're gonna have to run that one by me Eddie, what gripes do you have precisely with "the board"?

[Eddie]

Well, as I said it isn't a serious complaint, but we are talking about a trust worth hundreds of millions of pounds and at the moment they see fit to invest 3 million a year (or something around that figure). It isn't exaclty a huge amount of funding relative to either the wealth they are dealing with our the league within which we operate. Perhaps they are restricted by the will, but I somehow doubt that. I understand that they have other interests, others which will actually make the trust money, but we're talking about a level of investment that is less than the interest that could be made on the wealth, let alone taking into account annual profits the trust must make.

I'm not voicing a serious complaint here, I have my complaints about Hughes and I do feel we need a new owner, but this isn't a big issue for me. I do feel though that they need to speed up their exit, they aren't investing, they're looking for a new owner, but we've been looking for a few years now and whilst other clubs at various levels of English football have been sold to new owners with a suitable level of wealth (some of whom would have fit the bill perfectly), we have yet to even get past the first real negotiations with anyone.

[percy]

.........whilst other clubs at various levels of English football have been sold to new owners with a suitable level of wealth (some of whom would have fit the bill perfectly), we have yet to even get past the first real negotiations with anyone.

....because they don't deserve to. Some definitely wouldn't fit the bill. Very pleased Rovers haven't ended up with clowns like those involved with Liverpool & Newcastle, or gone down the same path as Leeds or Derby with their financial problems caused through spending what they couldn't afford.

No doubt there are still some reasonable buyers out there somewhere and the Trust will be considering all kinds of possibilities. The fact they won't sell to the 1st shotgun millionaire that fancies a season or so of fantasy football with a real team is a good thing. We're in a good position financially regardless of the lack of £30m transfer kitty's - not something to throw away lightly. A takeover deal has to be right for the club, not a rushed affair that leaves us with 5 mins of glory and a several years of ruin.