[Archived] John Williams And The Board

[phili]

With quite a lot of the trust assets tied up in Flybe and commercial property, which are both facing serious problems at the moment with the state of the economy and fuel prices, there was no wonder the Trust did not sanction the spending of anything in January. Also if you listen to comments by Ryanair over the past couple of months, they believe Flybe could be one of the first big airlines to go bust this year. So Eddie the trust may well lose £500 million of its value this summer, which means the club needs to generate its own funds for transfers and investments for the foreseeable future or find a new investor, which is what the Trust are trying to do.

[philipl]

Flybe are not going bust.

I could suggest some candidates which will be in trouble. Flybe will be in oil price turbulence (like all airlines) but OK.

[Eddie]

Phili vs Philip

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7090666.stm

They're doing OK. They'll be hit by the oil price rise, although accoridng to the Ryan Air CEO on the radio this morning the airline industry is still fully expecting the price to drop.

[Blackburn Ender]

The question the Trust now has to ask itself is, would Jack allow the current (relative) lack of investment to happen were he still in charge today?

And with the inevitable fall-out that our highly promising young manager feels the need to walk away from what he himself describes as one of the best run clubs in football?

I think not.

So are they fulfilling the terms or spirt of Jack's legacy?

[RevidgeBlue]

So are they fulfilling the terms or spirt of Jack's legacy?

A question den in particular has asked on numerous occasions.

I would suggest not.

[RevidgeBlue]

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.

Excellent post imo.

[Eddie]

Yep. Perfectly sums up how I feel, should really be sent off to someone.

[Oklahoma]

Rovers are an example for many clubs. With limited resources, the club has maintained a good level in the Premiership and that is even more an achievment when many clubs have a lot to spend.

I prefer that the club keeps it real, spend the money they create. I prefer that the club doesn't depend on some rich guy.

Sure the Trust could have spent more money. But I doubt that Jack Walker would agree to that.

[RevidgeBlue]

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).

Correction, they were investing 3m p.a, even that was withdrawn with the advent of the increased TV money.

I wonder if that was the straw that broke the camel's back in Hughes eyes. I wouldn't have thought 3m p.a. was a particularly significant amount in relation to the size of the trust assets but nevertheless it was at least something, a gesture of commitment.

Withdrawing even that limited support must have seemed like a real kick in the teeth to the manager.

[CircoWill]

John Williams is the best thing to happen to this football club since Jack Walker. End of.

The next appointment will be a massive one for this club but there is nobody I'd rather have charged with recruiting him than John Williams.

[Eddie]

He agreed to it for a good many years. It's the only reason we got to the premiership, only reason we have Ewood, only reason we won the title. What would an extra 3/4 million a season have meant to us (which is nothing when compared to the level of investment Jack Walker had been putting in). What if Hughes had been told that he'd have 20 million or 25 million this summer instead of just 10 (which appears to be the bare minimum for premiership clubs this year, I've only heard West Ham quoted as having that size of a budget and they are going through huge financial turmoil because of their wage bill and ownership and recent spending).

Spend money to make money.

If you don't move forward you're moving backwards.

I can express the same idea in a thousand different clichés. There's no reason why Villa, Everton, City and the like should be going into a summer with 250-300% of our own transfer budget. Jack Walker will be turning in his grave.

[den]

Correction, they were investing 3m p.a, even that was withdrawn with the advent of the increased TV money.

I wonder if that was the straw that broke the camel's back in Hughes eyes. I wouldn't have thought 3m p.a. was a particularly significant amount in relation to the size of the trust assets but nevertheless it was at least something, a gesture of commitment.

Withdrawing even that limited support must have seemed like a real kick in the teeth to the manager.

It must have had some bearing Rev. He is/was ambitious, but either the trustees didn't see that, or they didn't care. They didn't have to withdraw the funding, did they.

[Ronin]

Rovers are an example for many clubs. With limited resources, the club has maintained a good level in the Premiership and that is even more an achievment when many clubs have a lot to spend.

I prefer that the club keeps it real, spend the money they create. I prefer that the club doesn't depend on some rich guy.

Look at what happened to Gretna as an example when the moneyman stops funding the club and pulls out.

[RevidgeBlue]

John Williams is the best thing to happen to this football club since Jack Walker. End of.

The next appointment will be a massive one for this club but there is nobody I'd rather have charged with recruiting him than John Williams.

John Williams does a good job, but let's not kid ourselves, the manager is the crucial appointment, we are only as good as our manager and coaching staff at any particular time.

We have been relegated, nearly relegated, promoted, won a Cup and qualified for Europe with John Williams at the helm. So whilst it might be nice to have stability in the Boardroom that's not the main barometer for our playing fortunes.

Can't disagree that the next appointment is absolutely crucial.

[jim mk2]

Can't disagree that the next appointment is absolutely crucial.

Agreed, which is why it is not the time to experiment with the likes of Paul ince or some johnnyforeigner.

Steve McClaren fits the bill perfectly.

[RevidgeBlue]

Steve McClaren fits the bill perfectly.

Why jim?

Boro fans were chucking their season tickets back at him a few months before he was fortuitously (for him) appointed England coach.

[modes98]

Steve McClaren fits the bill perfectly.

He already has a manager's job in McDonalds!

Hopefully he goes to FC Twente, although suprisingly even their fans don't want him! Good Ridence to bad rubbish!

[stuwilky]

Well, as I said it isn't a serious complaint, but we are talking about a trust worth hundreds of millions of pounds

I thought we were talking about the board? Not the trust? As far as I can recall the trust have representation on the board, but do not make up it's entireity.

Its a very important difference, as I believe that the board of directors we currently have are amongst the best in the business.

[BrianPotter]

Firstly, I think in John Williams we have one of the best, if not the best chairman around.

I still have a slight feeling that MH's decision to talk to Man City was purely to force Chelsea's hand, but for the sake of this post lets assume that isn't the case and he wants to move on to another club, perhaps City.

The main reason (also missing out on a Euro spot with the shambles at Brum on the last day won't have helped things) I would say MH wants to move on is that he feels he has taken Rovers as far as he can with the limited funds available at the present time, and in all honesty I would tend to agree.

For me, this summer was always going to be make or break for us. After three consecutive top ten finishes, a couple of UEFA appearances, Cup Semis, two players in the England squad, the success of RSQ etc etc now was the ideal time to try to move the club to the next level. To do this would have taken considerable investment to allow us to compete at that level. It is obvious that for what ever reason that investment has not been forthcoming which has caused MH to consider his position. Being realistic there were never going to be funds available to the level of the bigger clubs but I got the impression that MH felt there may have been a little bit more this summer than previously. If that has ended up not being the case then that may be the reason he wants out.

I've always defended the Walker Trust on this board, and to be honest I still do but I think they / we have missed a real opportunity in this summer period. However it must be considered that with the Walker Trusts heavy involvement in the aviation and property industry (two industries that are currently taking a pounding) the need for addtional investment could not have come at worse time for Rovers or the Trust. In an ideal world they should have perhaps injected some money, in the real world they may currently not be in a position to do so.

Other than a new owner with bottomless pockets, I really dont know what the answer is to get Rovers to the next level and perhaps MH doesn't either.

[USABlue]

He agreed to it for a good many years. It's the only reason we got to the premiership, only reason we have Ewood, only reason we won the title. What would an extra 3/4 million a season have meant to us (which is nothing when compared to the level of investment Jack Walker had been putting in). What if Hughes had been told that he'd have 20 million or 25 million this summer instead of just 10 (which appears to be the bare minimum for premiership clubs this year, I've only heard West Ham quoted as having that size of a budget and they are going through huge financial turmoil because of their wage bill and ownership and recent spending).

Spend money to make money.

If you don't move forward you're moving backwards.

I can express the same idea in a thousand different clichés. There's no reason why Villa, Everton, City and the like should be going into a summer with 250-300% of our own transfer budget. Jack Walker will be turning in his grave.

The lower reaches of the football league are littered with BIG clubs who moved forwards and STILL moved backwards. A couple of them spent money to make money and almost ceased to exist because of it.

I agree on one theme here, more should have been made available to Sparky, in particular this last window, I think that was what sealed it. In fact on Fox Football Fone in over here the presenters made a comment around February that MH's body language suggested he'd had enough at Rovers.

[USABlue]

Agreed, which is why it is not the time to experiment with the likes of Paul ince or some johnnyforeigner.

Steve McClaren fits the bill perfectly.

Jim, take your meds mate and quit trying to wind people up.

[jim mk2]

Jim, take your meds mate and quit trying to wind people up.

Not at all ; why should a very competant club manager and former national manager who is eager to prove himself again not be a candidate ?

McClaren did an excellent job as manager of Middlesbrough, is a good coach of players and through his experience with ManU and England will also have contacts throughout the world game which is vital in finding good quality players at reasonable prices

Something which I doubt the likes of Ince or Adams would be able to offer.

[gumboots]

My family are all Boro fans and they were really glad to see the back of McClaren. He was lucky in those UEFA cup games and the style of football and the poor results were similar to what happened with England where you felt the players had absolutely no respect for him.

[gowdym_940]

If, as Brian Potter points out that there is going to be a limited amount of money over the next few years,and hughes takes his entire backroom staff with him,then i think the appointment of the academy coach/es will be crucial in its need to bring better quality players through. There seemed to be problems there according to academy thread on the official site.

and i agree that in John Williams we do have a great chairman who will hopefully get the best available.

[Parsonblue]

Sadly, Hughes won't be taking the Academy coaches with him as the Academy is a totally separate group from the staff that Hughes brought with him. Indeed, Hughes was signing his own youngsters - Nielsen, Olsson, Flynn, Marrow to supplement to Reserves as the the players coming through the Academy were such a disappointment.

That is why the club desperately need to address why the Academy is not working and in the meantime they need a manager who can work with a limited budget in the transfer market for there are few youngsters of Premiership potential at the club.