[Archived] John Williams And The Board

[Cocker]

Did it?

Do share your knowledge on the trust with us.......

Dont get him started. I suspect we might have Lofty MK II on our hands.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Williams and the boards statement on the search for the new manager:

http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/New...1323265,00.html

[BlueMonday]

Williams and the boards statement on the search for the new manager:

http://www.rovers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/New...1323265,00.html

Like the quote that Rovers have been as beneficial to Mark Hughes as he has to Rovers. Needs to be said, if we are to attract top quality candidates. Well done Mr. Williams.

[b12_simon]

Like the quote that Rovers have been as beneficial to Mark Hughes as he has to Rovers. Needs to be said, if we are to attract top quality candidates. Well done Mr. Williams.

Too right - that made me smile, too.

[philipl]

I would imagine Souey appreciates what JW is saying as well.

[Duffy]

What is an investor?

'investor'..... The def of investor in this instance is being a cash cow! And who the hell would want to blow away millions of pounds? All the other 'investors' that we hear about in football simply put the club in hock by investing money from the bank, and thats the last thing that we want.

I very much doubt that Williams would allow someone like Abramovic to come in and take over the club - it goes against everything the club stands for but if there was someone who was really (and I MEAN really) interested in the club itself like Jack Walker then I reckon they might consider it - mind you there is and was only one Jack so I doubt we will find someone like this anytime soon. I think you'll find that I mentioned later on in my last post that it would have to be the right person and not another fly-by-night that may leave the club up the creek so in essence I agree with you.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

the question now is how do they sell season tickets based on the prospect of a relegation dog fight?

Relegation dog fight? please get a grip matty

[Paul]

But you posted this:

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.

and when I questioned it you said this:

It's only my location that prevents me from going every week. I wasn't "slagging" anyone off, I was merely point out that our attendances could be higher and that some of the fans who will bemoan the fact that we don't have much money to spend, are losing players and our manager will be some of the same ones who aren't willing to spend 25 pounds on a Saturday.

Well, I'm not sure we are in a position now to take that next step, I think we've actually just missed a two season window where progress was there for the taking and we instead chose to just keep things as they were.

I don't constantly attack the trustees. I simply think that their committment to the club is virtually non-existant and that they have simply chosen to life off of the Walker legacy and have not bothered to actually continue it.

At the same time, the club wouldn't have to increase their wages by all that much. You always have to take into consideration that we have, and have had, various players with premiership experience who are paid a premiership wage even though they can be easily replaced with a similar if not better player from a foreign country who won't expect as much.

Take for example Savage:

We sold savage for 1.5 (or something of that sort) and he was on around 40k a week. Now to be on 40k a week in most European countries or South America you have to be a superstar or be playing for one of the huge sides. So let's say we had chosen to spend 5 million on a Savage replacement (so a net expenditure of -3.5 or thereabouts) we could have still done this and possibly signed a very good player on 30k a week, which would mean our wage bill would have dropped by 10k a week.

It's very difficult to do this without looking at everything in depth, talking about possible signings and sales and it becomes extremely hypothetical, which is why I tend not to go into it as it is rather pointless. Having said this, I will stand by the fact that the trustees either need to start backing the club or put in more effort to sell it.

Some of you seem to be quite happy to view the trustees as a safety blanket, but if you do you should take a long hard look at this summer. Personally I'm not that worried as I'd lost faith in Hughes, so getting 5 million for him seems like an amazing piece of business, but if you liked Hughes then the trust has to start losing some of its appeal. Hughes is going to a club that finished lower than us last season, one that has finished lower than us for the past couple seasons and one that at this moment in time does not have as good of a squad as us. So why did he do it? His main reason will probably be that with the money they have to spend he can improve the team more there than he can improve the team here. Where is the trust as a safety blanket? We could now make the wrong managerial appointment, waste money, who knows, but it would all stem back to the fact that we can't financially compete with our rivals despite the fact that we are run by a trust worth a ton of money and one that could back us with a lot more than they do.

I haven't supported my view particularly well, I'm at work and babbling, but I hope you can get the general picture.

It's very simple we do not have, and have not had for a long time, £25m available for players on top of which will be their wages. All this stuff about South Americans etc is flannel. They will know the going rate. People don't accept lower wages because they come from another country, players want to come to the PL because that is where the highest wages are paid, regardless of all the stuff they spout about European football etc. I've heard it time and time again and none of them are saying anything other than the PR stuff put in their mouths by the club they have signed for.

[Mr. E]

Relegation dog fight? please get a grip matty

This is a very real possibility. We will be very fortunate to find another solid manager, and if Bentley and Santa leave we will have next to no one to create chances and no one to score. Again, we will be very fortunate to buy someone who can adequately replace them.

[thenodrog]

I very much doubt that Williams would allow someone like Abramovic to come in and take over the club -

1. You're kidding right? The way some people talk even the Pope wouldn't qualify.

2. Anyway what makes you think that any decision along those lines has got anything to do with JW?

[thenodrog]

That table alone is as good a reason to avoid BFS as anything

Priceless! Sam wasn't even employed at Bolton last season!

[philipl]

Eddie has never heard of work permits either.

[Duffy]

1. You're kidding right? The way some people talk even the Pope wouldn't qualify.

2. Anyway what makes you think that any decision along those lines has got anything to do with JW?

What makes you think that JW wouldn't be involved in any decision on this? He was certainly one of the guys involved when interest came from America. It would depend on how much the trustees want to cut and run but I reckon they would take advise from JW given his position in the club.

[JAL]

What i want to know now is, what is the ambition of the club for the coming season after the departing manger says in a round about way that Rovers failed to match his ambitions.

[blue phil]

Be realistic Jal . If Hughes's ambitions are to manage clubs with access to tens of millions a year transfer budget then he had to move on . Nothing wrong with that (although he hasn't been over generous with his comments on the club he's left ...) - we can't match either the glamour of a Man Utd or Arsenal nor the funds a corrupt billionaire can wave around .

What Rovers can offer a manager is the chance to go the same route as Hughes - that is , to keep us hovering on the fringes of Europe and thus give himself a chance at the really big clubs . That could either be an Allardyce with a proven record or an ambitious , younger Ince type figure . (I would prefer either type than a foreigner at this juncture to be honest - Sven left a bad memory with his antics all those years ago ......)

[JAL]

Be realistic Jal . If Hughes's ambitions are to manage clubs with access to tens of millions a year transfer budget then he had to move on . Nothing wrong with that (although he hasn't been over generous with his comments on the club he's left ...) - we can't match either the glamour of a Man Utd or Arsenal nor the funds a corrupt billionaire can wave around .

What Rovers can offer a manager is the chance to go the same route as Hughes - that is , to keep us hovering on the fringes of Europe and thus give himself a chance at the really big clubs . That could either be an Allardyce with a proven record or an ambitious , younger Ince type figure . (I would prefer either type than a foreigner at this juncture to be honest - Sven left a bad memory with his antics all those years ago ......)

What Hughes has said and done seems to reflect negatively on the club for me, obviously everything has changed now but i need to know there is ambition even if it may only be a sixth spot at most or a good cup run but i think the players would also need to know aswell what the ambition at the club is for coming season.

Can the club turn a positive out of a negative i sincerely hope so with the right appointment blue phil.

[gumboots]

Surely our club can be ambitious without being able to meet Mark Hughes ambitions. He thinks he's one of the best managers around so obviously big spending or very big club were required. As has been said we can provide an ambitious manager with the opportunity to show what he can do, and want to play European football or whatever it is that floats managers' and players' boats these days.

[blue phil]

Mark Bowen's comments (as reported on Talk Sport ) weren't great either . Something along the lines of "we've been waiting a couple of years for the right opportunity ...." Made it sound like they couldn't wait to get away .......

[gumboots]

Should have added "but since it didn't happen we took Ciyty instead".

[thenodrog]

but i need to know there is ambition even if it may only be a sixth spot at most or a good cup run but i think the players would also need to know aswell what the ambition at the club is for coming season.

Like 88 other clubs our REALLISTIC ambition can only be to finish 5th or 'Best of the Rest'. We managed 7th and comfortably ahead of a lot of 'big' outfits with much deeper pockets...... so is that not a huge statement of our ambitions?

[philipl]

One thing being brushed over is that of Hughes' £65m, Thaksin has/is spending £40m of it for him already. So Sparky's actual Citeh spending money which he can play with is not that much more than he could have had at Rovers. And what happens when he picks someone Thaksin doesn't want?

Got a feeling that the players SGE brought into Man Citeh and wowed everyone are now well and truly sussed by the rest of the Prem. If City's true worth is 16th based on their second half of the season (as opposed to 2nd based on their first half of the season), Sparky will have achieved a lot if he manages to keep them in the top half. Just a thought.

[philipl]

I suspect the Top 4 might be slightly more vulnerable in 08/9 as they are all suffering self-inflicted wounds this summer.

Spuds might well be getting their summer purchases right for the first time- in fact spectacularly right. If that happens and Ramos proves more EPL-adept than Rafa, it could get very competitive. Similarly if Randy Lerner decides to flex just a few sinews of his Forbes-listed wealth, Villa could certainly make top 4 under MoN.

[gumboots]

Not according to MON himself

[philipl]

Need any more evidence that the Top 4 might implode this summer through their own incompetence? I wrote might not will.

Villa are either basically muddling along or they are very deliberately low keying it.

Nobody has cottoned on to just how rich Lerner is. He makes the Glazers, Hicks and Gillett look small fry.

[JAL]

Like 88 other clubs our REALLISTIC ambition can only be to finish 5th or 'Best of the Rest'. We managed 7th and comfortably ahead of a lot of 'big' outfits with much deeper pockets...... so is that not a huge statement of our ambitions?

Thanks thenodrog, but what we all need from the management is in their actions on what they do, who they bring in that makes us all sit up and go wow! and give off a positive feel again.