[Archived] John Williams

[Exiled in Toronto]

Well you said: "I am sure JW found his position to be initially uncomfortable and then, after the Allardyce sacking, untenable". - So you weren't sure, in fact you don't know why he left.

My position was clear before Venky's took control. I said then, that people should watch John Williams's position carefully, because he was the kind of person who wouldn't hang around if he didn't think the club was in the right hands. His move to Man City pretty well shows that to be the case, doesn't it?

You're hilarious! Yes, his leaving CLEARLY shows that the Raos are criminal/evil/deranged - there is no other POSSIBLE interpretation!

I'm sure does not mean I know, it was shorthand for I'm sure in my own mind. But I think you knew that anyway.

[jim mk2]

You're hilarious! Yes, his leaving CLEARLY shows that the Raos are criminal/evil/deranged - there is no other POSSIBLE interpretation!

I'm sure does not mean I know, it was shorthand for I'm sure in my own mind. But I think you knew that anyway.

No one is saying the Raos are "criminal/evi/deranged" - only you. Are you feeling ill ?

You can twist words all you like but if Williams found his position "untenable" - which you seem to know is the case - he was effectively forced to leave. ie forced out.

[Eddie]

Just out of interest...why is it that so many think that JW was doing a fabulous job?

He is a very nice man and very approachable, but on top of that what specific things did he do to move the club forward? I'm sure that he played a part in the season ticket scheme, but that won't have been entirely his idea and it still needed the approval of the trust and the rest of the board. I would be surprised if many on here could point to any specific achievements.

He played a part in the Hughes appointment....he played a part in the Ince appointment. He played a part in the Duff contract negotiations and also the Jones contract negotiations (the pre-Venkys £8 million clause was a laughable idea).

I was sad to see him go because he was very nice, answered emails, was clearly liked throughout the league (and that is a positive), but I've always struggled to get my head around exactly why some on here think he is some super-executive.

[Mattyblue]

I never said he was forced out. JW and Venky's both had their reasons and I would wager that 'mutual consent' would be about right.

However, that doesn't mean that it was in the best interests of the club for him to leave and it could and should have been avoided.

[Exiled in Toronto]

You can twist words all you like but if Williams found his position "untenable" - which you seem to know is the case - he was effectively forced to leave. ie forced out.

So no word-twisting the the 2nd part of your sentence then!

I think any exec so used to having so much control would find it untenable to have his advice ignored and be told to sack someone he didn't want to sack. I also think any owner used to getting their own way would also find it untenable to have a Chairman who was not happy to support their agenda.

[pick32]

Ive been reading the Man City forums and they are all delighted at the appointment, They seem to think he will be taking over from Melwood and is just his understoody at the moment to learn the role. One poster made me laugh when he said "Any one who can shaft a club into paying 17million for RSC is welcome in my book".

[jim mk2]

I think any exec so used to having so much control would find it untenable to have his advice ignored and be told to sack someone he didn't want to sack. I also think any owner used to getting their own way would also find it untenable to have a Chairman who was not happy to support their agenda.

So he was forced out - I'm glad we're agreed on that then.

[Exiled in Toronto]

So he was forced out - I'm glad we're agreed on that then.

Given your past profession I am not surprised you like to think in trite soundbites.

Here's hoping we swoop for someone we have been keeping tabs on before the window slams shut!

[den]

Just out of interest...why is it that so many think that JW was doing a fabulous job?

He is a very nice man and very approachable, but on top of that what specific things did he do to move the club forward? I'm sure that he played a part in the season ticket scheme, but that won't have been entirely his idea and it still needed the approval of the trust and the rest of the board. I would be surprised if many on here could point to any specific achievements.

He played a part in the Hughes appointment....he played a part in the Ince appointment. He played a part in the Duff contract negotiations and also the Jones contract negotiations (the pre-Venkys £8 million clause was a laughable idea).

I was sad to see him go because he was very nice, answered emails, was clearly liked throughout the league (and that is a positive), but I've always struggled to get my head around exactly why some on here think he is some super-executive.

Because he managed to keep a small town club in the Premier League for 14 years? - Apart of course for the relegation and ultimate promotion campaign at the turn of the millenium.

He knew when a manager was achieving and he knew when a manager needed replacing. He kept the wage levels as high as possible, without jeopardising the clubs future - because he judged that wage levels should be reflective of league position. He had the respect of pretty well every manager and player that passed through the club. He had the respect of the vast majority of the fans. He had the respect of a large number of PL Chairmen. He gave the fans the truth [most of the time], even if they didn't want to hear it - and they respectd that. As you said, he worked towards a full Ewood Park, because he realised the importance of the fans. He fully supported the academy, even though he realised that for many years it wasn't producing.

Firstly Brad Friedel, - and then Bryan Douglas had this to say: “All I can say is while John Williams was with Blackburn Rovers he did an impeccable, flawless job and I honestly don’t think anyone could have duplicated what he has done over the past decade.

“John will have to go down very, very high up in the club’s history. In fact I would put him right up there with the greats and only a little bit under Sir Jack.

“John was Jack’s right hand man and his contribution can never be forgotten.”

Williams has overseen Rovers’ longest stay in the top flight since 1936 and, despite battling against the financial odds, has helped the club to reach four European campaigns.

He has also been part of four top 10 finishes and a Worthington Cup final appearance, leaving Friedel marvelling at how Williams balanced the books while maintaining a competitive squad.

“John Williams is a great man,” said Friedel.

“Blackburn Rovers is a great club that has been run impeccably and a lot of that is down to John Williams, in fact most of that is down to John Williams.

“I am really sorry to hear that because Blackburn Rovers was very, very close to his heart.

“John didn’t only make sure Blackburn Rovers stayed in the Premier League, he also maintained a standard of squad that kept the squad competing with the rest on small finances.

“I was there eight seasons, one was in the championship and the rest were in the Premier League. We were in Europe four four of those seasons as well.

“Graeme Souness and Mark Hughes both served under John Williams and did an exceptional job working with him. That says a lot about the man.”

Another Rovers’ legend, Bryan Douglas, has also hailed Williams’ contribution to the club’s recent history.

Douglas, who himself made more than 500 appearances for Rovers between 1952-1969, has remained an integral part of his boyhood club since retiring and had nothing but praise for Williams’ role.

He said: “I really like John Williams and always have. He has tried 110 per cent for the club and came through the Walker era to keep the club well run since.

“He has been soldiering on all this time and trying to address the problems associated with being a small town club.

"He tried to address the problem of getting fans into Ewood Park and it was his suggestion I believe to have cheaper tickets.

“John has done more than his fair share for this club.

“Personally he always made myself and Ronnie Clayton welcome and helped bring about getting a lounge named after us.

"Blackburn Rovers will always have a soft spot for John Williams and everyone will wish him well, I know I do."

Apart from that Eddie, what else would you want?

[philipl]

John Williams Thread.

Interesting quotes from Bucky among others. Also the old arguments about posters with inside info, not being credible.

It was gut wrenching being reminded not only of the day of JW's departure but also of the utterly reprehensible way in which he was treated that day.

Den's post immediately above this one underlines what a fabulous job John Williams did for Blackburn Rovers and I am left astonished that there could be anyone who purports to support the Rovers who fails to recognise how brilliant his tenure was.

[Mattyblue]

Yeah but APART from all that den, what did he do for the club?

[jim mk2]

Given your past profession I am not surprised you like to think in trite soundbites.

Here's hoping we swoop for someone we have been keeping tabs on before the window slams shut!

"Trite soundbites" or using two simple words to cut through the management gobbledegook you seem to specialise in ?

And I quote : "find it untenable to have his advice ignored and be told to sack someone he didn't want to sack. I also think any owner used to getting their own way would also find it untenable to have a Chairman who was not happy to support their agenda.

It's also a messageboard.........as in short, sharp messages. The clue is in the title.

[Eddie]

Yeah but APART from all that den, what did he do for the club?

Hold on...most of those are simply quotes about how he was a nice man and very liked...I didn't realise that was the key to being a good executive.

[booth]

Yeah but APART from all that den, what did he do for the club?

Sanitation?

[onlyonejackwalker]

Congratulations to JW being recruited by one of the wealthiest and currently most progressive clubs in world football. A club that could recruit almost anyone they wanted with the finances available to them. Very astute move by City and well deserved for JW. I am genuinely pleased for him after the disgraceful and disrespectful way he was shoe-horned out by the Venky's. (Note to JW - Be careful what you wish for at City!).

It will be no suprise to many on here that other clubs respect and value his work.

The only suprise is why he was not good enough for the Rovers.

I wonder if he will suddenly 'lose interest' at City and be 'unable to work with the manager'.

[Exiled in Toronto]

"Trite soundbites" or using two simple words to cut through the management gobbledegook you seem to specialise in ?

And I quote : "find it untenable to have his advice ignored and be told to sack someone he didn't want to sack. I also think any owner used to getting their own way would also find it untenable to have a Chairman who was not happy to support their agenda.

It's also a messageboard.........as in short, sharp messages. The clue is in the title.

I thought we were talking about management.

Phew, what a scorcher!

[winstonsmith]

Our loss, City's gain. Still, a familiar situation for John - club's owners based thousands of miles away with Champions League ambitions.

[BangkokRover]

Ive been reading the Man City forums and they are all delighted at the appointment, They seem to think he will be taking over from Melwood and is just his understoody at the moment to learn the role. One poster made me laugh when he said "Any one who can shaft a club into paying 17million for RSC is welcome in my book".

Classic

[den]

Hold on...most of those are simply quotes about how he was a nice man and very liked...I didn't realise that was the key to being a good executive.

Are you hard of reading Eddie.

We'll do it one line at a time if you like.

1] kept a small town club with minimal finances in the richest league in the world for 14 years.

Your turn. I guess you'll say he had nothing to do with that and it was all down to someone else.

Yeah but APART from all that den, what did he do for the club?

Made us respected as one of the best well run clubs in the country?

[Tris]

So a man who has "lost interest" (according to Mrs Desai) is back in football and landed a prominent role at a leading club too - a good move for him and recognition of his talents that throws into the spotlight again the stupidity of our owners.

Williams "clearly has moved on" because he had no choice - he was effectively sacked. Like Sam Allardyce he was seen as part of the previous regime by the new owners and, like Sam, he probably told Venky's how football operates in this country and how they should go about their business. The owners chose to ignore them and throw away the experience of both men and we as fans have had to suffer the consequences over the past 6 months.

Best wishes to both. Man City and West Ham are the winners in all this.

You wanted John Williams out of Rovers long ago. You've been attacking him on this messageboard for over 5 years. WUM.

So, Williams the tough negotiator capitulated and took the measly money on offer. What happened to the £6 million, John ?

Williams out.

Poor PR or not, the buck stops at the top. Williams out ... Williams has been made to look the fool he is (again) by Murray ... Is there any hint at how Williams and Finn are going to justify their vast salaries ... Attendances may be only a small percentage of income but it the one source of income that Williams and Finn have the power to influence through their skills (or lack of them) as managers ... I repeat what I said: running Blackburn Rovers does not require any special skills and for what they do Williams and Finn receive more than ample remuneration ... Yet another example of management failure at Ewood - take a bow the man at the top, John Williams ... Send Williams your phone bill, he might get his overpaid lazy arse in gear next time ... Not exactly "rocket science" is it, but then Williams is paid £400,000 plus a year so he must be good at something ... Williams admitted a few years ago that he had no idea how to reverse the decline in attendances (which sadly seems to be accelerating) so do not expect any initiatives now ... John Williams' and Tom Finn's salaries and expense accounts have to be paid for somehow ... Good managements react to changing situations quickly, the light should have gone on in Williams' overpaid brain on Saturday night ... So which one is to blame for failing to reverse the decline in attendances, the son, the Dad or both? One Williams with his snout in the Rovers pig trough is more than enough ... The buck stops with Williams ... Rovers' predicament is entirely down to Williams ... Williams ought to walk the plank too ... Williams is going to do nothing ... And while the Titanic slowly sank beneath the waves the band played on - indecision, thy name is John Williams ... £400,000 a year and that's the best he can do ? Pathetic ... the weak John Williams ... To my mind John Williams is the principal villain in Rovers' decline over the past 12 months and should have his own thread for discussion about his decisions and his own future at the club ... If he were the chairman of a plc institutional shareholders would have forced him out of office by now ... In those circumstances I would expect Williams to do the decent thing and resign. But he would probably dither over that decision too ... Williams is either obstinate and strong-willed or weak and indecisive; the evidence both over his inaction over the Souness problem and the now with Ince point to the latter ... Now wait for the Williams bootlickers to hit back ... I wouldn't bank on it - Williams is incapable of making a decision ... If Williams takes any notice of a stupid supporters messageboard then he's an even bigger idiot than I had him for ... Williams has been interviewing fans this week to talk about their "concerns" the man needs a steel-capped boot up the backside to remind him to make hard decisions for which he is extremely well paid ... Agree, the situation needs a clean sweep : WILLIAMS ducking another hard decision ... forgot to mention John Williams's incompetance ... I don't trust Williams either ... an act of downright stupidity by Williams and in many other industries he would have lost his own job ... Williams must be celebrating tonight that his over-inflated salary appears to be safe despite his own ineptness ... I stand by my comments on Williams: he should have resigned ... You're nothing but a Williams lapdog and have no credence whatsoever ...

Apologies for highlighting your gross hypocrisy - but I'm just doing my bit as "a Williams lapdog"

[Stuart]

Wow, Tris, how long have you been hanging on to that.

I had to scroll back up to check your avatar. I was shocked not to see a teddy bear with a knife behind its back!

[tcj_jones]

Amazing post, but that must have taken you hours!

[Exiled in Toronto]

You're on a roll Tris - who's next for the historical quote attack??

[Gav]

You wanted John Williams out of Rovers long ago. You've been attacking him on this messageboard for over 5 years. WUM.

Apologies for highlighting your gross hypocrisy - but I'm just doing my bit as "a Williams lapdog"

Now thats funny

[braddock]

Jim mk2

How long till you retire and Mk3 comes along, to prevent further revelations such as these?