Post by mehewmagic on Aug 29, 2021 20:58:12 GMT
Time to step up please
by Martin Bull
(note - not written for a publication; just need to get it down on paper and out of my head)
It’s hard to know how to write this article without appearing to be, (a) reactionary to poor results over the past two years, (b) getting personal – believe me this is not personal, but purely analytical and ethical, and/or, (c) appear overly critical / not supportive.
It's therefore worth pointing out that these issues are not new and if I appear critical it is only because I am knowledgeable about organisational structure and ethics, and that I truly believe we CAN be run better, and that we, as Gasheads, deserve to be able to support a club that is well run.
The bottom line is that Bristol Rovers FC is currently a very badly run organisation.
That has to stop, and the buck must stop at the top.
To start on a route to being a decently run organisation at least two main figures in the club need to be replaced; especially the ‘leaders’ of the administrative and strategic side, and the footballing activity.
I have spent almost 35 years following, supporting and writing about the Gas but I won’t be going to any matches until Martyn Starnes (the Chief Executive Officer - CEO) and Joey Barton (the Manager) have left our club.
The former has personally overseen our massive decline since the double promotion of 2014-2016, effectively sacked the leader of those promotions (call it constructive dismissal if you wish after promises of infrastructural development were not forthcoming…), personally appointed several unsuccessful managers since (and sacked / led Paul Tisdale to leave within a few months), brought in the structure that enabled Tommy Widdrington to perform roles that not only led to poor signings but also to Tisdale leaving, and has led the entire and complete disintegration of relationships between supporters, volunteers and the club, including numerous long standing groups, who despite probable flaws in one of them (the Supporters Club), will be here in some form or another for far, far longer than any temporary employee will ever be.
The latter is simply not the right person to lead the footballing side of the club. The bottom line is that not only have the results under Joey Barton been appalling (and strangely worse than his two much maligned predecessors, one of whom never had a real chance to make changes like JB and BG have), but that his ‘professional’ attitude and methods of heavy criticism of players, referees and his predecessors is not what we need, and it clearly isn’t working either. The latter is damaging the reputation of our football club, and even us as supporters.
For me, the personal life and morals of JB is an significant extra factor, and I don’t just mean the two currently unresolved court cases. His entire adult life has been a litany of public and professional trouble, including broken limbs, numerous court cases, time in jail, addiction (including gambling issues, which incidentally is currently a growing safeguarding issue with young adults), FA charges, red cards and public spats with managers, staff and players.
This is not tittle-tattle; these are facts that anyone can find out. He has had two decades to address these so this is clearly not a case of a young man making mistakes (like many of us have) and then trying to sort them out (like many of us also have). This is still continuing and shows no sign of being addressed. This is not an individual who should have ever been employed by our club, nor any football club proclaiming to be a family club or being run intelligently or successfully.
The 2020/21 relegation was the lamest relegation in our almost 140-year history and it is clear who in a decision making and strategic capability is responsible for this; Martyn Starnes, via the overall responsibility of and (potentially negligent) oversight of Wael Al-Qadi.
And, yes, I do include the 2014 relegation into non-league in my analysis of ‘lamest’ relegation. Whilst 2014 was obviously the physical nadir of our Football League history, it wasn’t without some fight; with 50 points, going down on Goal Difference (of only -11) and being in the relegation zone for just 54 minutes of the entire 393,120 minute season (a grimly savage quiz question surely?). That relegation was also strangely our saving grace as an ethical resurgence under Darrell Clarke finally brought some humility to our club and the realisation that we are not really a ‘big club’ and certainly not a well run club.
The 2021 relegation season garnered just 38 points, our lowest ever since three points were given for a win, although it is fair to point out that the disastrous 1980/81 relegation would have been worse, with just 28 points (equivalent). That was at least from the second tier though, a place we’ve not visited for almost three decades now (more appalling stats on that another day…). Goals scored (40) were the lowest in the league, as was the amount of wins (just into double figures with 10). Three managers, plus a caretaker twice, and a left back as top scorer. Ouch.
Most managerial changes in the second half of a season at least accomplish a ‘dead cat bounce’, however short. JB managed nothing, and alienated players at precisely the time he needed them on his side. Results and public knowledge suggest that the players were not on his side and still aren’t. When he was appointed on the 22nd of February 2021 Rovers were 19th and although that was hardly a huge position of strength, it was at least outside of the relegation zone and no-one at that point in time would have been willing to accept just eight more points from the 54 still available, nor 10 losses in the final 12 games and relegation confirmed several games before the culmination of the season.
The start of this season has not been any better, leading to an overall record of four wins, three draws and 17 losses, including no victories away from the Mem.
It is fair to assume that none of this could have been handled better and that the poor results over 24 games have been due to the players / previous managers / referees / injuries / ‘cancer’ in the club / need for a clearout? (delete as you feel applicable)
Slippery slope time.
I’m fed up with new managers of ANY football club saying that they need their own staff, their own players, and their own systems before they will take any personal responsibility for poor performances. It’s akin to a Willy Wonka golden ticket to abrogate all responsibility before you’ve even tried. What other profession in the world would allow that?
And if I hear the phrase ‘clear out the dead wood' again I think I might strangle the cat (relax; I don’t actually own a cat). The time and money such exercises take is astronomical, especially if you change managers around once a year. Surely the sign of a resilient and adaptable manager is coaching / improving / working with most of what you've got? Of course, each manager will make changes, and there is natural churn at the end of contracts and in transfer windows, but the philosophy that ‘we must have immediate and complete control before any results can be achieved’ sounds more Taliban than resourcefulness.
The hideously inexperienced BG was afforded such a ticket when appointed, with Rovers in a play-off place and fans strangely happy to accept a rapid plummet away from success because a future of free-flowing football had been assured by those who run our club. BG was given free rein to dismantle a successful system / team before he had actually replaced it with anything, and even when he did unleash his own players and own system, the results were the same. Fact.
I didn’t become a Rovers fan to witness great football (I can hardly see the other end of the pitch from the Blackthorn!), I became a Gashead due to the history, the locality, the laughs, the passion, the camaraderie, the roar at a tackle, and because we were funnier, more respected and more humane than that noisy lot over the river.
The occasional success and skilled player was a bonus, but the knowledge that we would fight to the end was important; especially when getting thrashed at Peterborough… again. If I wanted great football I’d watch the Champions League on slow-mo on a huge plasma TV in the living room that’s bigger than Screen Three at the Orpheus, whilst stuffing my fat face with Frazzles and a six pack of Wagon Wheels from the poundshop.
I’ve stuck with Rovers through thin and thinner, but I’m now at the lowest ebb.
History is repeating itself with JB, and this time it’s even more public because he repeatedly blames players, referees and especially previous regimes, even to a point of potential slander proceedings from Ben Garner. The starting XI at Barrow looked like a team that JB owns and as we apparently now have only four players left from Garner-era signings (out of circa 15), crunch time is upon us.
Recently JB has now even started talking about the effect ‘Bristol Rovers’ is having on the opposition, repeating the tired old narrative that it’s harder for ‘big’ clubs like us to get results. Whilst I appreciate JB is partly suggesting that it is ROVERS who need to deal with this, and that it is OUR players who need to sort themselves out, I dislike the use of a weary insular idea that we are somehow big and there to be shot down. Drawing any attention to this so-called fact is akin to the man in the street who starts off a sentence with ‘Now, I’m not racist, but…’ – you just know that what is about to be uttered is not going to help anyone. We are not special, we are not memorable, we are not in the thoughts of others; in fact many of our lower league colleagues have far more glorious histories that ours, both historically and recently, but we are often so far up our own deep and dark back passage that we can’t physically envisage this inconvenient truth.
Oldham Athletic, Swindon Town and Bradford City have all been in the Premier League (i.e. since 1992), and the later played in the League Cup final as recently as 2013. In this Millennium, current League One clubs Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Wigan Athletic have all been winners or runners up in the FA Cup or League Cup. Ipswich Town even won the UEFA Cup in 1981.
We are tiny and unsuccessful, and all this talk of being a big club defies the statistics. We’ve never even won the Football League Trophy! [Port Vale, Carlisle Utd (both twice), Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra, Wrexham, Mansfield Town, and Salford City all have]. We are a badly run, low achiever and the quicker we acknowledge it, re-embrace the humility we found under DC, and learn from the Brentford’s and Wycombe Wanderers’ of this world [controversial choice – forget 2012 – yes, I was there and yes I’m still struggling to forgive…] the better.
I really do have a problem when certain people are given overwhelming, nay imprudent, support but zero challenge. There is always a place for constructive challenge, even when someone or something needs loving support. A lot of my work is in schools, especially with Headteachers and Governing Bodies, and the crux of a Governor’s role is to ‘Challenge and Support’ the school / Senior Leadership Team. That simple ethos can be extrapolated to nearly all aspects of life, be it work, family, or friends; we are here on earth to support each other, but also at the appropriate time, and in the right way, to offer challenge, be it with our kids, friends, family, work colleagues, Governments or even strangers.
BG, with zero managerial experience, seemed to be almost untouchable until finally sacked, and that has continuing via JB, even though the man sandwiched in between them – Tisdale; the man who was more of an ideal fit for Rovers - was not afforded that support, and ultimately the undue influence of Tommy Widdrington’s ‘role’ as a de facto DoF during the winter 2020 transfer window led not only to relegation for the club, but also a personal relegation for him in June 2021 to a role “…in charge of creating a loan department, that will be tasked with establishing relationships with other clubs. Tommy will also be responsible for mirroring the first-team philosophy, that will be set by the first-team Manager, across the Academy structure.” Mea culpa.
I am very concerned that JB simply is NOT the right person to lead us anywhere upwards, even to an Ian Atkins style return to mid-table anonymity rather than constant membership of the bottom feeder’s club. Mediocrity would be welcome in some ways (Atkins brought in most of the players who became the famous 2006/7 promotion winners and JPT finalists), but I fear that the damage will already be done by then.
Where have all the recent rejects gone?
This section is a bit of an aside so skip to the money shot at the end if you prefer.
Whilst I realise that examples of rejected players ending up at clubs at a higher level, or at least the same level, doesn’t necessarily mean they were great players and should have been retained, it is a small piece of factual evidence that needs to be taken into account. Maybe effective work could have been done with them and maybe they will work better with different man management, tactics, teammates, formations, facilities, or atmospheres?
You might expect that a lot of our recently released / sold players have gone down to a lower level, but in reality most haven’t. I won’t dwell on Brandon Hanlan going to League One Wycombe Wanderers just before the transfer window closes because it’s such recent knowledge and was also a thorny monetary/contractual situation, but what about the rest?
• David Tutonda – Playing for Gillingham in League One.
• Max Ehmer – Returned to play for Gillingham in League One.
Barton’s extremely public humiliation of BRFC captain Ehmer is well known and well documented, but whatever perceived problems JB may have apparently had with the young Ehmer at QPR in the early 2010’s, I wonder if a player can rack up almost 400 appearances with League One clubs by complete accident and if they cannot, then maybe that experience and previous endeavour should be respected and revived, rather than torn apart in the middle of a relegation run? Whilst the Gills’ experienced manager, Steve Evans, is sometimes considered a loose cannon by certain supporters his circumspect and mature reaction to the return of a player who snubbed him just a year previous was telling, and maybe an approach that JB could try? “My thoughts are not to speak about Max’s time at Bristol Rovers and his disagreements with Joey Barton, because one thing I have is respect for both men. Everyone can read a story and believe one side of it, but there is always two sides. Max comes back into the Football Club; Kyle Dempsey will remain as skipper but I’m sure Max, with his experience and knowledge of everything around Priestfield, will be an outstanding help to young Kyle, alongside Stuart, who played a massive role last season too… Max Ehmer is simply a top-class central defender in League 1. Simple.”
• Jonah Ayunga – Playing for Morecambe in League One. The No.9 we no longer have in the squad?
• George Williams – Playing for Cambridge United in League One.
• Jack Baldwin - Playing for Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.
• James Daly – Playing for Stevenage in League Two.
• Ed Upson – Stayed local with Newport County in League Two.
• Ali Koiki – Playing for Northampton Town in League Two.
• Ben Liddle - Playing for Queen of the South in the Scottish Championship.
• Josh Hare – Returned to Eastleigh in the National League.
• Mark Little – Stayed local with Yeovil Town in the National League.
• Abu Agogo – Playing for Southend Utd in the National League.
And of course the elephant in the room… will Ben Garner continue his early results at Swindon Town, whilst in a partnership with Ben Chorley as a Director of Football? Whilst Chorley has a huge amount of experience as a professional footballer, he has none as a DoF so that pairing will be fascinating to watch. Swindon didn’t even have enough players to play pre-season friendlies, so anyone who suggests that JB had no chance of hitting the ground running in the 2021/22 season, let alone in February 2021, is frankly delusional.
I always found it strange and disappointing that amongst ALL the talk about BG and his amazing experience as a coach, complete with almost sycophantically positive quotes from people in high level football such as Tony Pulis and Rickie Lambert, I never heard any mention of yoking him with a proper Director of Football, preferably with experience, just as Paul Trollope was so successfully braced with Lennie Lawrence. It almost felt like it was SUCH an obvious discussion to have that no-one actually went ahead with it, as if everyone assumed someone had already organised it. Tommy Widdrington was not a true DoF and was yet another example of not organising a clear, reliable and mutually agreed structure. Does anyone honestly believe that a hugely experienced lower division manager like Paul Tisdale would have taken the job if he knew such obfuscation in transfers was going to occur?
The eagle eyed may wonder why I have not mentioned Wael Al-Qadi in this, albeit briefly once in passing.
Wael Al-Qadi is the sole owner of the mass majority of the club, and was previously a joint owner with his family, so does therefore bear ultimate responsibility for any failure (or success), but whilst his culpability may be over arching and disappointing, especially when appointing a CEO who refused to work with, and later ousted, a thoroughly decent Chairman (Steve Hamer) and now leads an imperious regime behind the scenes, the day-to-day hands-on responsibility has not been his.
His reputation and performance, although tarnished, is not irretrievably broken like Martyn Starnes’ is. There is still time for Wael Al-Qadi to lead BRFC to become a well run club, or at least a decently run one.
Time to step up please...
by Martin Bull
(note - not written for a publication; just need to get it down on paper and out of my head)
It’s hard to know how to write this article without appearing to be, (a) reactionary to poor results over the past two years, (b) getting personal – believe me this is not personal, but purely analytical and ethical, and/or, (c) appear overly critical / not supportive.
It's therefore worth pointing out that these issues are not new and if I appear critical it is only because I am knowledgeable about organisational structure and ethics, and that I truly believe we CAN be run better, and that we, as Gasheads, deserve to be able to support a club that is well run.
The bottom line is that Bristol Rovers FC is currently a very badly run organisation.
That has to stop, and the buck must stop at the top.
To start on a route to being a decently run organisation at least two main figures in the club need to be replaced; especially the ‘leaders’ of the administrative and strategic side, and the footballing activity.
I have spent almost 35 years following, supporting and writing about the Gas but I won’t be going to any matches until Martyn Starnes (the Chief Executive Officer - CEO) and Joey Barton (the Manager) have left our club.
The former has personally overseen our massive decline since the double promotion of 2014-2016, effectively sacked the leader of those promotions (call it constructive dismissal if you wish after promises of infrastructural development were not forthcoming…), personally appointed several unsuccessful managers since (and sacked / led Paul Tisdale to leave within a few months), brought in the structure that enabled Tommy Widdrington to perform roles that not only led to poor signings but also to Tisdale leaving, and has led the entire and complete disintegration of relationships between supporters, volunteers and the club, including numerous long standing groups, who despite probable flaws in one of them (the Supporters Club), will be here in some form or another for far, far longer than any temporary employee will ever be.
The latter is simply not the right person to lead the footballing side of the club. The bottom line is that not only have the results under Joey Barton been appalling (and strangely worse than his two much maligned predecessors, one of whom never had a real chance to make changes like JB and BG have), but that his ‘professional’ attitude and methods of heavy criticism of players, referees and his predecessors is not what we need, and it clearly isn’t working either. The latter is damaging the reputation of our football club, and even us as supporters.
For me, the personal life and morals of JB is an significant extra factor, and I don’t just mean the two currently unresolved court cases. His entire adult life has been a litany of public and professional trouble, including broken limbs, numerous court cases, time in jail, addiction (including gambling issues, which incidentally is currently a growing safeguarding issue with young adults), FA charges, red cards and public spats with managers, staff and players.
This is not tittle-tattle; these are facts that anyone can find out. He has had two decades to address these so this is clearly not a case of a young man making mistakes (like many of us have) and then trying to sort them out (like many of us also have). This is still continuing and shows no sign of being addressed. This is not an individual who should have ever been employed by our club, nor any football club proclaiming to be a family club or being run intelligently or successfully.
The 2020/21 relegation was the lamest relegation in our almost 140-year history and it is clear who in a decision making and strategic capability is responsible for this; Martyn Starnes, via the overall responsibility of and (potentially negligent) oversight of Wael Al-Qadi.
And, yes, I do include the 2014 relegation into non-league in my analysis of ‘lamest’ relegation. Whilst 2014 was obviously the physical nadir of our Football League history, it wasn’t without some fight; with 50 points, going down on Goal Difference (of only -11) and being in the relegation zone for just 54 minutes of the entire 393,120 minute season (a grimly savage quiz question surely?). That relegation was also strangely our saving grace as an ethical resurgence under Darrell Clarke finally brought some humility to our club and the realisation that we are not really a ‘big club’ and certainly not a well run club.
The 2021 relegation season garnered just 38 points, our lowest ever since three points were given for a win, although it is fair to point out that the disastrous 1980/81 relegation would have been worse, with just 28 points (equivalent). That was at least from the second tier though, a place we’ve not visited for almost three decades now (more appalling stats on that another day…). Goals scored (40) were the lowest in the league, as was the amount of wins (just into double figures with 10). Three managers, plus a caretaker twice, and a left back as top scorer. Ouch.
Most managerial changes in the second half of a season at least accomplish a ‘dead cat bounce’, however short. JB managed nothing, and alienated players at precisely the time he needed them on his side. Results and public knowledge suggest that the players were not on his side and still aren’t. When he was appointed on the 22nd of February 2021 Rovers were 19th and although that was hardly a huge position of strength, it was at least outside of the relegation zone and no-one at that point in time would have been willing to accept just eight more points from the 54 still available, nor 10 losses in the final 12 games and relegation confirmed several games before the culmination of the season.
The start of this season has not been any better, leading to an overall record of four wins, three draws and 17 losses, including no victories away from the Mem.
It is fair to assume that none of this could have been handled better and that the poor results over 24 games have been due to the players / previous managers / referees / injuries / ‘cancer’ in the club / need for a clearout? (delete as you feel applicable)
Slippery slope time.
I’m fed up with new managers of ANY football club saying that they need their own staff, their own players, and their own systems before they will take any personal responsibility for poor performances. It’s akin to a Willy Wonka golden ticket to abrogate all responsibility before you’ve even tried. What other profession in the world would allow that?
And if I hear the phrase ‘clear out the dead wood' again I think I might strangle the cat (relax; I don’t actually own a cat). The time and money such exercises take is astronomical, especially if you change managers around once a year. Surely the sign of a resilient and adaptable manager is coaching / improving / working with most of what you've got? Of course, each manager will make changes, and there is natural churn at the end of contracts and in transfer windows, but the philosophy that ‘we must have immediate and complete control before any results can be achieved’ sounds more Taliban than resourcefulness.
The hideously inexperienced BG was afforded such a ticket when appointed, with Rovers in a play-off place and fans strangely happy to accept a rapid plummet away from success because a future of free-flowing football had been assured by those who run our club. BG was given free rein to dismantle a successful system / team before he had actually replaced it with anything, and even when he did unleash his own players and own system, the results were the same. Fact.
I didn’t become a Rovers fan to witness great football (I can hardly see the other end of the pitch from the Blackthorn!), I became a Gashead due to the history, the locality, the laughs, the passion, the camaraderie, the roar at a tackle, and because we were funnier, more respected and more humane than that noisy lot over the river.
The occasional success and skilled player was a bonus, but the knowledge that we would fight to the end was important; especially when getting thrashed at Peterborough… again. If I wanted great football I’d watch the Champions League on slow-mo on a huge plasma TV in the living room that’s bigger than Screen Three at the Orpheus, whilst stuffing my fat face with Frazzles and a six pack of Wagon Wheels from the poundshop.
I’ve stuck with Rovers through thin and thinner, but I’m now at the lowest ebb.
History is repeating itself with JB, and this time it’s even more public because he repeatedly blames players, referees and especially previous regimes, even to a point of potential slander proceedings from Ben Garner. The starting XI at Barrow looked like a team that JB owns and as we apparently now have only four players left from Garner-era signings (out of circa 15), crunch time is upon us.
Recently JB has now even started talking about the effect ‘Bristol Rovers’ is having on the opposition, repeating the tired old narrative that it’s harder for ‘big’ clubs like us to get results. Whilst I appreciate JB is partly suggesting that it is ROVERS who need to deal with this, and that it is OUR players who need to sort themselves out, I dislike the use of a weary insular idea that we are somehow big and there to be shot down. Drawing any attention to this so-called fact is akin to the man in the street who starts off a sentence with ‘Now, I’m not racist, but…’ – you just know that what is about to be uttered is not going to help anyone. We are not special, we are not memorable, we are not in the thoughts of others; in fact many of our lower league colleagues have far more glorious histories that ours, both historically and recently, but we are often so far up our own deep and dark back passage that we can’t physically envisage this inconvenient truth.
Oldham Athletic, Swindon Town and Bradford City have all been in the Premier League (i.e. since 1992), and the later played in the League Cup final as recently as 2013. In this Millennium, current League One clubs Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Wigan Athletic have all been winners or runners up in the FA Cup or League Cup. Ipswich Town even won the UEFA Cup in 1981.
We are tiny and unsuccessful, and all this talk of being a big club defies the statistics. We’ve never even won the Football League Trophy! [Port Vale, Carlisle Utd (both twice), Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra, Wrexham, Mansfield Town, and Salford City all have]. We are a badly run, low achiever and the quicker we acknowledge it, re-embrace the humility we found under DC, and learn from the Brentford’s and Wycombe Wanderers’ of this world [controversial choice – forget 2012 – yes, I was there and yes I’m still struggling to forgive…] the better.
I really do have a problem when certain people are given overwhelming, nay imprudent, support but zero challenge. There is always a place for constructive challenge, even when someone or something needs loving support. A lot of my work is in schools, especially with Headteachers and Governing Bodies, and the crux of a Governor’s role is to ‘Challenge and Support’ the school / Senior Leadership Team. That simple ethos can be extrapolated to nearly all aspects of life, be it work, family, or friends; we are here on earth to support each other, but also at the appropriate time, and in the right way, to offer challenge, be it with our kids, friends, family, work colleagues, Governments or even strangers.
BG, with zero managerial experience, seemed to be almost untouchable until finally sacked, and that has continuing via JB, even though the man sandwiched in between them – Tisdale; the man who was more of an ideal fit for Rovers - was not afforded that support, and ultimately the undue influence of Tommy Widdrington’s ‘role’ as a de facto DoF during the winter 2020 transfer window led not only to relegation for the club, but also a personal relegation for him in June 2021 to a role “…in charge of creating a loan department, that will be tasked with establishing relationships with other clubs. Tommy will also be responsible for mirroring the first-team philosophy, that will be set by the first-team Manager, across the Academy structure.” Mea culpa.
I am very concerned that JB simply is NOT the right person to lead us anywhere upwards, even to an Ian Atkins style return to mid-table anonymity rather than constant membership of the bottom feeder’s club. Mediocrity would be welcome in some ways (Atkins brought in most of the players who became the famous 2006/7 promotion winners and JPT finalists), but I fear that the damage will already be done by then.
Where have all the recent rejects gone?
This section is a bit of an aside so skip to the money shot at the end if you prefer.
Whilst I realise that examples of rejected players ending up at clubs at a higher level, or at least the same level, doesn’t necessarily mean they were great players and should have been retained, it is a small piece of factual evidence that needs to be taken into account. Maybe effective work could have been done with them and maybe they will work better with different man management, tactics, teammates, formations, facilities, or atmospheres?
You might expect that a lot of our recently released / sold players have gone down to a lower level, but in reality most haven’t. I won’t dwell on Brandon Hanlan going to League One Wycombe Wanderers just before the transfer window closes because it’s such recent knowledge and was also a thorny monetary/contractual situation, but what about the rest?
• David Tutonda – Playing for Gillingham in League One.
• Max Ehmer – Returned to play for Gillingham in League One.
Barton’s extremely public humiliation of BRFC captain Ehmer is well known and well documented, but whatever perceived problems JB may have apparently had with the young Ehmer at QPR in the early 2010’s, I wonder if a player can rack up almost 400 appearances with League One clubs by complete accident and if they cannot, then maybe that experience and previous endeavour should be respected and revived, rather than torn apart in the middle of a relegation run? Whilst the Gills’ experienced manager, Steve Evans, is sometimes considered a loose cannon by certain supporters his circumspect and mature reaction to the return of a player who snubbed him just a year previous was telling, and maybe an approach that JB could try? “My thoughts are not to speak about Max’s time at Bristol Rovers and his disagreements with Joey Barton, because one thing I have is respect for both men. Everyone can read a story and believe one side of it, but there is always two sides. Max comes back into the Football Club; Kyle Dempsey will remain as skipper but I’m sure Max, with his experience and knowledge of everything around Priestfield, will be an outstanding help to young Kyle, alongside Stuart, who played a massive role last season too… Max Ehmer is simply a top-class central defender in League 1. Simple.”
• Jonah Ayunga – Playing for Morecambe in League One. The No.9 we no longer have in the squad?
• George Williams – Playing for Cambridge United in League One.
• Jack Baldwin - Playing for Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.
• James Daly – Playing for Stevenage in League Two.
• Ed Upson – Stayed local with Newport County in League Two.
• Ali Koiki – Playing for Northampton Town in League Two.
• Ben Liddle - Playing for Queen of the South in the Scottish Championship.
• Josh Hare – Returned to Eastleigh in the National League.
• Mark Little – Stayed local with Yeovil Town in the National League.
• Abu Agogo – Playing for Southend Utd in the National League.
And of course the elephant in the room… will Ben Garner continue his early results at Swindon Town, whilst in a partnership with Ben Chorley as a Director of Football? Whilst Chorley has a huge amount of experience as a professional footballer, he has none as a DoF so that pairing will be fascinating to watch. Swindon didn’t even have enough players to play pre-season friendlies, so anyone who suggests that JB had no chance of hitting the ground running in the 2021/22 season, let alone in February 2021, is frankly delusional.
I always found it strange and disappointing that amongst ALL the talk about BG and his amazing experience as a coach, complete with almost sycophantically positive quotes from people in high level football such as Tony Pulis and Rickie Lambert, I never heard any mention of yoking him with a proper Director of Football, preferably with experience, just as Paul Trollope was so successfully braced with Lennie Lawrence. It almost felt like it was SUCH an obvious discussion to have that no-one actually went ahead with it, as if everyone assumed someone had already organised it. Tommy Widdrington was not a true DoF and was yet another example of not organising a clear, reliable and mutually agreed structure. Does anyone honestly believe that a hugely experienced lower division manager like Paul Tisdale would have taken the job if he knew such obfuscation in transfers was going to occur?
The eagle eyed may wonder why I have not mentioned Wael Al-Qadi in this, albeit briefly once in passing.
Wael Al-Qadi is the sole owner of the mass majority of the club, and was previously a joint owner with his family, so does therefore bear ultimate responsibility for any failure (or success), but whilst his culpability may be over arching and disappointing, especially when appointing a CEO who refused to work with, and later ousted, a thoroughly decent Chairman (Steve Hamer) and now leads an imperious regime behind the scenes, the day-to-day hands-on responsibility has not been his.
His reputation and performance, although tarnished, is not irretrievably broken like Martyn Starnes’ is. There is still time for Wael Al-Qadi to lead BRFC to become a well run club, or at least a decently run one.
Time to step up please...
