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Post by Icegas on Mar 16, 2019 9:42:04 GMT
The problem being is the 'elements' far outweighed the successes, which were largely due to luck rather than judgement. Ward brought Clarke to the club and things fell into place. Clarke was the obvious appointment when Ward left and was the obvious contender to manage us in the Conference with his experience at that level. Higgs' tenure was a disaster. The board seemed more interested in publicly picking fights with former board members than actually keeping their eye on the ball and moving the club forward. More interested in wheeling out pathetic t-shirts appealing to Sainsburys on an emotional level rather than doing the job properly in the first place. I'll never forget this official club statement in May 2014 which announced 'John Ward sacked from Bristol Rovers'. To use that kind of terminology against a decent man on an official club release was nothing short of a disgrace and no doubt came from the very top. Oh so what you are saying is that we should berate individuals when it goes wrong but ignore their successes when they put it right? Higgs was driving the ambition and the plan for the stadium forward. He was an emotional, heart on his sleeve kind of guy I will admit and sometimes that can also work in your favour. I will admit there were times it worked against him too. John Ward has a contract as a DOF. We couldn’t afford a DOF in the conference. His poorly assembled squad which had holes in it since September were also part of the reason we went down. Now if that didn’t deserve to be sacked I don’t know what does. John ward was awlful for our club the 2nd time around.I know he had personal problems with his wife and he did a half decent job when he took over the season before, but my god the football he played and the players he brought in were the worst that Ive ever seen us have and play and I include the Graydon,Buckle, Atkins days etc.. I remember him coming out to the gate after the Mansfield game to face the crowds behind the blackthrone (Fair play) but when questioned about the game,the players and the whole season and why we got relegated he got defensive and passed to buck and said " Well I never picked for the last 8 games".. From that day I lost complete respect for him and knew how rotten to the core my club was. However that Shocking press release saying he was SACKED was as bad and as unprofessional as Ive ever seen in my life.
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Post by Icegas on Mar 16, 2019 9:57:58 GMT
The problem I have with the owners is their inactions, not their intentions, all of which has been revealed by this interview. When they took us over they hit the ground running. We were not a basket case of a club that needed a total transformation. We had a stadium designed, we had planning permission for that stadium, and we had planning permission for the supermarket development at the Mem. We had just been promoted and were heading for the L2 playoffs. We had a great manager, a decent squad, and good attendances for L2. At the time of the takeover, Shamesbury had pulled out of the deal, but that was a known fact at the time. We were told finance was not an issue. Three years on, we've lost our best players, and felt the need to dump our most promising manager for decades. Attendances are lower, prospects of a stadium happening are dismal, prospects of doing well in L1 are much lower. The chances of getting to the Championship are extremely remote. They were handed a potential golden goose, which is why they bought the club, and they've managed to turn it into a bit of fried chicken. It's all been a big disappointment really, even though Wael and co managed to keep us on tenterhooks about the prospect of things really happening behind the scenes. At least until yesterday's interview, when Twentyman finally managed to get the truth out of Wael. He didn't want to admit it has all gone t*ts up, but I think Wael finally realised that pretending all was well was no longer tenable, and too many people had realised that not all was rosy in the Gas Garden. 100% bob on! There is no way that Wael and DS would have brought us without the UWE being on the table given there lack of finances,or interest in spending them. They brought a club on the up,getting large crowds that has huge potential for growth,one thats from a massive UK city and had plans for the new stadium. No doubt they thought invest little money (in footballing terms) move the debts around so they clear them in the short term but the club will repay them back someday. However, the UWE went tits up and now they want out.Well the family does..I believe they wont screw us over and wael wants the best for us and is working hard. Best case for us is that they find someone with real money to get the stadium built and re- coup there money invested and move on.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2019 12:25:15 GMT
The problem being is the 'elements' far outweighed the successes, which were largely due to luck rather than judgement. Ward brought Clarke to the club and things fell into place. Clarke was the obvious appointment when Ward left and was the obvious contender to manage us in the Conference with his experience at that level. Higgs' tenure was a disaster. The board seemed more interested in publicly picking fights with former board members than actually keeping their eye on the ball and moving the club forward. More interested in wheeling out pathetic t-shirts appealing to Sainsburys on an emotional level rather than doing the job properly in the first place. I'll never forget this official club statement in May 2014 which announced 'John Ward sacked from Bristol Rovers'. To use that kind of terminology against a decent man on an official club release was nothing short of a disgrace and no doubt came from the very top. Oh so what you are saying is that we should berate individuals when it goes wrong but ignore their successes when they put it right? Higgs was driving the ambition and the plan for the stadium forward. He was an emotional, heart on his sleeve kind of guy I will admit and sometimes that can also work in your favour. I will admit there were times it worked against him too. John Ward has a contract as a DOF. We couldn’t afford a DOF in the conference. His poorly assembled squad which had holes in it since September were also part of the reason we went down. Now if that didn’t deserve to be sacked I don’t know what does. You're missing the point 1981. Did he deserve to lose his job? Maybe. Certainly mistakes were made that season but it's worth remembering we were on course to survive that season with him at the helm, and I believe we would have. The point is the unprofessional, shaming use of slang in the press release was symptomatic of the shambles we were under Higgs. Why state 'Sacked' rather than 'Parted company', as is generally the accepted terminology. More interested in deflecting attention to others than taking responsibility. The embarrassing statement against Wycombe followed too. I'm saying Higgs got a lot more wrong than he got right, and the latter success was due to DC's coaching rather than anything Higgs did particularly right. It's pretty clear now that the stadium proposal wasn't in our longer term interests as a club which is why WAQ and co bailed out.
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Post by Officer Barbrady on Mar 16, 2019 13:07:35 GMT
Oh so what you are saying is that we should berate individuals when it goes wrong but ignore their successes when they put it right? Higgs was driving the ambition and the plan for the stadium forward. He was an emotional, heart on his sleeve kind of guy I will admit and sometimes that can also work in your favour. I will admit there were times it worked against him too. John Ward has a contract as a DOF. We couldn’t afford a DOF in the conference. His poorly assembled squad which had holes in it since September were also part of the reason we went down. Now if that didn’t deserve to be sacked I don’t know what does. You're missing the point 1981. Did he deserve to lose his job? Maybe. Certainly mistakes were made that season but it's worth remembering we were on course to survive that season with him at the helm, and I believe we would have. The point is the unprofessional, shaming use of slang in the press release was symptomatic of the shambles we were under Higgs. Why state 'Sacked' rather than 'Parted company', as is generally the accepted terminology. More interested in deflecting attention to others than taking responsibility. The embarrassing statement against Wycombe followed too. I'm saying Higgs got a lot more wrong than he got right, and the latter success was due to DC's coaching rather than anything Higgs did particularly right. It's pretty clear now that the stadium proposal wasn't in our longer term interests as a club which is why WAQ and co bailed out. until they went back and tried to do it after all you mean? Before the UWE pulled out recently. I wouldn't say it's clear.
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Post by gashead1981 on Mar 16, 2019 20:13:23 GMT
Oh so what you are saying is that we should berate individuals when it goes wrong but ignore their successes when they put it right? Higgs was driving the ambition and the plan for the stadium forward. He was an emotional, heart on his sleeve kind of guy I will admit and sometimes that can also work in your favour. I will admit there were times it worked against him too. John Ward has a contract as a DOF. We couldn’t afford a DOF in the conference. His poorly assembled squad which had holes in it since September were also part of the reason we went down. Now if that didn’t deserve to be sacked I don’t know what does. You're missing the point 1981. Did he deserve to lose his job? Maybe. Certainly mistakes were made that season but it's worth remembering we were on course to survive that season with him at the helm, and I believe we would have. The point is the unprofessional, shaming use of slang in the press release was symptomatic of the shambles we were under Higgs. Why state 'Sacked' rather than 'Parted company', as is generally the accepted terminology. More interested in deflecting attention to others than taking responsibility. The embarrassing statement against Wycombe followed too. I'm saying Higgs got a lot more wrong than he got right, and the latter success was due to DC's coaching rather than anything Higgs did particularly right. It's pretty clear now that the stadium proposal wasn't in our longer term interests as a club which is why WAQ and co bailed out. His role that year was to put a succession plan in place but his January window was as bad as his summer recruitment, getting in Alan Gow, who was unfit, and sending Elliot Richards who was a raw talent but capable down to Exeter and handed that squad over to DC when it was injury ravaged. The net result was relegation and yes he deserved to be sacked. I’m not saying he’s not a lovely bloke because he is, but he’s been a football manager for 30 years and should be thick skinned enough to deal with the consequences should they go wrong. IMO it was a correct thing to do and announce. I can tell you this, that DC was very nearly replaced with Gary Johnson after the Alfreton game. It was Higgs decision to stick with DC and not sack him which was not what the rest of the board wanted.
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Post by South Stand Ultra on Mar 16, 2019 20:17:47 GMT
You're missing the point 1981. Did he deserve to lose his job? Maybe. Certainly mistakes were made that season but it's worth remembering we were on course to survive that season with him at the helm, and I believe we would have. The point is the unprofessional, shaming use of slang in the press release was symptomatic of the shambles we were under Higgs. Why state 'Sacked' rather than 'Parted company', as is generally the accepted terminology. More interested in deflecting attention to others than taking responsibility. The embarrassing statement against Wycombe followed too. I'm saying Higgs got a lot more wrong than he got right, and the latter success was due to DC's coaching rather than anything Higgs did particularly right. It's pretty clear now that the stadium proposal wasn't in our longer term interests as a club which is why WAQ and co bailed out. His role that year was to put a succession plan in place but his January window was as bad as his summer recruitment, getting in Alan Gow, who was unfit, and sending Elliot Richards who was a raw talent but capable down to Exeter and handed that squad over to DC when it was injury ravaged. The net result was relegation and yes he deserved to be sacked. I’m not saying he’s not a lovely bloke because he is, but he’s been a football manager for 30 years and should be thick skinned enough to deal with the consequences should they go wrong. IMO it was a correct thing to do and announce. I can tell you this, that DC was very nearly replaced with Gary Johnson after the Alfreton game. It was Higgs decision to stick with DC and not sack him which was not what the rest of the board wanted. All these itk'ers on here!!! I wish I could make up some BS too, to make myself look important....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2019 20:18:27 GMT
I'm told Wael, Partington and Leadbitter were in the clubhouse bar around 1330 talking with fans and Wael was reiterating what he said on Twenty man the other night. Anybody on here have a chat with him and the lads?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2019 20:21:27 GMT
You're missing the point 1981. Did he deserve to lose his job? Maybe. Certainly mistakes were made that season but it's worth remembering we were on course to survive that season with him at the helm, and I believe we would have. The point is the unprofessional, shaming use of slang in the press release was symptomatic of the shambles we were under Higgs. Why state 'Sacked' rather than 'Parted company', as is generally the accepted terminology. More interested in deflecting attention to others than taking responsibility. The embarrassing statement against Wycombe followed too. I'm saying Higgs got a lot more wrong than he got right, and the latter success was due to DC's coaching rather than anything Higgs did particularly right. It's pretty clear now that the stadium proposal wasn't in our longer term interests as a club which is why WAQ and co bailed out. His role that year was to put a succession plan in place but his January window was as bad as his summer recruitment, getting in Alan Gow, who was unfit, and sending Elliot Richards who was a raw talent but capable down to Exeter and handed that squad over to DC when it was injury ravaged. The net result was relegation and yes he deserved to be sacked. I’m not saying he’s not a lovely bloke because he is, but he’s been a football manager for 30 years and should be thick skinned enough to deal with the consequences should they go wrong. IMO it was a correct thing to do and announce. I can tell you this, that DC was very nearly replaced with Gary Johnson after the Alfreton game. It was Higgs decision to stick with DC and not sack him which was not what the rest of the board wanted. Just to clarify, you see no issue in using the word 'sacked' on an official club statement announcing his departure?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2019 20:29:25 GMT
I'm told Wael, Partington and Leadbitter were in the clubhouse bar around 1330 talking with fans and Wael was reiterating what he said on Twenty man the other night. Anybody on here have a chat with him and the lads? He spoke to a lot of people and not one person had a pop at him.
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Post by axegas on Mar 16, 2019 20:39:12 GMT
All this interview has done is bring negativity back as a focus for our supporters! Do one wael and come back when you actually have something to say! Not for me mate, was quite encouraged by it actually. Went into it not expecting a lot and having listened to it I think we are slowly moving in the right direction, for once we got honesty and a bit of clarity which is all that you can ask for really. Hopefully we can home in on one of the identified sites and getting planning permission for it, Wael seems committed and passionate about our club as ever, it’s all about us staying up and looking to next season now.
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Post by oldgas on Mar 16, 2019 21:00:55 GMT
I'm told Wael, Partington and Leadbitter were in the clubhouse bar around 1330 talking with fans and Wael was reiterating what he said on Twenty man the other night. Anybody on here have a chat with him and the lads? Is Wael wandering into the clubhouse bar before games, either by himself, or with injured squad members a regular event? If not, then I think that in itself is significant and may mean something is in the offing. I suppose you couldn't really imagine him walking into the lions den when we were deeply in the sh1t at the wrong end of the table before Christmas, and I remember how he used to sit among the fans at away matches when he first took over. I don't think he makes as many public appearances these days.
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Post by poorblue on Mar 17, 2019 14:51:19 GMT
I'm told Wael, Partington and Leadbitter were in the clubhouse bar around 1330 talking with fans and Wael was reiterating what he said on Twenty man the other night. Anybody on here have a chat with him and the lads? Is Wael wandering into the clubhouse bar before games, either by himself, or with injured squad members a regular event? If not, then I think that in itself is significant and may mean something is in the offing. I suppose you couldn't really imagine him walking into the lions den when we were deeply in the sh1t at the wrong end of the table before Christmas, and I remember how he used to sit among the fans at away matches when he first took over. I don't think he makes as many public appearances these days.Nice to hear nobody slagged him off in the bar. Would he again make more appearances if the "Wael out" and "forum whingers" backed off, I hope so. Just see how other foreign owners have hit the buffers when they lose the fans like the minority on here.
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Post by Hugo the Elder on Mar 17, 2019 20:45:42 GMT
His role that year was to put a succession plan in place but his January window was as bad as his summer recruitment, getting in Alan Gow, who was unfit, and sending Elliot Richards who was a raw talent but capable down to Exeter and handed that squad over to DC when it was injury ravaged. The net result was relegation and yes he deserved to be sacked. I’m not saying he’s not a lovely bloke because he is, but he’s been a football manager for 30 years and should be thick skinned enough to deal with the consequences should they go wrong. IMO it was a correct thing to do and announce. I can tell you this, that DC was very nearly replaced with Gary Johnson after the Alfreton game. It was Higgs decision to stick with DC and not sack him which was not what the rest of the board wanted. All these itk'ers on here!!! I wish I could make up some BS too, to make myself look important.... He's absolutely right though. I'm one of Higgs biggest critics but he was definitely 100% behind DC when pretty much everyone else in the boardroom wanted him sacked. I didn't realize it had got as far as lining up DCs replacement but I'm not surprised.
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