Nope if he broke terms of contract then that is a legal reason and I am sure legal advice was being sought.
I think you and I have had very similar views in recent weeks, I've certainly found myself 'liking' several of your posts. I think I feel differently to you about most of the interview though. My two major issues have been a) the lack and poor quality of communications and b) the extreme focus on youth and absence of experience. In respect of a), I'm very pleased that PC has finally seen fit to address the fans. It's much later than it should've been imo but nevertheless I'm glad he has now done so. For me the key message is about balancing the budget and for the future of the club I believe that's the right thing to do. He admitted that there had been too many players recruited in the summer (and his comments illustrate that his 'most successful transfer window ever' statement was an error) but I agree with him that the squad needs to be trimmed irrespective of whether we stay up or not - financially it's imperative it is if we go down which let's face it is the likely outcome. I hope that those who leave are the right ones i.e. those whose quality is lacking rather than those we can get the biggest fee for and based on his comments about Woodrow and Mowatt I'm hopeful that will be the case. It's clear that there won't be any refocus to get some more experienced players (reinforcing my view that relegation is the likely outcome) but I accept that whilst my view might be different, theirs nevertheless comes from wanting long term progress for the club. I find it very difficult to see that they don't believe that adding some experience would increase the probability of us staying up but I guess I may be proven wrong on that. I think his arguments about previous experience of recruiting older players are flawed (and by the way who is the disruptive influence in the 'locker room' that he refers to?) and when he refers to it being a balance I think the squad is imbalanced but at least he's communicating and trying to provide some evidence to support the strategy. I am also very pleased that he says they accept responsibility for the under-performance. I'm concerned about the comment "winning cures everything" as I'm not sure it does. They should have communicated more. Perhaps they will do so more from now on and hopefully some of the damage done to the relationship some fans have with the club will be repaired. We'll see. I've always tried to believe that their intent for the club is positive (why would they buy us otherwise?) but the silence has seriously tested that. At least in this interview I can see some signs of it.
That they claim they couldn't mention. Forgive me if I'm wrong but it very much looks mentioned now with respect for Daniel given as the reason for not doing so earlier rather than legal reasons.
Think the difference is the ref to tapping other members of staff. People rightly slated Tommy Wright for not dis similar.
This is where the real problem lies and where many people think the owners’ strategy is wrong. However, Conway was crystal clear again that we are going to balance the books. He has been ridiculed for saying that the mistake in the summer was to create too big a squad. Maybe there was a contradiction in what was being asked for? The need for more back up vs the need for experience. Finances don’t allow for both. Conway was also clear that he believes we can get by with youth. Many disagree with him but given our approach to breaking even I don’t think there is a choice.
It's always been clear that there was stuff going on behind the scenes which we didnt know about. I've said this right from Day 1 of this saga. The Daniel love in was completely justified because of what he achieved last season. However that very same love in turned a complete blind eye to the possibility that he might, just might, have done something to adversely affect our club. Because of his affection for the fans and the fans deep affection for him this whole sorry episode turned into a vitriolic, unfounded and unsubstantiated hate fest against our Owners. Very unbecoming to say the least. A small minority on here have adopted a different approach of "let's see what has really happened before we make a judgement".....well, now we have it. I'm not surprised to see, already, that there are those who will continue to (unreasonably) blame the club. I reckon those of you that do should take off the rose tinted Stendel goggles and ask yourselves whether what he was up to was in the best interests of BFC. I loved him whilst he was here but if he's done what is stated then, sorry Daniel, good riddance. It can't have been very motivating for the players who probably had an inkling that DS and DT and CS were all thinking about pastures new whilst still in charge at Oakwell. At least we have someone in charge now who wants to be here and who, in fact, is putting out a team who look better organised and better structured. Pillory me all you like ( and I'm sure many on here will) if you do disagree with this but don't kid me that, given what we now know, Daniel was Mr.100% BFC like the fans who supported him.
Maybe not but it does explain why Daniel didnt sign a longer contract I think he was going to leave at the end of the season unless he thought he could challenge for the top 6 with us.
Good post. I'm desperately battling to avoid a knee-jerk reaction to all this, but while I'm reading/typing on here my phone is going batty with messages. I've not yet had one supporting the board, I have to say. I just find it all so very very sad, and perhaps I've knee-jerked a bit after all? I ran a successful small business in Dodworth for 34 years. When something went wrong, it was my fault, by virtue of my position. If I owned a football club, and that club got promotion to a higher league, I'd rightfully claim the credit for that. If the club ended up at the bottom of the table the following season, I might try to argue that the gap in skill between the two leagues was just too large to bridge, with the financial resources available to me. If however, I sold all our best players, I would rightly get hammered if we ended up at the bottom. If I sold them against the wishes of the manager, I would expect him to become unsettled and look to move on. I obviously don't know all the exact goings on, who's telling the truth, because there have been several conflicting statements which can't all be true, but I stand by my one-liner that these guys are incompetent, and they've proved it over and over again.
I’m sure the owners view the situation with the manager the same as with players. They are right to in today’s climate. Longer contracts, offer longer ones to folk we want to keep. They either sign them or will be sold ( or both!)
Because of their words. They have said the words not me. Blame them if their words aren't clear, don't blame me for that. It's not like they haven't had long enough to get the wording right is it
I think it was admirable to take a step back and wait to see what had gone on, I get that. What I won't accept though is that the club isn't devoid of any blame in the wider issues this season. I don't like what they are doing and are continuing to do because I don't think it is in the best interests of the club or the fans. We are all entitled to opinions either way and the thing that gets lost through all of this is that we all want the same thing- for our club to do well and be in safe hands. We shouldn't be turning on each other as it isn't going to help. We just have different views on whether the current owners are the right ones.
Just goes to show that he wasent Mr perfect after all, was planning on leaving anyway uner the noses of us fans, least he got free shots of fans, feel kinda different now about him...
I think there is a choice. In my opinion it would have been better to buy a few less young players (e.g. Odour, Schmidt, Andersen) and instead get one or two experienced older players in but I accept that there's no proof that this would've made a difference. The key thing for me is that PC is at least trying to explain the approach and accepting responsibility. That's a step forward.
Great interview, asked a lot of right questions, but I feel even less encouraged listening to that. The reason we're struggling is because the squads too big, Stendel is partly responsible, things are much better under Scooby, we'll be selling players in January in order to bring in more youngsters, but it's unlikely that we'll sell our best players? Really Paul? Which of the rest do you think is going to bring in any money. Basically saying 'this is what we're doing, so like it or lump it'
Always appreciate your passion Stahlrost. Can’t agree with the incompetence jibe though. They have a plan and are sticking to it. People might not like it but at least they aren’t ripping the club off as some people mysteriously keep claiming. What if it is true that we will be the only Championship club to break even this season? Your successful company wouldn’t have been much good if it made losses every year.
The dawn of realisation is upon us. Maybe the pitchforks and burning torches can be put back in the cupboard now.