The Hard Truth - Ryan Sparks Interview

Agree. We never have, or will be a giant in the game, asleep or awake

 

Completely agree, we have to get away from this giant in league 2 idea. Any club in this division that has half an idea of how to be run properly will have a good chance of getting promoted, this season an example in point.

 

To be fair it is. That I agree. Suppose the point I am making is that no one needs to be jealous of anyone in life. We all have qualities. If Ryan decides not to listen to fans or strong words then that’s perfectly fine. As long as people are not racists or crossing the line then all is good.

I would say that Ryan is in a dream position and I admire him highly for getting there. Credit to him and I know if money is driver he will earn more than at Bradford City. In fact he could be wasted here but we shall see.

 

Phil Ideson - that name brought a blast from the past. I remember him as a fresh faced kid back in the mid-90's when I set up the Craven branch of the supporters club. He was City daft back then and it's good to see that even though he's been in the States for 15 years, he's not lost his enthusiasm for all things City.

 

After all those years of Julian Rhodes I'm absolutely ecstatic that we've got someone who will address the media and fans.

 

He is a career driven individual, hes admitted that with his statement about how far he wanted to get at the age of thirty. That tells me, and quite rightly, that he sees this as a stepping stone to a bigger opportunity. Same as what Mason did. He's effectively on a no lose winning ticket at Bradford, if it goes right he can milk it till the cows come home, if it went tits up it isn't his fault, its the fault of Rupp and Rhodes for leaving him in the shit in the first place. If he can get us promoted i'd expect him to be sending his CV off to prospective employers a weel or two after. Always strike while the iron is hot.

 

Yes it’s a job. A good job at that.
To be fair are we better in the hands of a cold eyed ruthless decision maker or a fan in the role? Maybe you can have both. If he ends up at a bigger club then he will have to have been successful here first. I could see him ending up at Peterboro based on how well they got on during the podcast but Sparks May have his eyes on something bigger. To be a CEO at 30 was his goal. He will have other Personal goals but hasn’t divulged them and that’s his right.
On balance he has done well so far. Let’s hope this continues and we end up promoted!

 

He's ambitious and confident in his own ability. He'll go further than a league 2 football club.

 

I'm happy for any past or present Bradford City CEO to move on that suggests they have done well at club level, the only problem then is replacing the old CEO with a new CEO who will keep the momentum going from his first day in charge.

 

He won't be judged from ON the pitch success it will be OFF the pitch that he will be judged on in business.

Look, football is different to the flat cap days of @Bronco it's now moved in to what a club does off the pitch. Results on the on is a given but how do you improve a club, drive it forward to be a more commercial powerhouse etc. If he can't do this he will fall badly and he knows this it seems.

 

Thats business Dave, plenty of potential CEOs out there, no one is unreplaceable.

 

Its success on the pitch that determines success off the pitch you doughnut.You don't think Mason would have had the success he had if he'd been CEO in the relegation season do you?

 

Well yes because he introduced methods to generate income you doughnut.

CEO's are not FOOTBALL MANAGERS! They can't control what happens on the pitch but what Sparks unless Rhodes will understand is that a club needs to create an identity on and off the pitch.

 

CEOs have to oversee the whole business and as this starts being a football club on the pitch. So whilst he should have no involvement in actually picking players he should be involved in recruitment.

 

By the way Sunderlands new chairman after their takeover is 23

 

Just goes to show, you can be rich at any age.

Especially helps if you're born into extreme wealth.

 

Do you actually read what you write?

 

Not for me! Just budget.

Hopefully, we will get a director of football. He hinted at more appointments of the pitch.

 

Yawn

 

Sometimes not. I must admit!

Weakness of mine.

However, Sparks will be judged off the pitch! Bradford City is a failing club. Overall an embarrassment! We can blame Edin, blame Rhodes, blame all the managers but it is.

People have forgot about us going to Wembley in the league cup etc. It's off the pitch Sparks can really kick this club on and he needs too because its a mess. He knows this.