What are Stefan's intentions for the Club?

Thoroughly disagree with that statement

 

So do I Park. Ryan has established a great reputation with the EFL for the way he deals with stuff, starting with total leadership during COVID. I find better quiet when you don’t know the facts or background

 

Where was the organisation when he took over, where is it now? Its in the same place. What material achievements would he list?

 

Hang one second… he may have handled covid well. How about the 3 seasons post that which show we are in the exact same league.

His footballing decisions leave a lot to be desired in my opinion and I base that on what I’ve seen over the last 3 seasons - windows and games.

 

Profit and loss.

Commercial success.

Size of the business.

The division the men's sporting team is in is only one part of the Bradford City business. There's a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with Mark Hughes and Andy Cook.

I'm sure he won't have a shortage of things to discuss.

 

What footballing decisions are those ? OK, he appoints the manager, agrees the budget and having final sign off within that budget but how the latter two are applied are down to the manager.

In respect of managers, the majority of clubs in our league would (if needing a manager) have snapped off the hands of Derek Adams given his track record, and Mark Hughes given his profile.

Julian Rhodes appointed Stuart for the 3rd time, so the his first managerial decision was the sacking of Stuart, which was 100% correct as we would have ended up where Southend are if he had stayed. The second, the appointment of Trueman & Sellars, was to some extent, at least at the time they were given the full time jobs with people sniffing around them, the right one and he acted quickly to remove them when it went tits up.

The third was the appointment of a proven promotion winning manager in Deluded Derek, and his only fault there was fully check DD's sanity before putting pen to paper. The fourth was appointing Hughes and let be honest, he was lauded for that, and wasn't to know Hughes would be so negative.

The footballing decisions that have kept us where we are down to T&S for going cautious when we were unstoppable, Deluded Delboy for being a megalomaniac that recruited badly and Hughes for playing effectively a back six all last season.

Turning to recruitment and budget, we have had a healthy budget, one most managers in our league would be happy with, and one if spent correctly would result in an improved performance. We can't be, and shouldn't aspire to be given our track record with insolvency over the last 40 years, the club that throws money they don't have at promotion and later pays the price (Bury springs to mind here).

Other clubs in our league have lower budgets and have signed players that have lead to success on much lesser money. The reason for that is nothing to do with their CEO and everything to do with the manager making the most of what he has been given, potentially having contacts that he works harder to keep a good relationship with, and uses the assets he has properly by playing a formation that suits his players rather than dreaming up a formation and fitting squar pegs in round holes to make it work.

To succeed as a manager you need to do one of two things - decide on your tactics and recruit a full squad that can play around that (probably more PL & CC than L1 & L2) or set your tactics around the players you have in the squad and recruit to fill any gaps you have.

Football is a simple game, and success is a combination of the football management doing the simple things right, and the business management providing the money to enable him to do that. Ryan has massively improved our commercial activity and hence the income available to the manager, the two main stream managers he has appointed have messed up how they handle the playing budget, the tactics and the relationship with players.

The reason we are still in League 2 is much much more to do with Mark Trueman, Deluded Derek and Mark Hughes than it is to do with Ryan Sparks and/ or Stepan Rupp.

 

Hallelujah to that...................

 

Commercially I can’t argue he’s done well. However he has said this on numerous occasions he’s part of the discussion process with Hughes and Gent on bringing players into the club. Therefore for me he’s just as culpable.

He gave SM an extension to his contract and sacked him weeks later.

He gave T&S 3 year deal I believe sacked them months later (could’ve been weeks)

He sacked DA after he let him bring his own players in January.

By RS own admission he missed the Hughes App as it was in his junk box ( ok harsh stating that as a criticism but doesn’t scream pre planning)


Sorry I can’t not agree one second that he’s improved things on the pitch as the barometer for success surely has to be getting out of this division. All of the above actions have resulted in us staying in this division.

He’s as much to blame as all of the managers, Gent, guy from Scunny and most importantly Rupp.

It’s failed it’s primary objective season after season.

 

Is the profit and loss performance of the business now markedly different to when he took over?
What commercial success? What about the size of our business has changed?
Genuine questions, I don't know know what material improvements you'd cite, because the obvious things that centre around the standing of the club, and his record of hiring managers, look underwhelming to me.

 

Like how Darragh McAnthony runs Peterborough United for example?

 

You buy it……oh ?
I wouldn’t tell him what to do with his money, likewise you wouldn’t tell me . We’re you a crypto fan , another bullet he dodged!

 

Taking your points in order. The extension to McCalls contract was almost certainly the last thing Julian Rhodes did just before he left and handed over to Sparks. Knowing Ryan Sparks views on McCalls management skills I would be amazed if he had offered the contract. He then did the correct thing and sacked McCall. I don’t think anyone thought Trueman would be anything other than a stopgap but what would you have done when they took 33 points from their first 15 games. He gave Trueman and Seller’s an 18 month contract not 3 years as you state. After results collapsed he stood them down as first team managers but offered them jobs to continue at the club which Sellars turned down. His appointment of Adams was widely applauded by the fans and don’t remember protests in the streets when he was appointed. Nobody could have foreseen that Adams would be a disaster but again he saw it wasn’t working and acted upon it. The Hughes junk Mail thing was hardly his fault and he was just laughing at the situation to the press. Hughes was a popular appointment and brought the fans back to the club with season ticket sales on the up. Which of the above decisions would you have changed without an honours degree in hindsight ?The budgets are good and last years and this years squad will be expensive. It’s up to the manager to get things right. It took the Lawn and Rhodes combination 5 years to get things right with a couple of serious relegation battles thrown in.

 

Don’t agree on the Rhodes point Mcalll contract point i specifically remember BBC radio Leeds interview with Mcall and RS on the extension. It was to show “faith”. My view he extended and ended it.

TS he extended it and ended it same principle so he has to own it- hire and fire on his record. You’d argue that hiring was correct and not the extension. Clearly upset T&S and then we had that rubbish around finding them jobs within the club - development lead or whatever it was . Was a *@?$ up end of.

You didn’t come back on the Adam’s point around the sacking after the window so can only assume you agree with me.


Your points around budget, listened to Hughes tonight and agree reiterated that we can’t pay fees. His words we can’t afford it. Club of our size and turnover we can’t make smart investments. We are run like the poor house constantly is that RS or Rupp ? Probably both. where I take my hat off is on the commercial side of things, football decisions sorry RS just as guilty as the rest.

 

Julian Rhodes extended Stuarts contract. A CEOs objective is to make a club run within its means. A managers objective is success on the field.

Only tge football managers can be held culpable for us still being in L2

 

Whatever you say/ come back with you are wrong. Julian Rhodes promised Stuart a new contract. It may have taken effect after Rhodes left, but Sparks only involvement was honouring that promise.

It soon became evident Stuart had lost the plot and Sparks sacked him. For that he should be applauded for swift and effective action.

 

If Trueman was so upset, why is he still at the club ?

 

Sorry I do not agree.. it’s a collective of managers, recruitment staff and leaders within the club ( that’s Rupp and RS) they’re all to blame.

My Original point was he may look great for a sports outlet from a commercial perspective he’s done fantastic . Sports strategy and improvement on the field no where near shown he’s good enough.

 

And you have every right to disagree, but you are wrong.

 

Sellars ain’t he rejected and moved to Hull. Maybe he didn’t back his employability like Sellars. Maybe he was comfortable who knows.

 

That's a very narrow definition of a CEO. I see a CEO as being ultimately accountable for the club. For setting a vision, hiring those required to deliver that vision and then balance opportunity and risk to optimise the chances of that vision being fulfilled.