The Voice - Match preview Wrexham vs Bradford City Saturday 10th February 2024 3:00pm

He's responsible in that he's the one that employs Sparks as CEO, Sparks is responsible because he's the one that employed Gent. All 3 need to go imo.

 

You don’t eat McDonalds or fly Ryanair then complain about quality though do you?
That’s exactly what Bradford City fans are doing

 

So what exactly are we asking Rupp to do here? Invest more money or to employ a capable CEO?

 

It's not the same thing.

The business model creates the profit. That is the end game. That profit.

In football, the profit informs the budget for the team. Ryan Air and McDonalds and Wetherspoons don't need to create quality from their profits, but football clubs do. The end game isn't profit, it's a successful football team.

The only thing that matters is the amount of profit the club makes from it's sales when it comes to informing the quality of the team.

The proven best business model is a budget one. It's proven all around the world over and over and over again, and it kinda takes a nitwit to not understand that.

 

Ok so assume I accept your business model as the one that generates the biggest profit and that profit is of the same or better than our rivals who are out performing us. Where does the blame lie?
Rupp or the people below him.
If it’s the latter then why are we trying to oust Rupp and not campaigning for the resignation of Sparks / Gent?

 

Good question.

The real failures lie with Sparks, but the blame for Sparks still being in situ lies with Rupp.

That's kind of a chicken/egg scenario.

I don't think there is a true answer. They're both to blame.

 

So to give Rupp the benefit of the doubt, assuming he’s providing a comparable, competitive playing budget then we surely should be writing to him to demand he sacks Sparks immediately who has overseen the last 4 managerial appointments who have squandered the competitive budget given by Rupp???
If Sparks successor is equally inept then we can blame Rupp but not until.

 

If he's providing the same budget as Mansfield/Barrow/Crewe and they are doing well why does he need to increase ticket prices?

 

That’s a very good question. He doesn’t, so long as that playing budget IS the same and isn’t affected next season by the dissenters.
So I think when we drill into the facts, the problem is Sparks/Gent and the managers they have employed, not Rupp?

 

That sounds like a slightly pompous, angry older man who is reasonably well to do

 

But Sparks is doing what he has been asked to do. That is to make sure Rupp doesn't have to add to the budget and keep us up.
What Sparks/Gent didn't 'budget' for this season was Hughes ripping up the playbook and wanting to start again with another way of playing. Gent alluded that it came late in the window hence we ended up with an unbalanced squad. The club doesn't have a modus operandi, that comes from your owner. Without it your just fighting fires. A win against an out of form Wrexham only.papers over the cracks.

 

That's fine.

It's not even that Sparks absolutely has to be fired, either, he just needs to not be in charge of the football side of the business.

But if Rupp won't deliver that, he needs to go.

 

Bet ours is higher but when your giving stupid contracts away then you wonder why we struggle ..........who at this level would have give Derbyshire an 18 month deal ????? And there a fair few like that............like i have said many a time not one if us would care if they did raise the prices if the money was used in the right manner but it simply aint , time and time again year after year we give sub standard players long term deals.

As for folk wanting us to put in more because Rupp aint sorry lads he created this fooking mess so why should we simply fund his failure as an owner.......... .....the man should be kissing our arses that it aint cost him a lot more than it should have

 

I’m fully understanding of the fact that Sparks is delivering what Rupp is asking but equally he is giving him a budget good enough for him to appoint a high calibre manager with fairly high earning players.
On that basis, Sparks is failing and should be fired.
If Rupp won’t fire him because mid table league 2 mediocracy is ok to him then of course Rupp should go.
But then we are back to the point that Rupp won’t sell cheap and nothing we do as far as protesting will force him to do so.
Seems like only luck will get us out of this chicken and egg situation where we stumble upon a winning team that gets us promoted leading to buyer interest at Rupps asking price.

 

Is he providing the budget though?

 

No, the fans are providing it. Because without them we wouldn't shift as many tickets or as much merchandise which makes us a better proposition for potential sponsors. It's a knock on effect. Rupps problem comes if the take up on tickets drops, you have the knock on effect the other way of less merchandise, food and drink being sold, hence a smaller budget allowed to compensate for a smaller turnover.

 

Do you believe all of the forums, face book or twitter groups/accounts speak for any thing like the majority of Bradford City fans.

 

Because we've been told we have a top 5/6/7 budget so yes when were lounging 18th in the league questions need asking, if we had the 18th best player budget then we couldn't complain.