Rupp & Sparks Out?

I fear we're in catch 22 at the moment. Form at present is dire, league position is dire, confidence must be on a knife edge. Yes we desperately need change at the top, but how do we do that without completely destroying our league status?
Yesterday's 2nd half performance showed we can be way better than we are when set up correctly. GA has so far managed to 2 decent 45 minutes out of 4, although the results have gone against us. My fear is protests, tennis balls, etc. al could completely derail the season with a real possibility of going down. How do we affect change at the top without affecting what happens on the pitch this season? I would suggest the boycott of buying merchandise, pre drinks and food, half time refreshments, lottery tickets and ultimately season tickets. We have to back what's on the pitch and the new manager whilst sending a clear message to Sparks and Rupp that we no longer support the funding of this club, until action is taken to either sell up or invest.
As for the threats of violence against Sparks, why are we attracting these neanderthals to the club? Go find something else to do on a Saturday if it affects you that much. Supporting this club obviously isn't good for you.

 

Out of interest, has Sparks ever said or indicated he or we don’t need more senior ‘football’ person within the club?

 

If I kept getting the recruitment of a senior position wrong, over and over again, I would seriously look at what I was doing and how I was doing it.

I'd also look at why employee after employee was failing in the role, when I know they've been successful elsewhere. They can't all be 'bad' employees can they?

If something isn't working you have to have change. You have to try another way.

If you keep doing something that isn't working you regress against your competitors because they are hell bent on improving.

If you keep doing something that isn't working you are 19th in League Two with a top four budget.

 

Sparks has surrouned himself with "yes men" who he rewards well with perks and they are loyal to him. Rupp needs a trusted spy in the camp to report back to him the true nature of what goes on on a day to day basis at the University of Bradford Stadium. The true picture has to be revealed to him.

 

Do you know what goes on? I am struggling to understand what could disrupt the manager, assistant manager and the whole squad. Giving perks away to other employees might be disruptive, but upset the whole playing side. One or two things have popped into my head these last few weeks. Stress, depression caused by having too much responsibility without the required skills.

 

Things seem to be getting a bit nasty. We have declined under Rupp’s watch but the damage done by Rahic is proving difficult to fix.

We allegedly have a top-4 budget. Rupp doesn’t pick the team or sign players. Sparks doesn’t pick the team or sign players.

No one was complaining when Rupp/Sparks appointed Bowyer, Adams, Hughes - experienced managers who have failed to do the job.

We allegedly have a strategy of bringing youth through, and we have scout in Gent who seemed to be a good fit at the time after a long period to identify him. He’s signed some reasonable players and a few duds (as does every club).

The biggest problem now is shaking off the legacy of Hughes - he is the cause of the problems in the last 12 months, not Rupp or Sparks IMO.

I don’t wish to be involved in “protests” next week and if that’s what’s happening then I’d rather stay at home.

Hopefully Alexander will sort it out and be left to the football side, but his hands are tied for the next 6 weeks.

 

He's out of his depth and the best thing he can do for both the club and his own mental health is to admit that and ask for some help.

 

I agree. I don’t think he needs to leave, but he does need to reassigned to non-football commerce generation of funds. We need a consultant to assess where we are going wrong, and what we need to do to make us a really well run club.

 

Don’t forget Sparks doesn’t listen to the “noise” so it’s as you were.

 

Can’t keep blaming the manager. It’s lazy saying oh the Board are not playing football.

Who picks the manager, who sacks a manager? What is Bradford City’s playing style? What is the clubs vision?

Look Rupp and Sparks are fully to blame for us going backwards. Can’t even blame Edin!

You stay at home if you can’t handle the heat but things need to get serious and we need to make sure Sparks & Rupp understand that they need to go!

 

Agree in principle on your post but Rahic is not the problem, he's been out of the scene for years now.Sparks keeps telling us we have a decent budget every season (top four according to the sky comms yesterday). The problem for me has always stemmed from not having a cohesive plan in place and sticking to it. Can't keep hiring and firing managers with the blind hope that it might just work. That should mean we have chosen Alexander because he fits our mid term plan of getting promotion during his contract but i won't hold my breath. I'd written this season off as soon as i saw Hughes had tore up the plan from last season and started a new one, how the hell were the players and coaches supposed to garner familiarity and continuity with a system that had actually worked?
It means Alexander get minimum three transfer windows to get rid of the shite and bring players to the club he wants for his set up.

 

Out of your depth in a job surround yourself will people who are equally as clueless the Tories for example. Sparkes knows bringing in senior figures who are more experienced in football will only emphasise his inexperience both in football terms and how to run a business.

we have flawed ownership, infrastructure an inexperienced CEO and how can we evidence this ?

the mediocre squad , the contracts dished out, farming out young and somehow agreeing to an alledged contract where we are at a disadvantage if we recalled , no clear identity again reflected in the managers we go through the list of seriously bad decisions is unreal. Sparkes clearly is half decent marketing guy but again using sound bites and slogans that just look daft few weeks later.

We expect these managers to come in and develop the club when in fact it’s not their role, if Ryan leaves today look at the work needed by the next CEO, I’m a deputy director of a company of over 150 employees if the owners were not giving me the tools to make us successful and allowing me to run it I would step down no question.

the issues are that deeply rooted only new ownership and a clear out at boardroom level will help us move forward but in the short term a CEO with experience and the conviction to hold Rupp to account would be a massive step, include integrity something Sparkes seems to lack

 

What Board?

 

Well said Wakefield. This whole sorry mess is not down to Rupp or Sparks, both of whom have no knowledge of football, it's totally Hughes who created the problem with his wild scattergun approach to 'improving' the side in the summer recess. It was as clear as day what was needed but Hughes appointed at random AND gave out 3 year contracts like confetti. Yes, Sparks did the actual signings but as e had no knowledge of football he trusted Hughes' judgement. Hughes was either misled/misinformed (Gent), or he had a grudge against the Club, or he somehow lost his bearings medically. I don't know which but there is no doubt at all where the problem lay

 

Hughes is not responsible for 7 years of decline, what a ridiculous post. What will it take for you lot to recognise the true issues with the club? Relegation? The club is being crippled by an owner who hates football and a CEO who by the balance of probability should have got a football decision right by now, yet has somehow managed to mess up every one of them. 7 years of constant change in managers and players with no plan to work to, the only constant factors in that period have been rupp and sparks, so it's pretty clear where the problem stems from.

 

Respect your post and accept it's your view
However the buck stops with Sparks am afraid he is the one with all the authority
In my opinion Rupp doesn't care as long as he doesn't have to put his hand in his very deep pockets
Sparks should have brought Hughes to book over his signings and contract awarding it's no excuse to quote yourself that he has little knowledge of football he should employ/consult someone who has the knowledge the bottom line is we are a football club and what happens on the pitch should be very high on any CEO list of priorities
Hughes should have gone end of last season lots on here have said it and that's nothing to do with hindsight it was pretty clear but our lack of football knowledge where it counts is responsible for that
I don't agree the decision makers in any organisation are the guys who steer the ship and this one seems well off course
Sadly one doesn't seem to know and the other doesn't seem to care but I could be wrong willing to admit if so

 

This is so depressing. Right back to square one.

 

Sparks should have been challenging MH.
Why are we giving 18 month contracts to 36 year olds?
Why are we giving 2 year contracts to 35 year olds?
Why are we giving Odour a 3 year deal when he wasn't good enough for a relegated Hartlepool?
Why are we taking a CB from Kilmarnock and giving him a 2 year deal? Is he better than what we've got?
Why are we taking a RB who was awful for a relegated MK Dons team?

These are all really bad decisions. Sparks has authorised them.

 

Correct - Hughes is not responsible for 7 years of decline but he had an opportunity to bring it to an end. His team produced boring football but it was successful in reaching the play-offs and only needed tweaks to improve. Instead he chucked out the baby with the bathwater and tied the Club into an impossible situation facing relegation. Sparks must have trusted Hughes' judgement as he had brought us so near to promotion. It was Hughes' poor recruitment, poor choice of set-up and long contracts that brought the current situation about.