Rupp & Sparks Out?

As CEO you can’t cherry pick what you take credit for.
Yes we are commercially better - Credit to Sparks.
Football wise,we are 18th in Lge 2 and on yet another manager - Nowt to do with Sparks.
The position is overarching.

What it pretty much boils down to then is that in the last 3 years Sparks’ only achievement is employing his old boss.

He must be very proud.

 

So you know the question clearly.

The keyboard warrior stuff is getting all too predictable and boring. I’ll go as far as saying over 50% if those commenting didn’t go or didn’t watch the game, exactly the same, incidentally as the Wycombe game , and also predict 90% of them wouldnt say boo to a soaking wet goose.

Constructive critical points with SOLUTIONS are a benefit to you, me , the club , however the forum has rapidly deteriorating into the twilight world where everything is “shite” with zero explanation and zero clue how to remedy , I doubt you enjoy it, I and many others don’t either , the difference is I’ll challenge. If people don’t like me or others for doing so, frankly that’s their problem.

We replace the owner with what? He should give the club away cheaply perhaps? We replace the CEO with one who knows a football player when he sees one, Who? We employ a director of football who knows about football , not an Administrative Secretary who just happens to have worked at a football club for 50 years.( I exaggerate ) We go in and poach another clubs manager. ( Without even knowing he has no interest in leaving the club he’s at) This isn’t a computer game playing fantasy is it?

Some of the stuff I have read on here recently is just not in the real world of finance, recruitment and business ….Yes I am fully aware of what customer confidence means by the way. I won’t bore you with the details and the sums involved .Yes I agree football is different, but commentary by those who haven’t experienced such , is unhelpful and frankly sounds silly and over simplistic to those that have. Clearly you know as well as me , wrong information leads to a misguided understanding ?

Now for the forum itself.

Think why it’s highly likely the original C&B went belly up, primarily because it descended into what we are seeing here. Think why pretty decent supporters ( City Vent , and the other pair) who try and make Bradford football at least “interesting” and accessible to the wider world similarly get despondent and pack up because of faceless “ so called supporters” who think they can hide behind a tablet or a mobile phone, without providing an ALTERNATIVE.
Clearly we need to do better on the grass, we win , and the above disappears , we lose and it’s keyboard overdrive time, just like yesterday.


We are all entitled to an opinion, but isn’t it time we should be constructive, that’s my beef?

Sadly it won’t ever change at any club, after witnessing the Newcastle fan screaming at Trippier yesterday being a classic example of a supporter who “ demands “ success.

7th in the Prem
Playing in the Champions League
Bankrolled by an oil rich money laundering kingdom where money is no object

A large number of squad injuries sees a drop in form , losing two games on the trot .

As a result some morons decided to have a go at the playing captain because they lost. Madness.

We also lost , I was over it by 1730, until the next time.

 

It's a nonsense point @Kevin1954. Why would supporters have any idea about suitable alternatives for the role of CEO, DoF or owner?

 

To a point, as Dennis alludes to, Ryan is hamstrung by an owner here under false pretences, and as such no real help to him regarding pushing the club forward. Also never had the pleasure of being taught under the tutorship of a decent CEO to learn the ropes. That said, he clearly relishes having those letters to his name, who wouldn't? Certainly makes your linkedin profile look better.

Your last sentence sums it up pretty well.

 

110% agree with the first paragraph, it’s no secret, First sentence of the next paragraph spot on. Commercial side spot on.

Sadly your first paragraph overrides everything else.

Until that first paragraph is rectified by a sale or Rupp investment it will sadly remain status quo. Non of us like it, myself included, however there are only three solutions to end the saga which you encapsulate.

Sale
Investment
Success on the grass.

Get the latter right and the first two become irrelevant until success needs more funding to become even more successful ?

 

So why call for something they don’t have a reasonable, workable solution for?

See my point?

 

What letters do you mean RT?

 

To me, it speaks to disinterest and naivety. What I mean by that, is that even if Rupp is as disinterested as it would seem, the success of the club in footballing terms is clearly in his interest. It’s clearly in Sparks interests too. So thinking about it logically, I can only the following scenarios:

1. Rupp and/or Sparks believe Sparks is capable of delivering footballing success, and no change is needed. That’s evidentially worrying, based on their tenure so far, as it’s clearly not true (or at least very, very highly debatable).
2. Sparks believes help is needed and its his call, but is reluctant to pursue it out of self preservation or a sense of ego.
3. Sparks believes help is needed but it’s Rupp’s call, and Sparks can’t or won’t provide a compelling case.

I can’t see any other scenario? I firmly believe it’s scenario 1, which is worrying. Because all the warning signs and evidence is there, as to where this is most likely to lead. The very best leaders have vision, but also humility. They don’t feel threatened by surrounding themselves with highly talented people. It’s a fundamental failure on the part of Sparks to bring in a DoF type of role. It’s pure ego. And he’s missing a trick, because not only would it be a critical appointment to the club and enhance our chances of success, but if he’s actually up to the task of being a proper, credible CEO and having the potential to operate at that level on merit in other organisations/industries, he’d embrace the chance to bring in someone who could help him in a mentoring/influencing/coaching capacity too.

 

I said the exact same to @Kevin1954 the other day when i said if the job is affecting sparks mental health then he should get out now, to which Kev asked me to name a successor. As I said in my post, I absolutely detest lazy responses like that, as if I’m going to know anyone with the exception of the obvious (Dave Baldwin or that sharp bloke, formerly of Wigan and now at Mansfield). But just because I don’t know who could be a replacement, shouldn’t stop me expressing my opinion and frustration about a massively inept CEO on the footballing side of things

 

CEO. A but like those folk who love having MBE on their social media like it's some massive achievement. I'd refuse any offer like that if it were given to me I'm the honours list.

 

I’m afraid I don’t. The solution is either a new owner that has the interest and capability to provide a vision for taking the club forward, and/or to bring in a DoF that would bring that skill set, to work for/alongside Sparks. That’s what’s needed, and fans being unable to name credible candidates doesn’t negate the need for those outcomes. There’s no reasonable basis for supporters knowing who’d be candidates, because those identities are generally not well known to football supporters.

 

But are known in football circles
Would RS know who the best candidate would be to appoint as an experienced sales director where I work
Thought Not

 

Exactly. You’d expect a CEO to have a comprehensive list of contacts.

 

Within his field of work

 

I really don’t understand that come back by some, and it’s very tiresome and not really helpful on a forum where we are supposed to debate and discuss things. Seems a bit counterproductive to try shut down discussion with such open ended nonsense.

To me it is like if someone came on here and had a terrible experience with the ticket office staff, and demanded they were sacked. Then someone goes and replaced with who? How the feck should we know there is a whole world of people out there, it’s the clubs job to get the right people not a fans it literally isn’t a question for a fan to answer. The club is failing and I’d love a fan who defends this rubbish to say how it isn’t and how much fun they had yesterday. No fan in the world is going to celebrate a new sponsorship deal.

We are massive underdogs for next Saturday and if we expectedly lose we could be 21st and 4 points from the relegation zone. So here’s a question to those who defend the indefensible, how long will you defend this crap for? Until the next loss? We get relegated to non league? Or maybe out of business will wake people up?

Rant over.

 

This notion of ‘sustainability’ is incredibly fragile (and nonsensical). One bad season and we’re done. A mediocre one like this, and ST sales will drop. I know that’s often mooted and hasn’t come about, but I genuinely think this season will be the last straw for many.

 

I have never heard of a successful business been sustainable, how the feck can it grow without investment? My boss who’s the owner of our company, is a Sunderland season ticket owner, he’s had meals with true new French owner they have and meets people like Keir Stamer and top business leaders in the north. We talk football weekly and I’ve told him about our ‘strategy’ before, all he says is I’m afraid it’ll get worse before it gets better unless you get new investment. How people defend it is beyond me.

 

I know the question , we need a new owner, I know why, I don’t know who, neither does anyone else
I know the question , we need a DoF, I know why, I don’t know one with FOOTBALL knowledge, neither does anyone else.

So far who have two imponderable questions without a viable solution.

I can repeat this all day long ad infinitum until it gets truly boring but it won’t solve the issue. That’s why don’t fall into the make believe world of this “ owner out” bandwagon.

It just doesn’t help solve the issue does it.

Once again I know the question, I know the answer, I don’t have a solution, neither does anyone else.

For some this means I and others are defending the status quo, I am not, rather I am being realistic of no immediate outcomes no matter how many times we say it.

 

Why not have a rant at me , I’m the pragmatic one.

Two simple questions

How do we get Rupp to sell his asset at less than market value .
How does you / we force Rupp to sack his CeO when his CeO is performing exactly how the owner desires.

If you know of a way I’ll be with you for sure.