Most liked posts in thread: Stefan Rupp

While you're over there, get a bit of networking in an see if you can find a sheikh with a few quid who might fancy buying football club...

 

“It would appear we have appointed an extremely mediocre CEO to compliment an owner with no ability to run a football club, and we've regressed”

no argument with that Jon and despite the improvements off the field, clearly his footballing decisions have not lead to the expected improvements. My opinion is that he is out of his depth but the miracle that is the Hughes appointment buys him some time. I suspect he is (and knows it) drinking in The Last Chance Saloon.

 

The worry is, if Sparks resigns and Rupp stays in place then Sparks may as well turn the lights off on his way out. Sparks has shown his inexperience / naivety by making bold statements about promotions and jumping into bed with Darragh for intimate podcasts. When in truth all he's done is become a better salesman. His claims to building the infrastructure for success have failed to materialise. The head of recruitment gone within 12 months. The coaching improvements see us finishing lower than anytime in last 50+ years and physio department overseeing one of the worst injury/ recovery rates that I can remember.

What Sparks and Rupp fail to realise is that its not just the numbers you recruit but the quality of the people you put in those positions. Any change in ownership must include a change in CEO. Somebody Someone experienced AND successful AND proven is a must.

 

I’d like to say you’re preaching to the converted with everyone on here Job, sadly that’s not the case. They’re like a broken record it’s all Adams’ fault, just as the same were with the 8 or 9 managers previously. Looks like we’ll have to become a broken record about Rupp, because some people obviously need to read it if they don’t hold him responsible. A Coventry, Charlton, Blackpool or Newcastle would have started the protests 2 seasons ago maybe 3, we just chant the managers name out then onto the next mug every 6 months or is it less…

 

Unfortunately a lot of fans who just turn up like Park just put everything at a club on a manager or players, forget lack of funding in scouting and coaching behind the scene, which other clubs spend big sums of money on, forget inexperience at the top even though he has to make vital footballing decisions without any footballing expertise around him and forget an owner with absolutely no interest in the club as long as it doesn’t cost him money. These things go down to the players and managers and create an unpleasant work environment, let’s be honest Bradford City is not the exciting prospect to manage that it should be. You are better at a club like Accrington, well run and punch above their weight not this toxic place. Even as a fan I feel uncomfortable attending atm with the atmosphere around the place, that’s without getting onto the garbage product on display. Sadly our fans do it with every manager not just this one, if he gets sacked it’ll be 11 managers in 4 years. And still nobody chants him out. Then you have former board members coming on here and calling people hysterical, what hope has this club got honestly.

 

This word sustainability. What exactly does it mean for Bradford City? Is it a case of looking to be in the black every season? Is it sustainability over a longer term period? Is the plan to basically use what we bring in every season and use that accordingly. Because sustainability can mean more than just balancing the books. Look at Accrington for example. A fair whack of investment in facilities and infrastructure in the short term with the aim of being sustainable on the back of those facilities. They could have chosen to stick the money received for the likes Kayden Jackson in the bank for a rainy day but instead chose to invest in the future of the club. But then that takes an owner who actually gives enough of a shit about the football club to put a long term plan in place.
As it stands we have no long term plan to give the best possible chance of long term survival. We talk of Lawn and Rhodes making us sustainable when in fact it was the unique success of Phil Parkinson that made that possible. Take away the two cup runs and Wells and that sustainability is non existent. As it stands we have no cash cow like Nahki Wells or McBurnie and those cup runs will not be seen again.
Sustainability doesn't mean debt free but there has to be something invested in to make it debt free in the long term rather than relying on a unique cup run.

 

Rupp out. Nowt will change till he goes.

 

Hope he was/is in the country to discuss selling up

 

I feel that is a little disconcerting mate if we take his lower figure of 30 and say 20 are time wasters that suggests around 10 are either put off by his asking price or Stefan doesn't think they would be good for the club going forward, maybe we're going to have to live with our proud custodian a little longer.
I believe with what we've seen so far with regards the fans returning to Valley Parade etc and the improving displays (even with an overall poor squad) Bradford City fans will beat this seasons take up of season tickets wouldn't it be great if as @Faithful Bantam suggests he put in a substantial amount of money loan or otherwise to get us on the firsf steps of the ladder out of this league.

 

No hard hitting questions at all. No real scrutiny or challenge of his tenure, no real probing for what the club will do differently to set Hughes up for success. All of which points to - once again, we're pinning all our of hopes on a manager sorting our shit out on a 'self sustainable basis'.

Its there on black and white - Rupp judges the performance of those running the club, solely on whether its losing money or not, on a season by season basis.

 

If Jamie Raynor had conducted that interview, Rupp wouldn’t have got off so lightly. He’s not afraid to prod and poke to get to the nitty gritty of the subject. It’s probably one of the reasons why he’s moving onto bigger things. What a wasted opportunity by Parker. He’s waited 4 years to speak to the man and that was the best he could do.

 

Every business wants to be sustainable, but there’s a reason start ups for instance aren’t as they need to grow. Like a start up we have no assets and no growth as a business, the only thing that has possibly grown is sponsorships under Sparks. Man City came out with a mission statement when on their way up that they’d be sustainable and making a profit within 10 years of their ownership, obviously money had to be put in to get them to be a top PL team and other things such as their training ground but they got their eventually and now spend less than the likes of United because they are geared up for success.

The question I’d ask the club and those who support our method is that is Bradford City geared for it’s aims and targets on a sustainable budget if so how? For me the simple answer is we are not, we have huge overheads for this level for a starter which automatically eats into our sustainable budget, therefore even if the play budget is acceptable something else has to give such as the coaching, scouting or medical science side of the club and god forbid us getting an actual asset that makes the club worth something other than just it’s FL membership.

I’d like to know what league the club actually wants to get to, until that aim is reached sustainability has to be put on the back burner. If Bradford City got to the championship or above then I’d definitely say try for a sustainable budget, anything else wound dangerous with how big player wages are up there, in league 1 and 2 you don’t have them same issues manageable debt isn’t something to be scared of in business. My thoughts are Rupp doesn’t care what division we are in as long as the spreadsheet remains black not red.

People are giving him another chance now as Sparks pull a rabbit out of the hat getting Hughes, if this fails let’s see how happy people are with the way the club is run. Hopefully Sparks and Sparky can exceed the tools they have been given and get us back to the top end of league 1 at least then that’ll be great but I’m not seeing an infrastructure being put in place should Sparky get a better offer elsewhere. Brentford fans were gutted when Dean Smith left, they got the next bloke of the talent line instantly and improved. There’s a well run club, but it wasn’t done on a sustainable budget it’s just not realistic long term.

 

Of course it has you apologist.

He's the man at the helm.

 

I agree that was a success but I think Mason (or another key figure in the club) probably told them to appoint Stuart to appease fans after Parky went. Rahic and Rupp had just arrived and wouldn’t have even known who he was - hence the lack of respect and support Rahic showed him subsequently. So Rupp can take no credit for that season.

 

If you were pumping 6 million into an investment and letting someone you just met run it, would you just sit back and assume all was hunky dorey?

Or would you put in place some controls to ensure you could see the state of affairs?

The fact it got so bad and he had to be told is laughable. Negligent, perhaps.

 

This guff that nobody wants to buy us, just won't wash any more.

It's garbage.

 

His legacy still stands today. No one will take us back to the premier league in my opinion in the next 30 years. Dare I say our lifetimes.

 

Let’s be honest most clubs but Bury who are in the football league have survived over 100 years, spending a bit on a quality player or off field investment every season won’t ruin us. How a business that doesn’t invest stands still and a business that stands still actually moves backwards as the competitors are moving forward, hence why we’ve seen such a regression. Rupp isn’t the only one who hasn’t invested, but he’s been the only one capable and who have good talk when he came in through him mouthpiece. Having to talk about fans raising money for hand dryers when your owner sold a company for 350 million euros is indefensible butter it up as you wish.