Most liked posts in thread: What I don’t understand is..

I think the reason for so many loans this January, is because it's a risk free move for Adams and City.

Lets face it, there is a very slim chance this team actually makes it to the play offs, unless of a miracle change in attitude across the building. With the list of our of contract players as high as it is this summer, especially after the reasons hinted out for the Canavan move, it's looking nailed on that Adams just wants a restart this summer. Perhaps that's why guys like Canavan, Cooke and Watt haven't looked their best the last weeks/months? They might already know they are out this summer and this team isn't going anywhere.

The rebuild is staring us in the face, so just loan up the gaps as this team wont go down at this point even if the worst form comes. Looking at the other around, it's likely not to go up, so pointless signing guys like we were offered, the Elliott or Delfounesos of the world to 18 month deals when Adams likely wont want them next season. This window was just sticking a plaster over it and hoping for the best. I think Adams is experienced enough to not go down that route, unless he's been given assurances over his job this season regardless of form. This is just a written off season, which they can never admit publicly. Strap in for a few more months of a win a month, few draw and finishing about 13th.

 

Would you send your future talent to Valley Parade to play upfront on their own and have their confidence killed when Derek Adams throws them under the bus for a rookie mistake?

 

I think you’re very optimistic there and might be in for a big shock, we got so many on the back of no football in 18 months which made it special that novelty has worn off.

Whether you are Rupp, Sparks, Adams or all 3 out there will be plenty who don’t renew for whatever reason. It’s more than just venting now for people, they got sucked into Sparks’ pre season talk last summer. As the saying goes fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I think there’s a lot more distrust their than people like you realise, this season could be the straw that breaks the camels back for Rupp, season upon season decline, with fresh faces but not new ideas and fans have finally had enough.

The only thing that can stop it is a good end to the season, do you trust that will happen?

 

For me there was a half decent chance of getting into the playoffs pre Crawley game but after what he did on Saturday and his magic in the transfer window then that chance is getting away from us and tbh if we end up just plodding the season out then in all honesty the twats deserve to lose thousands of season ticket holders ............... they can send mr Twitter out to try and con us again into false promotion promises decent budgets etc but folk won’t put up with it now .............. you see posts from folk who have been going 30 plus years who are considering not going or renewing next term then I would seriously be worried if I was in charge of that club

 

Sorry mate, but the line I have highlighted above is one of, if not the, most deluded posts of the year. Unless we sign some absolute stellar players before season tickets go off sale next summer we are going to lose at least 3,000 season ticket holders.

Apart from the completely blind happy clappers (and I have one sat next to me), the hard core are utterly fed up with Adams and his inability to put teams to the sword. 12 times in 27 games we have had the lead and thrown it away through his inane desire to win 1.0 with 40% possession or less. He has a 29% win rate and other managers know that if we are only one up at half time they have a great chance to win because of what he does in the second half.

He's signed four "non scoring forwards" so at least two of those wont even make the bench and he seems to have a training regime that ruins players. Apart from Gilliead, every single player he signed in the summer has had a lengthy period of injury this season. That's the training regime.

Much as I want Rupp out, and I do, and much as I believe Sparks is a walking self help manual who is so out of his depth he is about to discover fish no-one even knew about, they aren't the ones who drive the lead and direction of a football TEAM.

I believe that leadership and direction of a football team comes from the manager, and only the manager. They sign the players, they set the team up, they dictate the style of play. The rest is background stuff that revolves around signing cheques and raising the money to be able to honour those cheques.

If it didn't, how do you explain Taylor, Jackson & Stuart all bombing out under the Chuckle Brothers and Parky taking us to a major cup final without spending a penny on transfer fees ? How do you explain Stuart taking us to a play off final under a manic dictator, how do you explain Liverpool having years of finishing 3rd or fourth under FSG and then winning the PL & Champions League under Klopp and how do you explain Spurs under Levy, going from mid table under countless managers to being title contenders and Champions League finalists under Poch, then back again when he leaves.

People point at failing clubs and clubs whose fans are revolting against ownership, and how a change of ownership has changed their fortunes, but in reality its the change of manager that has done that.

Blackpool appointed an excellent manager from the Liverpool set up, their fortunes changed because of that not because they ousted Oyston. If Bowyer was still there they would be where we are. Charlton have changed ownership and nothing has improved.

Oldham are in a mess because they constantly appoint the wrong manager (Sheriden is on his SIXTH spell as manager but nothing changes under him. Bury went under because the manager persuaded the owner to fund a rule breaking transfer spree. Macclesfield went under because they appointed Sol Campbell and he overspent. Notts County went down because Sven spent silly money in his short tenure and Southend because they appointed Sol Campbell then a succession of under achieving successors.

On the flip side, Accrington, Oxford & Lincoln punch massively above their weight because they appointed the right managers at the right time.

Birmingham City are in a real mess, have got real issues with not knowing where any money is going or coming from, and owner who has gone to prison for fraud and a ground that is falling apart, but what keeps them from total implosion is their manager.

Don't get me wrong, Rupp is not a good owner, far from it, but he has got us financial self supporting and our season ticket/ commercial sales make us enough money to be able to compete at the top of this league. Dale Vince at FGR is a good owner but he has appointed good managers who have done what he has asked for and whilst he has spent money, I doubt it anything like a figure that would break FFP.

The link between Rupp and the performances on the field are the CEOs that he appoints consistently letting him down with poor managers. The Chuckles got lucky with Parky and until we get lucky with a manager again this will continue however much money Rupp throws (or doesn't throw) at it and in the meantime, attendances will suffer.

We didnt have a pot to piss in when we appointed McFarland then Cherry, but they alone built an epoch that ultimately took us out of the bottom league for 25 years. Good managers, signing good players and instilling a fantastic team ethic into them, despite until 1983 being owned by a charlatan who would have moved us to Park Avenue and changed our name to Bradford Metro.

Rupp might get lucky and appoint a great manager who does the same, if he does the calls for his head will disappear until that manager goes and the cycle repeats itself. In the meantime, get ready for a mass exodus of card carrying BCFC fans, starting with the actual attendance tonight.

 

A lot of top PL academies dont want their young lads playing at L2 or NL clubs. Well, the ones they have marked out for a good future anyway. You saw the way they play. Top academy prospects have been taught to play the Pep way for 10 years now. It's on the deck, it's nice play, it's time on the ball..... come to this level and you dont really get much or any of that. Teams will check every team they have loan enquiry for, and if it's a manager who plays negative football, or hoof football, there isn't a chance a team will loan out their future number 9 and will see his development better in the U23s playing "their way" for another year. That's why the Austin Samuels, Jordan Stevens and Rumarn Burrells of the world get offered to us. All from Cat 1 academies, but not a chance those owning clubs think they'll make it. Whilst we are in L2, there is a very slim chance a proper prospect will be dropping by.

 

By your logic we should sack managers every 6 months and hope for the best, of course owners make a difference in 21st century football. Most clubs have an on and off the field identity usually in sync to get their success, the tinpot clubs you mention are great examples of this. You do their owners a great disservice saying it was just a case of getting the right manager at the right time, they’d built towards their goal for years it didn’t happen overnight.

Regarding Parky in case you forgot, he had a terrible record first 40 games but was allowed to gut the place and given the biggest budget in a number of years, backed by a CEO that would go on to become the head of the football league! It took a number of years to get right and of course you can hire the wrong managers they still make a difference, but they aren’t everything that is right or wrong with a club anymore it’s not Nigel Clough days! If you’re hoping for another Parky to show up you’ll be sat there when we’re in non league saying this isn’t Rupps fault managers have let him down. Parky had one interview with them two clowns and fecked straight off.

 

Not at all. My point isn't around sacking managers, its around the fact that its the managers who create the success not the CEO, and whilst Parky struggled at first you could see signs of improvement.

I'm not doing anyone a disservice. Managers make success at football clubs. Pick the right one, acknowledge he is making improvements even if slowly and stick with him. We did that with Parky, we did that with Dolan (until some fool decided to get rid) and we did it with Cherry.

I haven't said this isn't Rupps fault, I've said its not him who creates the epoch at a club. We've only had one owner in my lifetime who actually made more of a difference than the manager by throwing money at it (which wasn't even his money) and look where that got us ? The other times the success has been built through a manager creating something tangible.

Why do clubs call in Big Sam to save them from relegation ? Not because the owner has changed or the level of backing has changed, but because the new manager can get a tune out of the players.

Rupp has a massive level of responsibility in where we are, but it's too simplistic to say things wont get better whilst he owns the club because we all know that (if by some miracle) the right manager came along to manage the right players that could change in a very short period.

As things stand, it's Derek Adams that is draining the life out of the club. Ultimately appointed by Sparks who was appointed by Rupp. In the long run, all three have to go, but be careful what you wish for because changing the owner won't change the sterile tactics on the field.

 

We have loads of clubs around here at lower than PL level with the odd young striker plodding along in the reserves so why not try for one of them ?????
No not us we go for 30 year old journeymen who make Barry Conlons goal scoring record look outstanding

 

What I don't understand....
Quantum Physics.
Trigonometry.
Algebra.
Derek Adams.

 

They are in for a big shock, Gaz. For years the club have fed the fans a diet of cheap STs/low expectations, and got away with it.

last summer they made the bold move of upping prices (which was overdue tbf) and publicly saying “mediocrity not tolerated” and auto promotion was the aim.

that looks miles off so the club are going to have to be prepared to lose thousands of fed up fans now.

when tickets were £149 you just bought them regardless of the football as it was a no brainer. At £299 its not such an easy choice. Fans are starting yo think “am I enjoying supporting this club and do i enjoy the experience” and it’s a resounding “no” for many.

we’re cost cutting already and gearing up for a huge summer rebuild, but with what budget I really worry.

adams doesnt have it in his nature to play gung ho and kill teams off and that’s all that he can do now between today and the summer to finally build a rapport with the fans as there’s just not been a relationship since he joined.

 

Have we ever had a ST campaign during a time when the fans wanted a passive owner out though?

i started going in 1993 and I can’t remember it. Too young to remember Simpson but GR bought him out I believe so he wasn’t forced?

Richmond was liked by the fans and his sins only came out in the wash after.

with Rhodes and then Lawn, fans appreciated their was no money and craved investment, but understood the situation and the owners were not hounded out.

with Rahic things moved quickly during the season, long after the ST sales period was over.

fans have been conned this season and they know the only way to get Rupp out is to take him out of his comfort zone and make him put in more money to support the budget.

if we really want him out, stop buying STs this summer and drive him out.

 

Again you are comparing apples and oranges though, I don’t have a traditional mindset point I’m making is we need some footballing men in higher ranking positions. Without knowing the club infrastructure at United when Gill was there, I’m sure he had enough people with footballing knowledge and importantly footballing connections to get by. Other than Adams we literally have nobody at the club with any connections in the footballing industry, name me other teams like that?

 

Probably because their clubs would insist on them being played. Up and coming decent players wouldn’t normally drop to our level.

 

I think they will have a concern, not a worry at this point. This team wont lose thousands of ticket holders next season, people on here or twitter or facebook love to vent and we all should when things are bleak but the over reaction is huge when it comes to "i'm never going again" type posts. There will still be 11-12 thousand season ticket holders next season and captain soundbite Sparks will see that as a positive. It's naff now but when people have a break in the summer, they'll sign up again.

This is pretty grim at the minute, but the league is grim at the minute across the board. Whilst he's still in touching distance of the play offs, nothing will change.

 

Agree. We won’t hit 10,000 next season if we finish in midtable. A lot of our tickets are parents who also bring kids. If mum and/or dad stop coming, two or three kids a time also won’t renew

 

We will have to agree to disagree then. My 3,000 is a conservative estimate. I suspect it could be even more as many of those are kids tickets who will find something else to do if it bores them and there are enough hardcores on here who have already given up to make a 20% reduction quite possible.

Lets see how many turn up tonight, yes the official attendance will be 14,000 plus but I would be amazed if there are half that number actually in the ground.

 

I wasn’t going to get a season ticket this season but for the chance to sample live football for the first time in 18 months, the life has been drained out of the club with the last 9 managers with one common factor, of course you can pin blame on Adams for individual games but not where we are as a club. We’d just finished 15th in league 2 and are technically just about above that, I don’t think Adams is the right man long term. But a choice between those 3 to go and it’s Rupp every time. Id rather see an owner come in with his own vision and hire a CEO and manager to match than keep going through managers in the hope our saviour comes.

As for Parkinson you remember history a bit different to me which is fair enough, but there were times that season I was convinced we’d go down and many called him Plonkinson all season, nobody could have predicted what was to come after that 11/12 season. Also I’m no fan of sacking managers straight after a transfer window, it just highlights you as a pathetically run club. Id rather wait until the spring to get someone in then they wouldn’t be as involved with this squad of deadbeats and would have plenty of room to change things.

 

We will just have to agree to disagree, as all good debates should when you have differing opinions. Parky was a hero for me from day one, mainly due to him having "empty chaired" the Dogs. Although I do admit I did call him out during the 6.0 drubbing at the hands of Bristol City.

Lets wait and see what happens after our annual manager sacking day (Oldham away).

I don't like Rupp anymore than you do, but my view is that he is the shareholder and it's the people paid to run the club who make the most mistakes.