29 Dec 2024 09:50:05
Jesus Christ the negativity in here is unreal.
It’s a bad patch, yes. Very bad. Relegation? Not a chance. Looking at recent seasons six more victories would be more than adequate. Anybody that believes we won’t get those is just grinding an axe. Ludicrous to believe otherwise.
As for relying on youngsters to get us out of this? For the vast majority not a chance. Too early and too damaging an experience. And not necessary for reasons above. They should be allowed to dip their toes in as needed. Not be thrown to the wolves.
This squad is more than good enough to get top half and I believe will. RA is clearly implementing a new system and a new culture. The second is the most important this season and will suffice. Bringing new players in to this mess won’t clean the fish tank (great analogy from CR) . Judge RA and the football leadership this time next year after two windows and a full pre-season.
As Harvey Dent once said. The night is darkest just before the dawn. Obviously tosh, but its intended meaning fits our situation right now. Chaos and last result an absolute stinker.
As for the penny-pinching. It’s a business. Any owner of a business can and should run it as efficiently as possible. This is still an emotive area and we will never all agree with such cost-cutting policies. Many of us probably didn’t even know about some of them until now. The majority of us never grew up around OT and walked down the cobbled streets back in the day. But many people feel the pain of the corporate world in different ways. No high street banks affects many. Increased dependence on Internet yet high data poverty. The world sucks in many ways. The only given is these things won’t be undone.
Ratcliffe needed to stop the ship from sinking before he could redecorate. His hands are tied on many things due to contracts and the legacy of the Glazers. I guess we have to wait and see on this one. But I’m not losing sleep over the stewards bonus that’s for sure.
29 Dec 2024 12:38:14
“ As for the penny-pinching. It’s a business. Any owner of a business can and should run it as efficiently as possible. ”
My point is that the savings made by firing staff, cutting bonuses, withdrawing discounts for kids and pensioners, and stopping charity payments is far far less than the money wasted on staffing mistakes since the summer.
The club gave ETH a contract extension and hired a new team of coaches, only to fire them all a few months later. This added millions in additional payouts for terminating contracts. Then they paid upwards of £10m to bring in Ruben and his coaching team. They also paid about £3m to bring Dan Ashworth to the club only to terminate his contract after a few months, resulting in another big payout.
Ratcliffe is making massive, costly, mistakes and punishing low paid staff, supporters, and charities to make it look like they’re running the club in an efficient manner. It’s bad business taking away from those who have the least to give the impression of fiscal competency.
29 Dec 2024 12:51:20
Spoken like the true match going fan you are.
29 Dec 2024 13:44:47
Dann6 ???
That some are defend8ng Ratcliffe is staggering.
29 Dec 2024 13:46:59
I've red some tripe on here in my time but the 'as for the penny pinching' Jesus wept.
29 Dec 2024 14:53:55
@Pspence I am a match-going fan. I’m not defending SJR. Never wanted him. Anybody that enabled the Glazers were a bad idea. But I’m a realist and know that my ranting won’t change anything.
29 Dec 2024 14:54:55
We’ll see how many change their tune if and when INEOS are successful. I suspect many wouldn’t be complaining if the results were better.
29 Dec 2024 16:01:47
Jesus wept when many of you criers were praying for Ratcliffe to take over and now want him done. Hypocrisy. As Red Man said, Sheikh would have been the better option.
Also, its quite clear that none of you have an idea of how a business is run. Tough decisions are to be taken. Wheres Ahmad as he claims to be a successful businessman so he should know.
{Ed001's Note - I know Ahmad and he is very successful. I wish I had half of his success!}
29 Dec 2024 16:32:41
There you go then Ed001. He of all people should know. I am not defending Ratcliffe here, i was in the Sheikh brigade but still i would say that some short pain needs to be suffered for long term gains.
{Ed001's Note - yes, but some of what is being done is not going to give any long term gain apart from a potential tiny increase in profits. The need is for investment.}
29 Dec 2024 17:16:52
LOL UA why am I getting dragged into this. I am amused by the love fest for the sheikh suddenly. When I say I know them and they would have been terrible for us people will throw mud at me. All sheikh's are not the same and let's leave it at that. What sheikh mansoor has done for city is not what we were getting. is SJR the prefect guy? who knows and we will know better in a few years. it is what it is and the alternative would have been very very bad.
I think everything he is doing is about killing complacency that is rotten to the core at the club and been there for many years. its not nice but needed. The players will get in next and its our finances that is holding that up but its coming.
The idea of why make someone redundant who earns 30k a year and players who don't perform on much higher wages are still here is a silly conversation if the 30k a year guy is surplus to requirement the he needs to go. Hate to be this blunt.
I cancelled a christmas/ ny related event at my own company as I did not see why we were going to celebrate something which I believe was work in progress and far from finished. Running a business is not about a popularity contest and most who are very good at it are far from being the most popular but respected. We are a business get used to it everyone:)
Football is a result orientated game with a fan base that is tribal in nature. It will all go away if we start winning and competing and just people venting ATM. We are an unhappy bunch.
29 Dec 2024 17:45:17
UA, it sounds like you're defending him.
29 Dec 2024 18:31:30
Ahmad, I get the need to lose surplus heads, the issue for me is the amounts being saved are loose change compared to the money we waste.
As was pointed out, ETH and team pay off, Ashworth compensation and then likely pay off, i'm guessing tens of millions all in, and all under SJR's leadership.
But hey, let's find the loose change down the back of the sofa. ?♂️
My bigger issue is we used to be better than this and understand our roots and traditions, now we are just another soulless corporate nasty organisation, tun by incompetents.
30 Dec 2024 04:11:38
AJH
I totally understand where you are coming from. the issue with offloading players is much more complicated given the guaranteed nature of their contracts/ wages and I am not convinced they would be bothered at all and may sit around and not play compared to taking some sort of a reduced exit comp and going elsewhere to play for a much lower wage.
I have no idea what happened with Ashworth but the nature of how it was done suggest something seriously went wrong. It was a mistake to extend ETTH contract if we were not prepared to see it through imo but water under the bridge and they are not perfect and have fumbled a few things.
30 Dec 2024 09:21:58
Bottom line is SJR / INEOS is a different kind of toxic to the Saudi sports washing. This was made clear from the very outset. On top of that he’s ruthless and decisive. Clearly impatient. His association with Brailsford shows he wants efficiencies. Problem is Brailsford is all about small margins. Issue at club is we’re not ready for that. There’s too much fat and wastage to focus on the small gains right now. This has to be addressed.
So yes. He’s cutting costs where he can. Rightly so. Many of these cuts and ‘qualities’ are to set a tone throughout the club. SJR’s changes are no different to what many have cried out for managers to do to the squad. Implement discipline and a winning culture. Reduce the size of the squad. I’ve no doubt over time the cost cutting will be reflected everywhere. But again, legacy contracts negatively impact the PR and brand image.
Ultimately I do believe we all want the same. To get back to the days where the owners fade into the background. Where the stories are about success on the pitch and not turmoil in the boardroom and stock market.
30 Dec 2024 09:28:18
Whatever anybody thinks about what's going on what Radcliffe did the other day is shameful, I'm ashamed of the club. to remove charity funding is disgusting. The club is so important to the community and it does great work which goes unnoticed because it's good and not negative. but flipp me, £40k a year and it's removed. Lost for words on how bad that is.
30 Dec 2024 10:02:28
And if it's a charity, they get tax releif so it's a lot less than £40K.
30 Dec 2024 12:17:40
I say again, SJR worth £24Bn, why didn’t he pay the £40k himself just this year.
30 Dec 2024 12:23:07
Red man, exactly mate.
Ahmad, I think it was a case of SJR just not fancying Ashworth in the end. But it just begs the question, why hire him in the first place. Screams of not knowing what he is doing and that really worries me. He should be nowhere near the footballing decisions.
BRD, rightly so? Cutting charities and ex players, staff who are on 25k a year? That's not rightly so.