Sporting Director ( merged )

[kingantti1874]

3 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

Ok I’m up for being battered here.

 

i have started a thread (sporting director) which has (i believe been a good topic with some excellent inputs).

 

there became a poster on there who provided a very robust response to our current problems.

 

as is always the case many thought his information was informative, others were very dismissive.

 

i was very receptive to the j formation he provided, wether correct or not, because it informed the current debate.

 

many posters where not.

 

in rebuttal to those posters I raised a number of questions of which there have been no replies.

 

these questions where:-

 

 

To all those dissing the poster who has become (somewhat) the central topic of this thread and have replied to some of my initial responses but not the rebuttals (including Mods), can I have responses to the following:-

1. Why did our super professional and experienced board appoint a manager who is not allowed to be our manager]

2. Why is the best understanding of what is going on in the club we own trying to be derived from internet conjecture rather than direction from those we employ? It’s in their gift to stop all this

3. Why do our board and those who run the club treat our euro trips as a P!iss up? Any fans see our recent euro competitors board members on the p!ss in Edinburgh 

4. Why are we buying players and not playing them

5. Why are we still playing sh!t football?

 

6. Why did 1 stand cost the price of 1 and a half because the window licking element of our support seem to find it really hard to understand that the money wuited was used for stand, pitch. Rewire and replumb the whole stadium, to build a bar. Etc etc.  I.e the scope changed and expanded. It’s also really common for infrastructure projects to end up costing more than originally forecast as a result of different factor should 

 

7. Etc

 

im open to be battered here, (and expect it) but can I have some responses.

 

i do think the questions are important 

 

 

 

only tackling 6 becuase it’s a repetitive question which genuinely pisses me off

[GorgieFifeLife]

1. Cheap

2. Arrogance

3. Unprofessional

4. Projects

5. Out of his depth Technical Director

6. Poor project management

7. Comfortable, loser, look after ourselves board who think they are running a social club.

[Dunks]

3 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

Why 

 

[Marvin]

I want to know why I'm getting big feck off ads when I'm posting from my phone?

Edited September 5, 2023 by Marvin

[Uncle Buck]

Who have we signed that we aren’t playing? Nieuwenhof is injured and Offiah is back down south for medical reasons. Kent, Vargas, Lowry and Tagawa have all been playing. McGovern was signed as a backup. 

[Bull's-eye]

Im watching "Wednesday" on Netflix.

Its really good.

[Leveins Battalion]

1 minute ago, Uncle Buck said:

Who have we signed that we aren’t playing? Nieuwenhof is injured and Offiah is back down south for medical reasons. Kent, Vargas, Lowry and Tagawa have all been playing. McGovern was signed as a backup. 

 

 

McGovern was signed as another act of nepotism.

[hectorismus]

10 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

 

1. Why did our super professional and experienced board appoint a manager who is not allowed to be our manager]

Fan pressure.

 

The same fans who are upset they made the change and the change was shite.

 

10 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

2. Why is the best understanding of what is going on in the club we own trying to be derived from internet conjecture rather than direction from those we employ? It’s in their gift to stop all this

 

See answer to 1. They’re damned if they and damned if they don’t, and it‘s harder for fans to get and maintain being upset when what they’re upset about is nothing.

 

10 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

3. Why do our board and those who run the club treat our euro trips as a P!iss up? Any fans see our recent euro competitors board members on the p!ss in Edinburgh 

4. Why are we buying players and not playing them

 

3: Some of the fans also treat it as such, too. They’re not involved in the playing squad so they can get wrecked if they want. Given the team’s performances in those recent fixtures I’d want to get wrecked too…

 

4: Naismith’s an arse and would prefer to play the likes of Cochrane out of position in a wholly unsuited role than play someone in their natural position.

 

10 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

5. Why are we still playing sh!t football?

 

See 4.

 

10 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

6. Why did 1 stand cost the price of 1 and a half

Already answered, don’t rightly care if its presence can recoup the costs sometime soon.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

What language is this in?

[August Landmesser]

3 hours ago, davemclaren said:

I miss those days. 🤣

Maybe being a moderator of an internet forum isn't for you then...

[Bauld]

 

[Jarhead]

1 hour ago, OTT said:

 

Sam Allardyce said a couple of things which really stuck with me - "most goals are scored by losing the ball in your own half" & "Most goals are scored by the opposition capitalising on your mistake, they're not scored by the creativity or wonder skill of the opposition". 

 

Have a think for a moment about how many goals we've actually scored through wonderous football and building from the back, passing our way through midfield and getting into the final 3rd for someone to score. Its not many. Versus, set pieces and winning the ball back when the opposition are in transition to attack. 

 

Possession based football at our level is arrogant delusional nonsense. We don't have the quality to execute it effectively, and anyone saying otherwise needs to have a look at the previous couple of seasons under Robbie. We were absolutely brutal. Won our games by a goal more often than not and nothing else. No exciting play, just possession for possessions sake. Robbie was delusional for trying to implement it and was working with what he wish he had, instead of what he actually had. 

 

Even taking the Motherwell goal at the weekend - Cochrane floats the ball into a keeper that is pretty good at coming for the ball because common sense apparently doesn't exist on a football pitch (mistake 1) and Rowles ****s up the offside trap because he's a useless ***** and not paying attention (mistake 2). Motherwell did an excellent job building that attack, but it was entirely brought about by our own mistakes. I think both goals that we lost against Rosenberg came from Beni losing the ball in his own half. Goal against Dundee, losing the ball in our own half. 

 

This is the interview if you're interested, parts I'm quoting are from the 2 min mark onwards.

 

 

I'm almost begging us to start approaching games this cynically. Pressing creates mistakes because players at our level are not calm under pressure and if pushed will make errors. Under Robbie and into this season we've not properly pressed any teams despite having an absolute god send of a tenacious wee ******* in Devlin that could press teams all day long. The few times we have pressed - like against Celtic when we narrowly lost, or against Rosenberg at home when we were chasing the game, we've looked really good and almost natural at it. 

 

Slow lethargic possession based nonsense doesn't suit us and it needs to be cannoned into the sun. I'd go as far as to say, give the ball to the opponent, win it back and keep doing that until we can fashion open mistakes. We have such a good striker in Shankland that he will capitalise on mistakes IF we are pressing hard enough to create them. 

 

I think there is a lot of truth in this post. 
Big Sam ™️, believe it or not, actually knows what he is talking about. 
When we reach the very elite level of Real Madrid and Manchester City then we can play a purely possession style of football. 
Until then, at our level, it is all about avoiding mistakes at the back and forcing mistakes up front. 

[davemclaren]

16 minutes ago, August Landmesser said:

Maybe being a moderator of an internet forum isn't for you then...

there's the truth. 😄

[been here before]

 

How the **** does this question..

 

53 minutes ago, heatonjambo said:

7. Etc

 

Garner this answer...

 

45 minutes ago, GorgieFifeLife said:

 

7. Comfortable, loser, look after ourselves board who think they are running a social club.

 

 

Is this thread some sort of twilight zone?

[Des Lynam]

49 minutes ago, Leveins Battalion said:

 

 

McGovern was signed as another act of nepotism.

 

Who is he related to?

[tian447]

Why the **** would anyone start a thread patting themselves on the back for another thread they started? 

 

[Unknown user]

1 hour ago, kingantti1874 said:

only tackling 6 becuase it’s a repetitive question which genuinely pisses me off

 

The budget was never for the stand alone, it was always for the redevelopment, including pitch.

 

It's true that the scope of the build changed, with Anderson's financial backing as I understand it. But quite apart from that, we got away with it rather than nailing it and spent way more than we thought we were going to, taking way more time.

 

It's done now though, we move forwards.

[Gizmo]

The reason the poster got negative attention is because he posted stuff that was categorically untrue - so how can we trust the veracity of any of his claims? I certainly don't. 

The reason everyone in the club, almost down to the Janitor, is getting it tight - is because WE ARE NOT WINNING. That does not mean that every single decision is incorrect, wrong or incompetent. 

Objectively we have massively increased our turnover and finished our stadium, improving our player budget, our facilities, and the match-day experience building off-field stability and resilience.

An analogy, for those fond of such things, is that we have built a fantastic restaurant but the chef was let go after some bad reviews from the clientele and the new kitchen staff have not turned it around, with a degree of confusion as to who the head chef is. Would you burn down the restaurant, fire the waiting staff, shoot the barman, tell the owner to piss off, and take a hammer to the Agas in those circumstances?

The anger, whilst understandable, is no different from the mentality of the book writer who said Tynecastle should be turned into a car park during some of our dark days. Before the internet, however, most of the impotent rage from the fans was expelled in the pub and a manager was afforded an entire season to get to grips with things. 

You pays your money, you takes your chances. All it entitles us to is a seat in the stadium. The rest is not something we can materially affect except by supporting the team through thick and especially thin and hoping that sometimes it all comes together. 


 

[Dsjambo]

1 hour ago, Uncle Buck said:

Who have we signed that we aren’t playing? Nieuwenhof is injured and Offiah is back down south for medical reasons. Kent, Vargas, Lowry and Tagawa have all been playing. McGovern was signed as a backup. 

I can think of Kio last season, cost us around 400k but never got a run in the team, possibly because he didn’t look good enough the odd time he did play. Grant is another one signed for a similar amount but has still never had anything like a decent run to see if he’s good enough. It remains to be seen if the same thing happens to Hof when he’s fit. 

[periodictabledancer]

2 hours ago, heatonjambo said:

To all those dissing the poster who has become (somewhat) the central topic of this thread and have replied to some of my initial responses but not the rebuttals (including Mods), can I have responses to the following:-

 

1. Why did our super professional and experienced board appoint a manager who is not allowed to be our manager]

2. Why is the best understanding of what is going on in the club we own trying to be derived from internet conjecture rather than direction from those we employ? It’s in their gift to stop all this

3. Why do our board and those who run the club treat our euro trips as a P!iss up? Any fans see our recent euro competitors board members on the p!ss in Edinburgh 

4. Why are we still playing sh!t football?

 

 

 

If I can rephrase 1 - under what possible circumstances can appointing SN be the best option available ?

 

 

[Armageddon]

1 hour ago, heatonjambo said:

Ok I’m up for being battered here.

 

i have started a thread (sporting director) which has (i believe been a good topic with some excellent inputs).

 

there became a poster on there who provided a very robust response to our current problems.

 

as is always the case many thought his information was informative, others were very dismissive.

 

i was very receptive to the j formation he provided, wether correct or not, because it informed the current debate.

 

many posters where not.

 

in rebuttal to those posters I raised a number of questions of which there have been no replies.

 

these questions where:-

 

 

To all those dissing the poster who has become (somewhat) the central topic of this thread and have replied to some of my initial responses but not the rebuttals (including Mods), can I have responses to the following:-

1. Why did our super professional and experienced board appoint a manager who is not allowed to be our manager]

2. Why is the best understanding of what is going on in the club we own trying to be derived from internet conjecture rather than direction from those we employ? It’s in their gift to stop all this

3. Why do our board and those who run the club treat our euro trips as a P!iss up? Any fans see our recent euro competitors board members on the p!ss in Edinburgh 

4. Why are we buying players and not playing them

5. Why are we still playing sh!t football?

6. Why did 1 stand cost the price of 1 and a half

7. Etc

 

im open to be battered here, (and expect it) but can I have some responses.

 

i do think the questions are important 

 

 

 

 

Number 7.

 

That tells me you still live with your parents and have never had any sort of building work done in your puff, do you not even watch Grand Design after you've done your home work?

 

There's actually another funny story I'll tell you so you can wet your Tena Lady:

 

The full stadium is being painted just now, a £150k job, the paint being used is for offshore projects, the wrong mix has been supplied and it's already peeling and also turning green (true story), its to be fully stripped and re-done in the darker grey specified (at the main contractors expense, and NO it's not her brother), it'll cost £50k on top to make it all right (no additional cost to the club).

 

The example above is how things work in the construction industry, if you have no idea about this then OMG, unplug your device and read a book on life.

[Dougie Masterton]

2 hours ago, heatonjambo said:

To all those dissing the poster who has become (somewhat) the central topic of this thread and have replied to some of my initial responses but not the rebuttals (including Mods), can I have responses to the following:-

 

1. Why did our super professional and experienced board appoint a manager who is not allowed to be our manager]

2. Why is the best understanding of what is going on in the club we own trying to be derived from internet conjecture rather than direction from those we employ? It’s in their gift to stop all this

3. Why do our board and those who run the club treat our euro trips as a P!iss up? Any fans see our recent euro competitors board members on the p!ss in Edinburgh 

4. Why are we still playing sh!t football?

 

 

 

Why don’t you write to the main board with your questions? There’s not much chance of you getting any answers on a message board. Not ones that have any credibility anyway. 

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

Watching Jamelia on masterchef, did she do any choons expect that way-yoh way-yoh way-yoh one, 

[Uncle Buck]

20 minutes ago, Dsjambo said:

I can think of Kio last season, cost us around 400k but never got a run in the team, possibly because he didn’t look good enough the odd time he did play. Grant is another one signed for a similar amount but has still never had anything like a decent run to see if he’s good enough. It remains to be seen if the same thing happens to Hof when he’s fit. 

Ah I thought you were meaning this season.

[Ked]

1 hour ago, Dunks said:

 

Seconded

[Uncle Buck]

1 hour ago, been here before said:

 

How the **** does this question..

 

 

Garner this answer...

 

 

 

Is this thread some sort of twilight zone?

[Dougie Masterton]

2 hours ago, heatonjambo said:

Ok I’m up for being battered here.

 

i have started a thread (sporting director) which has (i believe been a good topic with some excellent inputs).

 

there became a poster on there who provided a very robust response to our current problems.

 

as is always the case many thought his information was informative, others were very dismissive.

 

i was very receptive to the j formation he provided, wether correct or not, because it informed the current debate.

 

many posters where not.

 

in rebuttal to those posters I raised a number of questions of which there have been no replies.

 

these questions where:-

 

 

To all those dissing the poster who has become (somewhat) the central topic of this thread and have replied to some of my initial responses but not the rebuttals (including Mods), can I have responses to the following:-

1. Why did our super professional and experienced board appoint a manager who is not allowed to be our manager]

2. Why is the best understanding of what is going on in the club we own trying to be derived from internet conjecture rather than direction from those we employ? It’s in their gift to stop all this

3. Why do our board and those who run the club treat our euro trips as a P!iss up? Any fans see our recent euro competitors board members on the p!ss in Edinburgh 

4. Why are we buying players and not playing them

5. Why are we still playing sh!t football?

6. Why did 1 stand cost the price of 1 and a half

7. Etc

 

im open to be battered here, (and expect it) but can I have some responses.

 

i do think the questions are important 

 

 

 

As I said on the other thread, you expect to get credible answers on a message board? Write to the main board. 

[Cruyff]

I think it's terrible. Clearly the board go out their way to rip off the fans and make sure it's as shite as it could possibly be purely for the shits & giggles. 

[RustyRightPeg]

1 hour ago, tian447 said:

Why the **** would anyone start a thread patting themselves on the back for another thread they started? 

 

place never ceases to amaze me

[OTT]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Duncan said:

Interesting points. 
 

Hard work, savvy set pieces and ruthlessness in front of goal will usually win a game at our level. 

 

He goes on to say that football isn't a complicated game and that people seem to want to over complicate it. Honestly, so much of what he's saying there rings true to the situation we've been in for about 2 and a half years.

 

We have the most ruthless striker we've had in 30 years and he's lucky if he's getting 3 half chances a game because we're hogging possession and he's getting marked out the game. Yet if we were pressing aggressively and winning the ball back in dangerous areas/ creating turnovers when the opposition are trying to transition into attack, Shanks would be getting those sort of chances more frequently (as he will likely be gaining a yard of space here and there) and be able to fashion a goal out of them. 

 

Oh and our set pieces are a ****ing disgrace - 16 corners and absolutely nothing to show for it. Beyond embarrassing whatever is going on at Riccarton. 

[pettigrewsstylist]

10 hours ago, Armageddon said:

 

Number 7.

 

That tells me you still live with your parents and have never had any sort of building work done in your puff, do you not even watch Grand Design after you've done your home work?

 

There's actually another funny story I'll tell you so you can wet your Tena Lady:

 

The full stadium is being painted just now, a £150k job, the paint being used is for offshore projects, the wrong mix has been supplied and it's already peeling and also turning green (true story), its to be fully stripped and re-done in the darker grey specified (at the main contractors expense, and NO it's not her brother), it'll cost £50k on top to make it all right (no additional cost to the club).

 

The example above is how things work in the construction industry, if you have no idea about this then OMG, unplug your device and read a book on life.

Green? Painters oot!!

[i8hibsh]

8 hours ago, OTT said:

whatever is going on at Riccarton. 

 

It is clear to me that there is conflict. Naismith wants to play his way and the postie wants to play his way. Not sure if true as never been that close to the dugout, but at times Naismith comes out and shouts one thing then the postie comes and shouts another.

 

It is still unclear to this day who is actually the boss. Who do the players see as that all important 'Gaffer'?

 

This complete shambles lies at the doorstep of one person and I am sure I don't need to say it.

 

Of course, the iron lady and her board of yes men will have more pressing issues to deal with right now. I believe they can't choose between a mauve or lilac colour scheme for the hotel rooms.

[been here before]

45 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

This complete shambles lies at the doorstep of one person and I am sure I don't need to say

 

Go on Pwincess, tell us, you know you want to... just say it...

 

[Eskilsson's Odyssey]

11 hours ago, Gizmo said:

The reason the poster got negative attention is because he posted stuff that was categorically untrue - so how can we trust the veracity of any of his claims? I certainly don't. 

The reason everyone in the club, almost down to the Janitor, is getting it tight - is because WE ARE NOT WINNING. That does not mean that every single decision is incorrect, wrong or incompetent. 

Objectively we have massively increased our turnover and finished our stadium, improving our player budget, our facilities, and the match-day experience building off-field stability and resilience.

An analogy, for those fond of such things, is that we have built a fantastic restaurant but the chef was let go after some bad reviews from the clientele and the new kitchen staff have not turned it around, with a degree of confusion as to who the head chef is. Would you burn down the restaurant, fire the waiting staff, shoot the barman, tell the owner to piss off, and take a hammer to the Agas in those circumstances?

The anger, whilst understandable, is no different from the mentality of the book writer who said Tynecastle should be turned into a car park during some of our dark days. Before the internet, however, most of the impotent rage from the fans was expelled in the pub and a manager was afforded an entire season to get to grips with things. 

You pays your money, you takes your chances. All it entitles us to is a seat in the stadium. The rest is not something we can materially affect except by supporting the team through thick and especially thin and hoping that sometimes it all comes together. 


 

I love an analogy and this is a fantastic analogy.

 

I also love The Bear - watch it if you haven’t already. I suspect you might already have, because I compared almost everything to restaurants after watching it too.

 

To continue your Hearts as a restaurant analogy, if I may; everything is in place for a Michelin star restaurant, but the owners don’t know anything about cooking. They rely on others for that and some of their judgements and decisions on who to rely on can be questioned.

 

As you say, you’re not going to torch the place. The owners know about business and finance. Therefore, they need to employ someone to manage the kitchen, as well as a realistic, yet ambitious and brilliant Head Chef to get the best out of the entire kitchen. Or, perhaps, a Head Chef that’s experienced enough to do it all, but willing to try something new and challenging.
 

I think they’ve got front of house pretty much sorted? They’ve reduced the number of riff raff (OF support) they allow in and tried to improve the atmosphere. It’s just that what’s being served up hasn’t been palatable. Sort that and they’re on their way to that Michelin star.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Eskilsson's Odyssey

[Eskilsson's Odyssey]

10 hours ago, OTT said:

 

He goes on to say that football isn't a complicated game and that people seem to want to over complicate it. Honestly, so much of what he's saying there rings true to the situation we've been in for about 2 and a half years.

 

We have the most ruthless striker we've had in 30 years and he's lucky if he's getting 3 half chances a game because we're hogging possession and he's getting marked out the game. Yet if we were pressing aggressively and winning the ball back in dangerous areas/ creating turnovers when the opposition are trying to transition into attack, Shanks would be getting those sort of chances more frequently (as he will likely be gaining a yard of space here and there) and be able to fashion a goal out of them. 

 

Oh and our set pieces are a ****ing disgrace - 16 corners and absolutely nothing to show for it. Beyond embarrassing whatever is going on at Riccarton. 

I might be wrong. The players don’t appear very well drilled, trained, coached, motivated or confident imo. This might all change. The signs of it doing so aren’t there atm. Perhaps confidence just took a hit over a couple of weeks, but I’ve seen rots set in from such things elsewhere in the past and it needs someone to do something different and take risks to fix it and stop the rot. 
 

As you point out, Shankland isn’t getting service, so seems desperate and snatching now when fleeting opportunities present themselves. He’s a very good player/finisher of a particular type. If you have that type of player available, you’ve got to play to his strengths. Allowing teams to inevitably bank up in front of him doesn’t help.
 

Boyce is technically very good and an intelligent footballer (even though some of his decision making could be questioned at times - no one is perfect). He’s left trying to unlock very tightly locked defences. 

 

Neither are quick. Can a team press from the front with those two? Can it still be achieved using others around them?

 

I’m no expert, I can only say what I see and, again, as you point out; 16 corners without creating a chance, when there’s a lethal finisher on your team, does not speak volumes for the coaching. Surely they’re running through set piece drills? It didn’t look like it.

 

It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but I didn’t even know that any team, anywhere wouldn’t leave at least one man up at defensive corners. I didn’t know that was even a thing. Surely not leaving a man up doesn’t just only negate attacking options on the break, but also just invites pressure straight back on? Again, I’m no expert.

[Eskilsson's Odyssey]

10 hours ago, OTT said:

 

He goes on to say that football isn't a complicated game and that people seem to want to over complicate it. Honestly, so much of what he's saying there rings true to the situation we've been in for about 2 and a half years.

 

We have the most ruthless striker we've had in 30 years and he's lucky if he's getting 3 half chances a game because we're hogging possession and he's getting marked out the game. Yet if we were pressing aggressively and winning the ball back in dangerous areas/ creating turnovers when the opposition are trying to transition into attack, Shanks would be getting those sort of chances more frequently (as he will likely be gaining a yard of space here and there) and be able to fashion a goal out of them. 

 

Oh and our set pieces are a ****ing disgrace - 16 corners and absolutely nothing to show for it. Beyond embarrassing whatever is going on at Riccarton. 

btw nothing to do with Allardyce - I wouldn’t pay much attention to him in 2023.

 

2004, perhaps.
 

His short stint at Leeds revealed some baffling decisions and “tactics”.  Football doesn’t have to be complicated, but what he did at Leeds was beyond any explanation.

[boag1874]

14 hours ago, OTT said:

 

Sam Allardyce said a couple of things which really stuck with me - "most goals are scored by losing the ball in your own half" & "Most goals are scored by the opposition capitalising on your mistake, they're not scored by the creativity or wonder skill of the opposition". 

 

Have a think for a moment about how many goals we've actually scored through wonderous football and building from the back, passing our way through midfield and getting into the final 3rd for someone to score. Its not many. Versus, set pieces and winning the ball back when the opposition are in transition to attack. 

 

Possession based football at our level is arrogant delusional nonsense. We don't have the quality to execute it effectively, and anyone saying otherwise needs to have a look at the previous couple of seasons under Robbie. We were absolutely brutal. Won our games by a goal more often than not and nothing else. No exciting play, just possession for possessions sake. Robbie was delusional for trying to implement it and was working with what he wish he had, instead of what he actually had. 

 

Even taking the Motherwell goal at the weekend - Cochrane floats the ball into a keeper that is pretty good at coming for the ball because common sense apparently doesn't exist on a football pitch (mistake 1) and Rowles ****s up the offside trap because he's a useless ***** and not paying attention (mistake 2). Motherwell did an excellent job building that attack, but it was entirely brought about by our own mistakes. I think both goals that we lost against Rosenberg came from Beni losing the ball in his own half. Goal against Dundee, losing the ball in our own half. 

 

This is the interview if you're interested, parts I'm quoting are from the 2 min mark onwards.

 

 

I'm almost begging us to start approaching games this cynically. Pressing creates mistakes because players at our level are not calm under pressure and if pushed will make errors. Under Robbie and into this season we've not properly pressed any teams despite having an absolute god send of a tenacious wee ******* in Devlin that could press teams all day long. The few times we have pressed - like against Celtic when we narrowly lost, or against Rosenberg at home when we were chasing the game, we've looked really good and almost natural at it. 

 

Slow lethargic possession based nonsense doesn't suit us and it needs to be cannoned into the sun. I'd go as far as to say, give the ball to the opponent, win it back and keep doing that until we can fashion open mistakes. We have such a good striker in Shankland that he will capitalise on mistakes IF we are pressing hard enough to create them. 

 

FWIW a Big Sam survive at all costs type is exactly the type of approach I don’t want to see us make, that style of football will not see us separating ourselves from the other sides. We need to play a more positive style & beat these teams on a regular basis.
 

We will naturally end up with the bulk of possession in at a minimum 22/38 league games. The other teams sit in & defend first. I think you’re getting mixed up between playing attacking football & being brave in possession vs keeping the ball for the sake of it when it’s still 0-0 because we’re scared to make a mistake. I can’t blame you after the last few months.

 

Theres a reason we stayed in the top 3 for pretty much Neilson’s entire tenure both times playing possession football. I’m not saying the football over the last 2 years was perfect by any stretch but it was a good bit better than what anyone else in the league outside the uglies was playing up til around February and waaaay better than all our other sides since 2012 and a good few from 2006-2010 too.
 

I want someone to take what was done there and try improve it basically, try make the passing a bit faster & braver in the opposition half rather than keeping it in our back line, work on the off the ball movements with the forward line especially the wingers who were often too static, also dribble a bit less & release the ball quicker & take a shot from range if theres an opening rather than shitting out.
 

We do also need to be more aggressive off the ball & try win it back quicker & higher up, but my main concern is how poor we are on the ball, again, we’re going to have it most of the time because teams don’t press us and I assume your suggestion of deliberately giving it away was tongue in cheek, so we need to make it harder for them to mark us by playing the ball quicker before they can get set and then moving into the spaces.

 

 

[OTT]

Wanted to suggest something: JJ as one of our FOH directors. 

 

 

 

The above tweet kind of got me thinking that our board of directors doesn't have anyone with a footballing background to cut through the bullshit and put Savage and co under pressure with difficult questions orientated around the general performance of the football department of the club. 

 

Our board is as follows:

 

Ann Budge: Business person

Andrew McKinley: CEO with a background in senior management in sports

James Anderson: Investor

Donald Cumming: Lawyer

Kevin Windram: Accountant

Gerry Mallon: FOH Rep/ senior management experience

Jacqui Duncan: Finance Director

 

There isn't anyone on the board with any kind of actual knowledge about football. There is excellent business/commercial experience in every area of our board and the results OFF the park have proven that. The club has not been in better health and has clear direction in how we want to grow the business and create additional non-footballing revenue to support the success of the football team. 

 

But that is the issue, the success of the football team. I don't know what our strategy is as a FOOTBALL club. We seem to lurch from one disaster to the next on the footballing front without much direction or appearance of a plan. Our first team is an unbalanced disaster and the board have continually made poor decisions in regards to the football team, be that allowing Levein to operate as effectively his own boss, then be the manager whilst also a board member, appointing Cathro and Stendel, issuing Robbie and his team new contracts a month before having to dismiss them and now appearing to have dismissed both AM and JS's recommendations for manager to back Naismith who doesn't even have badges. For all our success and business smarts off the field, we're a walking disaster on the field. 

 

I'm not saying Savage is doing a bad job, I think a certain element of this comes down to delivering Robbie players that he wanted, and him ****ing up managing a dressing room. But I do think we need someone with an in depth knowledge of how football works to ask probing questions of Savage and pressurise him to do better in delivering a successful football team. There will be stuff that JJ knows just purely by having spent his whole life in the game that nobody on our board will know or understand in the sort of detail he will. 

 

Jim Jeffries has more knowledge about football in the tip of his finger than our entire board put together. He clearly has misgivings about the direction of the team from the tweet about his comments at the event last night, and I think having someone that is very clearly a football man as one of our FOH reps would give us the confidence that there is actually someone in that board room that understands football and can offer guidance and accountability to that effect. 

 

JJ has been there, done that and got the T-shirt. He's won silverware, managed the club, worked in England - you name it - so is well aware of the expectations of the fans, he's also a passionate Hearts fan too and has held a DOF role at Edinburgh city - so offers more than just football manager experience. 

 

I'm saying all the above because he is qualified (if he wanted) to go for one of the FOH roles. There is a constant disconnect between the fans and FOH whenever something goes wrong, and I think JJ is someone that could bridge that gap by giving fans confidence that there is someone on the board with the knowledge and skills to be batting for the success of the football team every step on the way. 

 

Completely appreciate he's retired and probably keen to spend time with family and golf, but I cannot think of a better suited person to be a FOH director. Unlike many other options (for example Robbo) JJ is retired, he isn't like Robbo for example who is still working and it would be a role that would largely come without the responsibilities that a director of football is there to have. Similar maybe to James Anderson in the context of not being there to run anything, just to input into meetings and ask questions. Lastly, I'm aware of his health scare a couple of years ago. The post isn't demanding he do anything, just highlighting that if he feels up to it, I think he'd be a huge asset as one of our FOH reps. 

 

Being completely honest, I don't really have confidence in our board to make correct decisions when it comes to what is going on, ON the park. I think JJ could be good at cutting through the bullshit and putting difficult questions to Savage when needed. 

 

If not JJ, someone like JJ. I think we have enough suits on the board and its time to look for footballing experience that can help push the club in the right direction on the field. 

 

Anyway, this got a big longer than intended. 

[spacerjoe]

28 minutes ago, OTT said:

Wanted to suggest something: JJ as one of our FOH directors. 

 

 

 

The above tweet kind of got me thinking that our board of directors doesn't have anyone with a footballing background to cut through the bullshit and put Savage and co under pressure with difficult questions orientated around the general performance of the football department of the club. 

 

Our board is as follows:

 

Ann Budge: Business person

Andrew McKinley: CEO with a background in senior management in sports

James Anderson: Investor

Donald Cumming: Lawyer

Kevin Windram: Accountant

Gerry Mallon: FOH Rep/ senior management experience

Jacqui Duncan: Finance Director

 

There isn't anyone on the board with any kind of actual knowledge about football. There is excellent business/commercial experience in every area of our board and the results OFF the park have proven that. The club has not been in better health and has clear direction in how we want to grow the business and create additional non-footballing revenue to support the success of the football team. 

 

But that is the issue, the success of the football team. I don't know what our strategy is as a FOOTBALL club. We seem to lurch from one disaster to the next on the footballing front without much direction or appearance of a plan. Our first team is an unbalanced disaster and the board have continually made poor decisions in regards to the football team, be that allowing Levein to operate as effectively his own boss, then be the manager whilst also a board member, appointing Cathro and Stendel, issuing Robbie and his team new contracts a month before having to dismiss them and now appearing to have dismissed both AM and JS's recommendations for manager to back Naismith who doesn't even have badges. For all our success and business smarts off the field, we're a walking disaster on the field. 

 

I'm not saying Savage is doing a bad job, I think a certain element of this comes down to delivering Robbie players that he wanted, and him ****ing up managing a dressing room. But I do think we need someone with an in depth knowledge of how football works to ask probing questions of Savage and pressurise him to do better in delivering a successful football team. There will be stuff that JJ knows just purely by having spent his whole life in the game that nobody on our board will know or understand in the sort of detail he will. 

 

Jim Jeffries has more knowledge about football in the tip of his finger than our entire board put together. He clearly has misgivings about the direction of the team from the tweet about his comments at the event last night, and I think having someone that is very clearly a football man as one of our FOH reps would give us the confidence that there is actually someone in that board room that understands football and can offer guidance and accountability to that effect. 

 

JJ has been there, done that and got the T-shirt. He's won silverware, managed the club, worked in England - you name it - so is well aware of the expectations of the fans, he's also a passionate Hearts fan too and has held a DOF role at Edinburgh city - so offers more than just football manager experience. 

 

I'm saying all the above because he is qualified (if he wanted) to go for one of the FOH roles. There is a constant disconnect between the fans and FOH whenever something goes wrong, and I think JJ is someone that could bridge that gap by giving fans confidence that there is someone on the board with the knowledge and skills to be batting for the success of the football team every step on the way. 

 

Completely appreciate he's retired and probably keen to spend time with family and golf, but I cannot think of a better suited person to be a FOH director. Unlike many other options (for example Robbo) JJ is retired, he isn't like Robbo for example who is still working and it would be a role that would largely come without the responsibilities that a director of football is there to have. Similar maybe to James Anderson in the context of not being there to run anything, just to input into meetings and ask questions. Lastly, I'm aware of his health scare a couple of years ago. The post isn't demanding he do anything, just highlighting that if he feels up to it, I think he'd be a huge asset as one of our FOH reps. 

 

Being completely honest, I don't really have confidence in our board to make correct decisions when it comes to what is going on, ON the park. I think JJ could be good at cutting through the bullshit and putting difficult questions to Savage when needed. 

 

If not JJ, someone like JJ. I think we have enough suits on the board and its time to look for footballing experience that can help push the club in the right direction on the field. 

 

Anyway, this got a big longer than intended. 

Budge has owned and/or ran a football club for nearly 10 years. I would say that that is quite a lot of experience in football.

 

 

 

[OTT]

5 minutes ago, spacerjoe said:

Budge has owned and/or ran a football club for nearly 10 years. I would say that that is quite a lot of experience in football.

 

 

 

 

Bollocks. Her experience/ area she is good in is the non-footballing activities. There is a laundry list of mistakes on the football front. Many of which have cost us dearly. 

 

Nobody can be good at everything. That is why you need a diverse skillset on your board of directors, and its probably why we're doing so good off the field but absolutely nightmare fuel on the field. 

[spacerjoe]

3 hours ago, OTT said:

 

Bollocks. Her experience/ area she is good in is the non-footballing activities. There is a laundry list of mistakes on the football front. Many of which have cost us dearly. 

 

Nobody can be good at everything. That is why you need a diverse skillset on your board of directors, and its probably why we're doing so good off the field but absolutely nightmare fuel on the field. 

 

That wasn't the point the poster was making. It was that she has no experience in football.

 

I would say 10 years is pretty long experience. I reckon I could work in any industry for 10 years and be considered an expert.

 

It's also important not to conflate experience with ability.

 

I didnt say that equated to her being able to make the right decisions. And clearly her trying to transfer the way she operated in her other businesses has burned her badly, as you mention.

 

But she will know the world of football very well by now after 10 years.

 

Do we need one or more ex-professionals on the board to ensure that skillset is covered?

 

I have no idea what other clubs' boards look like to be honest.

 

Maybe someone can show an example of what a successful club board looks like?

 

[Armageddon]

11 hours ago, pettigrewsstylist said:

Green? Painters oot!!

And it’s a true story!  Direct from the main contractor, wrong paint mix/colour and not enough sand in the non-slip portion.  It’s peeling and changing colour.

 

Anyway…..

[OTT]

32 minutes ago, spacerjoe said:

 

That wasn't the point the poster was making. It was that she has no experience in football.

 

I would say 10 years is pretty long experience. I reckon I could work in any industry for 10 years and be considered an expert.

 

It's also important not to conflate experience with ability.

 

I didnt say that equated to her being able to make the right decisions. And clearly her trying to transfer the way she operated in her other businesses has burned her badly, as you mention.

 

But she will know the world of football very well by now after 10 years.

 

Do we need one or more ex-professionals on the board to ensure that skillset is covered?

 

I have no idea what other clubs' boards look like to be honest.

 

Maybe someone can show an example of what a successful club board looks like?

 

 

I was the poster  

 

The point I was making and trying to go to great lengths to emphasise, was that Ann Budge understands business, and football the business but she doesn't appear to have a good understanding of football the sport or what makes a successful team tick (nor does anyone on our board). I think someone like JJ as our FOH rep could be of enormous value here because whilst he may not be a business person, he does understand exactly what is going on under the hood of a "football department" and I think he is someone that could be asking Savage difficult questions for the board, and putting the sort of pressure on him that I think he needs. I think our board is far too business centric and altogether is lacking any footballing knowhow. 

 

Joe Savage has no prior experience as a Sporting Director prior to joining us, Webster has no prior experience as a Head of Academy and Naismith has no prior managerial experience outside a short stint as caretaker. 

 

Our football departments senior roles are all occupied by those with minimal experience and I think this is a recipe for disaster. I think someone like JJ would be a fountain of knowledge and be able to offer a footballing perspective that I don't think the board has. To be clear, I'm suggesting JJ come in as a FOH rep with the same responsibilities that the likes of Gerry Mallon has which are able to be worked round his own demanding job. I'm not suggesting that 72 year old JJ takes any sort of job at the club. Purely as FOH rep where he can add a footballing perspective to the board decision making process and fans can trust that he's not just another suit with the same thoughts as everyone else on the board.

 

Diversity of thought is absolutely crucial. You need to have people approaching things from different directions to properly debate a decision and come to a consensus. Everyone in that board room seems to come from different shades of the same back ground. All business people, nobody with a football background - McKinley and Mallon both only at an exec level with their FAs, not actually on the ground "this is what a manager needs" kind of stuff. We're consistently dropping the ball on the football front and those decisions are being made by the same people, Budge and virtually all others on the board have been there since Ann came in. Having someone like JJ who can contribute his experience from within football is invaluable and could have helped more thoroughly explored how Naismiths lack of experience could be a bad decision and unnecessary risk, or why filling the team with Australians may not be quite what we need to be doing (etc. - I'm just picking a couple of random points to illustrate what I'm getting at). 

 

A successful club board example could be Brighton, punching well above their weight in a very difficult league. Peterborough also seem to operate pretty well despite being a team with fairly limited resources. TBH I don't know what listing examples adds. Every club is different, and as a fan owned club we are very different to the norm. 

[soonbe110]

5 hours ago, OTT said:

Wanted to suggest something: JJ as one of our FOH directors. 

 

 

 

The above tweet kind of got me thinking that our board of directors doesn't have anyone with a footballing background to cut through the bullshit and put Savage and co under pressure with difficult questions orientated around the general performance of the football department of the club. 

 

Our board is as follows:

 

Ann Budge: Business person

Andrew McKinley: CEO with a background in senior management in sports

James Anderson: Investor

Donald Cumming: Lawyer

Kevin Windram: Accountant

Gerry Mallon: FOH Rep/ senior management experience

Jacqui Duncan: Finance Director

 

There isn't anyone on the board with any kind of actual knowledge about football. There is excellent business/commercial experience in every area of our board and the results OFF the park have proven that. The club has not been in better health and has clear direction in how we want to grow the business and create additional non-footballing revenue to support the success of the football team. 

 

But that is the issue, the success of the football team. I don't know what our strategy is as a FOOTBALL club. We seem to lurch from one disaster to the next on the footballing front without much direction or appearance of a plan. Our first team is an unbalanced disaster and the board have continually made poor decisions in regards to the football team, be that allowing Levein to operate as effectively his own boss, then be the manager whilst also a board member, appointing Cathro and Stendel, issuing Robbie and his team new contracts a month before having to dismiss them and now appearing to have dismissed both AM and JS's recommendations for manager to back Naismith who doesn't even have badges. For all our success and business smarts off the field, we're a walking disaster on the field. 

 

I'm not saying Savage is doing a bad job, I think a certain element of this comes down to delivering Robbie players that he wanted, and him ****ing up managing a dressing room. But I do think we need someone with an in depth knowledge of how football works to ask probing questions of Savage and pressurise him to do better in delivering a successful football team. There will be stuff that JJ knows just purely by having spent his whole life in the game that nobody on our board will know or understand in the sort of detail he will. 

 

Jim Jeffries has more knowledge about football in the tip of his finger than our entire board put together. He clearly has misgivings about the direction of the team from the tweet about his comments at the event last night, and I think having someone that is very clearly a football man as one of our FOH reps would give us the confidence that there is actually someone in that board room that understands football and can offer guidance and accountability to that effect. 

 

JJ has been there, done that and got the T-shirt. He's won silverware, managed the club, worked in England - you name it - so is well aware of the expectations of the fans, he's also a passionate Hearts fan too and has held a DOF role at Edinburgh city - so offers more than just football manager experience. 

 

I'm saying all the above because he is qualified (if he wanted) to go for one of the FOH roles. There is a constant disconnect between the fans and FOH whenever something goes wrong, and I think JJ is someone that could bridge that gap by giving fans confidence that there is someone on the board with the knowledge and skills to be batting for the success of the football team every step on the way. 

 

Completely appreciate he's retired and probably keen to spend time with family and golf, but I cannot think of a better suited person to be a FOH director. Unlike many other options (for example Robbo) JJ is retired, he isn't like Robbo for example who is still working and it would be a role that would largely come without the responsibilities that a director of football is there to have. Similar maybe to James Anderson in the context of not being there to run anything, just to input into meetings and ask questions. Lastly, I'm aware of his health scare a couple of years ago. The post isn't demanding he do anything, just highlighting that if he feels up to it, I think he'd be a huge asset as one of our FOH reps. 

 

Being completely honest, I don't really have confidence in our board to make correct decisions when it comes to what is going on, ON the park. I think JJ could be good at cutting through the bullshit and putting difficult questions to Savage when needed. 

 

If not JJ, someone like JJ. I think we have enough suits on the board and its time to look for footballing experience that can help push the club in the right direction on the field. 

 

Anyway, this got a big longer than intended. 

Already been tried.  JJ was working as advisor to Budge for a while. He isn’t now so I’d imagine there are good reasons why.  Whatever they are🤷‍♂️

[davemclaren]

5 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Already been tried.  JJ was working as advisor to Budge for a while. He isn’t now so I’d imagine there are good reasons why.  Whatever they are🤷‍♂️

What other clubs have ex footballers as directors? 

[OTT]

Just now, soonbe110 said:

Already been tried.  JJ was working as advisor to Budge for a while. He isn’t now so I’d imagine there are good reasons why.  Whatever they are🤷‍♂️

 

I'm not suggesting he act as an advisor, I'm suggesting he act as one of our 2 FOH reps. I.e he would be there for our benefit, not Ann's and hopefully feed into the general conversation to help push a footballing perspective at board level. 

 

I've completely lost confidence with our boards ability to make footballing decisions and I think having one of our FOH reps being from a footballing back ground (actual footballing background, not Mallons back ground which is executive level - which isn't day to day football club manager or even DOF level). 

 

JJ isn't the only person this could be BTW, the reason I'm not saying someone like Robbo is because Robbo is young enough to still be doing his career elsewhere. The FOH isn't a paid role, so it kind of limits our options. Being a lifelong Jambo, and someone the support has bags of goodwill and admiration for, is why I'm suggesting he be a good fit. Also, just to reiterate, he doesn't have to do anything. If he wants to do speaking gigs and just focus on enjoying his retirement, more power to him. Its just its a brilliant example of someone with a wealth of experience that could be invaluable to a board that appears to suffer from group think. 

 

The key point I'm pushing here is that the board is stacked with business people, but at our core we're still a football club and we lack a football persons perspective at board level - otherwise, I think our decision making when it comes to football decisions would be better.

[soonbe110]

Just now, davemclaren said:

What other clubs have ex footballers as directors? 

Can’t think of many in more recent times.  Rangers had Greig and Souness I think Celtic had McNeil. Have we had any in last 30 years?  Certainly none before that I think as it was a bit like the old golf scenarios where pros and caddies not even allowed in the clubhouse never mind on the Board of a club. Football was very much like that and the players and Directors didn’t mix much. 

[Rudy T]

13 hours ago, Eskilsson's Odyssey said:

I love an analogy and this is a fantastic analogy.

 

I also love The Bear - watch it if you haven’t already. I suspect you might already have, because I compared almost everything to restaurants after watching it too.

 

To continue your Hearts as a restaurant analogy, if I may; everything is in place for a Michelin star restaurant, but the owners don’t know anything about cooking. They rely on others for that and some of their judgements and decisions on who to rely on can be questioned.

 

As you say, you’re not going to torch the place. The owners know about business and finance. Therefore, they need to employ someone to manage the kitchen, as well as a realistic, yet ambitious and brilliant Head Chef to get the best out of the entire kitchen. Or, perhaps, a Head Chef that’s experienced enough to do it all, but willing to try something new and challenging.
 

I think they’ve got front of house pretty much sorted? They’ve reduced the number of riff raff (OF support) they allow in and tried to improve the atmosphere. It’s just that what’s being served up hasn’t been palatable. Sort that and they’re on their way to that Michelin star.

I think your missing one key part to this restaurant analogy, and that’s the person buying the ingredients is utterly hopeless at his job and when the chef asks for carrots he sends him an onion which completely ****s up the whole recipe!

[spacerjoe]

3 hours ago, OTT said:

 

I was the poster  

 

The point I was making and trying to go to great lengths to emphasise, was that Ann Budge understands business, and football the business but she doesn't appear to have a good understanding of football the sport or what makes a successful team tick (nor does anyone on our board). I think someone like JJ as our FOH rep could be of enormous value here because whilst he may not be a business person, he does understand exactly what is going on under the hood of a "football department" and I think he is someone that could be asking Savage difficult questions for the board, and putting the sort of pressure on him that I think he needs. I think our board is far too business centric and altogether is lacking any footballing knowhow. 

 

Joe Savage has no prior experience as a Sporting Director prior to joining us, Webster has no prior experience as a Head of Academy and Naismith has no prior managerial experience outside a short stint as caretaker. 

 

Our football departments senior roles are all occupied by those with minimal experience and I think this is a recipe for disaster. I think someone like JJ would be a fountain of knowledge and be able to offer a footballing perspective that I don't think the board has. To be clear, I'm suggesting JJ come in as a FOH rep with the same responsibilities that the likes of Gerry Mallon has which are able to be worked round his own demanding job. I'm not suggesting that 72 year old JJ takes any sort of job at the club. Purely as FOH rep where he can add a footballing perspective to the board decision making process and fans can trust that he's not just another suit with the same thoughts as everyone else on the board.

 

Diversity of thought is absolutely crucial. You need to have people approaching things from different directions to properly debate a decision and come to a consensus. Everyone in that board room seems to come from different shades of the same back ground. All business people, nobody with a football background - McKinley and Mallon both only at an exec level with their FAs, not actually on the ground "this is what a manager needs" kind of stuff. We're consistently dropping the ball on the football front and those decisions are being made by the same people, Budge and virtually all others on the board have been there since Ann came in. Having someone like JJ who can contribute his experience from within football is invaluable and could have helped more thoroughly explored how Naismiths lack of experience could be a bad decision and unnecessary risk, or why filling the team with Australians may not be quite what we need to be doing (etc. - I'm just picking a couple of random points to illustrate what I'm getting at). 

 

A successful club board example could be Brighton, punching well above their weight in a very difficult league. Peterborough also seem to operate pretty well despite being a team with fairly limited resources. TBH I don't know what listing examples adds. Every club is different, and as a fan owned club we are very different to the norm. 

Lol, I think I saw the twitter handle in the post you quoted and thought that was you.

 

On Budge, she doesnt need to know what makes the sport tick, if course. She has a staff to do that. In my view, her only real mistake that she was fully culpable for was not firing Levein soon enough (and I say that with the caveat that she did not hire Naismith). Stendel you could add to that, but he didn't actually get to see it out.

 

On Savage. If you want someone with a Director title to come to us, generally they would need to have come from a club in a league below the SPL, or a club paying much less than us.

 

Or you hire someone good at a league above looking to step up in title. Again, not justifying the decision; that's just the same for all people in all careers.

 

On my question to you though, what is the makeup of Brighton's board? The point of listing examples is to make a direct comparison to ours in terms of their diversity and skillset as your whole post and followup was around how important that was.

 

What is the makeup of Brighton's board? What is their experience in football?

 

Not trying to prove a point either, more interested in if your argument has legs. Maybe it is an issue for us.

 

 

[periodictabledancer]

1 hour ago, spacerjoe said:

Lol, I think I saw the twitter handle in the post you quoted and thought that was you.

 

On Budge, she doesnt need to know what makes the sport tick, if course. She has a staff to do that. In my view, her only real mistake that she was fully culpable for was not firing Levein soon enough (and I say that with the caveat that she did not hire Naismith). Stendel you could add to that, but he didn't actually get to see it out.

 

On Savage. If you want someone with a Director title to come to us, generally they would need to have come from a club in a league below the SPL, or a club paying much less than us.

 

Or you hire someone good at a league above looking to step up in title. Again, not justifying the decision; that's just the same for all people in all careers.

 

On my question to you though, what is the makeup of Brighton's board? The point of listing examples is to make a direct comparison to ours in terms of their diversity and skillset as your whole post and followup was around how important that was.

 

What is the makeup of Brighton's board? What is their experience in football?

 

Not trying to prove a point either, more interested in if your argument has legs. Maybe it is an issue for us.

 

 

Their CEO -

 

Paul’s career in professional football has spanned close to 25 years, during which time he has held senior positions at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, and The Football Association.

Paul has served on various committees for the Premier League, The EFL, The FA, UEFA and FIFA, including The EFL’s board and The FA’s Professional Game Board. Most recently, Paul was elected by clubs to be a Premier League representatives on The FA Council. Paul also currently serves as one of The FA’s international ambassadors.

 

Adam Franks -

He also holds an MSc in sports management and business of football.

 

Mark Sugarman - 

After graduating from Oxford University, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1996. Marc joined Morgan Stanley that year as an Equity Analyst covering European Media and continued as an analyst in the same sector for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup until 2009. 

He also had responsibility for covering the football sector