How the hell does Ashton spin this?

[oldstandrobin]

48 minutes ago, RedM said:

I’ve picked your post to quote, but to be fair could have picked from any number of posts as the feeling is the same. Also you quoted @Olé and although I aren’t seen his post he is a poster who’s views I respect.

I totally understand the points made about MA and SL’s involvement, but why has he treated Rugby so totally differently? He is gaining success year on year after appointing Pat Lam who as we all know is a proven manager who attracts quality, and won’t move for anyone even half as good for his football team.

We can all use Covid as a reason. I will ask if we were in the situation now where Rugby needed a Manager would we go for a Pat Lam type, I think we would. 

Red, it would be interesting to know how much Rugby costs versus Football at the gate. I have been told that the rugby costs far less than football and less of a risk for SL. Interesting if anyone out there has the figures

[City oz]

9 hours ago, ChippenhamRed said:

I genuinely don’t know how Ashton can spin this appointment to be anything other than the pathetic shambles that it is. What on earth can he say?

How the hell can he claim he is the right man for the job? What credentials can he point to? What experience or achievements?

How can he say he was the “standout candidate” with so many good prospective candidates readily available?

How does he explain a 5 week recruitment process that ends up with the bloke that puts out the cones?

How can he talk about “ambition” ever again?

I’m asking genuinely here - I really can’t see a way the club can present this in any sort of positive light. Any ideas?

This strikes me as the most appallingly damaging episode I can remember in over 30 years supporting this club, in terms of fanbase relations and cohesion between club and supporters. It’s a disaster. And it’s beyond my comprehension how the club can’t see that and how they are going to let it happen.

Ashton has not claimed any of the above in your comments. Who has he said is the right man for the job?  Where are you getting this nonsense from.

[oldstandrobin]

2 minutes ago, Robert the bruce said:

Steve is an accountant by trade I guess...

Once a bean counter...~

and PROPERTY developer

[Street red]

1 hour ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Taking the weekend “to think about it” is odd. We’re not asking him to relocate; and I was under the impression the “thinking” about this job was to be done during his holiday. Aren’t the players back in on Monday anyway?

That part still doesn’t add up for me and I think there’s a very faint glimmer of hope that this isn’t a done deal.

It could be a case holdens been offered a position accept it or leave kinda thing. For me if he was offered the position of head coach he wouldn't go away and think about it, That doesn't inspire me with confidence that he 100% wants it and what happens if he does accept it and things start going down hill will he walk? At the minute it doesnt look good.

[RedM]

1 minute ago, oldstandrobin said:

Red, it would be interesting to know how much Rugby costs versus Football at the gate. I have been told that the rugby costs far less than football and less of a risk for SL. Interesting if anyone out there has the figures

No idea. My assumption is that it costs less, but makes less but the quality has been invested in. On and off the pitch and moreso now with the new training facility. 

[wendyredredrobin]

Very sadly disappointed, but may be Holden was the only option willing to accept the job subject to being interfered with by Mark Ashton and Steve's mini me.

Some of the bigger names would have demanded more autonomy and maybe some transfer funds as well.

We are living in uncertain times though and with the prospect of having no crowds next season, FFP and a pretty big wage bill, Steve can't just be expected to keep pumping cash into the club. Nobody really knows how long this pandemic will prevail.

Still can't hide my disappointment at not getting Chris Hughton though as like most, I felt that he had the experience and credentials to take us to the next level.

What is the current situation on Season ticket refunds for 20/21 by the way?

[Onthefence]

What are the chances that the board offered the job to someone else first, or at least had someone in mind such as Hughton and then changed their mind? I still think that Covid-19 is the major player in all of this. Perhaps SL, JL and MA have done all the due diligence based on fans not being able to attend games for some time to come, and realising that this is a strong possibility have decided to keep costs down as much as possible for short term sustainability.

The sacking of LJ was surely based on the assumption he had lost the dressing room, and regardless his time was up. Perhaps the first choice replacement didn't want the job, peoples priorities change, I know mine have on the back of this Virus.

The very fact that DH has been offered the job but is taking the weekend to consider it does seem strange. I can only assume he knows he was not first choice, or that the offer on the table is short term perhaps? Who knows - its all conjecture after all.

That said, the whole process has been badly managed even allowing for the unexpected. I think the board need to come clean about the situation to show some respect to the fans.

 

 

[ChippenhamRed]

16 minutes ago, City oz said:

Ashton has not claimed any of the above in your comments. Who has he said is the right man for the job?  Where are you getting this nonsense from.

I am talking about what he might say, not what he has said. I am asking how he can possibly claim Holden is the right man for the job. Remarkable that I had to explain that.

I note you have declined to offer any evidence for your claim that Holden hasn’t been offered the job.

[oldstandrobin]

3 minutes ago, wendyredredrobin said:

Very sadly disappointed, but may be Holden was the only option willing to accept the job subject to being interfered with by Mark Ashton and Steve's mini me.

Some of the bigger names would have demanded more autonomy and maybe some transfer funds as well.

We are living in uncertain times though and with the prospect of having no crowds next season, FFP and a pretty big wage bill, Steve can't just be expected to keep pumping cash into the club. Nobody really knows how long this pandemic will prevail.

Still can't hide my disappointment at not getting Chris Hughton though as like most, I felt that he had the experience and credentials to take us to the next level.

What is the current situation on Season ticket refunds for 20/21 by the way?

think you may be getting very warm indeed Wendy

[Fordy62]

Is Holden taking his time over the decision because Paul Cook is going to be appointed when his no employment terms end?

My god I hope that’s the last twist in this sordid tale. 

[westonred]

30 minutes ago, onlyotib said:

Totally agree. Think how hughton must feel if he applied knowing that someone else pipped him to the job with very little credentials against his cv

And how Hughton must feel to wait 5 weeks to get that kick in the teeth.  BCFC have handled this atrociously and will not be taken seriously now until this board / Ashton have been replaced and i cant see that happening for a long time

[Bat Fastard]

2 minutes ago, westonred said:

And how Hughton must feel to wait 5 weeks to get that kick in the teeth.  BCFC have handled this atrociously and will not be taken seriously now until this board / Ashton have been replaced and i cant see that happening for a long time

For all you know Hughton may be cursing the fact that he demanded £2m a year with a £3m promotion bonus and that he refused to do the job unless he was allowed to spend £100m on transfers and bring all his own ex gas staff with him.  We just don't know, so why fret about it?

[Chappers]

How does he spin it? The public announcements have to be that he was the best candidate to take us forward. You can not undermine a manager by saying anything else. 
 

[westonred]

9 minutes ago, Bat Fastard said:

For all you know Hughton may be cursing the fact that he demanded £2m a year with a £3m promotion bonus and that he refused to do the job unless he was allowed to spend £100m on transfers and bring all his own ex gas staff with him.  We just don't know, so why fret about it?

Yes he might of true but i doubt that as he was chosen to come back for a 2nd interview.  If he did there was half a dozen better qualified candidates to choose from above Holden we all know he was chosen because he was the cheap option

[Southport Red]

They could hire that guy who was Saddam’s PR guy. You know, the one in the beret who said “we are crushing the invaders” just as an American tank rumbled past behind him. 

[AshtonG666]

13 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Is Holden taking his time over the decision because Paul Cook is going to be appointed when his no employment terms end?

My god I hope that’s the last twist in this sordid tale. 

Hope you are right

[Robin101]

2 hours ago, RedRock said:

I’m still in the camp that this is all a ‘smokescreen’. 

It’s such a crass decision it just can’t be true. The decision-making process and decision is just so off-the-scale bizarre it wouldn’t be fitting in a primary school playground, let alone a professional football club with ambitions for the Premiership.

The Owner’s statements, the supposed interest of Stevie G (denied), the number of quality candidates from home and abroad, the media silence, the time taken, the interviews saga, the media reporting Hughton’s appointment, the open/shut betting, the players posting support for Holden, then removed, the shutting down of Scott’s and Tins Twitter, the ‘sacking’ of Jamie....... the Post being fed news, and now, an Assistant, taking the weekend to think about a top job offer. 

We are still very amateurish in many areas of the Club’s activities but I refuse to believe that we’re quite this bad at making the most important decision a football club has to make. 

 

Personally, I still am optimistic it’ll be either a Hughton or Cook, as part of a new managerial structure, will be announced next week. 

A smokescreen for what? Who are we trying to mislead? Why? I don’t get it.

[AshtonG666]

Probably why this is taking soooooo long, they are trying to come up with a fool proof story they hope we believe

[Bat Fastard]

6 minutes ago, westonred said:

Yes he might of true but i doubt that as he was chosen to come back for a 2nd interview.  If he did there was half a dozen better qualified candidates to choose from above Holden we all know he was chosen because he was the cheap option

"We all know" ???  The truth is we know nothing about the job specification, the interviews or the financial problems that will frame the next season. Do other candidates fit the job description, budget, ethos and any other requirements??  We have opinions, but they are not well informed opinions.  Trust the board and support Mr Holden!!

[westonred]

1 minute ago, Bat Fastard said:

"We all know" ???  The truth is we know nothing about the job specification, the interviews or the financial problems that will frame the next season. Do other candidates fit the job description, budget, ethos and any other requirements??  We have opinions, but they are not well informed opinions.  Trust the board and support Mr Holden!!

Thank You Mr Ashton

[Bat Fastard]

Just now, westonred said:

Thank You Mr Ashton

A pleasure.

[sludge]

5 minutes ago, Southport Red said:

They could hire that guy who was Saddam’s PR guy. You know, the one in the beret who said “we are crushing the invaders” just as an American tank rumbled past behind him. 

Chemical Ali. I hear Mark Ashton has a photo of him hanging up in his lounge. 

[Major Isewater]

39 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

As I said elsewhere, Covid hasn't affected our club harder than others. All 24 clubs in the Championship have lost revenue.

Neither has it changed the mathematics of the league. Three clubs go up - and it will be no harder for City to get promoted next season than it was last one.

The Holden appointment is the sort of appointment clubs make when they are in administration- not when they have a solvent billionaire at the helm. 

I know Lansdown doesn't know much about football but no way can he have thought Holden is more likely to succeed in getting us promoted than, say, Hughton - or many other candidates.

So we can only assume saving money was a major consideration.  The question is why? 

And it’s a very good question.

All I know is the uncertainty of the future with regards to future revenue. It costs millions of pounds a year to run a Championship club in normal times , these are not normal times .

Even if SL was willing to bail out the club FFP would surely be breached . 
 

Don’t forget that everyone currently at the club has a contract signed when a certain level of revenue was achievable , not to mention the pay offs for LJ and JM. 
 

We all know SL is not a gambler and therefore this all points to a safe pair of hands to hold the fort whilst we see what happens.

Worse than this would be having CH with potentially his own coaching staff , new players etc and finding that , in true City style , the bloke has lost his touch . Imagine having to pay off that as well.

It is COVID to blame for our opportunity blown and the club for the lack of communication. 

[Super]

We are a joke. A complete laughing stock shows how tinpot this club is. Embarrassing.

[Phileas Fogg]

20 minutes ago, Chappers said:

How does he spin it? The public announcements have to be that he was the best candidate to take us forward. You can not undermine a manager by saying anything else. 
 

But he clearly isn’t though, everyone can see it. It’s a no win situation for Ashton and there’s no way he can come out of it looking good.

I’m quite looking forward to seeing what he says.

[Matthew me]

SL is a gambler. This is the biggest and most dangerous punt I've seen at city.

Appointing a bloke with zero experience who contributed to our failure and then expect him to suddenly become a tactical genius isn't just a gamble. It's insane 

What other club would do this. What a shower of shite we've become

[Northern Red]

12 minutes ago, AshtonG666 said:

Probably why this is taking soooooo long, they are trying to come up with a fool proof story they hope we believe

That's exactly what it is and what the whole "Holden is taking the weekend to think about it" story is about. In reality he's probably already accepted but they're playing for time.

[Phileas Fogg]

10 minutes ago, Bat Fastard said:

"We all know" ???  The truth is we know nothing about the job specification, the interviews or the financial problems that will frame the next season. Do other candidates fit the job description, budget, ethos and any other requirements??  We have opinions, but they are not well informed opinions.  Trust the board and support Mr Holden!!

If the board had a proven track record of success when promoting internally then that would be different. Their record of internal appointments is poor. Their recent record of external appointments also very patchy. It’s obvious people are going to be concerned.

[TedsHeadIs Red]

27 minutes ago, westonred said:

And how Hughton must feel to wait 5 weeks to get that kick in the teeth.  BCFC have handled this atrociously and will not be taken seriously now until this board / Ashton have been replaced and i cant see that happening for a long time

But you don’t know how BCFC have handled it. Wait and see. You may be correct, we just don’t know at the moment.

[Guest]

Assuming that all the rumours are right.

What pisses me off more than anything is the lack of transparency, the build up of expectancy over 5 weeks and then the damp squib. This could all have be done and dusted in a week.

DH is being handed a poisoned chalice and being asked to drink from it. I do hope that his constitution is strong and he proves everyone wrong for  the sake of BCFC.