SL, you wondered why people are questioning with MA....

[grifty]

4 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Yep, and Richard Lee (ex-Watford GK) used in a consultation capacity.

If you want to include aspirational fees for Webster and Brownhill, then only right you include Bentley’s to Brentford, Massengo’s to Monaco, Wells to Burnley, Diedhiou to Angers (ok, that ship has sailed ) etc etc.

Exactly, you include everything, not pick and choose the boundaries.

[Davefevs]

3 minutes ago, grifty said:

Exactly, you include everything, not pick and choose the boundaries.

Or you do as our accounts do and only include when they are realised.  Or else it’s guesswork.

[desert]

I think MA does get a lot of stick and I am just not clear how much of it is valid. I understand why he can be annoying. A bit over confident and too much management speak etc etc. It’s a bit oily, right? But, he has overseen a lot of progress at the club. Where we have sold players ( and I am  sure that’s  not his decision alone) then we have got pretty much top dollar. Where we have targeted players we seem to have been able to bring them in and get the deals done. I think it has been pretty clear that the head coach does get the final nod on whether a deal is completed or not - unless everyone has been completely lying about that. Many of the players have been of decent quality - not all - but many. The sad reality is that we have often spent money on players that the head coach does not use, or does not use properly or they start well and inevitably decline over time. They also are not used well together and work as a team with a clear “identity” and pattern of play etc - particularly with the ball. These issues are I am sure as fruratingvfor MA as the rest of us. But these are the responsibilities of the coaching team. The thing I would want to know from MA is why he is not recommending and pursuing hiring a proven, experienced but also motivated and driven head coach and team that have a clear progressive and proven approach to playing the game which would suit our squad etc etc. If he is part of the problem in bringing in a good coaching team then yes we should question him absolutely. But do we really think this continued frankly bizarre approach to head coach apppintments is about MA? I’m not so sure....

[steveybadger]

46 minutes ago, Lrrr said:

'Griffin's experience includes being a regional scout at the Saints, a lead scout at Charlton Athletic before that, a recruitment officer at Crystal Palace and an academy scout at Fulham'

Only fair to state experience at the same time as mentioning his relationship with Johnson

 

LBW or caught?

Leaden footed drive caught in the slips - why change the habit of a lifetime!?!

[LondonBristolian]

12 minutes ago, desert said:

I think MA does get a lot of stick and I am just not clear how much of it is valid. I understand why he can be annoying. A bit over confident and too much management speak etc etc. It’s a bit oily, right? But, he has overseen a lot of progress at the club. Where we have sold players ( and I am  sure that’s  not his decision alone) then we have got pretty much top dollar. Where we have targeted players we seem to have been able to bring them in and get the deals done. I think it has been pretty clear that the head coach does get the final nod on whether a deal is completed or not - unless everyone has been completely lying about that. Many of the players have been of decent quality - not all - but many. The sad reality is that we have often spent money on players that the head coach does not use, or does not use properly or they start well and inevitably decline over time. They also are not used well together and work as a team with a clear “identity” and pattern of play etc - particularly with the ball. These issues are I am sure as fruratingvfor MA as the rest of us. But these are the responsibilities of the coaching team. The thing I would want to know from MA is why he is not recommending and pursuing hiring a proven, experienced but also motivated and driven head coach and team that have a clear progressive and proven approach to playing the game which would suit our squad etc etc. If he is part of the problem in bringing in a good coaching team then yes we should question him absolutely. But do we really think this continued frankly bizarre approach to head coach apppintments is about MA? I’m not so sure....

I think this is a good post.

And, to be fair to him, we simply have no idea whether or not he is recommending the pursuit of a proven coach. We just know that, if he is, he is not winning that argument.

My theory - which I have absolutely no evidence to back up - is that the issue is not experienced managers refusing to join the club but that the board really want the kudos for appointing and developing a new managerial talent and young team and getting the PR story when it leads to promotion. If it works, great. If not, it looks a lot like what we have right now.

[spudski]

When people talk about the ' Board' making decisions...look at the Board.

The only one who is actively working day to day in football is MA.

What else do our board members do, to justify making decisions?

Does anyone else think we have a board of faceless people.

MA's at the coal face so to speak...JL's just lucky to be in this job...he wouldn't be in it other than being SLs son...the rest...what actually do they contribute?

SL just comes out when we either do well or like now, are particularly bad.

It's all very underwhelming.

 

[Merrick's Marvels]

3 hours ago, headhunter said:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mervyn-day-095155125/ this is his LinkedIn profile. He's been at Rangers full time since January last year. With us for 4 years but his track record since leaving coaching in 2006 shows a job change pretty much every two years. I suggest he interviews well but might fail to deliver?

Just like Dean Holden then.

[NickJ]

I’m long past caring about the finances, Lansdowns hijacking of the club and the stadium for his personal ego put paid to that years ago, but one thing I do know about Ashton is that he tells lies on his CV.

Said it many times before, but he was not a “Director of West Bromwich Albion Football Club”.

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/markanthonyashton

[Davefevs]

Griffin let go last week I hear.

[fgrsimon]

8 hours ago, Lrrr said:

'Griffin's experience includes being a regional scout at the Saints, a lead scout at Charlton Athletic before that, a recruitment officer at Crystal Palace and an academy scout at Fulham'

Only fair to state experience at the same time as mentioning his relationship with Johnson

 

LBW or caught?

Caught Russell Bowled Smith

[rednotblue]

10 hours ago, NickJ said:

I’m long past caring about the finances, Lansdowns hijacking of the club and the stadium for his personal ego put paid to that years ago, but one thing I do know about Ashton is that he tells lies on his CV.

Said it many times before, but he was not a “Director of West Bromwich Albion Football Club”.

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/markanthonyashton

He does not appear on Companies House for them so I would concur. Seems an odd statement to make?

 

[Daniro]

Fascinating to see that Ashton's transfer activity has been significantly less successful than we might have thought. 

And for those who think it's worth having him because he's negotiated some bigger fees than we're used to, a decent commercial lawyer could do the same kind of job. 

 

Surely the most damning thing.,  the thing that should have him drummed out of the club for good, and TODAY,  is the appointment of Holden.  Nobody thought it was a good idea.  He insisted he'd done a thorough search and was absolutely certain and specific that he was Holden was the best candidate.   No ifs or buts.  It was a shocking decision and I can't remember being more disgusted with the club's performance this season since the consecutive relegations in the Eighties. 

 

He's has no football instinct at all and is a terrible drain on our club's soul and resources.   Who cares about a fancy stadium and fancy training facilities if we have to suffer terrible football? 

[Dolman_Stand]

17 hours ago, Alessandro said:

Not finding reasons. For me it's pretty black and white - i'm looking at players MA signed and MA sold. Simple.

Not to have a dig, so we can debate how we got into our current predicament and how we get out of it.

If you're happy with everything, good for you, as you were then.

By excluding the likes of Kelly, Bryan, Reid and Flint it does skew your profit and loss figures, if we didn't receive the fee's that we did for those players then we wouldn't have spent to the same level on incoming transfers.

I can remember plenty of transfer windows where MA was praised for his work yet when results are not going so well he does seem to cop more than his fair share of vitriol on this forum, suppose I comes with the territory as a CEO and its not just at City that this happens.

There is undoubtedly a scapegoat mentality towards him, for every person that says he has too much control over incoming transfers another now says that LJ spotted Brownhill and Webster so what does he does? It can't be both. 

The change in recruitment policy last summer with signing more experienced players I think came from Holden and Ashton backed his manager which is what most seem to think he doesn't do?

[Alessandro]

21 minutes ago, Dolman_Stand said:

By excluding the likes of Kelly, Bryan, Reid and Flint it does skew your profit and loss figures, if we didn't receive the fee's that we did for those players then we wouldn't have spent to the same level on incoming transfers.

I can remember plenty of transfer windows where MA was praised for his work yet when results are not going so well he does seem to cop more than his fair share of vitriol on this forum, suppose I comes with the territory as a CEO and its not just at City that this happens.

There is undoubtedly a scapegoat mentality towards him, for every person that says he has too much control over incoming transfers another now says that LJ spotted Brownhill and Webster so what does he does? It can't be both. 

The change in recruitment policy last summer with signing more experienced players I think came from Holden and Ashton backed his manager which is what most seem to think he doesn't do?

Yes you're right, if it wasn't for Bryan, Kelly, Kodjia, Flint etc etc MA would not have had the money to spend.... 

AND THAT'S THE POINT! That's what makes this list even more important and that's why these questions need to be asked.

We have a model at the club, from the owner - buy cheap/young, develop, sell for a big profit. re-invest.

MA has been buying players on the back of money from players he didn't sign.

With that money he has signed 68 players and only 2 have been re-sold for a major profit that can be invested. Fact. 

The focus of this thread is on how the transfer money has been re-invested under MA the results, cold hard figures and facts, are there to see:

2 out of 68 sold for a major profit.