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Mark Ashton Leaving (Merged)


Harry

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7 minutes ago, Stortz said:

Hmm, back again solely to praise the departing CEO.

What he needed to do was sign good players, improve the squad and manage contracts professionally. He manifestly did not.

You seem more of a Mark Ashton fan than a Bristol City fan, frankly.

If you want to know the ins and out pal, my sister died of cancer 2 days ago and this is the first time I've been back on since then. Thats why I've not been on since my thread the other day.  It just happens to tie in with MA leaving.  You know nothing about me, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself in relation to my passion for this club. 

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5 minutes ago, AshtonYate said:

If you want to know the ins and out pal, my sister died of cancer 2 days ago and this is the first time I've been back on since then. Thats why I've not been on since my thread the other day.  It just happens to tie in with MA leaving.  You know nothing about me, so I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself in relation to my passion for this club. 

I don't want to know the ins and outs of it and I'm very sorry for your loss.

I was responding to your post on a football forum, regarding football matters.

 

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5 minutes ago, AshtonYate said:

But everyone seem to think he was a big wheel here looking at the reaction.  Funny how he is a big wheel here, but a small cog if Ipswich do well. ?

Not really funny at all. It was the appointment of an inexperienced Head Coach (everyone since SC) that enabled Ashton to increase his span of control and flex his managerial muscle. In appointing a more experienced HC or manager, his span diminishes or is at least cautioned and hence he becomes a smaller 'cog.' 

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19 minutes ago, AshtonYate said:

But everyone seem to think he was a big wheel here looking at the reaction.  Funny how he is a big wheel here, but a small cog if Ipswich do well. ?

He was a big expense. I am suggesting that the return on investment to Steve Lansdown was minimal, although Steve said he worked hard and everyone loves a trier.

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1 hour ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I do feel we could benefit from both. What concerns me slightly (and I appreciate lots of that article will be educated guesswork) is not knowing what direction we want to go in.

The choices fundamentally appear to be

  1. A football man (ie a DoF)
  2. An administrator with commercial nous

Ashton appeared to try and be both of those things but I believe they are roles that require specialists in both. One to focus on DoF activities such as player ID and one to focus on sponsorship, filling the corporate facilities and finding investment. 

I'd agree with that, but

a) doesn't the corporate entity still need a CEO, ie someone has to be in charge,

b) that doesn't come cheap, if you want the best of all three, and

c) likely also comes with three big egos so the structure, roles, relationships is critical.

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2 hours ago, CiderJar said:

Because of Mark Ashton? Unlikely. Maybe with new money coming in and the astute appointment of Paul Cook, but if it happens Mark Ashton will only be a small cog in the wheel.

Spot on. At Ipswich, Ashton will be working with a hands-on Chairman who isn't a patsy and a strong manager who's nobody's idea of a puppet or pet project. So I'd guess his sphere of influence at Portman Road will be much reduced compared to here, with fewer opportunities for the kind of nepotism and empire building he got away with at City.

He was indulged by Lansdown because the owner was desperate to have trusted eyes and ears on the ground at Ashton Gate, understandably. Lansdown bought that trust by paying Ashton an exorbitant salary. He basically bought Ashton's ass to ensure he had someone who would follow the Five Pillars strategy to the letter (after his fingers were burnt by Pelling, Cotterill, Burt). In return, Ashton got a massive pay packet and his ego rubbed by being "King of all things football" .

The set up will different at Ipswich. Good luck to them.          

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4 hours ago, Taz said:

Same Richard Gould that was our Commercial Director in early 2000's?

Yup

4 hours ago, phantom said:

Widely acknowledged he turned Surrey around. 

The Oval is a much different place since he's been there,and in cricketing circles at least he's acknowledged for the work he's put in

Good to hear

3 hours ago, GlastonburyRed said:

Somerset I think, rather than Gloucs. Brother to PNE goalkeeping coach.

Brother is Jonathan, ex-Celtic 'keeper

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1 hour ago, italian dave said:

I'd agree with that, but

a) doesn't the corporate entity still need a CEO, ie someone has to be in charge,

b) that doesn't come cheap, if you want the best of all three, and

c) likely also comes with three big egos so the structure, roles, relationships is critical.

Agreed - in theory could they appoint Steve Walsh for example and then give someone internal (ie Mark Kelly) a wider remit?

I guess it depends how important contacts are in that CEO style role.

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3 minutes ago, Phileas Fogg said:

Agreed - in theory could they appoint Steve Walsh for example and then give someone internal (ie Mark Kelly) a wider remit?

I guess it depends how important contacts are in that CEO style role.

Walsh as a Dof and then a Commercial Director to handle the ‘revenue streams’. No need for a specific CEO really. 
 

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22 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Stowell is still in post at Leicester, so are you seriously suggesting he would be looking to leave a team highly likely to be in the Champions League next season, in the part of the world that he played for nearly all his career, to join us?

Ok then..

Was more tongue in cheek optimism than anything. ?

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17 hours ago, SecretSam said:

Which CEOs of which companies are on six months notice?

Plenty. I won't name names, but it's a bare minimum. A lot are on 12 months too. 

It's a mutual benefit - security for individual that it costs a lot to get rid of you, security for organisation that there's plenty of time to replace.

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3 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I would love to know more about how we ID players. For example, I find it hard to believe that LJ would've known of Hegeler/Diony/Engvall/Eliasson etc off hand. He might've done I suppose, but they're very obscure players to just 'know'.

How does the process work after their identified? I remember LJ's account of identifying Eliasson. He said he looked on the database for a player similar to Anthony Knockaert and Eliasson was the closest. In that instance the system clearly worked, but was the same process followed for Hegeler/Djuric/Diony etc and all the other more obscure signings. Likewise Taylor Moore also. 

It’s not that difficult to pick a few of Knockaert’s key attributes, e.g. assists per 90, successful dribbles performance 90, etc, or combinations, e.g. goal contributions p90, pop those into Wyscout (or similar) and scour the whole world of football.

I can do that.

You then dig deeper, filter out accordingly and go from there.  The art is then scouting, whether that be physically or by watching video, working out whether they fit what you need, etc.

 

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On 13/04/2021 at 11:16, LondonBristolian said:

I think Ashton going is probably a good thing in the sense that opinions around him had become very toxic and it gives the club a fresh start but I do wonder how much he's taken the flak for strategic decisions taken by the owner and the board and I'm not convinced that a new CEO is going to come in and take the club in a completely different direction.

I think there are areas that could be improved. A new CEO that could improve our recruitment and fitness departments could make a big impact in that alone but I think Ashton is the scapegoat for as much as he is responsible for. 

Some posters are mentioning that the individual functions of a Bristol City CEO could be shared among Bristol Sport management.

Excuse me if I appear a bit dense but with all the non playing functions like Hospitality, Ticket Sales, Stadium maintenance, Match Day refreshment sales, already with Bristol Sport, what is left for a football CEO?

Do BS also deal with Hotels and Travel for the teams to away games?

Thus we are left with Players contracts, Transfer negotiations, Football coaching and managenent, Medical functions. Any more?

Surely a DOF could cope with this? Do we actually need a CEO for BCFC if all the staff are coping with their own functions?

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Just now, cidered abroad said:

Some posters are mentioning that the individual functions of a Bristol City CEO could be shared among Bristol Sport management.

Excuse me if I appear a bit dense but with all the non playing functions like Hospitality, Ticket Sales, Stadium maintenance, Match Day refreshment sales, already with Bristol Sport, what is left for a football CEO?

Do BS also deal with Hotels and Travel for the teams to away games?

Thus we are left with Players contracts, Transfer negotiations, Football coaching and managenent, Medical functions. Any more?

Surely a DOF could cope with this? Do we actually need a CEO for BCFC if all the staff are coping with their own functions?

Fundamentally, with a good CEO, you need someone who can make sure every department is doing their own function and are sharing the relevant information with other departments so everyone is working the same way, as well as working with the board to make sure there is a clear overall strategy and that everyone knows what it is and working towards it. And then you want them to be meeting with people externally to communicate what we are doing and, beyond that, you want someone who can make a quick decision when a decision needs to be made.

You don't really want a CEO to be doing loads of day to day work and, if the CEO Is negotiating on all the contracts and transfers and doing all of the recruitment themselves, there comes a point where that's not a good thing and is probably pulling them away from doing what they should be doing - which is being across everything.

So I suppose the answer is that you ideally need a CEO AND a Director of Football but you need the CEO to basically appoint the Director of Football, support them where needed, but otherwise let them get on with the job. 

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5 minutes ago, cidered abroad said:

Some posters are mentioning that the individual functions of a Bristol City CEO could be shared among Bristol Sport management.

Excuse me if I appear a bit dense but with all the non playing functions like Hospitality, Ticket Sales, Stadium maintenance, Match Day refreshment sales, already with Bristol Sport, what is left for a football CEO?

Some of that under BS, some under Ashton Gate Ltd.  I think that is why some of us wonder whether Mark Kelly could step into some aspects of the role, even if temporarily.

Do BS also deal with Hotels and Travel for the teams to away games?

Thus we are left with Players contracts, Transfer negotiations, Football coaching and managenent, Medical functions. Any more?

Surely a DOF could cope with this? Do we actually need a CEO for BCFC if all the staff are coping with their own functions?

I wonder what the Head of Operations did?  Pretty sure he will move on.  He’s never had a job in the world of football that wasn’t under Ashton, whether that be at a club, or in Mark’s consultancy businesses Tactical Change or Grove Life.

 

In essence though you are right, where can we pool the skills of SL’s empire to optimise the position, even if short term.

 

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3 hours ago, AshtonYate said:

Bit gutted about this.  I know he wasn't a popular choice with the fans, oddly because of his personality, but he did what he needed to do.  Good luck Mark, I think you did a great job.  Watch Ipswich get to the prem before us now. 

Chatting shit..

He'll have to ditch the scattergun approach I assume...

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I do half wonder if rumours of this got to the players?

A good chunk of them do not know where they are working next year, they have a manager who may or may not be with us next year, and no point impressing the person who has the say so on contracts as he is off too! Like unruly kids with a supply teacher, finding out the Head Teacher is off at the end of term as well. No wonder they have been hard to motivate.

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23 hours ago, Harry said:

That’s what’s in the official comms. 
Doesn’t match up with the fact that I been made aware of his appointment in December. Lansdown wanted Cotterill out but the board kept overruling him. Lansdown brought Ashton in to ‘verify’ the ‘problem’ that had occurred in the previous summer with recruitment. Ashton backed up Steve’s thinking and Cotterill was history. The announcement of Ashton post-sacking was designed to ensure Ashton took no responsibility for the sacking. 

Ashton was involved as a consultant re our Academy status a couple of years before he was appointed CEO. He wasn’t totally unknown to us.

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3 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

I am surprised that people genuinely 'hate' Ashton

I’m not surprised because on Social Media nowadays there tends to be only a Love or Hate option. For most vocal people there is no grey area anymore sadly. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, OTIB or whatever only strong opinions tend to be heard. Trump, Boris, Brexit, BLM, Statues etc etc.
 

With City you can’t ‘quite like’ anyone anymore, whether it’s MA, SL, JL, LJ, Holden, Pearson, HNM, Antoine or Simpson. You are termed a ‘lover’ or a ‘hater’ and thus your opinion is dismissed. Thankfully on OTIB we still have the likes of @Davefevswho can still make reasoned arguments with facts and stats rather than their own agenda. 

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10 minutes ago, Johnny Musicworks said:

I’m not surprised because on Social Media nowadays there tends to be only a Love or Hate option. For most vocal people there is no grey area anymore sadly. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, OTIB or whatever only strong opinions tend to be heard. Trump, Boris, Brexit, BLM, Statues etc etc.
 

With City you can’t ‘quite like’ anyone anymore, whether it’s MA, SL, JL, LJ, Holden, Pearson, HNM, Antoine or Simpson. You are termed a ‘lover’ or a ‘hater’ and thus your opinion is dismissed. Thankfully on OTIB we still have the likes of @Davefevswho can still make reasoned arguments with facts and stats rather than their own agenda. 

Without reading the extremes of love and hate you can't come up with a balanced view, so drink it all in and get drunk on the opinion, then wake up with a screaming hangover and long for something grey.... or something like that anyway.

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1 hour ago, Show Me The Money! said:

To be fair to Ashton he didn’t pick all the players we signed and all that we sold. 

I know what you mean. As a fan I don’t like the fact we get mixed messages on who is responsible for incomings. 

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