CET: Men at the top must take responsibility for Coventry City's failure (1 Viewer)
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Rich
Moderator
THE people in charge of Coventry City have to take the brunt of responsibility for the state of disarray in the dressing room right now.
Scapegoat Andy Thorn must be watching from afar absolutely aghast at results and performances since he was prematurely jettisoned after his side logged three draws in their opening three League One games
Whatever your view on Thorn, the Sky Blues were finding their feet after so many new arrivals and showing signs of a more than capable side in their new division.
There are – with the exception of Tuesday night’s horror show at Shrewsbury – fine lines between success and failure in football and that was certainly the case in the first three fixtures when a point a game was deemed unacceptable by the powers that be.
But the first-half battering of Bury and thoroughly uplifting 90 minutes against Birmingham prove that there is a good team in there somewhere. And for one night, at least, it looked as if Richard Shaw was going to develop that early season work-in-progress and bring out the best in the players.
The fact that he – another hugely popular figure with the players – has failed, the fact that the players suddenly look like the life has been sucked out of them in his four league matches as caretaker shows that the squad has been seriously de-railed and left bereft of direction and focus by the shock change of manager. And for that, the men at the top are answerable.
One who has deserted the sinking ship or, more accurately, made to walk the plank is former director Onye Igwe.
He is the man who held the Sisu pursestrings from the day the owners rode into town in December 2007. He is the one who continually rebuffed the advice of Ray Ranson, the one person with expert football knowledge who was brought in to run the football side of the business and who had a clear vision for taking the club forward.
The problem was that Igwe and Ranson weren’t on the same page. They may have shared the same ideals but when it came to the crunch Sisu’s front-of-house man appeared too wrapped up in recouping some of the investment – latest figures to date, we are told, being a staggering £42million and very little to show for it – with the sales of Scott Dann and Danny Fox, rather than looking at the bigger picture and building a squad fit for Premier League purpose.
And that is why Ranson (coincidentally at Greenhous Meadow on Tuesday night) ended up leaving because he was so hamstrung by Igwe that he simply couldn’t do what he set out to do. He couldn’t sign players he’d identified, the likes of Jack Cork, Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll to name just three the club had an option to pick up on the cheap.
Instead his prudent housekeeping backfired and rather than speculating – and we’re not talking about breaking the bank here – to accumulate, Igwe suddenly found himself preoccupied with trying to stem the haemorrhage of more than £500,000 a month, now down to £250,000.
So what is Igwe’s legacy? He’s the man who helped set last year’s budget, who let Marlon King get away and left Andy Thorn with an impossible task and therefore, ultimately, one of the main men responsible for relegation
He’s the man who assembled a board with the “best skill set seen in 25 years at the club...”
There was Dugout Dulieu, the chairman who made himself and the club a laughing stock by taking up a position on the bench.
There was Bust Our Butts Brody, the man came up with the hare-brained ‘text your subs’ money-making scheme.
There was CEO Paul ‘This Club’s A Basket Case’ Clouting who, to be fair, made a pretty sharp exit once he realised what he had got himself into.
But what about Onye ‘I’m Just A Cuddly Bear’ Igwe, as he described himself when he finally emerged out of the Ricoh Arena shadows the day the new-look board was unveiled.
His nickname on the board was The Ostrich due to his penchant for burying his head in the sand. And if you think Brody came up with some bonkers ideas, here’s a flavour of life in the boardroom under his reign.
Picture the scene (and this was before Orange Ken was king). The directors filter in for their weekly board meeting, pour their coffee, secretary poised to take down the minutes.
First item on the agenda is City’s ongoing financial decline and how they are going to pay the wages that month. But interrupting proceedings, Onye announces that he wants to raise an important issue before they get down to the nitty-gritty.
Trust me on this next bit, I quite literally couldn’t make it up!
He announced that he was becoming increasingly concerned that in an age of childhood obesity Sky Blue Sam was sending out the wrong message to kids and he wanted to explore the possibility of having a slimmed down version of the lovable club mascot.
Cue much choking on mouthfuls of coffee and looks of disbelief before one particularly astute director turned to him and said: “Onye... he’s a ****ing elephant!”
He can also be credited with the idea of setting up a Sky Blue wedding car business – not a bad little sideline in itself, I’m sure you will agree, but the idea was offered as a solution to City’s financial problems.
And then there was the suggestion to produce over-sized replica shirts for supporters to wear over their coats in the winter.
We were told at last week’s fans forum that Igwe is no longer involved in running the club. He hasn’t been seen around these parts since the end of last season and one might have suspected he had been sent off by Sisu to work in a salt mine in the Urals.
He was, we understand, despatched to run a chain of bars in Thailand but finally left the company this week.
Tim Fisher apologised unreservedly to supporters for the club’s failings at the forum. But if anyone owes an apology, it’s Onye Igwe.
Read More http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...ity-s-failure-92746-31873697/2/#ixzz270Axh1UL
Read More http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...-city-s-failure-92746-31873697/#ixzz270AmI7D9
Scapegoat Andy Thorn must be watching from afar absolutely aghast at results and performances since he was prematurely jettisoned after his side logged three draws in their opening three League One games
Whatever your view on Thorn, the Sky Blues were finding their feet after so many new arrivals and showing signs of a more than capable side in their new division.
There are – with the exception of Tuesday night’s horror show at Shrewsbury – fine lines between success and failure in football and that was certainly the case in the first three fixtures when a point a game was deemed unacceptable by the powers that be.
But the first-half battering of Bury and thoroughly uplifting 90 minutes against Birmingham prove that there is a good team in there somewhere. And for one night, at least, it looked as if Richard Shaw was going to develop that early season work-in-progress and bring out the best in the players.
The fact that he – another hugely popular figure with the players – has failed, the fact that the players suddenly look like the life has been sucked out of them in his four league matches as caretaker shows that the squad has been seriously de-railed and left bereft of direction and focus by the shock change of manager. And for that, the men at the top are answerable.
One who has deserted the sinking ship or, more accurately, made to walk the plank is former director Onye Igwe.
He is the man who held the Sisu pursestrings from the day the owners rode into town in December 2007. He is the one who continually rebuffed the advice of Ray Ranson, the one person with expert football knowledge who was brought in to run the football side of the business and who had a clear vision for taking the club forward.
The problem was that Igwe and Ranson weren’t on the same page. They may have shared the same ideals but when it came to the crunch Sisu’s front-of-house man appeared too wrapped up in recouping some of the investment – latest figures to date, we are told, being a staggering £42million and very little to show for it – with the sales of Scott Dann and Danny Fox, rather than looking at the bigger picture and building a squad fit for Premier League purpose.
And that is why Ranson (coincidentally at Greenhous Meadow on Tuesday night) ended up leaving because he was so hamstrung by Igwe that he simply couldn’t do what he set out to do. He couldn’t sign players he’d identified, the likes of Jack Cork, Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll to name just three the club had an option to pick up on the cheap.
Instead his prudent housekeeping backfired and rather than speculating – and we’re not talking about breaking the bank here – to accumulate, Igwe suddenly found himself preoccupied with trying to stem the haemorrhage of more than £500,000 a month, now down to £250,000.
So what is Igwe’s legacy? He’s the man who helped set last year’s budget, who let Marlon King get away and left Andy Thorn with an impossible task and therefore, ultimately, one of the main men responsible for relegation
He’s the man who assembled a board with the “best skill set seen in 25 years at the club...”
There was Dugout Dulieu, the chairman who made himself and the club a laughing stock by taking up a position on the bench.
There was Bust Our Butts Brody, the man came up with the hare-brained ‘text your subs’ money-making scheme.
There was CEO Paul ‘This Club’s A Basket Case’ Clouting who, to be fair, made a pretty sharp exit once he realised what he had got himself into.
But what about Onye ‘I’m Just A Cuddly Bear’ Igwe, as he described himself when he finally emerged out of the Ricoh Arena shadows the day the new-look board was unveiled.
His nickname on the board was The Ostrich due to his penchant for burying his head in the sand. And if you think Brody came up with some bonkers ideas, here’s a flavour of life in the boardroom under his reign.
Picture the scene (and this was before Orange Ken was king). The directors filter in for their weekly board meeting, pour their coffee, secretary poised to take down the minutes.
First item on the agenda is City’s ongoing financial decline and how they are going to pay the wages that month. But interrupting proceedings, Onye announces that he wants to raise an important issue before they get down to the nitty-gritty.
Trust me on this next bit, I quite literally couldn’t make it up!
He announced that he was becoming increasingly concerned that in an age of childhood obesity Sky Blue Sam was sending out the wrong message to kids and he wanted to explore the possibility of having a slimmed down version of the lovable club mascot.
Cue much choking on mouthfuls of coffee and looks of disbelief before one particularly astute director turned to him and said: “Onye... he’s a ****ing elephant!”
He can also be credited with the idea of setting up a Sky Blue wedding car business – not a bad little sideline in itself, I’m sure you will agree, but the idea was offered as a solution to City’s financial problems.
And then there was the suggestion to produce over-sized replica shirts for supporters to wear over their coats in the winter.
We were told at last week’s fans forum that Igwe is no longer involved in running the club. He hasn’t been seen around these parts since the end of last season and one might have suspected he had been sent off by Sisu to work in a salt mine in the Urals.
He was, we understand, despatched to run a chain of bars in Thailand but finally left the company this week.
Tim Fisher apologised unreservedly to supporters for the club’s failings at the forum. But if anyone owes an apology, it’s Onye Igwe.
Read More http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...ity-s-failure-92746-31873697/2/#ixzz270Axh1UL
Read More http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/co...-city-s-failure-92746-31873697/#ixzz270AmI7D9
oldskyblue58
CCFC Finance Director
not defending Igwe but i would be interested to know when exactly he stopped being involved in the finances at CCFC...... i have a feeling it is a lot longer time ago than folk think, probably at least when TF got appointed.
Lot of claims but really just recycled hearsay
By May 2008 we had lost £8m, in 2009 lost £7m at a time when RR had the impetus and more freedom to buy players and were bought...... the team finished 21st and 17th. The writing was on the wall almost from day 1 financially, tere is no proof that any of the players like Carroll etc would have actually come to CCFC or that we could have sold on for a big profit or that the team results would have propelled us to the Premiership ..... no proof at all one way or another.
The only fact is that CCFC cannot afford to keep making multi million losses
This is not down to one man ........ calling AT the scapegoat or then putting it all on Onye is not helpful......... This was a team effort of all involved for the last decade.......... that includes RR
Lot of claims but really just recycled hearsay
By May 2008 we had lost £8m, in 2009 lost £7m at a time when RR had the impetus and more freedom to buy players and were bought...... the team finished 21st and 17th. The writing was on the wall almost from day 1 financially, tere is no proof that any of the players like Carroll etc would have actually come to CCFC or that we could have sold on for a big profit or that the team results would have propelled us to the Premiership ..... no proof at all one way or another.
The only fact is that CCFC cannot afford to keep making multi million losses
This is not down to one man ........ calling AT the scapegoat or then putting it all on Onye is not helpful......... This was a team effort of all involved for the last decade.......... that includes RR
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
The reality is that a succession of folk, bereft of understanding of the supporters of this club, or indeed the game itself has been installed and given a shot at 'a go' at running our club.
Their losses wholly of their own making, and strong-arming ACL into lower rents/ownership sharing to partially mitigate their losses frankly a disgrace
Their losses wholly of their own making, and strong-arming ACL into lower rents/ownership sharing to partially mitigate their losses frankly a disgrace
LevelBest
Member
People may not like TF & SW but they are a lot more professional than the bunch that were in charge at the start of last season. Another example to add to the CET article is when Andy Thorn was promised loan players but Orange Ken tried to force some players from the Indian league on him so they could try and develop a commercial link in India. Andy refused as they weren't up to the required standard and he never got the loan players he needed.
I think SISU may have finally got the right people in place to run the club and very interesting Joy Seppala spoke directly with Mark Robins during the interview process
I think SISU may have finally got the right people in place to run the club and very interesting Joy Seppala spoke directly with Mark Robins during the interview process
blueflint
Well-Known Member
not sure i agree osb thought ranson had a plan that would work given time he didn't get that he was not given support financially.his choice of players was on the whole good a squad could of been built over two or three years instant success was never part of the plan
oldskyblue58
CCFC Finance Director
the plan has to match the circumstances though doesnt it ........ SISU did not buy into the project to make £7m and £8m losses each year. It is ok saying we could have this player or that ........... sooner rather than later the money was going to run out. The plan was not affordable. We made £3m loss in 2010 only because we sold Dann & Fox ...... without that it would have been £7m +. The main reason for the losses .......... wages being 110% of sales ........ just not a viable plan in the first place.
The club was being supported ....... the transfer policy wasnt ........ there just wasnt the money available and as the head guy at the club RR should have been aware of that.
Only thing bringing in Carroll etc might have done is to soften the losses and need for SISU cash (which they have now written off apparently) .......... given our history of player development do we really think they would have developed into the players they are ? and got the fees they went for ? We would have had to sell on just to keep finances afloat.
There is a lot of spin on all this ......... but bottom line without major assets the club has to live within its means .......... we never have and still dont
The club was being supported ....... the transfer policy wasnt ........ there just wasnt the money available and as the head guy at the club RR should have been aware of that.
Only thing bringing in Carroll etc might have done is to soften the losses and need for SISU cash (which they have now written off apparently) .......... given our history of player development do we really think they would have developed into the players they are ? and got the fees they went for ? We would have had to sell on just to keep finances afloat.
There is a lot of spin on all this ......... but bottom line without major assets the club has to live within its means .......... we never have and still dont
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Don't think RR can really be held to blame for 2007/8 considering the gigantic mess they inherited from the previous incumbents. Your more general point is correct though-a hell of a lot of cooks have spoilt this now particularly rancid broth.
scroobiustom
New Member
I Blame Jimmy Hill
Why? He built us into a respectable club and there is only one Jimmy Hill so we are screwed!
Why? He built us into a respectable club and there is only one Jimmy Hill so we are screwed!
ohitsaidwalker king power
Well-Known Member
Waggot- Performance director.. since his tenure... how has our performance been?
Fisher- CEO-Since his tenure has our 'stock' value increased or decreased?
Are their respective positions untenable?
Fisher- CEO-Since his tenure has our 'stock' value increased or decreased?
Are their respective positions untenable?
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
As I posted yesterday, why did Waggott do that was so remarkable that his temporary contract was made permanent in this expensive Director of Football role, at a time lower paid employees of the club have lost their roles?
Nonleagueherewecome
Well-Known Member
He's Joy's sex slave on the side!
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
The only person at the higher levels of the club with any footballing knowledge-to hold him responsible for Thorn's shortcomings is a little dubious is it not?
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
I asked what he had done to deserve his exalted role?!? He was drafted in to help with signing new players in January and the loan window. He failed
:claping hands:
FINALLY the CET appear to be realising the reality of CCFC today.
It was clear years ago where the problems lay but they kept talking about "the diamond" and how many should defend corners.:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
Meanwhile the supporters - well, the dumb ones, found a scapegoat in AT.:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
Hopefully, they'll have learnt that a manager can only work with what he has but I wont hold my breath.
FINALLY the CET appear to be realising the reality of CCFC today.
It was clear years ago where the problems lay but they kept talking about "the diamond" and how many should defend corners.:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
Meanwhile the supporters - well, the dumb ones, found a scapegoat in AT.:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
Hopefully, they'll have learnt that a manager can only work with what he has but I wont hold my breath.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
How do you define failure?
skyblueman
New Member
I have a problem with these 'professional football executives' - they don't have their own money as such so instead have set themselves up as football club management gurus who mysteriously profess to have some sort of magic gift that makes them able to make millions from any club they happen to get into. They drift from club to club with grandiose plans extracting mega bucks from those who do have it and don't really understand all the ins and outs of the industry. Invariably they do not work out as expected..
For me I have much more time for executives that use their OWN money or owners that do not invest for purely profit motives- they are not simply chasing a wages and bonus and have everything to lose if it fails - these two will just wander away and shrug their shoulders if it all collapses on the back of their decisions - blame everyone else and go find another sucker who will listen to them.
Fisher & Waggot you are both accountable for this mess now - yes it has been dire for many years but it's your tenure now and you are not contributing any positives as of yet. Stop looking to blame those that came well before you - your performances are as critical as those on the pitch and we expect nothing less than you delivering on the promises you have made
Grendel
Well-Known Member
The fact I disagree with you, Stuart linnel and Alan "the scoop" Poole reassures me I am right.
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
We had sold or lost Westwood, Turner, Gunnarsson and King in the summer from a team that was barely good enough with them included. We were struggling with terrible results ahead of Christmas. He was brought in with the remit of 'helping' Thorn in the transfer market in January and the loan window thereafter.
He 'helped' by playing a role in selling our leading scorer and leaving the manager so far from negotiations he himself had to call the ' Boro manager to ask for gentlemans agreement that Jutkiewitz wouldn't play against us; and then coordinated the arrival if 2 inexperienced kids; compared to our peers who signed 6, 7 or 8 loans to bolster their squad.
He didn't do as well as his peers at Forest, Milwall and Bristol City with regards bolstering the squad for a relegation battle.
Failure
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Within the allowed budget, that was-and that can be presumed to have been inadequate to attract players of sufficient quality.
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
All three of those clubs had more competitive budgets (Forest especially so), and would always be likely to have more financial muscle. The only failures were to allow Thorn the summer and first few games of the season then sack him without a quick replacement.
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
So why bring him in, presumably at cost, only to resign ourselves to not being able to afford anyone?!?
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Interesting. Was our points per game ratio worse after he joined or better?
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Because someone with actual football know-how was (and is) needed at the top of the club-Waggott brings contacts and knowledge of the market that Fisher by himself doesn't have. As you have said (many, many, many times), we had a budget in line with the bottom 3 of the league so that is where we would've finished anyway, Waggy or no Waggy. I find it odd now that the man is being criticised when the bigger culprit is no longer at the club.
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
That's as irrelevant as asking if the weather was any sunnier. Or are you now implying he helped shape the fortunes on the playing squad?
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Well you are implying he made it worse. Unless you base it on stats it's an irrelevant argument.
If we had accumulated as many points before his arrival as after would we have been better or worse off?
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
I think the world - notwithstanding a few very loud voices in here - are waking to the fact that the 'bigger culprit' had no help, indeed quite the contrary, from a number of people who have now left, or who are still at the club
Mary_Mungo_Midge
Well-Known Member
No. Again you're trying to side-track a debate back to your favoured ground.
He was brought in to help in the transfer market. On that basis he failed. If you've got time on your hands, why don't you go back and answer the question I posed you yesterday on his record at Charlton which I note you deftly side-stepped?
'waking' ? apart from that a very accurate and neat summation of the facts.:claping hands:
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Two wins by Christmas, one away win all season, 30 points thrown away from winning positions; if that was the best anyone could've done then I tip my hat off to Thorn. Setting the team up in damage limitation mode every week, encouraging players to tip-tap it in their own third before hoofing to Clive Platt-he had some help from others, but he sure didn't help himself.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
So you don't define failure in terms of improved or worsened results then?
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
And this summer he backed Thorn to the hilt to deliver the players he wanted.
skyblueman
New Member
Waggot clearly does not have the Midas touch and I fail to see what he has brought to and is now bringing to the club other than a fistfull of cock-ups - Fisher if you need some football brains to do your job then please get someone else in for al lour sakes