|
|
Post by bertjones on Aug 22, 2022 15:27:12 GMT
I’ve been a Season Ticket holder since 1974. I have not missed a home game since.
I don’t think in any of that time have I been as depressed about the team, and the way we play, or in the way the club is currently run.
I went through the relegation in the mid 70’s, the holocaust season, the Mills, Ball Kamara era, and the way we play now is worse than all these.
I’ve been there in the good times too, the Waddington years, the Premier League years and the FA Cup final.
I just can’t see any way out of the mess we are in at the moment because of the way the club is run, and I fear that it is almost certain, with every game that O’Neill is in charge, that we are heading fast to League one.
The point of this post is the question, is it only me who feels let down by the Coates family?
Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the Premier League years, and the FA Cup final. I loved beating Arsenal at our place, and upsetting most of the big boys. I even loved that most people outside our club hated us.
Now, praise (heaps) of it to the family for that, but am I the only one, who thinks that despite that, they equally deserve to be criticised for the way the club is now run.
They are in charge, and pick the bad managers, and staff (Scholes), and they are the only one’s who can do something about the current manager, but they continue to carry on as we are, and we go from one bad spell to another.
There is a saying, that the football club belongs to the fans, they are custodians, but without doubt, if the family were not there, it could be a lot worse. But I can’t help feeling it could be a lot better as well.
My conclusion is, that The family, do not share my ambition for the club. I want to be looking forward to going, getting the stadium rocking again, and having a real go at getting back to the Prem, where I, as a fan, think we should be. My club should be in the Premier League.
I just can’t help thinking the family don’t want that, like I do, or why the hell would this manager still be in a job here?
At the end of this season, that’s me done, I’m finished, and for all the wonderful things they have done for the City and the club, I can’t help but feel very badly let down by them.
|
|
|
|
Post by questionable on Aug 22, 2022 15:37:34 GMT
Pretty much how I felt, There’s always a fall guy, well was until Scholes left.
Obvious as the days long that there’s not a single person at this club whatsoever who knows what they’re doing.
Senior is no longer at the club and will not return and Junior is like a rabbit in headlights hoping that MON is driving the car.
|
|
|
|
Post by loosestools on Aug 22, 2022 16:27:58 GMT
John has been brainwashed by MON whom he cannot do without because he has his finger in every part of running the club.
|
|
|
|
Post by Staffsoatcake on Aug 22, 2022 16:37:25 GMT
So John won't sack him, because MON is fingering him. 😁
|
|
|
|
Post by middleoftheboothen on Aug 22, 2022 16:43:41 GMT
So John won't sack him, because MON is fingering him. 😁 ooooooo darling 😅 |
|
|
|
Post by loosestools on Aug 22, 2022 16:44:54 GMT
You might have hit on something there boys.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gods on Aug 22, 2022 16:52:38 GMT
We've been worse than this since '74, not much, but we have.
Kudos for your undwindling commitment over that period!
|
|
|
|
Post by anchorman on Aug 22, 2022 17:05:04 GMT
I’ve been a Season Ticket holder since 1974. I have not missed a home game since. I don’t think in any of that time have I been as depressed about the team, and the way we play, or in the way the club is currently run. I went through the relegation in the mid 70’s, the holocaust season, the Mills, Ball Kamara era, and the way we play now is worse than all these. I’ve been there in the good times too, the Waddington years, the Premier League years and the FA Cup final. I just can’t see any way out of the mess we are in at the moments because of the way the club is run, and I fear that it is almost certain with every game that O’Neill is in charge that we are heading fast to League one. The point of this post is the question is, is it only me who feels let down by the Coates family? Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the Premier League years, and the FA Cup final. I loved beating Arsenal at our place, and upsetting most of the big boys. I even loved that most people outside our club hated us. Now, praise (heaps) of it to the family for that, but am I the only one, who thinks that despite that, they equally deserve to be criticised for the way the club is now run. They are in charge, and pick the bad managers, and staff (Scholes), and they are the only one’s who can do something about the current manager, but they continue to carry on as we are, and we go from one bad spell to another. There is a saying, that the football club belongs to the fans, they are custodians, but without doubt, if the family were not there, it could be a lot worse. But I can’t help feeling it could be a lot better as well. My conclusion is, that The family, do not share my ambition for the club. I want to be looking forward to going, getting the stadium rocking again, and having a real go at getting back to the Prem, where I, as a fan, think we should be. My club should be in the Premier League. I just can’t help thinking the family don’t want that, like I do, or why the hell would this manager still be in a job here? At then end of this season, that’s me done, I’m finished, and for all the wonderful things they have done for the City and the club, I can’t help but feel very badly let down by them. Bert, I can only echo what you've said in your post agreeing with you completely. Likewise I have been a Stoke City supporter all my life watching my heroes from 1969/70 experiencing the highs and the lows but like you having been appreciative of everything the Coates family have done for the club, I feel that they or at least John Coates hasn't got real ambition or a desire or more importantly a plan to get the club back to where we believe it belongs which is in the top flight. We are going absolutely nowhere with MON at the helm and the longer he's in place the closer the trap door to League 1 beckons. It is thoroughly depressing at the moment and having seen some dark days at Stoke, these seem incredibly bad at the moment. Having been to 3 of the first 4 league games which is a round trip of 260 miles for me, for the first time in my life I actually don't want to go and watch us. It's slow, boring, depressingly bad and completely embarrassing. I've said this many times before. John Coates doesn't have a clue what he is doing and since Scholes went (thank god) he has relied upon MON's knowledge & skills in accountancy, business & finance and I can only assume that he is terrified that if he sacks him he will be lost and I dare say he will be. The relationship is far too cosy and like Clive Clarke said about there being no repercussions for the players for their abject failure to perform, it seems the same can be said of the manager. Too cosy and too comfortable. John Coates needs to bring in top professionals to take over the running of the club with one goal and one goal only - Promotion to the Prem....with a new manager asap of course! But I just don't think any of them, owners, players & manager want it badly enough. |
|
|
|
Post by tuum on Aug 22, 2022 17:08:29 GMT
We have been worse than this since '74 - a lot worse. This is only 70% of the worst we have been since then. Wind your neck in, strap up and grow a spine. It' s going to get worse before it get's better.
Like most others you will still be supporting us next year regardless of what division we are in!
|
|
|
|
Post by wuzza on Aug 22, 2022 17:17:42 GMT
I would certainly agree with those saying things have been far worse - we’ve had diabolical teams and absolutely no financial backing to provide hope for the future.
Now at least we have a group of players that are theoretically capable of better and owners who have the financial resources we could never have imagined back in the day so all is not lost.
I would however agree that the football we play and the general mentality of the club is life-sapping and joyless at the moment. Somebody needs to do something to shift the cloud that has hung over the stadium for years now.
|
|
|
|
Post by scfcwebby on Aug 22, 2022 17:20:31 GMT
So John won't sack him, because MON is fingering him. 😁 Giggidy giggidy |
|
|
|
Post by fentonstokie1 on Aug 22, 2022 18:08:00 GMT
I would certainly agree with those saying things have been far worse - we’ve had diabolical teams and absolutely no financial backing to provide hope for the future. Now at least we have a group of players that are theoretically capable of better and owners who have the financial resources we could never have imagined back in the day so all is not lost. I would however agree that the football we play and the general mentality of the club is life-sapping and joyless at the moment. Somebody needs to do something to shift the cloud that has hung over the stadium for years now. The owners are not the problem however they do tend to be over loyal to failing managers. O'Neil has a decent enough squad of players of his own players even with the injuries to be playing far more entertaining and enterprising football than we are seeing, this malaise is down to one person and his predictable team selection and timid tactics. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2022 18:12:28 GMT
Debatably, I think the current era we’re in started during the summer before the relegation season begun. We had just finished 13th under Hughes but it was a highly fortunate finishing position IMO and the signs that we were trending downwards were so clear that they were like neon billboards in Times Square. Sparky’s spark had fizzled but the board stuck with their man and backed him to go out and sign the likes of wimmer for mega bucks.
The failure to replace Hughes over that summer was the catalyst for the clusterfuck that this era has become, and led to Peter Coates’ infamous “I don’t see what the fuss is about” line. I’m sure that the embarrassment of that moment greatly contributed to his decision to retreat into the shadows. It’s a gaffe so catastrophic that I suspect he’ll be cringing about it on his deathbed.
It’s now 5 years and counting of massive underachievement by the club relative to our expenditure. How long exactly do you need to wait before subjecting the board to intense scrutiny for the litany of failures of this era, whilst avoiding looking ungrateful for the relative success of the previous era? I genuinely don’t have a clue how to answer that, but 5 years is a long time to be consistently shit. If you’re fortunate enough to live to the UK average lifespan, that’s a good 6% of your entire life. And you could strongly argue that the last major decision they got correct and timed effectively (timing managerial changes is so important) was removing Pulis and employing Hughes 9 years ago…and the baffling thing is that, IMO, removing Pulis was a far more difficult decision than removing Hughes at the end of his 4th season; or removing MON at the end of last season.
In the time since relegation we’ve come far closer to another relegation than we have to mounting a playoff challenge. It’s incredibly frustrating when you see the plethora of clubs who get relegated and challenge. Even the likes of Luton/Barnsley have made the playoffs in that time. As far as I can remember, the last club who got relegated from the premiership and then did worse than we’ve done was Sunderland. They suffered consecutive relegations and struggled in league one for many seasons, but now they’re back and, despite being incredibly limited, I expect they’ll finish above us this year and be far better placed to challenge for the playoffs before we do. The same for Hull who have been down to league one and now look to be on an upward trajectory. I even look at league one and suspect some clubs in there will be pushing towards the premiership before we do. It’s incredibly frustrating.
The great catch 22 with these owners is that, despite an era of failure, the idea of being cut loose from their safety blanket and being bought up by some as yet unknown entity is incredibly terrifying. For every success story there are horror shows. It seems an incredible gamble with the club’s existence and one I’m not yet willing to entertain.
But it’s completely appropriate at this point in time to scrutinise the family’s ownership given the apparent disconnect between what we are witnessing on the pitch week in week out, and their (now habitual) failure to react to what we can can all see. The product under MON has been abject for almost 2 years now; save for the false dawn that was the start of last season before the winter malaise set in. The signs of progression simply aren’t there and, if anything, regression seems more apparent.
The loyalty that the family show towards managers gets held up as their most virtuous trait, and I do think it’s understandable. They clearly have a good personal relationship with MON and are desperate for him to succeed. They also see aspects behind the scenes that we can never know. And it’s not insignificant that, when it comes to finding new managers, their loyalty will act as a strong selling point to potential candidates as opposed to a club like Watford.
But their loyalty is their weakness too. Being overly loyal to the manager has become an unintended act of cruelty; not just to this long suffering fan base, but to MON himself. The guy was a beaten man towards the end of last season and THAT was the moment for an amicable parting of ways. It saddens me to see how this season is shaping up because the crowd is turning and the manager has started sniping in the media. I hope it turns around but I suspect we’re heading for a complete poisoning of relations before this board is shocked into action.
It’s not fair on MON and, far more importantly given we’re not being compensated 7 figures for our misery, it’s not fair on us. And if it happens then the board will be entirely culpable for presiding over a highly avoidable disaster. I hope to god it doesn’t come to that because we’ve had more toxicity in recent times than many clubs endure in a lifetime. But make no mistake; we’re seriously close to reaching breaking point and the next 5 games or so has become a tightrope act with baying lions in the pit below. If we all have to suffer this nightmare then it’ll move me a little closer to being mentally prepared to abandon the Coates’ family’s warm, bank note filled bosom, and a touch more open to the idea of playing the round of russian roulette that new ownership would entail.
|
|
|
|
Post by gawa on Aug 22, 2022 18:29:06 GMT
All of the best for the future mate. If you're looking a new team to follow, you can always adopt the might crusaders FC.
|
|
|
|
Post by lordb on Aug 22, 2022 18:31:20 GMT
I’ve been a Season Ticket holder since 1974. I have not missed a home game since. I don’t think in any of that time have I been as depressed about the team, and the way we play, or in the way the club is currently run. I went through the relegation in the mid 70’s, the holocaust season, the Mills, Ball Kamara era, and the way we play now is worse than all these. I’ve been there in the good times too, the Waddington years, the Premier League years and the FA Cup final. I just can’t see any way out of the mess we are in at the moments because of the way the club is run, and I fear that it is almost certain with every game that O’Neill is in charge that we are heading fast to League one. The point of this post is the question is, is it only me who feels let down by the Coates family? Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the Premier League years, and the FA Cup final. I loved beating Arsenal at our place, and upsetting most of the big boys. I even loved that most people outside our club hated us. Now, praise (heaps) of it to the family for that, but am I the only one, who thinks that despite that, they equally deserve to be criticised for the way the club is now run. They are in charge, and pick the bad managers, and staff (Scholes), and they are the only one’s who can do something about the current manager, but they continue to carry on as we are, and we go from one bad spell to another. There is a saying, that the football club belongs to the fans, they are custodians, but without doubt, if the family were not there, it could be a lot worse. But I can’t help feeling it could be a lot better as well. My conclusion is, that The family, do not share my ambition for the club. I want to be looking forward to going, getting the stadium rocking again, and having a real go at getting back to the Prem, where I, as a fan, think we should be. My club should be in the Premier League. I just can’t help thinking the family don’t want that, like I do, or why the hell would this manager still be in a job here? At then end of this season, that’s me done, I’m finished, and for all the wonderful things they have done for the City and the club, I can’t help but feel very badly let down by them. I'm depressed re Stoke atm too but your second and third paragraphs are nonsense |
|
|
|
Post by fentonstokie1 on Aug 22, 2022 18:33:37 GMT
It's not fair on MON, he's been handsomely rewarded, it's the the fans I care about.
I can't fathom how when he arrived he managed to win games with a degree of style keeping us up with a failing squad. Then with his feet comfortably under the table he proceeds to almost consistently churn out negative, passive pub football. This man is going to put us in serious peril of the drop, the board need to be decisive.
|
|
|
|
Post by Boothen on Aug 22, 2022 19:17:37 GMT
Should change the thread title to 'The Coates Family' so they know it's about them when they peruse the board.
|
|
|
|
Post by sheds1862 on Aug 22, 2022 21:12:02 GMT
Holocaust season. Dear me. Awful terminology for a football season. 😮
|
|
|
|
Post by Sfance on Aug 22, 2022 21:28:35 GMT
Loyalty, loyalty, schmoyalty
|
|
|
|
Post by bertjones on Aug 22, 2022 23:07:36 GMT
Debatably, I think the current era we’re in started during the summer before the relegation season begun. We had just finished 13th under Hughes but it was a highly fortunate finishing position IMO and the signs that we were trending downwards were so clear that they were like neon billboards in Times Square. Sparky’s spark had fizzled but the board stuck with their man and backed him to go out and sign the likes of wimmer for mega bucks. The failure to replace Hughes over that summer was the catalyst for the clusterfuck that this era has become, and led to Peter Coates’ infamous “I don’t see what the fuss is about” line. I’m sure that the embarrassment of that moment greatly contributed to his decision to retreat into the shadows. It’s a gaffe so catastrophic that I suspect he’ll be cringing about it on his deathbed. It’s now 5 years and counting of massive underachievement by the club relative to our expenditure. How long exactly do you need to wait before subjecting the board to intense scrutiny for the litany of failures of this era, whilst avoiding looking ungrateful for the relative success of the previous era? I genuinely don’t have a clue how to answer that, but 5 years is a long time to be consistently shit. If you’re fortunate enough to live to the UK average lifespan, that’s a good 6% of your entire life. And you could strongly argue that the last major decision they got correct and timed effectively (timing managerial changes is so important) was removing Pulis and employing Hughes 9 years ago…and the baffling thing is that, IMO, removing Pulis was a far more difficult decision than removing Hughes at the end of his 4th season; or removing MON at the end of last season. In the time since relegation we’ve come far closer to another relegation than we have to mounting a playoff challenge. It’s incredibly frustrating when you see the plethora of clubs who get relegated and challenge. Even the likes of Luton/Barnsley have made the playoffs in that time. As far as I can remember, the last club who got relegated from the premiership and then did worse than we’ve done was Sunderland. They suffered consecutive relegations and struggled in league one for many seasons, but now they’re back and, despite being incredibly limited, I expect they’ll finish above us this year and be far better placed to challenge for the playoffs before we do. The same for Hull who have been down to league one and now look to be on an upward trajectory. I even look at league one and suspect some clubs in there will be pushing towards the premiership before we do. It’s incredibly frustrating. The great catch 22 with these owners is that, despite an era of failure, the idea of being cut loose from their safety blanket and being bought up by some as yet unknown entity is incredibly terrifying. For every success story there are horror shows. It seems an incredible gamble with the club’s existence and one I’m not yet willing to entertain. But it’s completely appropriate at this point in time to scrutinise the family’s ownership given the apparent disconnect between what we are witnessing on the pitch week in week out, and their (now habitual) failure to react to what we can can all see. The product under MON has been abject for almost 2 years now; save for the false dawn that was the start of last season before the winter malaise set in. The signs of progression simply aren’t there and, if anything, regression seems more apparent. The loyalty that the family show towards managers gets held up as their most virtuous trait, and I do think it’s understandable. They clearly have a good personal relationship with MON and are desperate for him to succeed. They also see aspects behind the scenes that we can never know. And it’s not insignificant that, when it comes to finding new managers, their loyalty will act as a strong selling point to potential candidates as opposed to a club like Watford. But their loyalty is their weakness too. Being overly loyal to the manager has become an unintended act of cruelty; not just to this long suffering fan base, but to MON himself. The guy was a beaten man towards the end of last season and THAT was the moment for an amicable parting of ways. It saddens me to see how this season is shaping up because the crowd is turning and the manager has started sniping in the media. I hope it turns around but I suspect we’re heading for a complete poisoning of relations before this board is shocked into action. It’s not fair on MON and, far more importantly given we’re not being compensated 7 figures for our misery, it’s not fair on us. And if it happens then the board will be entirely culpable for presiding over a highly avoidable disaster. I hope to god it doesn’t come to that because we’ve had more toxicity in recent times than many clubs endure in a lifetime. But make no mistake; we’re seriously close to reaching breaking point and the next 5 games or so has become a tightrope act with baying lions in the pit below. If we all have to suffer this nightmare then it’ll move me a little closer to being mentally prepared to abandon the Coates’ family’s warm, bank note filled bosom, and a touch more open to the idea of playing the round of russian roulette that new ownership would entail. I agree with everything you say. If we get relegated to League One, as far as I'm concerned, it will be neglect of duty by the family to our wonderful club and fans. |
|
|
|
Post by bertjones on Aug 22, 2022 23:08:17 GMT
Should change the thread title to 'The Coates Family' so they know it's about them when they peruse the board. Done. |
|
|
|
Post by march4 on Aug 22, 2022 23:10:37 GMT
If we manage to sign Clarke permanently, it is another reason to say thank you to the family. They really are doing everything to support the manager.
|
|
|
|
Post by rivival on Aug 23, 2022 1:31:04 GMT
For me it's just a case where the fans , me included think we belong in the prem. I don't think the Coates Family quite see it like we do .
They would like the prem for sure but work to a budget and that includes the manager. So they are business people and we are gung ho fans who would sell our mothers for a place in the promised land.
It's hard to accept I know as we now realise how spoiled we were in the Waddington years and indeed under Pulis and Hughes. Those times may yet come again but I'm not holding my breath. I've just accepted that we are now a very average club with low ambition.
I think we could have put a lot more effort into cup runs as we clearly have no ambition for promotion. MON asks for time and patience, but a team aiming for promotion should have been built and playing together months before the season started not arriving like late returning stragglers who hardly know each other. You can't win promotion if your team only starts playing half way though the season. You need to be ready to go on day one.
After the years of waiting to return to the top league it was unforgivable how cheaply we let our place go while clubs of smaller size and lesser stature took our place. I'll never forget the abject surrenders as long as I live. I think the whole City was ashamed of them.
Things might get worse yet. That won't stop you supporting Stoke though, it just makes you a disgruntled fan instead of a happy fan.
After all you are born a Stokie and an England fan you don't get to choose. The hard days make the good days that much sweeter, that much more special. Let's hope those days are not too far away.
|
|
|
|
Post by werrington on Aug 23, 2022 4:59:29 GMT
They’ve just written off £120m, kept season ticket prices capped for 15 years, free travel to away games and they’ve backed every manager with finances every single window and but for FFP would still probably be investing millions into the team
They can be criticised for many things like dallying with a manager but fuck me if you think there’s a knight in shining armour awaiting buying Stoke City Football Club and invest billions then you live in fantasy land
I’d sooner have a Stoke City as it is rather than having a Russian roulette owner who once they are bored with it they shaft it like we see right across the football pyramid
Who knows they might read shit like this and think “ you know what fuck em, we’re off” ….then what?
The premiership has killed our support and I often wished we’d never got there
|
|
|
|
Post by thevoid on Aug 23, 2022 6:43:13 GMT
They’ve just written off £120m, kept season ticket prices capped for 15 years, free travel to away games and they’ve backed every manager with finances every single window and but for FFP would still probably be investing millions into the team They can be criticised for many things like dallying with a manager but fuck me if you think there’s a knight in shining armour awaiting buying Stoke City Football Club and invest billions then you live in fantasy land I’d sooner have a Stoke City as it is rather than having a Russian roulette owner who once they are bored with it they shaft it like we see right across the football pyramid Who knows they might read shit like this and think “ you know what fuck em, we’re off” ….then what? The premiership has killed our support and I often wished we’d never got there It's not necessarily about chucking millions about though. It's about having a plan, moving with the times and not being so archaic and narrow minded- look at Brentford. And free coach travel is a nice touch, but I think most people would rather pay for it and have a better run club to go and watch. |
|
|
|
Post by The Toxic Avenger on Aug 23, 2022 6:47:11 GMT
I don’t think they can be accused of a lack of ambition or not caring. I think they’re trying to do the best they can. They’ve again provided as much backing as they possibly could for the manager.
Unfortunately they’re light years behind the times and don’t have the imagination or nous of a number of our peers, who seem to be overtaking us in increasing numbers.
|
|
|
|
Post by theonlooker on Aug 23, 2022 6:54:06 GMT
They also haven't frozen Season Tickets across the board either. If you are 'fortunate' enough to sit in what was decided to be a 'Premium Seat' you actually have had a 50 quid increase where others have been frozen.
I used to pay 349 for mine on the halfway line but now pay 399 after they were increased when we were in the PL.
To be honest though, freezing prices doesn't go far enough, especially given the lack of progress on the pitch and also the impending financial crisis facing families. Some clubs in the North West and also the Midlands offer cheaper seats than we do at present both in terms of STs and matchday prices.
|
|
|
|
Post by nottsover60 on Aug 23, 2022 7:01:44 GMT
Debatably, I think the current era we’re in started during the summer before the relegation season begun. We had just finished 13th under Hughes but it was a highly fortunate finishing position IMO and the signs that we were trending downwards were so clear that they were like neon billboards in Times Square. Sparky’s spark had fizzled but the board stuck with their man and backed him to go out and sign the likes of wimmer for mega bucks. The failure to replace Hughes over that summer was the catalyst for the clusterfuck that this era has become, and led to Peter Coates’ infamous “I don’t see what the fuss is about” line. I’m sure that the embarrassment of that moment greatly contributed to his decision to retreat into the shadows. It’s a gaffe so catastrophic that I suspect he’ll be cringing about it on his deathbed. It’s now 5 years and counting of massive underachievement by the club relative to our expenditure. How long exactly do you need to wait before subjecting the board to intense scrutiny for the litany of failures of this era, whilst avoiding looking ungrateful for the relative success of the previous era? I genuinely don’t have a clue how to answer that, but 5 years is a long time to be consistently shit. If you’re fortunate enough to live to the UK average lifespan, that’s a good 6% of your entire life. And you could strongly argue that the last major decision they got correct and timed effectively (timing managerial changes is so important) was removing Pulis and employing Hughes 9 years ago…and the baffling thing is that, IMO, removing Pulis was a far more difficult decision than removing Hughes at the end of his 4th season; or removing MON at the end of last season. In the time since relegation we’ve come far closer to another relegation than we have to mounting a playoff challenge. It’s incredibly frustrating when you see the plethora of clubs who get relegated and challenge. Even the likes of Luton/Barnsley have made the playoffs in that time. As far as I can remember, the last club who got relegated from the premiership and then did worse than we’ve done was Sunderland. They suffered consecutive relegations and struggled in league one for many seasons, but now they’re back and, despite being incredibly limited, I expect they’ll finish above us this year and be far better placed to challenge for the playoffs before we do. The same for Hull who have been down to league one and now look to be on an upward trajectory. I even look at league one and suspect some clubs in there will be pushing towards the premiership before we do. It’s incredibly frustrating. The great catch 22 with these owners is that, despite an era of failure, the idea of being cut loose from their safety blanket and being bought up by some as yet unknown entity is incredibly terrifying. For every success story there are horror shows. It seems an incredible gamble with the club’s existence and one I’m not yet willing to entertain. But it’s completely appropriate at this point in time to scrutinise the family’s ownership given the apparent disconnect between what we are witnessing on the pitch week in week out, and their (now habitual) failure to react to what we can can all see. The product under MON has been abject for almost 2 years now; save for the false dawn that was the start of last season before the winter malaise set in. The signs of progression simply aren’t there and, if anything, regression seems more apparent. The loyalty that the family show towards managers gets held up as their most virtuous trait, and I do think it’s understandable. They clearly have a good personal relationship with MON and are desperate for him to succeed. They also see aspects behind the scenes that we can never know. And it’s not insignificant that, when it comes to finding new managers, their loyalty will act as a strong selling point to potential candidates as opposed to a club like Watford. But their loyalty is their weakness too. Being overly loyal to the manager has become an unintended act of cruelty; not just to this long suffering fan base, but to MON himself. The guy was a beaten man towards the end of last season and THAT was the moment for an amicable parting of ways. It saddens me to see how this season is shaping up because the crowd is turning and the manager has started sniping in the media. I hope it turns around but I suspect we’re heading for a complete poisoning of relations before this board is shocked into action. It’s not fair on MON and, far more importantly given we’re not being compensated 7 figures for our misery, it’s not fair on us. And if it happens then the board will be entirely culpable for presiding over a highly avoidable disaster. I hope to god it doesn’t come to that because we’ve had more toxicity in recent times than many clubs endure in a lifetime. But make no mistake; we’re seriously close to reaching breaking point and the next 5 games or so has become a tightrope act with baying lions in the pit below. If we all have to suffer this nightmare then it’ll move me a little closer to being mentally prepared to abandon the Coates’ family’s warm, bank note filled bosom, and a touch more open to the idea of playing the round of russian roulette that new ownership would entail. Arguably us and Sunderland (I was surprised to see they only got relegated the season before us) were relegated at the worst time, just after the Championship sold TV rights for a pittance while the Premier TV money went through the roof, the increase coming in the season after we got relegated. Now the team who finish bottom of the Premier receive more TV money than the entire Football League (I think it is, could be just the Championship). That has been a big game changer with FFP and in my opinion means that the 3 clubs coming down are for the foreseeable future always going to be the most likely to go up. Forest did well to get up but look at the money they have spent this summer to try to ensure they stay there. They couldn't spend a penny of that money hardly in the Championship despite having very rich owners. They know now though that their losses will be more than covered by the money they receive from Sky and they will comfortably abide within Premier FFP boundaries. If they come down then wages will be a problem but they have decided it a risk worth taking. Not only have they spent on transfers they have also submitted plans for a huge redevelopment of the ground. In my opinion they were fortunate to go up and only every so often will a club who haven't recently been in the Premier get promoted like they did as the spending power of owners in the Championship is so restricted. The gap between the top two divisions gets wider and wider with every season so clubs coming down get stronger and stronger. Soon it will become an unbridgable gulf. |
|
|
|
Post by werrington on Aug 23, 2022 7:01:58 GMT
They’ve just written off £120m, kept season ticket prices capped for 15 years, free travel to away games and they’ve backed every manager with finances every single window and but for FFP would still probably be investing millions into the team They can be criticised for many things like dallying with a manager but fuck me if you think there’s a knight in shining armour awaiting buying Stoke City Football Club and invest billions then you live in fantasy land I’d sooner have a Stoke City as it is rather than having a Russian roulette owner who once they are bored with it they shaft it like we see right across the football pyramid Who knows they might read shit like this and think “ you know what fuck em, we’re off” ….then what? The premiership has killed our support and I often wished we’d never got there It's not necessarily about chucking millions about though. It's about having a plan, moving with the times and not being so archaic and narrow minded- look at Brentford. And free coach travel is a nice touch, but I think most people would rather pay for it and have a better run club to go and watch. Of course they’ve got a plan thry aren’t stupid it’s just many don’t see it because of how things are on the pitch The plan probably goes like ( rightly or wrongly ) back the manager and invest the best way they can ( which they have ) in playing staff It will also make sure the club is stable financially and Stoke City continues to be so Of course a plan is only a plan if you agree with it but to say there’s no plan is bizarre mate |
|
|
|
Post by bayernoatcake on Aug 23, 2022 7:09:49 GMT
It's not necessarily about chucking millions about though. It's about having a plan, moving with the times and not being so archaic and narrow minded- look at Brentford. And free coach travel is a nice touch, but I think most people would rather pay for it and have a better run club to go and watch. Of course they’ve got a plan thry aren’t stupid it’s just many don’t see it because of how things are on the pitch The plan probably goes like ( rightly or wrongly ) back the manager and invest the best way they can ( which they have ) in playing staff It will also make sure the club is stable financially and Stoke City continues to be so Of course a plan is only a plan if you agree with it but to say there’s no plan is bizarre mate Is letting the manager do what he wants a plan? I mean technically it is but it’s a very very very weak and vague one and it seems like it’s what the plan is. It’s lazy. Which sums their last 6/7 years up here. |
|
