The key in short was that the Board needed to buy themselves some time, and Powell would allow them to do that. This is a very different view from the one usually put forward to explain his appointment ie. "He's well-respected and loves the club, so let's give him a shot - he might just be the next Curbs"
. We are dealing with Machiavellian characters here, but not that Machiavellian.
And how would you know that? Ones a property tycoon and the others a Lawyer. I think you would find it hard to find a more Machiavellian couple of characters!
And how would you know that? Ones a property tycoon and the others a Lawyer. I think you would find it hard to find a more Machiavellian couple of characters!
I don't deny that thir bed time reading is likely to be Il Principe, but I mean exactly what I wrote - they didn't employ Powell to keep the seat warm for Gus Poyet or to keep us fans happy. If they had wanted a stooge then Dennis Wise would have done very nicely.
BFR, i think you have enough material for a competing blog :-)
I stand by my theory although there's no guarantee they can pull it off. In the meantime just because I question the real motives for hiring Powell doesn't mean he doesn't have an important role to play in the meantime.
Depends how you define terrific I guess - if Powell turns out to be an even better proposition to the person I have in mind then no. However there's precious little sign that he is.
Agreed, not at the moment but you are saying if he turns out good he will be kept on and the board are trying to buy good value players, the big story is who the funder is not their plans. And maybe as you have rightly said, it's best not to know if he doesn't want us to know.
I'd rather not get drawn into a whole debate of 'what ifs'. Rest assured that my original post was carefully considered over several weeks, and went through numerous iterations - I thus stand by every word I wrote there. However aware that it had engendered some debate here, I decided to make a few additional brief observations.
Chris Powell's role was actually a very minor part of my blog post and I'd prefer it wasn't the focus here. However as a final observation I'd note that the fact that it has become the focus highlights how fans are more sensitive to perceived slights on his reputation than they would be with a manager without his iconic status - this is basically my point, whether or not you agree with it (BFR clearly doesn't and eloquently explained why not).
Actually NYA, I think it's more that people are wanting to get behind the team from the off this year and, as interesting as all this stuff is, questioning the managers role in the overall scheme of things isn't really going to help.
But what do I know? As much as anyone else on here probably, but maybe a little bit more.
This has been one of the most absorbing threads I have had the pleasure of reading ! I congratulate & thank all who have contributed , not least the instigator himself. Were it a book, it would be a best seller without doubt.
I am ill equipped to comment on the business aspects of the "story" but have learned a little from the experts here. Fascinating stuff.
However, NYA entitled his piece " CAFC - The Movie".....and for me, the script has now been written. The Director and his production team are now in place. The lead roles have been filled .The supporting "players" are waiting in the wings to be summoned. And the cameras will roll on August 6th . That's when the work begins....
There is every reason to believe this could be a blockbuster. Time will tell if it's a thriller, a weepie or even a love story. I predict all 3 will be components of this epic.
But I like happy endings . And I am optimistic that all the hard work, the blood, sweat & tears that have been shed behind the scenes in the past few months to get us to this point in time will not be in vain. I believe that Chris Powell and HIS team will carry forward that work onto the pitch, taking this great Club of ours onwards & upward. I trust that then the fans will acknowledge the debt we owe to Messrs Slater, Jimenez and Varney for rebuilding the crumbling infastructure and putting us back on track when our future looked uncertain.
All we need now is to make sure we take our seats for the Premiere & make this a definite Box Office success.
This has been one of the most absorbing threads I have had the pleasure of reading ! I congratulate & thank all who have contributed , not least the instigator himself. Were it a book, it would be a best seller without doubt.
I am ill equipped to comment on the business aspects of the "story" but have learned a little from the experts here. Fascinating stuff.
However, NYA entitled his piece " CAFC - The Movie".....and for me, the script has now been written. The Director and his production team are now in place. The lead roles have been filled .The supporting "players" are waiting in the wings to be summoned. And the cameras will roll on August 6th . That's when the work begins....
There is every reason to believe this could be a blockbuster. Time will tell if it's a thriller, a weepie or even a love story. I predict all 3 will be components of this epic.
But I like happy endings . And I am optimistic that all the hard work, the blood, sweat & tears that have been shed behind the scenes in the past few months to get us to this point in time will not be in vain. I believe that Chris Powell and HIS team will carry forward that work onto the pitch, taking this great Club of ours onwards & upward. I trust that then the fans will acknowledge the debt we owe to Messrs Slater, Jimenez and Varney for rebuilding the crumbling infastructure and putting us back on track when our future looked uncertain.
All we need now is to make sure we take our seats for the Premiere & make this a definite Box Office success.
It's the Powell keeping the seat warm that bothers me , if that's the real plan then we are not on the road to recovery that I hoped we were, and like said above we have the chance this year to all push on together for once
the business plan is quite clearly about expertise in the scouting and academy side, not about huge investment, any incoming coach will know this.
What is most interesting in this era is what will happen if this doesn't work.
e.g. the bargain hunt doesn't seem to be going that well does it, and we aren't far off preseason
So when they discover they can't pick up bargains quite as easily as we thought even to build a League 1 team, what will happen to the plan? and how many years can they sustain the losses? Oh yeah also how long will Powell get..
PS I suspect they will have to splash some major cash this summer to plug the huge holes in our squad, if not we will be in serious do do, it's just too much of a mountain to climb with most our squad leaving, hope they realize before its too late.
Comments
And how would you know that? Ones a property tycoon and the others a Lawyer. I think you would find it hard to find a more Machiavellian couple of characters!
I don't deny that thir bed time reading is likely to be Il Principe, but I mean exactly what I wrote - they didn't employ Powell to keep the seat warm for Gus Poyet or to keep us fans happy. If they had wanted a stooge then Dennis Wise would have done very nicely.
I stand by my theory although there's no guarantee they can pull it off. In the meantime just because I question the real motives for hiring Powell doesn't mean he doesn't have an important role to play in the meantime.
Chris Powell's role was actually a very minor part of my blog post and I'd prefer it wasn't the focus here. However as a final observation I'd note that the fact that it has become the focus highlights how fans are more sensitive to perceived slights on his reputation than they would be with a manager without his iconic status - this is basically my point, whether or not you agree with it (BFR clearly doesn't and eloquently explained why not).
This has been one of the most absorbing threads I have had the pleasure of reading ! I congratulate & thank all who have contributed , not least the instigator himself. Were it a book, it would be a best seller without doubt.
I am ill equipped to comment on the business aspects of the "story" but have learned a little from the experts here. Fascinating stuff.
However, NYA entitled his piece " CAFC - The Movie".....and for me, the script has now been written. The Director and his production team are now in place. The lead roles have been filled .The supporting "players" are waiting in the wings to be summoned. And the cameras will roll on August 6th . That's when the work begins....
There is every reason to believe this could be a blockbuster. Time will tell if it's a thriller, a weepie or even a love story. I predict all 3 will be components of this epic.
But I like happy endings . And I am optimistic that all the hard work, the blood, sweat & tears that have been shed behind the scenes in the past few months to get us to this point in time will not be in vain. I believe that Chris Powell and HIS team will carry forward that work onto the pitch, taking this great Club of ours onwards & upward. I trust that then the fans will acknowledge the debt we owe to Messrs Slater, Jimenez and Varney for rebuilding the crumbling infastructure and putting us back on track when our future looked uncertain.
All we need now is to make sure we take our seats for the Premiere & make this a definite Box Office success.
I'll get the popcorn.....salty or sweet?
In formulating your script, did you have contact with anyone working within the club?