Not a new discussion.
I have taken the liberty of copying
@Grapevine49s erudite and brilliant post in the Sheff Utd protests thread and repeat it here so that it might be found more easily when:
a) Duchatelet sells up
or
b) Karl Robinson resigns or is sacked.
whichever is the earlier.
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The basis for the protests has not changed since the day they started.
Unlike those vacillating supporters who appear to latch onto every new Head Coach and Manager appointment as a clean slate and the start of a new dawn there are those who look beyond the veneer to realise the underlying infrastructure is incapable of supporting anything beyond a series of stop gap solutions.
For those tired of the protests please recognise there are those who have long tired of the feeble attempts of this regime to run a football club. You will not see them. They have long since walked away. If you think this is in the best interest of the club then it is an opinion with which I will have to differ.
I try not to post too often because I have in reality written most of it all before but I will focus on one aspect. It is not a difficult aspect. It is one most of us face through most of our working lives.
When are people going to recognise it makes little difference as to who you employ if you refuse to empower them to do THEIR JOB without interference from sundry noises off let alone, in our case, the eccentric musings of a remote investor.
The role of a Chief Executive is to provide meaningful support to their management team AT ALL TIMES - NOT CUT AND RUN AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY. The role of the CEO is to facilitate the right environment for their management and employees to deliver to their business.
It simply does not happen in SE7. There is no magic trick here. It is about putting the right people in the right place and letting them get on with the job they are being paid to do. Mess with that and your undermine your own management.
It has been a key factor in every Head Coach and Manager being faced with rumours of "losing the dressing room". The quickest way for that to happen is when senior players wait patiently for things to happen to improve the squad or secure additional resources .....and nothing happens. It turns the Manager into a lame duck.
It is why the club structure is fundamentally flawed. Managers are being held accountable without the authority to act. The executive who hold the authority to act refuse to be accountable for anything.
The results speak for themselves.
- Powell was foisted with 6 Liege rejects
- Riga Part 1 was supported with 2 low key emergency loans
- Peeters, who bought into the youth development culture "big time" was forced to play Pope for too long when Henderson was injured and desperately needed a foil to take the weight off Vetokele. Neither was forthcoming. The wheels came off.
- Luzon was then allowed to draft in a few additional resources to close out that season. Yet the next season saw him patiently waiting for 3 new faces at the close of the August transfer window.He was left waiting for the rest of his tenure
- Fraeye, no matter his personal demeanour, professionally was a collective "brainfart"
- Riga Part 2 was given a plethora of aged unfit veterans/ loans who took weeks to get fit
- Slade, who started late, was still trying to build his squad at the close of this seasons' transfer window a mere 12 weeks ago. 12 weeks with a squad bereft of any midfield mobility and he is out of the door
Does anyone really think the above scenarios paint a supportive and constructive environment?
I fully understand running a football club is not easy but if you do not understand the fundamental dynamics of the business you literally have "no business being there"
So at any given point the team may be able to put together a decent run of results but without stability, without a long term sustainable strategy it will only deliver a stop - start dynamic. As structured the whole infrastructure is subject to the vagaries of a squad which is always going to be bereft of the balance and depth required.
There is a crucial difference in allowing a coach to bring in the players he wants to complement the squad he has and being given the power of veto over a succession of players the likes of Driessen choose for his consideration. His ability to deliver to his remit is capped by the ability of the scouting system to provide him with the options he needs.
Do you seriously think if 5000 supporters could recognise the glaring weakness in our midfield a professional of 20yrs standing could not?
People keep harping on about all of these issues being in the past "so move on" but the likes of Driessen are still on the payroll. We know not how many other secret " advisors" are in and around the club.
The club literally hours before appointing a new manager chose in isolation to appoint another coach for some indeterminate purpose. So we now potentially have Robinson, Barker, Nugent, Clark and O'Loughlin all involved with the first team. Does that sound like a coordinated and cohesive coaching plan?
I have no problem with Robinson. I had little problem, Fraeye apart, with most of the above but they simply were not allowed to do the job they were recruited to do.
On what basis do people think Robinson will be treated any differently? It is hope over substance.
The regime is simply not fit for purpose - nothing has changed.
