ElstreeBlue
Coach
A lot of fans feel very depressed about what's been going on at our club recently, but can things get any worse?
I'm afraid the answer is yes.
The one great thing we still have at this club right now is Tilly & Brush. They've proved what they can do on a tight (but reasonable) budget and in every season so far (including this) they've achieved something spectacular in the circumstances that they faced.
They may have made mistakes with the way they spent the money when they were given more than the club could afford to spend. That sort of spending proved to be a gamble (but by the board, not T&B - who were simply given licence to spend a budget) and there was also not enough forward thinking by the board for likely relegation from the Championship, resulting in the ridiculous losses that have brought the club to its knees.
I also don't agree with everything T&B do, but who's to say they're perfect or that I'm right? Their record as a management team is incredible.
My concern, though, is how much more T&B can bear? They have worked miracles this season for the club not to be in the bottom four. Yet. However, even their amazing level-headedness that has been the source of so much good (things are never quite as bad as we fans may think when we're on a bad run, and never as good as we think when we're winning) seems to be dropping. They seem to be losing their calmness and positivity. It makes me wonder: just how much more of this can they take? Are they at wits end? Many other management teams would surely have resigned long ago. Presumably, it's only because they love the club so much that they haven't thrown in the towel, yet? But how much more can they bear?
There are people who could come in and save the club financially.
But how easy would it be to replace T&B? We've seen in the past that to find a really good management team who are loyal enough to stick around (and also whose media performances do not do themselves justice and so mean there are fewer jobs on offer for them than they deserve) are few and far between. Tilly & Brush are not the only possible good management team we could have, but they're surely the best long-term one. If they go, how easy would it be to replace them with at least as good a long-term replacement?
I hope that one of the following happens very quickly - before it's too late:
1 Ron Martin gets money from somewhere so he can continue to go it alone, get things back on track, and make it absolutely clear in a legally binding way for how the club will benefit long-term and have a great sustainable future at FF. I suspect the chances of this happening are slim based on evidence so far and the continuing lack of bank lending, but we can hope this is still a genuine option.
2 Ron Martin brings on board other wealthy businessmen who have the club's interest at heart, and achieve 1 above, but with Ron Martin getting a smaller slice of the cake than if he achieves 1 by himself.
3 Ron Martin realises he can't achieve his dream, he's going to end up dragging the club to its knees, and his legacy will not be some sort of hero but the man who destroyed our club. And consequently, he decides he's had enough and sells up to the consortium or some other person/group who have the club's interests at heart AND can ensure that the new stadium dream is realised, so that Ron Martin has a way out of the situation and the club can go forward.
It seems that 2 or 3 would be the best options for the club (as long as the people coming on board have the club's best long-term interests at heart, or at least no less than whatever RM has planned for the club at FF). They are still viable. But it's all down to one man to decide.
Otherwise, my biggest concern is that T&B could call it a day, we could be relegated and we'd be in worse position (because of the worse finances) than the dreadful position the club was in on the field before T&B took over. (And how viable would a decent sized stadium be for a club in that state?) If that scenario happened, it wouldn't take long for the fans to really turn nasty (I find it remarkable how much people have held back so far). A poor relationship with the fans would surely not help the club to achieve its goals.
So the answer as I see it: things could get better. But it's all down to Ron Martin to choose something that would work best for both him and the club. Otherwise, things could still get a lot worse for both him and the club unless he acts quickly. Lose T&B and that could escalate the club's downfall and they'd be very hard to replace.
It's not too late. Yet.
I'm afraid the answer is yes.
The one great thing we still have at this club right now is Tilly & Brush. They've proved what they can do on a tight (but reasonable) budget and in every season so far (including this) they've achieved something spectacular in the circumstances that they faced.
They may have made mistakes with the way they spent the money when they were given more than the club could afford to spend. That sort of spending proved to be a gamble (but by the board, not T&B - who were simply given licence to spend a budget) and there was also not enough forward thinking by the board for likely relegation from the Championship, resulting in the ridiculous losses that have brought the club to its knees.
I also don't agree with everything T&B do, but who's to say they're perfect or that I'm right? Their record as a management team is incredible.
My concern, though, is how much more T&B can bear? They have worked miracles this season for the club not to be in the bottom four. Yet. However, even their amazing level-headedness that has been the source of so much good (things are never quite as bad as we fans may think when we're on a bad run, and never as good as we think when we're winning) seems to be dropping. They seem to be losing their calmness and positivity. It makes me wonder: just how much more of this can they take? Are they at wits end? Many other management teams would surely have resigned long ago. Presumably, it's only because they love the club so much that they haven't thrown in the towel, yet? But how much more can they bear?
There are people who could come in and save the club financially.
But how easy would it be to replace T&B? We've seen in the past that to find a really good management team who are loyal enough to stick around (and also whose media performances do not do themselves justice and so mean there are fewer jobs on offer for them than they deserve) are few and far between. Tilly & Brush are not the only possible good management team we could have, but they're surely the best long-term one. If they go, how easy would it be to replace them with at least as good a long-term replacement?
I hope that one of the following happens very quickly - before it's too late:
1 Ron Martin gets money from somewhere so he can continue to go it alone, get things back on track, and make it absolutely clear in a legally binding way for how the club will benefit long-term and have a great sustainable future at FF. I suspect the chances of this happening are slim based on evidence so far and the continuing lack of bank lending, but we can hope this is still a genuine option.
2 Ron Martin brings on board other wealthy businessmen who have the club's interest at heart, and achieve 1 above, but with Ron Martin getting a smaller slice of the cake than if he achieves 1 by himself.
3 Ron Martin realises he can't achieve his dream, he's going to end up dragging the club to its knees, and his legacy will not be some sort of hero but the man who destroyed our club. And consequently, he decides he's had enough and sells up to the consortium or some other person/group who have the club's interests at heart AND can ensure that the new stadium dream is realised, so that Ron Martin has a way out of the situation and the club can go forward.
It seems that 2 or 3 would be the best options for the club (as long as the people coming on board have the club's best long-term interests at heart, or at least no less than whatever RM has planned for the club at FF). They are still viable. But it's all down to one man to decide.
Otherwise, my biggest concern is that T&B could call it a day, we could be relegated and we'd be in worse position (because of the worse finances) than the dreadful position the club was in on the field before T&B took over. (And how viable would a decent sized stadium be for a club in that state?) If that scenario happened, it wouldn't take long for the fans to really turn nasty (I find it remarkable how much people have held back so far). A poor relationship with the fans would surely not help the club to achieve its goals.
So the answer as I see it: things could get better. But it's all down to Ron Martin to choose something that would work best for both him and the club. Otherwise, things could still get a lot worse for both him and the club unless he acts quickly. Lose T&B and that could escalate the club's downfall and they'd be very hard to replace.
It's not too late. Yet.
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