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Post by bluboy79 on Jan 20, 2018 23:47:16 GMT
Since MM has been employed we have collapsed as a club on and off the field, crowds have dropped to shocking levels and we appear to heading into the abyss financially ! His spells at Hull and Stockport coincided with major financial problems and he left both under a cloud, did we do any due diligence when employing him ? All our previous sensible budgeting appears to have gone out of the window.......why ? who made this decision ? MM doesn't care about our club like us fan do, if we go bust he will just move elsewhere, its time he was removed along with Tony Allen( a real stick 2 fingers up to us appointment !). I fear we may drop as low as Evostik again if we manage to get through next season financially, everything that can go wrong is going wrong but it can be rescued ! Next season needs a return to part time status with more local based players is needed not mercenaries from miles away, if need be play some of our youth lads they have done well despite getting very little opportunities. Somehow we have to bring the fans back very tricky I know, but we need as many as possible to return. A push to bring back the community feel is needed again as we've lost that part of the club, if at all possible we need some of the early board members to return and steady the ship !
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Post by devaboyreturns on Jan 21, 2018 7:04:46 GMT
You make a number of valid suggestions. I agree that the Club needs to prepare NOW for the Conference North and make immediate changes on and off the field to safe guard the Club. What I would give to watch players like Horan, Wilde etc again!!! Players that always gave their absolute everything when playing for the Club. Apart from the young lads, Crawford, Jones, Brown and maybe Archer, the rest can go.
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Post by Rio Doherty on Jan 21, 2018 7:43:01 GMT
The South stand wasn’t even open for the children yesterday, yet we’ve been told that it’s open for every home game (bar Tranmere) until the end of the season. We could’ve at least opened it, even if it is 150 people per game. At least they would spark the players to get motivated a bit more as it’s not a good sight to see the South stand empty every single match.
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Post by billyw on Jan 21, 2018 8:15:15 GMT
Since MM has been employed we have collapsed as a club on and off the field, crowds have dropped to shocking levels and we appear to heading into the abyss financially ! His spells at Hull and Stockport coincided with major financial problems and he left both under a cloud, did we do any due diligence when employing him ? . All our previous sensible budgeting appears to have gone out of the window.......why ? who made this decision ? MM doesn't care about our club like us fan do, if we go bust he will just move elsewhere, its time he was removed along with Tony Allen( a real stick 2 fingers up to us appointment !). I fear we may drop as low as Evostik again if we manage to get through next season financially, everything that can go wrong is going wrong but it can be rescued ! Next season needs a return to part time status with more local based players is needed not mercenaries from miles away, if need be play some of our youth lads they have done well despite getting very little opportunities. Somehow we have to bring the fans back very tricky I know, but we need as many as possible to return. A push to bring back the community feel is needed again as we've lost that part of the club, if at all possible we need some of the early board members to return and steady the ship ! I have always tried to give Maguire the benefit of the doubt but you are quite right. Apart frim the financial aspects, he was responsible for supporting McCarthy and allowing him to blow the budget and for appointing Bignot. Two huge mistakes which will cost us dear and he must go. In any event, how can we afford his £60k salary in the Clnference North?
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Jan 21, 2018 8:23:29 GMT
The question we have to ask is "is he bringing enough money in to justify his salary?" - is he meeting targets? What actually are the targets? Surely bringing in at least treble his wage would be paramount? If he isnt, then we can't justify his role in Conference North and he needs to go.
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Post by Charfield Blue on Jan 21, 2018 8:37:44 GMT
We've allowed a paid employee with no affiliation to the club, in the form of Mark Maguire, to become the focal point and figurehead of the club. It's been a huge mistake and one that we need to address and never replicate. I think Simon Olorehshaw's call to arms the other week was recognition of this mistake.
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Post by Hannibal on Jan 21, 2018 8:40:00 GMT
Does anyone know what kind of contract he is on? Whatever your feelings about him are he does seem to bring misfortune into clubs.
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Post by g1 on Jan 21, 2018 9:21:42 GMT
Hi this bears no relevance but I was at the cricket one day talking to this Stockport fan when dougal was appointed and he said cos I had a chester badge on mm is bad news he will ruin you exactly what the bloke said he's doing get rid now
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Post by franksalot on Jan 21, 2018 9:38:18 GMT
He's got to go and there's 60,000 reasons why !! As a club we can't afford him or the sway he appears to hold. Now I'm not for one minute equating him to SV but surely on track records the warning signs were there as with Vaughn on how disastrous things could go.
I'm definitely in the camp of if at all possible we need as many of the original board back , whether that be in the role they were in or as a mentor to aid someone else , some one new. As with all things it's finding new people who are willing , would I be interested, yes , likelihood.....?
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Post by gezzer on Jan 21, 2018 9:41:51 GMT
In reality we collapsed a long time before MM was even heard of. We bulldozed our way through the lower leagues as "Big Fish, Small Pond" signing anyone and everyone, not putting any structure in etc. Ever since we arrived into the NL we have struggled both on and off the field, people embracing the fact we had a couple of quid in an account, again not realising the reality. The writing really was on the wall with Chairman after Chairman resigning due to "personal reasons" instead of being honest about where the club really was at. On field we're no longer the big fish, don't have managers who attract the right players, because we've only got a couple of quid always go for the cheapest option, our lack of success makes it harder to get sponsors at the highest price, and the vicious circle continues. Its easy to blame JM,MM,CI,Chris Piercy or whoever but the reality is we were never set up to be a NL club in the early days and are now paying the price.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Jan 21, 2018 9:48:06 GMT
In reality we collapsed a long time before MM was even heard of. We bulldozed our way through the lower leagues as "Big Fish, Small Pond" signing anyone and everyone, not putting any structure in etc. Ever since we arrived into the NL we have struggled both on and off the field, people embracing the fact we had a couple of quid in an account, again not realising the reality. The writing really was on the wall with Chairman after Chairman resigning due to "personal reasons" instead of being honest about where the club really was at. On field we're no longer the big fish, don't have managers who attract the right players, because we've only got a couple of quid always go for the cheapest option, our lack of success makes it harder to get sponsors at the highest price, and the vicious circle continues. Its easy to blame JM,MM,CI,Chris Piercy or whoever but the reality is we were never set up to be a NL club in the early days and are now paying the price. Never a truer word spoken when we come down to the crux of it.
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Post by bethnalblue on Jan 21, 2018 9:56:30 GMT
In reality we collapsed a long time before MM was even heard of. We bulldozed our way through the lower leagues as "Big Fish, Small Pond" signing anyone and everyone, not putting any structure in etc. Ever since we arrived into the NL we have struggled both on and off the field, people embracing the fact we had a couple of quid in an account, again not realising the reality. The writing really was on the wall with Chairman after Chairman resigning due to "personal reasons" instead of being honest about where the club really was at. On field we're no longer the big fish, don't have managers who attract the right players, because we've only got a couple of quid always go for the cheapest option, our lack of success makes it harder to get sponsors at the highest price, and the vicious circle continues. Its easy to blame JM,MM,CI,Chris Piercy or whoever but the reality is we were never set up to be a NL club in the early days and are now paying the price. Ok so how should we of "set up to be a NL club in the early days"?
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Post by bonecrusher on Jan 21, 2018 9:59:19 GMT
I think he's just making the point that we progressed too quickly and the solid infrastructure needed for the NL was never established. If we do have any infrastructure, it's clearly crumbling now.
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Post by iandychesterfc on Jan 21, 2018 10:04:07 GMT
Wait until the meeting Thursday. Some will be delighted I’m sure
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Post by superman on Jan 21, 2018 10:07:48 GMT
On the subject of the appointment of Mark McGuire, was the appointment of a CEO not done under the leadership of Simon Ollorenshaw in order in recognition in part that no one one the board had enough time to devote to the continuous day to day management, commercial activity and leadership of the club due to their personal and professional commitments elsewhere.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Jan 21, 2018 10:08:20 GMT
I think he's just making the point that we progressed too quickly and the solid infrastructure needed for the NL was never established. If we do have any infrastructure, it's clearly crumbling now. Indeed, I keep saying we ran the 100m in world record time straight out of the womb and we are paying for it. But what's done is done. It's what happens from now on that we need to focus on.
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Post by bethnalblue on Jan 21, 2018 10:17:55 GMT
I think he's just making the point that we progressed too quickly and the solid infrastructure needed for the NL was never established. If we do have any infrastructure, it's clearly crumbling now. Again what is the solid infrastructure needed? A few people rolling out cliches without actually backing it up? Not saying I agree or disagree with it, but easy to say it, But what does it actually mean??
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Post by Matt on Jan 21, 2018 10:20:45 GMT
Wait until the meeting Thursday. Some will be delighted I’m sure MM stepping down?
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Post by iandychesterfc on Jan 21, 2018 10:31:27 GMT
If we’re going to be releasing players to save admin I can’t see how MM will remain
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Post by tarvinblue on Jan 21, 2018 10:37:22 GMT
I've had my doubts for a very long time. A leopard doesn't change its spots. MM is a good talker - that's why he's rolled out at every opportunity. He's capable of getting a few commercial deals over the line but beyond that he has played a large part in the shambles we find ourselves in. His advice to a very weak board has cost us a lot of money and as Mancot points out - what is the point in him bringing any sponsorship deals in if the cash is then used on paying for poor decisions he's advised. Clearly he has become the public face of what is a complete shambles off the field and ultimately the responsibility lies with the board. But anyone that thinks MM hasn't been behind much of what has gone wrong at that football club needs their heads testing. They will have just been taken in by his hypnotic tones.
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Post by gezzer on Jan 21, 2018 10:38:53 GMT
I think he's just making the point that we progressed too quickly and the solid infrastructure needed for the NL was never established. If we do have any infrastructure, it's clearly crumbling now. Again what is the solid infrastructure needed? A few people rolling out cliches without actually backing it up? Not saying I agree or disagree with it, but easy to say it, But what does it actually mean?? One point for me is fans as volunteers can only take the club so far, we had a 10 year plan to be back in the league as a professional club. Had we not wasted so much money in the early years we could have employed people onto the board with the right skill sets eg Commercial Manager (proper one) who would have laid the foundations for sustainable off field income streams so we wouldn't have been as reliant on fan income. This is just one example of many.
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Post by superman on Jan 21, 2018 10:51:44 GMT
If we don't have a CEO or equivalent then who is going to fill the void. No one on the current board appears to have the time, leadership skills, or skill set to take us forward sustainably. If MM has good commercial skills, and has met his targets (if he was given any) then perhaps a way forward would be to make the CEO role redundant but offer him a more specific but restricted role at a more affordable salary. Someone else would have to step up and take up the leadership responsibility. Is there anyone??
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Post by Rio The Ball Bag on Jan 21, 2018 10:56:37 GMT
If we’re going to be releasing players to save admin I can’t see how MM will remain So you're saying he's leaving? This will leave us with a completely spineless board.
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Post by Al on Jan 21, 2018 10:57:18 GMT
If we don't have a CEO or equivalent then who is going to fill the void. No one on the current board appears to have the time, leadership skills, or skill set to take us forward sustainably. If MM has good commercial skills, and has met his targets (if he was given any) then perhaps a way forward would be to make the CEO role redundant but offer him a more specific but restricted role at a more affordable salary. Someone else would have to step up and take up the leadership responsibility. Is there anyone?? A young and enthusiastic commercial manager instead of having one man running the show. Each board member responsible for their portfolios and each overseeing their "working groups" volunteers working on specific projects to achieve the goals set in the directors portfolio. As the saying goes, many hands make light work.
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Post by Oaks Blue on Jan 21, 2018 12:25:19 GMT
I think we need to be very careful in finding the balance between those trying to reframe the success of the Neil Young years in a negative light, with the current problem, which stripped back to the cold hard facts, is that for the last 12 months, the club has been mismanaged on every level. The club has been mismanaged from the very start, money stolen from the bar, price hikes for each promotion, 140 players through the revolving door in first 3.5 years, good volunteers forced out by previous boardmembers, a jobs for the boys attitude, distancing fans from officials, them and us. Shirt deal, no investment in money making projects off the field, blues bar versus legends lounge, the feel good factor of knowing the money invested by the fans was going to improve the club, tarnished by the wasting of the money in reality. No leadership on or off the pitch. I could go on, but these are all valid reasons why people have stayed away over the last few years.
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Post by rcb on Jan 21, 2018 15:22:22 GMT
The club was set up as a project for the residents of Chester, as a community club, and in the process, as a consequence of nostalgia, dragged a lot of fans of the deceased club along as well. Through the glory years (the first three years) the interest stayed, but the community side of things made little progress. I am not a resident of the city, and haven’t been since 1972, so have little or no interest in the community aspect. What I do know is that the residents of Chester have largely rejected the concept of the fan owned and amateur board model. Attendance figures show this fact. There is nothing positive in the club to attract patronage from further afield any more, and those previously attending for nostalgic reasons are becoming increasingly aware that it is not the old club reborn. There is an increasing, and unacceptable concept of a them and us attitude that has developed, with too many incapable people at board level and a well known failure at the helm who’s previous history shows him as a destructive megalomaniac. I hope Maguire can play football, because he sure as hell can’t run a football club. When the club were desperate for a decent and knowledgable manager they have chosen the last three men from beyond the northwest, with little or no local knowledge of either players or coaches. If the few fans that remain want a fan owned club then they can, I’m sure, have a successful club, but only not at this level, or indeed at the level below. I doubt any outsiders travel to the city to attend local community sports clubs so why should football be any different?
P.S. this is not a criticism of how the club was originally set up. At the time it was the correct thing to do, but with such a limited local interest it cannot be sustained at this level. Early success kept the numbers high, but the wasting of a rainy day fund has resulted in the current state of things. Some point this out as always being the case.
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Post by dmcnally on Jan 21, 2018 16:08:33 GMT
If we don't have a CEO or equivalent then who is going to fill the void. No one on the current board appears to have the time, leadership skills, or skill set to take us forward sustainably. If MM has good commercial skills, and has met his targets (if he was given any) then perhaps a way forward would be to make the CEO role redundant but offer him a more specific but restricted role at a more affordable salary. Someone else would have to step up and take up the leadership responsibility. Is there anyone?? A young and enthusiastic commercial manager instead of having one man running the show. Each board member responsible for their portfolios and each overseeing their "working groups" volunteers working on specific projects to achieve the goals set in the directors portfolio. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Maguire replaced a young commercial manager who ruined the commercial side of the club 😂
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Post by Al on Jan 21, 2018 16:13:37 GMT
Oh look here he is.
She was neither young nor enthusiastic. She had zero experience in commercial management, I believe her background was that she worked in a clothes shop as the store manager?
Please correct me if I am wrong.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Jan 21, 2018 17:19:18 GMT
A young and enthusiastic commercial manager instead of having one man running the show. Each board member responsible for their portfolios and each overseeing their "working groups" volunteers working on specific projects to achieve the goals set in the directors portfolio. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Maguire replaced a young commercial manager who ruined the commercial side of the club 😂 I admire your youthful enthusiasm but if the rumours are to be believed, it is going to be misplaced fairly soon.
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