Gibson Breaks Silence On Admin Rumours
STEVE Gibson has broken his silence to tell the Evening Gazette that the Teesside tittle-tattle about the club going into administration are 'nonsense' spread by people who are 'no friends of the club'.
In an exclusive interview with Eric Paylor Gibson blasted the rumours and insisted his ambition remains as strong as ever - and that his investment is as big ever, although instead of money going on transfers it has been supporting a wage bill that makes Boro the 'best resourced club in the Championship'.
"But it is getting value for money for your wage bill," he said. "Until the return of Tony Mowbray we were not getting a return on the pitch from our wage bill."
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All very sensible from Steve Gibson. If you respond to rumours you give them credence. That's why dignified silence is usually the best response.
As to how they might have come about, pleading poverty is often a good way of making sure you don't pay inflated transfer fees. Compare and contrast with what happened when the Boro was known to be well funded.
While it would be nice to think there is a foreign sugar daddy out there who is willing to provide money for our football club with no thought of personal gain, I don't think we should count on it.
It's down to Steve Gibson and the rest of the supporters. Frankly, that's how I think it should be. I for one would hate it if Middlesbrough FC became a rich man's play-thing.
Good to see SG break the silence, it is well overdue.
The problem I have is that, although I really do want to believe what has been said, the last three or four years of being told things by SG that turn out to be a little different in reality around the time season cards are going on sale, does set some doubts in the mind!!!
Strange the silence is broken just as the details of next years season cards is released.
I sincerely hope this news is 100% correct, but with Mogga being quickly moved off the subject of finances at a recent fans forum by club offcials when he was being honest and open about the current situation, followed not too far behind by the Phil Brown incident - the saying "there is no smoke without fire" could spring to mind.
Sincerly hope I am way off the mark and just a little paranoid. Hope you AV, or someone else, will reply to prove me wrong and knock some sense into me!!!
**AV writes: It is easy to be cynical (we are all Teessiders after all) but the Gibson interview with the Gazette has come about at our request and after months of attempts to synchronise diaries.
We have wanted to do it since Strachan went but the chairman initially wanted to let the dust settle on that incident and let Mogga get established first, and then later he wanted to make sure we were safe (or otherwise) so as not to distract from the job at hand.
As far as I am aware there are no plans for him to talk to other news agencies (although if you were the Beeb you would be pushing very hard now.)
Steve Gibon surfaces, am I being cynical or is season card renewal time upon us?
C'Mon Boro!
Gibson only has himself to blame for the rumours. When we discovered we couldn't even afford the wages of a loanee in January, it brought home, with shock, how dire the finances were.
That got everybody wondering. Then when Gibbo failed to honour his promise made to return to the radio, that got the rumour-mill up and going. His continued silence in the face of the rumours put it into overdrive.
To describe as 'no friends of the club' people who are merely concerned and wondering what's going on (exacerbated by his silence) is ridiculous.
Physician heal thyself.
This attitude is a million miles away from the promised community club. It smacks more of an authoriatarin Stalinist state: we know best, pay your money, shut up and don't ask questions.
I notice that the 'club is owned by the town and the fans - we're just stewards' mantra appears again.
I sincerely hope that this time that sort of pious invective is actually backed up by some concrete proposals for how that's to be made more of a reality.
I'll wait for the revelations of coming days before coming to a judgement on that.
Nothing too revealing as yet from Gibson. He should not be too surprised if rumours abound about the finances of the club when he goes into self imposed hibernation for the winter.
Apart from an apology for inflicting Strachan upon us, he has little else to offer other than he has bad judgement when it comes to appointing football managers and too much faith in a chief executive who hands generously funded contracts to average players.
When questioned recently by a QC that he is not used to being contradicted, perhaps a little humility might be good and an eagerness to listen, particularly to Mowbray and less so to Lamb. That would be a start, allied to a meaningful appraisal of expectations towards next season and no platitudes and certainly no blind faith.
Haha, it has taken TWO posts on this thread for someone to suggest Gibson has ulterior motives for speaking to the public. He cannot win.
To be quite honest, that interview tells us absolutely nothing. We aren't under threat of going into administration and the rumours are nonsense. Really? I'm shocked.
I'd rather we didn't waste time on this and actually hear what his plans are for the future and next season in particular. Looking forward to tomorrow's installment.
"But it is getting value for money for your wage bill," he said. "Until the return of Tony Mowbray we were not getting a return on the pitch from our wage bill."
Is this an admission that the players weren't performing for Gordon Strachan?
I saw GS on GOS. He was unusually subdued and contrite when the subject of his tenutre and demise at the Boro was brought up.
Grove Hill Wallah -
Not getting value for money is not just a Strachan trait but for all their faults you cannot criticise the efforts, not the outcome, of Robson, Thommo, McManus and Flood amongst others.
Least said about Boyd and Miller and Killen the better but throw Digard, Folan, Mido and numerous players from previous managers into the Value for Money debate.
BoroPhil and John Powls -
I totally agree, lets hear about the future and plans to take the club forward.
"To describe as 'no friends of the club' people who are merely concerned and wondering what's going on (exacerbated by his silence) is ridiculous. "
Honestly, what?
Gibson said:
"I donât know where these stories come from. Itâs all nonsense. People who spread these rumours are no friends of Middlesbrough Football Club."
How are people making up and spreading malicious rumours about the club 'people who are merely concerned and wondering what's going on'?
BoroPhil
So do you think that season card details being released and Steve Gibson talking to the press are just a coincidence then?
C'Mon Boro!
A lot of the comments from supporters (!?) I find insulting. We all know that things have gone badly for Boro in the last few years and that some of the performances by both the team and managers have been pathetic
But why do they think Gibson has purposefully set out to do this? How many of us would pump the amount of coin into the club that he has? Course he's made mistakes but its obvious (and lucky for us) that he loves the club. Why criticise him for coming out with stuff to enhance ticket sales? Dont we want the Boro to make money?
Some of you are not big enough to swallow your disappointment and need to blame someone - pathetic
UTB
Steve Gibson's article is very similar to the article on the BBC website on the 15/4/11.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13093327.stm
It's the same every season when season cards are about to be released. The change this year is that it is Steve Gibson and Neil Bausor commenting. Keith Lamb has sensibly kept quiet this time around.
C'Mon Boro!
When the fans were hailing Gareth Southgate as a the new Messaih I begged Southgate to go as he was destroying our club. I begged Steve Gibson to rid the club of that man. I PREDICTED THE DOWNFALL. I was not alone
That man SOUTHGATE destroyed what had been built with blood sweat and tears by Robson, McClaren, Gibson, Lamb, Parnaby and the rest.He dismantled the back room, sold off for pea nuts or gave away our brilliant kids and how many first teamers did he replace with rubbish.
I hate to say I told you so when I see this story and feel a lesser man than our Stevie would have folded. But thank god we have Stevie and our BORO.Now its got to be up up up and maybe just maybe one day soon we will see those Boro boys return to the fold
I'm sure Steve Gibson is a man who chooses his words carefully (unless he's alienating the good people of Stockton) and is quite good at politician speak.
Though it is easy to be cynical about his timing given previous pre-season card renewal declarations. BTW AV, what's this nonsense about trying to synchronise diaries with the Gazette - did Gibson say he was available but the Gazette said "sorry we're busy that week, how about mid April"?
Anyway, there was nothing to stop the club issuing a statement about the administration rumour months ago given the intense speculation flying around.
But back to his lordship's words - I think saying we're not getting value for money on the pitch if our wage bill is more than the combined wage bill two clubs heading for promotion probably doesnÂŽt begin to describe it - how about unmitigated disaster instead?
Also John Powls you seem to have inadvertently used the word 'own' instead of Gibson's choice of 'belong' ([the club] continues to belong to the people of the town) - probably belonging in the emotional sense rather than actually being possessed - unless I missed the announcement that Gibson had given the club away.
So let's wait to see if Gibson's further revelations cast any light on our future - though he did say that Mowbray would be given a competitive Championship squad next season - cynics might argue what exactly that means but I wouldn't...
**AV writes: Believe it or not, it isn't always easy to pin down a global businessman who lives abroad and generally only makes flying visits to Teesside. More so when they decide not to speak until particular trading conditions - safety - apply.
I wrote a comment about half hour ago. How long does it take to appear?? What is URL? Did I need to fill it in? How do I give personal info? Did I need to preview? Am I useless?!
**AV writes: Comments don't appear until I've and approved them. Depending on time of day and if I'm online that can take up to an hour or so.
The buck stops where? We read admissions of guilt- mistakes have been made but like a handful of soft Easter hot cross buns stuck between a hard place and a rock, there's nowt we can do about it coz SG has his hands on the owners papers and no one else is being given a look in. Responsibility without accountability.
Who's money built the Boro and kept it going? Bank money, Mr. Average's savings used by the High Street types to pay their fat bonuses and finance big name signings for SG/KL Boro FC.
Btw. I like the idea of living on the Channel Isles. Went there for a hol back in the late 80's saw the price of houses, even then, and me misses had to pick me off the floor when I'd fainted. I believe 20 houses in Dormo = 1 in Jersey.
No news that Bulkhaul or SG are fearing going into administation or being docked points. No word on who loses their job because on previous occasions the wrong manager had been appointed or had been scuppered under the waterline by the reliance on bank money that was called back in.
SG local hero and Saviour of the club. I believe more like SG business man period. Don't get me wrong, the world needs businessmen or the likes of the idealist would probably see the ship sink in bad times.
Nevertheless please stop calling Boro FC the 'community club' coz it ain't and never has been. It's owned by one man and his followers keep him there. Fans and the like are primarily there to pay the wage bill. End of Rant-UTB
Ian -
Those were Steve Gibson's words, not mine.
As for effort, In the case of some players effort is not something that can be denied but the question was value for money.
100% doesn't equate to skill. Ultimately wages are paid in return for results on the pitch. I think this is what SG was alluding to.
"BoroPhil - So do you think that season card details being released and Steve Gibson talking to the press are just a coincidence then?"
Not at all, he's trying to drum up support for next season I imagine, though as AV has said it probably has more to do with this season now being over.
The implication in Chris D's post was that Gibson is basically lying to the fans about our financial position in order to sell season tickets and we are actually in some sort of dire straits. I could tell you what I really think of that but I'm pretty sure it would get moderated.
I find it absolutely ridiculous, yet depressing predictable that you have people bleating on for months, 'please Steve, tell us the made-up rumours aren't true', he finally gives people what they want and are they happy? No chance and we get 'oh he's only doing it to sell season tickets' or 'no smoke without fire'. Absolutely pathetic.
Gibson has a thankless task, he knows every word he comes out with will be jumped on from some direction. You'd think he was a criminal, not the saviour of our club and steward through its most successful period in its history.
My wife says I spend too much time pontificating about football. Does anyone else have the same problem.
**AV writes: Er..... it may have been mentioned.
For the record I belive Gibson when he says the club is NOT about to go in to administration.
I accept the future of Middlesbrough FC may not be a pressing subject of converstation amongst the chattering classes in The Channel Isles, but if he'd been living on Teesside he would have heard countless fans giving it large it was an incontrovertible FACT that the club was in financial meltdown.
On the other hand, think of the scenario where we had gone down, which was a real possibility at one stage, and had been unable to offload our high wage earners next season, which would have been difficult to do bearing in mind they had got us relegated and were hardly "value for their (very high) wages", and if as a result we had crowds of 8,000 to watch us play the likes of Exeter, Yeovil and Dagenham & Redbridge next season - we might then have faced financial catastrophe. I would have believed the doom mongerers then.
For now, IF we can get rid of at least some of our high wage earners, then we would avoid having to sell the Bennetts, the Rhys Williams and others produced in the youth structure, and who we need to make progress next season. It might be a nervous summer, but I suspect Mogga can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
GHW -
No, I am not commenting on you but merely that fans in general should look beyond the last manager. Sorry I didnt make my point more clearly but if we look at effort from the likes of Mido, who has huge talent, then value for money plays a part.
We have been ripped off for many years and to blmae our current plight on Strachan is too easy. Jeffrey Wood makes a good argument point of putting blame at Gate's door.
BoroPhil -
Sometimes people have to be pro-active to get their message across. There was an oil rig/ship that Shell wanted to sink but Greenpeace made a great play about the dangers to the environment because of the toxic chemicals onboard.
Shell knew of what was onboard and by far the safest route was to sink it but Shell lost the public debate. Once the true facts were known Greenpeace didnt rush forward with effusive apologies nor were the facts displayed with banner headlines like the original story.
If you allow debate in a vacuum of information then you get all sort of stories most of which are untrue but in the absence of any counter information the situation gets worse.
The problem is would anyone believe him? The situation is possibly made worse by the fact it is difficult to pin him down and it appears he is a tax exile. If true it makes it tricky to tell people what they should do.
My often expressed view, apologies for the frequency, is that it it is too easy to blame one party. We should give due recognition to all participants for their role in the fall in our drop down the tiers.
I believe Gibson and am much more relaxed now he says the club is secure.
I'll leave the cynics to be cynical.
Really looking forward to next season with a young, hungry squad.
Sorry to say it but these days I think Gibsonhas lost the plot big time. After his comments and quotes from the last three or four seasons I take anything he says these days with a pinch of salt.
Interesting AV that everyone is worried that we have no money to spend???
Fear not, all we need is a manager with a eye for a player. I have just looked with envy at the champo team of the season and it makes interesting reading.
Just looking at the Champo team of the season and one thing stands out??
Its clear that despite us comfortably spending almost twice as much as other clubs and by all accounts a wage bill that would pay the top two's squads you dont have to spend a fortune for good players.......you just need a manager with a eye for a player.
1.Kenny 750k
2.Naughton Loan
3.Harte 100k
4.Williams 400k
5.Morgan Academy
6.Sinclair 500k
7.Taarbat 1mil
8.King Academy
9.Hoolahan Undisclosed
10.Graham 250k
11.Holt 400k
Lets put this in perspective: the whole team cost far less than say the £3.5mil we paid for McDonald.
The top four scorers in the division Holt,Graham,Sinclair and Shane Long all cost less than £750k.
We paid £1.5m for Robson and £2m for Thomson yet Taabart cost £1m.
So yes we have no money and 'stars' (used loosely) will leave but if Mogga can bring in the players he wants as a proven champo manager then who really needs cash???
Oh and last seasons player of the year was Charlie Adam....at £500k!!!
Makes me so mad that for years we have not been able or even looked at players outside of the top flight.
We have Boyd (30k a week?), McDonald £3.5m, Emnes(£3.2m), Miller (£500k), Lita (big wage) as our forward line. We could have bought Holt,Graham,Sinclair and Long for the price of Skippy if we found them early enough.....bonkers eh??
Judging by some of the comments on here Steve Gibson has lost a good number of supporters and there's no getting them back. No wonder he doesn't give much away these days.
Personally, I'm pleased that he's made his comments publicly and I hope the reaction has not discouraged him from doing so again.
Clearly, several mistakes have been made in the past, but I see little point in continually berating Gibson for them, especially when he's done something positive as he just has with his Gazette interview.
Regardless of what has gone on in the past, I believe the mistakes in managerial appointments and financing to have been honest ones. I also believe that Gibson genuinely wants the best for the club and that with whatever criticism we want to make of him, we should remember that he is still heavily subsidising the team.
When considering the practicalities of value for money, consider this:
It takes little time to dismantle a relatively strong team by disposing of good players, even if they're relatively high earners. There's usually some club out there who'll be more than happy to do a deal with you if they think they're getting a bargain, whether it be selling off the asset cheap, or sharing salary costs to reduce your wages bill until the end of the player's contract and then simply not renewing it.
I believe that the decisions made in the club's name were business decisions - not sporting decisions. they were initiated by Gibson. NOT by Southgate. And it's fundamentally unfair to land Boro's slide - or even the start of it - on Gareth Southgate's novice shoulders.
Yes, of course, it started on his watch. But, if he was a relative novice, Gibson knew that when he appointed him. Despite being straight-jacketed on salaries he could offer replacement players for the expensive ones Gibson wanted off the books, he did keep the club in the Premier League for two seasons after the downsizing process started.
The big decisions on club expenditure have ALL been Gibson's. To his credit (or is it that he recognises that he can't avoid it because it's obvious who the head honcho is), he hasn't shirked from saying so. The managerial appointments were his. The sanctioning of player purchases were his. The selling off of high earners was his.
Thus, the initiation of instability was his. Granted, he made money available for what I view as "emergency" purchases to try to salvage things when it became apparent that Premier League membership was under threat. But by then, the phenomenon that is the main point of my post was kicking in.........
Entering a major downsizing exercise is fraught with hazard. As stated, it's relatively easy to get rid of what you don't want, but it's not so easy to acquire what you NEED and get it in place and working quickly.
For various reasons. The type and quality of player you seek doesn't just become available simply because you need them. And if you want him quickly, you'll quite likely have to pay a premium for him. Sure you can pay less for less, but it's more of a risk. And when you're "emergency" shopping mode for, let's say, guys to get you the goals that are in very short supply, you end up getting Lee Dong Gooks, Afonso Alveses and Midos.
Not the best way to go shopping and get value for money!
THEN, when you get the guy you want, or somebody to fill the hole, maybe your second, third or even fourth choice, then you have to bed him in. He'll take time to settle into the area, get to know his workmates and the surroundings, maybe move his family, learn enough English to order a Parmo, etc, etc.
Then he and his mates need to formulate an understanding of how the manager and coaching staff require them to play and gel. THEN you have to keep him consistently match fit and injury-free! What chance THAT in the modern game?
Repeat that process for each of your new recruits and stability takes a long time to return, if ever.
On top of that, change the managers frequently, the strategy at the same pace, desperately, almost randomly, seeking some magic formula that saves your bacon and you're unlikely to succeed. It's been shown before. With there being so many managerial changes in the football leagues, how come managerial change doesn't result in every club being successful?
Because, more often, the issue lies elsewhere - up the stairs -in one form or another.
Make the big step changes that Gibson tried to make with Boro and you'll either have to be exceptionally managerially professional or exceedingly lucky (or both) to effect a painless downsizing process.
The positives to be taken from the present situation are that:
a) Gibson says the club is financially safe, pro temps,
b) Mowbray looks like a manager who knows what he's doing with what he has available and
c) since Mowbray's a local man, Gibson and the fans are more likely to have patience than if he was some recognised external mercenary or blatantly personally ambitious character, in it as a quick stepping-stone to something bigger.
Building Boro back up again is going to take time. That Gibson's left with an over-paid squad for the position the club is in the league is very much an executive management construct, for all the reasons above. And I find it hard to feel sorry for, or grateful to him, because he was the man in charge and he constructed it.
If he was prepared to take the plaudits when Boro were on the rise, I consider that he should be taking the flak now for the slide back down.
And as for his public positioning and timing on the Administration rumour: Two months ago, all he needed to have said was, "That's complete rubbish". End of story. But the timing, now, is entirely cynical. I'd rather he'd stayed in Jersey - or Guernsey - or wherever he's exiled as "One of Us!"
The Boro blame game it seems is as vibrant and resilient as ever.
Itâs not easy for most clubs to attract a top manager. Steve Gibson knows that.
Some, maybe most of us, felt Southgate, as an inexperienced coach, was a gamble too far.
The problem was the lack of support he seemed to get from the club. The Venablesesque mentor never materialised and we paid the price.
What gets me is the sniping, still, from some fans about our most successful captain. Southgate was part of Boro for nearly 10 years and loyal through and through. We should remember that.
What about the likes of âour own Pallister and Wheater â, the players who left us with not that many games under their belts for the club? Decide why you dislike someone on the basis of what they did for us, the effort they put in. Not where theyâre from.
Strachan was an unmitigated disaster that only the truly foolish or myopic could not have foreseen. I still canât believe we appointed him.
The constant though is Gibson and Lamb. Ultimately the buck stops with them. They appointed poorly and then did not manage the managers successfully.
We should never doubt the loyalty or desire of either man to make the club a success. But there is a catalogue of errors now that probably outweighs the good times.
Gibsonâs interview, and I believe he is being completely truthful, says very little.
Is it a season ticket pitch? If so, fair enough, theyâre a great deal.
What worries me is that he is just saying nothing. Heâs 52/53-years-old with half a lifetime of expectancy from the town. Heâs probably very glad to be shacked up in the Channel Islands. He looks weary,
he was tetchy in the Stewie court case. Heâs clearly out of pocket by a few bob courtesy of the club. Does he need it anymore? Probably he does, and he above all deserves the benefit of our doubt.
But get realistic Steve. Get a PR strategy, donât hide away and do expect the flack that comes with living away.
Yes, itâs our club but it belongs to you.
We need the vibrant, stubborn Steve of old back. But this time with an appreciation of everyone around you. And a willing to admit early on that we can all get it wrong sometimes. Including you.
Steve -
some very good points there and yes it beggers belief that we had to spend so much money to achieve much less.
But I have to say one player dosnt make a team. QPR may have a lower wage bill but they spent big in the transfer market. We did both spent big and pay big.
As I have said before most of GS signings are prooving to be not as bad as first thought.TM has got them playing for the club in the manner required and the results are there to be seen. GS just could not handle them.
I would be careful how far we all go giving Gibbo stick,Because he loves our club so much he may begin to feel the fans dont want him and decide to walk away,god forbid i see no takers lining up to take over and where would we be then.
Look to the future with TM,SG a well managed hungry team that is well supported home and away.
Whilst I appreciate that we cannot and should not forget the past, we only have the future to look forward to.
There are many positives now (notably the manager)which in my opinion far outway the negatives, the club is on the up.
I stated months ago that I was in a happy place and if Mogga was given time , things would improve, thankfully they have.
The close season will be very intersting, I have every faith in Mogga/Venus (lets not forget his imput)bringing in the right sort of players from the bring and buy sales and look forward to a good (relative to the last few)season.
I see no reason why we should not be competing for at least a play off play.
More positivity please. (I appreciate it can be sometimes difficult).
He would have been damned if he didn't and now he's getting damned because he did. I reckon that if half of you cynics tossed a coin it would land on its edge, you just donât know what you want.
I was about to say poor bloke, but to live where he does you canât be.
AV, a lot is said about SG bankrolling the club but what is the real situation.
What is the outstanding debt?
Have any debts been written off?
Who is the money owed to?
Has SG suffered a personal financial loss? (eg, out of pocket, a debt is only a loss if it cannot be repaid).
**AV writes: My understanding is that after relegation the various debts which were over the £100m mark were partly converted to equity and transferred to Bulkhaul (that is written off and the hit taken by Gibson in one guise or another) and the rest consolidated into one £77m charge to Barclays over a long period and at very good repayment terms but the facility fee to arrange it meant the need to sell Downing, Tuncay, Huth etc.
My understanding is that the club can easily manage the repayment schedule on that loan and are under no pressure from the bank whatsoever.
More pressing though has been the wage bill. The club were running a £10m a year deficit in the Premier League when the Sky TV money was covering the wage bill. Now, even with the parachute payment and vast cuts in the wage bill for three years running, the income does not meet the wage bill. There is a big deficit.
That is where Gibson steps in. People complain because he has not produced £10m plus in the transfer window for Mogga and deduce that he either doesn't have the money or doesn't have the will - but in fact he HAS put that money in. It is just that it has gone to meet the wage bill and running costs of the club.
If you don't like Steve Gibson's platitudes, you only have yourself and the media to blame. Try to imagine yourself in his position. A Boro supporter who by hard work or good luck finds himself in a position to rescue then finance his beloved football club. What would you have said or done?
Would you have liked to criticise Gordon Strachan directly for not fulfilling his promises? You would have found yourself in a media storm, "Gibson lays into Strachan" for example. Would you really have wanted to get into a media slanging match? Better to couch your pain in more neutral terms.
How would you handle rumours of the club going bust? Deny it instantly and you would give it credence because you had thought it necessary to reply. "No smoke without fire" would have been the response from the cynics. You can't respond to every rumour, without becoming a Teesside Peter Ridsdale. The better course was probably to have maintained silence until it became absolutely essential to comment.
By putting your money into the club you find yourself owning it. However, you know that won't last forever so you want to leave it in as good a state as possible when the time comes. Isn't "stewardship" the best way of describing that concept?
You are under some pressure to let supporters have shares in the club? Would that mean supporter directors? What would that mean for governance and confidentiality? Consider this: a private meeting between Tony Mowbray and supporters ends up broadcast over the internet. What about more commercially sensitive information? Transfer dealings? Who could you trust? Perhaps you would rather not have to deal with that complication. It's not as if it would inject any meaningful investment into the club. Perhaps you will have to put up with some people calling you Stalinist.
Steve Gibson has got some decisions wrong. Everybody does, academic studies suggest managers get up to 50% of their decisions wrong. We all know it's easy to criticise decisions in hind-sight. It's much harder to make a right decision at the right time. Like all successful business men, Steve Gibson admits to and learns from his mistakes. How would your decisions stand up to public scrutiny?
Having lived through the period before 1986 I am glad we have a man such as Steve Gibson in charge of MFC. I think the cynics are criticising him unfairly. Comparisons with a genocidal tyrant such as Stalin are odious.
This is the 50th league match between these clubs. Burnley have won 18 of the previous 49 - one more than Boro, who have won the last three
Burnley have won 11 home games this year. 11 is the atomic number of Sodium. Just as good home form is key for a play off chasing team, Sodium is essential to all animals as it allows the central nervous system to function.
Burnley were relegated this week, last year.
Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon. Sadly the current Middlesbrough manager has no connections to Lunar travel.
Middlesbrough have managed only one clean sheet in 13 outings, and none in their last five.
Top TV Police Drama Juliet Bravo was filmed in Burnley. Burnleyâs most famous sons and daughters are arguably members of pop group Chumbawamba. Chumblywumbly are not thought to have any connections to the North East, except maybe in the Dunston area.
Tony McMahon could make his 100th league appearance.
AV we have to get the paper to get the full story. Unfortunatly not for sale in SA. Any chance of getting it on the blog when sales targets are reached for us far away bloggers.?
**AV writes: Once it is all out I'll ask. Obviously we just give tasters on line, partly because we want people to buy the paper for the extended 12 inch remix (that is our business after all) and partly to stop other news agencies cutting and pasting it and passing it off as their own work without accredition.
SG lost it from me when he asked for "blind faith." He could of told us the truth then...
And yes it is a good time to speak, right before the season ticket renewels come out!
Why isnt the club talking to us on a regular basis anyway? We should be all in it together, but its a them and us situation with MFC
If i was religious i'd thank the lord for Tony Mowbray
Now lets get back on the up!
I hate this time of year. The constant clamour for Gibson or Lamb to "tell us what's going on" is finally met, only for those clamouring for the news to systematically pick it apart. As others have said in the past, if you've got a spare $10m+ then give Steve a call and talk turkey. If you haven't, let him get on with his job.
On to football matters, congratulations to Robert Huth and Stoke City on getting to the FA Cup final. good luck, I hope you can win it. And whilst it's still very tight at the bottom of the first division, it's starting to look unlikely that we will see Stewart Downing back at the Riverside next year as Villa pull away from the relegation zone. We could be seeing Lee Cattermole back though!
I would feel far happier at Gibbo's comments had it not seem3ed like last season's reprinted.
Surely this time last year we were rpomised a complete "inquest" which subsequently led to Strachan's spending spree.
Surely the year before we were promised a complete "inquest" into what led to relegation.
Why don't we just book the venue now ready for the 2012 "inquest" as we might get cheaper rates well in advance.
Steve -
That champo team as you call it,wouldnt get more than 20 pts in the Prem. In fact Id go as far as saying they'd get less than Derby did when they were in it.
QPR are the worse Championship Champions for years,all theyve done is bully teams, then rely on two or three half decent players to make their mark in games,
Swansea have the best chance of staying there of any of the top six, Quick, precise and mobile.
Think I'll comment when I have read the full interview.
redcartim said:
Think I'll comment when I have read the full interview
tell us whats in in, save me going to the shop!
So searching questions are going to be asked at the end of the season, are they?
So, Simon in Stockton says, if he was religious he would thank the lord for Tony Mowbray. Start praying and lets hope that Mogga does not lose his cool and walk out like Strachen.
If pruning the squad and the back room boys takes place, then start with the scouts. They have cost this club a fortune with their bad recommendations over the last decade..
Earlier in the season, I suggested that we consolidate, bring on the kids this season have a crack at promotion next season. However, not all the kids are good enough. There are false dawns regularly coming from Rockcliffe and a few gems like Joe and hopefuly Luke. I also like Smallwood and of course Rhys. The remainder I am afraid are Championship players only.
Trouble is, when we sell half decent lads they always thrive when surrounded by better class players. Some of Strachens rubbish have come good too. In fact only Boyd is a complete failure in this class of football.
And a tip for Dave Parnaby. Try the following advert for academy trainees "Wanted big lads with a strong right foot bred from beefy stock whose granddads worked down the pit or on the furnaces with potential to be at least as good as the PFA "Championship Team of the Year" striker Danny Graham. Left footers need not apply, we have planty.
I'm with Bob at this point but maybe not for the same reasons. I read a very frank book on the reality of management and managers, which seemed by the title 'The Emperor has no Clothes' to suggest that those who should know don't and that's where a consultant makes his bread and butter when they call him in.
Takes me back to the time when Terry V was given the task of savin the Boro when it looked likely that Robbo was taken us downhill fast. Man had experience and ability and the Boro went on for another season. TV walked away with a wad of cash but declined to stay (never made clear why) .
Major point was the Boro 'management' went back to him for a recommendation as to who would take the seat after McClaren had gone on his way. It seems to me that like GS2 the 'management' don't have a clue and that the appointment of Mogga was forced on them against their will.
Still we are where we are and Mogga's in the driving seat for the moment. I would hate to think because of the lack of quality upstairs Mogga will go on his way to bigger things sooner rather than later becoz mark my words footie management is a small world and next seasons turkey's will be lookin at who's around of quality to either save them from relegation or boost their promotion prospects.
M O'Neil came saw and left. Something scared him off. I can't and won't speculate who or what but it did give me pause for thought. It just shows the most important things for a chairman are
1. to ensure there are adequate resources, playing and financial.
2. Making sure you get the most important appointment right because it IS the most important appointment e.g. the manager.
SG with the backing of KL have been out of their depth for sometime. That's not a problem as long as you balance it out with some who knows aka TV. That was a good move but that lesson wasn't retained. Now that frightens me.
Hopefully they'll listen and act on what Mogga has to tell them. Just for once they got it right, even if it wasn't planned via the previous post-crisis end of season meeting. The repetition of the same message at the same time of year suggests to me that someone isn't listening or someone doesn't care or finally they're just all out of fresh ideas. Time for a change anyone? UTB
Mosso on strike this evening, Vic? If so, given the scoreline at half-time,he's chosen his moment well...! :(
"spartakboro said: SG with the backing of KL have been out of their depth for sometime...The repetition of the same message at the same time of year suggests to me that someone isn't listening or someone doesn't care or finally they're just all out of fresh ideas. Time for a change anyone?".
I have recently raised this self-same debate already but is AV willing to host it? Surely it's line in the sand time and let's see where we all stand.
**AV writes: Hasn't that debate been raging since before relegation?
The most important man at the football club is the Chairman/owner. He is the place at which the buck stops. He makes the decsions, most importantly about the manager, and either pays or makes available (or refuses to do so) the funds for playing staff.
The next most important at the football club is the manager. He should be the man who identifies which players he wants for his team (even if he doesn't have the final say on whether the money is going to be made available to pay for them - if not he presumably goes down his list of priorities to a less expensive option as the "next choice"). He decides the team's tactics, formation, and has the task of motivating the players to improve their performance.
Less important are the players themselves. Obviously a team of really good players is most likely to beat a team of poor players. But the margins between one group and another might be fairly small and it is there that the manager earns his money. It must be clear that a Mourinho, a Ferguson or a Clough was able to make more of the 11 players they put out in their teams than would have been possible by "average" managers.
Spartak raised the issue of Terry Venables and his "rescue" of the club from relegation as Robson's tenure came to an end. We were going down. By making some changes TV was able to avoid that, maybe in much the same way that Mogga has done this season (tonight's game excepted!!).
Like Spartak, I believe the most important decision that a Chairman has to make is the decision as to who should manage his club. The previous two incumbents of the Boro hot-seat were not the right choices (unless there was some ulterior motive behind the appointments about which we have been kept in the dark).
If it is the right choice, the manager will be more likely to select the right players, more likely to get the best out of them, and more likely to make a success of the team. Then, as a result of his success, more likely to be able to have the funds made available to him to make further improvements to his squad.
From the Chairman comes the Manager, from the Manager comes the players. All that we can do is stand (or sit) by the touchline and shout.
Renewed for next season already, as I always do. I always find that if I left it until the yearly statement to try and encourage people to renew comes out, it may put me off!!!
Disappointed with receiving the same message as we have done before. Three years on and the club still can't work out where things may have gone wrong?
Reading these comments and the suspicions of conspiracy wonder what some of these bloggers made of the Kennedy assasination
If only for a sack full of cash to the amount of millions! What to do with it? First on my wish list would be to buy the Boro. What a dream or nightmare as the case maybe.
But why a nightmare you may ask. If you get the wrong peg in the wrong hole you might as well go into your back garden make a pile of the money and set fire to it.
SG has and must be applauded for the establishment of the facilities. Anyone remember the excuse for the toilets at Ayresome Park? Long line of men waiting to slash up against a wall in the rain.
Anyone remember where the product went? I shall not go on. To keep a balanced perspective SG/KL have achieved positive improvements on a grand scale.
However we are 18th in the Championship. The dizzy heights of yesteryear are gathering dust in the pages of the old match day programmes. You don't need to hold an inquest at the end of the season to recognise that things did not go to plan.
Something serious is missing from the 'management' armoury and that is what needs to be addressed. Perhaps its called good judgement. It's an elusive sprite but essential to success.
Can you breed it in a test tube and inject the required amount into the willing recipient or get a bathtub mix up a concoction and feed it a spoonful at a time? At this point I don't know. What i know is if we need it in the future we simply haven't got it where it counts.
Still TM is manager now and even before his appointment he had my 100% backing. The scare stories about not having any cash for the summer doesn't frighten me too much because of the manager we have.
I fully agree with Forever Dormo in his assessment of the qualities of a great manager and I seriously believe Mogga has the makings.
Maybe SG/KL have stumbled unwillingly into the appointment but I think they have drawn the 'Get out of Jail Card Free'.
UTB
Post gone missing from last night.
Missed the first half due to daughters car refusing to go into gear in Birmingham.
Turned on commentary to find Boro hadn't got into gear either.
Then found Mosso had done better and had at least got into reverse with the Ipswich match on the live blog.
Bugger cubed!
Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that Andrew Taylor would emerge as a goal scoring midfielder?
Our scorers this year.
Leroy Lita - 1 goal every 2.8 games started (10)
Kris Boyd - 1 goal every 3.2 games started (6)
Scott McDonald - 1 goal every 3.4 games started (10)
Marvin Emnes - 1 goal every 4.7 games started (3)
Andrew Taylor - 1 goal every 5.3 games started (3)
I've discounted anyone who has started less than 10 games, otherwise Merouanne Zemmamma would be our most prolific striker (1 from 2), Kink would be third (3 from 9), and Halliday would pip Taylor (1 from 5).
Well done to the lad, maybe he's not a square peg after all.
Why do supporters feel they have a right to know the financial ins and out of this business (otherwise known as the football club)?
Gibson is a businessman who has ploughed millions into MFC, albeit as a tax benefit, supporter or whatever.
As fans we are asked to buy a season ticket with a value of roughly £300.00 a season or a ticket for a game on an ad-hoc basis.
Given a choice would I follow the lead of a proven successful businessman who has funded a small football club to domestic cup finals, european finals and a decade in the richest league in the world, or football supporters who know nothing about business or the inner workings of the business known as MFC?
Is on Holiday
but there are no known links with the Hull manager or the Boro anyway.
I read a few comments on here and startingseeing the usual "Come on Boro" and UTB that end each persons posts that affiliates themselves with the club either as a regular season ticket holder who goes to the games or an armchair fan.
I don't care how long ago it was, but we have a lot to be thankful to SG for as without his intervention in 86 we wouldn't have a team to support and you would all be watching rugby or some other strange sport.
Gibson was criticised for his patience with some managers when fans thought they should have gone much earlier and after not producing the usual expectations us fans have.
Lets face facts here, too many fans seem to be glory hunting lately and only showing up when we hit form or have a big game.
We have a local manager that everyone believes in and has done wonders for the club with little imput into the squad apart from maybe Haas and Zemmamma as signings of his own, with Smith a perfect cover in goal who should be put in as part ex with boyd.
The same things always come up with Boro, promising start or promotion/european push, big players that under perform etc etc the list goes on.
Lets face up to things, Mogga is doing great. We have a bright crop of players to look out for whilst cutting dead wood from the squad and giving a more promosing push next season.
But as fans we have to show support by turning up, cheering the team and making the Riverside a place teams hate to come because the atmosphere can be unreal.
Rant over - RED ARMY - MOGGANAUT