Tooting Gull
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 11,033
This summer has been an utter shambles, and all the painstaking good work in re-establishing Brighton as a proper club and forging an excellent reputation on many fronts has gone up in smoke.
You have to feel sorry for people like Martin Perry, who hardly put a foot wrong in PR terms for a decade.
But we can't change that, it has happened - so the big question is what happens now.
And I would say to Barber, and Bloom, that for the next 12 months their behaviour and responses must be perfect, absolutely error-free. They must get this next appointment right, both interim and permanent. They must conduct themselves with dignity, class and media savvy in whatever mess is left of the Poyet saga (there could be plenty of that, and it may be very testing). They must act swiftly to get the fans back onside and give them something to be proud about. That could be giving new manager cash for signings, or making good decisions on pricing for friendlies and Cup games, or both. They need to send out signals that it isn't all about greed and profit at all costs at every level, from parking costs upwards. The next manager needs to be treated with respect as a valued member of staff, but not indulged like some cult idol. The relationship with the Argus needs to be improved, and the ethos of 'tell them nothing' removed. And very serious approaches must be made and reassurances given as of today to our senior and better players who will be asking their agents to have a look around, not quite believing the mess.
You have to feel sorry for people like Martin Perry, who hardly put a foot wrong in PR terms for a decade.
But we can't change that, it has happened - so the big question is what happens now.
And I would say to Barber, and Bloom, that for the next 12 months their behaviour and responses must be perfect, absolutely error-free. They must get this next appointment right, both interim and permanent. They must conduct themselves with dignity, class and media savvy in whatever mess is left of the Poyet saga (there could be plenty of that, and it may be very testing). They must act swiftly to get the fans back onside and give them something to be proud about. That could be giving new manager cash for signings, or making good decisions on pricing for friendlies and Cup games, or both. They need to send out signals that it isn't all about greed and profit at all costs at every level, from parking costs upwards. The next manager needs to be treated with respect as a valued member of staff, but not indulged like some cult idol. The relationship with the Argus needs to be improved, and the ethos of 'tell them nothing' removed. And very serious approaches must be made and reassurances given as of today to our senior and better players who will be asking their agents to have a look around, not quite believing the mess.