Albion Update

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Glad to have some clarity on poogate but disappointed that the suspension issue is still taking too long. Typical update in terms of language. Lots of upbeat imagery with the 'Dont panic' motif. Nothing wrong with it.

 

[Gordon Bennett]

It would be better if the updates about poogate and poyet et al weren't included within an email bigging up the club and giving it the usual corporate babble about how great the next sponsorship deal is going to be. Barber's emails are generally quite bland but sending an email covering so many different issues just makes it come across as though all the other stuff doesn't really matter and the important thing is how much money the club can bring in/extract from fans. It doesn't do him any favours.

 

[W.C.]

Some people don't like Paul Barber. That is obvious. What is more clear though is that the only person who needs to like him is Tony Bloom. And his judgement is OK by me.

How do you know that? I don't have a clue.

I think this is maybe the point LB is trying to make. It's not stupid, or daft for us as fans to be a bit worried about what's been going on at the club. Especially given our history and the unexpected suddenness of it all. A short message from TB saying all was in hand would set everyone's minds at ease. Barber's message is, as you point out, a bit bland and corporate. He's only been here five minutes too.

 

[HastingsSeagull]

It would be better if the updates about poogate and poyet et al weren't included within an email bigging up the club and giving it the usual corporate babble about how great the next sponsorship deal is going to be. Barber's emails are generally quite bland but sending an email covering so many different issues just makes it come across as though all the other stuff doesn't really matter and the important thing is how much money the club can bring in/extract from fans. It doesn't do him any favours.

this

 

[W.C.]

It would be better if the updates about poogate and poyet et al weren't included within an email bigging up the club and giving it the usual corporate babble about how great the next sponsorship deal is going to be. Barber's emails are generally quite bland but sending an email covering so many different issues just makes it come across as though all the other stuff doesn't really matter and the important thing is how much money the club can bring in/extract from fans. It doesn't do him any favours.

oh, and this.

All I, as a fan, care about right now is our coaching staff, and to a lesser extent the pooer. Not our global brand.

 

[kevo]

He's not just a good business man though is he? He's an expert in his field. I would imagine that there are around the same amount of chief executives in football as there are managers, so just as difficult to get the right man.

Fair point. But I do think (and it's only my opinion, of course) that the apparent rift between Barber and Poyet is behind a lot of this and will result in Gus leaving, which I personally think is a great shame. Best Brighton team for decades, playing some amazing football, with some of the best players ever seen at the club. We risk getting another manager in who will f**k everything up.

Does seem to be an 'either me or him goes' kind of situation - and it ain't going to be Barber!

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

A completely professional and reasonable statement - what else can the man do for heavens sake.

Agreed. The only thing I don't think has been clarified at all anywhere is who, if anyone, is in charge of football matters at the moment. I know we are not in a position where we need someone to pick the team for Saturday, but I would find it reassuring to know who is in charge.

having said that, the statement does make it clear that everything that needs to happen is happening. That will not include, however, whoever is in charge next year shaping their own squad, whether it be a returning Gus or somebody else.

 

[Goldstone1976]

oh, and this.

All I, as a fan, care about right now is our coaching staff, and to a lesser extent the pooer. Not our global brand.

But that's the point, isn't it? We're not the only target audience - there's the sponsors, investors (other than TB, ofc) and media to consider. One statement has to cover all constituencies - it's called compromise...

 

[severnside gull]

Is it more difficult to replace a good businessman or replace a good football manager?

given the financial status of many football clubs I would suggest that a good manager of finances is harder to find and to keep than a football manager whose tenure is usually unlikely to last beyond a year or two at most.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Consider this: if a senior employee in the organisation where you work had been suspended pending investigation, would you expect the CEO to email all staff, customers and suppliers updating them on the situation? Answer: no. So let's give credit where it is due to PB, he is doing far more than he needs to. Anyone who says it is a "cold" or "clinical" message clearly doesn't have the faintest idea that PB is doing what he must do to protect the club legally in the way he sets out this message - if he spouted out emotional transparent guff on the club website to appease a few people on NSC then he'd be setting the club up for a lawsuit - and then the Barber-doubters would attack him for being unprofessional. And neither do I understand why some people are so insistent that the statement must come from Tony B - the CEO runs the operation, not the Chairman, and in any case does anyone think for one second that TB did not have the opportunity to review this text before PB issued it? I'm afraid more patience is going to be required, frustrating as that may be, because PB and TB are demonstrating how to run a business, not how to respond to a fans' message board. And no, I'm not trolling, just pointing out reality. [*Awaits criticism*]

Indeed - absolutely on the mark.

And I'm sure we'll get a brief statement from Tony - maybe just at a fan meeting, or forum - once this has all been settled.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

It is not only his lordship. There has been a lot of expressions of concern over Mr Barber in recent weeks - justified or not, it would seem that his relationship with Poyet might have been crucial to events. Not sure if Bloom should make a statement directly about Mr Barber though, as presumably he is quite happy with whatever he is up to or he would intervene. I do agree that a short statement from TB would have been more reassuring than the one just issued, however.

To quote Barbers statement in response

We are aware of some ill-informed and unfounded speculation appearing in various places. It is both unfair and unhelpful to everyone concerned. It should stop immediately to allow the internal processes to continue fairly and then conclude appropriately.

What proof is there that Barber and Poyet don't actually get on and this has caused / contributed to the suspensions, there are only wild assumptions as above.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

oh, and this.

All I, as a fan, care about right now is our coaching staff, and to a lesser extent the pooer. Not our global brand.

But I would imagine it was done deliberately to put the current events in a much bigger context. It is obviously the most important thing for most of us at the moment, but in the grand scheme of things it is a "little local difficulty".

 

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

Thought that was a very good update, easy to read and quite a lot of detail but without giving too much away with the continuing investigation into the trio, which I can understand. What I don't understand is people reading that and saying it was too cold and corporate. What do people want?
Hiya fellas, Paul here, just to let you all know about poogate. even though we all thought it was a bit of a laugh we had to investigate it. Ect ect
We're a big football club now, a big business and as such these matters have to professional rather than scribbled on the back of a chocolate bar wrapper in a withdean portacabin.

 

[braveheart]

The more i listen to and observe Brighton and Hove Albion post our move to the Amex, the more it feels like we have chosen to follow the Model used by Spurs. Namely Levy is the figure head, deals with the day to day stuff including player transfers and the direct link between board and manager, while the money man (owner) remains in the back ground, living in a foreign land.

Although this feels clinical to us, maybe that is because we have been used to a smaller operation which needed a strong and ever present figure head (Dick knight) and a closer relationship with the fans in order to ensure things stayed a float.

Bloom seems to want to let Barber do the day to day stuff, for which he can take the flack and Bloom will no doubt only be consulted on the really big decisions (who comes and who goes). It would be interesting to hear one day of Poyet's take on what changed when Barber arrived and did he feel that his relationship with Bloom became more remote.

if we look at other big clubs, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man u etc. How many of those clubs are judged on their relationship between the manager and the owner, rather than the Manager and Chief exec or equivalent?

i think we will only hear from Bloom when everything is finalised and we are announcing the new manager. I'll be interested to see what role he chooses to play if we annuonce Gus is staying.

As for Bloom being a fan and therefore maybe he should be more to the fore at such a time as this. It could be that he is not comfortable with such a role (unlike the Everton and Wigan owners) or that he is too busy out there earning more money to fund the club's losses / expansion and so can't be more hands on. Hence we will only see / hear him pronounce on matters when everything is resolved and therefore Barber is the real figure head of the club.

Although i would like to see Bloom take more of a direct role in reassuring the fans, i have to conclude he won't as that is not how he wants to run his club.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Fair point. But I do think (and it's only my opinion, of course) that the apparent rift between Barber and Poyet is behind a lot of this and will result in Gus leaving, which I personally think is a great shame. Best Brighton team for decades, playing some amazing football, with some of the best players ever seen at the club. We risk getting another manager in who will f**k everything up.

Does seem to be an 'either me or him goes' kind of situation - and it ain't going to be Barber!

Speculation. We've been asked not to do this.

 

[mikeyjh]

CEOs are like referees - if things are going well, you don't notice them...... For me, the manager's job is far more important, I'd be more concerned about that then any poo related incidents. 'Brand' is relevant if you in the prem, less so if you fall in to the lower leagues...

 

[W.C.]

But that's the point, isn't it? We're not the only target audience - there's the sponsors, investors (other than TB, ofc) and media to consider. One statement has to cover all constituencies - it's called compromise...

fair points.

 

[DTES]

The WSOP is taking place in Vegas right now - I wonder if Bloom is over there taking part?

This is not meant as a dig given the current situation. As others have said, he has 100% faith in Barber, which is good enough for me - so he might be comfortable with updates on a regular basis, while winning millions for us to spend on Wayne Bridge's wages for next season........

 

[W.C.]

Paul Barber on Poogate:

"In the interests of keeping you informed as best we can, we have concluded our investigation in to the incident in the visitors' dressing room ahead of the play-off match with Crystal Palace. This issue generated very negative press coverage, inconvenience to our visitors for which we have apologised, as well as speculation and rumour, much of it exaggerated or untrue. To be clear, the incident was confined to the floor and to the paper dispenser area of one cubicle in the visitors' dressing room toilets. No 'messages' were scrawled on the floor or anywhere else. And it remains a slight possibility that this was not a deliberate act of vandalism as attempts had been made to clean up the area before the issue was brought to our attention. Numerous club employees and contractors need access to the tunnel area of our stadium to do their jobs. There is no evidence that a member of the club's staff was responsible. Equally, we cannot be sure who was. Unfortunately, we are very unlikely to know exactly what happened, but access and security to the tunnel area have been reviewed and some changes will be implemented next season. It is now time to move on."

Poogate sounds more like someone had an unfortunate accident that didn't get cleaned up. Holloway used it to his benefit nicely didn't he?

 

[Goldstone1976]

The BBC have picked up the statement: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22555885

Read the article, which quotes liberally from PB's email/statement and tell me honestly: if you were a neutral football fan, or even someone with an interest in sport generally, but not football specifically; would you think "Wow, BHA are a bunch of no-hopers with no clue", or "Fair enough; at least the management seem to have a grip"?

I know which camp I'm in....

EDIT: and assuming people would rather us be perceived in the latter camp, doesn't the wording achieve precisely that?