Thank you sooo much Mr.Barber for all you are doing for our club!

[dragonred]

Paul Barber eats children and drowns kittens.

I'm 100% in the PB camp. With the clubs history of no money, dodgy owners, over spending money didn't have to point of near extinction, to have an owner in TB who loves the club and city and to have his chosen businessman to protect the club from getting itself in another mess down the line, means we are unbelievably lucky. That doesn't mean I agree with all of the changes, I most definitely don't, but I do accept for the greater good they are well intentioned and need supporting. Anyone whose run a business properly knows never going to please everyone all of the time so I just hope TB/PB do the best for the vast (and silent) majority and are not deterred or become disillusioned by constant sniping from a vocal minority who take all change as some personal affront or attack on them.

 

[BuddyBoy]

I think, like anyone in his position, he has to take tough and sometimes unpopular business decisions.

If prices were kept down to, say, northern club standards - tickets, booze, the lot; then I doubt there'd be so much resentment. It's a money thing, a pocket thing. Having said that, I trust the man to keep us in a strong financial position as a result of the above.

Balance is the key, but there may be some awkward moments if ticket prices keep attendances below 22k, should we not perform so well this season.

Barber jumping the gun with price hikes? Let's hope not.

 

[BuddyBoy]

The club should be doing everything it can to secure the 30,000 fans that we have currently got, it's a golden opportunity, driving them away for the sake of a few million quid could be disastrous for our long-term future.

Can't disagree generally. The longer term health of the club (in one sense) is at risk by the cost of getting to a match, and I fear there may have been a smug expectation within the upper echelons of the club that 30,000 will keep turning up, regardless. While I don't know the ins and outs of the clubs finances, we're surely in an okay position now as a result of some of Barber's policies.

As I said, balance is where it's at, and a rethink on attendance/ticket cost may well be needed this season - then we can start properly judging PB's longer term positives/negatives. As it stands or 'so far', I think he's been right for the club.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

, driving them away for the sake of a few million quid could be disastrous for our long-term future.

Are you for real?

 

[TSB]

Afraid that's not at all what he's been employed to do. It's more like bring the 8.5mil loss down to about 5 / 5.5mil to meet financial fair play fyi

Bang on the money from Sheebs, once again.

 

[Buckley's Mad Eye]

The players wages is where the majority of our cash goes, wouldn't it be great if they chipped in a bit to the old FFP melting pot and allowed the club reduce their wages a little. Seems to me that at the moment the savings and squeezing are happening everywhere except where they should be!

I

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I can't say I have taken to Barber. I know he has a tough job to do but think overall he has been quite devisive. Binned GG's , ok not a major issue but it was a bad call for me and the history of the club and made a lot of contencious decsions. Obviously he and Poyet did not see eye to eye so again, devisive. A CEO who is employed by BHAFC at the moment but no matter how many e mails he sends out will not Square with me, he is a year long guy to try and get things under control and will then be on saying how much he loves his new employers and club, wherever that may be. He is here as a short period of stay but in 20 years time will be looked at as a guy who had a tough job but he has and never will have any real affiliation to the club.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

But wasn't the falling out brought about because of budget constraints

ALL managers ask for more Icy, its just the way of the game. So if there was a falling out rather than Gus committing gross misconduct, yes maybe it was because of budget constraints. But I can't believe its as simple as as Gus wanting more money, being refused it and then throwing his toys out of the pram. He's not an idiot. It'll be to do with budget allocations within the club (e.g. having money to buy CMS but not to give Murray a better offer); or a discrepancy between the available budget and the expectations placed on him (he alluded to that a lot); or because he doesn't have full control over his budget (I can imagine the last one being true - re. Stephenson/Burke); or simply because he knows this years budget isn't sufficient to reach the prem and he wants to fulfil his ambitions (we know this to be true too). All plausible, all a shame if relations broke down over this, and none of this is a reason for the character assassination Gus has suffered.

and yes, I wish he'd played the youth more - although to be fair he was squarely behind Dunk before the criminal case surfaced, signed March, Maksimeno, Dickenson and others, gave Bridcutt, Lua Lua and Barnes their big chance and also said that March would play more this season. I guess JFC is the big disappointment, to look so good in that Saints game and then barely feature for the next year and a half.

So perhaps on balance he was quite good in that regard.

But considering that Gus ended his employment by publically questioning whether there was enough budget to get promotion; and all the talk of FFP and belightening, it is a bit strange that we've now added Agustien and Andrews to a midfield of Lopez, Bridcutt and Crofts when we have JFC and Ince available too. Could we perhaps have done without one or two of them, and thus not had to raise charges so much?

 

[Icy Gull]

He's not an idiot. It'll be to do with budget allocations within the club (e.g. having money to buy CMS but not to give Murray a better offer); or a discrepancy between the available budget );QUOTE]

I would love to know the truth about this. What did strike me at the time, and if you could be arsed to look back you'd see I did question it, was that Gus never seemed to me to be that impressed with Murray. We have heard Gus' side of the story, conveniently after Murray had proved such a success for Palace and made the decision to let him go look like a major cock up, but TB has said nothing.

Gus not an idiot? No, but he was not very good at keeping his thoughts on the running of the club to himself, which is pretty unprofessional imo. He was an excellent football manager but does he really have the knowhow of what it takes to run a football club? How would he have felt if Bloom or Barber had commented in the press about his failings as a manager?

 

[Brovion]

My support and sympathy is entirely with Paul Barber. We know he's got to make up an 8mil shortfall and stick within FFP etc - but why? Why do we lose so much money? Why is it apparently impossible to run an ambitious Championship club at a profit? The answer is players wages. Yes, those very same players we idolise so much are also responsible for everything we hate, from booking fees to £19 one-plate 'buffets'.

So rather than moaning impotently on here about Bloom/Barber, when the players run out against Birmingham boo them heartily. They're the ones to blame.

 

[blockhseagull]

ALL managers ask for more Icy, its just the way of the game. So if there was a falling out rather than Gus committing gross misconduct, yes maybe it was because of budget constraints. But I can't believe its as simple as as Gus wanting more money, being refused it and then throwing his toys out of the pram. He's not an idiot. It'll be to do with budget allocations within the club (e.g. having money to buy CMS but not to give Murray a better offer); or a discrepancy between the available budget and the expectations placed on him (he alluded to that a lot); or because he doesn't have full control over his budget (I can imagine the last one being true - re. Stephenson/Burke); or simply because he knows this years budget isn't sufficient to reach the prem and he wants to fulfil his ambitions (we know this to be true too). All plausible, all a shame if relations broke down over this, and none of this is a reason for the character assassination Gus has suffered.

and yes, I wish he'd played the youth more - although to be fair he was squarely behind Dunk before the criminal case surfaced, signed March, Maksimeno, Dickenson and others, gave Bridcutt, Lua Lua and Barnes their big chance and also said that March would play more this season. I guess JFC is the big disappointment, to look so good in that Saints game and then barely feature for the next year and a half.

So perhaps on balance he was quite good in that regard.

But considering that Gus ended his employment by publically questioning whether there was enough budget to get promotion; and all the talk of FFP and belightening, it is a bit strange that we've now added Agustien and Andrews to a midfield of Lopez, Bridcutt and Crofts when we have JFC and Ince available too. Could we perhaps have done without one or two of them, and thus not had to raise charges so much?

Poyet doesn't understand FFP so might be due to that !!

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I would love to know the truth about this. What did strike me at the time, and if you could be arsed to look back you'd see I did question it, was that Gus never seemed to me to be that impressed with Murray. We have heard Gus' side of the story, conveniently after Murray had proved such a success for Palace and made the decision to let him go look like a major cock up, but TB has said nothing.

Me too, would like to know the truth and also thought that Gus wasn't a massive Murray fan. I have little reason to doubt Gus' story considering it was a very specific point to make and hasn't been refuted since.

Gus not an idiot? No, but he was not very good at keeping his thoughts on the running of the club to himself, which is pretty unprofessional imo. He was an excellent football manager but does he really have the knowhow of what it takes to run a football club? How would he have felt if Bloom or Barber had commented in the press about his failings as a manager?

As I've said before, I've always felt that Gus' public pronouncements were aimed at the fans, not at the board. He couldn't take criticism, and I guess couldn't block out the fans opinions - it wouldn't surprise me if he browsed NSC in the evenings, perhaps to revel in the adulation, and then find things he didn't like and react to them. For example when he came out and told fans that if they didn't like his new style of football he would be happy to just go home. Or when he said that if you don't appreciate Ashley Barnes you 'don't understand football'.

Last season two of the biggest complaints aimed at him were that 'Letting Murray go was the biggest mistake Gus made' so of course he would answer that. And 'We should be storming this league with the budget he's got and the team he has' - so he would answer that too by pointing out the relative budget of BHA v the other teams in this league.

So that's my thesis, that he was talking direct to the moaners on here. Unprofessional, maybe, or at the least unwise to get distracted by such things. Barry Lloyd wouldn't have given two shits what we said on here. And I have no doubt it pissed TB off.

 

[janee]

I don't necessarily disagree with most of the decisions Barber has had to take but the PR has beeb abysmal. Announci.g bus changes after ticket hikes for travel, membership scheme changes etc. All just prior to the season start. Our pr is Shit and surely comes under Barber's remit

 

[marshy68]

£2.80 for 15 chips FFP problems will be solved very soon

 

[glasfryn]

its not what he does
its the way he does it

 

[LamieRobertson]

£2.80 for 15 chips FFP problems will be solved very soon

far too many chips

 

[LamieRobertson]

The club should be doing everything it can to secure the 30,000 fans that we have currently got, it's a golden opportunity, driving them away for the sake of a few million quid could be disastrous for our long-term future.

we have 30k?

 

[T soprano]

far too many chips

Tony bloom likes lots of chips

 

[Hillian1]

Paul Barber eats children and drowns kittens.

Paul Barber Yesterday.

 

[GreersElbow]

I think the only thing we can praise the club for at the moment, is the fantastic stadium we have - and that is down to TB and thus makes him immune from criticism.

PB however has seemed to make poor & unpopular decisions from the day he joined us, such as the treatment of Gully's Girls and AITC, or the petty fee to become a mascot. I think if we made a list of all the unwelcome or downright poor decisions he has made from day one, we could compile a very long list by now. That's not to say that they aren't happening for a reason, the club HAS to save & make more money - but I can't help but think that Martin Perry would have considered the fans and the clubs values incomparably more than PB seems to be in doing so.

Everything Barber is doing is more than likely going through the board and inevitably Bloom. But because Barber's the poster boy for executive decisions, he's the targeted one. Perry doesn't have the experience that Barber has, that's the major point. I'd rather we had financial stability than a happy cheery CEO who's out to win over the fans as opposed to making hard decisions.


I have found it amusing that many people have been calling for getting more players in, and then complain about price increases and budget cuts. Well, I think people may need to wake up and smell the coffee. Bloom confirmed that to be competitive in the championship, you will make loses. However, it's how you manage those loses is down to Barber. We could carry on as we were, and face an uncertain future. OR we could quite possibly tighten the belt a little and get on with it and accept that if we wish to see a higher level of football, whether that be in terms of league or attracting quality players. The money has to come from somewhere, the club can only raise so much through corporate sponsorship and events. The fans, whom are the ones often demanding better players and share the aspiration of a higher league must also make that contribution.


But the mascot fee, I do agree. I thought that was a nice gesture, I do disagree about the decision to change it.

But I keep hearing this "club's values" but I'm seeing no examples of what the club's values are.