BoroGold
Well-known member
The "full backing of the Chairman" usually results in the sack a couple of days later
Wouldn't it be nice to hear from Gibson...
- Thread starter 18MFC76
- Start date
DimisLegCramps
Active member
Rob you dont even ask half our questions at the supporters forum
I don't ask about eggs, no you are right there..
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This is a serious offer though I am making and think I can deliver on.
So I need proper questions.
So I need proper questions.
Aztec chimera
Well-known member
Ah, the dreaded vote of confidence. I'm sure he did that with Woodgate and he was sacked not long after. I'm not sure what anyone would gain from him coming out and saying he's fully behind MC.
Aztec chimera
Well-known member
What in MCs opinion does he think has gone wrong so far and why? And does he think that a different formation may suit the current crop of players better? I get he doesn't want to change the style but formation is a different thing.
coluka
Well-known member
Q. There is some concern amongst the fanbase that the Summer 2023 recruits are a long way from being oven ready for the Championship battle ahead and results and performances from several of them so far seem to suggest thats true. The team as a whole has clearly been affected as a result. If a significant improvement in performances fails to materialise will that be mainly seen by you as a failure from the recruitment team or from the Coaching staff?
Q. What role do you play in approving the signing of new players, as at least 2 managers have claimed they were provided with gifts that they claimed they did not really want and Downing himself stated on BBC Tees he felt one of his managers had not wanted him?
Q. We have had so many changes in management/head coaches and playing styles over the last few years, in fact since relegation in 2009. Why do you think we have had so many failures in that time, is it predominantly the managers themselves were not up to the job, or predominantly poor recruitment of players who lacked the quality to be successful?
Q. Have you ever considered appointing a footballing executive to run the club on your behalf, like a Peter Kenyon type, allowing you to fully concentrate on your other business interests? If not why do you believe you are the best person to steer the club to success again?
Q. What would relegation to league one mean to how the club would cope both financially and its ability to bounce straight back at the first attempt?
Q If you could turn the clock back to any managerial appointment you made and could make an alternative decision, in hindsight, which appointment would that be and why?
Q. What role do you play in approving the signing of new players, as at least 2 managers have claimed they were provided with gifts that they claimed they did not really want and Downing himself stated on BBC Tees he felt one of his managers had not wanted him?
Q. We have had so many changes in management/head coaches and playing styles over the last few years, in fact since relegation in 2009. Why do you think we have had so many failures in that time, is it predominantly the managers themselves were not up to the job, or predominantly poor recruitment of players who lacked the quality to be successful?
Q. Have you ever considered appointing a footballing executive to run the club on your behalf, like a Peter Kenyon type, allowing you to fully concentrate on your other business interests? If not why do you believe you are the best person to steer the club to success again?
Q. What would relegation to league one mean to how the club would cope both financially and its ability to bounce straight back at the first attempt?
Q If you could turn the clock back to any managerial appointment you made and could make an alternative decision, in hindsight, which appointment would that be and why?
Humpty
Well-known member
Q1. Can you explain the current executive organisational structure and who is responsible for what?
Q2. What is the short, medium and long term goal of the club as a whole?
Q3. Is there an actual plan in place to achieve these goals and if so can you talk us through it?
Q4. Do you have a succession plan for the running and ownership of the club?
Q2. What is the short, medium and long term goal of the club as a whole?
Q3. Is there an actual plan in place to achieve these goals and if so can you talk us through it?
Q4. Do you have a succession plan for the running and ownership of the club?
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Easterside_Red
Well-known member
Has Stevie been in touch to order a puff-piece?
indeedido
Well-known member
I will give it some thought and reply to you.
I respect you making the attempt.
What is the current management structure at the club and do you still get involved with decision making
Is it true the clubs looking at implementing a moneyball style to recruitment. What steps are the club taking in implementing this.
The club seem to run out of replica kits each season. Is the club taking any measures to improve the availability of replica kits in future seasons.
With crowds increasing substantially in recent years its getting harder and harder to park on matchdays is the club looking at working with the local authority to improve car park availability and also encourage more people to travel to games via public transport by more public services being put on.
Is the club looking at any scheme like Boro pride for noneseason ticket holders.
The beer in the concourse is so expensive yet so low quality is the club looking at maybe working with local microbreweries to improve drinks quality on match days.
Is it true the clubs looking at implementing a moneyball style to recruitment. What steps are the club taking in implementing this.
The club seem to run out of replica kits each season. Is the club taking any measures to improve the availability of replica kits in future seasons.
With crowds increasing substantially in recent years its getting harder and harder to park on matchdays is the club looking at working with the local authority to improve car park availability and also encourage more people to travel to games via public transport by more public services being put on.
Is the club looking at any scheme like Boro pride for noneseason ticket holders.
The beer in the concourse is so expensive yet so low quality is the club looking at maybe working with local microbreweries to improve drinks quality on match days.
Thanks - some good questions are being asked.
Obviously none of us want in anyway to undermine Michael Carrick - and hope we can get our first win on Saturday - we will hopefully be able to arrange this process in October.
coluka
Well-known member
Hopefully we can turn a bit of a corner by then and things will look a little less bleak, thanks for your efforts in this. It would be great if it could be filmed, or even sound recorded in some sort of podcast, although I appreciate he may not be willing for such a move if the outlook were still bleak.
I was thinking maybe a quarterly podcast could be done with the likes of MC, KS, NB, or the club captain at the time, (individually not all together) where discussions could take place around a host of sensible subjects connected with their roles, maybe an annual one with SG himself. Just a thought, as it may help improve communication and re-connect supporters and club?
Bruce
Well-known member
Obviously it will be sanitised environment and it won't be some sort of "we have ways of making you talk" event but it's certainly possible to ask meaty questions that Gibson can choose either to answer thoughtfully or not. What I would ask and roughly how I would ask them is something like this. Parkinson rather than Herr Flick.
Q. It's nearly 30 years since work on the Riverside stadium started and you appointed Bryan Robson. For the first 12 years we had just two permanent managers but in the time since we're now onto the 10th.* (pause) I was surprised when I counted them up because we've long had a reputation for stability in managers. How do you see us getting back to that or is it just inevitable in football these days that managerial appointments don't last.
Probes/follow-ups. Head of football role. Michael Carrick (if he brings it up). Variation in style of manager. Are you more hands-off than you used to be?
Q. You see a lot of people talking about things like the "Brentford model" the "Brighton model" and so on. Before Covid got in the way, there was talk around the club about a "golden thread." From where you sit, how do you see the "Boro model" now?
probes/follow ups. Role of academy. Been doing some more counting and it looks like we have signed 83** people on permanents and loans since relegation.
Q. So, money. No one likes to talk about it but we all worry about it. It seems that football finances get crazier every year and the Championship is worst of all. Like most clubs, our financial records are public knowledge and we all know the club has lost a lot of money since relegation. How do we get onto a better footing or is that even possible in the Championship?
Probe: If there is an opening, what about outside investment? Is that something you would welcome and, if so, what would you be looking for in an investor?
*Southgate, Strachan, Mowbray, AK, Monk, Pulis, Woodgate, Warnock, Wilder, Carrick
**Bloody hell, wish I hadn't counted.
Q. It's nearly 30 years since work on the Riverside stadium started and you appointed Bryan Robson. For the first 12 years we had just two permanent managers but in the time since we're now onto the 10th.* (pause) I was surprised when I counted them up because we've long had a reputation for stability in managers. How do you see us getting back to that or is it just inevitable in football these days that managerial appointments don't last.
Probes/follow-ups. Head of football role. Michael Carrick (if he brings it up). Variation in style of manager. Are you more hands-off than you used to be?
Q. You see a lot of people talking about things like the "Brentford model" the "Brighton model" and so on. Before Covid got in the way, there was talk around the club about a "golden thread." From where you sit, how do you see the "Boro model" now?
probes/follow ups. Role of academy. Been doing some more counting and it looks like we have signed 83** people on permanents and loans since relegation.
Q. So, money. No one likes to talk about it but we all worry about it. It seems that football finances get crazier every year and the Championship is worst of all. Like most clubs, our financial records are public knowledge and we all know the club has lost a lot of money since relegation. How do we get onto a better footing or is that even possible in the Championship?
Probe: If there is an opening, what about outside investment? Is that something you would welcome and, if so, what would you be looking for in an investor?
*Southgate, Strachan, Mowbray, AK, Monk, Pulis, Woodgate, Warnock, Wilder, Carrick
**Bloody hell, wish I hadn't counted.
Really great questions these - we'll get this weekend out of the way and then start working on this.
Hopefully if successful we could try and work on some kind of follow up. But first things first.
Easterside_Red
Well-known member
It sounds as if Gibson has been in touch with Rob rather than the other way round.
Who do you think asks him to take the threads down about him lol
indeedido
Well-known member
Never mind the stadium, the training ground, the trophy, the European adventures, the Cup Finals, the star players, the magic memories, the local bragging rights...
Nobody can doubt the massive financial contribution you have made with £89m in equity injected into a business you already owned. Plus over £142m in Group Undertakings (loans) which keeps the club afloat, covering the losses made virtually every year.
Additionally it would appear that the £247m that MFC has lost (Balance Sheet as at 30/6/22) would be significantly greater were it not for Group Tax accounting.
The financial position of the club is however understandably concerning given the publicly available information:
1.Will those Undertakings/loans legally convert to equity by particular dates and if so when? i.e. is the nett negative value of the club (-£132m) merely about timing?
2.Under what circumstances would you recall those loans?
3.Why do you not convert those loans to equity/reserves, as you have done in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and as other club owners have done e.g. Stoke City, Bristol City, Aston Villa, Fulham?
4.Why do you choose not to inject the FFP allowable equity into the Club. i.e. £24m across every 3 year rolling period?
5.Under what circumstances would you not extend further loan funding from the Group to cover future MFC trading losses?
6.Why do you think that you are the person that should have complete ownership and control of Middlesbrough Football Club?
7.Under what circumstances would you transfer ownership and control of the club to other parties?
8.What proportion of the Group Undertakings do you envisage having to write off in order to interest another investor and owner?
9.How do you see the ownership and control of the Club in the next 5 or 10 years?
10.What would be your response to claims that you no longer have the ambition, the drive, the means, or the capability to steward Middlesbrough FC in the Premier League????
The Club enjoyed an obvious sustained run of progress, success and profile under your leadership:
11.How would you describe the performance of the club since Eindhoven?
12.What would you do differently if you were able to?
13.What do you see as Middlesbrough FC's reasonable and realistic status in the football pyramid? What status should supporters aspire to/expect/be satisfied with/ find unacceptable????
14.How will Gibson O'Neill provide the funding and the expertise required to realise that status?
The 2022-23 season was refreshing in the style of football played and the connection between club, manager, player and supporters.
Summer started with such optimism, but we've started the season worse than any in our history and there is little optimism around the fanbase.
15. What are the Responsibilities and Accountabilities of the Chief Exec/Sporting Director/Head Coach?
16. How is Club and Team performance/position assessed?
17. How do you as Chairman interact with these key people and who determines why and when key changes are made?
18. What is your view of our current position and our prospects for the next year?
19. Why do you not communicate with the Club's supporters more often?
20. What are you most concerned about from a football perspective?
(I don't probe ticket pricing, commercial activities, or operational issues, mainly because I think they are of much much less significance.)
Nobody can doubt the massive financial contribution you have made with £89m in equity injected into a business you already owned. Plus over £142m in Group Undertakings (loans) which keeps the club afloat, covering the losses made virtually every year.
Additionally it would appear that the £247m that MFC has lost (Balance Sheet as at 30/6/22) would be significantly greater were it not for Group Tax accounting.
The financial position of the club is however understandably concerning given the publicly available information:
1.Will those Undertakings/loans legally convert to equity by particular dates and if so when? i.e. is the nett negative value of the club (-£132m) merely about timing?
2.Under what circumstances would you recall those loans?
3.Why do you not convert those loans to equity/reserves, as you have done in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and as other club owners have done e.g. Stoke City, Bristol City, Aston Villa, Fulham?
4.Why do you choose not to inject the FFP allowable equity into the Club. i.e. £24m across every 3 year rolling period?
5.Under what circumstances would you not extend further loan funding from the Group to cover future MFC trading losses?
6.Why do you think that you are the person that should have complete ownership and control of Middlesbrough Football Club?
7.Under what circumstances would you transfer ownership and control of the club to other parties?
8.What proportion of the Group Undertakings do you envisage having to write off in order to interest another investor and owner?
9.How do you see the ownership and control of the Club in the next 5 or 10 years?
10.What would be your response to claims that you no longer have the ambition, the drive, the means, or the capability to steward Middlesbrough FC in the Premier League????
The Club enjoyed an obvious sustained run of progress, success and profile under your leadership:
11.How would you describe the performance of the club since Eindhoven?
12.What would you do differently if you were able to?
13.What do you see as Middlesbrough FC's reasonable and realistic status in the football pyramid? What status should supporters aspire to/expect/be satisfied with/ find unacceptable????
14.How will Gibson O'Neill provide the funding and the expertise required to realise that status?
The 2022-23 season was refreshing in the style of football played and the connection between club, manager, player and supporters.
Summer started with such optimism, but we've started the season worse than any in our history and there is little optimism around the fanbase.
15. What are the Responsibilities and Accountabilities of the Chief Exec/Sporting Director/Head Coach?
16. How is Club and Team performance/position assessed?
17. How do you as Chairman interact with these key people and who determines why and when key changes are made?
18. What is your view of our current position and our prospects for the next year?
19. Why do you not communicate with the Club's supporters more often?
20. What are you most concerned about from a football perspective?
(I don't probe ticket pricing, commercial activities, or operational issues, mainly because I think they are of much much less significance.)