Christian Purslow on 5Live Sportsweek

[AV82EC]

Lerner did lots of good thing in his early years. Things like free coaches to Chelsea for a midweek cup tie and Acorns. He didn't have to do stuff like that. Also backed the manager.

My god did it all fall down like a pack of cards when MON walked out. That's when his lack of football knowledge or indeed lack of delegating our key roles to people with any sort of knowledge was brutally exposed.

As you say hopefully we'll avoid that sort of meltdown with the Spanish sporting director.

I want the new board to be on the ball. Have an idea who our next manager or at least managerial targets would be in the 0.00001% chance Dean Smith walks out tomorrow.

It had been falling down for the previous two seasons with our inability to get in the top 4, MON walking was the cherry on the cake.

[b23]

Interview begins around 32:30. Incredibly positive listen! Touches on the owners, the club's finances, Smith, and longer-term plans for the club.

For me the comments on the sustainable plan for the club from the owners, the fact that promotion is not essential or required this year, and the thinking behind the Smith/Terry/Pitarch structure was so refreshing to hear. Comes across as intelligent, measured and gave an excellent answer RE the Kevin MacDonald situation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0001mpx

Thanks for posting that.
Purslow spoke very eloquently.

[john e]

I’ve been saying this for years but the whole thing stands or falls on who they appoint as manager

Well I hope the new set up is designed precisely to avoid this, that the new coaching and management structure will allow for changes of personnel without ripping everything up and starting again each time. You know, like a modern football club.

will not matter who the owner is the coaching system the CEO the director of football etc
 if you got the wrong man as manager it will still fail

I believe we have he right manager now btw

[SoccerHQ]

January and next summer will be interesting times as we have so many players out of contract.  Jedinak, Hutton, Bunn, Whelan, Richards, Elphick , Gardner plus the loanees all go.  I trust Pitarch and Smith to bring in the right people and get them to play in the right way to get us up as league winners next season.

Will be a total reshaping of midfield I think, McGinn obvious a must to stay (but like Grealish will probably be offers from prem clubs). At least getting high earners like Jedinak and Whelan off the books will give scope with regards FFP.

[ChicagoLion]

I’ve been saying this for years but the whole thing stands or falls on who they appoint as manager

Exactly and there also has to be a realistic policy regarding player recruitment.

[Villa75]

It seems most, including myself, have faith in the current owners.

They're certainly very lucky to have been given a great club to look after, with a fan base predominantly happy enough to be competitive within the top 6 of the second division. Previous owners have not had that luxury, but this will, hopefull, give them time to build a strong foundation from which to push on.

[dave shelley]

Interesting to listen to, informed and articulate.

[AV82EC]

It seems most, including myself, have faith in the current owners.

They're certainly very lucky to have been given a great club to look after, with a fan base predominantly happy enough to be competitive within the top 6 of the second division. Previous owners have not had that luxury, but this will, hopefull, give them time to build a strong foundation from which to push on.

Think this is really important. You don’t build long term successful football clubs on short term money blitzes and slick marketing. The foundations have to be built across a long term approach to coaching, players and your stadium, each brick carefully thought through and put in place. There are very Few examples where the money bought immediate success possibly Abramovich aside. That interview sounded to me like a long term view was being taken they can see the potential and it may take half a decade to get there but we’re at the start of what will be an important journey. As a wise man once said....

Hold onto your seats!!!

[ktvillan]

He certainly says all the right things but as others have said so did Lerner, Fox, Round and Wyness at times. 

Lerner was clueless and delegated power to a paranoid control freak with outdated ideas in O'Neill and a novice in Faulkner. And then Fox who was a marketing man not a Chef Exec.   

Wyness and Round showed they were "old school" rather than progressive with their appointment of Bruce, while the likes of Wolves, Huddersfield and Fulham did the opposite. 

At least this set of appointments have the pedigree and experience, whether it be as chief exec, sporting director or manager/coach,  to actually make you think they can walk the walk as well.   By making playing good football a priority as well as winning I think that is a massive step in the right direction.

[chrisw1]

January and next summer will be interesting times as we have so many players out of contract.  Jedinak, Hutton, Bunn, Whelan, Richards, Elphick , Gardner plus the loanees all go.  I trust Pitarch and Smith to bring in the right people and get them to play in the right way to get us up as league winners next season.

Will be a total reshaping of midfield I think, McGinn obvious a must to stay (but like Grealish will probably be offers from prem clubs). At least getting high earners like Jedinak and Whelan off the books will give scope with regards FFP.

I don't think there's any prospect of McGinn going next summer, whether we're promoted or not.  He is a key part of the team and must be loving it here, I'm sure we'd get one more season whatever happens.

I could see Jack becoming the sacrificial FFP lamb, particularly if he's been made promises and has a buy-out clause.

I'm still hoping BB and Lansbury can make significant contributions under Smith and it will be interesting to see where those two are come the end of the season.

[Damo70]

We did well at first under Lerner and MON as they were the right owner and the right manager at the right time. This is now the first time since MON left when we genuinely seem to have the right ownership, structure and key personnel in place. From the moment MON left the club and seemingly also left Lerner terminally disenchanted we have never had the crucial combination of the right owner/owners, right chief exec and right management/coaching team. I am optimistic we now have that.

[BC Villain]

Well worth a listen.  I like the impression of authority and professionalism that comes across when he talks, but then again we've been down this road before with Tom Fox - who made one bad decision after another while completely rubbing all the fans up the wrong way - and then Keith Wyness who ultimately helped lead us to the brink of being wound up.  In the end, actions will speak louder than words.

[Toronto Villa]

Tom Fox did sound eloquent but he never had a resume to back it up. Same with Round really. At least Purslow has worked in this role before. He’s been involved in very high profile transactions and being at Liverpool and Chelsea he’ll have no doubt made mistakes but you would hope learned a lot.

[SW9-VILLA]

He spoke very well but highly educated Executive types generally do. That said makes a nice change from Xia's bonkers communications on Twitter.

[ktvillan]

We did well at first under Lerner and MON as they were the right owner and the right manager at the right time. This is now the first time since MON left when we genuinely seem to have the right ownership, structure and key personnel in place. From the moment MON left the club and seemingly also left Lerner terminally disenchanted we have never had the crucial combination of the right owner/owners, right chief exec and right management/coaching team. I am optimistic we now have that.

MON and Lerner seemed like the right pairing for a while but ultimately it was a red herring.  It was fairly quickly clear (in my view from the "Marlon Harewood moment" ) that MON was a chequebook manager with outdated ideas who spunked the family silver away and then went off in a huff.  Lerner was utterly clueless to let him do it and even more clueless without him, as the subsequent 6 or 7 years proved.