RAL Takeover 5 Years In

[Legion]

Just about every club in the Premier League has changed hands over the past ten years or so. Now, of all those owners, how many would you swap for Randy?

12 or 13 months ago, none; now, I'm not so sure - I'd need to see a list.  Even Randy's most ardent supporters would surely concede that the last 12 months have been shambolic at times.  I'm prepared to keep supporting him because I think he's a decent man but he definitely needs to raise his game.  If the McLeish appointment doesn't work out, it's anyone's guess what will happen.

Any use?

[hilts_coolerking]

Any use?

Sir Chips Keswick at Arsenal sounds great.  I imagine him to be like Terry-Thomas.

[Toronto Villa]

Of the ones running the larger, higher profile PL clubs, there aren't many, if any that haven't had their own difficulties in the past 5 years. Naturally we keep a keen interest over what happens at our club, but during those same 5 years, while we have had our bumps, it's fair to say so have the others. It's a shame that West Ham and Blues are no longer in the PL because that would make Randy seem even more favourable as a percentage of the total number of PL owners.

While Randy and his team have made errors, some through naivety, others through inexperience, I do believe that they have done as much as they can to address the various needs of the club and fans. None of us will ever fully agree with every aspect of his chairmanship, but investment capability aside, I'd still pick him over pretty much everybody on that list.

[pauliewalnuts]

Unfortunately, investment capability is what it comes down to, above everything else.

There are two things that worry me. One is that the club is looking more and more like it is badly run. The other is that the degree to which the brakes are being put on the spending is dangerous.

I understand that he might want to rein back the spending, but the way things are looking now, he's doing it to a level which suggests we'll maybe struggle to just coast.

[pauliewalnuts]

Looking at the figures (and I appreciate that it isn't just about transfer fees), the net spending since Randy arrived is approx 89 million in 5 years (near as damn it).

Assuming we get 20 for Downing and we got 17 for Young, that gives him the opportunity to bring the spend down to a little over 50m, or 10 million a year.

I can see why he'd think that way - he'd be recouping a large part of his investment, and be maneouvring into a situation where he could feasibly sell the club (were he able to find a buyer) and make a profit on it, or at the very least absolutely minimise his losses.

To be entirely honest, I woudn't blame him if he wanted to get out. I could understand the reasons. The flip side of it, though, is that if he starts clawing back that investment, then we've gone from a club which has had a decent amount of money invested in it to one which has had a less impressive figure ploughed in.

My worry is that that is what he really wants to do, and in January or next summer, we'll be moving Darren Bent on to recoup another 25m of that. The last twelve months really have been surreally odd.

[Toronto Villa]

Or that he sees this as an opportunity to reset the club to a model that he can sustain. That he has no intention to sell the club, and once he's got to a position where he's rid the club of players that don't want to be here, and wages that are like heavy stones round his neck, he can start to build again. If that means a season or two of not competing at the very top then so be it. I'm guessing he's hoping that is not the case at all, and through a combination of remotivated incumbents, clever spending and talented younger players we might have a run at Europe and pinch a cup.

I can see why Moyes was so appealing to him because Everton went from being a very successful club at or near the top in the 80's to one that floated around the middle of the table. Moyes made them relevant again by being solid and reponsible despite financial contraints that have been far worse than ours will be. He obviously couldn't get Moyes, so my belief is that he sees McLeish as someone who in time might be able to replicate that model and compete at a consistent and sustainable level.

[pauliewalnuts]

It won't just be a season or two of not competing, though, that's the thing. Sell all your best players as quick as you can and you don't just lose good footballers, you also make yourself very unattractive to other good footballers.

I think you've a point re Moyes, though. Unfortunately Randy's approach to identifying his own Moyes seems to be:

Is Scottish? Check.
Is ginger? Check.

incidentally, running the club on a sustainable footing in pace with what he could afford - isn't that what we spent decades hurling abuse at Doug about?

[Rigadon]

Or that he sees this as an opportunity to reset the club to a model that he can sustain. That he has no intention to sell the club, and once he's got to a position where he's rid the club of players that don't want to be here, and wages that are like heavy stones round his neck, he can start to build again. If that means a season or two of not competing at the very top then so be it. I'm guessing he's hoping that is not the case at all, and through a combination of remotivated incumbents, clever spending and talented younger players we might have a run at Europe and pinch a cup.

I can see why Moyes was so appealing to him because Everton went from being a very successful club at or near the top in the 80's to one that floated around the middle of the table. Moyes made them relevant again by being solid and reponsible despite financial contraints that have been far worse than ours will be. He obviously couldn't get Moyes, so my belief is that he sees McLeish as someone who in time might be able to replicate that model and compete at a consistent and sustainable level.

Pretty much how I see it re McLeish. 

[Rico]

I think on thẹ whole Randy has done a good job, it's just the economics of football have changed over the last few years. Being a multi millionaire or even a billionaire is not enough to compete at the top level anymore. So what I believe the club should do is set some new goals. We can't win thẹ league, but we could win a cup. So I believe our target should be to first and foremost maintain premier league status, continue to develop our youth, but go all out for the league or FA cup. Winning trophies regularly is what thẹ games about. If we won the league cup next season, and thẹ FA cup thẹ following suddenly the clubs profile is raised making it easier to attract better players. Then thẹ club can really push on. That's why thẹ FA cup surrender last year was so hard to take. So the message should be no more weakened sides in the cup, maintain premier league status, go all out for FA cup/league cup and I think the general atmosphere surrounding the club would improve. I know it's obviously easier said than done, but it is a realistic target, where as finishing top four is, Imo, out of reach - for now!

[Villa'Zawg]

I think on thẹ whole Randy has done a good job, it's just the economics of football have changed over the last few years. Being a multi millionaire or even a billionaire is not enough to compete at the top level anymore. So what I believe the club should do is set some new goals. We can't win thẹ league, but we could win a cup. So I believe our target should be to first and foremost maintain premier league status, continue to develop our youth, but go all out for the league or FA cup. Winning trophies regularly is what thẹ games about. If we won the league cup next season, and thẹ FA cup thẹ following suddenly the clubs profile is raised making it easier to attract better players. Then thẹ club can really push on. That's why thẹ FA cup surrender last year was so hard to take. So the message should be no more weakened sides in the cup, maintain premier league status, go all out for FA cup/league cup and I think the general atmosphere surrounding the club would improve. I know it's obviously easier said than done, but it is a realistic target, where as finishing top four is, Imo, out of reach - for now!

Isn't that more or less a return to the pre-lerner era?

[cdward]

I think on thẹ whole Randy has done a good job, it's just the economics of football have changed over the last few years. Being a multi millionaire or even a billionaire is not enough to compete at the top level anymore. So what I believe the club should do is set some new goals. We can't win thẹ league, but we could win a cup. So I believe our target should be to first and foremost maintain premier league status, continue to develop our youth, but go all out for the league or FA cup. Winning trophies regularly is what thẹ games about. If we won the league cup next season, and thẹ FA cup thẹ following suddenly the clubs profile is raised making it easier to attract better players. Then thẹ club can really push on. That's why thẹ FA cup surrender last year was so hard to take. So the message should be no more weakened sides in the cup, maintain premier league status, go all out for FA cup/league cup and I think the general atmosphere surrounding the club would improve. I know it's obviously easier said than done, but it is a realistic target, where as finishing top four is, Imo, out of reach - for now!

That is a fans point of view. The PL is where the money is, not the FA cup, or League Cup. I'm sure most Blues fans were happy with their cup win, but it was worth about an extra £1m in revenue, being relegated cost them about £30m.
That's what i really don't understand about the McLeish signing, if he follows his current form of managing in the PL, the club stand to lose financially.
The PL is massive business these days, the fact that we seem to struggle with attracting sponsors, maximising profit from shirt sales, paying out compensation for managers, seems to suggest that from a business point of view we don't have the necessary nous and acumen to compete.

I

[Rico]

The point I'm trying to make is that if we could win maybe two cups over the next few years then thẹ profile of thẹ club would be raised and then we could attract better players and the feel good factor would be back. Then we could push on and aim for thẹ top four.

[cdward]

The point I'm trying to make is that if we could win maybe two cups over the next few years then thẹ profile of thẹ club would be raised and then we could attract better players and the feel good factor would be back. Then we could push on and aim for thẹ top four.

And as fans i think we would all love that. But we would have to seriously question why MON threw in the Europa towel and why Houllier did the same with the FA cup, is it because they were given orders to concentrate on the league by RL?

[pmarachi]

How many times are we going to have the same thread with a different name?

Can someone just make an "I Hate Lerner Because He Hired Eck" forum? It would make it a lot easier...

[Villa'Zawg]

How many times are we going to have the same thread with a different name?

Can someone just make an "I Hate Lerner Because He Hired Eck" forum? It would make it a lot easier...

I don't hate Lerner and I understand why he hired McLeish, I just wish he wasn't running the club in a way that makes McLeish the best man for the job.