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View Full Version : Have we ever appreciated our chairman?



Hibbyradge
07-11-2011, 11:48 PM
Tom Hart used to get it in the neck big style and every Chairman since has suffered the same fate.

Have the fans ever liked a Hibs Chairman?

matty_f
07-11-2011, 11:52 PM
Tom Hart used to get it in the neck big style and every Chairman since has suffered the same fate.

Have the fans ever liked a Hibs Chairman?

Do any clubs like their chairman?:greengrin

Viva_Palmeiras
08-11-2011, 12:05 AM
Niall Quinn at Sunderland?
Al Fayed (jacko memorial excepted)
Abrhamovic?
The Man city dude?

Jones28
08-11-2011, 12:11 AM
When you look back at the previous few appointments I can't really see why so much blame is being attached to Petrie TBH

Mowbray was a gamble, but it paid off, finishing third and playing outstanding football.
Collins came in and was admired for putting an emphasis on fitness and playing entertaining football, winning the CIS cup in the process
Mixu was next and in all fairness he inherited a lot of rot and was no longer able to use the younger players that came through for Mowbray and Collins
Mixu went, Hughes was brought in after managing Falkirk well, keeping them up and what not. His finished fourth in his first season in charge and for the first half of the season we were easily playing the best football in the league.
Calderwood was a very shrewd appointment. He got promoted with Notts County, Forrest and Newcastle as a number 2, who was to say he couldn't go all the way in the SPL?

In the end the appointments didn't work out, and with Collins in particular, some of the flak has to be directed and Petrie, but he is a Hibs fan and approached each new appointment in the same way as any of us on here would, selecting the candidate that was the best fit.

I personally have always had an admiration for Petrie, as it's with his brains and STF's financial assistance that Hibs are in the financially and structurally sound position they are in today.

nonshinyfinish
08-11-2011, 02:37 AM
A few years ago Petrie was very popular on here.

Nailrod
08-11-2011, 05:32 AM
When you look back at the previous few appointments I can't really see why so much blame is being attached to Petrie TBH...

Maybe I can help you.

In modern football, no manager can afford to look much further than the end of his nose. Their jobs are on the line on an almost daily basis. It's increasingly rare for a manager to be in a post for as long as three years. Only one current incumbent of 12 clubs in the SPL has been in the job that long, and seven have been in their posts for less than a year. It is absolutely pointless to expect a manager to devote any of his time, effort or energy to the long term future of his club.

This being the case, clubs depend for their long-term health and strategic management on their Board of Directors. It is the Board of Directors that has to give long-term 'direction' (hint: the clue is in the name) to a club.

We have had resources at our disposal that our direct rivals could only dream about. Five or six years ago we were blessed with an outstanding crop of young players. Their football legacy has been entirely, totally, and completely squandered. Two years ago we had a double-winning under-19 side. That legacy too has been squandered. We have 'progressed' from being a team that was capable of producing the most entertaining football in the country on its day - a team that would go to Parkhead, Ibrox, or Tynecastle expecting and intending to win, to a team that has produced one single performance worthy of note in the last two and a half years (the 3-0 win against Rangers at Ibrox). We are currently struggling against relegation, and right now we would certainly be the team of choice as opposition for any of our fellow strugglers. If we do go down there is absolutely no guarantee we will not find ourselves in the same position as Dundee - a once-proud club who have now languished in the First Division for six years.

In other words, our long term footballing strategy is a catastrophic shambles. Rod Petrie is the Chairman, and for years now, ER has pretty much been his fiefdom. He calls all the shots. His is the primary responsibility.

Beefster
08-11-2011, 08:15 AM
A few years ago Petrie was very popular on here.

That's how I remember it too. We still get folk proclaiming that he's done a great job because we're still in existence (ignoring the fact that without the Parks we'd still be in the massive debt that he helped put us in).

CentreLine
08-11-2011, 08:22 AM
A few years ago Petrie was very popular on here.

And still is IMHO. Just because a few people shout loudest does not put them in the majority

bawheid
08-11-2011, 08:43 AM
That's how I remember it too. We still get folk proclaiming that he's done a great job because we're still in existence (ignoring the fact that without the Parks we'd still be in the massive debt that he helped put us in).

Who employed the Parks?

You can't give him all of the blame for the debt, then not give him any of the credit for getting us out of it.

Bad Martini
08-11-2011, 08:57 AM
We have done well off the pitch.

We have paid the price on it.

The balance has been wrong for years and folk are entitled to be pissed off. Frankly the blame does lie with petrie and the board. If managers have gone cause it just hasnt worked out, what puts petrie above touch? Hes been a constant in the whole thing.

Makes no odds tho as he is going nowhere. He even had the cheek to pitch up on. the official site not so long ago and tell everyone else we need to do our bit!!

Petrie and our board have steered us to financial safety...at the expense of a decent team on the park.

Mary Hinge
08-11-2011, 09:01 AM
We have done well off the pitch.

We have paid the price on it.

The balance has been wrong for years and folk are entitled to be pissed off. Frankly the blame does lie with petrie and the board. If managers have gone cause it just hasnt worked out, what puts petrie above touch? Hes been a constant in the whole thing.

Makes no odds tho as he is going nowhere. He even had the cheek to pitch up on. the official site not so long ago and tell everyone else we need to do our bit!!

Petrie and our board have steered us to financial safety...at the expense of a decent team on the park.

Spot on BM :aok:

Hibbyradge
08-11-2011, 09:02 AM
We have done well off the pitch.

We have paid the price on it.

The balance has been wrong for years and folk are entitled to be pissed off. Frankly the blame does lie with petrie and the board. If managers have gone cause it just hasnt worked out, what puts petrie above touch? Hes been a constant in the whole thing.

Makes no odds tho as he is going nowhere. He even had the cheek to pitch up on. the official site not so long ago and tell everyone else we need to do our bit!!

Petrie and our board have steered us to financial safety...at the expense of a decent team on the park.

Security has to come first.

jdships
08-11-2011, 09:34 AM
We have done well off the pitch.

We have paid the price on it.

The balance has been wrong for years and folk are entitled to be pissed off. Frankly the blame does lie with petrie and the board. If managers have gone cause it just hasnt worked out, what puts petrie above touch? Hes been a constant in the whole thing.

Makes no odds tho as he is going nowhere. He even had the cheek to pitch up on. the official site not so long ago and tell everyone else we need to do our bit!!

Petrie and our board have steered us to financial safety...at the expense of a decent team on the park.


Think you have got that just about spot on :top marks
The problem has been getting the balance right . That probably has happened because RP is a "finance man" as opposed to a "true football man" . In his mind he has seen the club's financial stability as being the most important aspect of running the club.
Fine !
In many ways you really can't argue with that , however all football/rugby/cricket etc clubs are in the " entertainment business" and must ensure that the supporting public get " value for money" on/off the pitch.
Failure to do so endangers cashflow because of falling gates , poor sales of merchandise etc

I am sure many of you will agree that it is easy to be critical of RP and the Board but it is equally difficult to come up with a solution that could maintain a perfect balance of Financial Stability and Performance . Is there a football club anywhere in the world that has achieved that situation ?
I can't think of one !!
Every major club is saddled with enormous debt which has been " achieved" in the cause of gaining success.
What the answer is I haven't a clue !!
As it stands all I can hope for HFC is , in reality, a regular top three/four finish ,a wee run in Europe and , perhaps just perhaps , the odd cup success. :greengrin:wink:

As for criticising Petrie I would offer these two sayings .
" Be careful what you wish for "
and
" Don't shoot the piano player , he is doing his best "
:greengrin

I am not trying to defend RP, just offering my opinion on the situation , in a fair and balanced manner

:flag:

SuperEddieT
08-11-2011, 09:55 AM
Petrie's to easy a target. Just look to the mess that is at the other end of the city and balance that out. Hertz are in serious danger of ceasing to exist and despite what they say, their fans know it. Petrie has managed to keep us away from that scenario but of course there has been a cost. Hopefully with a new manager at the helm and a bit of belief in the team we can finish comfortably this season and make a better fist of it next.

If Petrie was to up and off do you really think some footballing mastermind is just waiting to take over?

Nope, Petrie is 100% the man for the job.

(That said- he really needs to get the next manager spot on!!! :worried:)

Beefster
08-11-2011, 10:44 AM
Who employed the Parks?

You can't give him all of the blame for the debt, then not give him any of the credit for getting us out of it.

Alex McLeish was responsible for John Park, IIRC. Donald Park was probably Alex Miller. But yes, Rodders was CEO some or all of the period that these guys were employed at the club.

Rodders gets credit when it is deserved but just like I don't hold him directly responsible when I'm served a cold pie or my seat is wet, I won't praise him for every single thing at ER that goes right - just because, by being in charge, he is indirectly linked to it. Rodders dodged a bullet when the 'Golden Generation' became sellable. Simple as that really.

The Green Goblin
08-11-2011, 12:30 PM
Tom Hart used to get it in the neck big style and every Chairman since has suffered the same fate.

Have the fans ever liked a Hibs Chairman?



As I have said elsewhere, (and setting aside the long-standing issues surrounding the manager´s position and the footballing side of things) I think that the things Rod Petrie has done to protect and develop HFC is widely and openly appreciated by fans on here and other websites. I can remember reading plenty of praise for him over the last few years.

I agree to some extent with BM and the idea that the balance has not been completely right, but at the same time, I also don´t see what a little difference in available money would have made to things anyway.

GG

Argylehibby
08-11-2011, 01:13 PM
Maybe I can help you.

In modern football, no manager can afford to look much further than the end of his nose. Their jobs are on the line on an almost daily basis. It's increasingly rare for a manager to be in a post for as long as three years. Only one current incumbent of 12 clubs in the SPL has been in the job that long, and seven have been in their posts for less than a year. It is absolutely pointless to expect a manager to devote any of his time, effort or energy to the long term future of his club.

This being the case, clubs depend for their long-term health and strategic management on their Board of Directors. It is the Board of Directors that has to give long-term 'direction' (hint: the clue is in the name) to a club.

We have had resources at our disposal that our direct rivals could only dream about. Five or six years ago we were blessed with an outstanding crop of young players. Their football legacy has been entirely, totally, and completely squandered. Two years ago we had a double-winning under-19 side. That legacy too has been squandered. We have 'progressed' from being a team that was capable of producing the most entertaining football in the country on its day - a team that would go to Parkhead, Ibrox, or Tynecastle expecting and intending to win, to a team that has produced one single performance worthy of note in the last two and a half years (the 3-0 win against Rangers at Ibrox). We are currently struggling against relegation, and right now we would certainly be the team of choice as opposition for any of our fellow strugglers. If we do go down there is absolutely no guarantee we will not find ourselves in the same position as Dundee - a once-proud club who have now languished in the First Division for six years.

In other words, our long term footballing strategy is a catastrophic shambles. Rod Petrie is the Chairman, and for years now, ER has pretty much been his fiefdom. He calls all the shots. His is the primary responsibility.


When you say the legacy has been squandered what do you mean? We had a group of players who we could not afford to keep. The wages they would demand would be well above what we as a club could afford to pay. We allowed them to leave at a very good price rather than hold onto them and seeing them leave at the end of their contracts for nothing.

We could have used the cash we received to buy new players at the same value but they would want the same wages that the guys who were leaving were about to get. We used the transfer money to reduce debt, keeping more money within the club rather than paying it to a bank in the form of interest. That meant cash stayed in the club year on year and could be used to increase wages and support the manager which this board has done constantly. How anyone can say the board have not supported the managers financially is incredible. Look at the squad on the official site today and there are a dozen there that were signed by Calderwood in the 12 months he has been here. The OF and Hearts have (or probably more accurate to say had) budgets far in excess of ours and in at least 2 of those cases they were spending more than they could afford. Naismith, Robson and Webster spring to mind as players we tried to buy but went to the three others because they were offered wages that were more than we could pay.

I don’t know what the long term strategy for Hibs is now or was over the last few years and let’s be honest outside the boardroom nobody does. But if reducing the debt, building the stadium and training centre were part of the strategy it is hardly a shambles. Appointing a series of managers who on first impressions appear to be sound appointments who subsequently fail to deliver and then getting shot of them (with in all but one case the fans demanding they do) is, I'm pretty sure, not part of any strategy the board has put in place. So while I don’t know with any certainty what it was, the strategy appears to have been sort out the clubs finances, build a top class stadium, a training centre and give the manager a sizeable budget to build a team. The only failure there is the manager building the team.

Of course we could have adopted the same strategy that has been evident at Ibrox and Gorgie which has currently left both clubs fighting for their very existence. You want us to go to these places with a chance of winning, we might not be going there again and not because we get relegated either.