Paul Mitchell (Sporting Director)

[Kid Icarus]

4 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

He says upfront that the agreed approach for the window was to go with the strategy that they already had in place, and they were all in agreement on this.

 

If anything he is coming in not looking to throw his weight around, but instead respect what was decided upon already.

 

He said that they were working on multiple deals and options but that they then determined that Howe preferred a CB he was certain would impact the first team, in Guehi, and if not, he was fine with the quality he had, and so he supported that view.

 

Struggling to see the negative slant being put on these quotes 

 

I'm in a bullet point mood so you'll have to excuse me

 

So everyone has a negative view on our transfer window.

 

Howe does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have.

 

During that interview he:

• presents a united front, apportioning blame to himself
• talks about working relationships needing to get up and running and working properly
• bemoans PSR

No one has any problem with it

 

Mitchell does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have

 

During that interview he:

• doesn't present a united front and instead:
  • bemoans our existing strategy
  • distances himself from the failure of the transfer window while attaching Howe to it by saying he was supporting him rather than leading
  • implies that the blame is apportioned to Ashworth and potentially Howe, Staveley, Ghoudoussi

 

[Kid Icarus]

7 minutes ago, Bimpy474 said:

 

It wasn't that we were bidding £65m for someone we didn't want.

 

I read where Mitchell explained that we bid £65m two weeks before the window ended, and it was left on the table, that was as high as we were willing to go, probably higher than preferable obviously.

 

Yes but I'm replying to a post where the other person is saying that 'our top brass' didn't think Guehi was worth big money...despite us bidding big money

[The Bonk]

18 minutes ago, KaKa said:

Struggling to see the negative slant being put on these quotes 

 

It beggars belief, man. This forum:

"WE WANT CHANGE AND WE'RE SICK OF OUR SHIT OWNERS"

....Takeover.......New Ownership dumps a bunch of money into the club........hires people with pedigree in roles previously done by a single barely competent thumbheed.....

"NOT THIS CHANGE!!! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? MANAGEMENT SPEAK, CHANCER! DELEGATOR!" 

 

   At least most are back to caring again! 

[The Prophet]

2 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

 

I'm in a bullet point mood so you'll have to excuse me

 

So everyone has a negative view on our transfer window.

 

Howe does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have.

 

During that interview he:

• presents a united front, apportioning blame to himself
• talks about working relationships needing to get up and running and working properly
• bemoans PSR

No one has any problem with it

 

Mitchell does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have

 

During that interview he:

• doesn't present a united front and instead:
  • bemoans our existing strategy
  • distances himself from the failure of the transfer window while attaching Howe to it by saying he was supporting him rather than leading
  • implies that the blame is apportioned to Ashworth and potentially Howe, Staveley, Ghoudoussi

 

 

While I'd agree with this, Mitchell does talk about his admiration for Howe and that he's excited about the collaboration going forward.

 

I didn't like some of his interview, but it wasn't all bad.

[TRon]

37 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

 

It sounds like blame delegating to me:

 

1. He states multiple times he's new and was there to support rather than control.

2. He implies we could have worked on multiple deals, but Howe only wanted that one player (Guehi).injuries 

3. He implies that Howe had final say on all transfers.

 

 

Maybe all of that is true though, it's not necessarily blame delegating. As a new DOF without any previous foundation his job was to go with the plans already in place.

[Kid Icarus]

2 minutes ago, The Bonk said:

 

It beggars belief, man. This forum:

"WE WANT CHANGE AND WE'RE SICK OF OUR SHIT OWNERS"

....Takeover.......New Ownership dumps a bunch of money into the club........hires people with pedigree in roles previously done by a single barely competent thumbheed.....

"NOT THIS CHANGE!!! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? MANAGEMENT SPEAK, CHANCER! DELEGATOR!" 

 

   At least most are back to caring again! 

Such utter bollocks  It's 3 years since the takeover, it's very specifically a problem people have with Mitchell. 

[KaKa]

Just now, Kid Icarus said:

 

During that interview he:

• doesn't present a united front and instead:
  • bemoans our existing strategy
  • distances himself from the failure of the transfer window while attaching Howe to it by saying he was supporting him rather than leading
  • implies that the blame is apportioned to Ashworth and potentially Howe, Staveley, Ghoudoussi

 

 

I'm sorry but I just don't agree with how you've stated this.

 

He explained that he was in agreement with the already agreed upon strategy for this window, having come in late into proceedings.

 

He then states that he thinks things can be improved upon going forward by broadening the scope for recruitment, and providing more options for the manager.

 

Bemoaning, distancing himself, them seeing it as a failure of a window, attaching Howe alone to how things played out, apportioning blame ... I'm not seeing any of that.

 

[GEFAFWISP]

This guy won't last the course so no point getting used to him, 2 years and a few shiny new processes then we'll be on to the next one.

 

The interview wasn't necessary.

[Lotus]

If we bid somewhere between £65-70M then we had enough for a cheaper CB and a decent RW. 
I’m also of a mind that Palace would’ve accepted that much.
But neither Guehi nor the option CB + RW happened. 

 

If we were in fact offering considerably less, perhaps led by Nickson (conspicuous by his absence) and PM was just a negotiator at the table. 
 

He said he couldn’t steer the direction the transfer committee wanted to go in as he wasn’t here long enough. Just advise/support.

 

CP drag it out a bit, they want a bit more than we can afford. Other options less favourable to EH come off the table. CP sell a CB and then another is injured, Guehi deal off.

We try to scratch around for a late alternative but there hasn’t been sufficient scouting and analysis. 
Late panic bid for a RW, comes to nothing. Left with nothing. 
PM now in charge of things.

[Bimpy474]

8 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Yes but I'm replying to a post where the other person is saying that 'our top brass' didn't think Guehi was worth big money...despite us bidding big money

 

Ah apologises, carry on. Foot defo in mouth over here.

[Kid Icarus]

4 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

I'm sorry but I just don't agree with how you've stated this.

 

He explained that he was in agreement with the already agreed upon strategy for this window, having come in late into proceedings.

 

He then states that he thinks things can be improved upon going forward by broadening the scope for recruitment, and providing more options for the manager.

 

Bemoaning, distancing himself, them seeing it as a failure of a window, attaching Howe alone to how things played out, apportioning blame ... I'm not seeing any of that.

 

Whether you agree or see it or not isn't really the point, you said you couldn't understand why people have a negative slant on it and I'm trying to explain in the simplest way possible because it's not too complicated. Whether you agree or not is your choice. 

 

 

Edited September 5 by Kid Icarus

[Weezertron]

I don't think half of the interview is really helping. It's already causing a stir, as evidenced here. 

 

[The Prophet]

2 minutes ago, The Bonk said:

 

It beggars belief, man. This forum:

"WE WANT CHANGE AND WE'RE SICK OF OUR SHIT OWNERS"

....Takeover.......New Ownership dumps a bunch of money into the club........hires people with pedigree in roles previously done by a single barely competent thumbheed.....

"NOT THIS CHANGE!!! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? MANAGEMENT SPEAK, CHANCER! DELEGATOR!" 

 

   At least most are back to caring again! 

 

I'm not complaining about the appointment of Mitchell or the changes he wants to implement. They sound very positive.

 

It was a response to a specific comment made in Mitchell's interview, which in my opinion doesn't read great.

 

Perhaps it was because of the question he was asked, maybe he phrased it clumsily or maybe he's a bit of a dick, but it sounds awfully like self preservation on his part.

 

I'm not really fussed, as long as Eales, Mitchell and Howe forge a good working relationship that allows us to effectively navigate future transfer windows.

[Sean]

"Trust has to be developed" would tend to align with the doom mongering reports that he and Howe aren't on the same page totally. 

 

 

[Mikky]

5 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

I'm sorry but I just don't agree with how you've stated this.

 

He explained that he was in agreement with the already agreed upon strategy for this window, having come in late into proceedings.

 

He then states that he thinks things can be improved upon going forward by broadening the scope for recruitment, and providing more options for the manager.

 

Bemoaning, distancing himself, them seeing it as a failure of a window, attaching Howe alone to how things played out, apportioning blame ... I'm not seeing any of that.

 

Having read quite a few articles/listened to some of journalists’ podcast I am pretty calm with Mitchell’s interview - nothing controversial about it:

 

Casting a wider net - improved scouting network 

 

Having a wider choice of player 

Getting value for money (which we have with players already purchased)

 

Being good at selling - he provided Liverpool as a good example with Carvalho etc

 

Pretty much what a Sporting Director does 

[TRon]

Just now, Sean said:

"Trust has to be developed" would tend to align with the doom mongering reports that he and Howe aren't on the same page totally. 

 

 

 

That's a fair assumption since it may well be Howe prefers his own people to source his players and doesn't want Mitchell to bring in his own team. I can imagine that could cause some friction, and Howe already alluded to this in his early interview when Stavely and Ghodussi left about how important it was for him to be happy and supported in the job.

[KaKa]

6 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Whether you agree or see it or not isn't really the point, you said you couldn't understand why people have a negative slant on it and I'm trying to explain in the simplest way possible because it's not too complicated. Whether you agree or not is your choice. 

 

 

 

 

Ah, okay. Well all I can say then is that perhaps people are reading too much into what he's said then.

 

Time will tell. Maybe it will be proven there is something to that point of view.

 

Not so sure there is though.

[Displayname]

43 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

 

I'm in a bullet point mood so you'll have to excuse me

 

So everyone has a negative view on our transfer window.

 

Howe does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have.

 

During that interview he:

• presents a united front, apportioning blame to himself
• talks about working relationships needing to get up and running and working properly
• bemoans PSR

No one has any problem with it

 

Mitchell does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have

 

During that interview he:

• doesn't present a united front and instead:
  • bemoans our existing strategy
  • distances himself from the failure of the transfer window while attaching Howe to it by saying he was supporting him rather than leading
  • implies that the blame is apportioned to Ashworth and potentially Howe, Staveley, Ghoudoussi

 

Tbf Howe also distanced himself from the failed transfer window by saying its the most "hands off" that he ever been during his time here.

[et tu brute]

So we're asking for what happened to the transfer window and why it was a such a disaster. We get it through a question and answer session by the media with the Sporting Director and people aren't happy because he's telling us exactly the reasons why it was a disaster. 

 

 

Edited September 5 by et tu brute

[Joey47]

40 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

 

I'm in a bullet point mood so you'll have to excuse me

 

So everyone has a negative view on our transfer window.

 

Howe does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have.

 

During that interview he:

• presents a united front, apportioning blame to himself
• talks about working relationships needing to get up and running and working properly
• bemoans PSR

No one has any problem with it

 

Mitchell does an interview to answer questions that the fans and media have

 

During that interview he:

• doesn't present a united front and instead:
  • bemoans our existing strategy
  • distances himself from the failure of the transfer window while attaching Howe to it by saying he was supporting him rather than leading
  • implies that the blame is apportioned to Ashworth and potentially Howe, Staveley, Ghoudoussi

 

It all just depends on how you read into it though. Howe’s interview after Staveley left and Mitchell came in wasn’t really presenting a united front.

Your point about Mitchell bemoaning our existing strategy and apportioning blame, he’s just saying that there’s room for improvement (which there definitely is).

 

I do agree that maybe he shouldn’t have distanced himself from the failure of the window but at the end of the day I’d personally prefer more communication than less.

[Weezertron]

7 minutes ago, et tu brute said:

So we're asking for what happened to the transfer window and why it was a such a disaster. We get it through a question and answer session by the media with Sporting Director and people aren't happy because he's telling us exactly the reasons why it was a disaster. 

You could argue that slagging off the current scouting set up and thus the people in it, probably doesn't build a good working environment. Maybe he rules with an iron fist though. 

 

On the other hand, the previous scouting did assemble the current team that we're mostly fond of. Mitchell has said we've been ripped off on most of our signings. So we can't even enjoy that lol.

 

I'm mostly kidding above. but I'm sure people in the club are talking about the interview with a sneer. 

[WilliamPS]

Are people happy with the transfer window, including selling Anderson and Minteh and buying the Greek in a panic? NO!

 

Do people want anything to change? NO!

[Abacus]

29 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

Ah, okay. Well all I can say then is that perhaps people are reading too much into what he's said then.

 

Time will tell. Maybe it will be proven there is something to that point of view.

 

Not so sure there is though.

 

The point is that he said those things which were ambiguous or could be taken that way, which you wouldn't do if there's a united front, or if you're media savvy and also know there is a press conference coming up.

 

Saying you were just sticking to the original strategy is, then, deflecting blame from yourself when you presumably could have stopped it at any point.

[SUPERTOON]

1 minute ago, WilliamPS said:

Are people happy with the transfer window, including selling Anderson and Minteh and buying the Greek in a panic? NO!

 

Do people want anything to change? NO!

Do think anyone has said this.

[KaKa]

18 minutes ago, Abacus said:

 

The point is that he said those things which were ambiguous or could be taken that way, which you wouldn't do if there's a united front, or if you're media savvy and also know there is a press conference coming up.

 

Saying you were just sticking to the original strategy is, then, deflecting blame from yourself when you presumably could have stopped it at any point.

 

He said he was in agreement with sticking with the original strategy, and so he is just as culpable.

 

Deflecting blame would be if he came out and said that he decided not to get involved till the next window and the strategy had nothing to with him.