Paul Mitchell (Sporting Director)

[J7]

Of course it wasn’t fit for purpose. I’m amazed anyone is arguing it was. We were scrambling around embarrassing ourselves trying to offload players before the PSR deadline and ended up with a dud keeper nobody seems to want. I don’t even see that as a criticism of Howe, and it’s a pretty tame criticism of Ashworth too. 
 

It’s pointless going back to the survival season. It was ages ago now. You just need to look at last summer where we spent £80m on two players who weren’t starters at the time, and committed another £28m to another. It’s no criticism of those players either, I think all three are great, but that’s not point. There was clearly a plan to offload a big player, but little foresight on how the window would play out with everyone seemingly hamstrung and not able to spend the money we needed in on one player. There was even talk of disagreement between Ashworth and others in the club regarding the need to sell one of the big players. 
 

Some seem to be looking for an enemy here. There doesn’t need to be one. What I would say though, we’re going down the Sporting Director route, like it or not. The Saudis aren’t going to just give a manager the reigns to everything on the football side. It’s not the way most top clubs work and it was reported that it was the chairman who met with Mitchell and persuaded him himself. Losing two respected ones in a year would be farcical and would probably put off anyone decent being interested in it while Howe is there. 

[TRon]

3 hours ago, Kanji said:

I’ll say this over and over and over again and I don’t even care…

 

What has Paul Mitchell done for NUFC this summer that gives him ANY benefit of the doubt over the words of Eddie Howe? If you still back Mitchell first then you’ve got the shortest of memories. 

 

He hasn't done anything yet, but he hasn't been in the job two months. Our transfer recruitment has been decent since the takeover, but we've had to plough hundreds of millions into the squad to do that. Great if we are allowed to do it, but we aren't, that is why we had to sell two promising young players and sign a crap keeper for £20m.

 

What has worked up to now won't work going forward. The sums just don't add up, doesn't matter which way you look at it.

[Weezertron]

yep, our transfer strategy needs to change with or without Mitchell here. 

[Conjo]

4 hours ago, Kanji said:

I’ll say this over and over and over again and I don’t even care…

 

What has Paul Mitchell done for NUFC this summer that gives him ANY benefit of the doubt over the words of Eddie Howe? If you still back Mitchell first then you’ve got the shortest of memories. 

 

I don't really get it. What exactly is it that Mitchell supposedly has said that contradicts what Howe has said? I've only seen some journalists spinning Mitchell words into something it isn't in order to engineer a contradiction and get stories and clicks out of it.

[The Prophet]

I'm also not really sure why it's a case of backing Howe or Mitchell. Surely the aim is to get them working in tandem, it has the potential to be a formidable partnership.

[gbandit]

1 hour ago, Weezertron said:

yep, our transfer strategy needs to change with or without Mitchell here. 

No doubt about that, let’s hope Mitchell is the right guy to both make that happen and make it happen in a way that works with and for Howe. If he isn’t then let’s find the person who is 

[TRon]

6 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

I'm also not really sure why it's a case of backing Howe or Mitchell. Surely the aim is to get them working in tandem, it has the potential to be a formidable partnership.

 

That's how I see it. Howe has done a fantastic job in recruitment so far. So did Mehrdad and Amanada for that matter, but we are moving up a level and it's a specialist job, and presumably one which Mitchell is outstandingly well qualified for. Why not wait to see what he can do before we start assuming he can't work with Howe?

[The Prophet]

Isn't he one of the journalists who've been doing the blowing out of proportion?

 

 

 

Edited September 16 by The Prophet

[gbandit]

“Cast aspirations” 

 

[TRon]

[Jack27]

20 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

Isn't he one of the journalists who've been doing the blowing out of proportion?

 

 

 

 

Is this the weekly hour long Q&A where they answer about 5 questions in a long-winded but revealing no actual new information way?

[The Prophet]

6 minutes ago, Jack27 said:

Is this the weekly hour long Q&A where they answer about 5 questions in a long-winded but revealing no actual new information way?

 

It is.

[timnufc22]

I think it’s naive to think that if Mitchell & Howe were on the same page and weren’t using the media to fire subtle shots, that Howe wouldn’t have came out with something like this instead -
 

“I think you’re reading something else into that, I’m sure Paul was referring to PSR, the obstacle that it is and how we have to try and tailor our process around that as much as possible. Our record isn’t the transfer market when it comes to actual players signed has been very good, the players we have signed have all been brilliant and served different purposes. Everyone at the club loves them all that are here.”

 

 

Edited September 16 by timnufc22

[timeEd32]

3 minutes ago, timnufc22 said:

I think it’s naive to think that if Mitchell & Howe were on the same page and weren’t using the media to fire subtle shots, that Howe wouldn’t have came out with something like this instead -
 

“I think you’re reading something else into that, I’m sure Paul was referring to PSR, the obstacle that it is and how we have to try and tailor our process around that as much as possible. Our record isn’t the transfer market when it comes to actual players signed has been very good, the players we have signed have all been brilliant and served different purposes. Everyone at the club loves them all that are here.”

 

 

 

 

If Mitchell was better with words he could and should have said exactly that to begin with.

[Upthemags]

Just now, timeEd32 said:

 

If Mitchell was better with words he could and should have said exactly that to begin with.

Don't think it takes a genius to realize Paul was referring to the strictures of PSR

[timeEd32]

2 minutes ago, Upthemags said:

Don't think it takes a genius to realize Paul was referring to the strictures of PSR

 

I don't disagree, but there's an hour of comments left open to interpretation. I don't even really blame Paul. The biggest failure is with whomever at the club decided that that was the right format to provide answers to how the window went.

[timnufc22]

It seems like mental gymnastics to try and pretend there are alarming signs of director coming in with a over inflated ego, thinking he’s going to ‘sort this out’… it’s not great stuff, I would have thought we as a fan base can clock this kind of stuff more than most considering what we’ve been through. 

 

 

Edited September 16 by timnufc22

[Upthemags]

Just now, timeEd32 said:

 

I don't disagree, but there's an hour of comments left open to interpretation. I don't even really blame Paul. The biggest failure is with whomever at the club decided that that was the right format to provide answers to how the window went.

I still can't understand the anger that's come out of the fan base from his comments. The short memories of some... Gordon was an acceptance away from lining up for Liverpool this season. Is Mitchell supposed to say the transfer strategy that's directly led to that is all rosy and good? We get enough statements from top brass where they talk out of both sides of their mouth - saying one thing when the direct opposite is the case.

 

Not the point your making I know, but how much more are we going to beat this horse dead? Hoping it won't be a mainstay until the January window.

[cosmic]

Could Howe and Mitchell be staging this whilst giving reporters the drug they are craving for? Whilst bigger stuff is brewing in the background or taking the heat off the of delays of the "imminent" stadium & training ground plans?

[Erikse]

Every single day there are new articles about the Mitchell interview. Reporters are going further and further in trying to twist the interview into something that it wasn't.. The chronicle made an article about how the manager shouldn't be in the presser having to continously answer questions about an interview of his director.. So who is continously asking him those questions, then? Ah, the media! Desperately trying to create drama.

 

 

Edited September 18 by Erikse

[Joelinton7]

I’m not turning on Mitchell and/or Howe when Hope, Edwards, Waugh or any other two bob hack trying to profit off unsubstantiated hearsay are the actual enemies of this club.

[Boo Boy]

It comes to something when orange face Simon Jordan is the only one talking sense about the Mitchell and Howe narrative.

[macphisto]

On 17/09/2024 at 00:51, Upthemags said:

I still can't understand the anger that's come out of the fan base from his comments. The short memories of some... Gordon was an acceptance away from lining up for Liverpool this season. Is Mitchell supposed to say the transfer strategy that's directly led to that is all rosy and good? We get enough statements from top brass where they talk out of both sides of their mouth - saying one thing when the direct opposite is the case.

 

Not the point your making I know, but how much more are we going to beat this horse dead? Hoping it won't be a mainstay until the January window.

I don't understand people using the example of nearly selling Gordon to illustrate how our strategy wasn't fit for purpose. It was the very same strategy that lead to us buying Gordan in the first place. 

[Holmesy]

2 hours ago, Boo Boy said:

It comes to something when orange face Simon Jordan is the only one talking sense about the Mitchell and Howe narrative.

He spoke absolute sense about Southgate the other day as well. Nailed it!

I might have to stop disliking the self-obsessed prick if he keeps this up

[Colos Short and Curlies]

3 minutes ago, macphisto said:

I don't understand people using the example of nearly selling Gordon to illustrate how our strategy wasn't fit for purpose. It was the very same strategy that lead to us buying Gordan in the first place. 

 

But we didn't buy him to flip him in 18 months, so if that had been the outcome the strategy that allowed us to buy him was ultimately flawed.