John Stephenson- Head of Football Operations

[Davepick]

What this does show to the fans is that SS is not in this for fun.
He's invested/investing heavily in our club. This a a time when others are struggling.
Well done Simon Sadler. We are proud of you.

 

[voyeur]

We are talking about a handful of people here, not a huge company with layers of management etc. A handful of people to set up and run a football team, a stadium, a new training facility, marketing, finances, an academy etc etc.

 

[td53]

We are talking about a handful of people here, not a huge company with layers of management etc. A handful of people to set up and run a football team, a stadium, a new training facility, marketing, finances, an academy etc etc.

Yeah, and that in itself is the contrast I'm talking about.

Running a football team is still 11 lads kicking a ball at its heart, same as 1893 or 1921
Finances = count gate money + pay players
stadium = get some lads to bulldoze cinder into banking. Get some railway sleepers embedded in it.
Training facilty = a field

The rest didn't exist really.

It's undeniable football has become more complex. It's not a bad thing per se, it's just a contrast though I do find it a bit sad that the days of when players moved between the 'real world' and the 'football world' are long gone. There's something terribly romantic in the stuff I'm reading about 'he worked in the shipyard and played sunday football till when he was 22 he got spotted by the first team trainer walking his dog. 2 months later he was in the first team and playing in the cup final' sort of romance.

I think that's partly why Ben Garrity became a cult and why I liked Curtis Tilt - it's nice to see players who havn't come through these sort of systems and have prospered after just playing football for football's sake.

It's not a bad thing we're getting more and more professional, it's what we have to do as everyone else is doing it...

 

[BFC_53]

What we are seeing here is the recruitment necessary to run the full operation of a football club that's building from top to bottom and looking to go places, with a long term vision of what it wants and a strategy of how to get there. Whereas previously these people weren't required because the entirety of the clubs operation consisted of ensuring there was enough orange squash at half time.

 

[Wizaard]

What we are seeing here is the recruitment necessary to run the full operation of a football club that's building from top to bottom and looking to go places, with a long term vision of what it wants and a strategy of how to get there. Whereas previously these people weren't required because the entirety of the clubs operation consisted of ensuring there was enough orange squash at half time.

And hot showers weren't a necessity.

 

[voyeur]

Yeah, and that in itself is the contrast I'm talking about.

Running a football team is still 11 lads kicking a ball at its heart, same as 1893 or 1921
Finances = count gate money + pay players
stadium = get some lads to bulldoze cinder into banking. Get some railway sleepers embedded in it.
Training facilty = a field

The rest didn't exist really.

It's undeniable football has become more complex. It's not a bad thing per se, it's just a contrast though I do find it a bit sad that the days of when players moved between the 'real world' and the 'football world' are long gone. There's something terribly romantic in the stuff I'm reading about 'he worked in the shipyard and played sunday football till when he was 22 he got spotted by the first team trainer walking his dog. 2 months later he was in the first team and playing in the cup final' sort of romance.

I think that's partly why Ben Garrity became a cult and why I liked Curtis Tilt - it's nice to see players who havn't come through these sort of systems and have prospered after just playing football for football's sake.

It's not a bad thing we're getting more and more professional, it's what we have to do as everyone else is doing it...

I like all that too and I am not that enamoured of slick business models and business speak and men in suits etc! I much preferred football before Sky TV and all seater stadia.

Was just amused that some of our fans spend decades moaning about the Oystons and then are moaning again a year after they've gone cos we are apparently employing people whose jobs they don't understand etc.

If it's jumpers for goal posts on a muddy pitch we want then we maybe shouldn't have hounded the Oystons out!

 

[td53]

I like all that too and I am not that enamoured of slick business models and business speak and men in suits etc! I much preferred football before Sky TV and all seater stadia.

Was just amused that some of our fans spend decades moaning about the Oystons and then are moaning again a year after they've gone cos we are apparently employing people whose jobs they don't understand etc.

If it's jumpers for goal posts on a muddy pitch we want then we maybe shouldn't have hounded the Oystons out!

trusay.