[paulwardle]

It always amazes me that in football the issue of confidentiality, trust, contracts and loyalty are so far removed from the way other businesses and the people in them have to act.

Putting aside the personalities for one moment the facts to me appear straight forward.

1. Cooks move to Portsmouth was leaked and despite CFC not giving permission to talk to him, clearly behind the scenes that statement was an outright untruth!

2. Someone is leaking stories about players leaving, offers being made contracts being broken.

3. Someone is leaking stories about manager unrest, budgets, wages, etc. etc.

4. We are now being told Saunders is on his way as manager? Again no confidential negotiations just more press speculation or again someone leaking stories!?

ITS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.

No matter what football people try and say about all this, you cannot say it has not affected the players as they tried to beat Preston. I'm not saying it affected the result but when you know your manager is off, come what may you cannot tell me it doesn't affect those that take their orders from the Manager/Leader.

In all of this unseemly shambles the life blood of the Club is forgotten, lied to and basically left in a state of bewilderment, especially when all of this could have been dealt with far more professionally at the end of the season.

We all remember the dark days of Brown and I remember putting my hand in my pocket to the tune of £3,000 to help my beloved Club survive and start again. I don't ask much in return other than to see my team entertain me, try their best and act in a way that all so called professional sports teams/clubs should. Instead I have witnessed a shambles play itself out over the last few days and weeks with not one word of comfort or explanation coming from the Club as to what is going on. Indeed the contrary has happened with press leaks, speculation and rumour none of which has been denied by anyone at the Club and how can they?

In terms of loyalty from Cook, I see none. He was offered a far better job by Chesterfield, offered a better contract and yet weeks later he's off. Frankly if he doesn't want to work for the Club then so be it, I won't be losing any sleep over it as I will still be supporting my one and only love in Football, CHESTERFIELD FOOTBALL CLUB.

What I do expect as a paying, loyal fan is for my Club to start behaving in a fit and proper way towards the Fans, who, if the likes of Phil Tooley remember, saved this Club from absolute meltdown. I have great respect for Dave Allen for putting his money into my Club and for assisting in stabilising it over the last few years. That said, I believe he to needs to take a long hard look at how the past few weeks have played out at a time when we have been so close to achieving what he hoped for a few years ago, Championship Football. I fear that I will never see such an opportunity again in the years I have left supporting my team

[ELTON 2020]

paulwardle, on 12 May 2015 - 08:18 PM, said:

It always amazes me that in football the issue of confidentiality, trust, contracts and loyalty are so far removed from the way other businesses and the people in them have to act.

Putting aside the personalities for one moment the facts to me appear straight forward.

1. Cooks move to Portsmouth was leaked and despite CFC not giving permission to talk to him, clearly behind the scenes that statement was an outright untruth!

2. Someone is leaking stories about players leaving, offers being made contracts being broken.

3. Someone is leaking stories about manager unrest, budgets, wages, etc. etc.

4. We are now being told Saunders is on his way as manager? Again no confidential negotiations just more press speculation or again someone leaking stories!?

ITS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.

No matter what football people try and say about all this, you cannot say it has not affected the players as they tried to beat Preston. I'm not saying it affected the result but when you know your manager is off, come what may you cannot tell me it doesn't affect those that take their orders from the Manager/Leader.

In all of this unseemly shambles the life blood of the Club is forgotten, lied to and basically left in a state of bewilderment, especially when all of this could have been dealt with far more professionally at the end of the season.

We all remember the dark days of Brown and I remember putting my hand in my pocket to the tune of £3,000 to help my beloved Club survive and start again. I don't ask much in return other than to see my team entertain me, try their best and act in a way that all so called professional sports teams/clubs should. Instead I have witnessed a shambles play itself out over the last few days and weeks with not one word of comfort or explanation coming from the Club as to what is going on. Indeed the contrary has happened with press leaks, speculation and rumour none of which has been denied by anyone at the Club and how can they?

In terms of loyalty from Cook, I see none. He was offered a far better job by Chesterfield, offered a better contract and yet weeks later he's off. Frankly if he doesn't want to work for the Club then so be it, I won't be losing any sleep over it as I will still be supporting my one and only love in Football, CHESTERFIELD FOOTBALL CLUB.

What I do expect as a paying, loyal fan is for my Club to start behaving in a fit and proper way towards the Fans, who, if the likes of Phil Tooley remember, saved this Club from absolute meltdown. I have great respect for Dave Allen for putting his money into my Club and for assisting in stabilising it over the last few years. That said, I believe he to needs to take a long hard look at how the past few weeks have played out at a time when we have been so close to achieving what he hoped for a few years ago, Championship Football. I fear that I will never see such an opportunity again in the years I have left supporting my team

Appreciate you take. Phil Tooley, in some peoples eyes , started it off on here with a particularly ambiguous statement. With social media etc..
things spread like wildfire.
How many other managers do you know who don't taker the opportunity to step up in the game - cos that's what he's done
Nobody knows the budget/player recruitment plans of the new manager yet
What's happened has happened, maybe your post might have some validity come October, but not now.

[Cactoise]

Good post.

[SixYardBox]

No transparency over Doyle, no transparency over Cook.

Paying customers in any other industry would, well complain and or demand a refund which would be fully endorsed by the regulatory body.

[Town_Fan]

Wow the naivety in OP's post blew me away.

[h again]

paulwardle, on 12 May 2015 - 08:18 PM, said:

It always amazes me that in football the issue of confidentiality, trust, contracts and loyalty are so far removed from the way other businesses and the people in them have to act.

Putting aside the personalities for one moment the facts to me appear straight forward.

1. Cooks move to Portsmouth was leaked and despite CFC not giving permission to talk to him, clearly behind the scenes that statement was an outright untruth!

2. Someone is leaking stories about players leaving, offers being made contracts being broken.

3. Someone is leaking stories about manager unrest, budgets, wages, etc. etc.

4. We are now being told Saunders is on his way as manager? Again no confidential negotiations just more press speculation or again someone leaking stories!?

ITS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE.

No matter what football people try and say about all this, you cannot say it has not affected the players as they tried to beat Preston. I'm not saying it affected the result but when you know your manager is off, come what may you cannot tell me it doesn't affect those that take their orders from the Manager/Leader.

In all of this unseemly shambles the life blood of the Club is forgotten, lied to and basically left in a state of bewilderment, especially when all of this could have been dealt with far more professionally at the end of the season.

We all remember the dark days of Brown and I remember putting my hand in my pocket to the tune of £3,000 to help my beloved Club survive and start again. I don't ask much in return other than to see my team entertain me, try their best and act in a way that all so called professional sports teams/clubs should. Instead I have witnessed a shambles play itself out over the last few days and weeks with not one word of comfort or explanation coming from the Club as to what is going on. Indeed the contrary has happened with press leaks, speculation and rumour none of which has been denied by anyone at the Club and how can they?

In terms of loyalty from Cook, I see none. He was offered a far better job by Chesterfield, offered a better contract and yet weeks later he's off. Frankly if he doesn't want to work for the Club then so be it, I won't be losing any sleep over it as I will still be supporting my one and only love in Football, CHESTERFIELD FOOTBALL CLUB.

What I do expect as a paying, loyal fan is for my Club to start behaving in a fit and proper way towards the Fans, who, if the likes of Phil Tooley remember, saved this Club from absolute meltdown. I have great respect for Dave Allen for putting his money into my Club and for assisting in stabilising it over the last few years. That said, I believe he to needs to take a long hard look at how the past few weeks have played out at a time when we have been so close to achieving what he hoped for a few years ago, Championship Football. I fear that I will never see such an opportunity again in the years I have left supporting my team

I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with most of that, and certainly the way things have panned out leaves a nasty taste. BUT - a football club is not like any other business, it's surrounded by thousands of fans who want minute by minute reports about what's going on, and that brings the rumour/gossip squad, professional and amateur, out of the woodwork.
So all sorts of rubbish flies about, but the club are in no position to confirm or deny because there's the matter of confidential negotiations and nothing can be confirmed until these are complete - which might take weeks. All the club can do is keep shtum, or at most give a 'no comment', which makes them seem devious and careless of the fans, puts peoples backs up, and just leads to more rumours.
The club are in a no win situation whichever way you look at it. Not only losing the best gaffer we've had for years but being unable to confirm or deny it until it was common knowledge, leaving them looking silly.
Cookie's gone, as we all knew he would. I don't believe anybody at the club wanted to lose him, despite his well-known bad habits and indiscretions, but you can't keep a manager of that quality on what we can afford to pay. We move on, whilst treating any future remarks about respect, loyalty and class from any future manager with the contempt they deserve.

[dalekpete]

Town_Fan, on 12 May 2015 - 08:30 PM, said:

Wow the naivety in OP's post blew me away.

In terms of leaks and "alerting other clubs" can I point out it would be a poor organisation that relied on social media or journalists to know what was happening in football.

We praise Paul Mitchell because he can tell you about every first teamer in tiers two to seven and about every Premier League u21 player. All clubs know our players inside out and what it might cost to start the purchasing process. Most of the stories about players being courted by other teams will have been generated by agents!

[The Earl of Chesterfield]

h again, on 12 May 2015 - 08:53 PM, said:

I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with most of that, and certainly the way things have panned out leaves a nasty taste. BUT - a football club is not like any other business, it's surrounded by thousands of fans who want minute by minute reports about what's going on, and that brings the rumour/gossip squad, professional and amateur, out of the woodwork.
So all sorts of rubbish flies about, but the club are in no position to confirm or deny because there's the matter of confidential negotiations and nothing can be confirmed until these are complete - which might take weeks. All the club can do is keep shtum, or at most give a 'no comment', which makes them seem devious and careless of the fans, puts peoples backs up, and just leads to more rumours.
The club are in a no win situation whichever way you look at it. Not only losing the best gaffer we've had for years but being unable to confirm or deny it until it was common knowledge, leaving them looking silly.
Cookie's gone, as we all knew he would. I don't believe anybody at the club wanted to lose him, despite his well-known bad habits and indiscretions, but you can't keep a manager of that quality on what we can afford to pay. We move on, whilst treating any future remarks about respect, loyalty and class from any future manager with the contempt they deserve.

Problem was though, 'h', that the Club didn't 'keep shtum or at most say no comment'.

'Teflon' openly discussed Cook's exit on Biggs' talk show, then gave assurances that he was 'going nowhere' whilst apparently knowing he was off or even negotiating his exit.

And unfortunately much of the 'rubbish flying about' - from numerous sources - turned out to be true.

[paulwardle]

MDCCCLXVI, on 12 May 2015 - 09:03 PM, said:

Problem was though, 'h', that the Club didn't 'keep shtum or at most say no comment'.

'Teflon' openly discussed Cook's exit on Biggs' talk show, then gave assurances that he was 'going nowhere' whilst apparently knowing he was off or even negotiating his exit.

And unfortunately much of the 'rubbish flying about' - from numerous sources - turned out to be true.

Exactly my point. All the rumours generally appear to turn out to be correct.

On that basis it's a Dean Saunders 12.00 a.m as new manager tomorrow? Where has that come from?

[Exharboroughspireite]

I think there has been a dawning realisation from those at the top that we would never reach championship level and what I fear the most is now a cloth cutting exercise across the playing staff. I think we will look for league one status and no more next year and we already know the budget won't be shifted. Deep down that is what drove cook away - he hinted several times at his frustration and said it again a few days ago with his 'I can't take the club forward any further' comment. What he actually meant was 'they won't give me any more money and that's why I had to sell my top scorer in January and that's why I haven't been able to retain one of my outstanding centre midfielders, ****** this I'm off'.

I don't blame cook, I really don't. I also understand why he will never say what conversations took place behind closed doors and why we won't get any truth from the club and will get the usual 'Dean is someone who shares our vision ya de ya de ya' rubbish tomorrow.

Ultimately, and I think if we all look closely at the last few months it was clear the bubble has burst financially and we will now go back to being a yo yo club.

A real real shame.

[h again]

MDCCCLXVI, on 12 May 2015 - 09:03 PM, said:

Problem was though, 'h', that the Club didn't 'keep shtum or at most say no comment'.

'Teflon' openly discussed Cook's exit on Biggs' talk show, then gave assurances that he was 'going nowhere' whilst apparently knowing he was off or even negotiating his exit.

And unfortunately much of the 'rubbish flying about' - from numerous sources - turned out to be true.

Big word, that.

I wouldn't pretend that anybody at the club has covered themselves with glory, but, as I said, they were in an impossible position in being faced with direct questions whilst negotiations were ongoing. There isn't any answer you can give that won't lead to further speculation, or outright accusations of lying, the appetite of football fans for rumour being what it is.

Cook's gone. We're all disappointed, but playing the blame game is no good to anybody. We couldn't have kept him - the only surprise is that he stayed as long as he did.

[Wooden Spoon]

Exharboroughspireite, on 12 May 2015 - 09:18 PM, said:

I think there has been a dawning realisation from those at the top that we would never reach championship level and what I fear the most is now a cloth cutting exercise across the playing staff. I think we will look for league one status and no more next year and we already know the budget won't be shifted. Deep down that is what drove cook away - he hinted several times at his frustration and said it again a few days ago with his 'I can't take the club forward any further' comment. What he actually meant was 'they won't give me any more money and that's why I had to sell my top scorer in January and that's why I haven't been able to retain one of my outstanding centre midfielders, ****** this I'm off'.

I don't blame cook, I really don't. I also understand why he will never say what conversations took place behind closed doors and why we won't get any truth from the club and will get the usual 'Dean is someone who shares our vision ya de ya de ya' rubbish tomorrow.

Ultimately, and I think if we all look closely at the last few months it was clear the bubble has burst financially and we will now go back to being a yo yo club.

A real real shame.

In a way, longer term, this might turn out to be a step forward if it brings about change at the club. We have a very very healthy turnover at CFC - how clubs at this level can turnover somewhere in the region of £6,500,00? So, if the club stops leaking money and things are monitored and rectified it could turn out to be a step forward in the long run.

[h again]

Exharboroughspireite, on 12 May 2015 - 09:18 PM, said:

I think there has been a dawning realisation from those at the top that we would never reach championship level and what I fear the most is now a cloth cutting exercise across the playing staff. I think we will look for league one status and no more next year and we already know the budget won't be shifted. Deep down that is what drove cook away - he hinted several times at his frustration and said it again a few days ago with his 'I can't take the club forward any further' comment. What he actually meant was 'they won't give me any more money and that's why I had to sell my top scorer in January and that's why I haven't been able to retain one of my outstanding centre midfielders, ****** this I'm off'.

I don't blame cook, I really don't. I also understand why he will never say what conversations took place behind closed doors and why we won't get any truth from the club and will get the usual 'Dean is someone who shares our vision ya de ya de ya' rubbish tomorrow.

Ultimately, and I think if we all look closely at the last few months it was clear the bubble has burst financially and we will now go back to being a yo yo club.

A real real shame.

There's probably a lot of truth in that, but don't forget that PC was given the gig on the basis that he could build teams on very limited resources - something clearly stated by DA at the time. Having built the team it's understandable that he should have wanted some more money to take it a bit further, but he must have realised from the start that he was never going to be in a position to spend anything big at CFC, or not for some years at any rate.
I think he got an offer he just couldn't refuse and that's all there is to it. Pure speculation, but I reckon he'd have liked to carry on building here and would probably have turned down an offer from a lot of clubs. The fact is that despite some rude remarks on here, Portsmouth are a sleeping giant with the potential to get into the Premiership. Link that to the kind of money being speculated about and he couldn't really refuse, whatever small inducements we could have offered.

This post has been edited by h again: 12 May 2015 - 09:45 PM

[ELTON 2020]

MDCCCLXVI, on 12 May 2015 - 09:03 PM, said:

Problem was though, 'h', that the Club didn't 'keep shtum or at most say no comment'.

'Teflon' openly discussed Cook's exit on Biggs' talk show, then gave assurances that he was 'going nowhere' whilst apparently knowing he was off or even negotiating his exit.

And unfortunately much of the 'rubbish flying about' - from numerous sources - turned out to be true.

Then find the mole who does this....

[dim view]

h again, on 12 May 2015 - 09:43 PM, said:

I think he got an offer he just couldn't refuse and that's all there is to it. Pure speculation, but I reckon he'd have liked to carry on building here and would probably have turned down an offer from a lot of clubs. The fact is that despite some rude remarks on here, Portsmouth are a sleeping giant with the potential to get into the Premiership. Link that to the kind of money being speculated about and he couldn't really refuse, whatever small inducements we could have offered.

out of the mouths of 'H' and agent oft time come gems ......

[ELTON 2020]

a kick in the balls, on 12 May 2015 - 09:23 PM, said:

In a way, longer term, this might turn out to be a step forward if it brings about change at the club. We have a very very healthy turnover at CFC - how clubs at this level can turnover somewhere in the region of £6,500,00? So, if the club stops leaking money and things are monitored and rectified it could turn out to be a step forward in the long run.

Well, for me, we have to stop this backroom staff empire building- Cook's idea for a vision for the future- its dripping the club dry - AND NOW HE'S GONE! Where's the proof - the young centre half who's just been released. I don't think we can afford this strategy. There has to be a reason why we keep hemraging money....
Notice Turner's got a spanking new Merc too - I won't deny that

[moondog]

Elton John 1866, on 12 May 2015 - 09:55 PM, said:

Well, for me, we have to stop this backroom staff empire building- Cook's idea for a vision for the future- its dripping the club dry - AND NOW HE'S GONE! Where's the proof - the young centre half who's just been released. I don't think we can afford this strategy. There has to be a reason why we keep hemraging money....
Notice Turner's got a spanking new Merc too - I won't deny that

What centre half ?

[Tha Knows...]

h again, on 12 May 2015 - 08:53 PM, said:

I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with most of that, and certainly the way things have panned out leaves a nasty taste. BUT - a football club is not like any other business, it's surrounded by thousands of fans who want minute by minute reports about what's going on, and that brings the rumour/gossip squad, professional and amateur, out of the woodwork.
So all sorts of rubbish flies about, but the club are in no position to confirm or deny because there's the matter of confidential negotiations and nothing can be confirmed until these are complete - which might take weeks. All the club can do is keep shtum, or at most give a 'no comment', which makes them seem devious and careless of the fans, puts peoples backs up, and just leads to more rumours.
The club are in a no win situation whichever way you look at it. Not only losing the best gaffer we've had for years but being unable to confirm or deny it until it was common knowledge, leaving them looking silly.
Cookie's gone, as we all knew he would. I don't believe anybody at the club wanted to lose him, despite his well-known bad habits and indiscretions, but you can't keep a manager of that quality on what we can afford to pay. We move on, whilst treating any future remarks about respect, loyalty and class from any future manager with the contempt they deserve.

Yes, a lesson there that anyone who talks so much about such values may not be the type of person who lives by them. It sounded good but ultimately proved to be empty words. Apart from the off-field habits and indiscretions you mention he also showed little class and respect on the touchline on many occasions.

[Tha Knows...]

h again, on 12 May 2015 - 09:43 PM, said:

There's probably a lot of truth in that, but don't forget that PC was given the gig on the basis that he could build teams on very limited resources - something clearly stated by DA at the time. Having built the team it's understandable that he should have wanted some more money to take it a bit further, but he must have realised from the start that he was never going to be in a position to spend anything big at CFC, or not for some years at any rate.
I think he got an offer he just couldn't refuse and that's all there is to it. Pure speculation, but I reckon he'd have liked to carry on building here and would probably have turned down an offer from a lot of clubs. The fact is that despite some rude remarks on here, Portsmouth are a sleeping giant with the potential to get into the Premiership. Link that to the kind of money being speculated about and he couldn't really refuse, whatever small inducements we could have offered.

He would probably be manager of Fleetwood or even Mansfield now if they were able to treble his salary! The sleeping giant bit is a bonus scenario but incidental imo. If a club offers a million quid over 3 years it's likely that the only manager who would turn that down would be someone confident of getting similar money somewhere else. It was, as you say, an offer he couldn't refuse.

[Ernie Ernie Ernie]

MDCCCLXVI, on 12 May 2015 - 09:03 PM, said:

Problem was though, 'h', that the Club didn't 'keep shtum or at most say no comment'.

'Teflon' openly discussed Cook's exit on Biggs' talk show, then gave assurances that he was 'going nowhere' whilst apparently knowing he was off or even negotiating his exit.

And unfortunately much of the 'rubbish flying about' - from numerous sources - turned out to be true.

And in order to announce cooks replacement today we have obviously been negotiating with him for a while