The Chairman speaks out

[Townerslovechild]

Kerr,I hate when people talk sense on here,just doesn't seem right.

[Heliosphan78]

11. It didn’t work out for Hamshaw and I am saddened by that. I would have preferred for him to have been given by another summer to recruit without the constraints imposed upon him by presence within the squad of expensive players from previous regimes. I appreciate that I am in a very small minority in holding that view, which is fair enough. It would be a boring world if we all agreed.

Agree with all you said Kerr but wanted to comment on point 11.

When a manager is going through a difficult time in terms of results, especially when it's a prolonged series of poor results, there has to be some kind of improvement in the offing, however small, to stay in your job. I couldn't see that with Hamshaw and I backed Hamshaw a lot on this forum, for a long time. But after the January window and yet another raft of injuries I couldn't see anything to tell me he might fix things, short or long term.

I take the point about lack of investment and I certainly agree to an extent. However, I can't see past the fact that he brought 19 players to the club and gave contracts to 3 others. That's 22 players. With good coaching and fitness levels, there is scope there for a good coach to put a decent team together. He couldn't keep them fit, nevermind coach them.

So putting that together - poor tactics, constant injuries - MH is not a man I would have trusted to rebuild an entire squad for next season. I think we would have had more of the same.

[MillerBill]

This statement told us absolutely nothing of what the future lies for this club.There has never been a plan since we moved to the NYS and we have drifted from year to year.Promises throughout this fourteen year term of "we have learnt from the mistakes we have made" have been empty promises.It's no coincdence that several previous managers have highlighted the major problems within this club but have been repeatedly ignored.I,like many others do not trust the present board and will regretfully not renew my season ticket if there is no change.I would like to see a statement from Phil Smith, explaining what he sees as the way forward, after discovering how this club has been run,or mis-run.If we continue in this mode of practice we will stagnate even further and all this in our centenary year.

[KerrAvon]

Agree with all you said Kerr but wanted to comment on point 11.

When a manager is going through a difficult time in terms of results, especially when it's a prolonged series of poor results, there has to be some kind of improvement in the offing, however small, to stay in your job. I couldn't see that with Hamshaw and I backed Hamshaw a lot on this forum, for a long time. But after the January window and yet another raft of injuries I couldn't see anything to tell me he might fix things, short or long term.

I take the point about lack of investment and I certainly agree to an extent. However, I can't see past the fact that he brought 19 players to the club and gave contracts to 3 others. That's 22 players. With good coaching and fitness levels, there is scope there for a good coach to put a decent team together. He couldn't keep them fit, nevermind coach them.

So putting that together - poor tactics, constant injuries - MH is not a man I would have trusted to rebuild an entire squad for next season. I think we would have had more of the same.

I completely agree that retaining Hamshaw would have risked 'more of the same'. I think that adds to the picture of how difficult it must be to run a football club. Stewart had to measure the risk of more of the same under Hamshaw against the risk of more of the same or worse under a new manager. Frankly, that is an impossible task.

My position is best described as being that a revolving door approach to football management is rarely successful.

I will add a point 14 to my list - with the caveat that I know absolutely nothing about football:

14. In my view, a recurring issue in the last few seasons has been the lack of leadership on the pitch. Personally, I think every successful team needs at least one player who can inspire and drive those around him. In the last decade or so, I would point to the likes of Arnason, Frecklington and Wood. Ronnie Moore punched above his weight by having the likes of Martin McIntosh on the pitch - all players who were, perhaps, not all technically brilliant but who would give 'blood and guts' performances and keep going even when losing.

It is interesting that both Hamshaw and Clark have commented about performances on the training ground not being translated to performances on the pitch and of the team falling apart when they go behind.

With Hamshaw recruiting some younger players and some with no experience of the English game it was, perhaps, even more important to have a seasoned leader on the pitch and I think it a fair criticism to point out that he didn?t.

[KerrAvon]

This statement told us absolutely nothing of what the future lies for this club.There has never been a plan since we moved to the NYS and we have drifted from year to year.Promises throughout this fourteen year term of "we have learnt from the mistakes we have made" have been empty promises.It's no coincdence that several previous managers have highlighted the major problems within this club but have been repeatedly ignored.I,like many others do not trust the present board and will regretfully not renew my season ticket if there is no change.I would like to see a statement from Phil Smith, explaining what he sees as the way forward, after discovering how this club has been run,or mis-run.If we continue in this mode of practice we will stagnate even further and all this in our centenary year.

There has been a clear and obvious plan since the move to NYS. It is to achieve the highest possible league placing whilst keeping the level of debt incurred in doing so within limits that are acceptable and manageable.

That plan replaced the one in place at Millmoor - incurring unsustainable levels of debt that would see the club courting with oblivion every few seasons.

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

I took note 1 game Wood really persisted that a substitute(s) be made to MH.
Hamshaw is not a manager.
What about down the road having a player manager, like we did with Emlyn Hughes.
Look at players coming to the end of contracts, with the coaching badges.
Milner at Brighton, whether he has the coaching badges.
Wood has not worked out has defensive coach, our centre-backs have been terrible
Under his guidance, not worked gor him.
Get shut of Scott, & backroom staff.
Retire Paul Douglas, get John Brekin back into the club let's have someone football minded in the boardroom.

[UlleyMiller]

I take the point about lack of investment and I certainly agree to an extent. However, I can't see past the fact that he brought 19 players to the club and gave contracts to 3 others. That's 22 players. With good coaching and fitness levels, there is scope there for a good coach to put a decent team together. He couldn't keep them fit, nevermind coach them.

Without getting into my views on investments in general...

...I think it's evident that in terms of (for want of a better way to describe it) OPEX spend has generally been reasonably high considering our L1 status and the size of our core support. TS covers the hit we take on trying to be competitive at that level. CAPEX spend irks many because of a number of concerns, many of which centre around the training facilities/injury epidemic 'link'.

The issue I think we have around the OPEX element (IMHO) is that we have a very NHS-like ability to produce a lot of areas where we clearly spent very badly, made poor choices, and the long term effects are visibly piling up. The fault I'd stand by (raised earlier) is the hit and miss interest levels from TS which I firmly believe impacts the rest of the management... and if that general relaxed attitude is on view even occasionally, it spreads throughout the whole club. There is very little sign of us doing anything different commercially. We're 10 years behind in an increasingly digital, online world, where revenue streams are made to look simple by kids in school, and that leaves us with a revenue level which caps us at "must make every pound work hard"... but we don't.

We're obsessed with outgoings, 'investment', spending, but seemingly resigned to the idea that income is just a thing which happens without any ability to impact it.

We're in a cycle, and it has to be fixed.

[Old_time_miller]

The problem is, as you say, ?we are due one?. It is the hope that many are fed up of.

[Old_time_miller]

I took note 1 game Wood really persisted that a substitute(s) be made to MH.
Hamshaw is not a manager.
What about down the road having a player manager, like we did with Emlyn Hughes.
Look at players coming to the end of contracts, with the coaching badges.
Milner at Brighton, whether he has the coaching badges.
Wood has not worked out has defensive coach, our centre-backs have been terrible
Under his guidance, not worked gor him.
Get shut of Scott, & backroom staff.
Retire Paul Douglas, get John Brekin back into the club let's have someone football minded in the boardroom.

You forget that Scott found 3 great keepers, Semi A, Barlaser, Ogbene, Rathbone, Smith, Reg, Tree…..need I go on?

Under Evans, it wasn’t his remit. Scott finds players of type and costs he is asked to find. The fault is that and also perhaps no warne to vet the character.
You need to look at finances. A big bearing.

[bigburns]

You forget that Scott found 3 great keepers, Semi A, Barlaser, Ogbene, Rathbone, Smith, Reg, Tree…..need I go on?

Under Evans, it wasn’t his remit. Scott finds players of type and costs he is asked to find. The fault is that and also perhaps no warne to vet the character.
You need to look at finances. A big bearing.

It is very difficult to know whether Rob Scott does a good job or not. He is a tool to be used by the manager, not a decision maker.

If he was given the task of signing 16 players on bottom end of league 2 money, has he done a poor job?

If the manager asks for a creative midfielder and he gives a number of options, highlights one of which is extremely injury prone, but the manager signs Josh Benson anyway, has he done a poor job?

It would seem he also highlighted Ryan One as a potential signing this season, who is about to get a league medal, whereas we ended up with Biachieri instead. How many other did he put under the managers nose weren't signed?

[mellowmiller]

There has been a clear and obvious plan since the move to NYS. It is to achieve the highest possible league placing whilst keeping the level of debt incurred in doing so within limits that are acceptable and manageable.

That plan replaced the one in place at Millmoor - incurring unsustainable levels of debt that would see the club courting with oblivion every few seasons.

Whereas I agree with much of what you wrote in your earlier post, I have to take issue with this one.
What you have described is nothing more than an ambition. A plan is a completely different animal.

[mellowmiller]

It is very difficult to know whether Rob Scott does a good job or not. He is a tool to be used by the manager, not a decision maker.

If he was given the task of signing 16 players on bottom end of league 2 money, has he done a poor job?

If the manager asks for a creative midfielder and he gives a number of options, highlights one of which is extremely injury prone, but the manager signs Josh Benson anyway, has he done a poor job?

It would seem he also highlighted Ryan One as a potential signing this season, who is about to get a league medal, whereas we ended up with Biachieri instead. How many other did he put under the managers nose weren't signed?

You are assuming that any players put forward as potential signings didn't see better opportunities elsewhere.
Ryan One clearly did.....and he wasn't wrong was he?

[sawmiller]

It’s going to be a long and at times frustrating haul, but with key learning taken forwards we can turn this around. May be a while in the basement first though

[frogmiller]

I will be happy to talk to anyone face to face about the ****show that has been Rotherham United this season ans many previous seasons.

I have hated to see good men with great intentions being misrepresented by the club.

I hope that the club can get another manager that will produce against the odds another miracle but I believe that the present owner won’t have the balls to fulfill their ambition

[sawmiller]

I will be happy to talk to anyone face to face about the ****show that has been Rotherham United this season ans many previous seasons.

I have hated to see good men with great intentions being misrepresented by the club.

I hope that the club can get another manager that will produce against the odds another miracle but I believe that the present owner won?’t have the balls to fulfill their ambition

Like many Millers, I really hope we can put this season well and truly behind us and have something to once again, genuinely be excited about