Behind The Scenes at Oakwell..... Taymour Roushdi

I would imagine around 70/75% of clubs in England are foreign owned and I suppose most clubs have lost that "homemade" feel to it.
It then comes down to trust of your new owners.From day one I've heard reports of money laundering,they'll build houses on Oakwell,they're selling players and pocketing the money etc.The thing with all these claims is there is not a shred of evidence to support them.
When they took over I listened with intent to Patrick and the consortium and there intensions.To be fair Patrick went to great lengths to back the trust he had in these owners and to be fair to the owners they've pretty much kept to here word about not risking the club financially and not doing anything crazy.
We can all argue about the transfer policy whether we support it or not and I suppose if we get relegated most will disagree with it and pour the blame on our "foreign owners".I see things a bit differently in that 3 teams go down every year and theres no hard and fast way to guarantee avoiding this.
I took a lot of pride watching Barnsley run by Barnsley owners,local managers and local players been involved but that due to unfortunate circumstances came to an end and there wasn't a queue of Barnsley business men wanting to take over the reins.
We've seen for a few years now unscrupulous foreign owners coming in to the English game paying outlandish wages and trying to defraud the system at every turn.I've seen no evidence what so ever our owners being the same.
For me the owners get my full backing unless they start to cheat like other clubs in our division.

Won't be in this division at end of season so we've no worries about cheating 😂

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Originally Posted by bill46

I would imagine around 70/75% of clubs in England are foreign owned and I suppose most clubs have lost that "homemade" feel to it.
It then comes down to trust of your new owners.From day one I've heard reports of money laundering,they'll build houses on Oakwell,they're selling players and pocketing the money etc.The thing with all these claims is there is not a shred of evidence to support them.
When they took over I listened with intent to Patrick and the consortium and there intensions.To be fair Patrick went to great lengths to back the trust he had in these owners and to be fair to the owners they've pretty much kept to here word about not risking the club financially and not doing anything crazy.
We can all argue about the transfer policy whether we support it or not and I suppose if we get relegated most will disagree with it and pour the blame on our "foreign owners".I see things a bit differently in that 3 teams go down every year and theres no hard and fast way to guarantee avoiding this.
I took a lot of pride watching Barnsley run by Barnsley owners,local managers and local players been involved but that due to unfortunate circumstances came to an end and there wasn't a queue of Barnsley business men wanting to take over the reins.
We've seen for a few years now unscrupulous foreign owners coming in to the English game paying outlandish wages and trying to defraud the system at every turn.I've seen no evidence what so ever our owners being the same.
For me the owners get my full backing unless they start to cheat like other clubs in our division.

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You make some fair points there Bill but debates are not as simple as being black and white or stereotype which I feel is how you put your side of the debate across. Sometimes thaz got to read between the lines and there's nowt wrong with that. The owners are in a position where scrutiny and speculation comes with the territory. There's a few thousand of us who care deeply about this club and inevitably questions or speculation will always be raised, twas ever thus.

I think keeping this club running in the black is all that most supporters ask. It would be foolish to run at a loss. Selling players is how we've always made ends meet, nowts changed theear but there's ways and means of doing that wi art jeopardizing what is happening on the pitch. John Dennis and Pat Cryne managed it.

All i want is some honesty and not to be told a load of PR bullsh1t like Conway gave us after the transfer window last August. The interview with Conway on Radio Sheff a few weeks back didn't feel like the blowk came across as genuine to me. Some very good questions were raised but answered in a cold and political manner, like there was something to hide.

When I think back to our trip to Wembley in 2008 for the FA cup semi, Pat Cryne wrote a passage in the Chronicle which came right from his heart. It made certain references about the club and it's supporters that left me in no doubt about his passion for the club. He felt the same as the supporters which established a genuine connection and trust. It was more than just a money making business to Cryne.

Could any of the consortium connect with the supporters in this way? I think not. Their methods of connecting come when things are going well, via PR exercises like the one before the Luton game where Conway was spouting thru his microphone in the fanzone. I can see straight through it. Their motives will always be questioned by myself because they ain't here for the love of it. They are here to make profit, pure and simple. That's where the connection is lost for me.

Like your good self I care deeply about this club being in my 55th season of supporting them.I would think every owner in the land want there club to make a profit because the alternative is making a loss and as you see now the clubs showing loses are in terrible trouble.
I get the feeling that because the owners aren't English some are over sceptical about there motives but like I said earlier until I see proof I can't be part of that group, that doesn't mean I dismiss other peoples views its all about opinions.
As for not jeopardizing on the pitch we did actually get relegated with both Dennis and Cryne and I'm sure its not something either wanted.

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Originally Posted by DOOALI

Won't be in this division at end of season so we've no worries about cheating ��

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What were your views regarding relegation under John Dennis and P.Cryne or didn't you watch us then either.

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Originally Posted by bill46

I get the feeling that because the owners aren't English some are over sceptical about there motives

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Tha'll perhaps need to shek off the idea that people must be rabid racists/ xenophobes if they are wary of the policies and practices of these owners. It's the second day in succession this xenophobe slur has been attempted to be pinned on some posters and does not sit well with someone with your proclaimed respect for other's views.

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Originally Posted by bill46

As for not jeopardizing on the pitch we did actually get relegated with both Dennis and Cryne and I'm sure its not something either wanted.

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To add an fair element of balance Bill, John Dennis chased the dream and with the collapse of ITV digital it proved almost fatal for the club. However, he kept the club running smoothly for 8 or 9 seasons in the 2nd tier and of course the season in the top flight.

Cryne also managed 8 successive seasons in the 2nd tier.

Yes, the relegations are a blot on their copy book, there's no denying that but looking at the overall bigger picture, it shows we had decent success during the vast majority of their tenures.

The consortium have been here for over 2 years and barring a minor miracle they'll have 2 relegations on their CV. The daft thing is that these relegations could've been avoided, especially this season. All they had to do was deviate slightly from the system that they operate, not sold all our key players last summer and brought in a couple of solid old pro's to guide the youngsters through and give us a far better chance. Unfortunately they failed to acknowledge that and no lessons were learned from the 17/18 relegation which is crazy.

The fact that there's 3 relegation places every season doesn't mean we have to occupy one of them. I suppose in the light of how the owners operate the club on the pitch, our expectations have been lowered somewhat.

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Originally Posted by SBRed48

Tha'll perhaps need to shek off the idea that people must be rabid racists/ xenophobes if they are wary of the policies and practices of these owners. It's the second day in succession this xenophobe slur has been attempted to be pinned on some posters and does not sit well with someone with your proclaimed respect for other's views.

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With respect SB I was generalising and not casting aspersions.I suppose it is natural to be wary of someone not from our town wanting to take our club on.Like I said in an earlier post the business men of Barnsley weren't queuing up for the gig.I said last night that my assumption of xenophobia had been misplaced.

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Originally Posted by pass_and_move

To add an fair element of balance Bill, John Dennis chased the dream and with the collapse of ITV digital it proved almost fatal for the club. However, he kept the club running smoothly for 8 or 9 seasons in the 2nd tier and of course the season in the top flight.

Cryne also managed 8 successive seasons in the 2nd tier.

Yes, the relegations are a blot on their copy book, there's no denying that but looking at the overall bigger picture, it shows we had decent success during the vast majority of their tenures.

The consortium have been here for over 2 years and barring a minor miracle they'll have 2 relegations on their CV. The daft thing is that these relegations could've been avoided, especially this season. All they had to do was deviate slightly from the system that they operate, not sold all our key players last summer and brought in a couple of solid old pro's to guide the youngsters through and give us a far better chance. Unfortunately they failed to acknowledge that and no lessons were learned from the 17/18 relegation which is crazy.

The fact that there's 3 relegation places every season doesn't mean we have to occupy one of them. I suppose in the light of how the owners operate the club on the pitch, our expectations have been lowered somewhat.

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Some valid points there.I've enjoyed this debate.

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Originally Posted by bill46

What were your views regarding relegation under John Dennis and P.Cryne or didn't you watch us then either.

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I've watched them longer than you good times bad times but these owners are my gripe with their negative vibes so put that in your kinder surprise egg and eat it