Douglas speaks....

[Yak]

Just more bull from the club. Paul Davies is nothing more than a cheerleader for the club. Won?t ask anything remotely controversial.
How much is our season tickets ? Is it value for money ?

[Spuddy Speight]

Might want to look at players' morale? On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say it's a 6.

Confidence in club management. That would be a 5.

Other numbers are available.

Up The Millers!!!

[Townerslovechild]

I know everyone thinks that Douglas is the Devil on earth,but how about he`s telling the truth ?
A radical idea I know,but maybe this our largest budget at this level and Evans has just wasted it,that`s why we are crap,just a thought.

[RU66]

I know everyone thinks that Douglas is the Devil on earth,but how about he`s telling the truth ?
A radical idea I know,but maybe this our largest budget at this level and Evans has just wasted it,that`s why we are crap,just a thought.

I've said exactly that. Douglas not at fault. Evans Scott failed on recruitment.

[Derbymiller]

Here is something to consider, that interview lays the blame at those that spent the money (SE & RS), perhaps they are laying the foundations for the rumoured change of manager?
It is a Friday a day of speculation )

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

Foundations - JCH & Raggert are not exactly something a new manager would want in his squad,
which a new manager would in-herit, with their contracts.
JCH & Raggert both signed for their pension pots.

Steve Evans & Scott were to blame with these signings.

[Millmoordays]

Foundations - JCH & Raggert are not exactly something a new manager would want in his squad,
which a new manager would in-herit, with their contracts.
JCH & Raggert both signed for their pension pots.

Steve Evans & Scott were to blame with these signings.

Yes, but the board oversaw the deals and by now, the past failures of type, and should have blocked them. This is a joint failure.

[Millmoordays]

I dare say one by one we will all pick up on the “interview” with douglas, part two released. In which he only thinks, estimates the D1 costs are 50% more now, yes, 50%.

Chief exec officer, and he only thinks, estimates.

I am reminded of a famous film quote. “You could train a, to fly better than that.

[Millmoordays]

To be completely fair and allow as much latitude as possible, it’s been a mess of two plus years off the field, and it really does seem to look like go for broke and it backfired. Without much football common sense in doing so.

[UlleyMiller]

“I can tell you, the chairman this year has spent more on the squad than we ever have on a League One squad before,” he said. “And by a considerable amount.”

Footballers are intangible assets, and financially their transfer fee is spread over the course of their contract - so Nombe (as far as the books go) costs us ?250k a season, and Ti?hi will be a similar value. Douglas hasn't said the overall net spend is higher, just that we've spent more than ever on a League 1 squad. So he could be factually correct given that around half a million sits there before we get to wages. I've said before, almost all businesses will spend 'more than ever before' each year because of inflation - so picking up on the fact he's comparing this to spend in previous L1 seasons and the last one was two seasons back, that should be the case. We also have the legacy of some higher salaries from the failed Championship run.

The language shifts around a bit, saying Tony backed SE and RS, whereas a lot of the article has him saying 'we'. Is he part of the group who hand down the budget, the group spending, or pulling himself into the shadows on that front? "It was felt that another big influx of players wasn't going to be the answer. We were starting to see an improvement in results early in the month" Felt by who?

Douglas makes reference to us being in transition (and reiterates we are 'in a transition') but misses a golden opportunity to explain what the transition is to - and with a raft of players with 18 months of contract remaining, it's hardly giving the impression it's a long-term plan behind the transition. This is the question many want answering - where are we trying to go?

I've never met PD, so I have no way to know if he's a master orator being especially cute with his phrasing, or purely a coincidence that he avoids any blame for anything that's not gone well and motions at SE for being in charge (whilst pointing out it was tough). Are the finances being described in the same way politicians do, where technically it's true but the reality is that we're scraping by? The only thing I've really taken from this is that the club remains relatively opaque in terms of it's plans, it's structure (less so, but still pretty foggy), and whether or not SE will be here for long.