Sympathy for Paul Douglas

[howdydoo]

I've just read Paul Davis's article in the Advertiser about the demise of Matt Hamshaw and one paragraph stood out:

"Soon after his arrival, the boss was tasked with drawing up a three-year plan.
Then it lay in his drawer because nobody subsequently asked to see it."

Remind me again what are some of the key responsibilities of a COO?
No wonder the club is in a death spiral if senior people just can't be bothered 😡.

That doesn't surprise me. Doesn't strike me as a bloke who is brilliant at his job.

You called him a lap dog. I agreed and said it's provided him a secure livelihood for the best part of 20 years.

In the scenario you highlight above most of the blame lies with Hamshaw. If he was tasked with producing a 3 year plan he should have prepared it and presented it to senior management. WTF did he leave it in his drawer? New job. He should have been pushing his ideas forward. Not be waiting for the COO to ask for it. If he's leaked that story, it shows he wasn't up to the role.

You tell us what the chief role of a COO is at Rotherham United football club? I think you nailed it already but you're at odds with your own argument.

Be honest. In his job, has Paul Douglas earned more money and been more successful than you have in the last 20 years? If he hasn't, I guarantee he has been more successful and provided more security for his family than 95% of his knockers on here.

Funny old world innit?

[the_idiotb_stardson]

Farrend Rawson.

I was waiting for this one. No one has ever proved it was Paul Douglas. 3 people very well placed at the club told me it definitely wasn' t him

[mellowmiller]

I was waiting for this one. No one has ever proved it was Paul Douglas. 3 people very well placed at the club told me it definitely wasn' t him

Have you ever heard the expression "the buck stops"?

[mellowmiller]

That doesn't surprise me. Doesn't strike me as a bloke who is brilliant at his job.

You called him a lap dog. I agreed and said it's provided him a secure livelihood for the best part of 20 years.

In the scenario you highlight above most of the blame lies with Hamshaw. If he was tasked with producing a 3 year plan he should have prepared it and presented it to senior management. WTF did he leave it in his drawer? New job. He should have been pushing his ideas forward. Not be waiting for the COO to ask for it. If he's leaked that story, it shows he wasn't up to the role.

You tell us what the chief role of a COO is at Rotherham United football club? I think you nailed it already but you're at odds with your own argument.

Be honest. In his job, has Paul Douglas earned more money and been more successful than you have in the last 20 years? If he hasn't, I guarantee he has been more successful and provided more security for his family than 95% of his knockers on here.

Funny old world innit?

OK. I was a senior manager at a multi-national company and had responsibilities for business planning, contract negotiations, European offices, internal and external communications amongst other things.
If I asked for a piece of work to be done I expected it to be completed in the agreed time frame and followed it up with the person responsible. That's what managers should do.
Oh, and I retired at 58.
That do for you?
If the COO at the club isn't driving things forward who is?

[howdydoo]

It's pretty obvious no one is. The bloke's a lap dog. You said it already. Yet he's made a good living and held down his job for near on 20 years. The only point I was making.

Good on you on your own career and well done on your retirement at 58. If that's a good thing or a bad thing who knows? Depends who you are. I'd hate it.

Senior manager at a multinational? Decent money, decent pension. Pretty intelligent, yep. Able to run a business? Open for debate.

Quick to snipe and criticise. Word beater.

[Townerslovechild]

Some people need to get an effing life.

[howdydoo]

Some people need to get an effing life.

Seems yours is a cautionary tale to us all.

Trot on yer scruff.

[Derbymiller]

What mine or others personal achievements are has nothing to do with whether PD is a good COO or not. I am sure he has done well under TS, and to be fair to him if you can get paid what he gets paid and get away with it, good on him, however that isn't the issue.

As suggested by others when they label him a lapdog, he is a TS man, he does what TS wants and TS comes across as a very authoritarian leader that likes people that say "yes sir, no sir". TS saved the club and we have had good years under him, but something has changed in the last few years, the leadership at the club has been in decline and we are now reaping the outcome of weak, poor leadership.

So many things are wrong and the executive management is one of those things but not the only one. I fear for my beloved Rotherham United under this leadership and i do not feel that using the position of the team manager as a plaster will seal the wounds and repair the sickness that runs deep within the club.

I feel it is time for a change of owner and leadership, and yes we have to be careful for what we wish for, but i see a club led by the Stewarts sat in the bottom 8 next season fighting off another relegation.

[howdydoo]

What mine or others personal achievements are has nothing to do with whether PD is a good COO or not. I am sure he has done well under TS, and to be fair to him if you can get paid what he gets paid and get away with it, good on him, however that isn't the issue.

As suggested by others when they label him a lapdog, he is a TS man, he does what TS wants and TS comes across as a very authoritarian leader that likes people that say "yes sir, no sir". TS saved the club and we have had good years under him, but something has changed in the last few years, the leadership at the club has been in decline and we are now reaping the outcome of weak, poor leadership.

So many things are wrong and the executive management is one of those things but not the only one. I fear for my beloved Rotherham United under this leadership and i do not feel that using the position of the team manager as a plaster will seal the wounds and repair the sickness that runs deep within the club.

I feel it is time for a change of owner and leadership, and yes we have to be careful for what we wish for, but i see a club led by the Stewarts sat in the bottom 8 next season fighting off another relegation.

What happened is Paul Warne walked away from the club.

He was probably doing some of Paul Douglas's job for him or at least papering over the cracks.

Definitely papered over the cracks for an ageing chairman.

We should see the annual accounts in the next two weeks. Last year's accounts were already published by the middle of March 2025. They'll show the financial commitment the chairman has put in.

Not that he'll get any thanks or sympathy whatsoever if it's cost him a fair penny

Rightly or wrongly.

[Derbymiller]

What happened is Paul Warne walked away from the club.

He was probably doing some of Paul Douglas's job for him or at least papering over the cracks.

Definitely papered over the cracks for an ageing chairman.

We should see the annual accounts in the next two weeks. Last year's accounts were already published by the middle of March 2025. They'll show the financial commitment the chairman has put in.

Not that he'll get any thanks or sympathy whatsoever if it's cost him a fair penny

Rightly or wrongly.

I don't have access to any information regarding what Paul Warne was doing or whether Rob scott was covering certain areas, after all he was made Director of Football or something similar at one point. You are correct that TS has covered us financially and as i mentioned his role in saving us and giving us success in his time as chairman, is something we should be grateful for. It just feels like a change would be best for all parties.