Animis

Does his contract expire in June?

If it's come to that; and the manager certainly thinks so, it's a sad reflection on the club as a whole. We are not a good team to watch; probably haven't been for two years, but wins held us together. Once wins are put at risk by extreme defensive tactics; attempting a clean sheet at all costs, we are going drift even further in to the not good to watch pile. It's an entertainment business - it's not 1974/75 when it was painful but at least cheap. We are in very clear danger of becoming a boring team and fans will start to drift away.

He's not English; well not according to the Irish FA.

One thing about the Rhodes loan to Norwich is the fine details in terms of his full transfer. We we're in a similar position to what Norwich are in now in 2017/18. It appears we committed to buying Rhodes in January regardless of what league we were going to be in. It didn't work out and we committed to the transfer weeks after he refused to take the most important penalty of his career. I wonder if Norwich have the same conditions as it's likely they'll get promoted. if so, will they want JR? it would be have been a far better negotiating position for SWFC if we were able to say to a Norwich team say in the top three in January - he's yours now for £6m or we recall him.

Can we sell Rhodes in January? I thought it was a season long loan with a view to a sell in June 19? I suppose if both parties agreed it could be brought forward, but would this mean a reduced transfer fee?

The red button facility shouldn't be underestimated. The first season novelty of watching several extra games a season is great. However, it could result in longer term damage as fans simply stop buying season tickets and membership. I reckon if you we're a Leeds fan, you could watch 60% of the entire season games on Sky.

Step back and see where this started to unravel. We all came away from the Hull final in May 2016 saying we need a midfield beast. Hutch wasn't deemed sufficient in his CM role, and most included CC in that summer said Hutch needed to move to Centre Half. This didn't work partly because of his injury issues, which have always been known. But hey we gave him an extension to his contract in Jan 2017, and still persist in calling him the savior of our midfield - bizarre on every level. I can't think of any other championship club who have been held hostage to fortune for so long when it was totally unnecessary. Now the club find themselves needing to offload him in january to avoid any further damage. He's contracted until June 2020 - 18 months left, which in normal circumstances would command a transfer fee, and considering how him and many of our fans rate him, he must be worth say £1-2m. But we know what will happen - he'll be compromised out, and slip out of the back door for nothing - another financial disaster.

We have to trust that Katrien Meire is fully independent and acts solely in the interests of her employer over the next year or so.

It's our longest spell outside the top flight, and we seem a million miles away at the moment, having somewhat taken two steps back over the last two years. The club needs to settle down and just learn by the mistakes on and off the field and start planning for the next phase - a 3-year plan if you like. Whether that includes Jos is down to DC - he now must have an opinion if he is competent or not and trusts him to implement the plan. We have to assume JL's contract expires in the summer, so the next six months is critical for all parties. I imagine championship survival will be the target for this season. I think SWFC as a club are now competing with clubs who were nowhere to be seen 25 years ago - so many clubs have progressed Brighton, Southampton, Leicester, Watford for example. We've actually gone back but others like Notts Forest also have so we're not alone. Because of the money, there is much more competition and this makes clubs, owners and fans anxious, which agents feed off.

It's sad, because the average fans just rocks up on Saturday, has a couple of pints and a pie and watches the game and goes home - unbeknown to him that this murky underworld of corruption and lies; fed out of a lust for money is sat next to him in the stands. We've, through DC, have got entailed in this nonsense - football is becoming a million miles away from the game i got into 40 odd years ago. I heard Billy Bragg's God's Footballer on the radio today - nearly cried:

Nelio Lucas is a name that keeps cropping up - he doesn't get a particularly good name in this article: https://theblacksea.eu/stories/football-leaks/football-leaks-the-dirty-tricks-of-doyen-sports/

John Redgate is the FD, who was doing three roles from June 2016-Feb 2018: board member, COO and FD. OS 7th Feb 2018; Chairman Dejphon Chansiri said: “I am grateful for all the help John has given me since he was appointed to the board. “He has helped me to look after the club whilst I have been out of the UK and more importantly given me the time to appoint a new Chief Executive. “I had agreed with John on his appointment to the board in June 2016 that once a new Chief Executive Officer was in place, he would stand down and with Katrien Meire appointed to that role, that time has now come.” Paul Aldridge was board member and CEO from 2011 to 2016, during which we had that odd brief spell with Glenn Roeder and Adam Pearson, which didn't last. It was always reported Aldridge delat with the player transfers.

AFC Wimbledon, but actually now looking at the SWFC press release from July 2016, it probably wasn't him: Joe will formulate the commercial and corporate strategy of the club, together with overseeing the retail, ticketing and marketing operations.

Joe Palmer was there as COO from July 2016 to January 2018, so I expect him.

I suppose most will point to Doyen Sports. One thing always puzzled me with their involvement was the clear conflict of interest, between SWFC as a client and their players as agent.