Lawn: On paper Bradford City signings are a lot better than last year (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Mark Lawn: On paper Bradford City signings are a lot better than last year
10:10am Tuesday 14th August 2012 in Bantams
By Simon Parker, Bradford City Reporter
Mark Lawn was amazed that City managed to recruit Andrew Davies
Joint-chairman Mark Lawn gives his assessment of the new season’s expectations for City:
I’ve said before that since I’ve been here we’ve had managers who are hard-working and managers who are intelligent. Phil Parkinson is the first intelligent AND hard-working one.
He’s very articulate and that helps when he’s trying to get his point of view over. He’s a very fair-minded man too – if you upset Phil, you’ve been a bit of a troublemaker.
The players that he’s brought in are a real plus. I don’t want to pick out individuals but Gary Jones, for me, is the catalyst we’ve been missing of late.
He’s that type of player who doesn’t just win the ball but looks for it all the time. He makes shapes and positions for other people so they can lay it off. I’ve only seen him in a couple of friendlies but he looks very impressive – and fit too.
Then there’s Andrew Davies, who nobody thought we would sign – including me. I did a talk at a meeting of the Skipton Bantams and said there was no chance of us getting him. That was no bluff. I honestly believed it.
So you’ve got to turn round and say it’s down to Phil again that he’s come back. It’s the even-handed way he has treated his players and Andrew has come here to prove himself this year. It will be a big season for him.
You look at the other signings and the likes of Garry Thompson, Rory McArdle, James Meredith, Stephen Darby and Alan Connell. On paper they are all a lot better than we had last year.
Watching pre-season, it looks like Will Atkinson has turned it round a bit. He has something to prove and he’s going out to do that. Ross Hannah , too, has looked sharp and scored goals and we’ve still got James Hanson and Nahki Wells.
The squad is promising this year but there is a long way to go and all sorts of things can happen. Look at what happened that year I put the extra £1million in. We were flying until Omar Daley broke his leg and that one injury destroyed us.
We’ve got to keep our heads down and plug away. Take a leaf out of Phil’s book. Whether we won or lost last year, I think there was only one reaction I saw out of him and that was at Northampton when we were safe. He let the mask slip that day and gave us all a hug because we’d done it.
But he generally keeps everything on an even keel through the highs and lows. We all know how bad the lows can be. When you’re winning it’s easy but it’s getting out of those lows and that’s when you need someone who won’t get carried away either way.
There will be lows this year. There will be times when everybody’s saying “it’s all gone wrong” because that’s the nature of the game. It’s up to Phil to sort that out and bring everyone round to go again.
The fixtures have given us a hard challenge from the start. I’d rather play Fleetwood six or seven games in when the euphoria of getting into the league has calmed down a wee bit.
They will be hyped up for coming to our stadium for their first away game and the task for us is to cope with that. But that’s nothing new for Bradford City. Even when we were bottom four last year, people were still coming here to shoot us.
We’ve got to have people that won’t stand for that. You look at this squad and there are ones in there who will relish playing in front of a big crowd.
That’s why we brought in the treble 50 bonus for the season-ticket holders and flexicard members. Let’s get more fans in and return to the 13,000 crowds and let our players lead them on.
Be vociferous. You’ve seen what they do at our neighbours in Leeds – Vinnie Jones used to get the whole place rocking and rolling. Opposition hated it and it would be great if they had the same sense of dread about coming here.
Comments(25)
tyker2
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11:22am Tue 14 Aug 12
MAYBE Taylor, Macca and Jackson will have something to say about this or , just maybe, Lawn should be looking at his own interview techniques if he employees unintelligent people ? Whose fault is that Mr Lawn?
Could be deemed as defaming statements by some!!
yangyeight
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11:33am Tue 14 Aug 12
spleen ventor
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11:34am Tue 14 Aug 12
BigFigure
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11:39am Tue 14 Aug 12
Meat Pie
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11:52am Tue 14 Aug 12
Johsay
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12:34pm Tue 14 Aug 12
You'll never be as much of a legend and icon for my dear club as Jacko or McCall.
Whilst managers are fired for what the players do and some think that's unfair, washing your hands of your role in recruiting these thick hard working or lazy intelligent managers must be laid at your door.
Prisoner Cell Block A
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12:56pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Laney1989 wrote:I'm with you on this one fella.
For a change a decent article from Mark Lawn.
And yes, even though he did mention it, he isn't wrong, his input into the club has been far greater than anyone who sticks their two pennorth in on here.
The hardworking/intellig
ent comment was made a few months ago, we had our fun with it then, speculating who was thick and who was lazy, and therein lies the crux of being city fan. We looked at the negatives and not the positive attributes, we tried to guess who was thick, not who was intelligent, we tried to guess who was lazy, not who grafted his nads off.
Oh what a bunch we are, I do include myself,
bettyswollocks
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1:06pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Prisoner Cell Block A
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2:06pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Would you?
Bantam mitch
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2:21pm Tue 14 Aug 12
bobbyo
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2:27pm Tue 14 Aug 12
bobbyo
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2:28pm Tue 14 Aug 12
LS9BANTAM
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2:57pm Tue 14 Aug 12
LuvFootball
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3:35pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Johsay wrote:FFS what side of the bed did you get out of this morning.
Sadly no matter how many articles you do pointing how you saved the club, put in all your money and how players we sign are better every year (yet we finish lower every time.....)
You'll never be as much of a legend and icon for my dear club as Jacko or McCall.
Whilst managers are fired for what the players do and some think that's unfair, washing your hands of your role in recruiting these thick hard working or lazy intelligent managers must be laid at your door.
Chairmen are never ever seen in the same light as managers or players. Lawn or Rhodes could put £10m into the club tomorrow and walk away day after not wanting a penny back and very few fans will remember him in a few years time.
What do you expect Lawn/Rhodes to do? They have tried to get in very high calibre managers over the last decade, they have got club legends in to manage the squad. What else can they do. When Robbo, Todd, Taylor or Jackson signed, did 1 person say "Lawn/Rhodes what the hell have you done, why the **** have you got them in as manager, that is a bad decision"
These big name managers were brought in to try and give something the supporters have been wanting and are wanting. If Fergie left United and wanted a year trying to help a lower league club to see if he could do it elsewhere and we got him, we struggled, would you then moan he shouldn't have signed Fergie and the "blame" is at the chairman's feet.
A manager is brought in and is paid and therefore his sole respsonsibility to perform. Just like any player, if we sign Hines, it is nothing to do with Parkinson or Lawn his attitude towards his job, it is down to Hines himself to perform for his wage.
You can not tell me that in every single organisation when employers set people on, if that person then is sacked it is the chairman's fault?
You can not "blame" either Rhodes or Lawn on the managers we have had, we have had some bloody good managers but for whatever reason, it has never worked out. Maybe there are too many people that thrive on negativity at VP and nit pick like you. Who cares who is a legend or not, history decides legends, not what is happening now. A big sugar daddy isn't going to come in, but if one does, everybody will soon forget the chairmen we have now.
Why do you have to make such a daft statement? Seriously? What do you think happens when a manager is fired, they don't get a penny? It is the culture of the sport, Bradford are no different to every single other club in the country when it comes to talk about getting rid of managers, even the best managers around get it, Fergie a few seasons ago, Wenger is getting it all the time as he is expected to compete with Arab and Russian millionaires.
One last thing, the two Legends you so call point out, guess what is part of their story. Was it a certain chairman that brought them both back in and I guess they both fall in either of your thick and hard working or lazy intelligent managers category? Nice way to label 2 of your legends Johsay.
LuvFootball
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3:42pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Bantam mitch wrote:You find him that boring and detest the guy yet you come on here reading what he has to say!
Bore off fat lawn you bell
That's logic for you folk.
I read comments on here a lot and on other blogs, you hear about trolls, people that moan about everything, there are loads of people with issues and just want to name call and moan at everything as that is all they have in their lives. I really do pity some people and how they live.
LuvFootball
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3:44pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Meat Pie wrote:That joke was funny the first time last week................
He should have signed Messi.
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...................t
umble weeds...............
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LuvFootball
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3:52pm Tue 14 Aug 12
spleen ventor wrote:We don't know what happens behind the scenes, but McCall was inexperienced and when our manager he thought with his heart and not his head which isn't an intellgient thing to do. We support City because of our hearts and not because of our heads. Beause of this McCall wasn't an intelligent manager for us, but he sure was hard working (going off what he said in his interviews).
So the legend that is Stuart McCall is either lazy...or thick...which is it Mr Lawn?
I know a compliment like that can be seen as an insult to other managers and taken out of context, to be honest, I didn't read too much into it, read past it and and didn't take the comment in like some are. I apologise to Johsay to some degree.
It is a compliment to our current manager talking of TWO contributes he has which maybe other managers in the past haven't had. If he is calling Parky intelligent as a compliment over other managers, he may be commenting on his experience and the way he is setting up his stall. As much asI know you won't want to see McCall be bad mouthed but he was inexperienced and ruled his thoughts with his heart not his head.
Are inexperience and passion intelligent attributese Spleen ventor?
Don't take things as insults all the time when they can be seen by some to be. Don't forget we don't see how these managers behave and work behind the scenes.
LuvFootball
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3:56pm Tue 14 Aug 12
bettyswollocks wrote:What return would you want back if you put £1m in?
I notice there was no mention on how much of a return he's had on his £1m
Fans want the world when they pay about £200-£300 to watch over 20 games of football.
Just a thought.
lonniejockstrap
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6:03pm Tue 14 Aug 12
― Calvin Coolidge
'It's better to be a lucky manager than a good manager' _ Neil Warnock/Stuart McCall.
I strongly believe that if Stuart had have stuck at his job at City he would have got us promoted within another season or two. Persistence would have paid off for him. But maybe the pressure would have made him ill and I don't think anyone would have wanted that as being the price of promotion.
Pablo
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6:40pm Tue 14 Aug 12
The financial support appeared to start after Jacko's departure.
For a start, compare the estimated wages of Davies, Gary Jones and Alan Connell to Branston, Mitchell and Stewart.
Very few would doubt that the signings on paper are better than last year, but if the wages are higher due to more financial support from the Board, it's an ufair comment to make.
LuvFootball
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8:12pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Pablo wrote:I am sure budgets have been different for different managers, but it can be used as an excuse too often. How many clubs in the league ladder with lower budgets than Jackson or McCall for example finished above us over the past few seasons?
I'd be interested to know how PP's budget compares to Jacko's.
The financial support appeared to start after Jacko's departure.
For a start, compare the estimated wages of Davies, Gary Jones and Alan Connell to Branston, Mitchell and Stewart.
Very few would doubt that the signings on paper are better than last year, but if the wages are higher due to more financial support from the Board, it's an ufair comment to make.
Also I am sure chairmen have differing levels of confidence in different managers. Jacko was out of touch with the current crop of players and it showed, we plucked him out of a nursing home. McCall had the biggest budgets or one of the biggest budgets a few seasons ago but did nothing. Support will be given to a manager when he gives confidence to the board, we only see the manager for 90 minutes every fortnight on match days, the chairmen, coaches and players see each other in training, match days, pre match, reserves in the office etc etc etc. We can all think of conspiracy theories, but Jacko left the club relatively easily, maybe too easy for reasons we don't know all the facts.
We never know all the facts, many try and come up with theories and stories that aren't there and some like to make rumours up because the truth maybe boring and something they may not want to believe.
Also, why do we need to look back and speculate on past budgets, shouldn't we be more bothered about the current set up. I would sooner we spend within our means with the option of splashing the cash once in a while as long as we are in the black. I am also glad we don't have half a dozen loanees, fed up of seeing us giving experience to other clubs' youngsters and ours fester and end up in none league at best.
One other thing, why is it when people like you say compare this and that you only paint half the picture. No offence intended here but you are comparing wages of 3 players in an entire squad, just take into account these players are no longer on our wage bill - Terry Dixon, Nialle Rodney, Luke Obrien, Robbie Threlfall, Lee Bullock, Dave Syers, Lewis Hunt, Leon Osborne, Adam Robinson, Guy Branston, Marcel Seip, Simon Ramsden, Michael Flynn, Chris Mitchell, Mark Stewart, Darren Stephenson, Dominic Rowe. Not sure if I have missed any, now you can argue that some are youngster, but how much budget has been made available with the following players off the wage bill? Seip, Ramsden, Flynn, Branston, Bullock, Mitchell, Syers, Stewart, O'Brien and Threlfall?
I think it works out we have let more go than brought in. So I am more interested in the entire squad wage than comparing 3 good players to 3 poor/average players.
To quote you "It's an unfair comment to make" Right back at yer!!
seasonticketholder
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8:49pm Tue 14 Aug 12
Laney1989 wrote:Agree with Laney. A more balanced view. No slagging the fans off, ....but ....having a go at former managers!
For a change a decent article from Mark Lawn.
He has to remember he has appointed them!
Lets hope the optimism is well placed. The squad does seem better than last year.
Prisoner Cell Block A
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10:41pm Tue 14 Aug 12
He's taken motherwell to places they haven't been, no saying he won't continue it.
eebygum
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9:37pm Wed 15 Aug 12
Laney1989 says...
11:04am Tue 14 Aug 12