General The Board & Senior Management

[Northstandboy]

 

[My Manor]

I'd much rather the parasites Tim Williams and Adam Benson were relieved of their duties before the other longer term staff.

Spot on.

 

[CaptainOx]

I think the heat is on TW.

I believe Craig Short was informed a day / possibly 2 days before Day 1 of pre-season.

I wouldn’t read anything in to the no updates on the website, it’s not a legal thing. It’s just the way the club do (or don’t do things).

Personally think it’s really poor show from the club. Short will get that new people have new ideas, new people they want to bring in. I do think by now there should at least be acknowledgement on the website of his length of service / the fact he stepped into roles when needed etc.

Suspect they'll bury it within a wider staffing update when the others come after the u19,s euros

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Suspect they'll bury it within a wider staffing update when the others come after the u19,s euros

Sad but inevitable. I guess this is the price you pay when you support a club who want to be a ‘top 30’ one…lol

 

[Jonny G]

Some I spoke to said that the time had come to move on. The changes had 'encouraged' their decision. I did not get the impression that they wanted to leave.

Who else has gone. I know Mick's retired fully and Adam Harris left (thank you both!) as I saw these on LinkedIn... so assuming its in the public domain when writing this. Reading on here that Craig and Chris Short have also left. Is there anyone else? If so - and if you don't think it right to name individual staff members which could be fair enough - what departments are impacted?
Asking as - as far as I was aware - Mick and Adam have been due to leave for a while, which would have probably pre-dated arrival of the new chairman.
One last general point unrelated to ML - if Bloomfield was told he was being backed 2 / 3 days before he left then that is and has been fairly common in football for many decades, so whilst harsh I wouldn't see anything revolutionary there.

 

[Scotchegg]

I was critical of the way Liam Manning left, not because of him leaving but how he went about it.

And I'd be equally critical of the way the "club" has acted in relation to Bloomfield and the Shorts. Not because the decision to go in a different direction is necessarily wrong (although time will tell), but the fact that it took until the end of June for the decision to be made, and the impersonal way that they were informed.

Craig Short came in as a favour to Karl Robinson, but one that worked for both parties. He was great with the players, not just friendly, but a very good coach, particularly amongst the younger players.

But after Robinson left it is unusual for him to then work alongside Manning, Des, Rowett and Bloomfield - especially when 3 out of the 4 brought in their own assistants too.

It was inevitable that eventually a fresh start would be needed, and I'm excited to see how this new set up looks and I hope that is successful for all concerned. And I know Shorty would accept this as part and parcel of the game.

But I still wish that the club had dealt with all of this a lot better and had put out appropriate comms before the news leaked, as it obviously would.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Soz but:

This ain't back in the day;
this is not our club any more.

 

[greatunclekip]

Craig Short, Chris Short and Chris Hackett were key parts of a club that by hook or crook were promoted to the Championship.

The fact that starstruck Erick has decided a different approach is needed, those guys deserve the absolute best.

I’ll tell you something, I miss hugely that togetherness of the Eales years. I would swap today’s coldness like a shot. I love the club. I have zero time for the clubs leadership.

 

[Scotchegg]

I love the club. I have zero time for the clubs leadership...the players, the recruitment, the stadium, the fans, the kit, Olly the Ox, the pies, the training ground, the ticket office, the half time entertainment, the programme, the run out music, family, friends, my younger years, the future or indeed life itself.

Just added a bit for you!

 

[dickwalton1964]

I was critical of the way Liam Manning left, not because of him leaving but how he went about it.

And I'd be equally critical of the way the "club" has acted in relation to Bloomfield and the Shorts. Not because the decision to go in a different direction is necessarily wrong (although time will tell), but the fact that it took until the end of June for the decision to be made, and the impersonal way that they were informed.

Craig Short came in as a favour to Karl Robinson, but one that worked for both parties. He was great with the players, not just friendly, but a very good coach, particularly amongst the younger players.

But after Robinson left it is unusual for him to then work alongside Manning, Des, Rowett and Bloomfield - especially when 3 out of the 4 brought in their own assistants too.

It was inevitable that eventually a fresh start would be needed, and I'm excited to see how this new set up looks and I hope that is successful for all concerned. And I know Shorty would accept this as part and parcel of the game.

But I still wish that the club had dealt with all of this a lot better and had put out appropriate comms before the news leaked, as it obviously would.

Football nowadays, like it or not, is fast moving. You can’t have a leaving party for everyone. Years ago at companies you’d get a ‘gold’ watch from H Samuel’s after 30 years service, now we are supposed to give Shorty the big send off after 6 years service !!! 6 years !!! I didn’t see, hear or read any massive ‘thank you’ to Robinson after a similar stint of service and he was right at the coal face. The general parting shot when a manager goes is a one line ‘We thank him for his efforts and wish him well in the future’. With the greatest respect, why should third or fourth in line Shorty get any more than that ?

Someone like Rosie, I wouldn’t dispute deserves huge recognition as he’s dedicated virtually his entire working life to the club, same with Mick Brown too. If Brannagan sees out his career here then he will fall into that bracket too. While I accept the likes of Short aren’t earning fortunes, like most in football it’s a fairly comfortable working day in a fairly comfortable environment - the buck most certainly isn’t stopping at third or fourth in line on the coaching staff, that’s for sure.

 

[Jonny G]

Sorry, I should have also thanked Craig and Chris Short too.

Agree this would have been better at end of April / start of May, but I guess it was the chairman changing at that point that lead to the delay. 100% agree on the lack of communications...

We seem to have gone with loads of content, but hardly any information / news being released.... in a city the size of Oxford and with a club like OUFC where for all of us there's probably two 1/2 degrees of separation to people around the city / county and probably only 1 1/2 to 2 degrees of separation to anyone around the club that seems to be a rather silly position to take.

Most frustrating / concerning thing about all of this is that we never seem to have a clear strategy and everything seems far more short term, or tactical in terms of plans for the club. As above, chairman changing and happening mid-May probably led to these other changes.

We'd been struggling in Championship for 18 months... so even if we'd got three points at Pompey, beaten Charlton, got something at Derby and stayed up, change would still have been needed. Had the appointment of the new chairman been made in March we'd be two months further ahead with our planning for this season and the whole summer would have seemed less knee jerk.

 

[Teacher]

Top 30 club or not, there’s a way to treat those who have given decent service to your club. Nobody is complaining about what has been done; it’s the way it’s been done.

I don’t care how big and ambitions the plans are, we should never lose site of what makes us a special and connected club.

I also find it entirely unprofessional that we’re talking about this on a forum days later with no official announcement. Now that, is a bit tinpot.

 

[Osei Yaw]

I'm not sure what people expect the club to do for Short - a goodbye kiss and a big bunch of flowers?

Just because he was a well liked member of staff who served the club with professionalism over a number of years, it doesn't make him entitled to even a couple of lines of text from the club. If anything, he should be thanking the club for paying his wages all of those years.

Bloody nanny state that we live in now.

 

[Morris Oxford]

Just another step from once being a family club to a full blown corporate club.

Interesting to compare the appointment of two young managers namely Des Buckingham and Aaron Ramsey and the support they received in terms of the coaching staff/assistants. Ramsey appears to be well backed and supported, Des not so much.

 

[Scotchegg]

Football nowadays, like it or not, is fast moving. You can’t have a leaving party for everyone. Years ago at companies you’d get a ‘gold’ watch from H Samuel’s after 30 years service, now we are supposed to give Shorty the big send off after 6 years service !!! 6 years !!! I didn’t see, hear or read any massive ‘thank you’ to Robinson after a similar stint of service and he was right at the coal face. The general parting shot when a manager goes is a one line ‘We thank him for his efforts and wish him well in the future’. With the greatest respect, why should third or fourth in line Shorty get any more than that ?

Someone like Rosie, I wouldn’t dispute deserves huge recognition as he’s dedicated virtually his entire working life to the club, same with Mick Brown too. If Brannagan sees out his career here then he will fall into that bracket too. While I accept the likes of Short aren’t earning fortunes, like most in football it’s a fairly comfortable working day in a fairly comfortable environment - the buck most certainly isn’t stopping at third or fourth in line on the coaching staff, that’s for sure.

I sometimes check my own moral standards with where my views sit alongside others. Finding mine poles apart from yours gives me confidence that I'm in a good place.

No one is asking for a leaving party or an over the top montage of all their best bits. But, even in a fast paced world, I believe that we should treat decent people with decency and respect.

Difficult decisions have to be taken, and Shorty would understand this too. But there's absolutely no reason why these decisions can't be communicated to the individuals involved in face-to-face conversations with those who represent the board. And once those conversations have taken place, a respectful statement from the club that thanks them for all they've done for the club and to wish them well for the future, BEFORE it comes out from inside the club.

It's the very minimum that we should expect, and its disappointing that we've fallen short of these standards.

 

[Foley]

I sometimes check my own moral standards with where my views sit alongside others. Finding mine poles apart from yours gives me confidence that I'm in a good place.

No one is asking for a leaving party or an over the top montage of all their best bits. But, even in a fast paced world, I believe that we should treat decent people with decency and respect.

Difficult decisions have to be taken, and Shorty would understand this too. But there's absolutely no reason why these decisions can't be communicated to the individuals involved in face-to-face conversations with those who represent the board. And once those conversations have taken place, a respectful statement from the club that thanks them for all they've done for the club and to wish them well for the future, BEFORE it comes out from inside the club.

It's the very minimum that we should expect, and its disappointing that we've fallen short of these standards.

Out of interest how was Short told?

 

[Sarge]

Just another step from once being a family club to a full blown corporate club.

Interesting to compare the appointment of two young managers namely Des Buckingham and Aaron Ramsey and the support they received in terms of the coaching staff/assistants. Ramsey appears to be well backed and supported, Des not so much.

Sadly agree @Morris Oxford , of late theres little if any communication between club and fanbase, the current incumbents have reverted to serving up the proverbial mushroom treatment to us customers IMO. No surprise, as there are fewer and fewer Oxford United people working on the admin side of the club, its all becoming far far too corporate for my liking.

The chairman has been changed, yet there has been no shareholders' AGM ( there hasnt been a shareholders AGM for more than a few seasons now )

Re DB & AR backing and support (from above), different chairmen a factor perhaps?

 

[Scotchegg]

Out of interest how was Short told?

I heard that it was a phone call but third hand information so will accept if others hear differently. It's more about putting out a statement that I think we've let ourselves down with.

 

[dickwalton1964]

I sometimes check my own moral standards with where my views sit alongside others. Finding mine poles apart from yours gives me confidence that I'm in a good place.

No one is asking for a leaving party or an over the top montage of all their best bits. But, even in a fast paced world, I believe that we should treat decent people with decency and respect.

Difficult decisions have to be taken, and Shorty would understand this too. But there's absolutely no reason why these decisions can't be communicated to the individuals involved in face-to-face conversations with those who represent the board. And once those conversations have taken place, a respectful statement from the club that thanks them for all they've done for the club and to wish them well for the future, BEFORE it comes out from inside the club.

It's the very minimum that we should expect, and its disappointing that we've fallen short of these standards.

Likewise.

So you will be content with the standard one line goodbye, as Robinson got ? All you’re whinging about is that it hasn’t come out yet, right ? Who is really bothered by that, we’ve just appointed a new manager, there’s obviously a lot going on re backroom staff and I’m sure all comings and goings will be announced in due course - very likely alongside the appointment of his replacement. Years ago backroom staff came and went without so much as a handshake - now we need a bloody party when one goes.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Just another step from once being a family club to a full blown corporate club.

Interesting to compare the appointment of two young managers namely Des Buckingham and Aaron Ramsey and the support they received in terms of the coaching staff/assistants. Ramsey appears to be well backed and supported, Des not so much.

We’ve obviously now got some at the top of the club making big calls - great to see and about time. What’s gone has gone, be thankful there’s a new broom sweeping right through the club and giving it the refresh it desperately needs.

 

[Swaby39]

It takes minutes for the club to do the right thing on departures. I’ve seen some very cautious comments but it’s f*****g pathetic. Plain and simple. The same words can be used to describe Dusan’s early efforts as chair. We’re a joke that’s lost all its identity on field and seems off field is going that way fast too.

I am however quite enjoying the level of unrest at the lack of a faceless, empty gesture of a statement and yet passing judgement on a first in-person interview of the man we’ve ripped it all up to bring in was totally ridiculous.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Likewise.

So you will be content with the standard one line goodbye, as Robinson got ? All you’re whinging about is that it hasn’t come out yet, right ? Who is really bothered by that, we’ve just appointed a new manager, there’s obviously a lot going on re backroom staff and I’m sure all comings and goings will be announced in due course - very likely alongside the appointment of his replacement. Years ago backroom staff came and went without so much as a handshake - now we need a bloody party when one goes.

You’re bitter because you’re a ‘self made man’ aren’t you? No leaving speeches for you

 

[Brahma]

I'm not sure what people expect the club to do for Short - a goodbye kiss and a big bunch of flowers?

Just because he was a well liked member of staff who served the club with professionalism over a number of years, it doesn't make him entitled to even a couple of lines of text from the club.

Firstly, thank you Craig Short for your commitment and work. It should be appreciated and recognised.

Yet, for every time we've had a new head coach, lots demanded a clean sweep. Plenty want it both ways, plenty want to use any opportunity to criticise.

We've brought in a young coach who needs to ensure he puts himself in the best place possible, to succeed. That means his people.

If true, the support he's being offered in relation to staff, looks positive. Multiple additions to coaching and analytics team.

We're bloated for years. Coach, Assistant, Short, Hackett, Eastwood/Price, plus plenty of others.

You can't keep everyone. We were relegated, that means we have to suffer decisions like this.

 

[dickwalton1964]

You’re bitter because you’re a ‘self made man’ aren’t you? No leaving speeches for you

That’s irrelevant.

My point is that Short is getting more back slapping for his stint of service than Robinson did in a similar period of time and Robinson did miles more for this club than Craig Short. It’s what we do in England though, champion the man on the shop floor but conveniently forget the one at the top who carries the can for everyone else’s failings.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Firstly, thank you Craig Short for your commitment and work. It should be appreciated and recognised.

Yet, for every time we've had a new head coach, lots demanded a clean sweep. Plenty want it both ways, plenty want to use any opportunity to criticise.

We've brought in a young coach who needs to ensure he puts himself in the best place possible, to succeed. That means his people.

If true, the support he's being offered in relation to staff, looks positive. Multiple additions to coaching and analytics team.

We're bloated for years. Coach, Assistant, Short, Hackett, Eastwood/Price, plus plenty of others.

You can't keep everyone. We were relegated, that means we have to suffer decisions like this.

Exactly. They all failed, simple as that. You don’t reward failure in any walk of life.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Exactly. They all failed, simple as that. You don’t reward failure in any walk of life.

Everyone fails in the end. It just depends at what point you leave.

 

[Brahma]

Exactly. They all failed, simple as that. You don’t reward failure in any walk of life.

Agreed and I'll add one more criticism.

We continue to have part of a fanbase who do want to reward commitment and loyalty, regardless of failures. That's because some want this utopia family football club still.

They cannot accept that the ownership want success and that needs a ruthless approach.

That view is epitomosed by a willingness and acceptance we should play L1 football because beating Burton and Wimbledon feels better than fighting.

 

[holdsteady]

Everyone fails in the end. It just depends at what point you leave.

Not if you quit before you start. That’s why we are all experts on here, none of us have suffered a relegation as player or manager in professional football and none of us ever will.

 

[CaptainOx]

As I keep saying, I don't think we'll see anything on Short and the other leavers until the full staff are actually in the door and "on the grass".

Can already see how the responses would have been if we had announced the leaving of staff before we could announce the replacements.

Welsh U19s final group game is today. Only a win keeps them in so if they don't, I'm sure the other two will be at OUFC sooner.

 

[lodeyellow]

Exactly. They all failed, simple as that. You don’t reward failure in any walk of life.

In politics it seems to happen quite often.

 

[The Mighty Aldo]

Firstly, thank you Craig Short for your commitment and work. It should be appreciated and recognised.

Yet, for every time we've had a new head coach, lots demanded a clean sweep. Plenty want it both ways, plenty want to use any opportunity to criticise.

We've brought in a young coach who needs to ensure he puts himself in the best place possible, to succeed. That means his people.

If true, the support he's being offered in relation to staff, looks positive. Multiple additions to coaching and analytics team.

We're bloated for years. Coach, Assistant, Short, Hackett, Eastwood/Price, plus plenty of others.

You can't keep everyone. We were relegated, that means we have to suffer decisions like this.

A friend of mine was working for Forest when they got relegated from the Top Tier.
The amount of people they got rid of at all levels was “frightening” but had to be done to cut costs.
This was from players to match day stewarding. They had to remain competitive, no dead wood, their sole objective was to get back up a division as quickly as possible.
We are not in the same situation , however our owners have pumped in millions and with the stadium within touching distance they know we need to be back in the second tier.
Now some won’t like the way they go about things and if we succeed in getting back up this season nobody will care because things are going well on the pitch. It’s when we struggle on the pitch that we look elsewhere for answers