Donald and podcasts

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Cack Stottie said:
rokerreport.sbnation.com

Sunderland, our owners and Podcasts - the ramblings of a Podcast editor/mad-man

Roker Rapport Podcast editor Sean Brown attempts to clear up a number of things around the subject of Sunderland’s ownership and subsequent podcast appearances - a subject which has been roundly discussed by the fanbase in recent days.
rokerreport.sbnation.com rokerreport.sbnation.com

The lad who edits the pod for RR has wrote this to try and give people some sort of idea of how this whole RR/owner relationship began and what the intentions of it were. Might be of interest to folk on this thread.
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Forget the pods with the owner and focus all your attention on bringing the fan base together to challenge what is happening at our club at present
 


pwsafc said:
Right I forgot that every thing is Donald’s fault at the min, there’s always someone to blame. There were seasons while we were on the premier league that the under 18,s and 23,s were at the bottom of there leagues but nobody cared then because we were in the premier league. Now everyone is bothered by there results and also financial experts
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Was there? When? The U23s finished 2nd bottom in 17/18 when we were in the Championship but were always near the top before that going back to when they first scrapped reserve football and replaced it with U21/U23s.

I'd expect a drop off as we go down the leagues as youth players are promoted or loaned out, but between them the U18s and U23s have won something like 3 games between them in the 18 months since Donald came in. The U23s have 1 point all season. The U18s have lost every game and got beat 10-0 the other week.

It's a bit of a coincidence that all this has happened since Donald appointed an ex Eastleigh player with no experience to oversee the whole thing, who isn't even based in the NE and doesn't watch the games, and since Donald stripped everything back to skeleton staff? But we're also the most professionally run club ever in League One, are in great financial shape and - according to Methven - have the most successful academy in the country.
 
pwsafc said:
Right I forgot that every thing is Donald’s fault at the min, there’s always someone to blame. There were seasons while we were on the premier league that the under 18,s and 23,s were at the bottom of there leagues but nobody cared then because we were in the premier league. Now everyone is bothered by there results and also financial experts
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Donald is to blame for appointing his mate Paul Reid to run the academy, the same Paul Reid who goes back to his home in Southampton every weekend and is never at academy games. Farcical situation.
 
Super Mario said:
I agree things are crap, that however doesn't mean you have to infer that Stewart Donald is a crook.
We are after all in league because of the actions of Ellis short not anyone else, and I still don't think you've really answered my question about what you as a group see as the priority? Do you want a long term vision or do you just want to get out of this league at any cost and worry about the other stuff after that.

All I've actually done is point out that as a group you lurch from just wanting to win games to wanting to know the exact financial details of the club to then wanting to know the exact scouting and analytics set up the club has, at the minute things appear a bit muddy on your part and on Stewart Donald's to be fair, it's not an issue with your questioning of the owner more of what appears to be a default position of negativity without really being clear as to why, if it's because we're losing games then that's fair but it sounds more like a bit of a conspiracy to do with our owners talking lies, which again of you have reason to think that is also fair.
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I don't know if it's purposeful or blindness but they really can't see their own part in the divides they are causing with the ownership and parts of the fan base. I'll reiterate again because it'll be the first thing anyone says but SD has been far from perfect but the expectations and questioning has been over the top too.
 
Rik-Safc said:
I don't know if it's purposeful or blindness but they really can't see their own part in the divides they are causing with the ownership and parts of the fan base. I'll reiterate again because it'll be the first thing anyone says but SD has been far from perfect but the expectations and questioning has been over the top too.
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What expectations?
 
Cack Stottie said:
rokerreport.sbnation.com

Sunderland, our owners and Podcasts - the ramblings of a Podcast editor/mad-man

Roker Rapport Podcast editor Sean Brown attempts to clear up a number of things around the subject of Sunderland’s ownership and subsequent podcast appearances - a subject which has been roundly discussed by the fanbase in recent days.
rokerreport.sbnation.com rokerreport.sbnation.com

The lad who edits the pod for RR has wrote this to try and give people some sort of idea of how this whole RR/owner relationship began and what the intentions of it were. Might be of interest to folk on this thread.
Click to expand...

The piece is good but why shoehorn the line about CM going to Eton in? Its irrelevant except to play to the crowd about making anyone with wealth, private schooling or from being 'down south' an enemy.
samaistonsrightfoot said:
What expectations?
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The expectation that an owner of the a football club should tell fans every detail of every aspect of owning and running a football club. No other owner does this, it's unreasonable to expect.
 
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Rik-Safc said:
The piece is good but why shoehorn the line about CM going to Eton in? Its irrelevant except to play to the crowd about making anyone with wealth, private schooling or from being 'down south' an enemy.


The expectation that an owner of the a football club should tell fans every detail of every aspect of owning and running a football club. No other owner does this, it's unreasonable to expect.
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Where did fans get that expectation from?
 
Rik-Safc said:
The owner gave an inch and some people demanded a mile. Its not a fault game, just trying to add perspective that this hasn't been all as one sided as it's made out.
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The owner, in the very first podcast (that he approached RR to do) said he wanted to do one podcast per month to answer all fans questions about the club.

I'm not sure what perspective you are trying to add on that basis. Stewart Donald wanted fans to ask questions. When it was all going well of course. He's driven this culture from the outset.

It's a bit like Methven saying we have unrealistic expectations then saying we will get 100 points, before throwing his toys out the pram because we aren't happy with 2 wins in 13 games.
 
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Rik-Safc said:
The owner gave an inch and some people demanded a mile. Its not a fault game, just trying to add perspective that this hasn't been all as one sided as it's made out.
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The owner and his sidekick used the platform for their own purposes. They misled the fanbase on issues surrounding the takeover fee, how it was paid, what budget we had available, the role of Juan Sartori, the role of the people involved in the running of the club and the takeover and investment. When that happens, whether intentional or otherwise, and it’s found out, more questions will naturally follow and demands for information will increase.
 
samaistonsrightfoot said:
The owner, in the very first podcast (that he approached RR to do) said he wanted to do one podcast per month to answer all fans questions about the club.

I'm not sure what perspective you are trying to add on that basis. Stewart Donald wanted fans to ask questions. When it was all going well of course. He's driven this culture from the outset.

It's a bit like Methven saying we have unrealistic expectations then saying we will get 100 points, before throwing his toys out the pram because we aren't happy with 2 wins in 13 games.
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I remember him being questioned about how he bought the club on at 3 different podcasts / episodes. Asked to explain it again and again. Just felt tiresome and there were other things to discuss. Like people were looking for something wrong from the start. Sure you'll say that's what people wanted to ask etc, just trying to give an alternative perspective which I know it pointless on here.

Again, as I said SD is far from blameless, I just don't think everyone has covered themselves in glory here.
 
Rik-Safc said:
I don't know if it's purposeful or blindness but they really can't see their own part in the divides they are causing with the ownership and parts of the fan base. I'll reiterate again because it'll be the first thing anyone says but SD has been far from perfect but the expectations and questioning has been over the top too.
Click to expand...

Expectations?

You mean, like when the owner mouthed off about us getting 100 points? THEY created the expectations of this season. Not the fans, not Roker Report, not WMS. The owners.
 
Rik-Safc said:
I remember him being questioned about how he bought the club on at 3 different podcasts / episodes. Asked to explain it again and again. Just felt tiresome and there were other things to discuss. Like people were looking for something wrong from the start. Sure you'll say that's what people wanted to ask etc, just trying to give an alternative perspective which I know it pointless on here.

Again, as I said SD is far from blameless, I just don't think everyone has covered themselves in glory here.
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He was asked to explain it more than once because the information he provided was contradictory and misleading. Whether this is deliberate or through recklessness, is up for debate.

A Daily Mail article picked up on this misleading info and ran a piece on it. He initially denied it was true, although tried to deflect on to other parts if the article that were inaccurate such at it being 37 million and not 40. He was very upset about that.

It was then confirmed at a subsequent RAWA meeting that the info provided by The Mail, surrounding the para payments and the purchase of the club, was indeed correct which as a result, raised further questions.

If he had been honest from the outset - as he wanted people to think--this wouldn't even be talked about any more.

But as they say 'Control the message, control the people'.

After specifically asking fans to ask questions when all was going well, the rhetoric suddenly changed to 'so called fans' being a 'cabal' for asking questions.
 
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TradingPlaces said:
Expectations?

You mean, like when the owner mouthed off about us getting 100 points? THEY created the expectations of this season. Not the fans, not Roker Report, not WMS. The owners.
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"I am so sorry I have not been able to achieve for you what your tremendous support deserved," Donald said.
"You rose to every challenge and were magnificent but I could not deliver for you and that is absolutely gutting. I know we need to do better next season."

From the horse's mouth yet fellow supporters still lay blame at the fans' door.
 
TradingPlaces said:
Expectations?

You mean, like when the owner mouthed off about us getting 100 points? THEY created the expectations of this season. Not the fans, not Roker Report, not WMS. The owners.
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Yep total fuck up that but no that's not what I was referring too.

I honestly don't know what people want from an owner Bob, Ellis, SD - none of them good enough, slagged off and ran out of town. What do people expect (genuine question by the way)?
 
Rik-Safc said:
I remember him being questioned about how he bought the club on at 3 different podcasts / episodes. Asked to explain it again and again. Just felt tiresome and there were other things to discuss. Like people were looking for something wrong from the start. Sure you'll say that's what people wanted to ask etc, just trying to give an alternative perspective which I know it pointless on here.

Again, as I said SD is far from blameless, I just don't think everyone has covered themselves in glory here.
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He was asked time and time again because the explanations were getting no clearer. His initial statement to the press was that he’d given Ellis £40m. Then it changed to he hadn’t given Ellis £40m up front and the parachute was used as a security payment, then a story from the Daily Mail emerged that the parachute had actually been used to pay for that initial transaction and that Donald had paid nowhere near that amount (I wonder how the legal action threatened is getting on there?).

Surely the issue of trust is one worth questioning? If that couldn’t be explained properly and with clarity from the outset, what else hasn’t been?
 
samaistonsrightfoot said:
He was asked to explain it more than once because the information he provided was contradictory and misleading. Whether this is deliberate or through recklessness, is up for debate.

A Daily Mail article picked up on this misleading info and ran a piece on it. He initially denied it was true, although tried to deflect on to other parts if the article that were inaccurate such at it being 37 million and not 40. He was very upset about that.

It was then confirmed at a subsequent RAWA meeting that the info provided by The Mail, surrounding the para payments and the purchase of the club, was indeed correct which as a result, raised further questions.

If he had been honest from the outset - as he wanted people to think--this wouldn't even be talked about any more.

But as they say 'Control the message, control the people'.

After specifically asking fans to ask questions when all was going well, the rhetoric suddenly changed to 'so called fans' being a cabal for asking questions.
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What did he have to gain through 'controlling' that particular message?
 
GarethQ said:
Why do we/I need to clarify this? You’ve insinuated our position on this is clear already? Personally I think the situation in how he acquired the club, amongst other things, lack clarity.
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I don't actually know what your specific problem is though, which is my point.

What about it lacks clarity, I mean I don't have the answer but I don't think it's unreasonable to assume he paid 15 million for the club and the rest was paid with the parachute payments. I don't know if that's true because we only have 1 set of accounts.

What other things do you think lack clarity?
 
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