Congrats Sir Bob


Status
Not open for further replies.
That's why i said investment, you know, sell the idea and hopes of the club and it's ambitions so people take a punt.

The idea that he didn't provide Reidy with funds is a complete fallacy, propogated by those who refuse to see what's in front of their eyes. The fact is Reidy spent a shed load of money. If anything Murray's biggest fault was trusting Reidy implicitly and not keeping an eye on some of the many ridiculous signings he was making in the mid-range transfer market (the likes of Nunez, Medina et al).

Hanging on and only letting the club be sold on to a safe pair of hands with the future best interests of SAFC should also never be underestimated.
 
And you can honestly say that would be better than the facilities we have in place now?

What few times I managed to go to Roker, I loved, and I miss the different type of matchday feeling it inspired. But in order for this club to stand any chance of being up there at the top, something like the SOL needed to be built.

Like no premiership club gets compulsory orders on the cheap terraces around them,No premiership club has dropped their pitch and raised their stands.
I went to Roker for years and we should have looked at staying at Roker a lot more, but then he would have had to fund it himself, instead of getting a grant to build over an old mineshaft to make sure it could never be used as a a
mine again.
 
Was completely about to post this - Bongo banging on about 'Business Acumen' :lol:

Whilst I was annoyed with Murray at times, with hindsight I do genuinely think a lot of his approach has been vindicated as time has passed since his departure.

At the time people though we were lacking ambition, desire etc... But for Christs sake we were 36 million in debt which is more then Murray himself was worth and people really expected him at that time to plough more money in to the club? Would anyone else in that situation?

Simple facts are judged at the time we did look like we werent willing to compete, there was a view no top club would ever really struggle, too big etc.... with the benefit of hindsight Bob has been proved right, top football clubs weren't infalliable and he was one of the few people at the time who foresore it, as disappointing as that was at times during his tenure, events since have shown that he was perhaps right to be cautious

Murray was only guilty of not being a richer man

Not true. Murray had the opportunity to invest when we finished seventh twice, but gave us all that chat about football finances. The season after that we finished 17th, Murray panicked and let Reid spend a fortune on shite.

Newcastle and Leeds are actually in less debt than Sunderland now.
 
The idea that he didn't provide Reidy with funds is a complete fallacy, propogated by those who refuse to see what's in front of their eyes. The fact is Reidy spent a shed load of money. If anything Murray's biggest fault was trusting Reidy implicitly and not keeping an eye on some of the many ridiculous signings he was making in the mid-range transfer market (the likes of Nunez, Medina et al).

Hanging on and only letting the club be sold on to a safe pair of hands with the future best interests of SAFC should also never be underestimated.

Glad you agree he was clueless.
 
Like no premiership club gets compulsory orders on the cheap terraces around them,No premiership club has dropped their pitch and raised their stands.
I went to Roker for years and we should have looked at staying at Roker a lot more, but then he would have had to fund it himself, instead of getting a grant to build over an old mineshaft to make sure it could never be used as a a
mine again.

Of all the things to pick of Murray tenure Bongo are you sure you really want to challenge him on his property development ;)

The guy who made his fortune in buildings, has tons of experience and would have had access to the best people with all the information to make the decisions about what was best, but you think you know better? :)
 
If top clubs ala Man U, Leeds etc... couldnt garnish decent investment at the time, Murray trying to sell an unfashionable, not overly successful or marketable club in a North Eastern backwater ;) Was on a hiding to nothing

I remember the club appealing for investment in the Financial Times around 94 time. How times change....
 
i must say, i was one of the ones who took part in the protest a few years ago outside the sw corner. got home, thought about it and decided i was a teet.

congrats sir bob, well deserved
 
If you can stand by peter Reid when it was so clear he had ran out of ideas we knew his gameplan...
If you can appoint Wilko to save us....
If you can watch us get smashed to bits....
If you can go crying to Drumaville that the club won't exist in a month unless you sell.....
This is yours, and once more,you'll still be clueless at football my son.

Nobody can get everything right over 20 years, especially in football. He got all the important things right though.

Thank God for his foresight and vision. We are where we are now for one reason only - Sir Robert Sydney Murray.
 
Like no premiership club gets compulsory orders on the cheap terraces around them,No premiership club has dropped their pitch and raised their stands.
I went to Roker for years and we should have looked at staying at Roker a lot more, but then he would have had to fund it himself, instead of getting a grant to build over an old mineshaft to make sure it could never be used as a a
mine again.

Blinded by romanticism.

The SOL is a fantastic symbol for the club, and has helped truly put us on the map.

People are banging on saying he should have put all that money into the playing side of things; why?

At Roker we could never have dreamed of attracting the sort of players we can now. Instead, we'd have overspent on shite (which we did anyway, we just would have done it more so), or we'd have had a half-decent side for a few years that moved on because the club was too busy spending money on the playing staff and not enough on the necessary facilities required.
 
Of all the things to pick of Murray tenure Bongo are you sure you really want to challenge him on his property development ;)

The guy who made his fortune in buildings, has tons of experience and would have had access to the best people with all the information to make the decisions about what was best, but you think you know better? :)

now hey, don't you know Bongo knows everything about everything? He could even have done him a cheap quote on fitting the gold taps in the boardroom bogs.
 
Not true. Murray had the opportunity to invest when we finished seventh twice, but gave us all that chat about football finances. The season after that we finished 17th, Murray panicked and let Reid spend a fortune on shite.

Newcastle and Leeds are actually in less debt than Sunderland now.


A selective fact - Lots of evidence has come out since that Newcastle were well on the verge before Ashley stepped in and then he took them down, hardly a glowing indictment.

Leeds? A team that imploded, has spent 5 years in the wilderness and is still not back?

They may have less debt then us now but hardly without pain
 
I think as awful as the Wilko period was, it's more than balanced by his decision to bring in Denis Smith. If nothing else in football terms you have to say he got that very right.

That saved the club from I dare not think what (even though Wilko almost took us back there :lol:)
 
Of all the things to pick of Murray tenure Bongo are you sure you really want to challenge him on his property development ;)

The guy who made his fortune in buildings, has tons of experience and would have had access to the best people with all the information to make the decisions about what was best, but you think you know better? :)

But the EU wouldn't have paid to redevelop Roker Park, it's not hard to understand is it.
 
So your suggesting that Murray's decision to take full advantage of European grants was not good "Business Acuman"??

Sell almost a hundred years of history down the pan because i can't find investers,fuck off.
I take it you weren't a regular at Roker Park.
 
Running a successful business and running a successful football club are two entirely different affairs. He isn't getting his honour for services to SAFC.

My two-penneth's worth is any chairman over a 20 year period will make major mistakes and that included Quinn and/or Short. Even Steve Gibson has made mistakes and he is Mr Middlesbrough!

My gut feeling is in 15/20 years time he'll be looked at more favourably than he is now, due to the Stadium and the training facilities. He didn't provide funds for the team under Smith and he'll know that SAFC being also-rans in the old Second Division at the time of the start of the PL set us back years. Also, supporting Reid blindly was wrong, but then both of these actions can be justified to an extent, Reid had after all delivered two 7th place finishes just before the 17th place finish. Likewise Murray appointed Crosby of the back of the fans euphoria of the 92 Cup run, a mistake.

Back in the day I used to hate Murray, I'll be honest. I saw him as the sole reason that SAFC couldn't move forward as a club, but the reality is more than that. People on the thread putting 3rd Division football at Murray's door are undermining their own argument to be honest.

Murray always had SAFC in his heart and would never have knowingly hurt the club. He'll always have my respect for that. Murray made mistakes at SAFC in the same way we all would.... look at some of the threads and posters on here of Sunderland supporters who really do know F.A about the game... Could have had a lot worse than Murray.

Good on Murray for his honour I say.

Good post mate. I've highlighted the bit in bold cos I remember the events back then. Cowie oversaw the club gan down the tubes, and then fell out with Barry Batey who wanted to take over the club. Bob Murray was the alternative deal and although he was reluctant and his footy knowledge was limited, he's the only chairman who's realised the potential of the club and increased the capacity of the stadium rather than reduce it in my lifetime.
 
So your suggesting that Murray's decision to take full advantage of European grants was not good "Business Acuman"??

There's nothing wrong about saying it may have not been the right move to the SOL when capacity at 'New Roker' would have been limited to 28k with nee possible expansion. Bearing in mind SAFC average more than 28k and have done for years, I'd say it was pretty good 'buisness acumen' moving from RP....

Fact is, Murray played a blinder when we moved to the SOL.
 
Sell almost a hundred years of history down the pan because i can't find investers,fuck off.
I take it you weren't a regular at Roker Park.

You cant just magic up 'Investers' Bongo - Where do you think all these mythical investors were when Man U, Leeds, Liverpool were looking for them?

Oh yes, they weren't there - Except the ones who came along to make a quick buck
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top