FulwellViaLeeds
Central Defender
I'm honestly ok with him not being the person who engages with fans on behalf of the club. I think for the most part, it's very rare that good things come of stuff like that. More often it becomes a stick to beat them with. I'm all for fan engagement, just without him having to shoulder the burden of how to talk to us, having his every word scrutinised etc.
One of the things I thought Ellis Short got wrong was being too reactionary and quick to bow to what we wanted. Whether it be the manager or the signings, he seemed to make a lot of his decisions based on what we were agitating for.
I prefer someone with a good strategy, not someone who listens to us about how to run a football club, because the chances are we'll be wrong an awful lot of the time.
I think if you can get it right, it can work quite well. If you go down the Donald front and speak constantly for your first few months, then yes, it's going to be used against you. I don't expect monthly, in-depth interviews, but some occasional communication would be nice. There are going to be times where we want to hear from him directly, so setting up those channels early doors and making sure they work properly wouldn't be a bad idea IMO. It's not about taking advice on how to run the club, it's about being open and explaining directly to fans what's happening at the club and why.