RR: Bob Murray podcast

Boris Bear said:
In your opinion


The price he bought it at and the price he sold it at
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It doesn’t work like that. You haven’t taken inflation into account or any other money that he has put in to the club. 20 years is a long time and if he’d invested his original stake more wisely he’d have been much better off and without the aggravation.
 


Buchans Boots said:
This.

The bloke was a nightmare as a football club chairman and led us to the lowest point in the clubs history. Other than that youve summed it up well.


He is extremely fortunate that he built the stadium otherwise his legacy would have been embarrassing. His on the field achievements were almost zero and this in 20 years. Other than 2 x 7th placed finishes it was a virtual disaster from start to finish on the field of play.
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Some people seem to think he used his own money to build the stadium . He was a disaster .
 
I admire Bob Murray a great deal for what he's done for the region, the city and the club. He talks a lot about infrastructure when describing his early years at the club, and there's no doubt that the SOL & AOL gave us the infrastructure to survive in the Premier League for 10 years.

The disappointment in the interview is that he reverts to the tactic employed by many in the football business, and starts to write a history with an emphasis on his own achievements, whilst blaming others for the parts that went wrong.

His comments on Short were hard hitting and clearly bitter (as plenty of us are) but he needs to remember that he himself sold the club to a former football player, not a hard-faced businessman with a track-record in running a successful football club.

Same with the managers. He talks down Smith and Reid now but he was quite happy to praise them to the rafters when he first appointed them. At least he admits that Wilkinson was a ridiculously bad decision on his part.

Murray will no doubt be remembered for the successful football building projects he oversaw, both in Sunderland and nationally, but his actual record as a club chairman is patchy to say the least.
 
Was a fantastic podcast to listen too. Intrigued by the debate on this thread. For me, Sir Bob’s legacy is leaving SAFC with a huge potential, the academy of Light was a masterstroke. Interesting that he thinks the downfall of SAFC began with Reid losing the dressing room, he also singled out Flo as having a stinking attitude. Reid got a lot of signings wrong, given longer I would have liked the podcast to have probed more into the 95/96 promotion and Mick Buxton.
 
Medulla said:
Have a generally positive view of Murray but he does come across as pretty bitter and with little humility in that podcast.
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This for me as well - I think it was very revealing and not in the way RR or Bob thought it would be. There's no doubt he left a tremendous legacy, probably better than most other chairmen in our history, but to have the record of that legacy being blatant lies regarding the bids made for players, throwing your best manager under the bus the way that he did - as if they weren't the best of friends while he was here - and insinuating that Wembley would never have been built without his input is all just very sad, to be honest.

It could have been an outstanding oral history of one of the most dramatic periods in our club's recent history, but he tried to turn it into a bit of a whitewash and it didn't come out well at all.
 
Medulla said:
Have a generally positive view of Murray but he does come across as pretty bitter and with little humility in that podcast.
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I think much less of him after listening to it, he comes across as a right cock. Not impressed at all.

JonnotheMackem said:
This for me as well - I think it was very revealing and not in the way RR or Bob thought it would be. There's no doubt he left a tremendous legacy, probably better than most other chairmen in our history, but to have the record of that legacy being blatant lies regarding the bids made for players, throwing your best manager under the bus the way that he did - as if they weren't the best of friends while he was here - and insinuating that Wembley would never have been built without his input is all just very sad, to be honest.

It could have been an outstanding oral history of one of the most dramatic periods in our club's recent history, but he tried to turn it into a bit of a whitewash and it didn't come out well at all.
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Great post. This is what I meant, but I just called him a cock.
 
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Buchans Boots said:
This.

The bloke was a nightmare as a football club chairman and led us to the lowest point in the clubs history. Other than that youve summed it up well.


He is extremely fortunate that he built the stadium otherwise his legacy would have been embarrassing. His on the field achievements were almost zero and this in 20 years. Other than 2 x 7th placed finishes it was a virtual disaster from start to finish on the field of play.
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They'll be the best two seasons in the club's post war history then. A magical cup run aside - which started out as a relegation scrap in Division 2 with sub-10,000 attendances, what was achieved in any other twenty year period since the 50s?

Let's face it, without professionalising the infrastructure of the club, sorting out some proper facilities, and giving us a platform for the 21st century with the stadium, this club would have been finished a long long time ago.

Mackemansj1 said:
He knew before a ball was kicked at Wembley that we’d be going up regardless of the out come of the game.
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I can't remember who it was but (despite Murray apparently not letting on) one of the players was on the radio around about last season saying they basically knew as well.

jonnie_makem said:
Says he'll never forgive Quinny for bringing in Ellis and Byrne. Crikey.
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Neither will I.

sksk3021 said:
Enjoyed that, interesting listen, can't argue with his legacy. He did come across pretty arrogant, everything positive seemed to be down to him and most of the negatives down to someone else.
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I don't think that's the way I heard it listening to the full interview. For one, he takes responsibility for Wilkinson and admits it was a mistake. Relegation at the turn of the 90s - the club wasn't ready, which is probably right. We probably still weren't quite ready for the Premier League in '97 but went down with 40 points. And all the while he's building a modern a football club to keep what was once the great name of Sunderland alive.

The Reidy thing - to be honest, every player worth listening to from that era has told much the same story. The likes of Phillips, Quinn, Rae, Gray, Ball, have all said the same thing. The wrong players started coming in and we lost what (almost) made us great. And as much as I loved Reidy and have a lot of time for him, the buck stops with him. He'd gotten plenty right up to that point, so why shouldn't Murray have kept faith with him a little longer. I forgot who the player was (mighta been Phillips), but I'm sure there's a story from the Roker days when Reid's stock was sky high whereby he threatened to quit if we didn't sign them. As good as he was that's the character of the bloke as well.

What else negative did he blame on someone else? The 15 point season? He was straight and to the point - we didn't have the money for the Premier League, and what little we did have Mick wasted. Everyone knas that. Him and Fickling put the club back on a solid financial grounding after the disaster of getting relegated with a Premier League squad and unfortunately there wasn't a lot left to work with. And McCarthy cannot manage in the Premier League. Sad but true. And that's what happened. The flack Murray (and even his wife FFS) got around that time was nothing short of disgusting to be honest, and a lot of so called supporters should really hang their heads in shame for that, so if Murray wants to tell a few home truths and give his side of the story like he has in this interview then fair play to him. I can't recall him ever being so candid about it in the years since he left, and I think it was a fair and honest reflection of what he did and didn't achieve here. I look forward to his book.
 
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Class listen / watch. Good to hear about the mistakes made, when it went wrong with Reid and why. Just got to "Ellis Short made Mike Ashley look good" :D
 
chriswallace85 said:
They'll be the best two seasons in the club's post war history then. A magical cup run aside - which started out as a relegation scrap in Division 2 with sub-10,000 attendances, what was achieved in any other twenty year period since the 50s?

Let's face it, without professionalising the infrastructure of the club, sorting out some proper facilities, and giving us a platform for the 21st century with the stadium, this club would have been finished a long long time ago.


I can't remember who it was but (despite Murray apparently not letting on) one of the players was on the radio around about last season saying they basically knew as well.


Neither will I.


I don't think that's the way I heard it listening to the full interview. For one, he takes responsibility for Wilkinson and admits it was a mistake. Relegation at the turn of the 90s - the club wasn't ready, which is probably right. We probably still weren't quite ready for the Premier League in '97 but went down with 40 points. And all the while he's building a modern a football club to keep what was once the great name of Sunderland alive.

The Reidy thing - to be honest, every player worth listening to from that era has told much the same story. The likes of Phillips, Quinn, Rae, Gray, Ball, have all said the same thing. The wrong players started coming in and we lost what (almost) made us great. And as much as I loved Reidy and have a lot of time for him, the buck stops with him. He'd gotten plenty right up to that point, so why shouldn't Murray have kept faith with him a little longer. I forgot who the player was (mighta been Phillips), but I'm sure there's a story from the Roker days when Reid's stock was sky high whereby he threatened to quit if we didn't sign them. As good as he was that's the character of the bloke as well.

What else negative did he blame on someone else? The 15 point season? He was straight and to the point - we didn't have the money for the Premier League, and what little we did have Mick wasted. Everyone knas that. Him and Fickling put the club back on a solid financial grounding after the disaster of getting relegated with a Premier League squad and unfortunately there wasn't a lot left to work with. And McCarthy cannot manage in the Premier League. Sad but true. And that's what happened. The flack Murray (and even his wife FFS) got around that time was nothing short of disgusting to be honest, and a lot of so called supporters should really hang their heads in shame for that, so if Murray wants to tell a few home truths and give his side of the story like he has in this interview then fair play to him. I can't recall him ever being so candid about it in the years since he left, and I think it was a fair and honest reflection of what he did and didn't achieve here. I look forward to his book.
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So if Mick Mack was such a poor manager why did Murray appoint him?
 
I know 2 people who dealt with Bob Murray back in the day. One was in the council planning department and the other through business and both said that he's an absolute twat of a bloke.
 

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