I am not sure why the club are so slow, or so reluctant to keep supporters and members informed but it continues to be a deep frustration.
Exhibit A - the engagement of Conor McKerr. Why not tell supporters that we were taking him on because everyone else was crocked? That would have avoided the many comments that were flying around that did neither club nor player any favours.
Exhibit B - the return of Ben McDermott to Australia. People knew about that several days before it was announced, so I am unsure why we were so reluctant to go public sooner.
Exhibit C - the engagement of Logan Van Beek. Again, this was on BBC radio and around the county leagues several days before the news broke officially
Exhibit D - the signing of Ravi Rampaul. I am sure that Dave Houghton realised he needed a batsman, but to not say something about the rationale of 'we will be losing five batsmen but have signed a bowler' is just odd. No issue with signing Ravi, who would have been my pick way ahead of Billy Stanlake, but surely some acknowledgement that they looked for a batsman, but couldn't get one might have been useful?
Exhibit E - the continued selection of Billy Godleman 'because there is no one else'. We all saw Tom Wood, Mattie McKiernan and Harvey Hosein playing in the second team. Surely one of them was a better option - as two have subsequently proved when given opportunity - than a bloke averaging five and clearly struggling?
Exhibit F - the absence of Billy Godleman. I think the handling of this has been very poor. That he should have been rested/dropped before he was is undeniable. Then we were told he was resting for the remainder of the T20, but subsequently fails to reappear for the four-day stuff.
Why not say that he has been given an extended leave of absence, if that is the case? Rather than leave speculation to mount that there is a bigger issue?
Exhibit G - the Palladino legal case. I have seen no club statement to acknowledge this, even to say 'we will be making no further statement at this time'.
If that level of communication is standard within the dressing room, I can visualise players being told they are not playing by text message, rather than face to face or over the phone. Goodness knows what the end of season contract talks will be like..
It just seems a mess. I maintain that we have seen some performances of merit and signs of encouragement DESPITE the coaching set up, rather than as a natural consequence of it.
The minimalist approach to communication certainly doesn't do anything to allay my concerns on that score. Good communications are key to the success of any organisation, whether for those in the centre or others on the periphery.
I am not convinced we have anything remotely close to that, at this stage.
I would like to add to that list. On the 26th May our Supervisory Board Director put out an apparently unsavoury tweet regarding Hillsborough police that was subsequently deleted but a screenshot of the post was highlighted in the club's pre-match pack tweet. The director went on to make his account private. The club have made no comment on this whatsoever so we are left to draw our own conclusions as to whether the matter has been dealt with, ignored, or swept under the carpet. I don't expect them to give full details, but an indication that they have done something would avoid people guessing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post PF . We are a total shambles on and off the pitch at the moment
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age it's a fairly tawdry way to treat your supporters. It flies in the face of what's a fairly decent social media output and our now excellent free live coverage.
ReplyDeleteWithout any reference to the specifics of any particular case, it would seem unlikely to me that anyone could win a case for unfair dismissal when a fixed term contract is concluded and no new offer made.
It might be hard for some people to understand but not everyone does social media ie tweets the free live feed on you tube is very good an interview with Dave Houghton on You tube would be helpful, the clubs official Twitter account shouldn’t be used by anybody to express any personal opinions particularly on such a sensitive subject
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