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Parallel Universe
Rumours have circulated in the last day that Blackpool manager Jose Riga has walked out of the Bloomfield Road club only a week or so after taking the job.
There is a theory that for every decision that is made, there are parallel universes which reflect each outcome. Theoretically there is a parallel universe out there where Blues have won every trophy going; one where I’m a rich and famous film star … okay, let’s not push the theory beyond the realms of believability. The reason I bring this up is because what is happening at Blackpool could easily have happened at Blues.
Blackpool have six first team players contracted to the club after June 30. While they will be entitled to a fee for Tom Ince when he leaves due to the fact he is under 24, otherwise they have no players who are worth any money. Their manager appears to be unhappy and their chairman Karl Oyston is interviewing potential recruits for “suitability of character“. This from a bloke whose dad is a convicted rapist and who took £11million out of the club while it was in the top flight.
Imagine if Lee Clark had said after the Bolton game “sod this, I’ve done my job, I’m off.” I wouldn’t have begrudged him that; I think many would have been pleased at the prospect of Clark going. However, it would have meant that Blues would have had to try to bring someone new in quickly who would then have had to assemble a squad for a similarly low wage budget – with the possibility that they would have found it harder to hit the ground running. As much as Clark has been hamstrung he has not complained, he’s got on with it and I’m told he’s sold the club to players in such a way we’ve been able to bring them in for less than they were offered at other clubs – there is no guarantee a new manager would have been able to do that.
With the proposed takeover seemingly no nearer to completion – BIH have still to announce that they’ve even come close to accepting a bid let alone announcing a takeover – it’s easy to understand that fans are still feeling uneasy about what is happening at the club. That being said, I don’t think things are anywhere near as bad as some people make out; the club isn’t close to administration; we’ve nearly got a complete squad sorted and we’ve got a bloke from BIH in Pavlakis present in Birmingham who is trying to do his best for the club.
We have fallen far but we should be thankful for small mercies – we’ve not fallen anywhere near as far as we could have done and we’re in a prime position for a sale due to the steamlined nature of the club.
Tags: BIH, Blackpool FC, Lee Clark, The Championship
79 Responses to “Parallel Universe”
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Clark has always seemingly been able to engender a good sense of team spirit. I wonder to what extent that will be made easier by every player being on pretty much the same wage next season?
Daniel I think you misread Mr Clarks thinking, first of all if he is on lets say 300k per annum that’s an awful lot of money to walk out on, a north eastern boy wouldn’t do that.
Then lets not forget what kind of contract he is on, its a years rolling deal whereby each morning he wakes up he knows that no matter what he has a years money coming to him if he is sacked.
Its been said that Clark has the safest job in football, we all know he cannot be dismissed because the club cant afford that kind of dosh, lets be honest how many of us would walk out on that deal?.
Having said that professional pride would necessitate many to walk because they couldn’t stand the failure to do the job Much has been said about his loyalty but I think its purely financial he knows a good thing when he sees it.
Finally I don’t agree that the sins of the father should be visited on the son whatever his father did or didn’t do is irrelevant.
I wouldn’t blame LC for keeping his 12 month’s wage option if he is sacked anymore than I would blame Zigic if he didn’t stay now that his hugely inflated wage has ended. After all these guys have families to provide for just like everyone else. But if Zigic and or Burke stayed , on less money they’d be cheered onto the field at Stans first home match. Then we’d know it was loyalty.
Exactly raymondo
Maybe he’s not as mercenary and bigoted as you Tony?
We are signing first division players. Wonder were will be at the end of next season?
Who else is he expected to sign?
He has no money to buy any Championship players, he can’t offer Championship wages, so who would you like him to sign?
The new season dawns and so every team starts equal, 46 games to decide who finishes where, get of his back and let him do what he can with limited resources. After 10/12 games into the season decide if he is doing a good job or deserves the boot, until then support him and the new players as we did at Bolton.
KRO+DNM
Chris he should have had the boot after the Barnsley game last season.
Can’t argue with that, should have been sacked last season just for the Blackburn line up.
New season, fresh start, going by his past record he will soon have supporters wanting him out.
The adage “Give em enough rope” well he has been given permission to sign his own players, could this be his noose. If he fails he will be out, could be the board and potential prefered bidders testing him out.
Not a LC clapper but as we have very few alternatives I will get behind him, slips and I’ll be in the kicking queue.
KRO+DNM
Fair enough Chris
Me too, but I agree he deserves a chance. He might surprise us all. After all, he’s not relying on too many loan players this time who, maybe, were not too bothered what happened and these Div 1 players have a point too prove, that they deserve to be playing in a higher division. That’s an incentive the loan players didn’t have.
Oyston took £11m out of Blackpool because his family had put that in to get them to the top flight. Oyston in fact tried to get some sort of pay ceiling in place in the Premier League on the basis that the TV gazillions were not even touching the sides, but nobody would go with him on that. So he decided not to join in the pay game.
Of course Blackpool got relegated with us, and like us were the victims of some atrocious refereeing that season – remember the Man U game where Blackpool should have been 3-0 up against 10 men but ended up losing? So it nearly worked. Obvioulsy the FA preferred Blackburn, Wigan and Wolves to stay up than us and Blackpool.
Here,here Daniel spot on accessment, could not give a jot about Blackpool, they can fall from the sky for all a care lol..clark doing a grand job, yes and bless him for not walking away because he is no quitter… Bring it on…kro
It was noted about Burke possibly wanting to stay yeah right and maybe zig if they both did stay then IMO it would be for football reasons…if they both leave it because they are both seeking cash cows…..let’s be real…
Why would they want to stay? Burke could sign for a club fighting for promotion I don’t blame him for leaving whatsoever. Maybe they don’t have much faith in your beloved Clark in pushing up the table.
Im starting to think he is lee clark
Well hes certainly thick enough Matt
Brilliant I though I must share this with you Tony, just recovered from rolling around on the floor in tears of laughter.
Ex newcastle players Alan Thompson and Lee Clark reunited at bcfc……….don’t just love the man from north…..
And his contract just keeps rolling, hey maybe for next two years??? You just keep your money in pocket ,keep reading hearsay lol
Thompson also an ex villa player, don’t you just love ex villa players mark?
Maybe you will find its purely down to his next cash cow…your making a subjective view regarding Clark…….16 offers tell you something don’t you think…..
How can you even have a go at burke? He saw out his contract after there being bids from leeds and others. Your obsessive and somewhat weird love for Clark has obviously clouded your judgement. 16 offers tells me he’s a well sought after player. I wish him luck he’s done his part for us.
For me, whoever takes on Burke is welcome to him. He’s a spent force as far as I’m concerned. Apart from the odd decent game, he’s been treading water for the last two seasons.
Done great under Hughton though, I think under a good manager he will start putting in the goals again.
A player’s form and effort are down to himself, not the manager.
A manager plays a part in everything, that’s what a manager is.
We’ll agree to disagree on that one.
The old adage “Better the devil you know” springs to mind.
In the two years that Lee Clark has been at the club he has never moaned despite all the constraints he had to work under.
Many thought, some hoped, he would walk away, but he has gone about the business of rebuilding every transfer window. Hopefully the next window will be to tweak the current squad.
We begin a new season with the usual optimism, winning the league, but in reality we begin with survival, anything more will be a bonus.
Lee Clark has put together another mixed bag of players to lead the cause, he obviously sells the club in a positive light. If he can learn from his mistakes of last season, get the players into shape and working for each other we could be in for an exciting season.
Eyes will be on him from the board, potential bidders and the supporters even more so this term.
New season, new leaf, bring it on and good luck to all everyone.
KRO+DNM
Yes, we are better off (at the moment) than Blackpool and Leeds. But we also have owners that have not been transparent with the clubs finances.Agree that we have a loyal and hardworking manager who gets on with the job without complaining. One thing that does strike me in your blog is that having UK owners does not guarantee good stewardship. Greed and vanity are worldwide afflictions.
My feelings regards BIHL and the clubs finances is what will be found after the sale. HKSE rules dictate they sell in tranches, this could be in both parties favour as they can balance the books if there are irregularities in the two year it will probably take to sell the club outright. Remember, HKSE are investigating the audits and delays in recent years, No Smoke Without Fire, in my opinion.
KRO+DNM
Clark doesn’t moan because he has the safest job in football. There is no expectation and he is on a rolling 1yr contract.
As for you being a film star..i’m thinking more Jack Black than Brad Pitt.
And pp signed him oh what grandeur…..
you could have been much more unkind haha
Nah you older version of Seth rogen lol
Spot on with Clark…He didn’t walk after the Bolton for one reason only..he would now be sitting at home unemployed
But the facts are he ain’t and it still rolling in…take a bow
With respect, that doesn’t make an iota of sense. If you knew your job was a nailed-on certainty, it would give you more reason and opportunity to voice your displeasure etc, with no risk of the sack.
More likely, the man has honesty, loyalty and dignity… and is doing EXACTLY the job he’s paid to do.
Staffs your last line speaks volumes about clark ….unfortunately for some it give them great pleasure and enjoyment to talk out their rear end…….
I care not a jot. :)
Either do I :-)
There is one instance the club could get rid of him for no compensation, ie gross misconduct???? He will not risk that.
Lee Clark has been accused of all kinds of things in the last couple of years (drinking, having bust-ups with players, fish ponds, etc) and I’ve yet to see one iota of proof. So… what gross misconduct are you talking about and where’s your proof?
Hypothetical Read what I say
I hope Chris Burke opts to stay with Blues. If he doesn’t I will understand as at 30 he is in the autumn of his career and needs to maximise his earnings while he is still able.
As somebody remarked you are a long time retired.
As for Nikola Zigic he has made his money and never needs to work again. It would be a terrific gesture from him to accept the club’s offer and to give back to the club some of what the club has given him.
Mate, he’s had 16 offers. He is history.
Burke can be a good player on his day, even more so if he’s surrounded by enough good players. But even so I’m surprised he’s had that many offers. He can’t be on a massive wage, so unless he’s been offered silly terms, he won’t be on much more than he was offered by us. Or maybe he wants to go North.
Odd that he hasn’t accepted one. Time marches on!
Maybe he’s busy on holiday and will sort it on his return?
He is!! Chris has just tweeted that he is on his way to Vegas with his other half.
totaly agree daniel, were not as bad as a lot of other clubs out there and were BCFC so what could be better, keep the faith and KRO.
I’m pro-Lee Clark all the way, but, he has to pull up a few trees this season.. for the simple reason that, all but a few players, the squad (although all freebies) will be his own for the first time. Now let’s see what he can do.
2, Things struck me regarding your article Dan;, First thing was the effect that Mr Pavlakis, has had behind the scenes at St, Ans, He has quietly gone about solidifying the vacuum that P,P, left with his apparent disregard for us, !!.
The second is that Lee Clark, is a conundrum, Wholehearted commitment to the cause, I do not buy the fact that he is on this rolling year contact, so could not care a damn, because if that were true, — IT WOULD still cost us a years wages to see him off even if he was obviously not bothered, !!.
So if L,C. does learn from some mistakes made in his first 2, yrs, We, and He, will see the benefit this coming season, ?.
He will take us down that’s what he will do and the Clark fan club will blame the board for lack of investment .At best he’s a decent assisant manager.
Your being kind Art
Why can’t some supporters give a little credit when necessary?
I have criticised LC for the last two seasons and I daresay this season will be no different.
He is BCFC’s manager and as such we should support him as we do the team.
We start the new season with a clean sheet, we are actually top of the league as it stands and we have a bunch of players, bar one, who are our own.
Time will tell how they perform and whether LC has got it right. If he has he vindicated and a hero, if not he will be criticised and vilified as never before.
KRO+DNM
“…we are actually top of the league as it stands…”
I actually thought last season, that if Barnsley went down, we would be first alphabetically this season. I’d forgotten about it until I saw a new table on Sky.com last night. It feels great to be at the top. lol
Until the kick off at least, lets hope we stay in that half of the table for the duration.
Might I just add when I said I criticised LC, and justifiably so on some occasions.
KRO+DNm
I did myself a few times, especially against Blackburn. I think that was just a case of trying anything to beat that dismal home run.
I try not to criticise for the sake of it, sometime LC is his own worse enemy, but he was becoming desperate towards the end with our home form, even stayed in a hotel and travelled to the game by coach on one occasion. Would not have surprised me if he asked the Vile to play on their pitch.
Clean sweep, virtually new broom so hopefully a bit of our history we can forget.
KRO+DNM
I noticed that as well! At least we can start at the top and work our way downwards. Not too far I hope!
Chris W, If we had zillionaire owners with their own oil wells and the best manager in the world there would STILL be moaners on this website. I am not LC’s biggest fan but I am nevertheless impressed with how he has handled the situation and also reasonably optimistic about how I see the season going. Mid table is quite a possibility I think. That will do for me for now. The Vile have millionaire owners and they only scraped clear of relegartion. So for us to do it on a shoe string is nothing short of miraculous!
I have been vocal against LC too, and agree, given another poor hand has gone about his business diligently. I am not setting my hopes too high this season, we will see how we are after about 10 games. I said a mid table finish was within our grasp, we all know how that went last season. the one thing in our favour is we cannot have a worse home record… can we?
KRO+DNM
I once came across an item that i wanted to buy very much an item that I had dreamt about buying I had been warned that the owner of the item was a bit of a fruit cake ,but I wanted the item ,he said that he wanted to sell after 15minutes of wheeling and dealing he suddenly changed his mind ..this happened four times until one day I came upon him doing the same to somebody else 20 years on and I still hate that man .as the item just rotted away outside in his garden …I once asked his son why does he do that ,he replied he loves that feeling of being in control he won’t sell it….this reminds me of another sale .as for knowing the devil we don’t know him.
I’ve always seen this job as a win win for Clark, people outside of the club will look at it like this: If he fails – he has a valid excuse. If he does well – he’s done it under extreme circumstances.
Under 21 coach been appointed AT good pedigree spells at NFC and Celtic…..
Daniel what great we moving extremely fast with our appointments, players meet up in 11 days time, I do think we will be much better prepared than most for this coming season….blues coach Watson seems very bullish in BM….
Clarkey has done what he could we cant forget he brought in the backbone of a temporary team after the xmas period ….. when the spine he was building had to go back to respective clubs . If he had not sold the club to Macheda … I think we would have been relegated. LC is building a team for the next two seasons great business if we have to swap and change a few personnel on 2 years contracts. He is already sorting out the defence .. midfield seems a bit more stable its the strikers we need now as well. Excellent work LC I will shake your hand down in the paddocks ……. KRO ….. lets Ave it …… get behind him, you doubters …. he is working hard to get this right …… now do your bit …….. SOTV …… let the games begin ……..
what does it matter that his dad is a convicted rapist? Bit of a low blow there…
Agree shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush
Biggest load of nonsense I’ve read from you mayor,shocking infact the crux of everything is the club is not being sold anytime soon,we are beg borrowing and stealing what we can (picking up everyone else’s rubbish) and will be in the same position next season like the last,I reckon pannu and co are saying lets get all these cheap Bosmans in now as it will go under the radar with the blues fans as they are too interested in the World Cup at present…stop looking at other club situations and comparing it too ours…..bihl out,Asia rays out.
You talk about writing nonsense, have a look at yourself. All these signings under the radar…… Do you think real Blues fans haven’t noticed!!!
I note that Alan Thompson has been appointed Senior Professional Development Coach. Alan is an experienced coach particularly with Celtic where he was first team coach under Neil Lennon.
He went through a well documented “Mid life crisis” a couple of years ago and was sacked by Lennon.
He is from Newcastle like Clark and Watson who he has known since the late ’80s when all three were in Newcastle’s Youth Team.
I welcome him to Blues.
Supporting The Blues, I feel like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
LC is a decent manager who as you say Dan has sold the club to talented players like macheda etc.. I believe we wont get relegated this season provided we can win more home games and keep that away form we had from last season and carry that into this campaign we will be fine lets hope we can get a few more players in the attacking areas and the midfield #BCFC #KRO
I am glad clarkie has been kept on ,as I have said he has something different that makes sense , I do hope he picks the best side this year with sub’s at the end.now that he has his own team …I feel we must sign Donaldson though to give us the chance To go all the way
Read Dans write up on Blackpool! I think you will find that their owners father is a convicted rapist? Please correct me if I am wrong Dan. Clark may not be the best. But hes not like Judas and Houghton. He keeps fighting for our club. Anyone else would have been well away by now. Did nobody not see Clarks passion at Bolton? Some of you so called Blues fans need to get behind him. Or go watch The Vile doing nothing and going no where. Lee Clark is doing what he can and at this moment in time very well. We will have a squad ready for next season, will Blackpool. As usual Dan on the ball. KRO. Welcome to AT.
I see your point of view Tony but I have a feeling that LC has a point to prove and is doing all he can to do it, given the financial limitations the club has at present KRO
Pleased that Donaldson appeared to have agreed terms with blues, signs next week…well done Lee c
Saw that too. Great news!