The Tenure of Melvyn Morris

[G STAR RAM]

The academy will be his legacy.

Just a shame that while he was here it has been used to pay for other expensive mistakes.

Hope his contribution to the academy is recognised in some way.

[Angry Ram]

Never been a fan of Morris, we are worse off now than when he took over. 
Fans don’t make good decisions. Fans as owners, disaster waiting to happen. 

Saying that, I wish him well and thank him for his good intentions at least.

 

[Yani P]

I guess his vanity project is about to end..but I'm sure every Derby fan would love to give it a go if they had the finances to jump on the roller coaster..

[OohMartWright]

5 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Doh. That's the point we didn't.

And my point was that it was not down to Mel that we didn’t. Keogh’s slip against QPR, Thorne getting chopped by Ipswich, Lampard leaving his strikers on the bench against Villa - none of those were Mel’s fault. He has made mistakes, sure, but has spent millions trying to do what’s best for the club.

[Rev]

Why has the topic title been changed?

A roasting, although American in origin, is a perfectly valid topic, and quite different in meaning to 'The legacy of Mel Morris'.

I'd assume, and maybe @Nuwtfly could verify, this thread was meant to be a light hearted farewell, rather than an in depth critique of Mel's ownership?

@uttoxram75, can you explain?

[ilkleyram]

The many contributions on this forum make me laugh, on occasion, annoyed, happy, informed, challenged and sad.  They often confirm what I increasingly recognise about myself, that I am deeply shallow, if you will accept the apparent contradiction in terms.  I care not a jot that our new owners come from the UAE and that that country has different customs and practices than ours in the UK; nor do I particularly care that others apparently feel so strongly that they seem to be seriously considering boycotting the club in some way.  I wish I had one tenth of their personal conviction.

We have been owned and run in my 50 plus years by a motley crew that has included haulage contractors, snooker club owners, property developers, newspaper magnates and someone who got lucky with a video game.  Some have been rich, some poor, some poorer after being with us; some have been honest, some successful and some not, some out and out criminals, for others it was difficult to tell either way.  All have made mistakes, from the outside anyway. 

I write this watching Southampton (a club we should be seeking to emulate and then improve upon) going top of the PL 12 months or so after losing a match 9-0 with the same manager third favourite, apparently, for the Man Utd job.  It would be good to feel that our owner (present and future) had the same bravery to keep faith with our current managerial set up but the new ones will probably want their own man and so the merry go round will continue. But my overriding feeling is of sadness that Mel is going without having achieved what he set out to do, to see us promoted during his tenure.  He deserved more for his vision and financial support, for all the good things that he did, some of which will have a positive impact on the club we all love for many, many years to come.  If there were mistakes along the way then they were forgivable and probably more the result of him placing too much trust in people who ended up not deserving it.

Whatever the real reasons are behind him going, whether he's invested enough of his wedge, whether there are other, personal, reasons, or both, I for one wish him well. I hope that the most important decision that he has had to make, of the person to succeed him, is the one that he has got completely spot on.  Only time will tell.

Farewell Mel and thank you.

[ThePrisoner]

30 minutes ago, Yani P said:

I guess his vanity project is about to end..but I'm sure every Derby fan would love to give it a go if they had the finances to jump on the roller coaster..

Precisely. If I woke up with £500m in the NatWest tomorrow morning, I’d find it very difficult not to want to have a go. 

Refrigerated crisp vending machines in every concourse!

[Tyler Durden]

Genuine question as I must have been living under a rock during that time what's the relevance of the references to the corner flag? I've seen it referenced on Twitter as well and am scoobied.

P.S. was nearly too afraid to ask 

[Nuwtfly]

21 minutes ago, reverendo de duivel said:

Why has the topic title been changed?

A roasting, although American in origin, is a perfectly valid topic, and quite different in meaning to 'The legacy of Mel Morris'.

I'd assume, and maybe @Nuwtfly could verify, this thread was meant to be a light hearted farewell, rather than an in depth critique of Mel's ownership?

@uttoxram75, can you explain?

It was changed by the mods due to a consensus of opinion that it was "a bit disrespectful" as Morris hasn't actually gone...yet.

It was changed without my consulting to Reign, and then I asked, after seeing it change, to change it to Tenure.

I'm not sure why the word 'Roast' makes it a bit disrespectful but the other two don't, especially when, as you suggest, this was supposed to be a somewhat light-hearted critique and a bit of a personal reconciliation with the Morris tenure; something I have continuously struggled to decide how I feel about.

I was a bit disappointed by that, as I had tried pretty hard while writing it to be as inoffensive as possible to Mel. But it's no big deal really, as it is the content that matters in the end.

Hope that clears that up! 

[Nuwtfly]

3 minutes ago, Tyler Durden said:

Genuine question as I must have been living under a rock during that time what's the relevance of the references to the corner flag? I've seen it referenced on Twitter as well and am scoobied.

P.S. was nearly too afraid to ask 

"Corner Flag FC" has become a jokey name for the club for some fans, due to the amount of club statements we make, which are mostly accompanied by pictures of corner flags.

I think this is why that Kamil Jozwiak reveal video had him pointing at a corner flag! ?

[Red_ram]

If he knew now what he knew going into it he’d have been the perfect chairman, and we’d be safety nestled mid table in the premier league. Alas, had to learn a lot along the way but the mistakes have had a knock on effect and made an ever-tightening noose around our neck.

Sad for him that it’s not panned out, as obviously done everything with the best of intentions. Will go down as a decent chairman for me and I thank him for his money, efforts and passion. Would like him to stay around in some capacity, though unlikely.

[EtoileSportiveDeDerby]

Sorry to see him go. Yes he made mistakes, who doesn't ? but he paid for these out of his own pocket. Just look at the manky owners this club have had, Maxwell, 3 amigos and elsewhere Chatelet at Charlton, Glazer$, the idiots that finished off Bury and Macclesfield etc... Whatever you  may about think about Mel he loves the Rams and I am pretty sure he got up every morning trying his best for the club. I'll never knock a man for trying and he bloody well did. 

[i-Ram]

Melvin has been a likeable lad, who has worked hard and always tried to please. 
However, during the 6 years he has been with us, the quality of his work has been affected by some disruptive relationships.
Year on year achievement has also been restricted by him frequently changing course. I would hate to think how much he has spent on books and materials. His final year’s results have been very disappointing.
Melvin has some evident difficulty accepting authority, and he needs to be less emotional.
We should of course record our thanks for his time and contribution towards improving the facilities for our new students.
We wish him well.

Grade: C-
 

[RadioactiveWaste]

I think one of my main reflections on Mel's time is, how much would he have done differently if he had known at the start what he knows now? The intention was always good, but I'm sure he knows it wasn't always well directed at the start, but he matured in the role as time went on, particually in terms of sticking with both Rowett and Lampard through sticky patches (and being rewarded by both choosing to leave the club).

You never know, he might return to save us after the next dream goes south.

[Tyler Durden]

3 hours ago, Nuwtfly said:

"Corner Flag FC" has become a jokey name for the club for some fans, due to the amount of club statements we make, which are mostly accompanied by pictures of corner flags.

I think this is why that Kamil Jozwiak reveal video had him pointing at a corner flag! ?

Thankyou makes sense now.

Thought there was some more subversive meaning but that's how your mind wanders when you're doing a 12 hour nightshift on a Friday night ☹️

[G-Ram]

Credited with playing some of the best football we've seen under mac one when he didn't even own the club. Never gets the credit for some of the worst football we've seen under cocu & clement

I genuinely believe he made every decision with the clubs best interests at heart & has put a lot of his own money in. However not all them decisions have been right.

Mels tenure has been very up & down and its been entertaining off the pitch for various reasons. In terms of stability i think we were more financially stable as a club under the yanks. 

I'll be glad to see him go. Rams TV and the academy are plus points but on & off the pitch last season, persons time here and a few other things have been an absolute circus. Regardless of what we think of the EFL we shouldnt be in a position where there is legal battles & we shouldnt have been badly run where we have to sell the stadium. He gets away with loads because he's a fan. We have been run very very poorly. 

[Cisse]

I do appreciate Mel Morris a lot. Buying a football club you love is very different than owning a normal company. The feelings of the heart are always a big factor behind the decisions you make with the club. You can't be as rational than say owning a hard ware store. 

This forum is full of people who love our club and that has been plain to see for every one for years. However who could say that he or she would have done more good decisions or fewer bad decisions for the club? 

For a few days now I have been thinking what Mel must be going through with the possible selling of the club. Tens of thousands fans giving him a critic every single day without ever having all the information about all the things behind the scenes for years can't be easy and the fact that he is given a critic about something he loves so much. It has to be hard. Almost like going out every day and being criticized about your family. 

I don't think there is anyone here who would have run the club so many years without several instances with a heavy critique about the players he/she bought, sold, loaned, let go or missed to buy. Or about decisions to choose a new manager, hanging on with the current manager and so on. I'm sure people have moaned to him personally every season even about the kits we have.

I believe he did every decision the best he could at the moment. I know every one of us would have made some decisions differently but would we have been any better is impossible to say. There are actually very few people on the world that can and want to own football club and even fewer than does so without being under appreciated every chance there is.

Thank you Mel Morris and I hope the next owner cares us as much you did and gives us the success you wanted the Rams have all along. 

[Shaftesbury Street]

Any mistakes he has made has been through pure desperation to get the club back to the Premier league. 

Overall I think he has been fantastic and I hope he stays with us in some shape or form.

[1967RAMS]

If you look dispassionately at his time at the club, it has to be judged as a failure apart from the undeniable plus of the academy creation. We are in a worse position on the field and financially. In reality though, his time here has given me some of my best memories in nearly 50 years of supporting Derby. I sincerely believe that he always thought he was acting in the best interests of Derby County although I’m afraid history will say otherwise. 

[Angry Ram]

14 minutes ago, Shaftesbury Street said:

Any mistakes he has made has been through pure desperation to get the club back to the Premier league. 

Overall I think he has been fantastic and I hope he stays with us in some shape or form.

 Ball boy?

Desperation about sums up his tenure.