Mel Morris - The Good, The Bad and The Boycie

[ossieram]

5 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

Could you define what you mean by 'had the finances under control and the club was stable'?

From memory, we were losing £9m per year and GSE had made it clear that they no longer wished to finance these losses.

We were at the point of having a bottom 6 wage bill and seemed to have a circa £1m cap on transfer fees.

We had a £15m mortgage on the ground that I believe was to be repaid within 3 years.

We had loans secured against future years season ticket sales.

You can pack up with telling the truth! That isn't the kind of thing some like to see on here.

[Oldben]

https://theramswriter.wordpress.com/mel-morris-the-best-and-worst-thing-to-happen-to-Derby-county/

Adds context

[Derby blood]

14 hours ago, sage said:

Would you have put more or less money in?

You said you'd have done better. 

Could not have not much worse, answear me this, if there is No takeover and the club goes bust, with u be happy with Mel then. 

[sage]

3 minutes ago, Derby blood said:

Could not have not much worse, answear me this, if there is No takeover and the club goes bust, with u be happy with Mel then. 

Perhaps you would like to answer the question I have asked 3 times.

Would you have put more or less money in than Mel?

[ThePrisoner]

5 minutes ago, Derby blood said:

Could not have not much worse, answear me this, if there is No takeover and the club goes bust, with u be happy with Mel then. 

The club is not going to go bust if there is no takeover.

[Rab a dab doo]

I think we need to all need to a 'short' pause and then just breathe.

Is that better ?

Right where were.

 

[Boycie]

1 hour ago, sage said:

Perhaps you would like to answer the question I have asked 3 times.

Would you have put more or less money in than Mel?

Maybe you’re on ignore? God forbid.

[Leeds Ram]

As much as Mel has tried to make this work and made sacrifices he's made bad decisions, seemingly ran out of money and we're now in an absolute mess. Questioning his stewardship of the club therefore is completely fair game from supporters and actually it is understandable people are frustrated and angry for the state of the club. I know some people are protective of the ownership because Mel tried to be particularly open to fans including some on this forum (arguably too much so) but ultimately a person's legacy at the club is determined by where the club is left from when the ownership took over.

I personally don't buy the comparisons with Pickering as Pickering I believe took us into Pride Park and Moor Farm- two absolutely gigantic transformations for the club. It is true Mel could not control events on the pitch, he can only try to develop a culture and strategy at the club to achieve the goals he set. But to anyone who has been paying attention it has been sorely lacking since the sacking of McClaren first time around. Despite all the talk there clearly has not been a sustained plan at the club for how we want to achieve promotion, merely that we'll do anything to achieve the goal even if it's horribly reckless and unsustainable. 

We've lurched from manager to manager all with contrasting styles, spending vast sums Mel could not sustainably afford (another massive error) until we've been forced into a position of selling off assets and becoming overly reliant on our young talent who aren't good enough to sustain a challenging championship squad. Mel's publicity push with famous managers and fights with the EFL where we all pretend he's a genius has papered over the cracks of a weakening squad and an ownership unable to continue the requisite levels of funding as we've moved ever closer to the financial abyss. This takeover is the last chapter in an increasingly sorry, poorly managed affair that could irreparably harm the club. 

So, whilst on one hand I feel sorry that it never worked out for Mel and am grateful for the time, effort and money he's pumped into the club, I am frustrated at his poor management and stewardship of the club that has left us in this mess. Every fan has a right to feel precisely that way. The current takeover talks are extremely concerning and the last time we were sold off in desperation we ended up in the hands of the '3 amigos' who almost destroyed the club entirely. The lack of communication is baffling and there is no clarity or confidence in the future direction of the club. Every week this drags on it hurts Mel's already battered legacy and the good will from the fans. 

[Tyler Durden]

4 hours ago, Oldben said:

https://theramswriter.wordpress.com/mel-morris-the-best-and-worst-thing-to-happen-to-Derby-county/

Adds context

Not sure what context it adds? Totally unclear what question the article poses and therefore whether it even answers that at the end of the piece. 

Just seems to be a long list of events without really addressing anything.

[sage]

1 hour ago, Boycie said:

Maybe you’re on ignore? God forbid.

oh he keeps replying

[Derby blood]

5 hours ago, sage said:

Perhaps you would like to answer the question I have asked 3 times.

Would you have put more or less money in than Mel?

If I had it of course I would have put more in, Mel is worth 565 million, and he put 100 million in, with Mels money I would have put 200 million in no probs, I love the club, and I also would not have bought players like Butterfield for 5 million, and Johnson for 7 million, Clement did not even want these players in, are u Mels best mate from John Port school lol 

[sage]

13 minutes ago, Derby blood said:

If I had it of course I would have put more in, Mel is worth 565 million, and he put 100 million in, with Mels money I would have put 200 million in no probs, I love the club, and I also would not have bought players like Butterfield for 5 million, and Johnson for 7 million, Clement did not even want these players in, are u Mels best mate from John Port school lol 

No I'm not Mel's best mate.

So having put in twice as much as Mel. Please explain how you stay within FFP limits.

 

[Carnero]

14 minutes ago, Derby blood said:

Mel is worth 565 million, and he put 100 million in, with Mels money I would have put 200 million in no probs

Well I'd have put £282.5 million in no probs. Step aside tightarse.

[Derby blood]

3 minutes ago, sage said:

No I'm not Mel's best mate.

So having put in twice as much as Mel. Please explain how you stay within FFP limits.

 

Lol, I would have run the club in a better way, its easy. 

Plus I would have taken some on this forum for breakfast everyday, so I would have been loved 

Look u think Mel did a good job I don't, simple as that, he wasted his money in my opinion, he fell out with loads at the club, he made some awful decisions, it's not all about money, so I claim my 5 pound, u are actually Mel. Now tell us all why did u sack Keogh but not Lawrence and Bennett, another 2 million out of Derby's bank for that decision. 

[ThePrisoner]

3 minutes ago, Derby blood said:

I would have run the club in a better way, its easy. 

[sage]

9 minutes ago, Derby blood said:

Lol, I would have run the club in a better way, its easy. 

Plus I would have taken some on this forum for breakfast everyday, so I would have been loved 

Look u think Mel did a good job I don't, simple as that, he wasted his money in my opinion, he fell out with loads at the club, he made some awful decisions, it's not all about money, so I claim my 5 pound, u are actually Mel. Now tell us all why did u sack Keogh but not Lawrence and Bennett, another 2 million out of Derby's bank for that decision. 

I would love you to point out where I said Mel did a good job.

He sacked Keogh and not the others because he couldn't afford to write their values off on FFP grounds. Writing off Lawrence would have meant selling players. I disagreed with the decision. I would have sacked all 3. 

I'm still intrigued at your plan of spending twice as much whilst avoiding FFP. Ingenious.

 

[Derby blood]

53 minutes ago, sage said:

I would love you to point out where I said Mel did a good job.

He sacked Keogh and not the others because he couldn't afford to write their values off on FFP grounds. Writing off Lawrence would have meant selling players. I disagreed with the decision. I would have sacked all 3. 

I'm still intrigued at your plan of spending twice as much whilst avoiding FFP. Ingenious.

 

The point is Mel sacked Keogh that could cost us 2 million, I think Mel wasted millions and millions, should have managed the fiancés alot better, so let's forget about the sum, but how it was spent, Mels choice, and now he has put us in alot of bother, which you can not deny, admit Mel has not done a great job, and stop going on about how much would u put in, its how u manage your money. In my opinion Mel did alot of harm to Derby, dragging our name through the mud, paying managers off, and now it's come back to bite him on his arse. 

If u have a different opinion then fair enough. 

[BIllyD]

9 hours ago, G STAR RAM said:

Could you define what you mean by 'had the finances under control and the club was stable'?

From memory, we were losing £9m per year and GSE had made it clear that they no longer wished to finance these losses.

We were at the point of having a bottom 6 wage bill and seemed to have a circa £1m cap on transfer fees.

We had a £15m mortgage on the ground that I believe was to be repaid within 3 years.

We had loans secured against future years season ticket sales.

Have I picked the wrong season ?

GSE not willing to finance these losses is different to how I remember it, I have tried google and can't find any references. There was certainly a reluctance to finance deals, but the arrival of SR seem to trigger a different approach, think he turned debt into equity and convinced GSE to invest a bit more. That season we had the likes of Ibe, wisdom, GT and Dawkins all loaned in.

The below figures from the accounts seem to indicate an approach to more investment not less...as I say maybe wrong season ?

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dcfc.co.uk/amp/news/2016/03/record-turnover-is-the-highlight-of-Derby-countys-201415-financial-results

 

 

[sage]

1 hour ago, Derby blood said:

The point is Mel sacked Keogh that could cost us 2 million, I think Mel wasted millions and millions, should have managed the fiancés alot better, so let's forget about the sum, but how it was spent, Mels choice, and now he has put us in alot of bother, which you can not deny, admit Mel has not done a great job, and stop going on about how much would u put in, its how u manage your money. In my opinion Mel did alot of harm to Derby, dragging our name through the mud, paying managers off, and now it's come back to bite him on his arse. 

If u have a different opinion then fair enough. 

Thank you for the insults. Delightful.

The point about asking what you would do was to highlight that your criticism was over simplified. Your answer was to spend more when Mel got us into trouble got spending too much.

Everyone has an opinion and many of his decisions split opinions. I didn't agree with several of his decisions. However, he invested a lot of money and time with overall the best of intentions.

In any event, I didn't realise he was engaged to several men.

 

[RamNut]

1 hour ago, Derby blood said:

I think Mel wasted millions and millions, should have managed the fiancés alot better,

You mean he wasn’t the best man?