Poll: Do we fans need a 'pound of flesh' from Mel?

[cannable]

1 hour ago, GenBr said:

Mel has given me pretty much the only good times that Derby have ever had in my lifetime and whilst I am disappointed with the mistakes and mismanagement over the last few years it doesn't diminish said good times. 

Meh. I don’t know about anybody else but I’ve honestly felt like we just rode the wave of 2014 for a few more years and made the play-offs in spite of Mel. 

[kevinhectoring]

8 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

If Rooney screws it up then it's on to the next one.

If it’s true that the likely new owners are in cahoots with WR then it wouldn’t be that simple. Would be a lengthy divorce. Which would be a nightmare so far as the football is concerned 

 

[Ambitious]

No one wants Mel Morris out of Derby County more than Mel Morris himself. 

I don’t get the Mel Out cries as that’s exactly what he’s trying to achieve - he’s certainly not holding us to ransom. We’ve had two chancers with no cash between them have bids accepted, so he’s definitely not holding us back in the hope he makes some money back. The financial burden he would rid himself of is definitely enough. 

I suspect the truth is that he’s fluttered the majority of his cash away and although still a very rich human being - probably not rich enough to finance a Championship team anymore. Not on his own anyway. We will see what transpires. Ultimately, we just need someone with a bit more ability to run a football club and make more right decisions than wrong ones. I can’t fault Mel Morris’ commitment for the most part, but his consistency of making bad decision after bad decision is insanely high. He really hasn’t had many good ones at all, the £200m he’s lost on us can be largely put down to those who he’s hired to work for him. 

[Bris Vegas]

1 hour ago, cannable said:

Meh. I don’t know about anybody else but I’ve honestly felt like we just rode the wave of 2014 for a few more years and made the play-offs in spite of Mel. 

The summer of 2015 was pure madness.

But what was arguably worse was doubling down with Rowett and Lampard after. Those two managers used Mel’s finances and Derby’s standing for personal gain.

Rowett was happy to load us with ridiculous wages for the likes of Huddlestone, Davies, Lawrence, Wisdom and Ledley. Our wage bill had succeeded £40m at at point, up from the £16m or so we had in 2013/14. It was an all-or-nothing approach and he knew it, hence dumping us for Stoke.

Mel was then sweet-talked into allowing Lampard to further cause problems. Marriott, Waghorn, Malone, Jozefzoon + the three loans. Last-chance saloon time. And again, Lampard left a huge mess behind.

Mel has been a terrible owner. But I’d still hold him in higher regard than Rowett or Lampard. At least Mel’s heart was in the right place. The other two used us, abused us and left us on our knees with a mess they didn’t want to face.

[OUTSIDER]

Mel made many mistakes and in my opinion and the sale of the club has been a disaster, but I think he will know this. 

His attitude and dealings with efl started with him being a chairman that could do what he wanted to now have in DCFC in a position of uncertainty. 

Pound of flesh no

... but take  responsibility Mel and admit you ducked up. 

I always have suspicious mind when a chairman mixes with fans, look at Newcastle/Ashley 

[Tamworthram]

5 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

What would this allegorical pound of flesh actually look like in reality? Then I'd be able to answer the question. How would this translate into reality - boycotting games, booing Mel Morris, personal insults on social media, damaging his house or car?

Couldn't classify any of the above as extracting a pound of flesh. 

I'll remember to start a poll next time to then further my own agenda rather than seek a balanced view from posters on the forum.

I think that is a really good point. Do those that voted yes realise that what you’re probably talking about is punishing Mel in some way with no real benefit to either the fans or the club? Yes, I get you want him out as soon as possible it do you then really want to go after him? Maybe some are miss-interpreting the phrase.

[kevinhectoring]

8 hours ago, Ambitious said:

The financial burden he would rid himself of is definitely enough. 

If the fans are back at PP for good, and with the reduced wage bill, it’s all changed. 
The possible problem with a sale is: Mel will say the value of the club should be based on historic gate revenue. But a buyer will say, why should we take the risk of future lockdowns etc. ?
I hope he sells soon but continuing delay is possible. 

[Ambitious]

31 minutes ago, kevinhectoring said:

If the fans are back at PP for good, and with the reduced wage bill, it’s all changed. 
The possible problem with a sale is: Mel will say the value of the club should be based on historic gate revenue. But a buyer will say, why should we take the risk of future lockdowns etc. ?
I hope he sells soon but continuing delay is possible. 

The term spend money to make money is mostly applicable in football. The reduced wage bill and spending works on the balance sheet, but when you consider the amount of tickets still available for Saturday. It's going to work out at 50-60% what we had in the stadium last time we opened a Championship season. If we start the season poorly then 15k will be a realistic average - nearly 12k down on the 18-19 season (45% reduction). 

When you also consider that the wage bill at the minute roughly 20-25% what it once was, again good for the balance sheet, but we are the favourite for relegation. Relegation will cost this club £10m+ in revenue - plus the loss of interest from fans who aren't interested in paying £30 a ticket to watch us play Accrington Stanley and reduced interest in sponsorship deals. The only way you can possibly make significant money in football is promotion and establishing yourself in the Premier League. 

Mel, I'm sure, just wants the club gone - certainly before we get relegated to League One. I would say once the accounts are published and the situation is clear: 18th August. He has six to eight weeks to sell the club with any kind of value should we avoid any point deduction and get out of the transfer embargo. We would still be in debt and probably towards the bottom of the table. 

[RoyMac5]

1 hour ago, Tamworthram said:

I think that is a really good point. Do those that voted yes realise that what you’re probably talking about is punishing Mel in some way with no real benefit to either the fans or the club? Yes, I get you want him out as soon as possible it do you then really want to go after him? Maybe some are miss-interpreting the phrase.

No that was the point to make fans consider whether it's a good idea, and to act with compassion. I did write a post saying such but...

Anyway, I think Shakespeare has plenty of scope for interpretation.

[RoyMac5]

7 minutes ago, Ambitious said:

Mel, I'm sure, just wants the club gone - certainly before we get relegated to League One. I would say once the accounts are published and the situation is clear: 18th August. He has six to eight weeks to sell the club with any kind of value should we avoid any point deduction and get out of the transfer embargo. We would still be in debt and probably towards the bottom of the table. 

I'm sure any potential buyers that aren't 'chancers' will want to do due diligence and the financial state of the club will become much clearer. I couldn't believe any buyer would think we were anything but up poo creek ... although with the current pandemic cutting an economic swathe through certain fields we'll be joined by lots of other teams.  

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

Mel will be leaving us in a right mess, but there is no need to punish him further for it, I don't believe he did it maliciously at all. His punishment will have been to be saddled with the club funding it out of his own pocket whilst we wait for a takeover to happen.

Had Mel not run the club in the way he has a takeover might have happened more quickly, so that's the consequence to his actions.

[Alty_Ram]

Nobody likes to see what has happened to our beloved club. The last few years excesses have caught up with the club and we are in a terrible state of the clubs own making. The EFL are certainly making things much harder but we simply should not be in this position.

The flip side though is that right now, despite barely being a going concern, wages are being paid because Mel Morris is making sure that happens. Without that we are truly down the pan.

MM wanted a legacy of the academy to leave behind and he has had some success in that regard but now we need an urgent resolution to the ownership saga and we may need MM to take a hit for the sake of the club. That is easy for fans to say because it is not our money but as each week passes and potentially the season unfolds badly, the club will be worth less and less and his bargaining position becomes weaker still. None of us know what deal is on offer from potential investors nor what MM wants for him to hand over control so it is hard to judge.

I would however be very careful about discussions about 'pounds of flesh' and people venting their spleen because we need MM to want to do what's right for the future of the club and I don't see that abuse and 'MM out' campaigns are helpful in that regard because we are in a precarious position. I'm fine with people asking tough/straight questions at the meeting and on forums but I really hope that it doesn't become toxic. Wednesday may or may not give us some of the answers that we so badly want but in recent weeks the idiots on social media have shown us how hateful things can get in the cess pool of the internet. We desperately needs a calm transition of power to someone who will run this club prudently but it has to be right and none of us have a seat at that particular table. Tough times..

[Dimmu]

He already has lost his health and enormous amount of money, yet 20% want more punishment and 5% are uncertain?

Jeez, give it a rest.

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by Dimmu

[jimbo jones]

12 hours ago, Ramchop said:

If you're a parent and you splash out on your kids at Xmas, then don't pay the mortgage in January, you can't blame the kids for accepting the presents. We all bought into the "EFL on strings" style and thought that Mel and Pearce had played a blinder. We didn't know that allegedly Rooney had to play or we had to pay his wages, we didn't know multiple players had 1 year extension clauses they could unilaterally invoke, and to be fair, no-one knew we'd have 18 months of disruption from a global pandemic 

I do that every year, it's fine. 

[JoetheRam]

12 hours ago, DazzaRam said:

And not one Derby fan moaned at Mel spending money. Plenty of Captain Hindsights around at the minute. We gambled. It didnt work. It nearly did. Derby will build back. No doubt in my mind about that. For now we have to take our medicine and move on. Ive seen bad times before. Derby will rebuild. 

Some people had reservations about spending the cash at the time. No need for hindsight. I can vividly remember sitting in my parents kitchen when news of the Butterfield/Johnson signing for £7m or whatever ludicrous figure it was broke on Radio Derby and we both said to each other that this isn't going to end well/we've lost the plot. Think at that point there was even some criticism of 'Mad' Mel from my Dad.

Not through any great knowledge of the players we were buying, but just because when Derby splash the cash it never seems to work.

[DRBee]

13 hours ago, RoyMac5 said:

There's understandably much anger against Mel and his running of the club.

But bottom line is we are where we are. Mel is still trying to keep things ticking over, the EFL are trying to stop him. 

Do you really need a pound of flesh (one definition: something that someone owes you that you take even though it will cause them to suffer)?

I don't. We need to move on and we can do that even with Mel still in charge, in my opinion obvs.

Action is far more important than anything else. There is much we don't know including Mel's health issues, though this is not to take  away Mel's ultimate responsibility for what has happened.

[europia]

On 02/08/2021 at 22:14, Pearl Ram said:

I fear there will be plenty of time for those who want their voice heard. ie I don’t believe a sale is imminent. Surely Saturday should be about the joy of getting back in a ground and letting the players feel the love. ?‍♂️

Yes I tend to agree. New owners unlikely in the foreseeable. Tough season ahead, but hopefully one avoiding relegation. 

[jono]

On 02/08/2021 at 21:59, i-Ram said:

Broadly agree with all those points. I don’t want a pound of flesh, whatever definition anyone might use. When he leaves though I do expect him to sell to competent people, and to leave the club in no worse a financial position than when he took it over. This includes ensuring that once again the stadium is an asset of the club. 

But was it an asset ? I don’t know the facts but was t it mortgaged to some extent ? 

[i-Ram]

5 minutes ago, jono said:

But was it an asset ? I don’t know the facts but was t it mortgaged to some extent ? 

Even if it was mortgaged to some extent it was still a club asset.

GstarRam frequently states we had a £15m loan when Mel bought the club, but I can’t confirm that, nor that the stadium was subject to any legal charge at that time.

[Rev]

2 minutes ago, i-Ram said:

Even if it was mortgaged to some extent it was still a club asset.

GstarRam frequently states we had a £15m loan when Mel bought the club, but I can’t confirm that, nor that the stadium was subject to any legal charge at that time.

That's right, heard it straight from the horse's mouth.

A £15m mortgage on the stadium was the extent of the debts Mel inherited.