Have you seen the four questions the trust are planning to ask the board regarding this transfer window? I know they have the best of intentions but they sound like survey questions from the end of a day-long corporate training seminar and make about as much sense:
1. What decisions or events occurred during the January transfer window that led to no first-team level players being brought into the squad?
Do decisions occur? Or are decisions made?
2. How does the club board and majority ownership intend to learn from this and prepare for future summer and winter transfer windows?
Not what do they intend to learn, but how. By paying attention? Making notes? Using mnemonics?
3. What is the club’s medium-term strategy around player trading, especially with the club perennially hovering around the play-off positions at this time of the year?
Define medium-term first. Why is the medium-term more important than the short or long term?
4. How does the club board and majority ownership plan to reflect on the gap between communication and delivery of expectations in this window, and what actions will be taken?
Another how. How do they plan to reflect? Over a coffee at their lakeside mansion in the Hamptons probably.
Here's my reading of the subtext for each question, which actually produces far better questions:
1. Why no new players?
2. Will there be new players in the future?
3. Do you realise we need better players to be promoted?
4. Can you apologise please?
On a a serious note, if you ask bloated, unfocussed, waffling questions, you invite bloated, unfocussed, waffling answers. Does anyone have connections on the trust? Feel free to send them my revised questions, I think they'll produce far more telling answers.
1. What decisions or events occurred during the January transfer window that led to no first-team level players being brought into the squad?
Do decisions occur? Or are decisions made?
2. How does the club board and majority ownership intend to learn from this and prepare for future summer and winter transfer windows?
Not what do they intend to learn, but how. By paying attention? Making notes? Using mnemonics?
3. What is the club’s medium-term strategy around player trading, especially with the club perennially hovering around the play-off positions at this time of the year?
Define medium-term first. Why is the medium-term more important than the short or long term?
4. How does the club board and majority ownership plan to reflect on the gap between communication and delivery of expectations in this window, and what actions will be taken?
Another how. How do they plan to reflect? Over a coffee at their lakeside mansion in the Hamptons probably.
Here's my reading of the subtext for each question, which actually produces far better questions:
1. Why no new players?
2. Will there be new players in the future?
3. Do you realise we need better players to be promoted?
4. Can you apologise please?
On a a serious note, if you ask bloated, unfocussed, waffling questions, you invite bloated, unfocussed, waffling answers. Does anyone have connections on the trust? Feel free to send them my revised questions, I think they'll produce far more telling answers.
