Steve Gibson's fmttm Q and A - Thursday

BoroPhil said:
I think you got the main points and to echo what you said about the organisation - was excellent.

On the tickets point I think what he was trying to say was that these cheap tickets for other clubs that get referred to are often restricted view or only a small number of tickets so it isn't a fair comparison.
He was quite passionate really about defending the ticket prices and the huge costs that go into running the club. He also pointed out that over 50% of season tickets are concessions including a lot of kids who pay very little.

He did say when asked about half season tickets and why they were removed is that we sold <50 last time which seems a staggeringly low number. And then some season ticket holders complained they were getting the same benefits as long standing holders.

Another point I remember was about safe standing, doesn't sound like it is a goer - would cost a lot and would have to be put into every stand, including the away end.
Also spoke highly about Kieron Scott and his role in signing Lath (who he kept raving about) and Rav

I came away very positive about next season, it clearly sounds like there are plans in place for next year and he said it was the most positive he's been going into a new season since we came down.
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Yeah, I can remember him making those points now. I think if I remember rightly he said he gets frustrated when he hears that fans are complaining about their season ticket being increased by £1.50 per game, in comparison to what he has to put into the club just to keep it running.

I think my only regret now is that I didn't put my hand up and ask why our overall prices are more expensive than most other clubs in the Championship, but didn't he actually touch on that and say they weren't? I can't remember whether he did and whether he gave an explaination with regards to that.
 
parmoboy said:
Brilliant night, and I'd like to say a big thanks to @fmttmadmin for organising it. Have to say, the free bar was very much appreciated.

Gibson was in good form and happy to chat to fans after the event and stand for selfies (I got mine).

So below is pretty much what I can remember.

- Said he's hoping that Carrick is going to be here long-term and wants him to sign a new deal
- Wants Howson to sign a new deal
- The club have 4 or 5 main targets and Gibson feels if we can get them we'll have a real good chance next season
- On managers, he said that his main issue with McClaren was in relation to his agent.
- Spoke highly of Pulis, describing him as a "good man", but hated his football.
- Spoke of feeling let down by Monk and described him as a "bag of sh*te". Used the example of signing Fletcher on a five year deal, and said that Fletcher was hopeless.
- Spoke highly of Wilder but again mentioned an agent being involved and said that the Burnley fiasco was the beginning of the end for him.
- Spoke very highly of Strachan, saying that fans didn't realise how much it hurt him when he was struggling here. Said he used to lock himself in his house for days and close the curtains. Said that Strachan asked for his contract to be ripped up and wanted Gibson to keep it private.
- Said that work is being done to upgrade training facilities due to the amount of injuries we've had, and I think he said a new medical team are being brought in.
- On pricing, he said lowering junior prices means increasing adult prices, and he went into great detail outlining the running costs of the club. He said a fan had written a letter to him telling him that Preston charge £14 for an adult walk-up, and Gibson had phoned the Preston chairman and asked him whether this was true, but I think he'd said yes but you only get to see a third of the pitch. Might have mishead or misunderstood that comment though, as it seemed a strange comment.
- Spoke about the rules not needing to change in relation to clubs who cheat, but said that there needs to be tougher sanctions on those who do, and said he hopes Leicester get smashed in the Premier League.


As I said, all in all it was an enjoyable night. My only criticism would be that I felt it should have been better organised in terms of collecting the bits of paper which had the questions on. Somebody did seem to go around a few tables collecting them whilst the q&a was ongoing but mine ended up being missed. Maybe at future events it might just be a better idea to ask people to bring their paper up to the front before the event starts and put in a bucket, then whoever's chairing can just pick them out one at a time.
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Yep, fantastic event. To add to the summary above, here are a few of my takeaways:

He feels the recruitment team got a lot right last summer with talent identification. He referenced Latte Lath, Rav and Bangura as examples.
Morgan Rogers wanted to move. In the circumstances it was hard to stand in his way. Being offered a chance to earn 5x his salary and move closer to home...
Riley McGree - had talks but no resolution to date
Expects 2 or 3 academy players to feature more prominently in the squad next season. He hinted that the players in question would get game time over the next couple of weeks.
He thinks 10 clubs will be sanctioned with points deductions next season
Hopes that Forest, Sheff Utd and Luton come down as all have financial challenges.
An offer was made for the club by a Chinese billionaire in 2016 (current owner of Barnsley)
Safe standing is expensive and unlikely in the foreseeable future
Gaston Ramirez is one player he wasn't a fan of as a person
Strachan underestimated the strength of the Championship and the Scottish players just weren't up to it
Emerson was signed for £4m as Porto were being chased for unpaid taxes totalling £4m! This story broke when Keith Lamb and Robbo were out in Porto and the deal was done very quickly (without Bobby Robsons knowledge). Shortly afterwards Bobby Robson moved to Barcelona and had planned to take Emerson with him. Emerson joined up with Boro at a training camp in Italy and before he had even played a friendly he submitted a transfer request - as he wanted to go to Barcelona! Apparently Bryan and Bobby Robson had an interesting conversation!
He said he very rarely gets involved in transfers, certainly doesn't buy managers gift players but on a few occasions he has vetoed signings. He referenced David McGoldrick and Dwight Gayle.
Roberto Carlos was close to signing in 1995
Southgate was removed because of unspecified disharmony in the dressing room, Strachan was brought in to bring everyone back together
His Boro 5 a side team would be Schwarzer, Gareth, Ugo, Juninho and Merson
He doesn't like the current club crest
 
parmoboy said:
Yeah, I can remember him making those points now. I think if I remember rightly he said he gets frustrated when he hears that fans are complaining about their season ticket being increased by £1.50 per game, in comparison to what he has to put into the club just to keep it running.

I think my only regret now is that I didn't put my hand up and ask why our overall prices are more expensive than most other clubs in the Championship, but didn't he actually touch on that and say they weren't? I can't remember whether he did and whether he gave an explaination with regards to that.
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He didn't expand really, he just said they weren't the most expensive
 
Juno10 said:
Yep, fantastic event. To add to the summary above, here are a few of my takeaways:

He feels the recruitment team got a lot right last summer with talent identification. He referenced Latte Lath, Rav and Bangura as examples.
Morgan Rogers wanted to move. In the circumstances it was hard to stand in his way. Being offered a chance to earn 5x his salary and move closer to home...
Riley McGree - had talks but no resolution to date
Expects 2 or 3 academy players to feature more prominently in the squad next season. He hinted that the players in question would get game time over the next couple of weeks.
He thinks 10 clubs will be sanctioned with points deductions next season
Hopes that Forest, Sheff Utd and Luton come down as all have financial challenges.
An offer was made for the club by a Chinese billionaire in 2016 (current owner of Barnsley)
Safe standing is expensive and unlikely in the foreseeable future
Gaston Ramirez is one player he wasn't a fan of as a person
Strachan underestimated the strength of the Championship and the Scottish players just weren't up to it
Emerson was signed for £4m as Porto were being chased for unpaid taxes totalling £4m! This story broke when Keith Lamb and Robbo were out in Porto and the deal was done very quickly (without Bobby Robsons knowledge). Shortly afterwards Bobby Robson moved to Barcelona and had planned to take Emerson with him. Emerson joined up with Boro at a training camp in Italy and before he had even played a friendly he submitted a transfer request - as he wanted to go to Barcelona! Apparently Bryan and Bobby Robson had an interesting conversation!
He said he very rarely gets involved in transfers, certainly doesn't buy managers gift players but on a few occasions he has vetoed signings. He referenced David McGoldrick and Dwight Gayle.
Roberto Carlos was close to signing in 1995
Southgate was removed because of unspecified disharmony in the dressing room, Strachan was brought in to bring everyone back together
His Boro 5 a side team would be Schwarzer, Gareth, Ugo, Juninho and Merson
He doesn't like the current club crest
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You have a better memory than me. I thought it was interesting that he'd said he's never gifted players to managers. I was half-expecting somebody to shout up and ask "what about Downing?".

On the subject of Karanka, I remember him saying something along the lines of "overseas managers aren't likes us", and that when the going gets tough they don't stand shoulder to shoulder with everyone, but instead try and blame everyone but themselves.

Going off what he'd said I think there's a good chance he won't be appointing another overseas manager whilst he's Chairman.
 
Oh, just remembered a couple of comical stories he'd told.

He told a story of parking his car outside the Riverside for a game just after we'd won the Carling cup, and loads of fans were shaking his hand and thanking him etc. Then one fan had a go at him and called him a crook because the programme price had gone up by 50p. He said that afterwards Keith Lamb had said to him why are you letting it bother you, when all of those other fans were showing you love.

He also said that when Robson first introduced him to Juninho he'd asked "where is he?", and said he was that small that they had to buy him kids football boots.
 
He also said that there were several out of work managers who he'd considered appointing after Karanka left but they all wanted long-term contracts, which is why he decided to just stick with Agnew until the end of the season and see where we'd end up.
 
BoroPhil said:
he said 'the country' had a soft spot for Boris and that was why Houchen got elected the last couple of times as the conditions were perfect for him (with also Corbyn, Brexit etc.)
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Parts of the country were a bit soft in the head for Boris, which is why get lumbered with a shyster like Houchen…..maybe that’s what he meant?!
 
parmoboy said:
You have a better memory than me. I thought it was interesting that he'd said he's never gifted players to managers. I was half-expecting somebody to shout up and ask "what about Downing?".

On the subject of Karanka, I remember him saying something along the lines of "overseas managers aren't likes us", and that when the going gets tough they don't stand shoulder to shoulder with everyone, but instead try and blame everyone but themselves.

Going off what he'd said I think there's a good chance he won't be appointing another overseas manager whilst he's Chairman.
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Seems a bit of an assumption based on a sample size of 1.
 
Thanks for the updates to those who’ve posted.

Clearly he isn’t going to go into too much detail about the here and now, and in many ways he can’t. Doesn’t sound like he gave any compelling arguments for ticket pricing, he obviously just believes in squeezing as much juice out of the lemon as he can, which is what we all suspected.

Sounds like it was more interesting hearing him talk about players and managers from years gone by. What a tool Emerson was - worse than I originally thought! No surprise that Gaston was too and that Pulis was sound.😁

Also interesting that he gave Monk the freedom to sign Fletcher on a 5 year deal. Does this put an end to the feeling that Karanka was “let down” by recruitment?
 
atypical_boro said:
Seems a bit of an assumption based on a sample size of 1.
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Yeah, he said that he remembers walking into the dressing room after Karanka left and all he could hear were Spanish accents. He knew then that a huge rebuild was required.

I think there ended up being a huge split in the dressing room between the Spanish lads and everyone else, and maybe he's worried that the same thing could happen again if a foreign manager brought in players of their own nationality.

I hope he won't allow it to deter him from appointing foreign manager's in future though. I know it turned sour with Karanka in the end but he's still the only manager who's managed to get us promoted in recent times.
 
parmoboy said:
Yeah, he said that he remembers walking into the dressing room after Karanka left and all he could hear were Spanish accents. He knew then that a huge rebuild was required.

I think there ended up being a huge split in the dressing room between the Spanish lads and everyone else, and maybe he's worried that the same thing could happen again if a foreign manager brought in players of their own nationality.

I hope he won't allow it to deter him from appointing foreign manager's in future though. I know it turned sour with Karanka in the end but he's still the only manager who's managed to get us promoted in recent times.
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Yes, it’s the only thing that’s actually worked for us since the Southgate fiasco but it certainly wasn’t without its faults and drawbacks.

If I’m honest, I can’t really say I’m that optimistic about promotion next season but there are definitely some signs of promise with the Scott/Carrick regime and I suppose we have to just see how far it gets us.
 
Aztec chimera said:
Not backing what Scrug said but very few of us got the opportunity. I'm not on here every day but I am most and when I saw this thread and clicked on the link it was already sold out.
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It a good while to sell out. Which was a bit of a surprise. They mentioned at Leeds game there was still tickets left.
 
atypical_boro said:
Yes, it’s the only thing that’s actually worked for us since the Southgate fiasco but it certainly wasn’t without its faults and drawbacks.

If I’m honest, I can’t really say I’m that optimistic about promotion next season but there are definitely some signs of promise with the Scott/Carrick regime and I suppose we have to just see how far it gets us.
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It was encouraging that Gibson mentioned that the club are putting measures in place to hopefully prevent us having so many injuries in future. I think that's been a massive factor in the derailing of our season. Some were saying it was just down to bad luck but I didn't buy into that, and it's great to know that Gibson and the club have also recognised that action was needed.

It's also encouraging to know that the club have already pinpointed 4 or 5 main transfer targets. Gibson mentioned that if we can sign them he feels we will have a great chance of promotion next season. If we can get them in early this summer, and if we end up retaining most of the players who are already here (assuming we sign Ayling and O'Brien) then you'd like to think we can get off to a stronger start next season, which could make a huge difference.
 
You have to assume that of the 4 or 5 main transfer targets that 2 or 3 are with the club already, Ayling, O Brien and possibly Greenwood, if not then it will be those positions that are being looked at.
 
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