The Indy today-James Brent

Some interesting stuff in the Indy today,taken from Mr Brent's talk at the Pyramid suite yesterday.

On Ridsdale;

"People talk about his motivations and so on but i dont' really care about that.He is football smart beyond anything else i'v seen and he would have made a very able chairman of the football club,with an appropriate governance structure in place.But Peter has decided he doesn't want to take up that role,so we need to find a football smart chairman who also understands business and economics......If Peter was willing to throw his hat back into the ring,and i don't think he will,i would love to work with Peter because he has got a lot of skills".

Mmmm,wonder who the football smart chairman would be? Peter Jones to fit the bill,perhaps.Mr Brent certainly seems to have been impressed with the Riddler and goes on to state that he "has absolutely not closed the door on Peter Ridsdale,but the decision would need to be taken by a properly appointed board".It still wouldn't surprise me to see Ridsdale come out of this with some role in the new set up,i would say that "proper corporate governance " would be the key phrase should that turn out to be the case.

On the future;

The club can be "refocused as a successful community asset,which can move forward and trade at a level that it should clearly trade at,which is league 1/championship.If we really build up passion for the club within the schools and community and drive the fanbase and encourage people to come,then the increased receipts will enable the club to move forward quicker and further than it could do otherwise."

Not unreasonable comments,but they strike me as being rather similar to those uttered by the New World when they took over.They soon discovered that,in essence,the only way that gates could be maintained,let alone increased,was by putting a successful team on the pitch.I don't disagree about the desirability of community involvement,just that the wood must be seen from the trees when it comes to prioritising possible ways of increasing gate revenue.

Then he states that "the advice i have been given is that the core of the playing squad is actually pretty good and you don't need to make huge changes to start winning.The advice i have also received is that,without huge additional investment,the club can trade up to CCC/League 1 level but that without big investment,it is not a premiership club.If someone wants to make that investment to take the club into the premiership,it will be our successor,rather than us.When we decide to hand over tha baton of ownership,we will try to make sure that it is to someone who shares the same values as us but hopefully even richer and more passionate about football"

I wonder who provided him with the advice about the current squad-Fletcher,Ridsdale? I hope it proves to be sound.I still think we're about 4 players light of having a competitive squad and hopefully this can be addressed in time for survival to be a realsistic prospect.Good sensible stuff about how far he can take the club,that is the really crucial lesson to be learned from last time we reached the CCC and hopefully he will be true to his word should we reach that status again.

All in all,pretty good stuff and without bestowing him with the sainthood that others seem to think should be his,he does seem to talk some sense.Lets hope he's enough of a man of deeds to match his words.

Greenskin wrote:

Then he states that "the advice i have been given is that the core of the playing squad is actually pretty good and you don't need to make huge changes to start winning.The advice i have also received is that,without huge additional investment,the club can trade up to CCC/League 1 level....

Whoever gave him that advice should be shot.

Rickler wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Then he states that "the advice i have been given is that the core of the playing squad is actually pretty good and you don't need to make huge changes to start winning.The advice i have also received is that,without huge additional investment,the club can trade up to CCC/League 1 level....

Whoever gave him that advice should be shot.

Agreed. I have only seen Argyle at Southend this year, but the core of that team is a million miles from Luggy's team of 10 years ago and Warnocks before that. They are not even close to Hodges' team that underachieved during our previous worst era.

That is utterly depressing. The squad is SHIT. The squad is obviously nowhere near good enough for L2 and probably not good enough for the BSP. As for the investment statement.........words fail me.

Brent is either clueless or thinks (knows) we're stupid enough to believe this shit. I think it's the latter. And depressingly he's probably right. I can almost hear the depressing screech of the mob now......."trust in brent!!!!!!"

BSP here we come

In other words, "be thankful you still have a club".

For a guy that admits he know's nothing about football the "People talk about his motivations and so on but i dont' really care about that.He is football smart beyond anything else i'v seen and he would have made a very able chairman of the football club"....comment seems strange.

Too many conference calls to Newell me thinks.

I must admit that I am quite heartened by his 'words'. I think the bit about the club having enough, for want of better words, inbuilt strength and support, to repeat the most recent rise through the lower leagues is correct. A winning Argyle will command the attendance figures to be a big fish in the two lower leagues and it is 'what happens next' that he appears to understand, or I daresay, has been 'told' by Peter Jones !
Haven't seen the current squad but it sounds to me, from the advice of people on here who have attended and do understand the game and what we currently have player wise, that a few 'horses for courses' additions have to be made. In the first instance to keep us in the league and second to get on a roll again.

Brent was always my favourite out of the protagonists but I am very, very disappointed with those comments. As I thought, seems like Ridsdale will be staying longer if he can negotiate a bigger pay packet and/or nothing better crops up in the meantime. The 3 month thing could be a right old ruse. I'm just praying he thinks the South West is a backwater and doesn't fancy L2 football at this stage in his life, because Brent seems convinced he's the man for the job.

Last season's team was eventually the worst I've seen at Argyle since the dark days of Kemp. This guy really is football naive by the sound of things, and is listening to the wrong voices aleady ... and probably far too many... it's amazing how many people are impressed with tippy tappy at the back thet goes nowhere.

No investment whatsoever, just like the NWO. I suspect there will be attempts, probably through the Trust, at getting vulnerable fan investment .... just like the NWO.

As always the best hope of success is to hit lucky with a new manager, and a surprise of a find on the pitch. There will be no direct attempt to force success and there will not be the money put about that got us the likes of Littlejohn under Warnock and McCauley.

NO WORDS ON HOW LONG THIS SALE IS GOING TO TAKE ... that's not good either.

penzancepirate wrote:

Brent was always my favourite out of the protagonists but I am very, very disappointed with those comments. As I thought, seems like Ridsdale will be staying longer if he can negotiate a bigger pay packet and/or nothing better crops up in the meantime. The 3 month thing could be a right old ruse. I'm just praying he thinks the South West is a backwater and doesn't fancy L2 football at this stage in his life, because Brent seems convinced he's the man for the job.

Last season's team was eventually the worst I've seen at Argyle since the dark days of Kemp. This guy really is football naive by the sound of things, and is listening to the wrong voices aleady ... and probably far too many... it's amazing how many people are impressed with tippy tappy at the back thet goes nowhere.

No investment whatsoever, just like the NWO. I suspect there will be attempts, probably through the Trust, at getting vulnerable fan investment .... just like the NWO.

As always the best hope of success is to hit lucky with a new manager, and a surprise of a find on the pitch. There will be no direct attempt to force success and there will not be the money put about that got us the likes of Littlejohn under Warnock and McCauley.

NO WORDS ON HOW LONG THIS SALE IS GOING TO TAKE ... that's not good either.

But surely an Argyle in the lower league's without debt ran in a proper manner, is better than the previous gamble which led us to where we are now.

Freathy seems to still be dreaming of this billionaire turning up at home park, it isnt gonna happen get real.

A football club is a business and should be ran like one at all times, yes player investment is key, and the crowds do rise when teams are performing, but as many teams in the past have proven especially Argyle you dont need an awful lot of investment to start climbing the league's, with the right manager and shrewd free transfers you can be up there.

It is key Argyle stay in the league, im sure whoever is in charge will be able to add to the squad, which is key, and hopefully in january it wont be to late to add players that could make a differance to our safety.

IF and thats a big IF we stay up, next pre-season will be key, as it will be the first pre-season in 2yrs that Argyle can start on a level footing where the manager can bring in targets in a resonable time rather than chasing scraps and leftovers.

As for the sale completion, it was stated the aim was 10th October but that might be unrealistic, so end of october is achievable as long as no creditors put a hold on things.

Who says a Brent owned Argyle will be debt free ? I haven't seen that anywhere.
Who's to say Brent isn't intending to load the club with debt in just the same way Heaney and Ridsdale intended ?
If he's not, then I would guess those Creditors WILL have something to say.

For me the key to Brent's success is his plan B. I think he is going to have the shock of his life when he actually takes over because all normal rules of business will go out the window. How will he react to an angry fanbase? Or (fingers crossed), a bit of success? Toy's out of the pram like McCauley or power mad like Stapes?

Frank Bullitt wrote:

For me the key to Brent's success is his plan B. I think he is going to have the shock of his life when he actually takes over because all normal rules of business will go out the window. How will he react to an angry fanbase? Or (fingers crossed), a bit of success? Toy's out of the pram like McCauley or power mad like Stapes?

He is going to pass the 'buck' to whoever he appoints Chairman.

He will simply state that the club is a "stand alone' part of Akeron business group and go talk to the boss of PAFC.

He will remind everyone he only bailed out Argyle as a favour, and how he told everyone at the time the club would have to live within its own means.

He personally does not have the time as he will be busy developing the 'property' perk he received in the deal while buying the club.



'Good football governance'.

Does anyone really believe the Pasoti Trust spin that Brent has become a sensational, overnight and "instant" fan?

I find the whole sitting in the Devonport scarf wearing thing hilarious but jeez, we must have the most gullible fans in the country!

Whilst it's good that Brent has saved the club, you would have to be very, very daft indeed to think he's been somehow overwhelmed by Jannerosity that he's gone from a non football fan to an Argyle football fan over a 90 minute period of the worst football in the FL.

Reality is, Brent's here for the goodies, not the club, no matter what spin the pasoti trust put on it. They may convince a few avivas but I wasn't born yesterday!

But there are no 'goodies' Gob. The one asset he intends to sell back to the council thus absolving responsibility for it and keeping it out of the grubby hands of private property developer landlords. He's buying a sh1t league 2/BSP football club.

I actually take his words to be a refreshingly honest appraisal of what Argyle 2011 actually is. I'd far rather an owner who understood and accepted that than ones who begged, borrowed and stole in the pursuit of the pretence we were something better.

He'll be judged by his actions not his words so let's get him over the line and see what he does and who he appoints.

125+1 wrote:

But surely an Argyle in the lower league's without debt ran in a proper manner, is better than the previous gamble which led us to where we are now.

Freathy seems to still be dreaming of this billionaire turning up at home park, it isnt gonna happen get real.

A football club is a business and should be ran like one at all times, yes player investment is key, and the crowds do rise when teams are performing, but as many teams in the past have proven especially Argyle you dont need an awful lot of investment to start climbing the league's, with the right manager and shrewd free transfers you can be up there.

It is key Argyle stay in the league, im sure whoever is in charge will be able to add to the squad, which is key, and hopefully in january it wont be to late to add players that could make a differance to our safety.

IF and thats a big IF we stay up, next pre-season will be key, as it will be the first pre-season in 2yrs that Argyle can start on a level footing where the manager can bring in targets in a resonable time rather than chasing scraps and leftovers.

As for the sale completion, it was stated the aim was 10th October but that might be unrealistic, so end of october is achievable as long as no creditors put a hold on things.

We're all dreaming of that FFS.

Sigh! Again, all I want is someone with an interest in the football side and prepared to invest at least some cash to help realise the full
potential of this club. Brent isn't that person. Other clubs manage it, what's wrong with Argyle? But with your beloved 'organic growth' model eventually we always hit our glass ceiling, better players are sold off and down we plummet and the whole long cycle begins again. I find it intensly irritating that so many Argyle fans actually believe the Championship is our Premiership and we must only visit once every twenty years and we must NEVER go any higher.

I agree with Ricks ... the buyer is going to be very hands off and that can't be good for any business. That's why he would love Ridsdale to take the job ... it's what Ridsdale has always done ... a 100% front man for the money men ... but it comes at a price Brent doesn't want to pay it seems. I think he might relent though.

I would be amazed if anyone really thinks he's going to take an interest in the football, outside of the usual Pasoti Trust suspects ..... he's already come up with an idea to absent himself from the school register and the bad vibes that Gardner, Kagami and co. deservedly got with their continued absence.... the directors' box will be 'for the fans'.
I laughed at that one... I guess the alibi will be he's behind smoked glass every week talking shop.

X Isle wrote:

But there are no 'goodies' Gob. The one asset he intends to sell back to the council thus absolving responsibility for it and keeping it out of the grubby hands of private property developer landlords. He's buying a sh1t league 2/BSP football club.

I actually take his words to be a refreshingly honest appraisal of what Argyle 2011 actually is. I'd far rather an owner who understood and accepted that than ones who begged, borrowed and stole in the pursuit of the pretence we were something better.

He'll be judged by his actions not his words so let's get him over the line and see what he does and who he appoints.

I think that it may be wise to see what the deal with the council actually entails, if and when the ground is sold back to them, before judging what Mr Brent may or may not get out of this.

125+1 wrote:

penzancepirate wrote:

Brent was always my favourite out of the protagonists but I am very, very disappointed with those comments. As I thought, seems like Ridsdale will be staying longer if he can negotiate a bigger pay packet and/or nothing better crops up in the meantime. The 3 month thing could be a right old ruse. I'm just praying he thinks the South West is a backwater and doesn't fancy L2 football at this stage in his life, because Brent seems convinced he's the man for the job.

Last season's team was eventually the worst I've seen at Argyle since the dark days of Kemp. This guy really is football naive by the sound of things, and is listening to the wrong voices aleady ... and probably far too many... it's amazing how many people are impressed with tippy tappy at the back thet goes nowhere.

No investment whatsoever, just like the NWO. I suspect there will be attempts, probably through the Trust, at getting vulnerable fan investment .... just like the NWO.

As always the best hope of success is to hit lucky with a new manager, and a surprise of a find on the pitch. There will be no direct attempt to force success and there will not be the money put about that got us the likes of Littlejohn under Warnock and McCauley.

NO WORDS ON HOW LONG THIS SALE IS GOING TO TAKE ... that's not good either.

But surely an Argyle in the lower league's without debt ran in a proper manner, is better than the previous gamble which led us to where we are now.

Freathy seems to still be dreaming of this billionaire turning up at home park, it isnt gonna happen get real.

A football club is a business and should be ran like one at all times, yes player investment is key, and the crowds do rise when teams are performing, but as many teams in the past have proven especially Argyle you dont need an awful lot of investment to start climbing the league's, with the right manager and shrewd free transfers you can be up there.

It is key Argyle stay in the league, im sure whoever is in charge will be able to add to the squad, which is key, and hopefully in january it wont be to late to add players that could make a differance to our safety.

IF and thats a big IF we stay up, next pre-season will be key, as it will be the first pre-season in 2yrs that Argyle can start on a level footing where the manager can bring in targets in a resonable time rather than chasing scraps and leftovers.

As for the sale completion, it was stated the aim was 10th October but that might be unrealistic, so end of october is achievable as long as no creditors put a hold on things.

What gamble was that?

"The advice i have also received is that,without huge additional investment,the club can trade up to CCC/League 1 level but that without big investment,it is not a premiership club.If someone wants to make that investment to take the club into the premiership,it will be our successor,rather than us.When we decide to hand over tha baton of ownership,we will try to make sure that it is to someone who shares the same values as us but hopefully even richer and more passionate about football"
................................................................................................................................................................................................................
This is the key statement for me.
The reason I , and others, upset the Aviva boys on the Farm. The main reason for all the grief between some of us and the Farm controllers.
Peter Jones said the same after Holloway's departure.

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What I would like to see to ensure the club is properly marketed for investment if and when we get back to Championship level, is 'ownership' in the hands of a Trust whose committee also recognise the limitations of the 'organic model', for a club that has never established a fanbase at top flight level.

This club of ours, will rise again. It is what happens then that is vital.

Greenskin wrote:

X Isle wrote:

But there are no 'goodies' Gob. The one asset he intends to sell back to the council thus absolving responsibility for it and keeping it out of the grubby hands of private property developer landlords. He's buying a sh1t league 2/BSP football club.

I actually take his words to be a refreshingly honest appraisal of what Argyle 2011 actually is. I'd far rather an owner who understood and accepted that than ones who begged, borrowed and stole in the pursuit of the pretence we were something better.

He'll be judged by his actions not his words so let's get him over the line and see what he does and who he appoints.

I think that it may be wise to see what the deal with the council actually entails, if and when the ground is sold back to them, before judging what Mr Brent may or may not get out of this.

Indeed, which is why it's just as wrong to castigate and suggest he's in it for personal profit as it is to defend him. We'll have to wait and see but right here, right now, we have to make a judgement call if this man represents the best available option to go forward. And I have firmly nailed my colours to his mast on that basis. How it turns out in the long term remains to be seen but that won't make supporting him at THIS point in time wrong.

Agreed Smiffy. He seems to be the only show in town right now and has clearly been talking to PJ about the football side.
Might be pie in the sky re Trust ownership/ representation but when Ridsdale almost got it for a quid, one can but dream.
I believe there are clubs, including Delia's mob, who our avivas were laughing at, not so long ago, whose fans have some shares and representation on the board.

X Isle wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

X Isle wrote:

But there are no 'goodies' Gob. The one asset he intends to sell back to the council thus absolving responsibility for it and keeping it out of the grubby hands of private property developer landlords. He's buying a sh1t league 2/BSP football club.

I actually take his words to be a refreshingly honest appraisal of what Argyle 2011 actually is. I'd far rather an owner who understood and accepted that than ones who begged, borrowed and stole in the pursuit of the pretence we were something better.

He'll be judged by his actions not his words so let's get him over the line and see what he does and who he appoints.

I think that it may be wise to see what the deal with the council actually entails, if and when the ground is sold back to them, before judging what Mr Brent may or may not get out of this.

Indeed, which is why it's just as wrong to castigate and suggest he's in it for personal profit as it is to defend him. We'll have to wait and see but right here, right now, we have to make a judgement call if this man represents the best available option to go forward. And I have firmly nailed my colours to his mast on that basis. How it turns out in the long term remains to be seen but that won't make supporting him at THIS point in time wrong.

I'm not castigating Brent, Smiffy, far from it, I strongly believe he was the best option. What I cannot understand though are those (and Brent himself) that are painting him as not only a football fan but an Argyle fan when he has been very clear about his views of football and his lack of interest. On the basis that he isn't an Argyle fan or indeed a football fan, a rational conclusion would be that his interest must be financial. However, neither do I object to that, beggars can't be choosers after all and in case anyone hasn't noticed, we are in a debt position.

I hope he drops the scarf and the pretence along with whoever advised him, it comes over as insincere and people that are insincere are generally not trusted, rightly so. If he continues to "play the part" of a fan (i.e Stapleton), then I will be expecting more then just a passing interest in the club whilst on his way to expanding his bank balance by way of substantial investment in the club.

Saying that Kagami got castigated for only visiting Plymouth once and never watching Argyle. I'd say its entirely feasible that he has decided to 'muck in' and make the best of situation he is in, I do think he is doing this because he believes in Plymouth and the part that its football club has to play in it, to lose an airport and its professional football club would be devastiting for the cities prestige.

My attitude is that the Macclesfield game is effectively year Zero and that everything that has gone before since 2008 should be put to one side, Brent starts with a blank sheet of paper and hopefully we'll see things improve from here.

It is worth pointing out that Sir Alan Sugar made himself very unpopular with Spurs fans for trying to run the club as he would one of his businesses, so it'll be interesting to see how involved he gets from here.

He has already stated the way it will be. Hopefully he is true to his words and with PJ onboard he probably will.
I would guess that once stabilised and it will take far longer if we're relegated this season, the club will eventually get on a roll again and return to DIV 1/ Championship.
It is then that the Brent/Jones pairing will seek out investment. My guess is that it might even come sooner.
I just pray that Brent does not get greedy but then he is a very wealthy man already and probably has more class and sophistication than the last shower of local legends.

GOB wrote:

I'm not castigating Brent, Smiffy, far from it, I strongly believe he was the best option. What I cannot understand though are those (and Brent himself) that are painting him as not only a football fan but an Argyle fan when he has been very clear about his views of football and his lack of interest. On the basis that he isn't an Argyle fan or indeed a football fan, a rational conclusion would be that his interest must be financial. However, neither do I object to that, beggars can't be choosers after all and in case anyone hasn't noticed, we are in a debt position.

I hope he drops the scarf and the pretence along with whoever advised him, it comes over as insincere and people that are insincere are generally not trusted, rightly so. If he continues to "play the part" of a fan (i.e Stapleton), then I will be expecting more then just a passing interest in the club whilst on his way to expanding his bank balance by way of substantial investment in the club.

Fairy snuff but he's 'in it' for neither financial reasons OR footballing ones.

On finance I say that with the caviat that of course he's not in it to LOSE money either, he didn't get where he is today Reggie and all that.

On football what we saw on Saturday was better IMHO that the new signing holding up a scarf for the press, they're just an employee, they obviously don't really give a sh1t about Argyle beyond their contractual obligations. I'm told he was very much clueless to the football side of things back in the first flush of the process but that with involvement came interest, with every game came an awakening. Now i'm not saying he's now a diehard, far from it i'm sure, but he does give a sh1t now. I don't think it was fake with a badge kissing player, he genuinely enjoyed himself and 'gets' it. And that's important in a way because if you're in business it's better to be passionate about the product.

His actual expressed motivations were/are two-fold.

Firstly he's a proud westcountryman and wants strong westcountry brands to do well, to that end he wanted to retain a professional football team on the peninsula, especially one so relatively high profile as we are. Secondly he watched the plight of the staff and genuinely admired the way they conducted themselves, going on from that the way the fanbase continued to be positive too.

Those two reasons are his motivation, not football or personal profit. It's why he wasn't prepared to pay for exclusivity, for the sake of a) the brand and b) the staff/fans he just wanted us to survive and 'be there'. To me his only error in the process was not to explain that to people better, he got branded with the 'reluctant' tag when in truth his standpoint was noble and pretty much selfless. He just wanted us to carry on and if someone else could achieve that he wouldn't stand in their way, but ultimately he wouldn't let us die.

We've seen those motivations acted upon so it seems they're genuine. Regarding the continuence of PAFC he's stepped in to make the backstop catch as he said he would. Regarding the staff and fans Fletch admitted on TV that he's met them face to face and has already communicated more in a few days than the others did in the last few months, he certainly communicated his intentions far more openly and honestly to the fans than the othetr mob did. He's making good on his stated motivations therefore.

I'm sure he knows full well that Argyle won't be the financial jewel in his portfolio but if he brings his brand of good governance and prudence to bear we'll stabilise and eventually be able to grow. If he's good to his word we'll see the ground protected by public ownership again and we'll see an Argyle able to stand on it's own two feet. If he's not good to his word and starts private development plans and/or running Argyle to generate personal income as we'd have got with AFC Heaney/Ridsdale then i'll be the first to say we were duped. I don't believe that'll happen though.

We’ll have to differ on this one Smiffy, I really don’t buy into “the proud Wesntcountryman” thing one teeny bit, if so there’s been a hundred and one things he could have invested in if it really was about being a “local”. Dan, Stapes…both local Westcountrymen?

I won’t be pulled by that one and neither do I think there’s a miracle conversion going on in the same fashion that Jacko suddenly found room in his heart for an unheard of football club 40 miles up the A38, it’s poppy-cot fed to the weaker minded amongst us.

Be a realist Smiffy or risk developing a clouded judgement. This is not Roy of the Rovers football fantasyland, it’s real estate and business.