The **** from the assembly members is encouraging. I entirely understand the cynicism around his role as consultant or as he puts it an observer. In his position I'd take the opportunity of a clean slate so I will let him have it. His watch starts now. The decisions he takes are now are what counts his legacy hinges on how those decisions turn out
Let's be clear his brief from the owners is simple get this club sold and sold for a price as close as possible to the one we paid for it. We should always remember this his prime purpose is not building long term it is about the short term. Hence the emphasis on the need to get back in the Premier League.
Let us judge what he does in that light. His firing of Ismael and hiring of Bruce is entirely rational in the short term. Ismael had obviously lost the dressing room and the fans. While having a drag out fight with the dressing room might be beneficial long term and might have worked with a manager who was popular with the fans it wasn't sustainable under Ismael. More importantly it wrote off whatever chance we had for a promotion which might have been okay had we been miles off the pace but not when we are in the top 6 with more nearly two thirds of the season gone.
So he needed a manager and quick. He turned to Bruce. Personally I would have gone there. Yet looking at the practicalities from the short term perspective where we are rather than where I'd like to be it has a certain logic sitting in Ron Gourlay's shoes what am I going to do?
Hire someone who is available who knows the league and has a track record of promotions. The fact that I know them would also help a lot. If that is person is interested am I going to open up the search given that I need someone now and can get them without committing to a 4 year full fat contract? Probably not.
With regard to the DoF and potential board appointments it is wait and see. For me the appointment of a DoF is a bit of a touchstone. If you are serious about running the club on a reasonably smart basis appointing a DoF is a first step does not mean that you will be smart but it's a start. Yet in the short term giving the keys to Bruce keeps things simple and if he succeeds in the short Gouraly probably does not to worry over much about being smart as long as he can tart the the club and sell it on.
On that basis I will be interested to see who gets appointed to the board that will tell us a great deal about the direction of travel . I suspect the expertise they will bring will be around finding new owners rather than an in depth knowledge of the rising stars of South American football.
I'd compare it to selling a run down property...................
You can sell it as it is for a cheap price & give the new owners a chance to put their signature on it, or you spend some time to modernise it & get a premium price.
IMO, nobody is going to give GL £170 million for WBA in it's current state, even with a couple of sticking plasters on, but they might if it were modernised.
I do agree about the new directors though, RG's comments about how football is run today suggests it's more to do with income streams, rather than the football itself.