Rigg, Symons and MacKintosh speak

[Toby Ward-Smith]

Manager Kit Symons, Chief Football Officer Mike Rigg and Chief Executive Alistair Mackintosh give an insight into their roles in taking Fulham FC forward.

http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2015/may/27/moving-forwards

[westcliff white]

Ali Mac looks very interested in what Rigg said at the start of this piece, and also says nothing has really change din his role, so I ask is he still negotiating and not Rigg? interesting times ahead, but maybe more questions than answers from the first 2 and a half minutes of the video.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

Ali Mac looks very interested in what Rigg said at the start of this piece, and also says nothing has really change din his role, so I ask is he still negotiating and not Rigg? interesting times ahead, but maybe more questions than answers from the first 2 and a half minutes of the video.

Why the concern over Mackintosh still negotiating? I am sure that Kit and Rigg will agree the targets and set the parameters such as maximum fee, wages and length of contract and then Mackintosh will work on the fine detail with the agent and player within that.

For as far as we can tell he is good at closing these deals and has got in players like Berbatov and Ruiz, some in competitive situations.

[westcliff white]

No concern, I was confused. I have misunderstood Riggs role, I thought he was bought in for those aspects but it appears he hasn't been and will work with Kit on Identifying and bringing them in for Ali Mac to conclude.

overall thought it was a good piece, facial expressions say things sometimes and they all seemed to be paying attention to everything the others said.

[..FOF..]

Maybe Ali Mac will be doing the initial negotiation and Rigg will do the closing.

It makes sense because things at start is usually full of time wasting activities.

[Ordar]

I actually thought Sarah asked alot of good questions. It was more aggressive than her normal interview style.

Good news about the stand, looks like thats pretty much going ahead now. I was slightly disappointed that they didn't share my urgency with getting promotion. Rigg seemed to come across as a bit annoyed (not sure if I interpreted his body language incorrectly). Good to hear that the owner is fully engaged. Hopefully that will put to bed the feeling by some that he isnt interested.

Very interesting comments on Ruiz aswell. Everyone acknowledging that he doesnt want to be here. It will be interesting to see if we can get a buyer.

[alexbishop]

Don't think we learnt much from this to be honest. Kit looks a bit scared sat there. When asked whether he had any reassurance for the fans who weren't happy with him sticking around he didn't really say anything to make me think - yea the club were right to stick with this guy

[cmg]

Obviously these things are stage-managed to some extent, but I thought this was an enormously informative piece.

Sarah asked some quite searching and pertinent questions, even one about a specific player's situation, and, despite some management-speak, elicited some fairly direct replies. There was certainly positive news about the stand development and the owner's involvement.

Rigg did a lot of talking and comes over as a major player.

[alexbishop]

Obviously these things are stage-managed to some extent, but I thought this was an enormously informative piece.

Sarah asked some quite searching and pertinent questions, even one about a specific player's situation, and, despite some management-speak, elicited some fairly direct replies. There was certainly positive news about the stand development and the owner's involvement.

Rigg did a lot of talking and comes over as a major player.

What came out of that that we didn't really know before?

[ToodlesMcToot]

Finally!!!! This is EXACTLY the kind of thing that has been needed from the football club.....some communication about roles, strategies, visions, ongoing work, etc. I have believed that the root of much of the consternation from the supporters has been due to a lack of understanding of how the club works now under new ownership and how that new ownership/management are working to make the club "sustainable" but also more successful.

For me, even though most of what was said was what one would expect to hear, it was important to hear it from these specific individuals.

It's come as a relief to me and has me feeling far more positive about the intent of the club - short and long term.

Does it make me entirely comfortable in the notion that were going to find an additional 30-35 points that we'll need next season to be in the promotion reckoning? No. But, I do feel a little better about those prospects.

I hope now that the small "Khan out" contingent that still exists, at least on this board, will feel a bit more comfortable with his ownership, that he is committed to not only FFC but also to maintaining and improving The Cottage as well as the entire football ground experience.

Excellent effort from Sarah and the communications team at the club. Just what was needed in this lull between the end of a terrible season and the beginning of the transfer season.

[Craven Mad]

Summary for those at work:

Official confirmation of Kit's place as manager for the meantime.

Rigg in charge of transfers, Ali Mac now just the finance-man for final signoff of player deals.

This year's target is top 6.

The club's ambition is to synchronise the footballing and business strategies of the club. Rigg is (basically) in charge of football off-pitch; Kit, on-pitch football; Ali Mac, business.

Stadium plan is still moving forward and will be completed regardless of whether or not we're in the Premiership. We now own a chunk of the Thames to build onto.

We have money to buy players, but Rigg won't be overspending and wants to be careful about the sorts of players we bring in, so will discuss with Kit who he thinks we should bring in, for Kit to confirm.

Some players were brought out of the academy to the first team too quickly, but the academy is seen vital to our future and our youth players will have more carefully strategised initiations into the first team, when they're ready.

Kit acknowledges the criticism of him from last season and vows to make amends and prove that he can be the one to front the chairman's vision of the club.

Ali Mac subtly sticks knife into Al Fayed for not investing for a while, suggesting Khan will bring new investment and is just at the beginning of his tenure (quite a lot of brown-nosing the new owner from Ali Mac, actually).

Khan visits Motspur regularly and is completely engaged in the club.

EDIT: oh, and for those wondering, we're keeping Kit because the club needs some stability after a tough few years, morale amongst players and staff is high and - despite a disappointing season - Kit managed to keep us up, which was good enough (considering where the club was when he started).

[ToodlesMcToot]

Don't think we learnt much from this to be honest. Kit looks a bit scared sat there. When asked whether he had any reassurance for the fans who weren't happy with him sticking around he didn't really say anything to make me think - yea the club were right to stick with this guy

I had the same feeling. And, from Sarah's questioning around his tenure, it certainly seemed that his continued involvement as manager was anything but secure until very recently.

[phil_magnus]

All 4 come across well. Brookes asks probing questions for the most part. Rigg spoke well as did Mac.

The Ruiz question was a bit redundant. I would have liked to have seen a question regarding if Kit is getting some experience into help him ie Burton. Also would have liked if Jennings was there to find out what is happening in relation to u21's and u18's.

[Kentish Gent]

First, well done to Sarah and the comms team for getting the three key figures (Khan apart) to sit down and answer questions.

My take on it is as follows......

1 Riggs is clearly a powerful addition to the team. I suspect that he is Khan's appointed custodian to ensure that what happened this season never happens again.

2 Did the three guys look relaxed together? Absolutely not, and that may or may not be a good thing.

3 Given the talk about money, my guess is that we will not be paying more than £5m tops for any new players, and it will be more like £2-3m.

4 Is there genuinely a major role for both Riggs and Ali Mac - there must be some overlap between the two, which is not business-efficient.

5 Overall, did the interview deliver a positive message? Yes- just so long as the three develop mutual respect and understanding. And, ideally, that they get to like each other!

[Jonaldiniho 88]

I wonder where curbs fits into all this. Is he still in contract? With him Rigg and kit all having input on the footballing side of things too many cooks come to mind.

[Southcoastffc]

Although I have not yet had time to watch this interview (and the Jim and Sean video) I don't remember similar end of season videos/interviews in previous years so well done indeed to the club as a whole for producing them.  Indicative of the realisation of the need to get/keep fans onside. 

[Wearethewhites]

[Lighthouse]

Not sure what more they could have said. Seems everything is as it should be and the short and long term plans are going ahead. Our owner is said to be here for the long haul and we have a management team that reflects that.

Seems that the philosophy makes sense.

[MJG]

Thank god for all that, bow tie  don't not have to answer a load of questions :-)

Good stuff by the club

[ToodlesMcToot]

Thank god for all that, bow tie  don't not have to answer a load of questions :-)

Good stuff by the club

I've often asked/wished that the club would be more communicative and argued that club PR would be well-served by it, especially where supporter relations are concerned.

You've asked me what I'd like that communication to be like and I've feebly tried to put it into words.

This is about it. No giving away of "trade secrets" but, expressing what it is the club are aiming for, describing roles and responsibilities, giving away a few nibbles of info that few were aware of (possible Hammersmith reno, purchase of Thames property), and clarifying misconceptions. Breath of fresh air for me and buoyed my confidence a bit for the transfer window and coming season.