Who is more responsible.. Slav or Tony Khan?

[Woolly Mammoth]

Neither really. Last season we had to recruit 6loan players due to FFP restrictions. On 1st July we had only 13 senior players. We were involved in the Playoffs so didn´t know what division we would be in. When we gained promotion we were 2 weeks behind other teams in recruitment. We had to then replace the loan players & strengthen the squad in a hurry. The blame falls on the FFP restrictions which in practice hit most clubs except the big money clubs who seem to be able to manipulate their finances.

One point Grandad. I sat at the FST meeting prior to the playoff final at which the club's MD assserted unequivocally that he had two clear recruitment strategies depending on whether we won or lost. So that cannot be used as any sort of excuse for our late transfer dealings.

Agree Twig 100% no excuses whatsoever, incompetence, inefficiency and negligence are just three words in a Dictionary owned by the Chairmans son.

[Woolly Mammoth]

Personally I think we should be moving on from the blame game. I am very sad to see SJ leave but it has happened. Time to move on.

Maybe, but I think Slavisa might disagree.
Anyway it's good to debate, as it's a quite an issue in the grand scheme of things, and as the next match is still about ten days away, it's all food for thought, especially as the main culprit in all this still has his job, and that is the biggest concern.

[Milo]

I've made the "equally responsible" and allowed people to change their vote.

This will encompass those who feel neither are to blame.

Hope this helps?o

A positive move to try and help the debate Milo and thank you

For the man who made the final decision though ,to have ever used this option in his thinking, would have had to have adopted Slav and made him a member of the family

Well exactly..!

[SuffolkWhite]

All Football Clubs are a Dictatorship and Chairman will do as they please, they may listen a bit to what fans have to say but ultimately they can do what they like. Look at Newcastle for example, we are nowhere near that situation at Fulham.

I will miss Slav to but we are where we are. If Ranner's starts to have problems with recruitment then we know who the culprits are, but if things work out and we stay up and then progress next season all this will be water under the bridge.

Didn't vote but good topic.

[David I]

Agree with Lighthouse that 'blame' is far too emotive a word where analysis of the faults of both the Club structure and the faulty (nobody is without them) human holders of every one of the posts concerned.  However, if you want to eliminate problems you first have to identify all of them and for me it is Tony Khan holding a position he is not fit for (he has no football brain, and only the beginnings of a football fan's brain).  If he had a senior football brain then the problem would be diminished   unless his father became embroiled, as in 'family matters' (which is what I believe Jokanovic's sacking was all about).  Did Jokanovic make mistakes?  Yes.  Did they, at times, cost FFC results?  Yes.  Were they sackable offences?  No.  Did Khan Snr make mistakes?  Yes.  Did they, at times, cost FFC results?  Yes.  Were they sackable offences?  Yes, (If he hadn't been owner since failed nepotism is outrageous and irresponsible).  Did Khan Jnr make mistakes?  Yes.  Did they, at times, cost FFC results.  Yes.  Were they sackable offences?  Yes (he inflated his worth to the football club and has been found out). 

Jokanovic is gone and nothing is ever going to change that and it still hurts me to believe FFC actually did such a stupid thing.

Couldn't agree more... and probably one of the reasons there are no Khan chants on matchdays.
You can still hear "take me home" and "al fayed wants to be Brit" years on....

[toshes mate]

All Football Clubs are a Dictatorship and Chairman will do as they please, they may listen a bit to what fans have to say but ultimately they can do what they like. Look at Newcastle for example, we are nowhere near that situation at Fulham.

I will miss Slav to but we are where we are. If Ranner's starts to have problems with recruitment then we know who the culprits are, but if things work out and we stay up and then progress next season all this will be water under the bridge.

Didn't vote but good topic.

Agree with you on every point. 

The autocracy of a football club is vital to its survival on a financial level but, if abused, can spell disaster in many different ways all upon its ownsome.   You have to look at how many (if not most) football clubs retain older heroes in their domains, not just as figureheads, but also to preserve the finer traditions of old.  They help to temper any owner's regime and give encouragement to supporters that potentially 'bad' moves will be managed and, if necessary, avoided.  Sadly, nepotism at the top of a football club is much harder to temper and assuage.  And so while people may tell us that Shahid Khan as owner is good for us, we may counter that claim by asking them to explain the relevance of having his son in such a prime position in the hierarchy of FFC.  Both father and son have to make that situation happen between them and they are either both to blame or they are completely blameless about anything that happens at Craven Cottage or Motspur Park.

We are powerless to change FFC but at least we can show our dissatisfaction with anything we are dissatisfied with.  If FST asked about Jokanovic's situation immediatly prior to his sacking and were mislead by the reply what does that say to you?   You shouldn't be at all happy with what it says to you.   

[NewYorkYank]

It was malpractice to spend 100 million pounds and not replace either Fredericks or Targett.  Particularly in light of the aggressive style that Jokanovic liked to play which places so much responsibility on the fullbacks.  Particularly in light of the fact that Fulham did not hit its full stride last year until Sessignon was pushed up to the wing.  Why pay 5 million pounds for a goaltender who is now third string instead of using that money for Premier quality fullbacks; at least part of that money could have been used to bridge the gap for Targett, who was as important an addition last year as Mitrovic.  At the beginning of this season, before it all came apart, Fulham was not losing the midfield.  The team was consistently beaten down the flanks, particularly against Everton and Arsenal.

Say what you want about Schurlle, he is not a downgrade from Piazon or Ayite.  Say what you want about Seri, but he is not a downgrade from Johansen (as much as I love him).  But Christie, Fosu-Mensah, and Bryan are all serious downgrades, and playing Sessignon at left back instead of wing weakens the team going forward.  Jokanovic never had a chance.

[AnOldBrownie]

Too many new signings.   Key signings with no EPL experience.

Now we won't have tic tac football anymore.


Not impressed with Tony so far.

I understand all the above thoughts above on this topic. But if it works out for Ranieri and he gets the team playing and results are better, then the Khans would be proved right to change Manager.

Going to be interesting how results go now.

Agree 100%.

Slav was given a raw deal though...so we'll see if it was for the betterment of the organization.

[SuffolkWhite]

I understand all the above thoughts above on this topic. But if it works out for Ranieri and he gets the team playing and results are better, then the Khans would be proved right to change Manager.

Going to be interesting how results go now.

[Statto]

if it works out for Ranieri and he gets the team playing and results are better, then the Khans would be proved right to change Manager

You are assuming Jokanovic wouldn't have got the team playing and better results given more time?
If the problem is, as I and others believe, that too many players were signed too late and needed time to adapt, then whoever is manager, we could have expected an improvement over the next few months.

[SuffolkWhite]

Not sure Statto, really don't know if Slav's tactics would have sorted the issues with the team out. And whether some of the players were going to give there all for him.

I would have liked him to have succeeded tbh, but we are where we are and the team under Ranieri still has a lot to prove and may still fail more worryingly.

[WindyCity]

Lots of discussion on the forum and in the press about whether Khan's recruitment is more to blame than Slavisa's management.

I realise it is multi factorial so many may be scratching their heads looking for a "combination of the two" option. However I would like to know who you think is MORE responsible.

Some thoughts to consider:

1. Slavisa's chop and change policy and not finding a settled team after 12 games. Was this because of recruitment, or could Slav have done better?
2. Khan not signing Premiership full backs that were so important to our shape.
3. When Stuart Gray left our defence got considerably worse. Was this related, and who should shoulder the blame for letting him go?
4. The morale and fight of the team was really lacking prior to the Liverpool game. Is this not a management issue?
5. As a forum, we were largely happy with recruitment going into the new season albeit with reservations around how late signings were made, certain positions not covered etc.

I may be in the minority here, but I can't help but believe that SJ would have been consulted and had a hand in some of the decision making during this process (recruitment).  Secondly, there was a tremendous amount of happy talk on this forum with every new acquisition made during those last days and minutes.  I think SJ is simply taking his lumps right now for an ineffective showing to the start of this campaign, no different than any other coach is vulnerable to.  I think most FFC fans, myself included, had hoped SJ could navigate the prem and take this team forward, and we all wish him well, but I do think the change was needed and warranted.

[YankeeJim]

One can argue that not getting the right players in a timely manner is the fault of Khan but we don't know what Slava asked for or what was available and when or what the other members of staff recommended. One can also argue that Slava was too hard headed in refusing to change tactics. FFC is not a Manu that can buy whatever players wanted by Sir Alex. Its a lot easier to win matches when you can have whatever players you want. A good manager gets the best out of what he has. Slava did that last year but somehow failed this year. Had he made some attempt to adapt to the situation then I'd blame Khan but he didn't seem to.

[Lighthouse]

But as the same thing happened last season and we eventually got promoted. Then the debate will always be drawn between the promotion was won despite the awful players brought in or some other view. You will never ever make those who are against the transfer system believe otherwise.

[davew]

I think we should add the players as 1 of the choices of whom to blame, that would get my vote!

[toshes mate]

Those who argue that Jokanovic was involved in transfers are suggesting he lied and yet the only evidence of deceit is in the manner of his dismissal and the fact the Khans did their level best to hide it from (most all of) us and from the FST.   Jokanovic's final statement is that of a true professional something some others at FFC are most clearly not, and he maintains he would have turned it around.  "Well he would say that wouldn't he?", I hear you say, and you would be perfectly justified in doing so except for the fact he pulled the Club around twice in successive seasons, and that gives him the right to make the same claim for this season.

[Milo]

I think we should add the players as 1 of the choices of whom to blame, that would get my vote!

Ah! But.. in the context of this question ie Slav or TK... who is responsible for the players' attitude?

Is it Khan's fault for bringing in players who won't fight for the team?

Or is it Jokanovic's for not being able to motivate them now they're here?

Or are both equally responsible/not responsible at all?

Still a place in the poll for all perspectives!

[davew]

I think we should add the players as 1 of the choices of whom to blame, that would get my vote!

Ah! But.. in the context of this question ie Slav or TK... who is responsible for the players' attitude?

Is it Khan's fault for bringing in players who won't fight for the team?

Or is it Jokanovic's for not being able to motivate them now they're here?

Or are both equally responsible/not responsible at all?

Still a place in the poll for all perspectives!

Agreed, it is a bit like the team selections too many permutations, that part is down to SJ!!

[KJS]

I think its time to move on  049:gif

[I Ronic]

I think this is going to drag on and on. Much like when Slavisa replaced Kit.  No amount of "time to move on" is going to stop these threads.