Let me tale you a tale.
There once was a jeweller by the name of Gerald Ratner. Gerald had not one jewellery shop but lots. He rewrote the rulebook for jewellery retail. He piled ’em high and he sold ’em cheap. His shops had big gawdy posters in their windows and he employed his East End market stall techniques on the High Streets of Britain, boldly offering cut price schmutter.
One day in 1991, Gerald woke up, went to work as usual and then toddled off to make a speech at the Institute of Directors. Unfortunately that was the very day Gerald – a pioneering and successful businessman – lost his ******* mind.
He stood before his peers and revealed that his jewellery was “total crap!” He went on say that that some of the earrings his shops sold were “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long!”.
By the time Gerald got home, he discovered that single handed he had wiped £500M off the value of his company.
And so to ‘IdiotGate’.
It beggars belief that Redschnapps has done a Ratner. It is stunningly obtuse for him to question his customers’ right of reply. He’s paid handsomely for managing a football club who’s fan’s constantly want more. He lives in unmitigated luxury doing a job that many dream of doing.
He swans about in top of the range motors and hand finished suits watching his mobile phone bleep while there are people in the NHS caring for incontinent pensioners in exchange annually for what he earns in a week.
It’s bewilderingly arrogant of him to call those that dare to call a radio station to voice their dissatisfaction, ‘idiots’.
I’ve made no secret about how I feel. I think on balance he’s done a good job. But his comments aren’t welcomed by anyone. Not by his supporters nor by his detractors.
Dead man squawking.
You spout some shite recentenly.
Dear Mr Levy reader. You can spot a cunt.
Wow, what a day! It’s not often you get to witness two events that are rarer than a solar eclipse.
A Spurs win at Anfield and a good article from Harry Hotspur!
Who’s missing the point? Lets not just look at raw numbers – let’s also look at the wider picture. In December we were traveling well – third was a possibility. This was of course, during the CL break – fewer games. Then comes January. What happened. Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool feel threatened by us so out comes the cash – far more than we can afford – they got the strikers on offer, we got outgunned. Been downhill in the league ever since.
Those who trumpet Jol – same problem. We scare the pants of Arsenal and the big 4 go out and spend. What happened to us?
How many of those poor results came straight after a CL game?
Until we get either a backer with oil wells in his garden, or a 65,000 seater then seasons like this and the last must be seen as a great achievement.
some people need a reality check
For what it’s worth, I think this is one of two best blogs around. The other being “Dear Mr Levy”.
What I particularly like about this one, is that most times, it challenges you to think. So what do I think? I think HH is spot on.
He has not forgotten the dire state that we were in when HR came along. He has not like a lot of people, diverted any credit that was due to HR, to DL, MJ, Ramos or Comolli, and attributed all the ills to HR. He also hasn’t fawned over him like he was a Messiah.
My appraisal of this is that HH has been pretty balanced in what he has written about HR.
He then goes on to raise the point that HR has recently called fans who have criticised him, “idiots” and will frequently refer to the good he has done at Spurs, while ignoring some more recent highly unimpressive stats. It leaves an impression that what HR is saying, is “When everything goes right, I am due the credit, but there is always somebody else to blame if anything goes wrong, and if you think any differently, you are an idiot”.
I might have paraphrased a bit there, but I think the Gerald Ratner story is a perfect way of showing what happens when people tell their customers that they are idiots.
I think that there are a lot of idiotic statements that are made about HR, but I also recognise that the idiots occasionally get it right. On the other hand, there are people like HH who occasionally question the wisdom of HR’s actions and might now and again be critical. Somehow, I don’t see how that makes him an idiot, and I do see why he might be offended on both his own behalf and on behalf of those others that when they are called idiots.
Shunda, I was mocking Key, not agreeing with him. And might you let us know which press release has got you riled?