This is an excellent appointment. He maybe ruthless, arrogant and at times very opinionated but these are traits that create success. Clearly he has a successful business and was highly instrumental in us getting into a much better financial position. Also works well with Ainsworth. Could be interesting the battle of the egos. Look forward to seeing the outcomes .
@JohnnyAllAlone said: @eric_plant my understanding is that Mark Palmer is an agent who was brought in to find the Couhigs a club to invest in. He had done the deal so it was time to move on.
If you listened to RC’ interview with PC on Ringing the Blues he said him and MP had disagreed on how to do things. So quite simply he just let him go.
RC and AH both strike me as ‘alpha boardroom’ dynamic when going in the same direction
destructive should there be contrasting opinions
Pete C sure is going to have some interesting times in and amongst that.
I'm on record here as saying I dont like AH one little bit.... hes a horrible person.
Had the misfortune of having had to deal with him on a work level, and my dislike for the man knows no bounds. First major mistake from Couhigs for me.
But.... if it helps Wycombe in anyway I'll just have to accept and deal with it.
Actually made my skin crawl when I read the announcement.
@HolmerBlue said:
I'm on record here as saying I dont like AH one little bit.... hes a horrible person.
Had the misfortune of having had to deal with him on a work level, and my dislike for the man knows no bounds. First major mistake from Couhigs for me.
But.... if it helps Wycombe in anyway I'll just have to accept and deal with it.
Actually made my skin crawl when I read the announcement.
I suspect he is joining via the recommendation of either YS or Ga. more likely GA!
I can't have been concentrating last time round as I don't remember this level of vitriol towards the man. I've always seen him as the background brains behind the 5 year plan and that worked out ok
Below is exactly the message (Especially the final five words) I wanted to hear from our new owners. Whilst AH may not be Mr Cuddly with fans I imagine he has the perfect skill set for dealing with footballer’s agents and the like.
Mr Couhig explained: “I have asked Andrew Howard to join Pete Couhig, Gareth Ainsworth and Richard Dobson as they work on plans to expand the squad and widen the pool of players that are available to the club, so that it can be sustained at the highest possible level in a fiscally responsible manner.
"Persuading fans to pay a fair price for what they've mostly had on the cheap for years will take a major charm offensive."
"To be brutally honest signs that the well-meaning trust have operated the club more like a friends provident society rather than a profitable football business are there for all to see."
"50% of the people we expect will come for the fan experience, people who come a few hours before the game starts and stay a couple of hours after it finishes."
These are the three key quotes, I think. It's going to be a very different club from next season under this new structure. But try as I might, I just don't think their plans to turn Wycombe into an American-style sports entertainment day-out will ever work. People come to the football to see the football, and will only come back if the football they see is attractive on the eye (the key reason why our support has remained relatively static this season despite our position challenging for promotion). Which just means those of us too suckered in already to not be able to stop ourselves coming back will have to bear the brunt of significantly increased prices ("Rob has always said 'don't discount'.").
One other titbit, I hadn't realised Pete had left his wife and three kids behind in the States to take on Wycombe (nor did I realise he was Rob's nephew, I thought he was his son). I wonder if Andrew Howard will be expected to assume a much more hands-on role with Pete returning to his family at some point.
The lack of punctuation in that article made my brain hurt, but it's one of the most enlightening pieces on our potential future that I've read so far. I think they're already achieving small success with the 'experience' side of things - look at how heaving the Chairboys Village usually is, for example. As for the style of football supposedly keeping people away, I'd be interested to see how many potential fans in the area that applied to. Would attendances jump significantly if we played a more attractive style? I'm not convinced.
@aloysius said:
"Persuading fans to pay a fair price for what they've mostly had on the cheap for years will take a major charm offensive."
"To be brutally honest signs that the well-meaning trust have operated the club more like a friends provident society rather than a profitable football business are there for all to see."
"50% of the people we expect will come for the fan experience, people who come a few hours before the game starts and stay a couple of hours after it finishes."
These are the three key quotes, I think. It's going to be a very different club from next season under this new structure. But try as I might, I just don't think their plans to turn Wycombe into an American-style sports entertainment day-out will ever work. People come to the football to see the football, and will only come back if the football they see is attractive on the eye (the key reason why our support has remained relatively static this season despite our position challenging for promotion). Which just means those of us too suckered in already to not be able to stop ourselves coming back will have to bear the brunt of significantly increased prices ("Rob has always said 'don't discount'.").
In the interests of accuracy, can I point out that the first two ‘quotes’ are words written by the author of the article and aren’t attributed to anyone from Feliciana.The third quote does come from Rob Couhig.
"To be brutally honest signs that the well-meaning trust have operated the club more like a friends provident society rather than a profitable football business are there for all to see."
To me, that's a compliment
Pretty poor article that. That nonsense about a "fully carpeted" bar (as if having a carpet is the height of luxury for which we should pay thousands a year) was also totally disingenuous, implying that Woodlands Lounge members pay £4 per match in total, rather than an extra £4 per match for use of the bar
If the new owners could persuade substantially more fans to spend at least an hour before and after kickoff, spending money on what are clearly improved food and drink offerings, that would be a double whammy in the sense that the frustrating traffic congestion when leaving the ground would be significantly eased.
I’m sure that must be very much in the thinking.
If (and it’s a huge if) we do achieve the dream of promotion, there will be far bigger challenges of course, not least reconciling the conflict between fiscal responsibility and assembling a squad capable of surviving in the Championship.
As an octogenarian I’d be disappointed but not upset if we “did a Luton” but for the new owners and the vast majority of the fans survival at that level would be the name of the game of course.
The resumption of the partnership on the playing side between Gareth Ainsworth and Andrew Howard will be crucial, I think, and I don’t share the concerns expressed by some about potential conflict between Messrs Couhig and Howard. They are both hard-nosed, straight-talking business men with very positive “can do” attitudes and I’ve no doubt there is great mutual respect.
Comments
This is an excellent appointment. He maybe ruthless, arrogant and at times very opinionated but these are traits that create success. Clearly he has a successful business and was highly instrumental in us getting into a much better financial position. Also works well with Ainsworth. Could be interesting the battle of the egos. Look forward to seeing the outcomes .
RC and AH both strike me as ‘alpha boardroom’ dynamic when going in the same direction
destructive should there be contrasting opinions
Pete C sure is going to have some interesting times in and amongst that.
I'm on record here as saying I dont like AH one little bit.... hes a horrible person.
Had the misfortune of having had to deal with him on a work level, and my dislike for the man knows no bounds. First major mistake from Couhigs for me.
But.... if it helps Wycombe in anyway I'll just have to accept and deal with it.
Actually made my skin crawl when I read the announcement.
Never met him so cannot comment on his character, but he did alright for us last time didn't he...or am I missing something?
I suspect he is joining via the recommendation of either YS or Ga. more likely GA!
Who's YS?
Ohhh, I think they made a typo of TS.
@davecv The improved financial situation during the AH period was due to the sale of Jordan Ibe From Liverpool. It cleared the Steve Hayes Loan.
I voted for a new broom, not a reorganisation of the old furniture.
Not impressed with this announcement I'm afraid.
He knows how to drive a hard bargain and get a really great deal for Beechdean.
I know it upsets a few asking this...but what happened to that guy?
Bought the club.
Couldn't agree more Holmer Blue
I can't have been concentrating last time round as I don't remember this level of vitriol towards the man. I've always seen him as the background brains behind the 5 year plan and that worked out ok
Below is exactly the message (Especially the final five words) I wanted to hear from our new owners. Whilst AH may not be Mr Cuddly with fans I imagine he has the perfect skill set for dealing with footballer’s agents and the like.
Mr Couhig explained: “I have asked Andrew Howard to join Pete Couhig, Gareth Ainsworth and Richard Dobson as they work on plans to expand the squad and widen the pool of players that are available to the club, so that it can be sustained at the highest possible level in a fiscally responsible manner.
I am in total agreement with you there @Slaphead.
I wonder what fiscally responsible looks like in League One? 250k loss, 500k loss a season?
They want to be profitable by the end of next year.
Season ticket prices will be interesting.
@Vital That was my first thought after reading the article too.
"Persuading fans to pay a fair price for what they've mostly had on the cheap for years will take a major charm offensive."
"To be brutally honest signs that the well-meaning trust have operated the club more like a friends provident society rather than a profitable football business are there for all to see."
"50% of the people we expect will come for the fan experience, people who come a few hours before the game starts and stay a couple of hours after it finishes."
These are the three key quotes, I think. It's going to be a very different club from next season under this new structure. But try as I might, I just don't think their plans to turn Wycombe into an American-style sports entertainment day-out will ever work. People come to the football to see the football, and will only come back if the football they see is attractive on the eye (the key reason why our support has remained relatively static this season despite our position challenging for promotion). Which just means those of us too suckered in already to not be able to stop ourselves coming back will have to bear the brunt of significantly increased prices ("Rob has always said 'don't discount'.").
One other titbit, I hadn't realised Pete had left his wife and three kids behind in the States to take on Wycombe (nor did I realise he was Rob's nephew, I thought he was his son). I wonder if Andrew Howard will be expected to assume a much more hands-on role with Pete returning to his family at some point.
The lack of punctuation in that article made my brain hurt, but it's one of the most enlightening pieces on our potential future that I've read so far. I think they're already achieving small success with the 'experience' side of things - look at how heaving the Chairboys Village usually is, for example. As for the style of football supposedly keeping people away, I'd be interested to see how many potential fans in the area that applied to. Would attendances jump significantly if we played a more attractive style? I'm not convinced.
Winning brings more fans than passing.
In the interests of accuracy, can I point out that the first two ‘quotes’ are words written by the author of the article and aren’t attributed to anyone from Feliciana.The third quote does come from Rob Couhig.
I totally agree with this.
"To be brutally honest signs that the well-meaning trust have operated the club more like a friends provident society rather than a profitable football business are there for all to see."
To me, that's a compliment
Pretty poor article that. That nonsense about a "fully carpeted" bar (as if having a carpet is the height of luxury for which we should pay thousands a year) was also totally disingenuous, implying that Woodlands Lounge members pay £4 per match in total, rather than an extra £4 per match for use of the bar
If the new owners could persuade substantially more fans to spend at least an hour before and after kickoff, spending money on what are clearly improved food and drink offerings, that would be a double whammy in the sense that the frustrating traffic congestion when leaving the ground would be significantly eased.
I’m sure that must be very much in the thinking.
If (and it’s a huge if) we do achieve the dream of promotion, there will be far bigger challenges of course, not least reconciling the conflict between fiscal responsibility and assembling a squad capable of surviving in the Championship.
As an octogenarian I’d be disappointed but not upset if we “did a Luton” but for the new owners and the vast majority of the fans survival at that level would be the name of the game of course.
The resumption of the partnership on the playing side between Gareth Ainsworth and Andrew Howard will be crucial, I think, and I don’t share the concerns expressed by some about potential conflict between Messrs Couhig and Howard. They are both hard-nosed, straight-talking business men with very positive “can do” attitudes and I’ve no doubt there is great mutual respect.
More exciting times ahead.