Members' Forum - Wednesday 11 November

[Valentines Park]

it looks like the captaincy is open for debate.

When it should be done & dusted.

Foster out.

[afinetickletoleg]

 RI lost no time in pointing out that as soon as he took the chair results improved

There's a surprise.

At least we know who to blame when it goes Pete Tong next season.

[jimmy]

This was a good meeting with an extremely high turnout.

Porter did well in what must have been an unfamiliar environment.

There was , to me at least, a clear subtext that the playing problems were all down to the previous regime i.e. PG. RI lost no time in pointing out that as soon as he took the chair results improved and he spent a long while berating past recruitment decisions e.g. Mahmood and Willoughby. He said the emphasis in future would be to play our youngsters ( although that was said last year and that didn't last past the first couple of poor results). Silverwood was mentioned very positively several times so I wouldn't put much money on an outside appointment.

Apparently we hadn't' lost' any players- they were all certain to leave anyway i.e. Foakes,Wheater,Mills and Topley.

It looks like the Olympic Stadium will be used and sooner rather than later - presumably for 20;20 only altho'that was not specified.

As Darren said it looks like the captaincy is open for debate.

The ground redevelopment is stalled and its prospects as depressing as ever and we only have a guarantee of one more year for Colchester and then only one 4 day game.

I could have sworn that both the Chairman and CEO had supported the proposals for a 14 game county championship i.e. not playing everybody twice but they denied it and said that the format for 2017 was still to be decided but could be a 1st division of 8 and a second division of 10 with two down and one up for that season.

RI was an odd mixture of amiable enthusiasm and humour but also defensiveness and aggression( repeatedly accusing some poor soul of negativity when he'd made what I thought was a quite innocuous remark) and I would have thought he might be constitutionally unable not to encroach on others' remits more than he should. New coach beware!

sadly typical of Irani, he still has the blinkered players mentality that anything other than sycophantic devotion is negativity. Interesting that CEO denied supporting 14 game championship because he does just that in his notes in the final members magazine this month. (Do try to keep track of your double speak Mr Bowden ! ). As for the ground development it is more than depressing, it is woeful, negligent and has the potential to finish the club. They talk of reviewing their plans in order not to go into debt but if we ever get to a point where the cricket facilities begin construction any plans created now will be as out of date as the originals. In reality the development is in such dire straits that there isn't even the money to build the next block of flats. Will ECCC be liable for debts on a collapsed building scheme ? At best we will have one block of flats which haven't even paid for themselves and a cricket ground that no longer meets legal requirements for staging public events, prime candidate for merging in a franchise future I'd say.

[nat]

Thanks for the meeting write-up. RI does look like an accident waiting to happen. The new coach will need to be an equally strong character. RI is correct about one thing though, the previous player recruitment was appalling.... Masters excepted.

Interesting to see that the only coaching gig PG could get was Durham UCCE.

[Mog]

This was a good meeting with an extremely high turnout.

Porter did well in what must have been an unfamiliar environment.

There was , to me at least, a clear subtext that the playing problems were all down to the previous regime i.e. PG. RI lost no time in pointing out that as soon as he took the chair results improved and he spent a long while berating past recruitment decisions e.g. Mahmood and Willoughby. He said the emphasis in future would be to play our youngsters ( although that was said last year and that didn't last past the first couple of poor results). Silverwood was mentioned very positively several times so I wouldn't put much money on an outside appointment.

Apparently we hadn't' lost' any players- they were all certain to leave anyway i.e. Foakes,Wheater,Mills and Topley.

It looks like the Olympic Stadium will be used and sooner rather than later - presumably for 20;20 only altho'that was not specified.

As Darren said it looks like the captaincy is open for debate.

The ground redevelopment is stalled and its prospects as depressing as ever and we only have a guarantee of one more year for Colchester and then only one 4 day game.

I could have sworn that both the Chairman and CEO had supported the proposals for a 14 game county championship i.e. not playing everybody twice but they denied it and said that the format for 2017 was still to be decided but could be a 1st division of 8 and a second division of 10 with two down and one up for that season.

RI was an odd mixture of amiable enthusiasm and humour but also defensiveness and aggression( repeatedly accusing some poor soul of negativity when he'd made what I thought was a quite innocuous remark) and I would have thought he might be constitutionally unable not to encroach on others' remits more than he should. New coach beware!

How odd, I thought it was the current regime who appointed Grayson....and saw no reason to remove him as recently as the start of 2015 season. Rather rich of Irani to despair of the signing of Mahmood and Willoughby - I'd equate the pair of them with Tudor and Thomas; eh Ronnie?

He always used to bang on about how positive he was, but I'm afraid his actions and body language depict(ed) something quite the opposite. He's a No Change Essex appointment, who is unwilling or unable to possess any self-awareness and blame everyone else, and who given enough of a reign will make the Club an even bigger laughing stock than they currently appear to be.

[JasonP]

This was a good meeting with an extremely high turnout.

Porter did well in what must have been an unfamiliar environment.

There was , to me at least, a clear subtext that the playing problems were all down to the previous regime i.e. PG. RI lost no time in pointing out that as soon as he took the chair results improved and he spent a long while berating past recruitment decisions e.g. Mahmood and Willoughby. He said the emphasis in future would be to play our youngsters ( although that was said last year and that didn't last past the first couple of poor results). Silverwood was mentioned very positively several times so I wouldn't put much money on an outside appointment.

Apparently we hadn't' lost' any players- they were all certain to leave anyway i.e. Foakes,Wheater,Mills and Topley.

It looks like the Olympic Stadium will be used and sooner rather than later - presumably for 20;20 only altho'that was not specified.

As Darren said it looks like the captaincy is open for debate.

The ground redevelopment is stalled and its prospects as depressing as ever and we only have a guarantee of one more year for Colchester and then only one 4 day game.

I could have sworn that both the Chairman and CEO had supported the proposals for a 14 game county championship i.e. not playing everybody twice but they denied it and said that the format for 2017 was still to be decided but could be a 1st division of 8 and a second division of 10 with two down and one up for that season.

RI was an odd mixture of amiable enthusiasm and humour but also defensiveness and aggression( repeatedly accusing some poor soul of negativity when he'd made what I thought was a quite innocuous remark) and I would have thought he might be constitutionally unable not to encroach on others' remits more than he should. New coach beware!

How odd, I thought it was the current regime who appointed Grayson....and saw no reason to remove him as recently as the start of 2015 season. Rather rich of Irani to despair of the signing of Mahmood and Willoughby - I'd equate the pair of them with Tudor and Thomas; eh Ronnie?

He always used to bang on about how positive he was, but I'm afraid his actions and body language depict(ed) something quite the opposite. He's a No Change Essex appointment, who is unwilling or unable to possess any self-awareness and blame everyone else, and who given enough of a reign will make the Club an even bigger laughing stock than they currently appear to be.

Thomas signing was unfortunate.  He played plenty of cricket at Glamorgan and was fit when he signed.  He badly injured his shoulder in preseason and that meant he couldn't play for Essex.  Hardly Irani's fault.

The Tudor signing was a strange one.  He was signed on a pay as you play which was certainly a fair enough gamble but after he didnt do that well he was given a full contract which was a joke really.

[nat]

I'll defend the Tudor signing .... he was still bowling rapid but for some reason didn't take many wickets. In the end he got frustrated and lost all control.

Overall I think PG had a far worse record than anything RI did. Not saying RI was a good captain, far from it but an up an' at 'em approach had a certain (limited) appeal.

[Valentines Park]

Interesting to see that the only coaching gig PG could get was Durham UCCE.

I'd say he's a lucky boy to even land that gig.

PE teacher at a sink comp is about his true level of coaching ability.

[squarelegumpire]

Thanks Pablo. Excellent report.
I look forward  to seeing the official report, which, apparently, is being emailed to all attenders, and which will also be on the website  (Full version or amended? D/K)

I too got the impression that Bowden and Hilliard had supported all  Championship options (including the status quo) on offer, at various times. Bowden and RI were also very, very keen on the Olympic stadium for all forms of limited over cricket, not just 20/20, as are, allegedly England, although there is the little matter of a satisfactory "drop in" pitch to be sorted out.

I also understood that what I had thought was a “done deal” on the re-development wasn’t, and that changes in the contractual arrangements were pretty well an ongoping feature, due, so far as I could understand Bowden, to the fact that building costs are currently rising faster than the prices for which the flats can be sold, although the majority of them have been either sold or committed to alrerady.The first block is apparently largely "buy to let”, which explains why it’s substantially unoccupied at the moment, and the second will be largely social housing. C& D are a mix, but again buyers are, apparently, committed to them.

If anyone who knows about housing development processes could help me sort my head out on this I’d be grateful.

Didn’t get the impression that the capatincy was up for discussion, except in principle, at the moment. RI opined that Foster had at least another 3 or so years left at the top. To be fair, he did go on quite a bit about the need for players to think about their post-cricket lives and as they got into their thirties, prepare for them.

[Valentines Park]

After dinner speaking is lucrative apparently.

[nat]

JF may have another 3 years of playing time but I'd be surprised if the incoming coach thought it was a good idea for him to continue to be captain.

[afinetickletoleg]

JF may have another 3 years of playing time but I'd be surprised if the incoming coach thought it was a good idea for him to continue to be captain.

I'd be surprised if the incoming coach got much of a say seeing that it as Ronnie that gave him a new extended contract towards the end of last season.

Maybe it depends on how strong the new coach is and how much Foster listens to him or does his own thing.

[Valentines Park]

how much Foster listens to him or does his own thing.

Not sure Foster listens to anyone.

I genuinely get the impression that he thinks he's doing a good job.

But then with Hilliard & Bowden being in charge mediocrity rules supreme. 

[afinetickletoleg]

how much Foster listens to him or does his own thing.

Not sure Foster listens to anyone.

I genuinely get the impression that he thinks he's doing a good job.

Not much point having a coach then is there?

[Valentines Park]

There is if his first job is to appoint a new captain.