Kensdale update

[Clinton Baptiste]

I heard he asked for Carex soap in the West stand bogs but the consortium insisted on Lidls own brand.

 

[danbowen]

At this point, whatever has gone down is an entirely employer / employee HR matter, so we should expect nothing at all to come out from the club and Kensdale himself (probably been strongly advised to get his SM accounts into darkness) until there has been the investigation that is needed under employment law and a decision has been made. Despite the lovely Chris Phillips reporting the issue, as is his job, It is the right of the Club and Kensdale himself for any disciplinary issue to be done totally confidentially. As always though, there is the interest from fans, which will perpetuate any speculation.

Point is, we might WANT to know, and many will speculate till the cows come home, but there is NO NEED for us to know what happened, and there is absolutely ZERO need for the confidentially between club and player to be broken until such time as a resolution is implemented.

We may eventually find out or not. What is important is that the process is allowed to continue as an internal matter within the club unhindered by external influences. Meanwhile, RHB is right, the speculation isnt helpful for the Zone either!

You say this now which I agree your point is true but what is the difference between this and fans demanding to know what was going on with the takeover which was a commercially sensitive deal?

 

[Linda Loan Shark]

Seems like a lot of people on here know what has happened by the way it sounds

 

[gatecrasher]

I'd be more worried if this had been Harry Taylor, has to be my favourite centre back since Adam B. Think it's because he was so Meh in his favoured midfield position and become prime Maldini at Centre Back

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Over-rated in my view - aware that won’t be popular.
Think Crowther and Gubbins are very good centre halves and Taylor in the middle of the two would be an upgrade.

Think Taylor is a RCB only. Crowther and Gubbins are more suited for the CCB spot IMO.

 

[Sunnyshrimper]

Where have all of our many ITK members with an appetite to shout from the rafters gone!? Joking aside, it’s an internal matter and may be sensitive if it involves others. Let’s respect that and whomever that may affect. I’m sure the club will issue a statement when appropriate.

 

[southendkid]

You say this now which I agree your point is true but what is the difference between this and fans demanding to know what was going on with the takeover which was a commercially sensitive deal?

Very different situations for me.

Ron is a very slippery character, people wanted to some assurances to make sure Ron wasn't going to just let us die (if he was then action needed to be taken before than happened), that gave justification for wanting to know what was happening (to be clear though that's to know things are happening, not the fine details).

Whatever Kensdale has done it isn't going to lead to the death of the club, it's just going to leave us weaker at the back. That means there's far less justification for fans to demand what's going on if it's sensitive.

 

[ms brush]

You say this now which I agree your point is true but what is the difference between this and fans demanding to know what was going on with the takeover which was a commercially sensitive deal?

I thought the same about the deal. There was no need for the general fan base to have any more knowledge than was released by any of the parties about the takeover, because of the commercially sensitive nature and the overall precariousness of the situation, and the potential for reputational damage (which is one key thing that is at stake here for Kensdale). Obviously there is huge interest, and a lot of speculation, and probably a lot of people who know more than they were saying.

Anyone who works in a corporate organisation, no matter how big or small, will know they have confidentiality clauses in their employment contracts, and how it is (rightly) a disciplinary matter should anything that breaches that confidentiality (regardless if commercially sensitive, or an employee issue or whatever). Just because as fans we think we have the "right" to know - fact is we dont! The interest from fans will be there regardless, sometimes with increasing hysteria and wild speculation as time goes on...

 

[danbowen]

Very different situations for me.

Ron is a very slippery character, people wanted to some assurances to make sure Ron wasn't going to just let us die (if he was then action needed to be taken before than happened), that gave justification for wanting to know what was happening (to be clear though that's to know things are happening, not the fine details).

Whatever Kensdale has done it isn't going to lead to the death of the club, it's just going to leave us weaker at the back. That means there's far less justification for fans to demand what's going on if it's sensitive.

Be interesting to get your thoughts when if it comes out around what he has (possibly) done. You may even hate him more than Ron depending on what it is.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

Football Clubs are commercial enterprises operating in a competitive environment. There will be many situations when it is against their best interests to be open and 'transparent'. No doubt we would prefer to receive a whatsapp message from Kev on Friday night telling us Saturday's starting line up but it is not going to happen.

As others have already eloquently pointed out modern employment law also makes the sharing of information impossible in most situations.

In other scenarios it may be fear of being sued for libel which restricts the free flow of information.

Was it not Randolph Hearst who said 'news is what someone does not want printed and everything else is just publicity' ?

We await some news!

 

[MC BLUES]

I haven’t heard anyone saying they demand to know what’s going on, it’s more a question of the club saying he was missing through sickness when that may not have been the case. This isn’t like any other business, this is a football club where fans pay to attend and should therefore be entitled to a reasonable degree of honesty and transparency concerning the product they are paying to watch and support.
The problem with being lied to, if that does turn out to be the case, is that it alienates the bond between the fans and management and puts doubt into any future such announcements.
All could have been avoided with a simple statement that he wasn’t available for selection.

 

[southendkid]

Be interesting to get your thoughts when if it comes out around what he has (possibly) done. You may even hate him more than Ron depending on what it is.

Whether I hate him or not it's irrelevant to how it affects us as a club. Whatever Kensdale has done it isn't going to threaten the club's existence.

 

[Medway Blue]

I get the protecting reasons however it makes the club look poor when they are then proven to have lied. What happened to the openness of things. Saying he is suspended by the club and no further comment will be made would have been sufficient especially when it would become clear that the illness reason would not stick for long and therefore does more damage than good for anyone.

If you get the protecting reasons, then I think you've pretty muich answered your own question mate!

Surely they could have just used the “he’s unavailable for selection” line, and when pressed further by anyone as to if he’s injured, suspended, subject to transfer etc etc” just say we aren’t going to expand further at this point.

It wouldn’t have been a lie, wouldn’t have compromised the club or him and covers a whole range of eventualities that would mean it would have been easy to explain away after the situation is/was “resolved”.

It’s pretty basic PR used time and time again for a variety of reasons. Yes if you are Prem club would dozens of journalists and contacts it wouldn’t last long but at lower league level perfectly adequate

All well and good.
But the press release should have angled towards a 'personal matter' or similar.
Yeah, it would have raised more questions than answers, but would also have avoided this debate that questions the club's integrity, especially in the new dawn of transparency.

Surely that (bolded bits) would have caused the sort of unhelpful speculation and distraction, both around and at the games over the Bank Holiday weekend, that I alluded to in my post?

The reason why they went for the illness line is there in black and white.

There was little to no unhelpful speculation or distraction around Kensdale at either match at the weekend, because there appeared to be no reason to question the illness explanation.

Trying to use the same explanation again for this weekend would have started to cause some raised eyebrows.

Nobody at the club has woken up one morning and said "I know, lets lie to the supporters!". It's really not that deep, and I'm struggling to see why it's such a big deal to some. Yes, we all want transparency and honesty, but there will be some occasions where it's deemed best not to reveal too much, and we're not entitled to anything - even a "suspended until further notice, investigation ongoing, no further comment" - when it's as much a personal matter for somebody as it is anything else.

And to be fair, how do we know that he isn't ill? Or that part of this sorry scenario could be explained away under the broad umbrella term of an "illness", therefore meaning no lie was technically told?

We might not have the nation's press at Roots Hall asking questions about this, but we also don't have the luxury of a top class and/or adequately-staffed PR and Comms operation like a Premier League club has. I'm not saying the way it has been handled or communicated has been perfect, and I'm sure there will be some lessons learned here and there, but like I said - it's easy to throw stones when you're not the person or team having to make snappy decisions, possibly without a full picture yet, and with a delicate situation.

 

[Medway Blue]

I haven’t heard anyone saying they demand to know what’s going on, it’s more a question of the club saying he was missing through sickness when that may not have been the case. This isn’t like any other business, this is a football club where fans pay to attend and should therefore be entitled to a reasonable degree of honesty and transparency concerning the product they are paying to watch and support.
The problem with being lied to, if that does turn out to be the case, is that it alienates the bond between the fans and management and puts doubt into any future such announcements.
All could have been avoided with a simple statement that he wasn’t available for selection.

Once again, it is always such an easy choice to make when you're not the person having to make it and fight various fires related to it.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

If you get the protecting reasons, then I think you've pretty muich answered your own question mate!



Surely that (bolded bits) would have caused the sort of unhelpful speculation and distraction, both around and at the games over the Bank Holiday weekend, that I alluded to in my post?

The reason why they went for the illness line is there in black and white.

There was little to no unhelpful speculation or distraction around Kensdale at either match at the weekend, because there appeared to be no reason to question the illness explanation.

Trying to use the same explanation again for this weekend would have started to cause some raised eyebrows.

Nobody at the club has woken up one morning and said "I know, lets lie to the supporters!". It's really not that deep, and I'm struggling to see why it's such a big deal to some. Yes, we all want transparency and honesty, but there will be some occasions where it's deemed best not to reveal too much, and we're not entitled to anything - even a "suspended until further notice, investigation ongoing, no further comment" - when it's as much a personal matter for somebody as it is anything else.

And to be fair, how do we know that he isn't ill? Or that part of this sorry scenario could be explained away under the broad umbrella term of an "illness", therefore meaning no lie was technically told?

We might not have the nation's press at Roots Hall asking questions about this, but we also don't have the luxury of a top class and/or adequately-staffed PR and Comms operation like a Premier League club has. I'm not saying the way it has been handled or communicated has been perfect, and I'm sure there will be some lessons learned here and there, but like I said - it's easy to throw stones when you're not the person or team having to make snappy decisions, possibly without a full picture yet, and with a delicate situation.

I for one have no problem with the club telling me Kensdale was ill, even if he was not, especially if they found themselves unexpectedly facing a difficult situation at short notice.

 

[rigsby]

The club have been open and honest. The ‘illness’ line is standard at all cubs for it’s an ongoing matter and none of you or anyone else’s business at the present time.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

If this is a disciplinary matter it should be investigated behind closed doors and thats not a matter for transparency.

What is a matter for transparency is the consortium’s plans for the club which haven’t been communicated since January when the deal apparently looked quite different. The consortium need to be managing expectations on that. Will we get a fanzone this season, next season or when Fossetts is complete? When will the toilets be fixed? What work has gone out to tender and what work won’t be on the cards until next season or beyond?

By not communicating this information the consortium have left themselves open to disappointment as they haven’t managed expectation.

If belts need to be tightened until the new training ground is sorted (or whatever else it is) tell us so to help manage our expectations.

I get that the consortium don’t want to disappoint by promising stuff they might not be able to deliver but the silence is creating a void and letting expectations go unchecked.

 

[overseas shrimper]

He posted a picture of his Mrs in summer. She has also gone private. Makes you question why? don’t wish to speculate but could it be to do with her? Especially if his team have shunned him.

Personally, I question why somebody feels the need to post this kind of baseless conjecture. I also find it distasteful, but you do you.

 

[blues exile]

Pro football, like all pro sport even at this level is a branch of show business where the participants rightly or wrongly forfeit their privacy in return for hoped for fame and fortune. Speculation will be rife until the truth comes out thus it would benefit the club to clear this up subject to any legal constraints.

 

[Shrimpers7692]

Have deleted my comment. No offence meant.