Please Stay on Mike Petition

I think the guvnor wants us to post player matters on the player thread, So could you reply to this on player thread. All I will say is Madigan is reputedly on a huge wedge at Bristol. Lance is probably more affordable. At least it shows they are thinking straight. Decent back up 10 will win us far more games than virtually any other signing.

As you seem to be in the know any chance you could find out what actually happened with Moriarty. One journalist is putting it around he turned us down flat another that he agreed but the union vetoed it on the basis it was too high?

If what you say is correct and I have no reason to doubt it you have to wonder how on earth they managed to get Booth and Tips to sign on. There is still an attack and defence coach to be funded.

What are you told about Parry Lydiate Cracknell and Baker? I would imagine Hogg is heavily involved in deciding whether retaining a forward is better value than releasing them and going to the market with those funds.

The biggest issue is probably back up 10. Price has probably cost us three home wins and a while ago Paul suggested we were closing to getting a 10 who would not have international commitments.

@Fiddler I wonder if they plan to use Matt Protheroe as the 10.

@Fiddler I can’t access any other thread for some reason. Sam Parry advanced talks with the Blues. possible exit. V good club player if kept fit.

You stagger me if he is on that kind of figure. But we all have to accept that those who put up the money could pay somebody to wipe their arses whatever they want. They have the right to make those choices through their investment. What they should not do is moan to the fans about being starved of funds as the reason for serving up a sub standard product on the pitch when they are wasting money on a bloated structure of overpaid off the field positions

The Nicky Thomas thing does not surprise me. We have to get away from signing fourth rate nwq's and he won't be any worse than Gardner. Any ideas what is happening on Fia? We are going to need another tight head if he Gaijon and Gardner go. Suter is with Clive Griffiths at Doncaster. Wonder if he comes back.

Well there is a fair bit to cover there. If he keeps him on it will not be blind loyalty it will be because he believes he is not incompetent at what he wants him to do. He appears incompetent to those of us looking in because he cannot string coherent sentences together or show any form of leadership. But perhaps the board simply want a bagman to follow their strategy up and are not looking for the things we are from him

What he says and what he does are two different things. He will never say anything bad about him until the day he sacks him, particularly if challenged by people. What he does though is self evident. He appoints an EPD to sort out the structures and he asked a non exec to recruit a new commercial manager. He will never admit that the guy is useless because it reflects on the people who appointed him. Far more likely the need for a MD disappears rather than he is sacked or replaced. A proper MD would cost way more than Millward would.

You won't find many if any Chairmen of any company publically express anything other than confidence in their Chief Executive. It is often referred to as the dreaded Chairman's vote of confidence. They cannot really do anything else whilst they remain in situ. He is hardly going to say to anyone I have the worst CEO in Welsh rugby when he has the power to do something about it.

I would be very surprised if Rob Davies was blindly loyal to anybody. He is one of the major funders, but up until last spring when he took over as Chairman he was very hands off as you would expect from somebody who spends very little time in the UK.

The business day to day decisions were in the hands of other people. He was very hands off when Millward was appointed. Blyth and Atherton, who relied heavily on the judgement of Hore probably had far more to do with that than him

But in the 12 months since he became Chairman he has appointed an EPD to make key rugby appointments not trusting his MD to do so and you now tell us he has asked a fellow non exec in Ian Morgan to find a new commercial manager. Not having your MD to take charge of those appointments suggests there is little confidence in his ability.

I think it is now common knowledge Clarke gave him a me or him ultimatum and I can understand any Chairman not accepting that. I am not sure that means he has confidence in Millward just that he would not accept ultimatums. But using Ruddock and Morgan in the way he has does not strike me as a huge vote of confidence in the sitting MD.

I really struggle to see how we can claim to be short of money when you employ not only sub standard people but so many of them. I wonder what the combined cost of Millward Whapham Griffiths Palfrey and Jamie Rees add up to? Also with squad planning why do we need so many 6's with so many gaps elsewhere? If you are going to improve quality you have to get rid of sub standard players in the squad. But as AWJ pointed out don't blame the coaches or the players blame the management.

If you have to appoint Ruddock to change the structures and appoint coaches because you cannot trust your MD to do it what is the point of the MD. If Ian Morgan has to find a new commercial director rather than the MD do it what is the point of the MD. It seems to me Millward cannot do anything. what does he do? Does he sit on the khasi all day? If the shareholders do not dispense with him then really they deserve every £ of loss they make.

On the Joe Thomas point it would seem surprising we allocated cash for another centre. We have under contract Watkin Scott williams Cory Allen Thomas-Wheeler Kieran williams with Broderick coming through the under 20's.

Given that we have the following out of contract and must have made offers to some and not to others the budget for next year must still be fluid;

Parry FIa BBBD Lydiate Cracknell Volpi Baker Cross RMW Klim Tom Williams. Aled seems gone given he is the one out of contract linked elsewhere. None of the other players have been linked anywhere other than BBBD to Cardiff so logic would suggest they have been offered/signed/still talking. There is a fair bit of the budget in those listed players at least £1m of payroll cost.

@Vanguff4 please can you send an email to ospreysfanforum@yahoo.com. There are some things I would like to discuss with you that I do not wish to be said on here.

Volpi, Kilm, Gaijon, Aled (probably Tom Williams) won’t be renewed.

100% with you on the structure.

I hope that isn’t the end of our recruitment, as if it is, we will struggle again next year.

I think it plausible Ruddock may move into a part time role but doubt we will not be using his expertise in some form in the organisation. If Rhys Davies is the end of our recruitment it will mean a number of things. The Reffel deal has fallen through, Moriarty has lost his appeal on salary and we have changed our minds on keeping Fia and possibly BBBD. It may also mean a move for a nwq 10 has fallen through.

Had lunch today with a friend very well connected at Leicester. Told me Tommy Reffell is under contract there and Tigers not keen to release him. So given he was our other English based wq target. So Vanguff may be right that Rhys Davies is only available wq in England that we are interested in in terms of bringing local lads back. However given the gaps in our squad I struggle to see that there will be no further recruitment, albeit not in first choice players.

He also told me that Moriarty is on a huge whack at the Dargons which nobody is interested in matching. He is facing a drop even if he wins his appeal. He thinks if he wins the appeal he stays in Wales. If he loses he thinks he goes to England and Tigers would be in for him.

Is he? Is this confirmed

@9568668 He told the BBC website he would sit down with the directors at the end of the season and a decision will be made then