Simon Jordan, Crystal Palace Chairman

gimmick

Ive been reading a few of his articles lately, and looking at his commenst on Palaces website, and I must say, the guy is brilliant. He is so refreshing to listen to, he just tells it like it is, and hangs the consequences. His disdain for agents is admirable.

Very good article
http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,4284,1564662,00.html

A few of the other links there are excellent reads as well.

LostinBlanch

Agree,

he's the only chairman who's making any sense. Which is why the FA want to silence him. They much prefer whistling past the graveyard, pretending that everything is hunky dory.

ctrl-alt-delete

thats a great read, he sums it up well at the end

eirebhoy

Wasn't he fined by the FA over one of his articles? He definitely got fined for something recently. In the article before he was in for his hearing he said he'll tell his readers everything that happens.

Actually, I've just looked through his articles and found this (he was up for giving referee's stick):

"The FA have set my 'improper column' hearing for 7 December. I don't want to complicate things for them, so I'll just say this about the officials at our home match against Sheffield United last weekend. Their decision that the ball had crossed the line for United's third goal, despite having their views impeded by the body of our goalkeeper, was an awesome piece of work. A professional job done well. When the players and referee, unsighted, looked to his linesman for a verdict, and the linesman, caught in the headlights, panicked and gave it, I was moved by their teamwork, their guile. Three cheers for the officials, and the system that employs them."

and then this:

"The clock's ticking - 10 days and counting to my FA hearing. I'm ready, my lawyers are ready, and I'm looking forward to writing about it here in a fortnight. They'll probably try to stop me. We'll see."

besty

He seems to be a more geezer like version of mourinho

Kingp35

Im a big fan of Simon Jordans because he is certainly not afraid to say it like it is. His columns are always interesting and annoy somebody but he doesnt stop writing them. I say fair play to him because im one that believes you should be allowed criticise referees and their decisions without fear of punishment from the FA.

MrJoeSoap

I've liked him since I saw him on Soccer AM a while back. Good to see an actual person in charge rather than the usual clowns.

Rikand

hehe, hes a funny guy i like his columns

arbeitsscheuer

As a Palace fan, I love the guy.

The Eagles were gonna go into administration, then receivership, and then probably be liquidated, before he came in and saved the club. He's a local boy, and a palace fan, and he's never been afraid to speak his mind.

There was an article the other week which was such a Palace-fans article; slagging off Birmingham, Gold, Alan Pardew, West Ham... Fantastic bloke.

MrJoeSoap

Todays column is of particular interest to me, and its a great read. He's a great writer too, gets his point across perfectly and doesn't get lost in what sometimes boarders on hatred for some people (most notably some chairmen).

Well worth a read.

Lowe's high-class guide to being a low-rent chairman

Simon Jordan
Sunday February 5, 2006
The Observer

How does Southampton fans' new song 'Swing Lowe, Swing Rupert Lowe' rate as anti-chairman abuse? Personally, I like it: it's not tasteful, but a rugby song suits, and it's been a while coming. Under Rupert, Southampton have reached a cup final, moved to a new ground and stayed in the Premiership while bigger clubs fell away. But the fact that in two-and-half years he's gone from a Cup final appearance and tacit acceptance from fans, to 'swinging from the Itchen Bridge' shouldn't be cause for surprise.

There are two levels to this abuse, and it does need a disclaimer. The song is smart, but the associated hostility isn't: on that level Lowe deserves sympathy. Fans don't have the right to brickbat chairmen, to threaten them. I also can't see the advantage, as Lowe has pointed out, of turning St Mary's into a hive of negativity. He won't walk out of the club because people are being catty - he'll go when the financial package is right. So why drag the team down in the meantime?

The second level, though - the sentiment - is unputdownable. However you look at it, Rupert has earned this opposition. His comic-book pomposity, his superior air, his 'RL' training-ground tracksuit - all those things make him alienating and hard to work with, but that's just his way. The more serious factors are these: his image, fair or not, as a chairman living vicariously through his club; his commercial agenda; and the sense that not only does he not take fan opinion seriously, he simply doesn't understand it.

The tipping point - where the collective fan patience totally snapped - was Theo Walcott. At first glance his explanation for the sale seemed sound, the fan reaction ignorant and unfair. FA academy contracts are unprotected, he said, and having 'mistakenly' allowed the boy to play first-team football unprotected, he faced either negotiating compensation with a new club (£12m), or going to an appeal (£400,000). So he did his best for Southampton.

That point, in isolation, is fine: yes, the FA are complicit in throwing open the doors of academies, allowing agents to crawl all over and unsettle pubescent boys. It's sick, and, as Lowe says, it 'needs to be remedied by the football establishment as a matter of urgency before the academy system is discredited'.

But here's the problem. Rupert's background, his track record, totally discredit his posturing. What is the 'football establishment'? It's Rupert. He's been an ever-present, opinionated participant at the top level for almost 10 years, offering blue prints to change the game, talking up his academy. So did he really not know about the lack of protection around youth players until last month? And how does that apparent lack of knowledge square with his academy's recruitment programme? Dexter Blackstock taken from Oxford; Notts County's 16-year-old David McGoldrick; another Notts County kid, Leon Best, signed for £50,000. And then there's the £2,000 he paid Swindon for an 11-year-old in 2000 - a kid called Theo Walcott.

Hypocrisy aside - and let's be fair, by being hypocritical Rupert's showing he may be a 'football man' after all - fans must wonder how much of a body blow, a 'deep disappointment', losing Theo really was for him. Since relegation, Lowe has released 25 players and brought in eight: the moment he's outside the Premiership comfort zone and working in a far tougher business environment, he rolls over. And the biggest question of all: how can he apparently not see why all the above is a problem for fans?

It may sound glib, but a chairman really needs to know and to feel the culture of the game, to be a fan. Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough, Delia at Norwich, Milan Mandaric at Portsmouth: all single-minded, respected, committed fans. I'm not saying Milan grew up in Yugoslavia calling himself 'Pompey mush', but he gets fan culture.

David Dein is another you have to admire - I love him for his total Arsenalness. He's one of those people who'll always come up to you, shake your hand, ask how things are going and then stiff you in the nicest possible way. He offered us Matthew Upson on loan in 2001 for a salary of £10,000 a week - we took him for two months, then later found out his Arsenal salary was half that. And every time we met in 2000 he'd offer me Christopher Wreh - that was his favourite 'favour'. I've learnt a lot.

What they have in common - what I feel I have too - is commitment, an emotional attachment and a shared vision. It earns you respect in the same way the alternative earns you a hanging. How much warmth does anyone feel for the men who are in the game for the status it gives them, for the commerce or as bland front men for corporations, happy to posture, but with nothing going on behind their eyes?

My predecessor at Palace - if you don't count Mark Goldberg, and it's best that way - was Ron Noades. He ran this club as a business. He drove into Palace with limited means and drove out 17 years later with £20m, two golf courses and the freehold of Selhurst Park. He ran the club exceptionally well - Palace's most successful era, with cup finals and fabulous league performances - but because of the divided agenda, the conflict between profit, stability and ambition, the club was held back from hitting the next level.

That's the bottom line. If your business agenda is not aligned with the football agenda, the club can't accelerate and fans will get at you. And if you can't use fan opinion as a useful reference point to every decision - not to court popularity or go bananas Goldberg/Ridsdale style - but as a genuine, useful business guide, you'll go backwards.

Lowe says, 'Criticism is part of the package of being a chairman' - a phrase that casts fans as hysterical know-nothings. I've made mistakes in my five years here, but the reason I'm not swinging from the Croydon flyover is because I've understood criticism, tried to learn from it, and can always point to my record to show my motivation is one-track. I came into the game at 32: if I hadn't made use of the natural exuberance and enthusiasm being a fan gives you, if I'd slotted into the background, kept quiet and become a boardroom nonentity, would my club have gone from administration into the Premiership within four years?

What it comes down to is this. If Rupert Lowe got football, got the proles who pay him to watch it, got the reasons why he's unpopular, he wouldn't be in the hole he's in now. And that's a positive sign for the club game, a sign of its strength and ability to self-regulate. So what does Rupert do next? He could avoid quick PR fixes and try, really try, to grasp that sticking to an ego, money-driven agenda will feed the negativity. Or he could agree a sale price and go back to a life of ruddy-faced luxury. Faced with those choices, even Rupert must know his time's up.

How to complain

I've finally found out why Barry Bright's FA disciplinary panel set my fine for last year's 'improper' refereeing column at £10,000. It was because, I'm told, there was 'no evidence that any fine of any kind would be troublesome to him'. In which case why not make it £100,000? Or £1? It's textbook compliance office cleverness.

My appeal has been submitted: at the hearing I'll demand the allegations against me be withdrawn, a full public apology, and failing all that, I'll move to libel action. I'll also ask the panel to talk me through - really slowly - how Alex Ferguson has escaped censure for the third time in five weeks after allegedly calling referee Steve Bennett a '****ing cheating bastard' who'll 'need a police escort out of here at full time'. It wasn't mentioned in Bennett's report, but was quoted in full in every national newspaper. At least it clarifies things in the short term. The next time a referee performs woefully in a Palace match, I won't write a constructive column on refereeing standards, Fifa's refereeing structure and the use of technology, I'll take the new FA endorsed route, find the bloke at half time, threaten him with a beating and swear my face off. Thanks for the guidance, Barry.

· Simon Jordan is the chairman of Crystal Palace. The fee for his Observer articles will be given to the Christopher's Children's Hospice, Guildford, Surrey.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,1702794,00.html

sprinkles

If only there were more like him. Refreshingly honest.

arbeitsscheuer

He saved Palace from extinction... The man could do no wrong in Palace fans' eyes if he tried!!!:D

Spot on a Mandaric, Delia, Lowe, Dein, and especially Fergie.

Fantastic character.

Rollo Tamasi

i'm delighted he's the chairman of Palace. I hope to god palace get promoted this season. It's looking tough thou, Leeds by far have the best squad in the championship if you look at their team player by player and compare to Reading & Sheff Utd. The playoffs this season are going to be highly competitive, they are every season. But your going to have Palace, Leeds, Watford, Preston, Wolves, Norwich and about ten others all fighting out for top six.

Here's hoping that AJ / Morro / Macken / Freedman each hit 20 goals this season and win the champo!

KdjaCL

not to court popularity or go bananas Goldberg/Ridsdale style

I LOLed at that, funny guy.


kdjac

MrJoeSoap

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

Leeds by far have the best squad in the championship if you look at their team player by player and compare to Reading & Sheff Utd.

How can you say Leeds have a better squad than Reading when Reading are 21 points ahead of them and unbeaten in 31 games, which is now a record for the second tier in English football. Individual talent counts for nothing if they don't work well as a team.

Its like saying Tottenham have a better squad than Chelsea.

Rollo Tamasi

player by player Newcastle have a better team than Wigan, but league position doesn't reflect that. Leeds do have the best squad in the championship, but for whatever reason they aren't doing the business as much on the pitch. Maybe its the management not getting it right or something
Look at Leeds starting 11 against OPR:
* 1 Neil Sullivan
* 2 Gary Kelly
* 3 Stephen Crainey
* 6 Paul Butler
* 8 Sean Gregan
* 17 Liam Miller
* 20 Jonathan Douglas
* 21 Shaun Derry
* 11 Eddie Lewis
* 9 David Healy
* 25 Richard Cresswell

On the bench:
* 13 Ian Bennett
* 12 Danny Pugh
* 18 Simon Walton
* 10 Rob Hulse
* 28 Robbie Blake

Consider as well that they can send Rickets on loan (he does score goals at chamionship level and would make his way into most starting 11's in the championship). Readings team is good but it's not as strong player by player when compared to Leeds squad.

Readings team Vs Crewe:
* 1 Marcus Hahnemann
* 2 Graeme Murty
* 5 Ibrahima Sonko
* 16 Ivar Ingimarsson
* 3 Nicky Shorey
* 7 Glen Little
* 15 James Harper
* 4 Steve Sidwell
* 17 Bobby Convey
* 8 Leroy Lita
* 19 Kevin Doyle

On the bench:
* 21 Graham Stack
* 6 Brynjar Gunnarsson
* 10 Stephen Hunt
* 11 John Oster
* 12 Dave Kitson

Kingp35

MrJoeSoap wrote:

How can you say Leeds have a better squad than Reading when Reading are 21 points ahead of them and unbeaten in 31 games, which is now a record for the second tier in English football. Individual talent counts for nothing if they don't work well as a team.

Squad does not just include the 11 players that play each week. Leeds have the strongest squad in the Championship in that they have two capable players for every position. I take it thats what he means. Certainly many Leeds players are as good if not better than Reading players but Leeds are inconsistant. We beat the top sides, home and away for that matter, but lose to the lower sides. I personally think this is because we are going into the games with a poor attitude thinking that these games will be easier than the top sides.

The reality of the situation is that Leeds are the biggest club in the Championship and are therefor the team that all the others want to beat. If you look at attendance figures many clubs largest attendance of the season is when they are playing Leeds simply because we bring in the crowds. I believe teams up there performance level against us because they really want to claim the scalp of Leeds United. Its because of the name of the club.

So I believe that, barring central midfield, Leeds have as good, if not better side than Reading but we struggle big time against the smaller sides. The games we have lost have been to the likes of Crewe, Brighton, Cardiff twice, Sheffield Wednesday, they are all the sides at the wrong end of the table.

Rollo Tamasi

Palace have a better squad than Reading as well. My fear is of course that if Palace don't go up this season we will see star players such as AJ, Tom Soares and Ben Watson leave for the premiership. Which of course is going to a disastor, but at least those 3 players alone would bring in around 10M+, which i'm sure Jordan whould be more than willing to invest in the squad again.

hey Kingpin what do you think of a Leeds vs Palace playoff final?

Kingp35

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

what do you think of a Leeds vs Palace playoff final?

Wouldnt surprise me at all. Leeds are pretty much a certainlty for the playoffs at this stage unless Sheffield Utd start to struggle. Palace are looking pretty good for the playoffs too. I may be wrong but I think thay are 7 points clear of Cardiff in 7th, and they have a game in hand so its looking well.

Thing about the playoffs though is that its like a lottery, anybody can beat anybody and if history tells us anything, the team who finishes 3rd tend to struggle. Its looking likely that Leeds will finish in that 3rd spot. I can only afford to go to one Leeds match a season and im so confident that we will be in the playoff final that Im saving that one match for the final.

Palace and Leeds could meet in the semi-finals, thats a game I want to avoid.

Pepe LeFrits

He writes some really interesting and funny stuff.

David Dein is another you have to admire - I love him for his total Arsenalness. He's one of those people who'll always come up to you, shake your hand, ask how things are going and then stiff you in the nicest possible way. He offered us Matthew Upson on loan in 2001 for a salary of £10,000 a week - we took him for two months, then later found out his Arsenal salary was half that. And every time we met in 2000 he'd offer me Christopher Wreh - that was his favourite 'favour'. I've learnt a lot.

LOL

Rollo Tamasi

yeah, your not joking when you say its a lottery! Palace were near relegation at Christmas the season before last when they came up to the Premiership thru the playoffs.

Roar

ha ha simon jordan is brilliant

"Craig Bellamy is the best recent example of the top end of liberty culture. I was asked at the time how I'd handle a player doing what he did to Newcastle, behaving as he did towards his manager, and I said what I honestly felt: I'd strangle him with his own tongue. But he was behaving that way purely because, with respect to Bobby Robson, he'd been allowed to turn into this imbecilic little gob****e over a period of four years."