| Lee O'Neill 21:55 - Feb 11 with 6273 views | JDAndCoke |
What is the issue with Lee O'Neill? Genuine question as I've never understood the constant negativity and criticism that comes his way?
All I ever seem to read is 'Evans puppet' (let's face it, ME is his boss and clearly he will therefore take instructions from above) and 'P.E teacher'. I personally think he comes across as a thoroughly decent guy, always speaks well and honestly in the media, clearly very knowledgeable on the football side of things too and he has something a lot of our past CEO's or whatever title you want to give them didn't have - a genuine love for the club.
I genuinely find it intriguing how certain people at the club are portrayed from the outside in various ways. For example O'Neill gets dogs abuse purely because he works closely with Marcus Evans yet Bryan Klug is seen in a completely different light when in reality we as outsiders know very little (I appreciate their roles within the club are very different but it's purely an example of how we see people from the outside). |  | | |  |
| Lee O'Neill on 23:51 - Feb 11 with 2196 views | J2BLUE |
| Lee O'Neill on 22:51 - Feb 11 by Swailsey |
Agree that the PE teacher stuff isn’t on. Clearly a very articulate bloke and seems nice. Same with Pullen.
However, his dismissiveness of the calling for Phil’s reinstatement, his flippant and patronising response to why they had banned Phil, his comments about the human body not being build for playing football as an excuse for our injuries (whilst true that it isn’t - we aren’t the only football team!) and the fact he is the only one we bloody hear from now since our manager only talks to 5-Live, means he bears the brunt of a lot.
Oh, and he changed his email address and didn’t respond to anyone or acknowledge the feedback he had received. |
Exactly this. Talking down to the fans like we're all children not able to understand the situation has also annoyed me.
He's not THE problem but i'd be fairly happy to see the back of him just for his tone and arrogance. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 00:25 - Feb 12 with 2170 views | Swailsey |
| Lee O'Neill on 23:39 - Feb 11 by Garv |
I'm confident I haven't come after anyone, whatever that means. I've seen folk on here and Twitter criticise LO's injury comment. |
Sorry, I’m in a grump - there wasn’t any real malice behind the comment. Apologies. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 00:45 - Feb 12 with 2164 views | TieDyedIn95 |
Poor Lee.
The human body isn't designed to play football, last season was okay because we were not aiming to go up and Brexit is going to ruin our youth system are a start. he said all of those things.
The bloke is massively under qualified for the job, and has done awfully since being in post, Milne was also a puppet but you had a sense he knew what was going on. This guy is way out of his depth and you combine that with an owner who doesn't give a toss and a manager who wants the sack and you end up with the death of our club. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 03:26 - Feb 12 with 2145 views | eddiespearitt03 |
| Lee O'Neill on 00:45 - Feb 12 by TieDyedIn95 |
Poor Lee.
The human body isn't designed to play football, last season was okay because we were not aiming to go up and Brexit is going to ruin our youth system are a start. he said all of those things.
The bloke is massively under qualified for the job, and has done awfully since being in post, Milne was also a puppet but you had a sense he knew what was going on. This guy is way out of his depth and you combine that with an owner who doesn't give a toss and a manager who wants the sack and you end up with the death of our club. |
His intentions are good but went a bit too far in trying to re-brand the clubs image when he wanted the players to wear a school uniform on match day. . |  | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 08:00 - Feb 12 with 2074 views | thebooks |
Been guilty of this, including the cheap put-downs. I’ve been speaking to some more “in the know” people this week, and they all like him/say he has the interests of the club at heart.
Frustration I guess. Problem is, when he’s the mouthpiece and makes statements that reflect our general decline/treats the fans as if they’re idiots, he’s going to get flack. He is a part of the club machinery, no matter how decent he is.
But yeah, like some say here, it’s Evans who should get the flack, not Lee O’Neill. |  | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 08:23 - Feb 12 with 2052 views | DanTheMan |
| Lee O'Neill on 08:00 - Feb 12 by thebooks |
Been guilty of this, including the cheap put-downs. I’ve been speaking to some more “in the know” people this week, and they all like him/say he has the interests of the club at heart.
Frustration I guess. Problem is, when he’s the mouthpiece and makes statements that reflect our general decline/treats the fans as if they’re idiots, he’s going to get flack. He is a part of the club machinery, no matter how decent he is.
But yeah, like some say here, it’s Evans who should get the flack, not Lee O’Neill. |
I'm definitely there. Whilst I haven't joined in on the PE teacher jabs, I've definitely directed a lot of criticism at him for things he's come out with that probably aren't his decision.
I think most of the issue is that we don't know what his opinion is, and what parts are ME.
I'd still say though the stuff he said about Phil was completely unnecessary. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 08:28 - Feb 12 with 2047 views | SomethingBlue |
No big issue — he's clearly a good guy and competent, but doing about a million jobs because our club's structure is an absolute shambles and corners are cut wherever humanly possible. | |
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| Lee O'Neill on 08:34 - Feb 12 with 2023 views | Steve_M |
| Lee O'Neill on 08:28 - Feb 12 by SomethingBlue |
No big issue — he's clearly a good guy and competent, but doing about a million jobs because our club's structure is an absolute shambles and corners are cut wherever humanly possible. |
You should have added "- and even where it's not." to your last sentence. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 09:01 - Feb 12 with 1998 views | Kropotkin123 |
What is the issue with Lee O'Neill?
- He is not qualified for the role
- He is doing a poor job
- He comes out with a lot of spin / deflection
- His expectations do not mirror mine
- He is patronising
All I ever seem to read is 'Evans puppet' (let's face it, ME is his boss and clearly he will therefore take instructions from above)
Part of being in any role is the ability to manage upwards. If you cannot do that or you are not prepared to do that then you will not perform to the best. He is in a job that faces the public and demonstrates he cannot do this.
and 'P.E teacher'.
Whist I believe some of the criticism around this is over the top, I am sympathetic to those that throw this around because it underlines that he is not qualified for the role. Clearly he is in the eyes of ME, but not in the eyes of a section of the supporters.
I personally think he comes across as a thoroughly decent guy, always speaks well and honestly in the media, clearly very knowledgeable on the football side of things too
I'm blown away that you can believe he is very knowledgeable, but you are entitled to your opinion.
O'Neill gets dogs abuse purely because he works closely with Marcus Evans
No, he gets "abuse" because he is accountable for his words and actions. His position is structurally important to the functioning of the club and the club doesn't function well.
yet Bryan Klug is seen in a completely different light when in reality we as outsiders know very little
BK has consistently been at the forefront of youth development. The youth teams play great football and they have produced way better players verses expectations. He doesn't come out and consistently say nonsense.
You may not be able to gain insights without being on the inside, but to others they seem pretty obvious.
Questions for you
LO'N defended the clubs medical record this week. Would you defend it based on what he has said? Do you think it is sufficient to have our medical staff operating out of Scotland?
LO'N said that the play offs were the target last year, not the minimum expectations. Do you agree that these standards were high enough to be evaluating PL performance against?
What three things do you think LO'N has done successfully in his role? Do you believe that others could not have done those three things as well as him? [Post edited 12 Feb 2021 9:04]
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| Lee O'Neill on 09:24 - Feb 12 with 1982 views | braveblue |
He is CEO of a failing business. No strategy. Pushing customers away. Bad press relations. Shocking medical record. If none of those are his responsibility then what does he do? | | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:30 - Feb 12 with 1969 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:01 - Feb 12 by Kropotkin123 |
What is the issue with Lee O'Neill?
- He is not qualified for the role
- He is doing a poor job
- He comes out with a lot of spin / deflection
- His expectations do not mirror mine
- He is patronising
All I ever seem to read is 'Evans puppet' (let's face it, ME is his boss and clearly he will therefore take instructions from above)
Part of being in any role is the ability to manage upwards. If you cannot do that or you are not prepared to do that then you will not perform to the best. He is in a job that faces the public and demonstrates he cannot do this.
and 'P.E teacher'.
Whist I believe some of the criticism around this is over the top, I am sympathetic to those that throw this around because it underlines that he is not qualified for the role. Clearly he is in the eyes of ME, but not in the eyes of a section of the supporters.
I personally think he comes across as a thoroughly decent guy, always speaks well and honestly in the media, clearly very knowledgeable on the football side of things too
I'm blown away that you can believe he is very knowledgeable, but you are entitled to your opinion.
O'Neill gets dogs abuse purely because he works closely with Marcus Evans
No, he gets "abuse" because he is accountable for his words and actions. His position is structurally important to the functioning of the club and the club doesn't function well.
yet Bryan Klug is seen in a completely different light when in reality we as outsiders know very little
BK has consistently been at the forefront of youth development. The youth teams play great football and they have produced way better players verses expectations. He doesn't come out and consistently say nonsense.
You may not be able to gain insights without being on the inside, but to others they seem pretty obvious.
Questions for you
LO'N defended the clubs medical record this week. Would you defend it based on what he has said? Do you think it is sufficient to have our medical staff operating out of Scotland?
LO'N said that the play offs were the target last year, not the minimum expectations. Do you agree that these standards were high enough to be evaluating PL performance against?
What three things do you think LO'N has done successfully in his role? Do you believe that others could not have done those three things as well as him? [Post edited 12 Feb 2021 9:04]
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What is 'the role' though? I think a lot of people judge him against the job description he should have rather than the scope of the one he does have. By all accounts he does have Evans ear to some extent but ultimately he is not empowered to make any decisions of any real importance. Evans has the final say on virtually everything. | | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:32 - Feb 12 with 1965 views | itfcjoe |
Because people don't understand his job role and his remit.....
They compare him to Milne, even though the majority of Milne's job role as been picked up, allegedly, by Evans.
Milne didn't do the football stuff, O'Neill does - the main think that has passed from Milne to O'Neill is being the spokesman - which is hardly great fun when being wheeled out to pass a message on from up high. Milne was better at it, but O'Neill has to cover all the football side of things as a spokesman as well which milne could bat off as not his department, and they are generally what riles the fans up.
O'Neill has been academy manager for 5-6 years, that is of much more relevance for how qualified he is for the job compared to being a PE teacher a decade ago. He's perfectly qualified for the job of Football Operations, that doesn't mean he's good at it - we don't know the constraints he's working under - but lots of lazy criticism of a man who has too many jobs to do at the football club and an AWOL boss |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 09:34 - Feb 12 with 1957 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:30 - Feb 12 by tractorboy1978 |
What is 'the role' though? I think a lot of people judge him against the job description he should have rather than the scope of the one he does have. By all accounts he does have Evans ear to some extent but ultimately he is not empowered to make any decisions of any real importance. Evans has the final say on virtually everything. |
He's listed some of the things he has been in charge of through his press conferences. He also speaks to the press ostensibly/purportedly as a subject matter expert on various aspects of the club and its function, which again gives us insight and accountability of his remit. | |
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| Lee O'Neill on 09:35 - Feb 12 with 1954 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:34 - Feb 12 by Kropotkin123 |
He's listed some of the things he has been in charge of through his press conferences. He also speaks to the press ostensibly/purportedly as a subject matter expert on various aspects of the club and its function, which again gives us insight and accountability of his remit. |
He isn't 'in charge' of anything in any true sense in reality. That's the top and bottom of it. | | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:38 - Feb 12 with 1949 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:35 - Feb 12 by tractorboy1978 |
He isn't 'in charge' of anything in any true sense in reality. That's the top and bottom of it. |
Then what is the point of him being there. On the one hand you see Joe saying criticism is lazy and he does the footballing side well. On the other, you say he isn't in charge of any of it. You can't both be right. | |
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| Lee O'Neill on 09:42 - Feb 12 with 1943 views | bobbyramsey |
He is part of the infrastructure that is failing miserably and therefore deserves criticism.
End of...... |  | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:45 - Feb 12 with 1941 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:38 - Feb 12 by Kropotkin123 |
Then what is the point of him being there. On the one hand you see Joe saying criticism is lazy and he does the footballing side well. On the other, you say he isn't in charge of any of it. You can't both be right. |
That's a question for the owner isn't it. It isn't L'ON fault the scope of his job role isn't the scope I'm sure we'd all like it to be.
He's the middle man between a manager that has too much power (and reports directly to the owner) and an owner that is absent but likes to have the final say on virtually everything. He may do a lot of stuff well day to day but ultimately he has little authority with the way the club is structured. | | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:47 - Feb 12 with 1935 views | MonkeyAlan |
He is just Evans mouth piece. He has no other relevant role in Evans eyes. |  | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:57 - Feb 12 with 1921 views | jayessess |
Like everyone at the club most of the substantive stuff that O'Neill comes out with is a mixture of patronising supporters, special pleading, excuse-making and refusals to acknowledge how bad things have got.
I'm not sure why he should get any less criticism than Taylor, Lambert or Evans for that. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 10:02 - Feb 12 with 1912 views | itfcjoe |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:38 - Feb 12 by Kropotkin123 |
Then what is the point of him being there. On the one hand you see Joe saying criticism is lazy and he does the footballing side well. On the other, you say he isn't in charge of any of it. You can't both be right. |
I haven't said he does the football side well, we don't know in reality where the lines are.
But for those saying Klug doing a great job, O'Neill has been the academy manager, i.e. Klug's boss, for 5-6 years | |
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| Lee O'Neill on 10:48 - Feb 12 with 1880 views | solemio |
| Lee O'Neill on 09:42 - Feb 12 by bobbyramsey |
He is part of the infrastructure that is failing miserably and therefore deserves criticism.
End of...... |
Anyone who finishes a post with 'End of......' can invariably be totally ignored.
End of...... | | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 11:06 - Feb 12 with 1865 views | PhilTWTD |
| Lee O'Neill on 08:28 - Feb 12 by SomethingBlue |
No big issue — he's clearly a good guy and competent, but doing about a million jobs because our club's structure is an absolute shambles and corners are cut wherever humanly possible. |
I think the structure is the issue. Lee is not the CEO as some have suggested in this thread, he's not meant to be doing the same job as Simon Clegg or Ian Milne but running the football side, from the U9s, up to the first team and also including the women's teams.
Because there is a vacuum in terms of a CEO role - and others to some extent as it stands currently - other stuff comes across his desk which really shouldn't. |  | | |
| Lee O'Neill on 12:07 - Feb 12 with 1828 views | Radlett_blue |
| Lee O'Neill on 11:06 - Feb 12 by PhilTWTD |
I think the structure is the issue. Lee is not the CEO as some have suggested in this thread, he's not meant to be doing the same job as Simon Clegg or Ian Milne but running the football side, from the U9s, up to the first team and also including the women's teams.
Because there is a vacuum in terms of a CEO role - and others to some extent as it stands currently - other stuff comes across his desk which really shouldn't. |
O'Neill is subservient to Lambert in football matters, but is responsible for Town's sports science etc so it's fair to criticise him for that.
Overall, he is the public face of the club & hence has to act as an air raid shelter for Evans. He speaks well, but the problem is that he says quite a lot without ever really saying anything so you always feel any meaningful decisions are taken by Evans or Lambert. |  |
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| Lee O'Neill on 14:01 - Feb 12 with 1791 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Lee O'Neill on 10:02 - Feb 12 by itfcjoe |
I haven't said he does the football side well, we don't know in reality where the lines are.
But for those saying Klug doing a great job, O'Neill has been the academy manager, i.e. Klug's boss, for 5-6 years |
apologies | |
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| Lee O'Neill on 14:05 - Feb 12 with 1782 views | PhilTWTD |
| Lee O'Neill on 12:07 - Feb 12 by Radlett_blue |
O'Neill is subservient to Lambert in football matters, but is responsible for Town's sports science etc so it's fair to criticise him for that.
Overall, he is the public face of the club & hence has to act as an air raid shelter for Evans. He speaks well, but the problem is that he says quite a lot without ever really saying anything so you always feel any meaningful decisions are taken by Evans or Lambert. |
He shouldn't be the public face, or voice, for everything at the club, just football matters. But there is no one else to answer those questions at present. | | | |
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