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alanf0x

Milan Mandaric Interview

By alanf0x, in Leicester City Forum

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brookfox

brookfox

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Posted

More than three months have passed since Leicester City were relegated into the third tier for the first time, but Milan Mandaric remains in a state of shock. The former Portsmouth chairman wants to believe "this is all a bad dream" but at 3pm today, when he takes his seat to watch Leicester face Milton Keynes Dons in League One as his old club prepare to take on Manchester United in the Charity Shield at Wembley tomorrow, reality will bite.

It is an opening-day fixture guaranteed to shock as Mandaric and Leicester seek to come to terms with their chastening fall from grace. Returning to the Premier League, rather than slipping into League One, was what the Leicester chairman had in mind when he took over last year and talked about his plans to get the club out of the Championship as quickly as possible.

Six managers and 18 months later and Mandaric is putting on a brave face, the 69-year-old claiming "this can be a new era for the club" as he plots the 46 matches he expects to culminate in promotion. It promises to be a new experience if nothing else, with the fixture list about as appealing as an interview with the City of London Police, something that Mandaric also experienced in a season he describes as "terrible".

The eve of a season is traditionally a time for optimism, however, and Mandaric, to his credit, is not about to start moaning as he looks ahead to upcoming trips to Stockport, Cheltenham and Leyton Orient. "Leicester were a big club but right now we're as good as our standing," said the Serbia-born businessman. "You don't go for caviar and champagne in the boardroom in League One, but there is nothing wrong with fish and chips.

"I'm a very normal guy. I didn't start with a silver spoon, whether that was business or football. I have respect for League One clubs and look forward to meeting them. The Premier League is the most powerful league in the world but the Premier League would be nowhere if you didn't have smaller clubs, so there is nothing wrong with being there and earning your way up. We have to show we are the team who we think we are."

Mandaric needs success as much as anyone. Having hired and fired so many managers in such a short space of time, there is a feeling that if the chairman gets it wrong again it will be his head and not Nigel Pearson's on the block. Will the fans turn on him next? "Probably," admitted Mandaric, who fears people will forget he "bailed out the club financially" when he took control. "If it did happen, it would be a horrible situation.

"I'm always on the edge doing this. I'm going to be the greatest chairman in the world, like at Portsmouth where fans cheered my name until the last minute, or I will be a loser. And I know I'm not a loser. After relegation people said, 'Why do you need it?' But I'm not a guy who leaves people in trouble. If I was part of it, I want to be there to correct it. Also, 11,000 [season-ticket holders] feel the same way, they're not running away from this club."

How Leicester have got into this mess is something Mandaric has considered over the summer. While he accepts at the outset he was "ill-advised in a lot of areas" and feels that Martin Allen was "the wrong choice", the chairman also curses bad luck. Gary Megson was not a popular appointment but Mandaric thinks Leicester would have reached the play-offs had Bolton not poached him.

Mandaric also regrets his decision to keep faith with Ian Holloway for as long as he did and believes they would have survived had he sacked the former Plymouth manager with 10 games to go, something he was on the verge of doing before an unexpected victory at West Bromwich. "Ian meant well," said Mandaric. "But if you look back, he brought in too many players."

Holloway harboured similar concerns about Mandaric and had claimed during his time in charge he wanted to "stop all these agents ringing my chairman". The comment does not sit comfortably with Mandaric. "I have never, ever told any one of my managers - and I've had a lot of them during my time in England, France, Belgium and America - 'I want you to take this player'," said Mandaric. "I might tell him, 'This agent called me about this player, what do you think about him?'."

Agents and transfers are a pertinent subject. Last November Mandaric was arrested as part of the investigation into corruption and although no charges have been brought, he has yet to be cleared. "If you're asking what is my most disappointing moment, it was that one, because I thought I was a good honest chairman when I was at Portsmouth. I have never in my life been involved in any wrongdoing.

"When you are part of high-profile businesses worldwide, it's certainly hard to explain to my associates that I have nothing to do with this here. I think I'm extremely unlucky I got mentioned. They said 'We're after an agent who was giving money to the player.' What has that got to do with the club? The contract was given to the FA and we sent the money [to the agent]. What he is going to do with the money is not our business."

It would be understandable if Mandaric's frustrations extended to seeing Portsmouth winning the FA Cup but he insists he has no regrets at leaving Fratton Park. "In 12 months there will be light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "And this time the light will not be a train coming."

Webbo

Webbo

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Full story, Guardian.

More than three months have passed since Leicester City were relegated into the third tier for the first time, but Milan Mandaric remains in a state of shock. The former Portsmouth chairman wants to believe "this is all a bad dream" but at 3pm today, when he takes his seat to watch Leicester face Milton Keynes Dons in League One as his old club prepare to take on Manchester United in the Charity Shield at Wembley tomorrow, reality will bite

EDIT; Just spotted the other thread, delete or merge please.

Ultra

Ultra

Posted
Posted
How Leicester have got into this mess is something Mandaric has considered over the summer. While he accepts at the outset he was "ill-advised in a lot of areas" and feels that Martin Allen was "the wrong choice", the chairman also curses bad luck. Gary Megson was not a popular appointment but Mandaric thinks Leicester would have reached the play-offs had Bolton not poached him.

If the league changed the rules so that teams got five points for a 0-0 draw, then maybe so. Megson's negativity played a large role in our eventual demise.

Mandaric also regrets his decision to keep faith with Ian Holloway for as long as he did and believes they would have survived had he sacked the former Plymouth manager with 10 games to go, something he was on the verge of doing before an unexpected victory at West Bromwich. "Ian meant well," said Mandaric. "But if you look back, he brought in too many players."

That's true enough - and most of what Holloway brought were little or no better than what he started out with.

Holloway harboured similar concerns about Mandaric and had claimed during his time in charge he wanted to "stop all these agents ringing my chairman". The comment does not sit comfortably with Mandaric. "I have never, ever told any one of my managers - and I've had a lot of them during my time in England, France, Belgium and America - 'I want you to take this player'," said Mandaric.

Yeah, right, Milan, if you say so. So what was the dispute over Hasselbaink about then? :unsure:

Jon the Hat

Jon the Hat

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If the league changed the rules so that teams got five points for a 0-0 draw, then maybe so. Megson's negativity played a large role in our eventual demise.

But only becuase we then tried to play more positively. We would not have been relegated if Megson stayed. Playoffs maybe not, but relegation no chance.

Scow

Scow

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It brings home how tough it is to get out of this league. Of the big clubs listed only Man City did it in their first season. :huh:

Even that was through the play-offs.

Thracian

Thracian

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If the league changed the rules so that teams got five points for a 0-0 draw, then maybe so. Megson's negativity played a large role in our eventual demise.

That's true enough - and most of what Holloway brought were little or no better than what he started out with.

Yeah, right, Milan, if you say so. So what was the dispute over Hasselbaink about then? :unsure:

He's having delusions if he really believes we'd have got in the play-offs under Megson.

C-man

C-man

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He's having delusions if he really believes we'd have got in the play-offs under Megson.

He's said it before and I doubt he really believes it, he's most probably trying to cover his own back for a shit season.

Daggers

Daggers

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I don't give a toss about this interview - last season has been and gone, everyone should get over it...isn't it time everyone connected with the club looked to the future in a positive fashion rather than raking over the coals?

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