Has Paul Struthers gone into work today?

wife waiting to foal

mc sayed

The guy is probably in therapy thinking wtf have I done.... I'm such a loser. History will see me as thicker than a chimp with the foresight of a gypsy fortune teller!

Bit harsh that, denathon - and incorrect ... The guy is only the BHA mouthpiece.

However, as such - What else did he expect?

As a PR he should be 'on station' (as they would probably like to term) every waking moment - and not getting upset about the cotton wool of his comfort zone being ruffled.

I float like a butterfly,
I sting like a bee,
If I knew Paul Struthers,
I'd recommend a lobotomy.

I'm not sure debating with people on 'social media' sites till the early hours woudl be in his brief, onlooker.  In that sense, is it not good of him to give up his personal time when he doesn't have to?

What's so totally brain dead about the whole charade, is that save a few bleeding hearts, the public couldn't care less about the use of the whip.

Now, thanks to Racing For Change's latest ham-fisted 'initiative', it's been airlifted straight into the news coverage.

The lead story on Five Live sport last night wasn't 'BHA bring in new whip guidelines to protect horses', it was 'two jockeys banned for whipping horses too much'.

These people are beyond clueless, imo...

These people are beyond clueless, imo...

Five Live?

No the Headmaster, whoever it is that thinks that any of these 'initiatives' are going to get more people interested in racing...

The Headmaster

Struthers tweeted that - BEFORE 9pm yesterday evening.

Only people like me are up, "in the early hours," - studying Form.

This is what I've always thought about the BHA. They are just so very very bad at pre-empting stories and having contingency plans in place.

They could have used yesterday's occasion to achieve maximum coverage about the new rules but also had an agreement with the stewards about a 'test' day with punishments being rescinded after racing. Missed a trick somewhere I reckon.

Surely Struthers must have been consulted about the whip changes and the date of their implementation.  He must have foreseen the possible consequences and the media spotlight on the rule changes overshadowing the build up to the flagship meeting at Ascot.  So Struthers is either:

a.  An idiot who did not foresee this negative press coming and failed to advise the BHA hierarchy accordingly.  Therefore he must resign, or
b.  An uninfluential mouthpiece who's strongly worded advice and reservations were ignored by the BHA hierarchy.  Therefore he must resign.

Either way his position is untenable imo.  If a big name jockey gets banned on Saturday he isn't the only one who should be resigning...

All they have acheived is bringing the issue of whip abuse to the front of the news coverage LuckyLucan.

They couldn't have scored a bigger own goal if they were Tommy Hutchison, imo...

Not sure anywon was expecting any negative press tbf...

But some of the media pundits wouldn't have a bad word said about him.

Come on Stake, there were many people on here last week questioning the wisdom of implementing the rules this week.  Any good PR representative should be aware of potential outcomes and measure risks accordingly...

Strikes me as a bit of a wuss. When challenged on Social Media outlets yesterday his kop out was constantly " I don't really need this with my wife being pregnant".
Take some time off then and put up a new front man.

Any PR person would have thought that introducing this initiative a week before a showcase event was likely to bring about bad publicity, though maybe it wasn't Struthers decision, ultimately...

True Millhouse but he should therefore be out 'firefighting', not hiding away.  Wheeling Frankie out to do the donkey work is looking for an easy way out imo.  We all know that the BHA could have made the biggest PR gaff ever this week, something the BHA (if Struthers' comments are anything to go by) are trying to sweep under the carpet.

I realise, while we're in the eye of the storm, many people are desperate for a sacrificial lamb....but those sniffing out Paul Struthers are well off the scent imo.

To my mind, if you want to put someone in the stocks look no further than K.Fox(3) and those who are supporting him.

I started thread Headmaster - and I am not looking for, " a sacrificial lamb." -

nor, anybody to blame.

I am merely pointing outing the reaction of somebody who, given his title and responsibilities, [b]should be switched on to every eventuality.

One would of thought that anticipation would be a major part of his position - it most certainly would be if I were doing the job - rather than a picture postcard (via Twitter) on the bubble that the BHA live in.

Playing cheeky chappy on Twitter with his industry mates is not a smart move, imo...

Yep, you did start the thread and I posed a question which you answered in a rather unsatisfactory way by claiming a technicality!

Anyways, as you started....I'll let you finish, old chap.  Be lucky.

What's this? A table up job?

You expect Paul Struthers to be on call 24/7 whenver anyone needs him? To drop whatever he is doing and answer some pissy little questions from keyboard trolls like you lot.

Are any of you 'on call 24/7'? Or do some of you also have a life to lead, and a family and kids?

Or are you all too busy betting £2 a race and sitting in your pants all day on Betfair, moaning on the forum about jockeys, trainers, owners, the BHA and Betfair

good morning paul.
good to see you have time to read about yourself this morning

Efc33 12 Oct 11 09:46 
You expect Paul Struthers to be on call 24/7 whenver anyone needs him? To drop whatever he is doing and answer some pissy little questions from keyboard trolls like you lot....

No - my expectations of Paul Struthers are extremely low.

Any PR man who allows his wife to have a baby when all hell is breaking loose is not up to the job imo.

Efc33 - there won't be a person on here who would't wish the very best for Paul Struthers and his wife at the current time.  However one cannot escape the fact that Struthers and his colleagues at the BHA seem hell bent on killing the sport they administer and purport to love.  It is perfectly reasonable therefore for people on here to voice their disgust at the BHA and comment accordingly ...

or anybody in a position of responsibility even if by proxy should not insert personal details into the public domain to try to engender sympathy and deflect from the matter in hand. Stand up and face the flak with the reasoned argument supplied by the puppet masters, otherwise step down and resign.