The one thing about Usmanov that does genuinely puzzle me, and this is on the basis that he is intent on becoming majority shareholder depending on conditions being met at a later date, is that he hasn't used his silent influence to assist Moshiri to overhaul our board and senior management team.
Having his nephew work with the womens team isn't exactly a strategic move on his part, no disrespect to them. In fact, its more in keeping with the notion that this is just a bit of fun between mates.
When Elstone left, I half expected we might see a Russian CEO or someone appointed as the result of a global search process.
The board and senior management in some parts look as staid as they did under Kenwrights ownership.
Surely if Usmanov was serious about us, he would be exerting much more influence in ensuring a transformation to a leaner, more professional, commercially driven business, rather than the excess and poor spending we've seen? You don't allow a business to continue in this vein, and make the job of rescuing it all the more difficult down the line.
