Media TiFmedia Presents... S U C C E S S I O N

[TheInjuryFactory]

Please, engage the soundtrack



Righto.

Succession. Bloody good TV show.

What’s it got to do with the Sweet FA, TiF? Well, great question imaginary curious Sweet FA enthusiast.

Nothing. Well the TV show doesn’t anyway.

Now, I have to be upfront. I didn’t really set out to do a media piece on this. I started out mostly just curious and wanted to take a bit of a look at how clubs across the comp were going about their succession planning.

But I ended up compiling the info I’m going to share here and felt it was maybe worth sharing for a bit of navel reflection for those who might be interested. Some players may have only ever played under the one skipper. Do you know who your club’s third most recent skipper was? Were you there the day they went out for cigarettes and never came back? Well if you don’t, well soon you will.

Did you know TedDougChris captained the Roys for 9 seasons and had to retire to finally get some sucker to take the captaincy from him? BLUEALLTHRU has friends? And who the f**k is Sab22, you might soon be saying. All these questions and more will be answered, here.

Oh, and I’m not really seeking to make any subjective or algorithmic assessments. It seems peeps think I have bias with these sort of things, and I would probably just pick the Warriors as the best. And they’re partly right.

But the truth is, I don’t really know for certain what is bad or good when it comes to club leadership. It’s different for each club, which I’m sure people will tell me again.

I was a Captain myself. It’s hard work. It’s unrelenting. It’s supposed to be a hobby, but all of a sudden it can get pretty serious and full on. Especially on Thursday nights. Even more so some Friday mornings if you forgot to set a reminder.

But I’m waffling now. The gist of this thread is that I’ve had a look across all the pre-expansion clubs (the Old Boys always throw these sort of things out being an outlier, spoiler alert it's Turbo) to highlight some trends and reflect on the succession path each club has undertaken over their last four captaincy ‘eras’.

I think there’s some interesting little corn kernels to pull out of this, and I’m interested to see what sort of discussion comes off the back of it. Judging by how especially mine, but media in general has gone lately, there probably won’t be any.

But I think captaincy and club leadership is a pretty direct indicator of club health and the league. And that feels kinda relevant now. To me anyway.

Oh and these are real numbers. Not shit stirring numbers. I could have used shit stirring numbers which would have the same effect, but I didn’t think of that until now did I?

So let’s take a look shall we?

We shall.

~

 

[beez]

Fun fact: beez is the only person in league history to captain a side to back-to-back pre-season premierships.

 

[Jabba73]

Fun fact: beez is the only person in league history to captain a side to back-to-back pre-season premierships.

Congratulations

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

Oh, and philreich Callums_Guns Falconista Cadsky nahnah and manangatang I used your likeness without your permission.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

Fun fact: beez is the only person in league history to captain a side to back-to-back pre-season premierships.

How good are soundtracks for posts.

 

[spudmaster]

Please, engage the soundtrack



Righto.

Succession. Bloody good TV show.

What’s it got to do with the Sweet FA, TiF? Well, great question imaginary curious Sweet FA enthusiast.

Nothing. Well the TV show doesn’t anyway.

Now, I have to be upfront. I didn’t really set out to do a media piece on this. I started out mostly just curious and wanted to take a bit of a look at how clubs across the comp were going about their succession planning.

But I ended up compiling the info I’m going to share here and felt it was maybe worth sharing for a bit of navel reflection for those who might be interested. Some players may have only ever played under the one skipper. Do you know who your club’s third most recent skipper was? Were you there the day they went out for cigarettes and never came back? Well if you don’t, well soon you will.

Did you know TedDougChris captained the Roys for 9 seasons and had to retire to finally get some sucker to take the captaincy from him? BLUEALLTHRU has friends? And who the f**k is Sab22, you might soon be saying. All these questions and more will be answered, here.

Oh, and I’m not really seeking to make any subjective or algorithmic assessments. It seems peeps think I have bias with these sort of things, and I would probably just pick the Warriors as the best. And they’re partly right.

But the truth is, I don’t really know for certain what is bad or good when it comes to club leadership. It’s different for each club, which I’m sure people will tell me again.

I was a Captain myself. It’s hard work. It’s unrelenting. It’s supposed to be a hobby, but all of a sudden it can get pretty serious and full on. Especially on Thursday nights. Even more so some Friday mornings if you forgot to set a reminder.

But I’m waffling now. The gist of this thread is that I’ve had a look across all the pre-expansion clubs (the Old Boys always throw these sort of things out being an outlier, spoiler alert it's Turbo) to highlight some trends and reflect on the succession path each club has undertaken over their last four captaincy ‘eras’.

I think there’s some interesting little corn kernels to pull out of this, and I’m interested to see what sort of discussion comes off the back of it. Judging by how especially mine, but media in general has gone lately, there probably won’t be any.

But I think captaincy and club leadership is a pretty indicator of club health and the league. And that feels kinda relevant now. To me anyway.

Oh and these are real numbers. Not shit stirring numbers. I could have used shit stirring numbers which would have the same effect, but I didn’t think of that until now did I?

So let’s take a look shall we?

We shall.

Bugger, thought The Filth Wizard was handing over the reins to pantskyle when I read the title.
#clickbait

 

[pantskyle]

Bugger, thought The Filth Wizard was handing over the reins to pantskyle when I read the title.
#clickbait

He is.

 

[Headless]

In for the interesting little corn kernels.

 

[Headless]

That's a very nice banner graphic, TheInjuryFactory.

 

[pantskyle]

What's so funny Headless?

 

[Headless]

What's so funny Headless?

My finger slipped.

 

[pantskyle]

My finger slipped.

That's what she said.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

Bugger, thought The Filth Wizard was handing over the reins to pantskyle when I read the title.
#clickbait

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

BAGHDAD BOMBERS - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

9 total seasons at the helm

Average 2.25 seasons per Captaincy (until today!)

7 Captains/Co-Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S30

Next Skipper? Jabba73 Kilroy & Grav?
​

It seems like an age ago that VainGlorious ushered in a new era at Baghdad back in S30, having done his apprenticeship under the triumvirate of Tony Lynn 15, TheCoach16 & KohPhi. The Vain era was sadly short-lived at Baghdad, as he would hand over the reigns to BLUEALLTHRU in S32 off the back of a runner up finish in S31, a season that saw recent escapee Pugsley share Mobbs Medal honours. In hindsight, the end of the ABV era brought the peak of the Bad Boy Bombers phase to a close, as the proceeding seasons saw their impact diminish considerably as they failed to recapture their cunning edge with the core of that dominant off field era diminished or gone fishing.

Forgotten Bomber Metalcrusher returned from a frankly quite odd stint at the Bears to join BAT and co-captain in S32, and from here it was a revolving door of ex-Bombers skippers sharing the reigns with BAT each season between S32- S35, probably to keep the mods guessing I bet. The BAT era did yield a famous flag in S34 as they became # firsttosix, however in the last season of his reign he oversaw a mini exodus with several notable players finding greener pastures in S35 as kenneyswarriors, Ligma & Robertio all made the switch to the Old Boys, while Bovo and CursingFijian made moves to the Furies and Warriors respectively. The Bombers had undoubtedly entered a rebuild at this point, with the HaroLad & TL15/WaynesWorld19 eras a distant memory.

Come S36 and my mate BAT would hand over the reigns to Pugsley who would largely be a figurehead the club while clubmen Jabba73 & gab213 would do the heavy lifting in the committee room. The Pugsley era coming to an abrupt end at mid-season, as he too made the now fashionable move from Baghdad to Spotswood as he and fellow club leader gab213 switched allegiances to the Old Boys leaving poor old Jabba73 to pick up the pieces, with DemurePrincess coming back the other way making a lot of noise, who I'm sure they will be hoping will go on to be their Ava 2.0.

I mean we’re assuming they’re two different people, right? Right?

But back to Jabba73. I would wish you luck mate, but you've already stepped down so I guess good luck Grav or Kilroy or something?

 

[Pugsley]

BAGHDAD BOMBERS - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

9 total seasons at the helm

Average 2.25 seasons per Captaincy (until today!)

7 Captains/Co-Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S30

Next Skipper? Jabba73 Kilroy & Grav?
​

It seems like an age ago that VainGlorious ushered in a new era at Baghdad back in S30, having done his apprenticeship under the triumvirate of Tony Lynn 15, TheCoach16 & KohPhi. The Vain era was sadly short-lived at Baghdad, as he would hand over the reigns to BLUEALLTHRU in S32 off the back of a runner up finish in S31, a season that saw recent escapee Pugsley share Mobbs Medal honours. In hindsight, the end of the ABV era brought the peak of the Bad Boy Bombers phase to a close, as the proceeding seasons saw their impact diminish considerably as they failed to recapture their cunning edge with the core of that dominant off field era diminished or gone fishing.

Forgotten Bomber Metalcrusher returned from a frankly quite odd stint at the Bears to join BAT and co-captain in S32, and from here it was a revolving door of ex-Bombers skippers sharing the reigns with BAT each season between S32- S35, probably to keep the mods guessing I bet. The BAT era did yield a famous flag in S34 as they became # firsttosix, however in the last season of his reign he oversaw a mini exodus with several notable players finding greener pastures in S35 as kenneyswarriors, Ligma & Robertio all made the switch to the Old Boys, while Bovo and CursingFijian made moves to the Furies and Warriors respectively. The Bombers had undoubtedly entered a rebuild at this point, with the HaroLad & TL15/WaynesWorld19 eras a distant memory.

Come S36 and my mate BAT would hand over the reigns to Pugsley who would largely be a figurehead the club while clubmen Jabba73 & gab213 would do the heavy lifting in the committee room. The Pugsley era coming to an abrupt end at mid-season, as he too made the now fashionable move from Baghdad to Spotswood as he and fellow club leader gab213 switched allegiances to the Old Boys leaving poor old Jabba73 to pick up the pieces, with DemurePrincess coming back the other way making a lot of noise, who I'm sure they will be hoping will go on to be their Ava 2.0.

I mean we’re assuming they’re two different people, right? Right?

But back to Jabba73. I would wish you luck mate, but you've already stepped down so I guess good luck Grav or Kilroy or something?

I'm putting my ClarkeMonies on DemurePrincess.

 

[Robertio]

BAGHDAD BOMBERS - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

9 total seasons at the helm

Average 2.25 seasons per Captaincy (until today!)

7 Captains/Co-Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S30

Next Skipper? Jabba73 Kilroy & Grav?
​

It seems like an age ago that VainGlorious ushered in a new era at Baghdad back in S30, having done his apprenticeship under the triumvirate of Tony Lynn 15, TheCoach16 & KohPhi. The Vain era was sadly short-lived at Baghdad, as he would hand over the reigns to BLUEALLTHRU in S32 off the back of a runner up finish in S31, a season that saw recent escapee Pugsley share Mobbs Medal honours. In hindsight, the end of the ABV era brought the peak of the Bad Boy Bombers phase to a close, as the proceeding seasons saw their impact diminish considerably as they failed to recapture their cunning edge with the core of that dominant off field era diminished or gone fishing.

Forgotten Bomber Metalcrusher returned from a frankly quite odd stint at the Bears to join BAT and co-captain in S32, and from here it was a revolving door of ex-Bombers skippers sharing the reigns with BAT each season between S32- S35, probably to keep the mods guessing I bet. The BAT era did yield a famous flag in S34 as they became # firsttosix, however in the last season of his reign he oversaw a mini exodus with several notable players finding greener pastures in S35 as kenneyswarriors, Ligma & Robertio all made the switch to the Old Boys, while Bovo and CursingFijian made moves to the Furies and Warriors respectively. The Bombers had undoubtedly entered a rebuild at this point, with the HaroLad & TL15/WaynesWorld19 eras a distant memory.

Come S36 and my mate BAT would hand over the reigns to Pugsley who would largely be a figurehead the club while clubmen Jabba73 & gab213 would do the heavy lifting in the committee room. The Pugsley era coming to an abrupt end at mid-season, as he too made the now fashionable move from Baghdad to Spotswood as he and fellow club leader gab213 switched allegiances to the Old Boys leaving poor old Jabba73 to pick up the pieces, with DemurePrincess coming back the other way making a lot of noise, who I'm sure they will be hoping will go on to be their Ava 2.0.

I mean we’re assuming they’re two different people, right? Right?

But back to Jabba73. I would wish you luck mate, but you've already stepped down so I guess good luck Grav or Kilroy or something?

Putting DemurePrincess in the same sentence as Ava works for me, slightly different but both excellent at what they do.

 

[DemurePrincess]

BAGHDAD BOMBERS - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

9 total seasons at the helm

Average 2.25 seasons per Captaincy (until today!)

7 Captains/Co-Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S30

Next Skipper? Jabba73 Kilroy & Grav?
​

It seems like an age ago that VainGlorious ushered in a new era at Baghdad back in S30, having done his apprenticeship under the triumvirate of Tony Lynn 15, TheCoach16 & KohPhi. The Vain era was sadly short-lived at Baghdad, as he would hand over the reigns to BLUEALLTHRU in S32 off the back of a runner up finish in S31, a season that saw recent escapee Pugsley share Mobbs Medal honours. In hindsight, the end of the ABV era brought the peak of the Bad Boy Bombers phase to a close, as the proceeding seasons saw their impact diminish considerably as they failed to recapture their cunning edge with the core of that dominant off field era diminished or gone fishing.

Forgotten Bomber Metalcrusher returned from a frankly quite odd stint at the Bears to join BAT and co-captain in S32, and from here it was a revolving door of ex-Bombers skippers sharing the reigns with BAT each season between S32- S35, probably to keep the mods guessing I bet. The BAT era did yield a famous flag in S34 as they became # firsttosix, however in the last season of his reign he oversaw a mini exodus with several notable players finding greener pastures in S35 as kenneyswarriors, Ligma & Robertio all made the switch to the Old Boys, while Bovo and CursingFijian made moves to the Furies and Warriors respectively. The Bombers had undoubtedly entered a rebuild at this point, with the HaroLad & TL15/WaynesWorld19 eras a distant memory.

Come S36 and my mate BAT would hand over the reigns to Pugsley who would largely be a figurehead the club while clubmen Jabba73 & gab213 would do the heavy lifting in the committee room. The Pugsley era coming to an abrupt end at mid-season, as he too made the now fashionable move from Baghdad to Spotswood as he and fellow club leader gab213 switched allegiances to the Old Boys leaving poor old Jabba73 to pick up the pieces, with DemurePrincess coming back the other way making a lot of noise, who I'm sure they will be hoping will go on to be their Ava 2.0.

I mean we’re assuming they’re two different people, right? Right?

But back to Jabba73. I would wish you luck mate, but you've already stepped down so I guess good luck Grav or Kilroy or something?

Last time I checked… all Demure

 

[Pugsley]

Last time I checked… all Demure

 

[Tonga Bob]

BAGHDAD BOMBERS - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

9 total seasons at the helm

Average 2.25 seasons per Captaincy (until today!)

7 Captains/Co-Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S30

Next Skipper? Jabba73 Kilroy & Grav?
​

It seems like an age ago that VainGlorious ushered in a new era at Baghdad back in S30, having done his apprenticeship under the triumvirate of Tony Lynn 15, TheCoach16 & KohPhi. The Vain era was sadly short-lived at Baghdad, as he would hand over the reigns to BLUEALLTHRU in S32 off the back of a runner up finish in S31, a season that saw recent escapee Pugsley share Mobbs Medal honours. In hindsight, the end of the ABV era brought the peak of the Bad Boy Bombers phase to a close, as the proceeding seasons saw their impact diminish considerably as they failed to recapture their cunning edge with the core of that dominant off field era diminished or gone fishing.

Forgotten Bomber Metalcrusher returned from a frankly quite odd stint at the Bears to join BAT and co-captain in S32, and from here it was a revolving door of ex-Bombers skippers sharing the reigns with BAT each season between S32- S35, probably to keep the mods guessing I bet. The BAT era did yield a famous flag in S34 as they became # firsttosix, however in the last season of his reign he oversaw a mini exodus with several notable players finding greener pastures in S35 as kenneyswarriors, Ligma & Robertio all made the switch to the Old Boys, while Bovo and CursingFijian made moves to the Furies and Warriors respectively. The Bombers had undoubtedly entered a rebuild at this point, with the HaroLad & TL15/WaynesWorld19 eras a distant memory.

Come S36 and my mate BAT would hand over the reigns to Pugsley who would largely be a figurehead the club while clubmen Jabba73 & gab213 would do the heavy lifting in the committee room. The Pugsley era coming to an abrupt end at mid-season, as he too made the now fashionable move from Baghdad to Spotswood as he and fellow club leader gab213 switched allegiances to the Old Boys leaving poor old Jabba73 to pick up the pieces, with DemurePrincess coming back the other way making a lot of noise, who I'm sure they will be hoping will go on to be their Ava 2.0.

I mean we’re assuming they’re two different people, right? Right?

But back to Jabba73. I would wish you luck mate, but you've already stepped down so I guess good luck Grav or Kilroy or something?

BLUEALLTHRU and Friends sounds like the worst children's TV show ever.

 

[Pugsley]

BLUEALLTHRU and Friends sounds like the worst children's TV show ever.

 

[Falconista]

Oh, and philreich Callums_Guns Falconista Cadsky nahnah and manangatang I used your likeness without your permission.

It's OK. Timothy Dalton has been using mine for ages, even for a few decades before I was born!

 

[Headless]

Very good stuff! Looking forward to seeing the other clubs' histories. I know Mount Buller has been pretty stable, so will be interesting to compare.

 

[TheInjuryFactory]

DRAGONS FFC - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

8 total seasons at the helm

Average 2 seasons per Captaincy

4 Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S31

Next Skipper? TBD

​

The Dragons retrospective takes us back to the emergence of serial_thrilla, who assumed captaincy honours from AceAndy who endured a very lean but on field very successful era at Ljp86 ’s lair, winning the flag in S28. With just two seasons under his belt, serial would oversee a more boisterous, obnoxious Dragons outfit who he would shape in his own mould as he exerted himself upon the competition alongside a terrifically strong S29 rookie crop shaded only by the unanimously recognised all time greatest league rookie crop of S26. The Dragons would painfully once again salute in S32 in just his second season in charge. Good for him.

However after recruiting and developing what grew into a particularly close squad and having enjoying relative individual success (or very close to it anyway) he surprisingly stepped down in S33, handing the reigns over to one of his prize recruits, the enthusiastic former failed expansion rookie T2B_ who would maintain a similar vibe list wise as the Dragons finally looked to have solidified off the field under the serial/T2B succession having never fully recovered from the NWO exodus in the seasons immediately prior.

But much like the Furies before them, the Dragons fell into the all too familiar trap of essentially handing over their club to the Nerd club during S36 and come S37 T2B_ had also stepped down and handed responsibilities to the affable Greenery who looked to have taken it on in earnest. However the list was already on the wane by this stage having remained ‘up’ for a good 5-6 season stretch and this really hastened the club culture shift as the braggadocios flag Dragons dropped off one by one. They looked to have uncovered a gem in one big_icky who looked well and truly set to assume captaincy duties, only to find out it was the guy who cost JoshWoodenSpoon a flag the last time anyone tried that.

However the Nerd Club era was equally as short-lived at Ljp’s lair as at the hippodrome but A LOT less dramatic, as the majority of them, including premiership skipper and talisman serial_thrilla bailed ahead of this season. Also including my friend Supersuns.

In fact, captaincy went so well for Greenery that he completely lost the will to post and appears to have retired, which the club is probably only finding out now as they read this… which explains why he remains on the list still. DragoDelph has since bravely stepped in to assume leadership of the Dragons in S38 and while a promising leader and a quality offering of his own accord, he certainly appears to have his work cut out for him to rebuild these Dragons.

 

[serial_thrilla]

DRAGONS FFC - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

8 total seasons at the helm

Average 2 seasons per Captaincy

4 Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S31

Next Skipper? TBD

​

The Dragons retrospective takes us back to the emergence of serial_thrilla, who assumed captaincy honours from AceAndy who endured a very lean but on field very successful era at Ljp86 ’s lair, winning the flag in S28. With just two seasons under his belt, serial would oversee a more boisterous, obnoxious Dragons outfit who he would shape in his own mould as he exerted himself upon the competition alongside a terrifically strong S29 rookie crop shaded only by the unanimously recognised all time greatest league rookie crop of S26. The Dragons would painfully once again salute in S32 in just his second season in charge. Good for him.

However after recruiting and developing what grew into a particularly close squad and having enjoying relative individual success (or very close to it anyway) he surprisingly stepped down in S33, handing the reigns over to one of his prize recruits, the enthusiastic former failed expansion rookie T2B_ who would maintain a similar vibe list wise as the Dragons finally looked to have solidified off the field under the serial/T2B succession having never fully recovered from the NWO exodus in the seasons immediately prior.

But much like the Furies before them, the Dragons fell into the all too familiar trap of essentially handing over their club to the Nerd club during S36 and come S37 T2B_ had also stepped down and handed responsibilities to the affable Greenery who looked to have taken it on in earnest. However the list was already on the wane by this stage having remained ‘up’ for a good 5-6 season stretch and this really hastened the club culture shift as the braggadocios flag Dragons dropped off one by one. They looked to have uncovered a gem in one big_icky who looked well and truly set to assume captaincy duties, only to find out it was the guy who cost JoshWoodenSpoon a flag the last time anyone tried that.

However the Nerd Club era was equally as short-lived at Ljp’s lair as at the hippodrome but A LOT less dramatic, as the majority of them, including premiership skipper and talisman serial_thrilla bailed ahead of this season. Also including my friend Supersuns.

In fact, captaincy went so well for Greenery that he completely lost the will to post and appears to have retired, which the club is probably only finding out now as they read this… which explains why he remains on the list still. DragoDelph has since bravely stepped in to assume leadership of the Dragons in S38 and while a promising leader and a quality offering of his own accord, he certainly appears to have his work cut out for him to rebuild these Dragons.

So what you're saying is that I'm the greatest Dragons captain since Ljp86? That's very kind of you TIF.

 

[DragoDelph]

DRAGONS FFC - LAST FOUR 'ERAs'

8 total seasons at the helm

Average 2 seasons per Captaincy

4 Captains across 4 leadership ‘eras’ since S31

Next Skipper? TBD

​

The Dragons retrospective takes us back to the emergence of serial_thrilla, who assumed captaincy honours from AceAndy who endured a very lean but on field very successful era at Ljp86 ’s lair, winning the flag in S28. With just two seasons under his belt, serial would oversee a more boisterous, obnoxious Dragons outfit who he would shape in his own mould as he exerted himself upon the competition alongside a terrifically strong S29 rookie crop shaded only by the unanimously recognised all time greatest league rookie crop of S26. The Dragons would painfully once again salute in S32 in just his second season in charge. Good for him.

However after recruiting and developing what grew into a particularly close squad and having enjoying relative individual success (or very close to it anyway) he surprisingly stepped down in S33, handing the reigns over to one of his prize recruits, the enthusiastic former failed expansion rookie T2B_ who would maintain a similar vibe list wise as the Dragons finally looked to have solidified off the field under the serial/T2B succession having never fully recovered from the NWO exodus in the seasons immediately prior.

But much like the Furies before them, the Dragons fell into the all too familiar trap of essentially handing over their club to the Nerd club during S36 and come S37 T2B_ had also stepped down and handed responsibilities to the affable Greenery who looked to have taken it on in earnest. However the list was already on the wane by this stage having remained ‘up’ for a good 5-6 season stretch and this really hastened the club culture shift as the braggadocios flag Dragons dropped off one by one. They looked to have uncovered a gem in one big_icky who looked well and truly set to assume captaincy duties, only to find out it was the guy who cost JoshWoodenSpoon a flag the last time anyone tried that.

However the Nerd Club era was equally as short-lived at Ljp’s lair as at the hippodrome but A LOT less dramatic, as the majority of them, including premiership skipper and talisman serial_thrilla bailed ahead of this season. Also including my friend Supersuns.

In fact, captaincy went so well for Greenery that he completely lost the will to post and appears to have retired, which the club is probably only finding out now as they read this… which explains why he remains on the list still. DragoDelph has since bravely stepped in to assume leadership of the Dragons in S38 and while a promising leader and a quality offering of his own accord, he certainly appears to have his work cut out for him to rebuild these Dragons.

I'm merely keeping the seat warm.

A Regent, if you will.