The big-spending Tigers are yet to win this season and crashed 3-1 at Exeter City on Saturday, despite taking the lead through Stuart Green.

BBC: Top-billing worries Molby

But, with 30 years international experience at HSBC, of late at very senior levels, and a member of the parent company board since 2008, it is not credible that Stuart Gulliver can escape blame, though the previous CEO Lord Green, currently the Trade Minister in an increasingly scandal-ridden Conservative cabinet, is yet more culpable.

FORBES: It Is Time For Real Bank Clawbacks

"One big word tends to get in the way of anyone successful in the U.K., " says Stuart Rose, a seasoned retail executive who stewarded the sale of Arcadia to Green.

FORBES: Envy With Green

Stuart Rose, the Arcadia executive who approved the deal, doesn't question the fairness of Green's buyout offer, but notes that not all of Green's turnarounds come from better efficiencies.

FORBES: Billionaires