A couple of things.
I agree with you that saying Winter has lost THIS room is foolish. But I am certain that Winter lost the "previous" room. Will he have better communication with this new group? I guess we will have to wait, but a leopard rarely changes his spots.
As for the clock starting ticking yesterday, I am wondering why then we even bothered playing the first half of the season. He should have just trotted out the Academy or Reserves and saved the team a ton of money. I am truly aghast at how willing people are willing to throw away almost 2/3 of a season as it if never happened.