Lets forget about formations and tactics for a moment and just consider the obvious wider question that strikes to the heart of our current malaise. Why have we, as a once proud football club, gone backwards since our relegation 10 years ago? The depressing thing is that in all that time we are further away from promotion now than at any time since 2004/05 when we had no money! What lessons haven't been learnt in that time and why oh why is there no one it seems that can bang heads together and get our football club working again? Marcus Evans the mystery man has now got to talk to the fans directly and come out publically and share his vision for the club and more importantly how he plans to get us promoted. The biggest mistake in my opinion was appointing Simon Clegg as Chief Executive as he is just not a football man and has absolutely no experience whatsoever of running a football club. He has proven that time and time again just take the outrageous price for tickets as just one small example. The cynical part of me just thinks that as he came from the British Olympic commitee he is just here to help flog tickets for the Marcus Evans Group. My other worry is that Evans will wait until after the Olympics next year and then ditch us and cut us adrift. Stranger things have happened! I think its a case of him now deciding to stop the investment and start trousering the big transfer fees that we have received in recent seasons. In 2004/05 we had just recovered from administration and had appointed a wily old manager who knew his way around the leagues and had an eye for a bargain or two. Just take the fantastic signings of Shefki Kuqi and Jason DeVos as an example. That team was a whisker away from promotion and all done on a shoestring. Now we have a situation where we have allowed 3 managers in 4 years to come in and change the team completely each time spending millions in the process. No wonder we are in the mess we are in as we haven't had the luxury of a settled team in 5 years! Then we have the obsession with spending decent money on journeymen players in the mistaken belief that their experience will somehow achieve promotion. A few Centre Backs aren't going to solve our deep seated problems anytime soon believe me. The football club is crying out for root and branch reform from top to bottom and until that happens we will remain where we are if lucky. The club at the moment is shrouded in confusion and while we spend time naval gazing other clubs like Southampton, Brighton, Norwich et al are busy assembling teams that can play decent football. I have no clue where we go from here but all I do know is that we are supporting a sinking ship and if you deny it then I suggest you take off those blue tinted specs!
OOOHHH JWM, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. All I can offer by way of hope is, hang in there, you may have to suffer a lot more before you turn the corner, but turn it you will! Look what happened to us, you probably thought it was funny when we dropped to league 1, and then that humiliation at the hands of Col U, but now look! If you have to drop to league 1 to kick-start your revival, clench your teeth and take it on the chin! Most of the budgies won't laugh at your plight, our own pain is much too recent! I really do feel for your genuine fans, it's not pleasant, but you have to pull together, support your team through thick and thin! the good times will roll once again, eventually Sincere best wishes!
Cheers Dave I think you are spot on! Maybe it needs a relegation for us to suddenly rediscover our football form. If relegation meant that we began with a clean slate and played a brand of exciting, decent, attractive and attacking football I would take it right now. What's the point of playing championship football which is boring, bland and clueless like we are at the moment. I think we could learn some real lessons from the Norwich experience and I'm not too proud to say that!
Personally i think half the problem is with the type of player brought in by the last few managers. We seem to have been looking at older prem players that are no longer good enough for the prem and are here for the money and to see their playing days out doing not alot!! They have lost any pace they had and with it their hunger and desire. We should be looking more at younger players from the lower leagues that want to prove themselves and have the required pace, hunger and desire. Just look at Cresswell, in my opinion probably our best signing for some time and he is only going to get better. I honestly think this is our biggest problem, lets forget about the Premiership veterans and look at the quality that is in the lower divisions and come to think of it, abroad!!! Lets also get some decent scouting going abroad, plenty of talent out there but we aint gonna find that talent sitting on our arses!! TBH though, all this is a waste of time as nobody is going to listen to us, are they!!
You sure about that Dave? Seriously JWM, he is right. Perhaps the best thing that could happen is to go backwards to go forwards. Some years ago that would have been unthinkable but now, in some cases it is the real kick up the arse some teams/chairmen need to sort the real problems out. (Norwich, Brighton & Southampton are the 3 most recent examples and Charlton are likely to come up this time too) Most of you know I do not wish for you or your team to have a bad season (some of us Budgies can be reasonable) and hope you can claw your way back from the set backs in the last week but remember, if it all goes tits up and relegation is your fate in May - it is not the end of the world!
Spanish I agree totally! In the Burley era he bought fresh young talented players like Holland, David Johnson, Bobby Peta, Bam Bam, Scowie and mixed them with a few wiser heads like Mowbray, Clapham, Magilton and Stewie. Its not ****ing rocket science is it?
Wow, a sensible post from Spanish, not started on the sangria yet mate. Joking aside, I have to agree with what you say. Cresswell looks the business, could even become a decent winger. The common consensus on here is that maybe a step backwards would be good for us but this is also being said by the same people who are fed up with the constant rebuilding. Make up your minds guys, do you want it all today or are you prepared to do things slowly. One minute things aren't being done fast enough and the next you're ready to get relegated in order to rebuild.
San Diego No sangria today bud!! The worry is that Clegg said ME is not going to keep wasting his money and getting nowhere, he kinda intimated that ME was growing impatient, so to be fair i think we need to get promoted bloody soon or else.....
You could be right, I hope not. It's been a rollercoaster ever since ME and Clegg arrived. Neither really has any football experience and it shows. Naive signings in the beginning have lead to the purse strings being tightened now. With the parachute payments extending to four years there will soon be a whole host of clubs in this division with money to burn. NOW is the time to spend to accumulate because the longer we leave it and don't gain promotion the further behind we will fall. I still think we have to do the right business though and not just chuck money around for the sake of it but we should spend on the targets we really need to take us forward. So what if someone earns a bit more than the rest 'cos he's better, that's life. Not everyone at Man U is on the same wage as Rooney and there's a reason for that. Sure we have a wage structure but paying a bit more to someone with real quality shouldn't put other players' noses out of joint.
Enjoyed this article i must admit. However i really do hope the last few results are enough to motivate the team and the club as a whole to perform better. I started watching town in the burley years and must admit the last time i consistantly enjoed town playing was under royle, maybe even magilton (just). I think the squad we have now has great potential so im not worried just yet. Come on you blues!
It's great that we are having a sensible discussion on the way forward. I get the impression that this season is definately make or break for Evans and isn't it a delicious coincidence that the season ends a month or so before London 2012!
If Evans walks does he take the debt with him, is he now responsible for it? I've forgotten the ins and outs of his take over. Does he own the debt now? JWM, I guess it helps when people aren't pissed and livid about the result lol.
I think I am right that Evans bought the debt. Surely he would only sell if he could make a tidy profit on his investment.
What makes you think I was talking about you mate, it's not like you have a history of outbursts or anything. That comment could easily apply to many people, don't take it personally.
A very good article, although I feel probably 8 months to late, as i think the club despite the poor result last night is finally going in the right direction under the guidence of PJ. We have had 3 wasted years under Evans, he has made many mistakes but hopefully appears to have learnt from them. We hit an all time low about 8 months ago and survived last season meaning we've had to have a complete rebuild over the summer and PJ's job is only half done, patience is the key this season. We will experience a few more lows but I have confidence Jewell knows what he is doing. I think last night and today seems to have caused alot of unneccessary doom and gloom, I'm sure things aren't as bad as people seem to make out(apart from our CB's who truely are terrible) JWM i think its a bit over the top to suggest we need to be relegated, we don't, and I feel we have started from a clean slate this season as we've basically had a full overhaul from last season, still to be completed. And I have to say attacking wise and entertainment wise we were definitely better than he last 2 years. The 1st half was pretty poor but we created chances and kept the ball on the floor in the main. And the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half I have not been so excited at a football match since the Burley, Royle days, we actually had a time when we were continuously putting pressure on the opposition box, this time last year we never would have even thought we could get back in the game. Unfortunately everytime Southampton attacked they looked like they were going to score!! And Spanish I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually agree with you, since ME has come in we seem to have got to many journey men in who don't improve on the quality we already had in the squad. I think Jewell has definitely improved the quality in our squad with the likes of JET, Chopra, Cresswell and Stockdale although tbf it wasn't difficult for him to improve on the quality we had. However I do think we need some experience in the team, although I have been very dissapointed with Bowyer. Its clear we needs some spine to the team, an experienced CB who organizes the defence, an experienced midfielder who can control a game and an experienced striker who can hold up the ball and do some of the nasty stuff a bit like Holt and Lambert!!! But we also need these young hungry players aswell. The trouble is we were such a mess we need soo many players, Jewell has got 8 in which he has done well to do, especially when you look at other clubs signings but we still need more.
Sounds like a good assessment to me ´tache, and as dave said, we know how you feel, except the bit about the invisible wealthy backer, and it does look as if the problems are far more deep-rooted than just a couple of players here or there. Maybe a good clearout would be the answer, our fortunes certainly turned on the appointment of McNally as CEO, just as much as on the appointment of Lambert. As always, I wish you all the best, but believe me, as much as it might hurt, it may have to get worse before it gets better.
thats the key for me..decent mix of youth and experience..only happy with selling our best youth players if we can replace them with good hungry players! For me a couple more decent purchases and we will improve!
PJ states the obvious in saying we need to get more pace into the team and thats the mystery, Josh Carson who is young and fast came on last Saturday against Hull and straight away we start to threaten, so what happens for the very next match? Josh isnt even on the bench! And so we revert to being one paced plodders and get thrashed. One man with pace is not enough but it gets defenders going backwards and put under pressure and so hopefully gaps and space start to appear. I dunno perhaps we are just not clever enough.
