Has James Fowler (assistant manager) left?

I'm not sure coton is directly to blame. Hasn't the entire scouting network been stripped right back? Regardless of who the manager is , the biggest short term investment needs to be in the scouting network and the academy (and the staff who coach the academy).


As for the manager, I think Ross should be given a fair crack at it this season unless it falls to pieces. Having said that, if the new owners do bring there own man in then do be it.

 

Have you got shares in the local bookies?

 

Yeah, maybe that is it with the scouting etc. Agree that investment needs to go into those areas.

 

The best example in British sport is Saracens rugby club. A club that has been transformed from almost nothing to the finest in Europe.
They've done that through building solid foundations, establishing a clear identity, only appointing staff and signing players who fit in with their core values, and prioritising youth. Not just chucking money at it.
To be fair, Saracens aren't too dissimilar to the way the Miami Marlins are run, who these chaps also invest in (although surely you know that?), so I'm surprised that they'd go down the route of flinging money at established Premier League managers.

 

I’m in complete agreement with this. The blind defence of Ross has to stop.

We were easily the best squad in league last season and finished 5th.

We are labouring again.

‘Try him with better players’? He bought the ****ers, and he perseveres with the wrong ones, in the wrong positions, in the wrong systems.

People saying bringing in a quality gaffer is a gamble but then saying Ross having money to spend isn’t? It’s the same thing surely?

I’m not Ross out, but I can say I’m certain he won’t take us beyond the Championship. His fear of losing and inability to motivate is damning.

I missed the game Tuesday, here we were great before the pen miss then fell away. Well we got to half time in front a good manager, a top manager gets the mentality sorted and sends them out full of beans, we got ploughed second half.

In fact, **** it, I’m gonna just say it. I think he’s ****e, I think he’s had a lot of time, and I think 11 wins in 31 games for a club like us in the 3rd tier is a ****ing shambles.

For me he needs 6-8 wins before January or we have to move him aside. All the money in the world doesn’t matter if we hit a 3rd year in the little leagues.

 

How can we emulate a rugby club where the financial set up is entirely different, not to mention their entire make up.

In any case we were talking football, so which clubs did you mean when you were talking about us emulating them.

 

Tell you who we can emulate Smug, the one to look at is Leicester.

Rich owner that spent and balanced, now they are a very good premier league club with a title to their name no less.

I’ve no doubt we can be a Leicester.

 

Exactly, rich owners who spent money and had a plan.

They'll keep spending as they did in the summer.

Of course we need the basics, the academy, etc ... every club does.

But I'm not interested in years of bringing on suitable prospects and developing youngsters to get to the PL.

We have the money to get back just as Ashley did with Newcastle ...
... just do it.

Ross has managed to quieten his own crowd with dreary cautious football, I'm sick of it.

 

Man City would be better they did it with cash and cheating the FFP

 

This is one of the attitudes that holds football back. It's so insular and fearful of new ideas. Rugby Union, on the other hand looks at other sports, other clubs to bring in new ideas and progress the sport.

If you look at the principles on which Saracens have achieved their success, which I've spelt it, it should be fairly obvious that those principles can be equally applied in either football or rugby. It's not like I'm suggesting they start playing with an oval ball or scrumming down after every offside.

In terms of football clubs, Southampton, Sassuolo, RB Leipzig, who have used their money to grow steadily and sustainably are good models.

 

Exactly. We have had the thoughtless flinging around of money under Short. I'd hate to see the club go through that again.

 

I’m with you we can spend to a certain level and accelerate the process of getting back to the PL, if we are savvy with contracts we can leave a lovely chunk of leeway in the FFP for as and when we get there.

We have to be better. It’s one thing saying we were in free fall, it’s another accepting that play off contenders in the 3rd tier is remotely acceptable.

We’re ****ing Sunderland, no disrespect but getting outplayed by Ipswich, Rotherham, Peterborough and in large spells Oxford? It’s a shambles.

 

Can’t put Liepzig in that bracket mate, they absolutely took the piss and sidestepped DFB rules used every loophole in the book. They are cheats and hated in Germany as a result.

Southampton are a decent blueprint though.

 

Whoever the owners are and I do not doubt it will be as Smug has hinted, I hope that the re-build will include a fit for purpose academy system developing the likes of the two Jordans and the group who took Wolves to task, but not move them sideways or out as reward. One is currently being wasted by being played out of position in our current youth team by some numb scull after impressing two years ago in the first team and then left to rot. I also don't understand why Embleton was not even on the bench against Rotherham after impressing as a sub in the previous game, yet players who have repeatedly failed to impress are persevered with ad infinitum.

 

Southampton are so sustainable they were 1 win away from relegation, last season, and could easily go down this season.

Their squad is a shadow of what it was since they sold off their best players.

 

Oh yeah, they rode roughshod over a lot of clubs and didn't do pay any heed to traditional clubs. They did put a lot of money and effort in to building their foundations, even if that meant swallowing up other clubs, to create a strong platform.

 

Mind, ****ing worked didn’t it, supremely impressive in the Champions League last night.

 

But they built themselves up from League 1 carefully and through sensible player acquisition and established themselves as a Premier League. They've actually gone through several rounds of selling off players and remaining competitive. Their fortunes may now be fading, but the way they re-established themselves was excellent.

 

I believe they'll address every part of the club from top to bottom.

But we need to get out of this stinking league and Ross looks lost.

We couldn't afford to pay him and his staff off before but we soon will.

 

Damn well did!