If CP had been given as much money or more than other managers in the championship and we had failed completely then your argument might have some credibility, however, since achieving promotion he has had to cut his cloth accordingly. I cannot see anyone of the current championship managers or those who are without a job (possible exception Curbishley ) doing as good a job with the money and resource available. Button was never given the opportunity of a run in the first team but was by no means a dud. Wilson for whatever small amount he cost us (probably the train fare from Stevenage) is not a dud either. Church is not at the end of his career at 25. Sodall may be a dud but he was taken on in the hope that CP could restore some of the early promise that he showed. Unfortunately the £3m tag has gone to his head and unless he knuckles down and covers the mileage he is an expensive hobby If we are paying more for him than we would have paid for Haynes or I'mguessing, then we are being robbed, but as supporters we do not know that. It could be that Bolton have let him go out on championship wages in the hope of someone who has a record of making a silk purse out of sod all turning around a career blighted by an over inflated ego. Yes we all would have liked Obika back but that was not to be.
I think the analogy has run its course, SVC. You make a good case, but the alchemy bit was a step too far for me. One win in ten (perhaps eleven) is not good enough. Hollands should be playing, not Gower. Green should be playing, not Stewart. Haynes, BWP or Fuller should be playing, not Sordell. No Plan B for the loss of Kermit.
Now before people jump on me about comparing the two, but didn't Curbs have many runs where we would be 8,9,10 games without a win? It does happen. And there is a big difference to this difficult start to the nightmare 18 game winless run in our relegation season.
The reason that Fuller, BWP and Haynes are not playing is that the Club had to lower the wage bill in line with FFP. I agree with you re Hollands, he had a good game in the Oxford match but was never going to play under Powell. The same is true of Cook and Green, all will be gone at the end of the season.
The arrivals of Church, Gower and Sordell outweigh the cost of retaining Fuller. Retaining Fuller would have ensured a better start to the season, I'm sure, and he could have helped Piggott and Smith mature along the way. CP brought in Hollands, Green and Cook, yet he is unable to do anything with them. They are good players with good potential, but why are they not progressing under the guidance of Powell and Dyer? The management team has failed badly.
Sorry to admit that recently not really agreed with you Ponders but about Green and Holland I couldn't agree more, I also said Gower was a pointless signing and have always been more excited about Church than Sordell, as much as I thought Fuller was over rated much rather Fuller than Sordell by a mileeeee
Fuller was on 12k a week last season and was willing to drop down to around 7k a week to stay with us. Gower, Church & our contribution to the Fish's wages will outweigh the above. It's a question of judgement and priorities, just like it was when we spent £250k on a reserve keeper last season who never played.
You haven't agreed with me lately? What folly is this, Ted? I am stunned by such a revelation. Ha! Only joking, my friend. I don't think anyone ever agrees with me. Green and Hollands deserve a prolonged run in the side, not just bits here and there. They were signed by Powell and must feel bitterly disappointed by his lack of faith in them over the last two seasons. Poor management, I say.
To be fair, the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz had more heart than Danny Green (and I am not making any comparison between the scarecrow and Chingford Addick )
For me Green makes far too many poor decisions that leave him unable to be relied on for a prolonged period of time. Technically, he has the quality to change a game, as he did in the last 20 minutes against Wolves at the Valley last season, setting up both goals in a 2-1 win. However, he also does a fair amount that I can see would irk CP, like constantly getting booked for the most ridiculous and ill-needed tackles, or repeatedly shooting from corner kicks. I am not saying he has always been treated fairly or that he doesnt deserve a return, but people were clambering for him to be included for the Middlesborough game and then were quick to berate his poor performance. I think there is an element of 'he has been out of a team that is playing badly so he must be better than what we have' about people's attitudes towards Green. As far as Hollands goes I am in the camp that doubts wether or not he can cut it at this level. I think he lacks the pace (both of his legs and of his mind) needed at this level. I am not doubting his industry or his ability to pass, tackle or pop up with the odd goal, but in the Championship you need to be able to do all those things at speed and he has always seemed somebody that needs that extra second to make a decision. If I were CP I would be encouraging Cousins to burst forward more and hey presto! You have a better version of Hollands. Of the striking options, I would have only kept Fuller (BWP needs 3 chances to score a goal which you just do not get at this level, Haynes has chocolate hamstrings). Fuller was a handful and even on an off day would occupy defenders, Mckenzie & Broadfoot I am sure couldnt believe their luck coming up against Sordell on Saturday.
Did CP not research these attributes before signing the player? Can CP coach the player not to do these things? I'm fairly confident he would have put in a better performance than Harriott on Saturday. Why sign Gower, then? Couldn't agree more! I'd rather see Dervite in front of the defence, and Cousins further forward. Despite having deficiencies, Haynes or BWP would be preferable to Sordell.
But we didn't spend 250000 on Button as the payment was deferred. We then sold him when the payment to Spurs was overdue. That is FACT by the way Typical in case you think I made it up.
Only just caught up with all the posts. Sounds like the performance was a bit of a let-down after Tuesday. But I'm sure it was Curbs who said that if you're in a bad run the most important thing you can do is stop losing, which we have done. Plus, we kept a clean sheet. Slim pickings I know, but 2 draws against teams currently well-placed in the league (I accept that Blackpool probably aren't as good as their current position suggests) isn't that bad. And as regards Fuller - if Vol is right and he was willing to take a pay cut to stay, whose fault is it that we let him go? That's a genuine question btw.
Apparently we had help from the sponsors with Fuller last season. Perhaps they were unable/unwilling to assist again?
