I wondered at the time why Trollope was appointed to the job but now I understand why - he was the only real choice given the club's plans. It's not necessarily his fault, but no other prospective manager worth his salt at this level would have taken on such a soul destroying set of circumstances at this club. They've been laid bare and out in the open this past month despite this trash about targeting a top 6 finish. The cashing in on Fabio (albeit via a release clause) and now Marshall are all part of an obvious cost reduction plan that includes the club virtually pleading with others to take big earners Macheda, Le Fondre and Dikgacoi off our hands. It's almost embarrassing. It may all be a necessary master plan to comply with FFP this season, but the evidence is clear. He might not have thought it at the time when he took the job, but I'm fast coming to believe that Trollope is another "Slade" type appointment to see this season out. On the evidence so far, if he keeps us up he will have fulfilled his task just like Slade did last season, but forget the bullshit about going for top 6. The club has set it's stall out and Championship survival with high earners off the books ready for next season is the real target. Next year will provide the last installment of our Prem season parachute payment. If Tan is still committed to the club, it will only be then that we can even think about looking toward the top of the division rather than over our shoulders at clubs below us.
Yesterday there were at least five players playing out of position, a rookie goalkeeper, the most ineffevtive and slow midfield I've seen since well last season, and a striker who seems worse than Cornelius. Only Harris seems to have some spark about him where as all the other offensive players are just so passive, sluggish, pedestrian and lacking any movement. I was pleased to see Le Fondre on the bench not least because if they're paying him that amount of money then he should be in the first team squad and it was a pity he didn't get a chance for a run out to show us what he can or can't do. I really do have concerns that city will struggle this season. I said so after the QPR game when I questioned whether there were three worst teams in this league and whilst I saw some glimmer of optimism after the Fulham result, deep down unless the team start playing with more pace, forward drive tempo, and players make runs and collect the ball with their backs to their own goal and find some spark with a goalscorer then League 1 is on the horizon. The club is in a bad state; who decided Fred was worth signing needs to change vocation. I'm slowly losing my feeling for the club after over 45 years - if I didn't have a season ticket I probably would not have bothered yesterday.
Agreed - even the most optimistic of us pre-season must have thought yesterday we're in for a hard slog this year. We clearly haven't got the clinical players at the club to take the chances that do come along, and to be honest, with our painfully slow build up play we're not really creating enough for those we have got. Apart from Harris, there is no pace nor urgency in our game. Two great goals from distance at Fulham masked the real problem. Those sort of goals will come along now and again, but other than a set piece, we have little chance of scoring from inside the box with the players we've got. Most goals come from virtual tap ins by opportunist poachers and players running the channels who seem to be able to get in the right place at the right time - we don't have those at the club and we'll suffer because of it. Lethargic is absolutely right. Total lack of flair and an apathy about our play that hands the initiative to our opponents every time. We realise the financial implications of overspending, but some serious thinking needs to be done by those charged with running this club about the type of football we play and the type of players we need to do it.
After his poor scoring returns with us and again at Wolves last year, it would take a brave man to hold Le Fondre up as the answer to our problems. Some would go as far as to say we're scraping the bottom of the barrel but the bloody barrel is empty at the moment! Unless someone with serious goal scoring ability is recruited in the next 36 hours it'll be a case of desperate times needing desperate measures. Historically he's a proven goal scorer at this and higher levels and at least he'd offer something completely different to the Gunongbe/Zahore approach who have all the hallmarks of being out of their depth. I'd honestly be prepared to give Le Fondre and even Healey a run out or two rather than put up with more of the same.
WoL via The Sun (2 media outlets of great repute linking us with Gareth McCleary of Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garath_McCleary Why on earth would he want to come to us? Not exactly a regular goal scorer either. Desperate times and desperate headlines for the papers. Posted on transfers link as well.
Trollope should have been set a target of avoiding relegation. Top 6 is absolutely laughable, there is absolutely zero chance of us getting anywhere near top 6. Mid table is a push. Is this Tan's way of punishing fans for turning us back blue and going against his 'lucky red'?
think its tans way of saying this ship can run(financially) on what it takes in even if we scrape by he doesn't give a flying fk, and without tan dipping into his own deep pocket anymore I only see a dim future for us.................lets be honest here this club has been divided but not conquered he`s just run away without a back bone leaving this ship without a captain or navigation charts............not sure when it will happen but im sure the fans will pull together at some desperate point and pull us back from the brink
I agree things have not gone well for him in the last season or so, but in response to you're desire for a tap in merchant, and being in the right place at the right time, that and running the channels was how he made his name. It only works with the right service which he hasn't had with us so far. Given what we've seen from the others to date, I think he should be given a chance. I'm sure he'd score more goals playing in his natural position than Pilks and Immers have scored playing out of position. In lieu of a new signing tomorrow, I'd give him the nod. He couldn't score any fewer goals than our strike force has so far.
I honestly think Tan is miffed at the way it all turned out. He wanted to be a part of the club and the community. The community wanted his money but not him. Sparkey is talking about a run next season...there won't be. Tan will never spend like he spent at the beginning again. He will be more inclined to make us suffer the consequences of our actions (in his mind). He recently stated "I want to be responsible, try to leave this business in a good shape." - Tan will keep the club running but not throw money at it anymore. From 6 months ago: "I’m convinced we can still get promotion and we’re still ambitious. We could have sold David Marshall for £7million, played Simon Moore in goal, got someone else in as back up. Why didn’t we take the money? Because we want to go to the Premier League and David’s a big part of that." - Hmmmmm.what changed? I agree with Aber that Tan is not as interested as he was, but the fans won't "pull anything back from the brink". The "fans" were half the problem. These sentences from Tan, I think, sums up how he feels: "Am I being unreasonable to ask the fans to be reasonable? Maybe the club is lucky you’ve got an idiot like me who has come from far away and put in so much money!"
no offence meant in anyway 2 you temple but i gotta say about tan he`s such a martyr isn't he the fking stupid cun.t should have realised at the start that chairmen are very rarely the men that take the glory in football circles, and also let me say he didn't come here for the BENEFIT of our club, he seen we were in trouble and just took advantage of what he thought would be his cash cow and designer dog in one after it being sold by the riddler himself another shady business man>>>>>but what ultimately fkd him up was his stupid greedy idea of making us red and that's where this all lies now........a dysfunctional club with a fan base more splintered than a fking splintery splintered thingy not a rant at you temps just getting a bit of a tan of my chest
I agree with you Aber. I am just presenting how I think Tan views things and why he won't ever spend like he did before. He does not have the personality to be a football club owner. He gets hurt to easily by criticism.
