I agree. Don't think there is anything terribly wrong with the figures, but KL may have felt that it could all have been better if the club was run in the way she would like (as she is entitled to do). I think you do feel differently when the money is yours and you are not in sole charge of someone else's money. NC's achievements have been massive, but things could have been better, using our shirt sponsorship as just one example. There is also some problem with Adidas I believe with talk of the contract being cancelled. My view is that the board thinks there is room for improvement in the club as a whole. Whilst we can't expect massive signings, we have already been told that they are ready to act if rapid action is needed....I take that to mean that there will be a budget for new players. Having invested so much, I doubt KL wants to put a halt to progress.
Tom, in real life, progress isn't always a smooth upward line on a graph. To me 8-12th is about the same; it's how you get there that is different. If we have a bit of a relegation flirt and end up climbing to 12th, I'll be disappointed. If we have a similar season to this year in terms of being comfortable and flirting upwards but finish 12yh it would not be a problem for me. There will be 19 other teams tryin to progress. We'd all ideally like a trophy.
This squad has the potential to be 4th or 5th with a couple of well-thought out additions. Arguably we could have been this year but for our self destruct button. Really, the only team who has bettered us is Chelsea (and Suarez). We need to score more goals when on top and to cut out the silly mistakes when we are not. Simple What does worry me a bit is the World Cup affect. Players who have been in summer tournaments don't start well as a rule. They don't get the rest their bodies need and they miss a lot of the pre-season training. Although I want all our boys in Brazil, the flip side is the more who go, the more likely it is that we have a bad start to the season.
I'm just setting my expectations by what the players and management are saying - the target is to get into Europe. That is why I'm saying top half is my expectation so if we don't get into Europe we are reasonably close.
So we no longer need the Mexican suicide trip...or does that follow blowing all the money in the casinos. Wonder if Katharina would like to come.
Our good preseason resulted in a great start this season...won't be the same this time....though the England lads will be back early
This thought has also struck me recently. If the players look after themselves [as they do nowadays] and are monitored well, they shouldn't suffer too many problems. They'll probably be allowed a little extra break before coming back as well.
No disagreement; we're in damned fine shape to my eye. I just get the sense that our management wants to recoup some of the money invested, and that consequently we aren't going to see a big transfer outlay unless offset by player departures.
I see Spurs have posted a 1.5 million profit....hardly massive for a regular top ten club. I think you really need to understand accounts to assess them properly.
The fixtures could be important. Get a run of games like last season and the momentum of the season could be different, but as LFF has said this team has only struggled against Chelsea and Suarez so far. Keeping our players is important but you definitely can't stand still. We have enough players out of the squad picture/on loan who we can sell for a bit of £££. Guly, Barnard & Forte will be gone. Hooiveld or Yoshida are likely to be sold too. We're going to need a few new faces, but the tighter budget is not going to be news to those involved in recruitment. We have been linked to a couple of players like Hunt & Diego who are due to be free agents in the summer. If we look at players within the last year of their contracts then we can pick up some relative bargains without dropping the quality
