It isn’t about blame. It is about understanding the current situation. We would be set as a prem club in an era where the disparity between the leagues has never been bigger if we had invested appropriately over the last 6 years.
? I just said he wouldn’t play that way. I think that’s a fair comment? He has his very preferred style & doggedly sticks to it & yep it got us here. Some argue that’s good, some not so.
Did anyone who doesn't sit in the Northam manage to get a pic of the giant flag? What one did they go for in the end? And on the subject of flags wtf happened to the Markus one that we all paid for? I don't recall seeing it since the cup final 7 years ago.
Didn’t the Markus one come out and get moved across the Kingsland in the play off game vs West Brom? Or did I make that up
Quite and he might have owned the Club but he wasn’t on the field playing or deciding how to set up the team.
I don't remember that? My attention to detail isn't the best at times though so I may have missed it! Be good if anyone knows for sure? Cheers for the link to Saturday's flag. Not a fan tbh and looks rather tacky.
Gao was a ****ing charlatan. We should always remember that he initially failed the notoriously hard to fail 'fit and proper' test and therefore should have been nowhere near our club. Clubs (us included) then voted to change the rules afterwards to ensure someone in his situation wouldn't get through again. Gao was deemed by the PL to be a less suitable owner than the Saudis and a bloke who didn't exist. Let that sink in. And then there's the LD Sports fiasco...
You said he wouldn’t understand it … “Maybe but he wouldn’t understand it. Sorry, no chance” … which is different to he wouldn’t play that way I understand that we have differences of opinion on whether our sluggishness is down to RM instructions or player execution I know you think the former and I think the latter, we’ll have to see how the season pans out. Last season had its extremes of good and bad performances, maybe this one will too?
The same will happen to RM as happened to our Nigel I am afraid. Many don't like to admit it but Martin is way out of his depth. What is it they say "If you can't change your mind maybe yo don't have a mind to change".
Not really. He took us deep into a period of underinvestment during which the squad fell behind similar level teams in the premier league.
My mistake, I thought we stayed up under Gao and SR took us down after reasonable, but inappropriate, investment.
Well you said he kept us up. I would say we stayed up based on what came before him - so we stayed up despite him.
This might be controversial but I don't think Gao or SR took us down. The player's that gave up and wanted away did. You can replace a manager mid season but you can't replace bad apples in a squad or replace the whole team. Both Gao and SR have made bad decisions but I don't think either wanted relegation. SR chose from the limited options for managers available. Ralph had run out of ideas and was tired of management and Nathan was flying high with Luton and available. Unfortunately we chose a manager that cracked at the first time of pressure.
I won’t deny that we deteriorated significantly under GAO. It was frustrating seeing the £70m from VVD not being reinvested as soon as he bought us. But SR took over a struggling PL side and took us over the line. Would we have been relegated the next season if Gao had stayed? Maybe. Would we have been relegated at some point in time if that level of investment had been sustained? Very likely. We will never know.
Am I not correct in thinking that at the time , or just after GAO bought the club , The Chinese govt made it impossible to invest in the club ?
