"danger of qualifying for europe" -- the mere fact this is true about the board's thinking is plain ridiculous.
And don't agree with devil you know stuff - esp in this case. To me, its very defeatist to accept that - it could be a Tan or Venkys or it could be a John Henry. I'd take my odds on it being more in-between than as rock bottom as Mike Ashley & Vincent Tan.
Not saying you are defeatist, just my opinion on that type of thought.