merlin

I think £2m loan plus £13m transfer fee is scandalous for Townsend tbh. Hes worth about £10m max tbh as hes declined since he played for us last Spurs paid 30 for sissoko, this is the market now. ...which doesn't bode well for the deals we will do in summer, if promoted.

Never predict matches - will take it a game at a time. Suspect Ashley has put a large bonus in Rafa's contract if he gets us back up....neither will care what happens after that if there is any conflict over budget. The sooner the points necessary are achieved, the happier I will be but there will be some tricky games before March. Still on 7.5, will review at end of Feb.

So he will - but not anywhere near the extent he needs to be...as everyone will see. what would you consider adequate backing in the summer out of interest? There is no doubt in my mind that we need a minimum of FOUR top quality players...and I mean, top quality. We will still not pull any trees up with 4 - we need a better No 10 as a priority and a LB is desperate for the PL...Gayle is still to be given a full test up front at the highest level and the jury is out until that happens but we def need either a target man or quality cover for him. A good flank player is also a must and I have doubts about our central defence in the PL...it hasn't looked great over the past few Champ games. All this - a bare min - is going to cost the club around 50m, just to get 4 reasonable PL players. To have any hope of top 10 you can add another 25-30m. Now, I would like YOUR take on what is needed.... All depends on what we're aiming for first season back up but for me financial backing in the region of £60-80m spent is required to get us in a position to compete and hopefully not have to worry too much about relegation. Basically a quality CF, CM, CB and winger needed as an absolute minimum. First team quality starter players better than what we have. Add to that maybe some gambles, loans, free transfers or whatever and I'd be satisfied Rafa has been 'backed'. Plus the ritual sacrifice of Colback of course. Agreed.

So he will - but not anywhere near the extent he needs to be...as everyone will see. what would you consider adequate backing in the summer out of interest? There is no doubt in my mind that we need a minimum of FOUR top quality players...and I mean, top quality. We will still not pull any trees up with 4 - we need a better No 10 as a priority and a LB is desperate for the PL...Gayle is still to be given a full test up front at the highest level and the jury is out until that happens but we def need either a target man or quality cover for him. A good flank player is also a must and I have doubts about our central defence in the PL...it hasn't looked great over the past few Champ games. All this - a bare min - is going to cost the club around 50m, just to get 4 reasonable PL players. To have any hope of top 10 you can add another 25-30m. Now, I would like YOUR take on what is needed....

Not a hope...until Ashley sells, the club will stagger from disaster to disaster.

So he will - but not anywhere near the extent he needs to be...as everyone will see.

SBR was 70 when he was still managing NUFC....the difference was that SBR still knew what he was doing but Carr just wants to keep the dosh rolling in and having his French stopovers and winery visits.

Got to be down to Ashley's desire to have acolytes who are dependent upon him for a pension pay-off and will therefore do as he wishes...talented people generally do NOT stay in an organization where they are totally subservient to a dictatorial boss who knows less than them. Look at EVERY Ashley appointment apart from KK and Mort and they all fit into this category...Pardew an ultimate failure at every club he has been, JK(no more needs to be said)Jiminez & Co(who are they?), Charnley(Res team Sec), Carver, McClaren etc etc etc...Hughton fired after getting promotion because Ashley & Llambsarse wanted their gambling mate in so they could manipulate him... It all fits a pattern - how anyone could give money to this guy if Rafa - the best manager in terms of trophy wins that NUFC have EVER had - walks away in summer is beyond me.

Yes, I read that, it was spot-on....little else to add to it and if there isn't a massive improvement against Derby any talk about games in hand, goal diff and Brighton getting thumped at another possible promotion side(which we still have to visit) will be just whistling in the wind.

This is a great post and one that more people should be thinking about. There is no doubt that the team has been assembled with the pure aim of getting straight back into the PL this season...there would have to be major restructuring of the squad if we do get promoted but heaven help the club if we don't. As you say, Rafa will almost certainly be gone(he could be gone even if we DO go up, if he isn't backed)and any players worth anything will have to be sold...Gayle will be the first if he continues to get goals in the remainder of the season and there will be at least 3 more who will attract some sort of interest. This will leave the club with a worse playing staff, having to bring in a manager like Pardew or Warnock(because nobody worth a light would take it after Rafa and KK's walk-outs)and likely to remain down among the dead-men until Ashley leaves....I said in an earlier post that this would be 3 years' min unless someone comes up with stupid money and that is very unlikely. Back in 1979, we assembled a side with similar characteristics designed for immediate promotion...they failed to make it and we were a rubbish club until KK was signed with the help of the Brewery in 1982 - even then it took 2 years more to get promotion and the manager, Arthur Cox, walked out in pre-season because.......he was at odds with the board over new players..! We were relegated again in 1989 and didn't return until the Magpie Group takeover and KK's installation as manager when he built a promotion side for the PL in 1993. Nothing changes much at NUFC, does it..??

Unless some outfit comes up with ridiculous money, Ashley will be here until the club starts losing him money and the only way that will happen is if we fail to get promoted, Rafa walks and the parachute payments drop off. Even one bad season in the Champ would probably not shift him but a big drop in fan numbers and no progress being made the following season would probably get him twitchy. It was only a boycott and financial pressure that shifted McKeag & Co when SJH was battling to take control and I cannot see any of the aforementioned factors happening in the foreseeable future. 3 Years min with him in charge.

Well, I could easily stop supporting them in the meantime and come back if/when he goes. I don't see how that could be criticised TBH. Not me, I would rather go the rest of this season and shout abuse at Ashley or his cronies than just turn my back on the club, what next, you don't like the new left back so you pack your season ticket in.!!! 'Shout abuse at Ashley & Co'....? You are living in denial mate - they couldn't care less, will probably not even be there to hear it and you know all this...you are just trying to justify giving in to keep supporting a shoddily-run outfit that couldn't care less about its customers...

There is clearly a lot more to Ashley's behaviour than meets the eye ; no person using common sense would get a major investment like NUFC into this type of situation and esp not one who likes to make money...there is something we don't know about here and it stinks to high heaven.

I sincerely hope that many WON'T support this club actively if all this ends the way it seems to be going - time to make Ashley pay, no parachute payments and lower crowds will do that...

A nicer piece of irony I have yet to see Wullie...it was irony, wasn't it..!?

These games will determine the whole season now....bad results in them will have me moving down from today's 7 to a 6......

This all screams 'Play-offs' and this squad is certainly not up to that challenge...1996 and all that beckons.

Now looks as if December was not a blip but a sign that the pressure is getting to these players and that the squad, although decent in quantity, lacks depth in some vital positions - this has not been addressed. Down from 7.5 to 7 now.

He'll be able to borrow them from Ashley...and a barrow to go with them...

A mint team...? That's already LOST 7 matches with only half a season gone and no team strengthening after we blatantly struggled when Shelvey was out..? Not my description at all - promoted sides hardly ever lose more than 5 or 6 games in a season. I agree with what you're saying to an extent, and I too am worried about automatic promotion but having said that its worth mentioning that we are currently 2 points better off now than we were after the same amount of games played in the last promotion season. It does irk me massively that there's a fairly good chance we could be into double figures for losses by the end of the season but if we make up the points with the wins how much does it really matter? It is something Rafa is yet to solve though, why do we seem incapable both mentally and tactically of coming back into a game we go 1-0 down in? We needed two new faces in, decent quality CM cover in case Shelvey is crocked, and a solid winger, and it looks like we've missed out on both, I pray it doesn't come back to bite us. P.s your previous post is bang on, and sadly exactly what I think will end up happening down the line. Thanks for that TWD - I sincerely hope that I'm wrong about Rafa but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he goes in summer.

This is a must-win...and by a decent scoreline too...nobody expecting another 6-0 but if its a struggle or we drop points the alarm bells will really clang.

A mint team...? That's already LOST 7 matches with only half a season gone and no team strengthening after we blatantly struggled when Shelvey was out..? Not my description at all - promoted sides hardly ever lose more than 5 or 6 games in a season.

It will all be very coded I reckon Yes - too wily to start slagging the owner at this point. Will carry on until summer, he or his agent all the while receiving offers from more ambitious clubs until another transfer fiasco results in a move away after a sizeable compensation payment to Ashley...lovely jubbly for him ! Fans the only losers once again and will have to settle for a Warnock-type appointment to keep the club above the bottom PL places...provided Rafa has been able to get the club up. As predictable as the sun coming up in the East...only a massive transfer kitty in June will prevent this or something like it.

If he gets the club promoted its another notch on his CV...esp with having to deal with Ashley & Co and he probably wants to finish the job if he can. If he goes now he gets aggro from the club, fans and media who will say he couldn't hack the Championship..

You won't be alone on giving up on the club if Rafa walks in summer because of limited funds...this is Ashley's LAST chance..