Jackie Broon

Based on income isn't it? He's not going to be having much of that.

You'd think so, but something like half of Premier League footballers are bankrupt within 5 years of retiring.

Players are with us because they are flawed. If a player were complete with skill, pace, great decision making and consistency they would be playing for Man City, Chelsea, Barcelona instead of us. Sissoko has flaws and can be frustrating, but that's why he plays for us and not a top team.

Only thing that can save us now. For all the talk of Ashley wanting us to follow the 'Arsenal model', surely its Everton that Ashley should be looking too. There're the prime example of how to compete on a relative shoestring in the premier league and the man that set that all up is currently unemployed. But we're not interested, and vica versa, because he'd want full control over transfers... Like our current setup is such a sucess in that department!

Line-up from .cock: Very apt!

So what's the crack with him and Pulis? http://www.thesecretfootballer.com/articles/the-secret-footballer/29898/strange-case-of-star-player-caught-in-middle-of-chairman-manager-transfer-standoff/

I don't think Peace is going to accept any offer until it's too late for Pulis to spend the money. There's probably no point in us going back with offer after offer. If Peace is willing to sell this window, he's probably waiting until the last minute to do it.

If the secret footballer story has any truth to it the chairman might be temped to sell right at the close of the window so Pulis won't have time to spend it.

In previous January windows we've gone after / got the likes of Shefki Kuqi and Carlton Cole, it's a huge step up from those days. Gomis would be better than nothing, and certainly better than previous panic buys.

won't do though the land is being sold off and the fans are not putting up enough fuss so unfortunately we are f***ed with this size stadium forever Tbh, we don't need a bigger stadium, we wouldn't fill it. Even back during the Robson era there were empty seats at most league matches, for the Champions League matches it was half empty. Maybe if we had Dortmund-esque ticket prices it would be different, but that's just a pipe-dream in modern top flight English football, never going to happen anywhere. Don't think it was quite half empty for our CL matches.. I remember there being tonnes of empty seats. I wasn't intending 'half empty' to be taken literally btw, I'm know the attendances weren't 26,000, more like 40ish for most of them.

won't do though the land is being sold off and the fans are not putting up enough fuss so unfortunately we are f***ed with this size stadium forever Tbh, we don't need a bigger stadium, we wouldn't fill it. Even back during the Robson era there were empty seats at most league matches, for the Champions League matches it was half empty. Maybe if we had Dortmund-esque ticket prices it would be different, but that's just a pipe-dream in modern top flight English football, never going to happen anywhere.

That's a hit and a half. Ashley sold £200m worth of shares last year. I imagine he'll see this slump in value as an opportunity to increase his shareholding again, as he has done very successfully in the past.

Sign Mascherano? Nah, Hayden Mullins fits in better.

If you had an ATM card that gave you access to £100,000,000 a year (and rising) in cash, would you chuck it away? The tv bubble will burst within 3 years. Need the guy to get a love for the club again and invest Get a love for the club again? He hates the club and the fans as shown by his behaviour over the last 8-9 years. All he wants is the TV and prize money and, as pointed out above, the free advertising (worth £25m a year and rising) which is 20% interest in lieu of interest on the supposedly 'interest free 'loan' he somehow owes himself, and which he has paid down not one penny. 17th is the goal, that's it. We're not a football club any more. There are only three clubs in the league whose sole aim is to chug along in mid-table and rake in the TV money, it's obvious from the table which they are. It doesn't work anymore, there's too much money available to every club, when every other club is putting in 100% effort no club can afford not to do the same. If he doesn't tear up this self defeating, doomed business model and spend big this month he's going to lose that income. He's not going to be able to fluke his way back to the honeypot at the first attempt this time too, he dismantled the spirit and backbone that did that for him last time. It's not about love, if he doesn't wake up and see that aiming for mediocrity is no longer a sustainable way to run a premier league club he is going to personally lose a lot of money.

Dawson would be an okay signing, in the short term, to play / fill-in alongside Mbemba. Provided that it would leave more funds available to spend elsewhere, where our main defensive issues lie (central midfield and left back).

However, perfect timing for the post sacking performance boost.

This performance is as much of an indictment of the players and coaching staff as Crystal Palace putting 5 past us. They only ever bother to put in any effort against the 'big clubs'.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/05/02/16/283CBF5300000578-3065381-image-a-7_1430580491728.jpg

Before Moyes came along Everton had escaped relegation on the last day for about 3 the previous 5 seasons. He rebuilt the club, established a very successful scouting system and made them regular top 6 contenders. He is the only available and realistic target who has a track record that suggests he he could turn us around this season and go on to build something decent under Ashley.

Southampton aren't a million miles from us in terms of ownership predicament. An owner with no interest in the club who will only invest in the club by piling debt onto it that she'll eventually want back. The difference is that at Southampton there are obviously competent people handling the day to day running of the club. Ashley isn't going anywhere anytime soon, relegation or not, but with better people running the club things could be very different. Why do Southampton chose competent people and Ashley doesn't? Ashley lives for the bargain basement. Bargain basement MD & managers. And we can only hope he eventually wakes up and sees that it is a false economy. He's been asleep for eight years. He won't wake up. This time there is nowhere else for the blame to lie; no supporter protests, no manager walk-outs or heart attacks, no significant injury crisis, no players sold, money has been spent and a manager they chose and almost got us relegated waiting for. The spotlight is now firmly on the board.

Southampton aren't a million miles from us in terms of ownership predicament. An owner with no interest in the club who will only invest in the club by piling debt onto it that she'll eventually want back. The difference is that at Southampton there are obviously competent people handling the day to day running of the club. Ashley isn't going anywhere anytime soon, relegation or not, but with better people running the club things could be very different. Why do Southampton chose competent people and Ashley doesn't? Ashley lives for the bargain basement. Bargain basement MD & managers. And we can only hope he eventually wakes up and sees that it is a false economy.

Southampton aren't a million miles from us in terms of ownership predicament. An owner with no interest in the club who will only invest in the club by piling debt onto it that she'll eventually want back. The difference is that at Southampton there are obviously competent people handling the day to day running of the club. Ashley isn't going anywhere anytime soon, relegation or not, but with better people running the club things could be very different.

We've got Coloccina, he is from Argentina....

Ashley appointed them. So the buck stops with him for promoting the f***ing club secretary to MD. Whilst I agree, Ashley is the only one that is guaranteed to be going nowhere. So what's your point? My point is we're stuck with Ashley. It's pie in the sky to talk about forcing him out and its fucking stupid to just repeat 'Ashley is the main problem' when there is glaring incompetence below him that could have something done about it.

Ashley appointed them. So the buck stops with him for promoting the f***ing club secretary to MD. Whilst I agree, Ashley is the only one that is guaranteed to be going nowhere.