Are Mike and Del Boy Forgiven Now?

[Stu]

Been a canny transfer window, HBA signing got everyone happy it seems. Mike and Derek are even getting decent press on here.

 

So are the 'Cockney Bastards' starting to feel our love?

 

ridiculous...and no-one should ever forget the relegation

 

I suppose you don't share the view that relegation was possibly a good thing for the club as it allowed us to wipe the slate clean from the excess and overspend of the Shepherd later years? A general lowering of expectations amongst the media and supporters hasn't gone without notice (and subsequent improvement of our support).

 

Also, it broke up the monotony of playing the same 17 teams each season, quite enjoyed our random away trips (as a one-off season, not a regular thing)

[Stu]

If we beat Blackpool and get one or two more bodies in before Tuesday then I'll be optimistic about the club and where we're headed. It shouldn't have needed relegation to sort us out but that's the way it's worked out. I'll never get too carried away because it'll only take a couple of injuries or bad defeats to change the mood.

 

They need to continue to put things right though. Shouldn't rest on their laurels.

 

 

Spot on again mate. They've made some terrible mistakes but they're finally starting to make ammends, slowly but surely. I'm not saying forget the past, but it's getting a bit tedious constantly digging and criticising everything move that is made.

 

We look like we're finally headed in the right direction and if we continue that way then I'm happy enough

 

Ozzie made a good point the other day, that a certain section of our support are constantly looking for something to whinge about and blame Ashley/Llambias for.

 

Surprised that someone reasonably level-headed like Dave still seems to have such a big axe to grind

[Dave]

WUM

[Aphrodite]

he is just running the club in a manner that he thinks will give him the best chance of re-couping his money. Anything good that comes of it is entirely coincidental.

 

Isn't that what all chairmen do?

[buzza]

Dave; expected more than that... WUM is a bit poor, anything to back it up (don't know if there is an ongoing saga so update if so...)

[Stu]

WUM

 

[Dave]

Dave; expected more than that... WUM is a bit poor, anything to back it up (don't know if there is an ongoing saga so update if so...)

 

I apparently have an axe to grind because I don't want SportsDirect.com banners plastered all over our magnificent stadium. Along with others I apparently WANT to be pissed off and disgusted about things going on with the club I support and love, so I look for things that aren't even there.

 

It's utter rot, and a fairly rubbish wind-up to name me. He's got his bite now though I guess.

[beerherenow]

No, and never will be for me proven to have lied and misled. Pair of chancers with a lack of class fuck them.

[buzza]

I agree completely with the sports direct bollshiite he wants to plaster over stadium, i also think that he has to do a lot more to right the wrongs from the past i.e keegan, allardice, kinnear, wise, llambias...etc

BUT i do think things are goimng in the right direction now and I think this transfer window has been one of the most dignified we'd ever had e.g. not bowing to high wage demands (taylor), getting a good signing on cheap (tiote) and also getting a good loan deal (arfa). if we were to sign another striker I would be creaming our business deals this summer.

It's getting ther e at least...

[Stu]

Dave; expected more than that... WUM is a bit poor, anything to back it up (don't know if there is an ongoing saga so update if so...)

 

I apparently have an axe to grind because I don't want SportsDirect.com banners plastered all over our magnificent stadium. I apparently WANT to be pissed off and disgusted about things going on with the club I support and love, so I look for things that aren't even there.

 

It's utter rot, and a fairly rubbish wind-up to name me. He's got his bite now though I guess.

 

You're better than that though Dave, your recent posts relating to Ashley/the ownership/club policy are almost always negative and there seems to be a steadfast refusal from you (and other posters - I hadn't read some of the other threads before I responded to this, so it wasn't intended as a wind-up to name you in particular, you just happened to reply to LLLO's post) to give Llambias or Ashley any credit whatsoever (that goes to Hughton, the players, the tea lady, i.e. anyone BUT them) yet all the shit gets directed towards their failings as owners/chief executive.

 

They've definitely made mistakes but are we going to crucify them forever? Relegation wasn't the end of the world, turned out to be a bit of fun in all honesty (after the pain of May 2009) and (as I pointed out somewhere else) allowed a fresh slate after the SJH/Shepherd years. Maybe you have to go one step back to take two or three steps forward - I have the optimism that we've finally turned a corner and are heading in the right direction (we started falling on 30 August 2004), do you disagree?

[Dave]

I'm happy to give them credit where it's due, and that includes for this transfer window if we don't sell any of our better players. You obviously haven't been reading what I actually post, just jumping on me not wanting wanky fucking adverts all over the stadium.

[Stu]

I'm happy to give them credit where it's due, and that includes for this transfer window if we don't sell any of our better players. You obviously haven't been reading what I actually post, just jumping on me not wanting wanky fucking adverts all over the stadium.

 

Probably, don't have time to read all of the threads - apologies if you think the naming and shaming was uncalled for (just saw your post about the singing section tickets).

[Dave]

Yeah well I think it's a stupid idea and one that only serves to piss people off (some really like that though, remember ) and probably dampens the atmosphere in the stadium. Yes there were charvers up there but it worked in terms of being a boisterous singing section. Ironically enough it was this regime's idea, they've clearly just decided they didn't like what was being sung. That's not me saying the rapist thing was clever btw.

[Kaizero]

Given they'll not fuck it up before the window closes, they're getting closer to being "proper" owners imo. Not trying to be in the lime light but rather doing their business away from the public. Granted, I for one have never believed Ashley have been on some sort of agenda to run us into the ground like a lot of people seem to be thinking. I just think he's been quite naive in his way of owning a football club and that the Keegan debacle did nobody any favours, and I don't believe Ashley foresaw the major fallout that would come from it when he undermined Keegan. I still have the feeling it was Wise who was the main culprit in the event. Also, I don't particularily blame Ashley for "stopping" to pump loads of his cash into the club after the fallout given how he wouldn't even let his kids go to the games out of fear they'd be beaten up for being his kids and shit like that, employing Kinnear though.. fuck off.

 

So to sum things up: Original plan implemented that we seem to be following now with young players in and not overspending beyond our means = good. Fallout with Keegan = Bad. Refusing to use loads of his cash = 50/50. Employing Wise in the first place = Very bad. Plastering SD shit over SJP = Fuck off.

 

At the moment I'd say I'm 70% angry and 30% okay-ish with the man, which is a vast improvment on how I felt after the relegation.

 

Llambias I just don't like so can't really say anything about him.

[Guest Roger Kint]

No theres still time to ruin any good they have done in the past week

[binnsy]

Been a canny transfer window, HBA signing got everyone happy it seems. Mike and Derek are even getting decent press on here.

 

So are the 'Cockney Bastards' starting to feel our love?

 

ridiculous...and no-one should ever forget the relegation

 

How's that ridiculous? It has been canny, certainly considering the lowered expectations

 

 

The window isn't over yet, we could easily wake up on Monday or Tuesday to find out he's sold Carroll and Jose.

[Robster]

They need to cut out the ambigious web site Statements. We don't need more confusion like with the "capital outlay" one.

 

[Dave]

They need to cut out the ambigious web site Statements. We don't need more confusion like with the "capital outlay" one.

 

 

That one was really daft. For some reason they thought they needed to clarify questions that weren't being asked.

[Cronky]

I find the whole concept of 'forgiveness' a strange one here. They made mistakes, but there was no malicious intent. Shit happens. Just get over it.

[JH]

They need to cut out the ambigious web site Statements. We don't need more confusion like with the "capital outlay" one.

 

 

That one was really daft. For some reason they thought they needed to clarify questions that weren't being asked.

 

The problem is the statements are being worded like proper business statements, read by businessmen and stock brokers etc. etc. They still don't get that running a football club is different to every other kind of business. These statements are read by the fans and this needs to be reflected in their style of writing.

 

I really think that if we had a proper football chairman rather than Llambias by himself, we'd improve as a club alot quicker. The thing that's most hindering this management team is lack of footballing knowledge.

[Guest Heneage]

They need to cut out the ambigious web site Statements. We don't need more confusion like with the "capital outlay" one.

 

 

That one was really daft. For some reason they thought they needed to clarify questions that weren't being asked.

Did it not work? Made the fans lower expectations, and were thus surprised by what we have eventually ended up with.

[Dave]

They need to cut out the ambigious web site Statements. We don't need more confusion like with the "capital outlay" one.

 

 

That one was really daft. For some reason they thought they needed to clarify questions that weren't being asked.

Did it not work? Made the fans lower expectations, and were thus surprised by what we have eventually ended up with.

 

You imply expectations were too high. Can't remember anyone on here at least expecting them to spend big. There was nothing in that stupid statement that couldn't have been communicated through Hughton.

[Guest Heneage]

They need to cut out the ambigious web site Statements. We don't need more confusion like with the "capital outlay" one.

 

 

That one was really daft. For some reason they thought they needed to clarify questions that weren't being asked.

Did it not work? Made the fans lower expectations, and were thus surprised by what we have eventually ended up with.

 

You imply expectations were too high. Can't remember anyone on here at least expecting them to spend big. There was nothing in that stupid statement that couldn't have been communicated through Hughton.

Apologies that wasn't what I was trying to imply. I thought/hoped we'd spend 5-10m little bit under what your average promoted side does. When I heard the outlay statement, I thought it would be frees and possibly one loan player who would all be cast off's or fringes of other squads.

 

By contrast we've spent nearly 4m on a midfielder, got a top attacker on loan with the option to purchase, an experienced centre back, wangled a contract to get an exciting young midfielder. I think if you'd told most that in July they'd be very happy.

[Interpolic]

We've done well this window despite spending fuck-all, so they've done really well actually. All hinged on the Ben Arfa transfer mind - if all the posturing resulted in another club picking him up then we'd have most probably signed somebody crap instead.

 

I still hate them though and don't know if I'll ever trust them fully. We'll see about that when we actually start progressing as a football club compared to the point when Ashley arrived.

[afar]

I'm certainly not going to hold a grudge, I tend to not dwell in the past in all aspects of my life. They've done well in the last 2 windows, their ham fisted attempt to lower expectations worked in a way, we were surprised and delighted with the players we brought in, no one expected the amount of money we have spent (which actually isn't very much) becuase of that statement.