canary cherub

They''ve changed the headline now.  Job done. 

No not me, I''m talking about the real Gary.  He was on a new show on R5 the other night with Steve Claridge and Mick Dennis taking quick-fire questions about football from texters, and I was rather impressed.  Knowledgeable, got straight to the point without being simplistic and didn''t show off.  Recommended. (I think it''s on Wednesday nights.) 

That''s the point Rossi, we saw what happened last season so they can''t say they haven''t been warned. And another thing.  Isn''t it about time they offered Hucks a new contract?  Of course they''re going to.  Aren''t they?

It sounds as though their purpose is to get the players into the shop window so that a club with money to burn will come in for them.  Not necessarily in the UK either, because once they''re on Sky they''ll be seen all over the world.  The power of telly, eh. What interests me is whether Pardew''s control over picking the team will be compromised. Also, whether what MSI have done is legit, and if it isn''t, whether the football authorities will do anything about it. 

"Fans turned on me". Read the article and you''ll find that what Leon actually said was that he got a "mixed reception" at the Torquay and Barnsley games, and "not all the fans understood".  He never said that "the fans turned on me". Shame on you Archant.  There''s enough bad feeling already without adding to it. 

[quote user="T"] I am disappointed we haven''t boosted the squad as I feel our first team is good enough to get promoted but our squad isn''t unless we get lucky with injuries. However, Rainbow is correct. The income is being spent on wages and debt service costs, and also runing costs and infrastucture capex. The board of directors have a fudiciary duty to ensure that they can meet their obligation i.e. ensure there is suffecient funds to meet existing contractual obligations and service the debt before they can enter into new contracts i.e. buy new players. The debt is also likely to have covenants which restict the money that the club can spend. It would be interesting to see a full set of financial statements with detailed p&L, balance sheet, cash flow and notes to see where the money is going and compare them with other clubs then an assessment of the Boards "prudence with ambition" could be made on facts rather than emotional speculation. Normally you would want to see that the debt is no more than say four times the recurring EBITDA and there was at least two times projected interest cover. Is a detailed set of accounts published as I can''t find any financial statements on the net. Deloitte and Touche used to provide an excellent financial analysis of football clubs but I can not find that either. Ultimately the club and the directors have contractual and legal obligations. In reality I suspect that like most clubs they are already spending as much as they can possibly afford. Asking the directors to spend money the club hasn''t got is asking the directors to break the law. I don''t mind criticising the board based on facts, and I wish some posters would look that word up in a dictionary, but it is harsh to criticize the board based on supposition.   [/quote] Good post T.  As far as I know, the fullest figures available are contained in the Annual Report. If you know anyone who is a shareholder they should have a copy.  The next one is due in about November for the year to 31st May 2006.  It sounds as though your''e a finance bod, so you won''t be surprised to hear that the accounts don''t always tell us what we really want to know.  For example, it''s impossible to gauge how profitable the catering operation is because it''s lumped together with retail sales.     Like you I wish we were in possession of all the facts.  But just because we''re not, that doesn''t mean we should stick our heads in the sand.  We''ve swallowed the "prudence with ambition" mantra for far too long.  The unrest that occurred last season would not have reached such extremes of polarisation or been directed so exclusively towards the manager if we had woken up sooner, in my opinion.  In 2003/4 the level of debt rose from £8 million to over £18.1 million.  It has gone on rising ever since despite a profitable season in the Premiership and £12 million in parachute payments.  It''s entirely due to a massive loan taken out by the club in 2003/4 to spend on infrastructure and refinancing existing debt, not on transfer fees or wages.  As a result, nearly £2 million of our limited income disappeared down the drain last year on servicing the debt.  That''s £2 million that we the fans put into the club via ticket sales etc.  No one is suggesting for a minute that they''ve done anything illegal.  But aren''t we entitled to question the size of this loan and what it''s been spent on, and to feel that someone somewhere has taken their eye off the ball?   

[quote user="rich"]i''m hoping ramrod was joking about rather being in the championship than the premiership.[/quote] I can see what Ramrod is on about.  There''s still something a bit more authentic about the Championship, and I can enjoy it provided I feel that we''re doing our level best to get out of it, even if we don''t succeed. I just am becoming more uneasy every day about the aims and ambitions of the people who run this club.

[quote user="canary cherub"] As I see it Ward was replaced by Lewis, Croft has replaced Charlton and Etuhu replaced Jarrett. The loan players you mentioned will probably be replaced by loan players, which will leave Mckenzie and Green not replaced! We did sign some acadamy players on pro contracts at the end of last season which people never seem to mention unless its to slate the manager for not playing them. I believe if we had signed Cotteril and then a couple of loans the club would have been happy with the squad size for this season, as for me, i''m not so sure! Lets hope they stay fit! [/quote] Cherub, I''ve seen the ex-Academy boys and while they look promising none of them are anywhere near a first team place, and that includes our second choice goalkeeper Joe Lewis.  There is absolutely no way that they should be regarded as potential cover for injuries at this stage. 

Well said DOC. I''d just add a clause about how best to respond to childish posts, which inevitably will continue to crop up fttt.  It can be very difficult if you''ve been personally insulted, or if you''re like me and can''t resist wading in to other people''s battles,* but if you can ignore it then you''re the winner.  Leave them muttering away to themselves in cyberspace. (* I''d be the sort of player who would run 70 yards to get involved in something that had nothing to do with me in the first place!)

[quote user="mystic megson"] [quote user="Ralph Wright"]Are you the binner''s financial director or something, you don''t seem too bright ? We have NOT received £2m for Green, nor have we received £1m for McKenzie. Of the money from Ashton part went to Crewe and part was money we borrowed from future ticket sales. What we have received, and doubtlessly will continue to receive, is endless bleats and whines from those with a grudge against the club.[/quote] I think you''ll find Ralph that we paid Crewe the balance on the transfer fee last summer, when we sold players for nearly £2.5 million and spent only £788,000 on new signings (information from 2005 Annual Report). And what about the parachute money?  £12 million, where do you think it has gone?  Please try to answer the question instead of flinging insults around. [/quote] Let''s bump this up to the top of the board again shall we, and see what happens. Ralph, we know you''re there . . . 

Kid, I think the underlying concern that a lot of us have is whether the people who own this club are really committed to getting back up to the Prem.  Not just this season but at all, ever.  That concern manifests itself in many ways, one of them being the lack of transfer activity. As far as transparency goes, the spin machine at CR is very clever and anyone who doesn''t realise that by now is being wilfully naive.  They''re very good at avoiding outright lies whilst withholding vital bits of information. For example, we got gazumped by Wigan over Cotterill.  Oh dear, what a shame, poor little us, it''s not fair.  But if, as today''s press report indicates, we''d been tracking him for some time and the Prem boys only got interested after his performance on Wednesday night, why didn''t we put a bid in sooner?  We''d have got him for a lot less than "up to" £2 million.  It serves us right.  Lesson learned, Mr Doncaster? Kid, sometimes we have to make assumptions because we can''t get at the truth.  Prudence, ambition, transparency, my arse.

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]Glad to see that at least one forum tradition is still alive and kicking. The one of taking a lie, twisting the reply and then inventing a conclusion. Well done sussex canary. As to me watching Thetford Town then yes, if it was my club, I would go and watch them. Not sit at home forever carping and whining.[/quote] Ahem. Ralph, I''m waiting.  I''ve got all night.

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]Are you the binner''s financial director or something, you don''t seem too bright ? We have NOT received £2m for Green, nor have we received £1m for McKenzie. Of the money from Ashton part went to Crewe and part was money we borrowed from future ticket sales. What we have received, and doubtlessly will continue to receive, is endless bleats and whines from those with a grudge against the club.[/quote] I think you''ll find Ralph that we paid Crewe the balance on the transfer fee last summer, when we sold players for nearly £2.5 million and spent only £788,000 on new signings (information from 2005 Annual Report). And what about the parachute money?  £12 million, where do you think it has gone?  Please try to answer the question instead of flinging insults around.

I don''t suppose he''ll be anywhere near the first team at Wigan, so perhaps we can get him on loan . . .  Only joking.

[quote user="mystic megson"] Don''t panic yet, there''s over two hours to go . . . . Izale McLeod anyone (and possibly David Cotterill)? [/quote] (just seen Cotterill''s gone elsewhere)

Don''t panic yet, there''s over two hours to go . . . . Izale McLeod anyone (and possibly David Cotterill)?

eh??? So the tale about flecky kissing the badge on his Chelsea shirt in front of the Barclay is not true after all? Another urban myth bites the dust . . .

or . . . if Cotterill is a RW as someone on another thread has said, he is wanted as cover for Croft because Henderson is going with Thorne to MK Dons + cash in exchange for Izale McLeod.

I heard somewhere that managers in the Championship have been given some sort of guidance about wearing suits, not sure if that''s true. But Nigel has not just had a change of image, I get a sense that it''s more fundamental than that, and that being able to appoint his own coach has a lot to do with it.   Credit where it''s due, under Nigel and Steve we got promotion and reached a playoff final.  But look at Martin O''Neill.  A key element of his success is the fact that wherever he''s gone he has taken his own coaching staff with him.  Martin wouldn''t consider taking a job if John Robertson and Steve Walford weren''t part of the deal. Those who wanted a new manager may well have got their wish!

[quote user="blahblahblah"] Remind me Paul, what was it you were saying in the close-season regarding Crows'' release by Worthington ?  Something along the lines of a travesty ? Maybe yuo''ll be slightly more willing to take the managers'' point of view in future, on the basis of what can happen behind closed doors ?  Benefit of the doubt and all that ? [/quote] Right, I''ve had enough of this. blah, and the rest of the childish na-na-na-na brigade, why do you want to perpetuate a civil war that was one of the most shameful episodes in the club''s history?  Ceasefire NOW! 

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"] [quote user="NavMan"]Gobby attitude and arrogance then good riddance to him. [/quote] Roy Keane, Craig Bellamy anyone?  the manager on that show was utterly useless. (obviously he aint as good...) [/quote] Keane and Bellamy - gobby yes, workshy no, overweight definitely not

My pal from Madrid thought it was "champignones" (?spelling) which is Spanish for mushrooms.

Good turnout, 1049. Nothing much to add to Thirsty Lizard''s report. Orient goal was a low hard shot into the corner from just inside the box.   Oldest player in the team was 18 once Louis-Jean went off.  Ryan Jarvis didn''t play, not sure why.  Our control of the game was really impressive for such a young side.  We didn''t panic when Orient scored, kept the same momentum going, kept trying to pass it, then stepped up the tempo after half time.  Little goalmouth action at either end in the first half, much more in the second.    Chris Martin (attacking midfield) looked like the real deal.  Caused Orient a lot of problems, to the extent that they had a player sent off for something off the ball, Martin went down like a sack of sh*t.  Skied two shots on goal but it didn''t faze him, he kept the third one down and it flew in.  Hope we can hang on to him till he''s ready for the first team.

No one really knows how much he''s got to spend.  Deafening silence from the boardroom on the Greeno money. Neil, if you''re reading this, we would like to know if all the money from Greeno''s move has gone into this summer''s transfer pot.  Yes or no.  While you''re about it, for the millionth time: What''s happened to the parachute money?

[quote user="Yellow Rages"] I think we would be more likely to go down if if we did get promoted than last time. We are in a worse financial position specifically. We struggled last time to buy the players we needed and to think that now we are 20 mil in debt, well I don''t think we will be able to amount any sort of push. [/quote] I agree that it''s largely down to money, but in actual fact we''re not much worse off financially than we were before. We were £18.1 million in debt when we went up last time, only we didn''t know about it.  The loan which increased the debt from £8 million was taken out in 2003/4.