Highland Canary

Wes for me followed by Bassong. Holt 3 in 3 - our fate and Holt intertwined for another season!

Ruddy E. Bennett  Martin  Bassong    Garrido                   Fox  Tettey   Pilks             Hoolahan          Snodgrass                                             Holt

1-3 if Arsenal aren''t trying, 1-6 if Arsenal are. Holt will score though:-)

Yes Lawro has, for once, got it right. Go a goal behind and I think their are few City supporters who believe we can go on and win the game - a complete contrast to the last three seasons.

Why would CMS want to join us? Brighton''s support is equivalent to ours and they may be challenging for the PL. I agree it makes sense to try and get someone in who will help us in the Championship. Can''t see any PL quality strikers being willing to join us for our relegation.

Keep seeing this thread bumped up the pecking order. Each time I read the title I still can''t believe we let Vaughan go. Looks like an egregious error.

I don''t think there''s any chance of Hughton losing his job this season.

Listening to Talksport discussion of odds - we''re favourites to finish bottom. Don''t see many bookies on bikes... Is Holt at 10-1 to score first on Saturday worth a punt?

[quote user="Wiz"][quote user="paul moy"]The thing is under Lambert and even Worthy you always felt there was a surprise result in the offing. I don''t get that feeling with Hughton. The only surprise nowadays is if we don''t lose by a hatful.[/quote] What an awful thing to have to say Paul, but 100% right of course. [:''(] [/quote] Yes spot on Paul.

Mr McNally has clearly brought football experience and greater commercial awareness to his role as CEO. So, yes, based on our experience to date, I think we should characterise Mr McNally as an extremely effective CEO. It will be interesting to see what action, if any, is taken if next season we do not make a good start in the championship. Will decisive action be taken as against Gunn or will Hughton be given relatively more time as an appointee of the current board?

Just invested £70 for the Spurs game - 1 adult, 2 seniors - dreaming of Wembley, Europe and the championship next season. It was a great day out in 1985...

The danger is that we''re seen as the PL whipping boys, with teams like Arsenal viewing us as a great opportunity to improve their goal difference. So if we concede fewer than 4 that would represent a good performance at the moment. Similarly, conceding fewer than 3 against Villa would also represent a good result at the moment. Stoke is a much more important game - hopefully we can nick a point against them.

Yes.

I suspect Hughton will be given up to 10 games in the championship next season. If we''re not in or around the play off positions by then I think the board will take action.

I have not seen any evidence, home or away, that supporters are not behind the team. This is simply a message board which, by its nature, will host differing perspectives. But, as for pressure, that''s why PL players are so well rewarded to cope with circumstances such as ours. If as I suspect we don''t nick a win until December, I think the predominant mood will not be to sack Hughton but rather a weary resignation that the Lambert legacy has slipped away. It will inevitably be difficult for many of us to understand the decisions made around our attacking options pre-season. The form of Grant Holt for the third season in a row will determine whether PL football is at the Carra for a third season.

3-1 Bent hat-trick, Holt. Here''s hoping that Mssrs Lambert and Bent can''t resolve their differences. Can''t help but think it''s all a Lambert conspiracy about winding the Villa players into a frenzy.

[quote user="nutty nigel"]Well the overiding theme from both of them last week was the importance of staying in the premier league. What statements are you referring to Highland? [/quote] Simply that the board was unanimous in its decision that Hughton was the number one choice. Therefore, I can''t believe that even if we''re seriously struggling the board would believe that changing managers would ease our predicament. I''m inclined to this view as well.

It''s OK LDC Hughton is going nowhere.

[quote user="Militant Canary"]Highland Canary: Why Villa?[/quote] I think Lambert will have the Villa boys revved up in the way that we know he can. The whole Bent issue is probably so he can be fired up against us! We don''t exactly have a great record at VP - I''ve certainly seen us lose a good deal over the years there!

I know it''s easy to read too much into public statements, such as those of Bowkett and McNally at the recent fans'' forum, but even if we''re bottom of the league by November I can''t see any circumstances that Hughton would be sacked. I suspect he will be given time in the championship to see if we can push for a playoff spot next season.

I think we''ll get a point against Stoke and, hopefully, beat either Stoke or Reading. I think we''ll get 2-5 points in November.

I''d suggest after the Wigan game. Seriously though, we need to pick points up against Stoke and Southampton. I suspect very heavy defeats indeed against both Arsenal and Villa.

I agree - if we stay up I''m sure that once again it will largely due to Holt.

Purple - That''s an interesting suggestion. I wonder though in the German context with two tier boards, employee representation and a continental European stakeholder conception of capitalism whether such a solution would fit so easily within an Anglo-American shareholder conception of capitalism? Certainly an issue in need of further research!

There is undoubtedly an issue of ownership succession that the club will have to face in the not too distant future as the current majority owners are not getting any younger. Personally - and I have no empirical evidence to support this view - I''m inclined to believe that the current owners will sell to a third party who shares the oft-stated ''community'' ethos of the club even if that means their proceeds of sale are not maximised. I agree with Purple that ownership via a supporters trust in the multi-million pound world of the PL seems unlikely.