Ray

Morty, I though he played well in both his last two games and whist at Orient he did lay on a great through ball from which they scored in the first game he played, but they went on to sign a couple of strikers I think so he was probably only ever emergency cover until they signed seasoned pros. He''s quick and certainly knows where the goal is, although I have a slight concern on his heading ability or more to the point his ability to challenge efectively for a header but that said I think he has a bright future. The issue with him playing at NCFC is more of CH''s adversity to playing youngsters, something he appears not to be too keen on, I am of the opinion Josh Murphy only played because of neccessity when all our wingers were crocked. You have probably noticed now we almost have a full set he is not even on the bench. Personally I would have given one or two of them a chance but that is very easy for me to say given my salary and reputation isn''t at risk. Let''s be positive though and suggest that when we are safe with a number of games to go, he may give one or two of them some minutes!!

Morty, I was there, thought Howson did very well first 30 minutes or so but faded a bit after that, probably match fitness. Becchio I think is a match day player and doesn''t consider U21 a match day, because whilst I have liked what I''ve seen of him in the 1st team, looked cr*p tonight. I like the look of Gafaiti, and those who have read my previous posts will know this, he is two footed, calm and collected and can pick a pass. I would be interested to see if he could make a holding midfielder. Overall a far better performance from the lads imo and although Remi Matthews made a mistake tonight, the first I have ever seen him make, I think he is one for the future too. Reece Hall Johnson is coming on leaps and bounds too and along with Cam McGeehan (full 90 for Luton again tonight) I think we have some talent coming through in ,mdfiled. Josh scored, a big deflecion, but they all count, but believe he has a bit to learn still, a bit like Redmond.

slartyblartfast, You said; Ray, your obviously Hughton in disguise!!!!! I say, at leat 4 stone heavier and 6 inches taller, however, I take your words as a compliment!?!?

Thank you Zipper, Team as I predicted, as I said earlier, time will tell.

Danielsroundabout, said; "RvW up front on his own, with Hooper consigned to the bench??? I have been wondering who scouted Ricky, looks like I may have found him." I said "my guess is" and I said this because I am gussing at the team CH will put out, it is not he team I would select, however we shall wait and see!

Le Juge, Don''t count on it. If houghton goes soon, I reckon Lennon will be straight in.

Considering our two main strikers have scoredf 6 league goals beyween then all season, why not start with Becchio with Loza alongside him, could they do any worse?

Waiting in the wings, that''s where he is.

City 2nd Wrote: Just show how much of a supporter you are - it has been well publicised that Guiterrez is out fir three months, and you don''t even know! Get back under your stone! You may to regret your uninformed comments City 2nd. Jonas will be back much earlier, I am suggesting he will be fit for next week. I think RvW will start on Sunday. Ruddy Martin, Yobo, Bassong, Olsson Johnson, Tettey Snodgrass, Fer, Redmond RvW Not my choice but I think it will be CH''s choice!

My guess is; Ruddy Martin, Yobo, Bassong, Olson Johnson, Tettey, Snodgrass, Fer, Redmond RvW

Ginger pele, Most managers do it... Still don''t understand why people get upset about it. Fergie didn''t and love him or hate him, he was damn good. Mourinho doesn''t do it, he plays games but never talks up the opposition, sometmes after a game but not before, Wenger doesn''t do it either. The question is are they good managers because they don''t do it or don''t they do it because thery are good managers? Bottom line appears to be, if you have confidence in your team to produce their best and in your ability to get this from them using tatics that control the game, then the oppo should be worried about you.

Four/five days off, they all went their separate ways, some abroad some in the UK, some stayed at home. R&R I guess you call it.

Now that was quite clever. But no doubt they both suffer from Murphy''s law syndrome??

Unfortunately gave the ball away for Peterborough''s late equalizer, who went on to win penalty shoot out, taking them to Wembley.

OK Beefy, I''m the only one around here making assumptions or using guesswork, I''ll go with that. Yes, the club were ''trying'' to sign more players, now we don''t know why they didn''t come, but my point is, if we were prepared to release more funds, would this have made a difference? Who knows and yes any answer to that question, requires most of us to make an assumption or two. But do or do not. there is no try. Yes, what I suggested in the first place is that we did sign more or improved players, but they didn''t did they and this sort of makes my point, is the focus on the financial side of the club taking the focus away from the footballing side? Just my musings!

Lr Juge, You said the following; I presume you are being rhetorical and are fully aware that the transfer window has closed and we can''t actually sign anybody until the end of the season? Well you presume wrong on assumpion 1, I was not being rhetorical, there is more tham one way to bolster up a team and you presume correctly on assumption 2 as yes I am aware the transfer window is closed. To cover your second post, cash at bank is far from meaningless, although I agree, the amount may be and pay day is 25th of the month so as at 30th June wages will have just been paid, but I fully understand the Balance Sheet is a snap shot in time. Our CEO stated we were close to making a signing in the window which fell though, so from that I assumed money was/is available.

You are correct Beefy, I am making assumptions, but then so is everyone, to quote you "For all we know the money has already been spent." So you are guessing as much as I am. Although according to the CEO we were close to a signing in January which fell through, so from that I am assuming the/some funds were available, which does give my case some weight, doesn''t it? Anyway I''ve enjoyed this post, at least it''s been one of the more civil ones.

I.S. After reading my post again, I may have been somewhat harsh/blunt but I will answer your questions as you have taken the time to ask them. I.S. wrote the following post at 16/02/2014 9:47 PM: Q) Ray, just out of interest - are you saying because we are in the midst of a poor season the club hasn''t shown any positive direction over the last few years? A) No, however I am saying I think we could have shown a bit more positivity in January Q) I would imagine most fans, myself included, thought the signings of players like RvW, Bassong, Fer, Ollsson, Redmond and Hooper were obvious signs of ambition. A) I agree 100% and refer you to my previous answer It''s so very easy to criticise the club when things have plateued, but I wonder where you were 3/4/5 years ago, and curious to see what someone so obviously as experienced as yourself would have done differently to those in charge. A) I was here 3/4/5 years ago and many more besides, as to what I would do differently given my obvious experience, well I guess you will find out when I am in charge but for now let''s just say I would have done quite a few things differently, that''s not to say the end result would have been any different of course.

I am assuming your accounting knowlege is greater than mine, so could you explain what the following means, it''s taken from the published accounts (note 27)- thanks. Cash balances Cash at bank and in hand £11,698,000 Bank Overdraft £0/quote If that is taken from June what relevance does it have now? For all we know, that money has already been spent. Could have doubled too Beefy!

Thanks for your reply Beefy, I reply as follows; Point 1: We have already spent, because the noose is no longer round our necks. I agree, but could we allocate more? Point 2: You are making considerable assumptions about what money we have available as of this time. In any case, the transfer window is closed so what point are you trying to make? Yes making assumptions but then so are all of us I should imagine. The point is a general one, essentially to encourage debate, which it appears to have done. The loan window is open though. Point 3: The Club has not sold any players against its wishes. What the fans think may be different, but the Club were happy for Holt to leave, and by all accounts he seems to have been offloaded at the right time. In your post you used the words, against our wishes, I took from that that you included the fans, somewhat erroneously as it now appears, Point 4: Agreed Well that''s good innit. I think that in essence we are all pretty much in agreement with the direction we want the club to go in, we just prefer diffrent routes. Point 5: I''d be interested in the statistics as we are both looking at this through the prism of our own narrow outlook. However, without a doubt our academy boys have it better than most. So would I, I am only going on the number of meals I appear to be cooking this year compared to last, how scientific am I, although my lads have also said this year there have been fixtures they travelled to on the day that last season they would have travelled to the day before. Point 6: You have a right to criticise of course. However... As said elsewhere, I didn''t criticise, merely raised an issue that I was "somewhat concerned about", other than that I''m not sure what your However... Means. Point 7; When the current board came together we were in League One and fighting off creditors. We are now in the PL and debt free. Even if we go down, they''ve achieved an enormous amount in comparison to all those before them, certainly in the last 20 years. Agree, but you are only as good as your last performance, to nick a cliche, and I would see our overall performance over the last five years as successful, however, relegation would have to seen as a failure compared to our last three years performances, one a promotion to the PL and two in the PL. What I don''t like Ray, is that these sort of posts have become more frequent as we''ve been perceived to struggle on the pitch this season. I don''t think that''s fair. As I''ve said before, unrealistic expectations lead to these kind of views - that ''all is not well'' on the pitch to off the pitch. By any measure in the last 20 years, off the pitch we are in the best shape we''ve been. I agree, it''s not fair, it''s neutral and only has the meaning the individual chooses to give it. However, at no stage have I criticised or said all is not well off the pitch. In general I think the Board have done a very good job.

Ricardo, I am assuming your accounting knowlege is greater than mine, so could you explain what the following means, it''s taken from the published accounts (note 27)- thanks. Cash balances Cash at bank and in hand £11,698,000 Bank Overdraft £0

Beefy, Point 1) We longer have the ''noose around our necks that has prevented us from competing with our peers'', which makes the point I was raising, we can now compete with our peers by spending some, not a stellar signing but by being prepared to be somewhat bolder so we can now outperfrom our peers Point 2) The latest accounts show £12m as Cash at Bank and in hand. This was at 30th June last year, now I''ve no idea when monies come in from SKY, etc so can only assume this is a typical picture, so if I am correct then we are cash rich, insomuch as we have £12m in the bank. Also our net assets are £15m although admittedly that includes £14m of intangible fixed assets Point 3) The last time the club sold a player against our wishes, well just how do you judge that? Many, not including me, would say Mr Holt was sold against our wishes to name one. Point 4) Yes let''s reinvest into the football side of the business, exactly my point. Point 5) I have two of the U21''s live with me and they say, and I obviously know, that they are staying overnight far less than they did last year, something they are not that happy about (bless '';em). Other aspects of their development have been cut too, so I am afraid we differ wildly on this point. Point 6) I will critise what goes on on the pitch if I choose (must) but I also have the right to criticise what goes on off the pitch too. Whether you be a player or a Director, it is still performance and can be criticsed by anyone. Not that I was criticising anyone''s performance, my original point was that I feel the Board seem to be too focussed on financial achievement to the possible detriment of on field performance and at no stage have I said the Board do not deserve respect, you are putting a slant on my posts here which does not exist. I often critise myself and loved ones but still have a huge amount of respect for us all. The two are mutually exclusive. Point 7) You state we have a very successful Board of Directors, may I ask by what criteria you are making your judgement, because would relegation (and I think we will survive) still mean they are successful? All of what I say is my opinion, but a considered one, well I think it is anyway, you of course may not!

By ''The Board'' you mean McNally, you may not realise it but you do. ATM he has the support of our 2 of our major shareholders and can do no wrong, even if (imo) he is doing wrong.

If my aunty was my uncle, she would have b*ll*cks but she hasn''t so she isn''t. There was no plan B to that scenario either. Sounds like a load of hot air to me! IMO lack of ambition despite what is said at AGM''s, etc. IMO there is no direction, or certainly no direction that is being portrayed to the paying public. Dear Board, What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say.

Le Juge, Exactly, it wouldn''t plummet as some are suggesting, but let''s ensure we don''t get relegated by spending a few million on bolstering up the team and, as I said earlier, by being the ''tightest or most prudent'' club to get relegated. there''s no prizes for that scenario.