Jack Flash

And of course, who was available. Watched the old firm derby and still not convinced about Idah, who is now playing against some pretty ordinary opponents apart from one.

Out of interest just who are these people, Bright Path Sports Partners? Had a look online and there is very little info, other than they are a private equity outfit, but no obvious track records. Assuming proper due diligence has been done, otherwise the risk of switching 40% of the club from a mega wealthy pension fund to a risk reward group would worry me if I was a fan.

Interesting quote from a Financial Times piece - "Take private equity, where investors commit their cash for up to a decade in unsaleable investments". Hmmm!

I thought he gave 12 months notice of not seeking to renew his contract which is a slightly different scenario.

But wasn't able to keep us there apart from a 3rd bottom finish for one year followed by bottom of the top division and some more years of mediocrity to follow. So, in truth, nothing changes.

First match remembered was Rd One FA Cup 1958 v Ilford but as a regular along with my best mate, Canaryking, 62 years ago, saw every match that first season back in the old 2nd Division.

Opta ran 10,000 seperate forecasts and they have us mid tyable and Ipswich at 18th - https://theanalyst.com/eu/2023/08/championship-2023-24-season-predictions-opta/

Read it again. Her husband of 52 years literally means exactly that - tyhat is how long they have been married.

Indy regarding your last post, if my memory serves me correctly didn't they put £11M in their very early days when our position was extremely dire. OK sure this has since been repaid but it saved us from extinction. Also as a percentage of total wealth MA's £10M is less than 2% of his personal estimated worth, whereas DS would have been nearer to 33%?

Fair do's to them, they are destroying their opponents at present - just looked at the table, they are still on course for 100 goals and 100 points. Not at all confident if we play them, certainly not with our current squad.

Got it! Nunez will be man marking Carroll.

Looks like going for a 4-3 win.

Complaining about a penalty not given, now that's funny no mention of their guy's blatant handball in the box missed by officials. VAR would have given us both decisions, no question.

What pleased me particularly was how the presence of Hayden helped our central defenders confidence and Gibson really benefited with a strong performance. The clearance by Hayden from under the bar, mistakenly given as a goal keep by the useless referee, was amazing and the difference between 3 points and 1.

Leicester after a new Manager if they lose tonight?

Vardy will be 36 in January so quite young still is our Pukki.

For me I feel we have a Manager who has a Plan B and can change games. He is not fearful of dropping players either. I read somewhere that 72% of Villa fans in a recent poll would take him back. Our club is about to move up a notch in the setup and Smith/Shakey are the right fit at this moment in time.

Some credit to our Manager and Coach building Sarge's confidence and playing him when so many fan's couldn't see what he could bring to the team. He's 22, and can only get better. Is he the 20+ goal man for this season now? Takes the pressure off Pukki. Great bench yesterday too and well timed use of subs, which won us the match.

Peter was a decent footballer back in the day. A "no prisoners" full back. Sad to hear he's left us, will be missed, especially his wicked sense of humour and passion for Norwich City. RIP.

Agree with that and I suspect that Tom has gone along with this arrangement also thus it will be the Tom and Mark Show going forward.

In a little over 4 months time can he not agree to sign elsewhere for free at the end of this season, so in my opinion he has been brilliant for us, but any offer around £6/10m would be right for us and him. If we do go up then another season in the Prem relying on a dozen goals from Pukki will once again see us in a relegation scrap. We have to prepare for his departure now rather than at the end of the season and the money would help.

So when a wealthy club like Leicester have to sort their finances and balance the books, seems like more clubs will be following our model and self finance or fail.

Slightly more pessimistic take re Tony Bloom and Brighton - what happens when he leaves/runs out of money? And all that dosh hasn't got them any silverware, just a place in the mid to lower reaches of the EPL.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/global-club-rankings/ Fun stuff! We're in at no. 94 and Ipswich make it at no. 412.

Not sure if it's been said elsewhere but I think the most important person in this potential transaction is Tom Smith. Delia and Michael have expressed their intention to pass on to him their shares in due course, so Tom is key to the future and long term relationship with our new American friends. Do we know what his views are or indeed his intentions as the present "owner in waiting". As for me, a lifetime supporter of over 60 years, I am excited by the possibilities here, and willing to wait on developments. The football world is full of failed takeover/investment cases and I am OK with D & M (&T) taking time to get it right for us and our Club.