Summer blues...

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

[quote user="Chip20"]I''m neither pessimistic, nor optimistic. Like every other season I will just turn up to lend my support wherever I can and see what unfolds. I don''t get why people fret about it so much. It''s football FFS. If first world problems like which division your team plys its trade in is the worst of your worries you are a lucky person indeed.[/quote]

Agreed there are more important things in this world to worry about, but then that works the other way too. I couldn''t really give a monkey''s who the coach is or who Sporting Director is, who the owner is blah blah blah. I pay my money, turn up and expect to see a bit of exciting football. If the current outfit can''t do that, then we move on to someone who can. Life''s too short to wait for transitions or accept second best. Let''s get a move on next season and form a team and use tactics which actually win some bloody football matches.

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]The club are still in transition and things aren’t going to happen straight away. [/quote]

Yes we are still in transition.

Trouble is our transition is downwards and there is nothing to get excited about for next season because the decline will continue.

Too many people believe, with absolutely no evidence at all, that the Webberlution will work and they believe this simply because it is different to what went before.

Sadly, different does not necessarily mean better.

They forget all too easily that what went before was a pretty successful period on the pitch, the likes of which is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.

It got us several promotions, several years in the PL and we got to watch some effective and exciting football.

It was not our style of play that got us in a mess and there was nothing drastically wrong with the overall system apart from the fact that we took far too many massive gambles on bang average players on high wages and wasted away all our money.

If we had been a bit more proactive and a bit more ambitious we could have prevented the need to do everything at the last minute, prevented the need for last minute panic buys to try and get out of a hole and spent what money we had sooner and more wisely.

That in reality was the only change we needed.

We did not need the root and branch overhaul that has given us a one hit wonder DOF; a second rate manager; mainly second rate players; new this that and the other; the need to sell anyone who is half decent and a style of play that produces very little and is boring to watch.

Eventually, maybe sometime next season or if not the season after, this transition will be abandoned because it will not have worked.

[River End Canary 18]

Post of the year Making Plans

No one with the best interests of the club at heart can argue with your view

[ROBFLECK 132]

Bang on Making Plans , good summary ... but you''ve got the benefit of hindsight... I mean players like RVW , Naismith were exciting when they joined ... but proved to be bang average ...

I remember being thrilled at RVW''s signing, having seen him bang in the goals in Holland when I was there a year for work...

I agree with the statement "a bit more proactive and a bit more ambitious'' ... there definitely was too much of the little ol''Naarwichh in the decisions made

[king canary 7,606]

Ah yes, I always love a ''why are you talking about football so much?'' post. On a football forum.

[lake district canary 4,531]

Yes, we''re a terrible football club wth terrible owners, a terrible set up, terrible finances......or then again maybe wer''re not.I suppose it depends on the way you view things. So we''ve had a mixed season, but it hasn''t been disastrous, there have been some terrific performances and results as well as some laboured football - but who is to say it won''t work in the long run?  Why should we be so down on it and the way the club is being run?  Because it is easy to do that. Easy to be negative. Easy to be disparaging about the owners. Easy to think we haven''t got enough money to compete. easy to be down on a manager who is trying something different, easy to be down on a DOF who is straight talking, easy to think "if only we had rich owners" basically it is easy to want what we haven''t got.We all want success for the club, but there are different ways of achieving success and currently we are trying an approach that is different. Being different is good.  It''s refreshingly progressive (if you want to see it like that) based around footballing development rather than just buying in success.  This isn''t a popular viewpoint with some, but who cares - dare to be different - dare to try something that bucks the trend, if you believe in it.  

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

I think the transfer policy was all that needed overhaul three seasons ago. Then we blew it. When we needed CB we signed midfield players??

Consider how much was wasted/gambled on Naismith (who obviously didn''t want to be here) plus Pritchard etc whilst an ageing and struggling Russel Martin sat in a leaky defence. That alone cost us dear. Yes hindsight is 20/20 but at the time most fans COULD see it. We were so frustrated because it was so obvious we were not signing what was needed - leaving us with a bloated squad of over paid players.

Bottom line then is that decisions have been poor for some time. Which coupled with lack of investment is now leading to rapid decline. Anyone who can''t see that must be blind. I quite like Farke- but the constraints on him are making his job almost impossible. Another cheap rookie manager who owes too much to the board ensuring they dont get held to account when giving him little to work with.

My own opinion is that we have been in total leadership free fall since Bowkett departed. Like him or hate him- he was a sound business man with vision; his arrival coincided with better times and his departure with a return to hapless times reminiscent of Doomcaster days.

The spin is great- weberlution overhauls etc...but I am not falling for it. Because the facts on the pitch are not in favour. What a feeble season that was and so few goals and no plan B. And now a summer with even smaller budget. Hence my original post saying it doesn''t make for a positive vibe.

Help me out here board fans. How are we going to get better next season with less money and our best players gone? Then tell me we dont need new ownership. Sure we might strike lucky and have a season of high confidence punching above our weight. But the reality is that our playing budget is heading towards a low champ - high league one finish on paper. Eventually that will catch up unless investment is found.

And spare me the boards ''we are open to investment'' nonsense. Because they only want the sort of investor who will give THEM the money in return for no control. Naturally nobody like that exists. To get some fresh air in a crusty board room they need to let go. The one thing they dont wish to do- hence the universally unpopular appointment of nepotism Tom. It is not enough because football has moved on from a national model to a global one and they havent moved with it...hecne we are being overtaken.

[Making Plans 936]

But it was not just the poor transfer decisions.

What about Moxy who got paid a fortune for doing nothing.

What about the pay off to Alex Neil, was it absolutely necessary to give him a contract that was so generous. He probably would have still come here even if the money was a lot less.

What about people like Turner and now Martin who were given contract extentions for no apparent reason and sent out on loan.

The question is of course who had the balls to stand up and question these hiring and firing decisions and who was it who eventually signed them off.

Presumably they''re still here.

[hogesar 9,671]

Did anybody criticise the OP for talking about football King? I''ve not seen it anywhere..

[FenwayFrank 2,459]

I don’t remember anyone saying how bad all the changes were last summer, it’s easy to be wise after the event

[rock bus 851]

I think things really fell apart when McNally left. I know not everyone is or even was a fan, but he gave us a hard edge and seemed to stand up to the board/owners.

Fact is we lucked out on a fantastic mix of McNally/Lambert/Holt/Hoolahan.

That was probably fate just smiling on us and won’t happen for decades again. So, for now, I’m just going to keep backing Farke because I like him and appreciate what he is trying to do. Still undecided on Webber but on the whole, barring Watson and Franke, I’ve liked the signings we’ve made (although actually wonder how much of that is as much Farke as Webber which makes me query what he does now he’s sacked most the old guard!)

The new regime will have my support at least until Xmas by which time I expect improvements to have been delivered.

Whatever happens I will always love and support the club

[Mike 2]

"Because it is easy to do that. Easy to be negative. Easy to be disparaging about the owners. Easy to think we haven''t got enough money to compete. easy to be down on a manager who is trying something different, easy to be down on a DOF who is straight talking, easy to think "if only we had rich owners" basically it is easy to want what we haven''t got."

I would actually say it is easy not to hold the owners accountable, I would say it''s easier to accept second best, I would say it''s easier to ask the fans to pay for your training facilities rather than to plan for it, I would say it''s easier just to accept you are not a fashionable club and that "we can not possibly attract top players" (we are 1.5hrs from London for god sake). It''s easy not to push the accepted norms & blame everything on a lack of money (who''s fault is that?). I''d say it''s easy to sell your best players year in year out and not invest the majority back in the 1st team all under the name of self funding, it''s easy to plug a hole with a player that just happens to have made himself a £20m plus player.

I have respect for our owners, I just think they are now holding the club back and unfortunately all the evidence of the clubs competing at the top of our league, shows that to be the case.

You can go on about a great plan, it''s not, its the result of mismanagement

[River End Canary 18]

Mike you are so bang on the evil stowmarket 2 are clearly holding the club back

Why don''t they do the decent thing and sell up

Delia out stinking rich Chinese owner in

[hogesar 9,671]

How easy is it for you to actually do something about it though Mike? Or is the plan to complain on here and other than that cross those fingers?

[Mike 2]

[quote user="hogesar"]How easy is it for you to actually do something about it though Mike? Or is the plan to complain on here and other than that cross those fingers?[/quote]

If you read the Times article you will find that even if someone did have the plan & the money to do right for this club Delia & co will not sell up. They are passing it on to Tom which is not in the best interests of my club. They are arrogant enough to think they & only they are right to run this club.

The "go on do something" argument is frankly childish. Unfortunately though I can see a Chase type action being the only way to remove them which is sad...

[BroadstairsR 2,164]

I feel that you are being a bit premature Mike.

We are so far into this project that it cannot feasibly be abandoned already.

The cost and the general upheaval would be on such a scale that I firmly believe that next season would be a write off.

I have stated before that it is my opinion that our fortunes for the season can go either way. We could conceivably ''take off'' as such for, despite his shortcomings last season, Daniel Farke is no fool and has had his full apprenticeship, so to speak.

If with ten or so games into the season, and it was initially a bit longer for me, then it is a case the ''same old,'' then I am more or less with you and believe that the repercussions could reverberate upwards, especially if there is the usual dithering.

Let''s give them all one last chance. Let''s not write off next season until we have to.

[ZLF 274]

Lets be clear - while the budget has shrunk we will be a long way from having the smallest one next season.

And for those craving hinvestment, we hold the record for having the largest budget to not get promoted to the Premier from the prem. Money far from guarantees success - although it does certainly help. Last seasons failure and those apathetic summer player departures are the reason for our glorious failure and as culpable for our present and immediate future as the Stowmarket Two.

AN must be hoping Villa seize that crown by the end of the month.

[Mike 2]

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]I feel that you are being a bit premature Mike.

We are so far into this project that it cannot feasibly be abandoned already.

The cost and the general upheaval would be on such a scale that I firmly believe that next season would be a write off.

I have stated before that it is my opinion that our fortunes for the season can go either way. We could conceivably ''take off'' as such for, despite his shortcomings last season, Daniel Farke is no fool and has had his full apprenticeship, so to speak.

If with ten or so games into the season, and it was initially a bit longer for me, then it is a case the ''same old,'' then I am more or less with you and believe that the repercussions could reverberate upwards, especially if there is the usual dithering.

Let''s give them all one last chance. Let''s not write off next season until we have to.[/quote]

I seriously hope that Webber & Farke get it right this summer (the third & final transfer window before they said it would be fair to judge them). I hope this years signings bed in and are more effective (it took Iwan a season to become the player we remember) and I will 100% back the team but I do not have any confidence in owners that have spent a net of zero and have shown themselves to be ineffective in terms of, player & board recruitment, infrastructure and knowing the right time to change a manager.

Just think there has to be someone whom is more qualified or at least able to help in terms of cash flow. To make that happen the owners have to be up to listening to offers... they are not & I find that unacceptable given the climate we are in...

[nutty nigel 7,534]

Seems the owners found a cure for the summertime blues..

[Drazen Muzinic 1,445]

6 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Seems the owners found a cure for the summertime blues..

Nice to see Mike chip in on the thread - shame the same can't be said about his wagers.

[Drazen Muzinic 1,445]

Not even a year ago...but it seems much longer.

[lappinitup 629]

6 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Seems the owners found a cure for the summertime blues..

Sometimes I wonder what imagonnado....

So, c'mon everybody..

Let's take three steps to Heaven............

 

Step one: you leave the league you're in.

Step two: the binners leave it too.

Step three: you look back at the table.

That sure feels like Heaven to me. 🤪

 

[Bill 1,788]

personally I find that the livin' is easy in the summer time