and now the reality....

[McCanary 0]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]

And now the reality.

Unbeaten in 11 games.

23 points in 11 games.  6 wins, 5 draws.

13 goals scored, but only 6 goals against in the last 11 games. (If only we could loan a striker...)

We are now closer on points to the play-offs than the relegation zone.

Anything else is just banter, gossip, speculation, and opinion.

[/quote]

Spot on Blah x3.

A post with facts in it. A very rare beast on here lately.

 

[nutty nigel 7,509]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]

And now the reality.

Unbeaten in 11 games.

23 points in 11 games.  6 wins, 5 draws.

13 goals scored, but only 6 goals against in the last 11 games. (If only we could loan a striker...)

We are now closer on points to the play-offs than the relegation zone.

Anything else is just banter, gossip, speculation, and opinion.

[/quote]

Ahh yes Blah, but we are still in the relegation area, anything else is just splitting hairs!

 

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]

And now the reality.

Unbeaten in 11 games.

23 points in 11 games.  6 wins, 5 draws.

13 goals scored, but only 6 goals against in the last 11 games. (If only we could loan a striker...)

We are now closer on points to the play-offs than the relegation zone.

Anything else is just banter, gossip, speculation, and opinion.

[/quote]

Well said, that man.

What Roeder has assembled is a squad of decent professionalls buttressed by some hungry young players who want to make a name for themselves.  Competition in every place on the pitch.  No player looking complacent and lazy as they did under Worthy and Grunt. 

For context - three months ago, we had Duffy and Gunn running the first team.  We were bottom of the league, and every other club in the championship was likely pointing at the sight of Hartson floundering like a beached whale on the halfway line and laughing at our club.

The turnaround has been amazing.  If he chooses to do it with loan signings and buy in the summer, so be it. It''s all good with me.

Rumours were doing the rounds that we had two players lined up for permanent signings - booked into hotels, and one was booked in for his medical - and both of them decided the club wasn''t for them and did a midnight flit.  There is money there, but hanging onto it seems reasonable in a seller''s market.

And this "Ricardo''s a binner" stuff is pathetic.  If you don''t like someone''s point of view, argue with them.  Resorting to calling people binners is lazy, small-minded and says more about the limitations of the person throwing the insult than their target.

Apart from Smudger, who''s definitely a binner. ;-)

 

[T 190]

Some more facts and reality - it has been independently verified that the off the field activities are profitable. Therefore, without the off-field activities the club would have less to spend on players. Therefore, it seems sensible that the club has sought to increase its income through other means just as many other clubs have. Do you think the crowds would be so good if the facilities were poor? We keep hearing ambition over prudence and back the manager but no seems able to specify what that means. For some it seems to mean spending money we have not got and putting the club into administration or not seeking to increase the income of the club through other means, neither of which strike me as particularly ambitious stategies.

 

[Arthur Whittle 0]

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]"  tucked up in bed now are we"

yep, can be quite exhausting going to games

10 minutes before today''s game

me - enjoying a pint  in the ground

Arthur Tiddle - posting another attack on the club on this forum
[/quote]

Poor old Ralph Wrong, so niave it hurts me to see someone so young and foolish taking in the clubs spin. Poor, poor Ralph.

[A Load of Squit 5,134]

[quote user="Arthur Whittle"]

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]"  tucked up in bed now are we"

yep, can be quite exhausting going to games

10 minutes before today''s game

me - enjoying a pint  in the ground

Arthur Tiddle - posting another attack on the club on this forum
[/quote]

Poor old Ralph Wrong, so niave it hurts me to see someone so young and foolish taking in the clubs spin. Poor, poor Ralph.

[/quote]

Poor old Arthur, isn''t believing that we paid a million for Strihavka also ''taking in the clubs spin''?

 

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]jaz is a binner as is Fudger, Ricardo, Whittle and one or two others.

It''s not too difficult to flush them out. Remember the stoning scene in Monty Python''s Life of Brian.

"Who threw that ?" You just have to slip in the odd statement and their cockney wannabe indignation soon rises to the fore.These closet pitchfork jugglers will always slip up as everything they post is an attack on the club.

Can''t be much fun either knowing that your club has gone from being a plaything of a couple of upper class dipsos, ton o a Northern Rock style disaster, to a cheaply acquired venue for some faceless City types.

Any wonder they are endlessly on here.
[/quote]

 

so because u dont agree with my opinion im an ipswich fan then?

 Ralph ur a bloody fool! not because u disagree with me, not because you think im an Ipswich fan.. but when questioned you result to insulting, allegation and refuse to answer any point which could make you look wrong. you have no stomach for a debate, you refuse to accep that someone might have a different opinion to yourself and if they do you attack their character.... Not much difference between you and a dictator really... Ralph Wright.. Or Jozef Stalin?

jas :) 

[O.T.B.C 0]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

so January has gone out on a whimper... its now time to face the stark reality of the situation.

the board have stated categorically in the past that all transfer funds would be available to the manager to strengthen the team.

 In the summer we sold Etuhu, Safri and Earnshaw.... Peter Grant, according to the media, made attempts to sign Iwelumo, Varney and Sharpe... the money was not spent. instead we got Murray, Strihavka and Brellier... 2 of those were free... the fee for Strihavka was a low amount of money...

Peter Grant had the rug pulled out from under him... i dont care what anyone on here says. Remember Hucks voicing his fears at key players being sold and quality not being drafted in? this is somethign that Peter Grant Echoed but which Neil Doncaster took Hucks to task over privately.

Despite the board telling us there was Money available this was not spent... Was it down to Peter Grant being a poor manager? or was his hand forced? that night at QPR Grant played the players he had been forced to sign rather than the ones who, if the boat had been pushed out, we perhaps could of signed.

 Grant Left, Roeder came in... the board stated again that funds would be released for players.... we got in loan signings... some hope was raised that we could make them permanent.

early January we signed Matty Pattison for a fee beleieved to be 800,000 in some circles. we then sold Lewis, Brown and released a host of players... we should therefore, according to the mantra of the board, have had a fortune to spend on team strengthening given the players sold in the summer...

 Im of the opinion that this is B**ocks! the reason we sold Lewis with such a hefty sell on clause was because we spent money we didnt have to sign Pattison... this is just my opinion. Brown was sold to keep the wolves from the door.. again my opinion. although he was a decent option to sell and we got  a good price.

 we signed a host of loan players... 2 of which will be sitting in the stands watching the game every week as League rules state they cant play... are we paying their premiership wages for them to sit watching? id hazard a guess as to yes.

 Neil Doncaster has mentioned that the club had a 7 milllion pound shortfall.. coupled together with the fact that we no longer have the parachute payments... we can no longer afford to bring in the players we want to acheive success.

 True, if the loan players do wel we might try and sign some of them.. but then the better they do the more they shop window themselves.. their value is going to rocket, and the in the case of Bates and the 2 reading lads they all have realistic chances of breaking into their own clubs first team should they do well here.. Gilbert will command a huge fee purely because he plays for Arsenal... Same with Bertrand and Chelsea. We could however probably get Mohammed Camara for free... Evans wont sign permanently... so lets not get excited about that one.. the more he scores the more he ups his transfer fee....

Im pleased roeder took positive steps with the loan players but the reality is they all have to go back to their clubs in the end.... had we of had any transfer money we could perhaps have signed the Reading players and Bates whilst they were still "unknowns" on the cheap.. 3 players added to the squad at a small outlay... but we havent.

 as for a Striker.. Strikers score goals... as Dave Stringer said on the Scrimmage last night Goals cost money... if we were going to get Paterson, Zamora or Ameobi then it would of been down to some shrewd negotiating to try and find a price. We cant offer money that we dont have with no one to sell on to generate an outlay to cover the cost.

 as for Taylor, Birmingham wanted 1 million pounds 3 weeks ago....we could of upped our bid then waited to see what happened. but we didnt.. again this is purely because with the lost revenue from the parachute payments and the shortfall its too high a financial outlay...  No one on this message board would buy a £9000 car if they only had £10 in the bank would they? the same principal applies at Carrow road.

 Taylor is ona  contract at Birmingham City.. a Contract we could of paid off 3 weeks ago.. the only reason Birmingham rejected Coventrys bid is because it was nearly deadline Day.. Karren Brady isnt stupid, she knew full well that if we wanted Taylor and she waited out long enough that if we had the money we would of upped our bid and got him. She knew that other parties (Eg Coventry) were interested, but i think she also knew that we dont have the funds for Tiny.. Accepting Coventrys offer would of been good business for Birmingham.. but not half as good as playing 2 teams off against each other to see who pulls out of the bidding first meaning someone paid over the odds for Tiny...

 Ok so the Brum keep hold of him.. Cover for the rest of the season... come the summer the whole thing will begin again.. and we still wont be any better off financially.

 So.. what now? do we seek investment? do we offload half the squad in the hope of rasing funds for the summer?

 when your at Carrow Road tommorow take a look around, look at the hotel, the Re furbished office, the Travel Agents, the car dealers, Restuants and other business the board have invested their money in... then groan and Criticise Jamie cureton as he baloons another easy chance over the bar.. no doubt some of you will turn to the person next door and say "he''s Rubbish... why didnt we get a striker!" the truth is staring you right in the face.... Off the field activities and 2 1 million pound scoreboards...

 wheres all the money gone? if u find out let me know...

 

jas :)

 

[/quote]

You may well be right, but where is the proof ro as lots of you say on here when someone posts a rimour ''source''. We don''t have millions to spend like 99% of other clubs but how do you really know that we did not provide the funds for GR? You don''t, your speculating again, which you do a lot! With regards to the money being spent, I can understand the resentment on that, but as most people know, we need other off the field activities to make some more money, the hotel, has not cost a lot for us, I hate it thou and wish that we had a corner infill, but we would not have made a massive impact on our average attendances due to segregation etc. Any way I digress, going back to the travel agents, well they make a profit for us and they hardly cause a big disturbance to the club to they? Th ey are tucked away. Restaurant makes us money, car dealership was paid for by Proton. Its all to easy to knock all that lot, but I can be sure that most clubs want this and are going down the same route.

With regards to the scoreboard, I don''t know how much it cost, but a lot were complaining about the old one, if we had kept it, there would have been a lot of people screaming at the board.

Bring on investement in the summer thou, I would be jumping for joy for a big invester came in. I will hold my judgement for the summer about the money, I still suspect that GR is holding out untill the end of the season, same with contracts etc, we don''t want to be paying fees and wages untill we know what league we are playing in. Don''t know where the money has gone, most clubs are in the same boat us.

Btw, no a hope in hell we paid 800k for Matty Patty, no chance, it was closer to 400k plus add ons according to my pals in the North East. But like you, I''m speculating................

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]jaz is a binner as is Fudger, Ricardo, Whittle and one or two others.

It''s not too difficult to flush them out. Remember the stoning scene in Monty Python''s Life of Brian.

"Who threw that ?" You just have to slip in the odd statement and their cockney wannabe indignation soon rises to the fore.These closet pitchfork jugglers will always slip up as everything they post is an attack on the club.

Can''t be much fun either knowing that your club has gone from being a plaything of a couple of upper class dipsos, ton o a Northern Rock style disaster, to a cheaply acquired venue for some faceless City types.

Any wonder they are endlessly on here.
[/quote]

 

so because u dont agree with my opinion im an ipswich fan then?

 Ralph ur a bloody fool! not because u disagree with me, not because you think im an Ipswich fan.. but when questioned you result to insulting, allegation and refuse to answer any point which could make you look wrong. you have no stomach for a debate, you refuse to accep that someone might have a different opinion to yourself and if they do you attack their character.... Not much difference between you and a dictator really... Ralph Wright.. Or Jozef Stalin?

jas :) 

[/quote]

Leave him be JAS.

You don''t have to prove your loyalty to NCFC to me or any other long standing member of this Forum.

We all have different opinions on certain players and we all have our own opinions on the workings of the Board.

 I happen to agree with a lot of what Smudger, Cluck and Mr.Carrow say about Delia and the Board but I disagree with Smudger on his opinions of Gary Docherty. It doesn''t make me start calling him silly names or accusing him of being a closet Binner.

We all have different opinions and we all tend to get a bit heated sometimes but surely the exchange of differing ideas is what this Forum is all about.

If it makes Ralph happy to call me names let him carry on. NCFC have brought me joy and tears in equal measure over more than fifty years so I don''t think Ralph''s ramblings will bother me to much.

[Arthur Whittle 0]

[quote user="A Load of Squit"][quote user="Arthur Whittle"]

[quote user="Ralph Wright"]"  tucked up in bed now are we"

yep, can be quite exhausting going to games

10 minutes before today''s game

me - enjoying a pint  in the ground

Arthur Tiddle - posting another attack on the club on this forum
[/quote]

Poor old Ralph Wrong, so niave it hurts me to see someone so young and foolish taking in the clubs spin. Poor, poor Ralph.

[/quote]

Poor old Arthur, isn''t believing that we paid a million for Strihavka also ''taking in the clubs spin''?

 

[/quote]

Poor old squit, hasnt the capacity to see what i wass trying to say about the club spinning the truth about dave striker

[Mr.Carrow 376]

[quote user="T"]

Some more facts and reality - it has been independently verified that the off the field activities are profitable. Therefore, without the off-field activities the club would have less to spend on players. Therefore, it seems sensible that the club has sought to increase its income through other means just as many other clubs have. Do you think the crowds would be so good if the facilities were poor? We keep hearing ambition over prudence and back the manager but no seems able to specify what that means. For some it seems to mean spending money we have not got and putting the club into administration or not seeking to increase the income of the club through other means, neither of which strike me as particularly ambitious stategies.

 

[/quote]

So where is your evidence of this? How profitable is the land and road which cost £4.5m plus interest that the club is still paying back? How profitable is the £900k new pitch which is apparently a state already? Or the new ticket office when the last one was fine and modern? Corporate facilities, ticket sales, sponsership, merchandising, catering etc. will all be on a downward curve if we continue to struggle in this league.

As far as crowds/facilities go, have a look around. Half of this league have good, modern stadia which are rarely more than two-thirds full. The good facilities=bigger crowds is one of the easier football myths to dispel.

[Barclay_Boy 0]

[quote user="ricardo"]

The board have obviously breathed a collective sigh of relief. The tummult has been silenced and 20,000 season ticket holders have been conned again.

Unfortunately most of them won''t realise it until after they have coughed up for a renewal. I have to include myself in that number as I really believed they would be forced to change their attitude to investment in the playing side.

[/quote]

Same as you Ricardo, we are trapped and they know it, loving the club so much that we will renew no matter what. I cant believe the "wait till the summer we will spend big then, no point in spending in Jan when prices are high" crowd. On the face of it that statement makes great sense, but they must have been beamed down from Mars because we get fed the same bull every year, the same "all the money from transfers will be made available to the manager crap.

[Yellowfuture 71]

" I cant believe the "wait till the summer we will spend big then, no point in spending in Jan when prices are high" crowd. On the face of it that statement makes great sense, but they must have been beamed down from Mars because we get fed the same bull every year, the same "all the money from transfers will be made available to the manager crap. "

BB makes it sound as if we have never spent in the January window, can anyone recall when Hucks and Ashton were signed? Roeder has stated he is hanging on till the summer and money is there, I know trust is seen as a weakness by some but I do actually trust the guy. Sorry for being so nieve!

[Mello Yello 2,281]

[quote user="thefutureisyellow"]

" I cant believe the "wait till the summer we will spend big then, no point in spending in Jan when prices are high" crowd. On the face of it that statement makes great sense, but they must have been beamed down from Mars because we get fed the same bull every year, the same "all the money from transfers will be made available to the manager crap. "

BB makes it sound as if we have never spent in the January window, can anyone recall when Hucks and Ashton were signed? Roeder has stated he is hanging on till the summer and money is there, I know trust is seen as a weakness by some but I do actually trust the guy. Sorry for being so nieve!

[/quote]

I trust Roeder.......as for the board?

[Stevie Wonder 0]

Personally, I would rather have the loan players than spend our money on possible panic permanent buys who we then can''t get rid of. I can''t imagine the 2 lads from Reading are major earners and even Gibbs, Ched & Bertrand aren''t likely to be earning what Murray, Brellier, Brown, Strihavka etc were earning.

For the first time since the opening week or so of the season we are nearer the play-offs than the relegation zone. This division is so tight that if (and it is a big if) we can continue to pick up results for the next 10 games we are going to be breathing down the necks of the play off positions and then the situation changes. Suddenly, we are a more attractive proposition for potential signings in the summer.

Part of me wonders if one or two of the loans may even be turned into permanent deals this season - possible Bertrand or Evans.

The fact does remain though that to a certain extent the squad isn''t necessarily any stronger as if injuries occur to the permanent squad members we still only have the likes of Spillane, Rossi J & Martin as back up!!

[Barclay_Boy 0]

[quote user="thefutureisyellow"]

"BB makes it sound as if we have never spent in the January window, can anyone recall when Hucks and Ashton were signed? Roeder has stated he is hanging on till the summer and money is there, I know trust is seen as a weakness by some but I do actually trust the guy. Sorry for being so nieve!

[/quote]

 

What''s a nieve? Is it another name for a visitor from Mars?

[Syteanric 1]

time to resurrect this thread i think...

1 month on and no better off.. there is NO money.. if there was we wouldnt have Loanees who dont care if we go down because they are going to go back to their club...

 We needed a striker.. should we of kept Strihavka? Possibly... he hadnt been here that long... he needed time to adapt to the english game... should we of pushed the boat out for Ameobi? Perhaps.... he''ll be in the championship next season with Newcastle anyway.....

But dont worry.. our hotel, score boards and Land sold for flats will see us alright.. infact.. the score board will get a hat trick against colcehster Next week....

 Wheres all the money gone? to the moon for all i care... the board have put us here... watch them walk away and not make any attempt to get us out of it...

and you can all forget about "big" signings in the summer.. who''s going to leave their premiership club to sign for a league 1 side?

jas :)

[Barclay_Boy 0]

Agreed. Somehow we have to get this club in the shop window for potential investors and get rid of the current lot as they are unable to find the funds to make us competitive, even in this league let alone the Prem.

[corbs 0]

our hotel, score boards and Land sold for flats will see us alright.. infact.. the score board will get a hat trick against colcehster Next week....

I always thought the READS flour mill would of kept out some goals, but it was always played out of position!

 

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]Agreed. Somehow we have to get this club in the shop window for potential investors and get rid of the current lot as they are unable to find the funds to make us competitive, even in this league let alone the Prem.[/quote]

agreed.. new investment is whats needed from business people who can afford to take the club forward.. not a group of Friends who are desparetly hoping it all comes together.. which is what the current board strike me as....

jas :)

[Mello Yello 2,281]

I bet the board are brickin'' it! The reality is starting to slap ''em in the chops........What about all the ''nice and pretty things'' in and around the ground?......Will the affluent clientele still come to be ''entertained'' and then have to suffer by being rudely interrupted from their drinkin'' an'' feastin'' and then having to watch an hour an'' a half of Divvy Uno pure $hite an'' mediocre ''soccer''?

If this board of Directorship have been actively and vigorously pursuing outside investment.........Then I''m Lord Lucan......

Too cosy and chummy.......and runnin'' the club how they want it......and not how the fans want it!

Ever had the feelin'' you''ve been.........

 

 

[FilletTheFishWife . 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"][quote user="Arthur Whittle"]

 

for the slow demise of a once proud club.....Stick your bloody ''''one big family club'''' image up your backsides and give me quality football and a winning side again any day!

[/quote]

How does 10 games unbeaten and our climb up the table fit in with this demise. Despite all the discontent on here the FOOTBALL club is moving forward while some fans are stuck in the past. The manager has shipped out the players he doesn''t want and replaced them with players he believes have the desire to keep the club moving forward. Maybe some of these players will be back next season too. If you had asked me a month ago I wouldn''t have believed so much could be achieved in one month in these times and surely that''s credit to the club.

January has been more than just players out and players in. January has seen us remain unbeaten with 8 points from 12 including 7/9 away from home. I have seen quality football from a winning side. So you can stick your bloody "club in demise" image up your backside! Why do some of you posters never put FOOTBALL first?

 

[/quote]

 

That unbeaten run and climb gave the board the excuse to perpetuate their under-investment in the playing squad and so increase the risk of demotion to the 3rd tier for the first time in over 40 years.

We have a manager who delights in slagging off those on permanent contracts (martin, spillane, cureton etc) whilst fielding poor loanees in preference to better players. And the decent loanees are unliekly to stay.

We have a manager who indulges the boards ubiquitous unwillingness to pay market rates for players.

If we stay up it will be because we are fortunate to miraculously have 3 teams poorer than ours.

[Arthur Whittle 0]

[quote user="FilletTheFishWife ."][quote user="nutty nigel"][quote user="Arthur Whittle"]

 

for the slow demise of a once proud club.....Stick your bloody ''''one big family club'''' image up your backsides and give me quality football and a winning side again any day!

[/quote]

How does 10 games unbeaten and our climb up the table fit in with this demise. Despite all the discontent on here the FOOTBALL club is moving forward while some fans are stuck in the past. The manager has shipped out the players he doesn''t want and replaced them with players he believes have the desire to keep the club moving forward. Maybe some of these players will be back next season too. If you had asked me a month ago I wouldn''t have believed so much could be achieved in one month in these times and surely that''s credit to the club.

January has been more than just players out and players in. January has seen us remain unbeaten with 8 points from 12 including 7/9 away from home. I have seen quality football from a winning side. So you can stick your bloody "club in demise" image up your backside! Why do some of you posters never put FOOTBALL first?

 

[/quote]

 

That unbeaten run and climb gave the board the excuse to perpetuate their under-investment in the playing squad and so increase the risk of demotion to the 3rd tier for the first time in over 40 years.

We have a manager who delights in slagging off those on permanent contracts (martin, spillane, cureton etc) whilst fielding poor loanees in preference to better players. And the decent loanees are unliekly to stay.

We have a manager who indulges the boards ubiquitous unwillingness to pay market rates for players.

If we stay up it will be because we are fortunate to miraculously have 3 teams poorer than ours.

[/quote]

Bloody good answer!