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LQ

Supporters groups meeting with the new Board

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Hello all,

This will be a brief round up of what happened last night (from a personal viewpoint) if that''s ok.

First up, the star of the show was the guy from Aviva who ''facilitated'' the event. What a breath of fresh air he was! He kept the pace up, made sure people got the answers they required and was fair to all. I''m not sure how well his plan to move our ground to Mattishall would go down with the NCFC faithful at large though [;)]. Sorry I missed his name but all credit to you for a job well done.

The only Board member not present was the Chairman due to a clash of calendars.

Most of the questions were aimed at David McNally for obvious reasons athough Mr Aviva made sure that Delia, Michael, Michael F and Stephan all contributed too.

Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned - the manager will be managed in the best possible way and McNally is 100% club, not looking to be involved in other roles that could cause him to take his eye off the ball.

As far as questions went the answers are all fairly rhetorical at the moment but that''s all we can honestly expect. This is a new beginning (as I''d hoped) and we haven''t even kicked a ball in anger yet but in the background we were assured the Executive team have been planning the Club''s future from every angle.

McNally is hell bent on making us financially self-sufficient. In response to a few questions on here and on kickitoff.co.uk I asked in what manner. Is he looking for self-sufficiency at League One level? Championship? He replied that the aim is self-sufficiency in football in general - there are no limits - he has no limits. I don''t know about you but that was music to my ears. The Board are determined to do everything they can to get us straight out of this league. This may sound like same old, same old, but seriously, there was a momentum there last night that I can''t recall feeling before. All the Board members and senior staff present looked more relaxed and eager than they have over the past few years and there was a palpable sense of progression. If this new mood has been transposed down the line to the manager and the players (pre-season would suggest it has) I can only think it bodes well.

They know there have been mistakes; there''s little to be achieved from going over old ground again and again - I''m sure they''ve all done that and as the Chair of the Associate Directors commented ''this is the time to all pull together for our Club''.

The Board promised more and varied communication and consultation with fans. A massive plus point I''m sure you''ll agree. Hopefully this can take the form of interweb based discourse as well as face to face meetings so that exiled supporters can get involved.

And about our yellow nets - McNally made a note of it [;)]

If anyone has any questions I (or maybe someone else who was there) can try to answer. I''m trying not to be woolly here, it''s just that as I said up there ^ it''s all rhetorical at the moment, but bring on August 8th!


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Thanks for the feedback LQ. Can''t wait for the new ground at Mattishall as it will be so much easier to get to from Lynn[;)] I wondered why they were putting that roundabout in, but it''s all becoming clear now!

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[quote user="LQ"]Hello all,

This will be a brief round up of what happened last night (from a personal viewpoint) if that''s ok.

First up, the star of the show was the guy from Aviva who ''facilitated'' the event. What a breath of fresh air he was! He kept the pace up, made sure people got the answers they required and was fair to all. I''m not sure how well his plan to move our ground to Mattishall would go down with the NCFC faithful at large though [;)]. Sorry I missed his name but all credit to you for a job well done.

The only Board member not present was the Chairman due to a clash of calendars.

Most of the questions were aimed at David McNally for obvious reasons athough Mr Aviva made sure that Delia, Michael, Michael F and Stephan all contributed too.

Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned - the manager will be managed in the best possible way and McNally is 100% club, not looking to be involved in other roles that could cause him to take his eye off the ball.

As far as questions went the answers are all fairly rhetorical at the moment but that''s all we can honestly expect. This is a new beginning (as I''d hoped) and we haven''t even kicked a ball in anger yet but in the background we were assured the Executive team have been planning the Club''s future from every angle.

McNally is hell bent on making us financially self-sufficient. In response to a few questions on here and on kickitoff.co.uk I asked in what manner. Is he looking for self-sufficiency at League One level? Championship? He replied that the aim is self-sufficiency in football in general - there are no limits - he has no limits. I don''t know about you but that was music to my ears. The Board are determined to do everything they can to get us straight out of this league. This may sound like same old, same old, but seriously, there was a momentum there last night that I can''t recall feeling before. All the Board members and senior staff present looked more relaxed and eager than they have over the past few years and there was a palpable sense of progression. If this new mood has been transposed down the line to the manager and the players (pre-season would suggest it has) I can only think it bodes well.

They know there have been mistakes; there''s little to be achieved from going over old ground again and again - I''m sure they''ve all done that and as the Chair of the Associate Directors commented ''this is the time to all pull together for our Club''.

The Board promised more and varied communication and consultation with fans. A massive plus point I''m sure you''ll agree. Hopefully this can take the form of interweb based discourse as well as face to face meetings so that exiled supporters can get involved.

And about our yellow nets - McNally made a note of it [;)]

If anyone has any questions I (or maybe someone else who was there) can try to answer. I''m trying not to be woolly here, it''s just that as I said up there ^ it''s all rhetorical at the moment, but bring on August 8th!


[/quote]

 

Whilst i am unlifted somewhat by the news that they have "apparently" learnt their lessons and the mood was positive did anyone actually ask any decent questions or get any answers to them?

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LQ,

"Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned"

Although the football side of things has progressed better than I had expected, I am far from convinced that lessons have been learned about the non-football side of things and I can fully undertstand why the Board would not want to debate these with the fans.

"Lets focus on the future" is the typical rallying cry of a policticians who are desperate to avoid any menaingful debate about their mistakes. Unfortunately, soem transpraency about these is a fundemanetal part of the healing process, however painful this may be, and not something to be swept under the carpet. However, I doubt this will be the case and the Board are desperately hoping that we make a good start to the season so that any interest in this other matters is gradually forgotten about.

 

 

 

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[quote user="Desert Fox"]

LQ,

"Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned"

Although the football side of things has progressed better than I had expected, I am far from convinced that lessons have been learned about the non-football side of things and I can fully undertstand why the Board would not want to debate these with the fans.

"Lets focus on the future" is the typical rallying cry of a policticians who are desperate to avoid any menaingful debate about their mistakes. Unfortunately, soem transpraency about these is a fundemanetal part of the healing process, however painful this may be, and not something to be swept under the carpet. However, I doubt this will be the case and the Board are desperately hoping that we make a good start to the season so that any interest in this other matters is gradually forgotten about.

 

[/quote]Thanks for the replies so far.Desert Fox, I understand what you''re saying here, believe me, but what''s the alternative?What do you want to hear from the Board? "We''re caught in a trap. We can''t walk out. Because we lov..." - sorry, Elvis moment [;)]Seriously would you rather I''d been reporting that everyone looked depressed and downtrodden, like they did when I saw three of them a few days after Charlton? What does that achieve?We are where we are and no I''m not saying forget the past, let''s just not live there. The sentiment I''ve continually espoused since the end of the last, awful season, is that we have to see this as a new beginning. It''s a chance for the Club to get back to its roots and for the fans to rethink what it is about football in general and Norwich City in particular they love, spend time and money on, dream about. An opportunity for the local media to reassert themselves as the only place to find out what''s going on, because the nationals will completely ignore us for a while; and that means new media, innovative reporting and I daresay plenty of streaming camera work for Sports Desk Pete!Nothing will be forgotten - lord knows plenty on here will keep reminding the world in general just how bad it got, but what do you do? Roll over and play dead? Or stand up and fight?I''ll stand if that''s ok?McNally was very honest about what he''s inherited and where he wants to go. I can''t ask any more than that. The man is nobodies fool.

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Lisa, not sure if you were planning to update the thread on kick it off, but I have linked it back to this one anyway.

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Blimey - sorry Ace!I''ve had a lot on recently, especially this morning, and thought I''d done it already.Sorry [:$]

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Hey don''t apologise, just wanted you to know you didn''t have to do it, but I see you just did.  Thanks.[quote user="LQ"]Blimey - sorry Ace!I''ve had a lot on recently, especially this morning, and thought I''d done it already.Sorry [:$]

[/quote]

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LQ,

We will not agree on this issue. What I call ''glossing over the past'' you call ''lets focus on the future''. Time will tell and the AGM this year will be interesting - particulalry given the revelation last year by MWJ that the Board did not have a clue about which strategy to pursue. They will not get away with this 12 months down the line and this will force some discussion about the financial mess we have got into - unless of course the shareholders again tolerate being treated like idiots.

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And in my opinion the past wasn''t glossed over - just that everyone present seemed more bent on looking at constructive ways forward for the Club.There you go...

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LQ, what was your opinion based on my original question to you.

Who is (still) in charge?

Are they having a Burns thing (if at first) and hoping all the past failures are forgotten OR are you that convinced of the new start and the Duo are truly taking a back seat ( and not driving)

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Hello Butler,Ok, in my opinion McNally is very firmly in charge. He''s a very imposing chap and has a reputation to uphold.I am convinced this is a new start. As I said previously the mood was very different to anything I''ve experienced from the Directors over the last few years. Again, in my opinion, the original Directors know their limitations and have brought the right man in McNally and the right back up in Stephan Phillips on board to negate those limitations.Stephan Phillips didn''t say much but the impression I got was that he takes no prisoners - from a personal point of view I doubt he''d have taken this on if he contemplated failure. Why would he? He''s a successful guy, he didn''t ''need'' this appointment so much as our Board needed someone like him.

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[quote user="LQ"]Hello Butler,

Ok, in my opinion McNally is very firmly in charge. He''s a very imposing chap and has a reputation to uphold.

I am convinced this is a new start. As I said previously the mood was very different to anything I''ve experienced from the Directors over the last few years. Again, in my opinion, the original Directors know their limitations and have brought the right man in McNally and the right back up in Stephan Phillips on board to negate those limitations.

Stephan Phillips didn''t say much but the impression I got was that he takes no prisoners - from a personal point of view I doubt he''d have taken this on if he contemplated failure. Why would he? He''s a successful guy, he didn''t ''need'' this appointment so much as our Board needed someone like him.


[/quote]

Thank you for that analysis.

I hope beyond hope that you are correct.

This is "last chance saloon" if this fails there is nowhere left for them to go.

We must all keep our fingers very firmly crossed.

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You say McNally keen on being self sufficient, banging the drum that that''s his target whatever level we play at....did he elaborate?  Did he mention the binds of the current repayment plan and the impediment to the club and how he intends to address it?

I''m sick of sound bites & that all together, if there is no back up to it, is just what it is

 

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[quote user="LQ"]Stephan Phillips didn''t say much but the impression I got was that he takes no prisoners - from a personal point of view I doubt he''d have taken this on if he contemplated failure. Why would he? He''s a successful guy, he didn''t ''need'' this appointment

[/quote]

So why did he become a director of NCFC Plc.?

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[quote user="Desert Fox"]

LQ,

"Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned"

Although the football side of things has progressed better than I had expected, I am far from convinced that lessons have been learned about the non-football side of things and I can fully undertstand why the Board would not want to debate these with the fans.

"Lets focus on the future" is the typical rallying cry of a policticians who are desperate to avoid any menaingful debate about their mistakes. Unfortunately, soem transpraency about these is a fundemanetal part of the healing process, however painful this may be, and not something to be swept under the carpet. However, I doubt this will be the case and the Board are desperately hoping that we make a good start to the season so that any interest in this other matters is gradually forgotten about.

[/quote]

Good post D.F. 

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[quote user="LQ"][quote user="Desert Fox"]

LQ,

"Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned"

Although the football side of things has progressed better than I had expected, I am far from convinced that lessons have been learned about the non-football side of things and I can fully undertstand why the Board would not want to debate these with the fans.

"Lets focus on the future" is the typical rallying cry of a policticians who are desperate to avoid any menaingful debate about their mistakes. Unfortunately, soem transpraency about these is a fundemanetal part of the healing process, however painful this may be, and not something to be swept under the carpet. However, I doubt this will be the case and the Board are desperately hoping that we make a good start to the season so that any interest in this other matters is gradually forgotten about.

 

[/quote]

An opportunity for the local media to reassert themselves as the only place to find out what''s going on,
[/quote]

Do Archant ask awkward questions? 

 

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unfortunately I don''t think self sufficiency works in English Football these days LQ, and that line worries me a lot. To be succesful at the present time you need the club to be well run, AND have a benefactor with deep pockets, who is prepared to put money in and not neccesarily expect to see it again. And we do not have one. I will be convinced of the new Board''s ambition when we at least spend as much on incoming new players as we gain on outgoing ones. You can spend a lot of money and have a rubbish team and you can spend a lot of money and have a succesful team. But it''s very very difficult to gain real success without spending and we do not seem to have much to spend these days.

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Congrats LQ in getting a report out so quickly. I think it represents pretty fairly what went on at the meeting - but one or two other points stood out for me (I went as a representative of NCISA):

1. It would have been good if the groups present had been given an opportunity to identify themselves. Those who asked questions gave their name and organisation - but the majority remained silent. We were not asked to sign in or anything.

2. McNally is a breath of fresh air - prudence didn''t show her face - and there was a fair bit of ambition! How he will be seen in 6 months remains to be seen.

3. Delia was her usual self - what wonderful fans we are etc. However, her admission that she didn''t know how bad things were getting under Roeder and her rather tart reply that she doesn''t have a crystal ball when it comes to appointing a successful manager show that not a lot has changed.

4. McNally wants more consultation with the fans - more accessability as he put it. However exactly how this is to be done has yet to be worked out - watch this space. The fact that not all supporter groups were invited and no record was kept of who came indicate to me that there is a lot more working out to do!

5. There was some fairly aggressive questioning, but the general tone was very light touch.

Apologies, that''s five other points! As LQ says, it was very much an opportunity to look forward - no hand-wringing over the past. Therefore very friendly and positive - not everyone there was convinced!

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[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]unfortunately I don''t think self sufficiency works in English Football these days LQ, and that line worries me a lot. To be succesful at the present time you need the club to be well run, AND have a benefactor with deep pockets, who is prepared to put money in and not neccesarily expect to see it again. And we do not have one. I will be convinced of the new Board''s ambition when we at least spend as much on incoming new players as we gain on outgoing ones. You can spend a lot of money and have a rubbish team and you can spend a lot of money and have a succesful team. But it''s very very difficult to gain real success without spending and we do not seem to have much to spend these days.[/quote]

I agree with the above statement somewhat but I think you can achieve Prem status without it..............

A number of teams such as Burnley and Hull have done it on far less resources than we have currently............it''s still possible.

Many have prayed for a rich outsider to come in and take over the club...............

Look how that is currently working on the South coast................ Not so hot..........

At Southampton we have a billionaire owner who is content to keep his hands in his pockets while all their best players have been sold.

At Portsmouth............. well frankly they have sold everyone with a pulse to cover debts and virtually anyone with an opinion thinks they are favs for relegation.

(Poll among the journalists who follow the club rated them favs to go down)

Football economics is very scary at the moment......... some of these rich investors are hurting the game by inflating wages and transfer fees...........This is a bubble waiting to burst.

Ironically those clubs who cut their cloth might actually end up doing well if we see a number of bigger clubs collapse.

People have knocked Liverpool, Man Utd and Asenal for selling these players even for incredibly silly money...........

Personally I think they are very smart. Sir Alex is keeping the powder dry when Clubs like Man City and Real Madrid have run out of money and the valuations return to a reasonable level.

 

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[quote user="USAcanary"]

[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]unfortunately I don''t think self sufficiency works in English Football these days LQ, and that line worries me a lot. To be succesful at the present time you need the club to be well run, AND have a benefactor with deep pockets, who is prepared to put money in and not neccesarily expect to see it again. And we do not have one. I will be convinced of the new Board''s ambition when we at least spend as much on incoming new players as we gain on outgoing ones. You can spend a lot of money and have a rubbish team and you can spend a lot of money and have a succesful team. But it''s very very difficult to gain real success without spending and we do not seem to have much to spend these days.[/quote]

 

At Southampton we have a billionaire owner who is content to keep his hands in his pockets while all their best players have been sold.

[/quote]

The best players you refer to, were sold by the Administrator before the Swiss businessman became the owner. 

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[quote user="USAcanary"]

[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]unfortunately I don''t think self sufficiency works in English Football these days LQ, and that line worries me a lot. To be succesful at the present time you need the club to be well run, AND have a benefactor with deep pockets, who is prepared to put money in and not neccesarily expect to see it again. And we do not have one. I will be convinced of the new Board''s ambition when we at least spend as much on incoming new players as we gain on outgoing ones. You can spend a lot of money and have a rubbish team and you can spend a lot of money and have a succesful team. But it''s very very difficult to gain real success without spending and we do not seem to have much to spend these days.[/quote]

I agree with the above statement somewhat but I think you can achieve Prem status without it..............

A number of teams such as Burnley and Hull have done it on far less resources than we have currently............it''s still possible.

Many have prayed for a rich outsider to come in and take over the club...............

Look how that is currently working on the South coast................ Not so hot..........

At Southampton we have a billionaire owner who is content to keep his hands in his pockets while all their best players have been sold.

At Portsmouth............. well frankly they have sold everyone with a pulse to cover debts and virtually anyone with an opinion thinks they are favs for relegation.

(Poll among the journalists who follow the club rated them favs to go down)

Football economics is very scary at the moment......... some of these rich investors are hurting the game by inflating wages and transfer fees...........This is a bubble waiting to burst.

Ironically those clubs who cut their cloth might actually end up doing well if we see a number of bigger clubs collapse.

People have knocked Liverpool, Man Utd and Asenal for selling these players even for incredibly silly money...........

Personally I think they are very smart. Sir Alex is keeping the powder dry when Clubs like Man City and Real Madrid have run out of money and the valuations return to a reasonable level.

 

[/quote]

and agree with you up to a point, the clubs you quote in trouble either lost their benefactor or do not have a benefactor, ie rich owner does not neccesarily equal benefactor, only if prepared to spend some of their riches! As for Burnely and Hull I think they have been more ambitious than us over the last few years in my opinion. One example being Patterson to Burnely, our bidding stopped at 850k, I think they got him for 1mill, the rest is history. We wouldn''t pay the extra 250k required for Martin Taylor, so for the sake of 400k, approx the same amount the club has had to pay in rebates to fans, we quite possibly would not be kicking off in the 3rd division on Saturday. I do not have a problem if clubs come knocking on the door and offering us silly money for players, as long as that is reinvested in bringing in quality replacements, the main reason we find ourselves where we are is that this has not been done in the past few seasons.

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[quote user="Desert Fox"]

LQ,

"Thank goodness the focus from pretty much everyone present, fans and Board, was on the future and where we go from here rather than harking back over old ground. Lessons have most certainly been learned"

Although the football side of things has progressed better than I had expected, I am far from convinced that lessons have been learned about the non-football side of things and I can fully undertstand why the Board would not want to debate these with the fans.

"Lets focus on the future" is the typical rallying cry of a policticians who are desperate to avoid any menaingful debate about their mistakes. Unfortunately, soem transpraency about these is a fundemanetal part of the healing process, however painful this may be, and not something to be swept under the carpet. However, I doubt this will be the case and the Board are desperately hoping that we make a good start to the season so that any interest in this other matters is gradually forgotten about.

 

 

 

[/quote]

I agree Desert Fox.

The last thing The Cook wanted to deal with was serious questions probing her involvement in major decisions going right backto that fateful summer of ''98! Fact is that her and her husband have been responsible (as owners) for a tripling of the clubs debt and relegation to the Third Division for the first time in 50 years!!

For her to say last night (apparently) that ....''I didn''t reaLise how bad things had got under GR'' just shows her hopelessely out of touch she remains with the fooball side of her little empire.

The Cook should have had the decency to resign from the Board after the Charlton humiliation. She could do what she likes with her shares.

Unless she and Mr Smith have delegated all decision making to the other directors I remain very sceptical.

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[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]unfortunately I don''t think self sufficiency works in English Football these days LQ, and that line worries me a lot.[/quote]

It worries me too BB, for two reasons:

i)  Too much emphasis on recent events as "the past".  We may have stopped the rot but we''re still in serious trouble and don''t let anyone convince you otherwise.  "Carpet, under, sweeping" is the phrase that springs to mind.

ii)  "Self-sufficiency" sounds like another way of saying "the majority shareholders don''t wan''t any serious investors threatening their control of the club".  That approach is at the root of our present plight.  Right now I accept that serious investors are few and far between (no wonder they were looking relaxed . . .).  But we got sidetracked into land speculation and other non-football related moneymaking ideas years before Peter Cullum came onto the scene.  The reason for that was that D&M wanted to avoid losing control of the club at all costs (including success on the field of play), and on this evidence it''s still their no.1 priority. 

Is "self-sufficiency" the new prudence?  Has anything fundamental really changed?  On this evidence I have my doubts.  If it hasn''t, we''d better enjoy this honeymoon period while it lasts.

I really didn''t think I''d be posting this sort of thing again so soon, and I''m very disappointed.  But you have to call it as you see it.

 

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Personally speaking Barclay Boy, the lasagne was tasty but a little overcooked! Now the raspberry brulee on the other hand....................

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[quote user="canary cherub "]

[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]unfortunately I don''t think self sufficiency works in English Football these days LQ, and that line worries me a lot.[/quote]

It worries me too BB, for two reasons:

i)  Too much emphasis on recent events as "the past".  We may have stopped the rot but we''re still in serious trouble and don''t let anyone convince you otherwise.  "Carpet, under, sweeping" is the phrase that springs to mind.

ii)  "Self-sufficiency" sounds like another way of saying "the majority shareholders don''t wan''t any serious investors threatening their control of the club".  That approach is at the root of our present plight.  Right now I accept that serious investors are few and far between (no wonder they were looking relaxed . . .).  But we got sidetracked into land speculation and other non-football related moneymaking ideas years before Peter Cullum came onto the scene.  The reason for that was that D&M wanted to avoid losing control of the club at all costs (including success on the field of play), and on this evidence it''s still their no.1 priority. 

Is "self-sufficiency" the new prudence?  Has anything fundamental really changed?  On this evidence I have my doubts.  If it hasn''t, we''d better enjoy this honeymoon period while it lasts.

I really didn''t think I''d be posting this sort of thing again so soon, and I''m very disappointed.  But you have to call it as you see it.

 

[/quote]

 

There are two ways of looking at this I think.  One: you had an efficient lawyer based Chief Executive who followed what he perceived as the company line and you now have a Chief Executive whose stand up rows with Al Fayed passed into legend.   At least in Fulham they did.

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