Concerns about the direction of the club

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

Just now, moore_94 said:

Gonna try and find it as I am sure it has been in an article before but isn't it like even during the season the top brass only do a proper meeting once a month over Teams or something like that?

In the past yep, but it's very differently run now, particularly in the last 18 months. It'll come out eventually I'm sure.

[Tommy G]

1 minute ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

They don't sit round a table, that's half the problem.

Ok - in that case are you saying it’s a free for all with no agreed budget or sign off at board level for transfers or otherwise? Simply don’t believe that.

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

Just now, Tommy G said:

Ok - in that case are you saying it’s a free for all with no agreed budget or sign off at board level for transfers or otherwise? Simply don’t believe that.

Not a free for all but not like you'd imagine. Two people significantly more influential than others and have meetings separately.

[Lesta2014]

3 minutes ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

Not a free for all but not like you'd imagine. Two people significantly more influential than others and have meetings separately.

Sounds like a head and deputy head at a school before they meet the rest of senior leaders having already made the decision. 

[Milo]

10 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

He might also want out longer term, but is hanging on for the best time to realise the most value for the club. The family have invested hundreds of millions into it and will want a return, it won’t be given away. The above, alongside the death of Vichai, PSR and a hundred other things is why we’re here now. 

Unfortunately it could also be that we have inherited the idiot child. 

 

Vichai was the scrapper, the brains, the visionary. The boss. 
 

Top? A default owner that has shown nothing to suggest he’s anything other than a woefully out of his depth daddy wannabe. (Succession, anyone)?  
 

I’d love to be proven wrong, obviously. But the signs aren’t great so far, are they.

[Ric Flair]

14 hours ago, Babylon said:

Or are we accepting that with a points deduction and little ability to navigate with transfers because of the finances, relegation is nigh on certainty and that the plan is to take the hit, get the finances back in order and go again next season in the championship?

 

Who knows, it's certainly something quite a few people said could be one course of action. And the cheap signing of Cooper does hint at that. I doubt they'd ever admit it.

I wouldn't mind this approach if we prioritised our academy players development in preparation for 2025/26. Not seeing signs that would be the strategy though.

[Ric Flair]

2 hours ago, moore_94 said:

Didn't cost £15m (£12.6m Total package at the time the deal was done) and it hasn't changed Nelson's position in the pecking order at all as we have moved someone out which we were very likely always going to be doing

You sure on that? Souttar was 5th choice last season with Nelson 4th choice. 

 

If Nelson hasn't been bumped down, who's 5th choice now?

 

We should be building the team around Nelson, Braybrooke and Alves this season. We're evidently going straight back down.

[volpeazzurro]

5 hours ago, Milo said:

Unfortunately it could also be that we have inherited the idiot child. 

 

Vichai was the scrapper, the brains, the visionary. The boss. 
 

Top? A default owner that has shown nothing to suggest he’s anything other than a woefully out of his depth daddy wannabe. (Succession, anyone)?  
 

I’d love to be proven wrong, obviously. But the signs aren’t great so far, are they.

Yep, Vichai must be looking down, shaking his head and saying 'stupid boy'!

What a Fred Karnos Army it all is! (Where on earth did that come from). A blast from the past but fitting nevertheless. 

[Babylon]

8 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

I wouldn't mind this approach if we prioritised our academy players development in preparation for 2025/26. Not seeing signs that would be the strategy though.

My guess would be we are almost stuck between two things, the realisation that we are likely to go down and keeping one eye on that. But also that, we want to have a bit of a stab at staying up, as much as finances dictate. So we end up doing neither well. 

[Ric Flair]

Just now, Babylon said:

My guess would be we are almost stuck between two things, the realisation that we are likely to go down and keeping one eye on that. But also that, we want to have a bit of a stab at staying up, as much as finances dictate. So we end up doing neither well. 

Yeah that sounds about right. Part of me wishes we'd not got promoted.

[CrazyKopCorner]

18 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Yeah that sounds about right. Part of me wishes we'd not got promoted.

Yes it may have been better to have had a deep sweep i.e get rid of Ward, Iversen, Faes, Daka, Sourmare, Souttar etc and start again with the young talent we have in the team and coming through. 

 

At the moment we're betwixt and between 

 

 

[Fox on the Rox]

11 hours ago, moore_94 said:

€15m which was around £12.6m at the time of the deal which was also the value of the TOTAL package - also with the value spread across a 5 year deal for PSR

 

You only deem it a complete waste of money because I assume you probably believe that ALL of Faes, Coady, Souttar, Vestergaard, and Nelson are good enough for the Prem even though none of them play on the left side of a defence or have much if any pace? (which Okoli can do and has)

I'm sure Nelson regularly played on the left on loan at Doncaster (being largely two footed) and I think he's more rapid than his running style (and long legs) makes him appear. 

 

But by bringing in Okoli and not even releasing Nelson to go on loan the club aren't sending a good message about the priority they give to developing their young players. 

 

Nelson signed a new deal till 2027. If I were Alves I'd be thinking seriously about whether it's a good idea to follow suit. 

[Tielemans63]

I've thought for a while that the club have already accepted the likelihood that we'll go straight back down and are taking as few financial risks as possible (in terms of recruitment). Could make for a very grim season 

[K789]

10 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Ok - in that case are you saying it’s a free for all with no agreed budget or sign off at board level for transfers or otherwise? Simply don’t believe that.

They certainly work to a budget on both the men's and womens team with extent of loss to hit set I know that much

[Tielemans63]

1 minute ago, Fox on the Rox said:

I'm sure Nelson regularly played on the left on loan at Doncaster (being largely two footed) and I think he's more rapid than his running style (and long legs) makes him appear. 

 

But by bringing in Okoli and not even releasing Nelson to go on loan the club aren't sending a good message about the priority they give to developing their young players. 

 

Nelson signed a new deal till 2027. If I were Alves I'd be thinking seriously about whether it's a good idea to follow suit. 

You can see why Trey Nyoni left for Liverpool. He's actually been getting opportunities there (albeit in pre-season). If he'd still been here he'd have likely been held back, like Nelson, Alves and Braybrooke. Everyone's furious he left for Liverpool, but you could argue he's done exactly the right thing for his career by going to a club who will actually give him the chance to play. The treatment of talented youngsters has been really poor imho. A season in the Championship was an ideal opportunity to blood a few.

[Tommy G]

8 minutes ago, K789 said:

They certainly work to a budget on both the men's and womens team with extent of loss to hit set I know that much

Of course they do, to suggest otherwise is nonsense 

[1972 Fox]

15 minutes ago, CrazyKopCorner said:

Yes it may have been better to have had a deep sweep i.e get rid of Ward, Iversen, Faes, Daka, Sourmare, Souttar etc and start again with the young talent we have in the team and coming through. 

 

At the moment we're betwixt and between 

 

 

How exactly? We've proved ourselves totally incapable of moving these players on, with the exception of Souttar on loan.

[Tuna]

 

[Grebfromgrebland]

This could be interesting. I wonder what he was promised transfer wise. 

[RYM]

5 minutes ago, Tuna said:

 

It’ll be

“great club”

”can’t wait to get going”

“going to be a tough season”

”Jon is working hard to get the right players in”

“the fans deserve premier league football and we need to give them a team to be proud of”

[davieG]

48 minutes ago, Tielemans63 said:

You can see why Trey Nyoni left for Liverpool. He's actually been getting opportunities there (albeit in pre-season). If he'd still been here he'd have likely been held back, like Nelson, Alves and Braybrooke. Everyone's furious he left for Liverpool, but you could argue he's done exactly the right thing for his career by going to a club who will actually give him the chance to play. The treatment of talented youngsters has been really poor imho. A season in the Championship was an ideal opportunity to blood a few.

There's always a reason/excuse given for not playing academy players.

Going for Promotion

Going for Europe

Trying to avoid relegation

Needing to finish as high as possible for the extra £s

Going for a cup

Too young

Too inexperienced

Not in the PL to much of a jump.

[Dan LCFC]

I just don't see any real commitment to anything. If we had stuck the budget this season into 4/5 under 22 players to get in and around our first team I could completely understand the argument that we were accepting our likely relegation and making a prudent attempt to bounce back up in the following season, as defeatist as that is, as crap an outcome as it is.

 

But we aren't even doing that. It's just a load of nothing.

[Vazman]

5 hours ago, Dan LCFC said:

I just don't see any real commitment to anything. If we had stuck the budget this season into 4/5 under 22 players to get in and around our first team I could completely understand the argument that we were accepting our likely relegation and making a prudent attempt to bounce back up in the following season, as defeatist as that is, as crap an outcome as it is.

 

But we aren't even doing that. It's just a load of nothing.

I think this will sum up our season, it all feels flat at the moment, I am hopeful of survival in the Prem, but what then, what comes next, whats the vision, what's beyond survival,  stale ownership, stale DOF, a real stagnant feel to everything, hopefully Cooper can lift all this with the players and get some sparks going this season with some memorable performances we can but hope.

[Wymsey]

It seems like the club isn't as transparent as ever.

Something doesn't seem right behind the scenes, as if they're hiding something.

Edited 9 August by Wymsey

[Daggers]

1 hour ago, Wymsey said:

It seems like the club isn't as transparent as ever.

Something doesn't seem right behind the scenes, as if they're hiding something.

What do you think they're hiding?

 

Me?

 

I reckon Rudkin accidentally stabbed Big Sue to death in an argument over where Top should sit for a meeting. Picking up the letter opener, he went to bang it with fury hitherto unseen on the table, but tripped over one of the monks on the floor, flew like a Cambiasso pass through the air, and the letter opener plunged into her ample bosom.

 

Not only did Big Sue have the key to the drinks cabinet and the password to the King Power Microsoft 365 package, she died knowing some other important things - like how to access the bank account.

 

I'm not saying I've seen Rudkin attempting to dress up like Big Sue in order to trick the bank clerk into opening up the account, but it's certainly something I have imagined - and now so have you, you dirty beast.

 

Top has promised to help hide the body, but it needs sneaking out to the stables when a happy crowd is thronged around the club - and the chances of that happening this season are looking slim.er by the day.

 

I believe they've propped her up in one of the concession stands for the time being as no one will be able to tell the difference between her slowly decomposing corpse and the regular matchday service.

 

Yes, that's what I reckon has happened and that's what they're hiding.