El DerbyCo

[Chester40]

5 minutes ago, Eatonram said:

Not sure many of those were down to scouting. Wanchope came as a result of a video sent to Jim Smith by an agent. Ernie was an established international, as was Stimac and Asanovich. Smith already knew Poom as he had played at Portsmouth.

 

Surely a scouting network picks up a gem from Senegal or Scotland, a player no one has hardly heard of. AKA Brentford or Leicester with Vardy? Signing internationals hardly needs a scouting network, you need a TV.

Good points. 

All new owners trot out the same things... in the same way all managers talk about - getting the players fitter, giving everyone a chance, making things simpler, making it more enjoyable /relieving the stress, getting the 12th man/the fans on side with attractive football. 

Owners talk about long term planning, sustainable growth, being a sleeping giant club with untapped potential and great fans, investing in youth, signing players at the right age to move the team forward etc etc. 

Least he had the good grace to say judge him on his actions...which is exactly what I intend to do! 

[RoyMac5]

Which country's can we potentially scout from post-Brexit? ie the players would need/get a work permit? Scotland?

[Carnero]

3 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Which country's can we potentially scout from post-Brexit? ie the players would need/get a work permit? Scotland?

Any country as long as the player is good enough and meets the work permit criteria. All that has changed is that all countries are now treated the same (except for additional points given for countries of a higher footballing standard). I'm sure Brentford will continue bringing in players from here there and everywhere so why can't we do the same?

[mwram1973]

53 minutes ago, Jimbo Ram said:

Might depend on whether we stay up or not...

Tbh i think if we do go down ( I don't think we will ), he'll definitely stay as he would be a massive pull for league one players.

If we stay up, it's going to be the case of whether Alonso trusts a rookie manager with getting his club into the prem as quick as poss. I'm not sure he will, only a hunch mind.

Weird how Mac is still around even though the last deal is no more.

[Jimbo Ram]

4 minutes ago, Carnero said:

Any country as long as the player is good enough and meets the work permit criteria. All that has changed is that all countries are now treated the same (except for additional points given for countries of a higher footballing standard). I'm sure Brentford will continue bringing in players from here there and everywhere so why can't we do the same?

Thought the change was now they all had to be internationals basically or at least played in certain % of internationals, previously through freedom of movement this wasn't the case for European players.....

[jono]

58 minutes ago, Spanish said:

No, just the facts, are we better off at the end of his reign?

someone else could have been better or worse, that's just guesswork

I’d say about the same then. If you consider where we were under Nigel. The changing fortunes of the whole league is also worth putting in the mix.

You could draw a precise line and say “ah ha but when he actually took over and where we are now”  yet between those times we have had another play off final, been in the top 2 .. it’s just where you chose to put 2 pins. If you select the best vs the worst. Joining day and leaving day - Then you have a point but it isn’t really a true picture of his tenure. 

[Bald Eagle's Barmy Army]

6 minutes ago, mwram1973 said:

Tbh i think if we do go down ( I don't think we will ), he'll definitely stay as he would be a massive pull for league one players.

If we stay up, it's going to be the case of whether Alonso trusts a rookie manager with getting his club into the prem as quick as poss. I'm not sure he will, only a hunch mind.

Weird how Mac is still around even though the last deal is no more.

I’d take Mac over Rooney any day of the week. 
 

Or put them together we can have Macarooney 

[mwram1973]

Just now, Bald Eagle's Barmy Army said:

I’d take Mac over Rooney any day of the week. 
 

Or put them together we can have Macarooney 

I really want Rooney to do well and I think he will, eventually become a good manager, but I agree, at this moment I would have Mac over Rooney.

[jono]

9 hours ago, Ash_SJ said:

Newcastle whilst poorly run on the pitch has been very well run off it, bar this season Mel Morris tenure has been the opposite. 

Whilst they owe more to Mike Ashley than we do to Mel(144m but we haven't seen the latest accounts), they still own their stadium(which is an asset) and have no loans over the training ground but they are paying interest of 0.1m(duck all)

Meanwhile we apparently have £56m debt to Mel and don't own our stadium, have a loan on our stadium and a loan on our training ground.That doesn't mention the charge owed to a Swiss Turkish businessman who currently is facing trial

If we dont get the right owner in, we can become wigan though Wigan failing means its harder to pass the Fit and Proper test

Skilfully avoiding the question. I didn’t mention Newcastle - a premier league club with an entirely different financial structure.

I simply commented about relative trustworthiness, ethics and individual behaviour because there were those who questioned whether we should “trust”  Mel. 

[ramit]

1 hour ago, Spanish said:

we are worse off than we were at the start of his involvement are we not?

To be fair, with one exception, the academy

[Abu Derby]

Not many new owners persevere with an incumbent manager. I think he will want to bring his own man in if there is no improvement on the pitch. 

[Spanish]

20 minutes ago, jono said:

I’d say about the same then. If you consider where we were under Nigel. The changing fortunes of the whole league is also worth putting in the mix.

You could draw a precise line and say “ah ha but when he actually took over and where we are now”  yet between those times we have had another play off final, been in the top 2 .. it’s just where you chose to put 2 pins. If you select the best vs the worst. Joining day and leaving day - Then you have a point but it isn’t really a true picture of his tenure. 

we are now on the edge of relegation, no ground and under an embargo  if you think that is a great legacy so be it.  Ultimately it depends on what the expectations are.  If a trip to Wembley and an occasional fleeting moment at the top of the table is the 'be all and all' forgive me for disagreeing.  

[Abu Derby]

39 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

Which country's can we potentially scout from post-Brexit? ie the players would need/get a work permit? Scotland?

Northern Ireland and Wales definitely - not sure about the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. 
Matt Le Tissier was a good find from Guernsey. 

[Spanish]

10 minutes ago, ramit said:

To be fair, with one exception, the academy

agreed but does that outweigh the negatives we currently face?

[DarkFruitsRam7]

Struggling to trust the judgement of a bloke who named his company 'No Limit Sports Limited'.

[GboroRam]

2 minutes ago, jono said:

Skilfully avoiding the question. I didn’t mention Newcastle - a premier league club with an entirely different financial structure.

I simply commented about relative trustworthiness, ethics and individual behaviour because there were those who questioned whether we should “trust”  Mel. 

Do you mean do we trust Mel's intentions, or do we trust his judgement? I don't think many people think Mel hasn't done everything he's done with the best of intentions. But it's fair to say we aren't where we wanted to be - and although I think Mel did nothing anyone particularly objected to, I can see that criticism levelled at him because he ultimately stands and fails by his decisions. I'd be honest and say I supported most of them, so it's churlish of me to say he's made bad choices. At the time they seemed like good ones (although the sale of the stadium didn't sit right, without knowing the ins and outs of finances and the agreements I couldn't really say if it was a stroke of genius or a hugely worrying situation we'd been engineered into).

I think more than anything it shows the nature of football is broken financially. Even those people criticising Mel for wasting money on ultimately buying playing staff that haven't been good enough collectively are saying we need a clear out and to spend vast amounts of money to replace them, which will just mean we're doubling down on the mistakes they're saying we've already made. Some of those people would later criticise that spending as reckless if it didn't ultimately work out and result in promotion.

It's like spending a thousand pounds on scratch cards, and being disappointed when you only win £50. Some people would say you were stupid for spending a thousand, but say you need to spend another thousand if you want to win the jackpot. And criticise you for buying duff scratchcards if it failed again and again and again.

There's no guarantees in football. There's no guarantee this guy isn't out to load the club up with loads of debt and high-tail it into the sunset. I think we've been very lucky to have Mel prepared to spend his money - plenty of owners are less keen to spend their own money on the club and are happy to leave the it in trouble later. My concern is I can't really see why Mel has done it other than he's a fan and it was his dream to see his club prosper. That won't be the case for many future owners. It's a difficult business to make money in, but a business filled with chancers ready to rob you at any opportunity.

[RoyMac5]

42 minutes ago, Carnero said:

Any country as long as the player is good enough and meets the work permit criteria. All that has changed is that all countries are now treated the same (except for additional points given for countries of a higher footballing standard). I'm sure Brentford will continue bringing in players from here there and everywhere so why can't we do the same?

The work permit criteria used to be something like players of international standard?

All that has changed is we can't now sign any player we liked the look of and could afford from the EU?!

[Wignall12]

45 minutes ago, Bald Eagle's Barmy Army said:

I’d take Mac over Rooney any day of the week. 
 

Or put them together we can have Macarooney 

That takes the biscuit

[Wignall12]

14 minutes ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

Struggling to trust the judgement of a bloke who named his company 'No Limit Sports Limited'.

Fruity , it has to have Ltd after it if its a Limited company 

[ramit]

17 minutes ago, Spanish said:

agreed but does that outweigh the negatives we currently face?

No, it does not.  IMO the lesson to be learned from our situation is not to overspend in attempting to gain promotion, build up gradually within our means, which means not accumulating more losses year by year.