um pahars

17Plymouth..37...-11...43 18Watford....35...-5....42 19Blackpool..37...-13...42 20Nott Forest37...-12...41 21Barnsley....34...-12...39 22Southampton36...-16...37 23Norwich.......37...-11...36 24Charlton.......35....-22..27 I think this is right!!!!!

Bit of a mixed bag really. Nowich losing is offset by Blackpool winning!!! Barnsley will have two games in hand on us. Watford get a point. Forest losing is good and that last game looks a biggy.

Like Wotte, Pearson is/was more than aware of how to get the best out of a team and how to use youngsters. His record at Leicester is a great example of his belief in them, along with his experience in the England Yout set ups, and when questioned about our run in, he said: "Short term is the immediate priority but I am looking long term too. Alot of my background is working with youngsters. I worked with the England youth teams for three years and I see the Academy as a massive part of the CLub. It cannot be my priority at the moment but it will get my total support in terms of fitting in with the philosophy of the Club. I have worked at clubs where the academy and the first team are seperate entities and not integrated at all and those clubs are poorer for it." Pearson delivered his side of the deal last season, he did what he had to do.

I don't think you need a wholesale change in ownership to achieve sensible leadership. Liverpool are on the hunt for a CEO, we should just go out and join them. (then again maybe we should forward Lowe's CV to Hicks & Gillet as we're always being told how successful and great he is;))

June 2009 hopefully. Last time end of June 2006.

Who scored at West Brom away;)

Madsen came in in the January transfer window of our first season down. Blackstock left at the end of that season having seen Fuller bought the previous summer, Madsen & Rasiak came in half way through that season and Kenwyne Jones featuring more and more. And then of course BWP came in just before Blackstock upped and left. Lowe was at the helm when Blackstock was log jammed and I thought it was cheap when Lowe made this claim a while back and I think it's just as cheap coming from Wotte. As for the fee, well it was undisclosed, but I'm not sure that the suspected £500,000+ was too cheap for someone who we obviously didn't rate and only another CCC club were interested in.

Don't worry, it was only under Poortvliet that he would be in then out;) He'll be starting up front today.

As Pearson himself said back in March I think it is a very good idea: "I have worked at clubs where the academy and the first team are seperate entities and not integrated at all and those clubs are poorer for it". If it means that youngsters learn off the older players (and vice versa) then it can only be a good thing. Hopefully it will make the step up to the first team lass daunting.

I'm saying that with regards Best he got his facts wrong as the fee was decided by a tribunal. With regards the general gist of who was cramping Best and Blackstock's progress then that's football for you. Under Lowe we brought in Fuller, Madsen & Rasiak (you could even include Jones if you want) and then we went further and brought in BWP & Saga. These things happen, youngsters don't break into the first team and move on. Some progress, others don't, so to suggest the previous regimes were making mistakes is a bit cheap as it happens all the time, under every regime. We really should be hanging Lowe out to dry for letting Scott McDonald go and Askham for letting Wise go etc etc etc.

We should have kept Poortvliet then;)

As I said above, like you I found that very disconcerting. I agree the Academy is a vital part of the Club, both in terms of producing players to play or even to earn money from. Selling our best talent is a fact of life for us given our current position. But a more responsible position????? Very worrying. The most important person at the Club should be the first team Manager, end of.

Wotte says: "In the past they let go two or three much better but cheaper strikers like Leon Best and Dexter Blackstock, who would fit perfectly in this group of players. Both were sold much too cheap". With regards to Best we had no say in the fee as it was decided by a tribunal, so he's got his facts wrong there. It's also worth mentioning that one of ther players who came in to give him competition was Rasiak, brought in by Burley under Lowe, Madsen brought in by Burley and of course earlier that season, Redknapp had gone for Fuller.

He really would be better advised to steer clear of this sort of stuff and stick to the football. It wasn't long ago he was criticising those who were still going!!! As for Best and Blackstock, well he needs to do some research as Best exercised his right to freedom of contract and the fee was decided by tribunal!!!!!!!!!!

Why will it??? You do know the meaning behind the banner don't you???

I also cannot remember there being a fans backlash against Wotte and Cees Lok at the time. I don't really think it got much air time before Burley was appointed. I think it surfaced a few days before Burley got the job, was discussed a bit on here, no one really knew much and then Burley popped up. Who is attributed with the fans backlash because I think they're stretching it there somewhat??? I always thought Lok and Wotte were Woodward's choice, but Lowe and others went for Burley. As long as Wotte is in the job, I'll guess we'll never know!!!! I think that maybe the reason Wotte got the Acadmey job is that perhaps Lowe viewed it as the more "important" role (Wotte calls it a more responsible role) as perhaps Lowe's view is that the Academy is where the team is nurtured, made and delivered to the manager. It would certainly fit in with his philosophy of bringing youngsters through, but it also slightly concerning that the First team Manager is deemed less responsible than the Academy Director!!!!!! If this is indeed the case, then I think our priorities are all wrong!!!! And of course with the mention of contact in April, although there is nothing regarding Poortvliet, it is further confirmation that the managerial change was always going to happen once Lowe got back in.

Hated to be proved right, but I just couldn't see it working in this division. Nothing would have given me more pleasure than to see a majority of youngsters in a team who had been brought through, who we could have identified with, and who would be equally as proud as us about "their" Club. But for me, in the cold light of day, it just wasn't going to happen. I wasn't impressed by the results and play in the friendlies (most of which were meaningless), even in the West Ham game as although we looked good, I was convinced West Ham were just treating it as a training exercise and weren't kicking us up in the air. I just couldn't see how they would be (a) good enough, (b) up to the physical demands and rigours of this division and © up to the mental demands of this division. I also just couldn't see how all of a sudden we would be playing Total Football and everyone would know exactly what was expected. And then finally, I was convinced we had brought in a coach who would out of his depth. I think those sporadic wins really were the exceptions to the rule and most teams can pull off a giant killing act every now and then.

Their cheapest normal ticket as a renewal is £366 for behind the goal. They're doing something up there to get the punters to believe in them and it's not down to flogging tickets at rock bottom prices. I would argue one factor is that they have engendered a good community spirit and a sense of togetherness.

I played against Jamie Lawrence when he was doing time at Camp Hill. Cowes Sports would kick off with ten men as he was only released at 3:00. Against us he got changed in the car from Newport, got on the pitch at 3:10, scored 5 and the subbed and back in nick for 5:00!!!!!!!!!! We lost 6-1.

0-0 Think a 4th win is asking for too much and a point at Brum is still a good result. Other games affecting us are: Blackpool v Norwich - have to hope for a draw as either winning is bad news. Barnsley aren't playing, (so will have two games in hand on us) Charlton v Watford Forest v Swansea Plymouth v Reading

Simple. nickh only sees what he wants to see. HTH

Quite a bit of waffle before and after the most relevant point in there. And as for the bit where you think Wotte isn't doing much different than what was doing before LMFAO. Have you seen the line up, the tactics, the way we play, the results, the priorities??? Are you aware of the differences in training, the preparation, the motivation etc etc etc??? And have you read the various interviews where it is clearly outlined that we have ditched the total football philosophy and the reliance on youth in order to get out of this hole??? If he isn't doing much different than what was being done before, then how would explain the sea change in results, performances and atmosphere??? Wotte deserves full credit for undertaking a U turn and getting results from a much more traditional approach, and your suggestion that he hasn't done much does him a great disservice. But then of course to admit that would just highlight how appalling we were before under the Revolutionary Coaching Set Up and Total Football that Lowe oversaw.

nickh is just like NickG in that no matter how many times you answer their questions, they just ignore the answers and pop up again asking the same stuff. I have suggested on numerous occasions that he should read people's replies, but I think his modus opernadi is exactky as you call it, stick his fingers in his ears and whistle when faced with anything he doesn't agree with:smt082