shurlock

If true, it would cast doubt on several things claimed by the mboard intelligentsia: * The Liebherrs/Trust aren't ambitious and don't want to invest any more money. There is no contradiction in wanting value for money and spending big as long as it gets results. Smashing the transfer record to sign Messi would be justified if it meant we won the Champions League. Obviously we're not going to do that but it suggests investment isn't per se an issue. * The negative publicity that Cortese has attracted for his supposed off-the-field behaviour may not have helped his cause but it isn't at the forefront of the Liebherr/Trust's mind.

Mali is independently wealthy. As I say banks rolled over backwards during the crisis to help them because they were such an important client. Possibly they've fallen on harder times since -commercially (i.e. due to the sluggish recovery) and organizationally (i.e. due to ML's passing away), forcing a rethink in priorities. I wouldn't know. But it would have to be quite a fall from grace given where they were.

Know for a fact that they're big hitters. The media reports are closer to reality than you think.

They are very big. Banks have rolled over backwards to help them during the recession.

Absolutely zero indication that this is the case - dont even know which dots you're clumsily trying to join.

That Coventry game was quality - one of the most complete away performances I can remember.

Fair enough, it was a short-lived period and left a lot of 'what ifs' (like the Ball period in general), but it helped restore some of the feel good factor. Am with you in general on Scandis - they're a safe pair of hands but hardly set the world alight. Always felt we got pretty good value with North African players who were consistent but had more upside.

Fair enough, though there are times when we simply don't know what has happened -and there's a legitimate case for all sorts of interpretations, not just the mboard defending the indefensible and making itself look silly. You're right to take posters to task. But when things are ambiguous, very rarely do you give Nik Nak benefit of the doubt -and more importantly acknowledge the possibility that a rival interpretation might have some currency.

After the anti-football of Branfoot, that Ekelund spell and his linkup with Le Tiss did more than anything to lift the gloom. If you want to venture outside the comfort and cluelessness of stats, I would say the closest recent comparator -if your memory is short or youre too young to remember- was the opening spell in the NPC. Ipswich away was a class performance but not a patch on Ekelund/MLT's demolition of Coventry.

It will make a difference the next you're 'shouted down' for having an anti-Nik Nak agenda.

Wtf do fans know

Where's our cleft-lipped friend from Norfolk?

Exactly jamie

Not really. The Swansea game could have gone either way (not mentioning the knife-edge results before that). A win in that game would have totally changed the complexion of Sunday.

Reading have better office and printing supplies.

Yep though I found this post amusing:

Good for them, though it would have been an absolute travesty if they hadn't been selected. With perhaps the exception of Rose, Clyne has more premier league starts this season than anyone else in the squad. And Shaw has become a regular prem starter in a way that the majority of squad has not.

Not the mboard champagne socialist, rararaing against the system while milking the perks of being an insider?

Perhaps the Liebherrs have been waiting to see which division we'll be in and/or mulling how they want to structure the next contract, taking into the account Nik Nak's successes and failures over the past four years- and Nik Nak is getting twitchy and wants clarity and a resolution -and obviously one that protects the status quo.

Don't understand why Fulham is so much higher than QPR.

Yep just guessing - as you say, he could very well be instructed to play that way and MP has a preference for specialised DMs. Or perhaps MP has partly adapted Cork's role to take account of his limitations. Who knows. But what Neville was saying is that you can have your cake and eat and have all round midfielders without losing any defensive shape. With Lambert dropping deep , it would be nice to have a bit more drive and powerful running from the middle of the park.

In net terms i.e. with the sale of Oxo, we didn't spend much. Getting out of the championship at the first attempt on a relatively disciplined budget is overperformance anyway you slice it. For most of the season, we battled the perception among other clubs that we were overachievers and would fall back to our natural station. Some of your other examples are a tad odd. Take Cardiff: They've spent a decent amount and whatever prudence theyve demonstrated can be attributed to the necessary economising following the follies of the 2010/11 season when they gambled big time and lost.

L1 clearly not but you think we didn't overperform in the champ? We were the ultimate overperformers -there are teams throwing money at getting up but falling short each and every season in that division. Of course, that puts Adkins achievements in as good, if not better light than NCs. But as a collective effort, its certainly an example of overperformance.

Neville said something interesting the other night, that the best teams have midfielders who are truly box to box and can attack and defend in equal measure. In his view, one of the main problems with English teams -hence their poorer performance in European competitions- is that in recent years the number of class, all-round midfielders has dropped and roles have become too specialised, that is, you're either a DM or AM. Perhaps, MP is looking for similar versatility - if so, you can make an argument for why Cork might not be rated so highly.

Imagine some of Hammond's antics in the prem...