david in sweden

No problem ..we can one in each half ! let 'em score and still keep fresh.

Interesting that his name came up just this week as I was watching, (along with half the nation) - the Euro match v. Holland midweek and he was outstanding. Can't say the Dutch were off-form, they really made a match of it, but the new-look Swedish defence under manager Erik Hamrén really played the Dutch at their own game. Only goalie Isaksson, Olov Mellberg, Kim Källström and Anders Svensson remain as familair names at the back, whilst a strike force had developed that can function without Milan star Zlatan (suspended). Sebastian Larsson,(Sund.) Christian Wilhemsson,(ex-Prem.) and Johan Elmander (ex Bolton) battle away whilst the new names like Rasmus Elm and Ola Toivonen are fast becoming regulars. Michael Lustig (pronounced like lusty but with a g-sound on the end) really stands out as a new star. Not overly tall, but he has good ball control, can tackle hard (without getting too many yellow cards) and plays well on the overlap. CHDAJFU?..I think so...and I was as persuasive as Nigel Adkins can be, I'd take a second look at Toivanen too. They are both still young and we need to remember the old adage when getting foreign players..." BUY 'EM IN PAIRS !" PREMIERSHIP ...you can't have too small a squad and he'd be a good complement to Richardson next season, especially as Buttefield is only on a 1 year contract.

In reality...he has no chance, but it's different nowadays with the other home countries. Any League player who has an Irish grandmother, and can whistle Danny Boy can get a game for N.I ..and these days players are more likely to choose to play for the Republic than they are Northrn Ireland. As usual the N.I. side has 2 or 3 good class players and the rest are there by birthright.. and not footballing expertise.

I'm too tired now, going to bed . G'night !

where did that come from...? I didn't say he lost a lot of money, but I do believe he formed a personal attachment to the club that was beyond his financial interest, and the fans display of sorrow at his passing suggests it was mutual. When you buy a business you have to invest and you don't judge a company's success by profit and loss on the first year. Most new businesses expect to " lose " money in the first 2 years before they can break even. Keep going back to Cortese's 5 year plan. You look at it long term. Without naming any more stupid figures I expect to see larger scale investment in ground improvements, training facilities, as well as the playing staff..but not all in January!

I was in a roomful of Swedes celebrating it, that was pretty memorable, too.

You must be glad you got that out of your system..

.... I know what you mean but Marcus wasn't around to count Arsenal's money !

I'm not the least concerned or worried about this, nor do I think SFC are either. They only seem bent on promotion ASAP. As a fan of 50 years standing ...I think the last 2 years have been amongst the most interesting and exciting I can recall, all things considered.

What started as a serious thought took on a too light-hearted tone, but that's really my sense of humour. However, you and I seem to agree that we are not afraid of success, but quite a few who replied seem to be rather unsure ! Cortese, Adkins & Co. apparantly seem to be very confident of our eventual success - wouldn't you say ?

This thread got side tracked when people started commenting my comment on MONEY ! the real question remains unanswered by most contributors. People who are worried what will happen when we get promotion. ARE YOU MORE AFRAID OF SUCCESS THAN OF FAILURE ?

The quote about " dying wish " may seem abit flambouyant, but even assuming that Marcus didn't know if he had any serious health problems, his decision to approve a 5 year plan for developing the club would clearly seem to have been his wish / desire. Especially, as we have not been told that in his final moments he said.. and by the way, forget that stupid deal with the football club ! He was a man of honour who saved our club at the most critical time. It's hard to even think that he only did it for fun !

Not IN January...but the approval of larger spending would be necessary. Promotion would also mean BIG signings in the summer, not to mention the vastly increased salary bill we might anticipate. Do the maths...Paying an " ordinary " Prem. player, say only 20K a week means minimum £1 million a year. Most of out present first teamers are on 3 year contracts and sure to have some promotion "wage deals " baked in to their contacts ..thats a tidy sum to start with. Cortese is the only one seriously alluding to a 50K stadium (!) and that would need long term planning, and not a paltry 40 mill, either. With promotion in their sights, he surely would need an OK for longer term planning.

I don't know how you read my OP Turkish, but I didn't suggest that we'd spend 40 million in January ! (my reason for "reducing" the original Pie in the sky figure was to placate one or two early posts from people who clearly didn't expect us to spend anything in a pre-promotion push). Promotion will require us to spend money in other ways too, If we are still as comfortably placed then (as we are now) then we would be hot favourites to get a promotion spot and it would be silly not to invest in new players to complement the present squad as there are still some key players who would be difficult to replace in an major injury situation. If we were willing to sign Sharp for ..(£4mill..? ) before we sold Alex OC.. and then got £12 mill. in selling him, it proves there is already a substantial budget available (if needed). I have already answered one or two others in explaining possible other promotion-related costs - if you care to read back a bit, but it was Cortese himself who admitted that he was considering an extension plan for SMS and that would be a considerable cost- but highly desireable for Prem. side. and ceratinly something that would require BIG BUCKS in order to complete.

the expression I used was ..give the nod for 40 mill. to give us the edge in the prromotion ...etc, There is no way in this world that we would spend 40 mill. on transfers in January ....and I didn't write that. But it stands to reason that a team on the back to back promotion will need monunetal strenhthening, and possibly increasing the capacity of SMS... is more than a summer holiday building project, but as a Prem. club he sees it as a possibility. His words -not mine! I only read in to the statement and did a quick calculation. A couple of new " class " players ...8-10 mill? (we were rumoured to have bid 5-6 mill for Jay Rod) Possibly increased salaries for all the first team squad based on promotion clauses in their contracts would bump up the wage bill a bit..and what about some more summer signings ....and that extension of SMS..? Nicola Cortese is the one who have commented on a 50 K stadium ..and 100K week / wages....and fairly obviously that means BIG money. If he can say that ...do you think he is so far out of touch with the wishes of the Liebherr's that they haven't discussed it? I think that most of us move in the circle of small scale finance, but people with a great deal of wealth might not consider 40 mill. to be a large sum of money, when compared to investment costs, long term progress etc. The management seem to be very confident of building long-term success....some of our fans think Cortese /Liebherrs are out for a "quick killing" ...wrong mindset somewhere. Marcus seems to have had his dream-wishes set in stone and it's his money in the pot..Cortese is the man designated to fulfill that dream.

It was based on the (surprise to me) info. in a survey that stated Marcus Liebherrs estate was worth £3 BILLION. If we were that close to ensuring promotion,then money would surely be spent in the "window" and then in the summer break. ...although in all honesty I don't think we'd ever spend that sort of money, on transfers but our salary bill would certainly be much larger than it is now. It's not just about buying expensive players - you have to pay them, too!

AGREED. I can't see us anywhere near filling a 50,000 stadium, without a catchment area like Tyneside or Liverpool, but when we were in Prem at SMS nearly all home games were up around 30K, and maybe there would have been more, IF... However, I think an upgrade to around 40K would be a worthwhile investment - even without any sort of extra Euro interest.

well if you read it that way, actually it's not meant to be. BUT promotion means a certain amount of financial stability (and the fifth richest title was one that surprised me, too). This is not BIG money to people who have BIG money. Look at Man.City, Liverpool and Chelsea! Cortese must be a realist when it comes to money... and he can hardly talk about Premiership football and think we can do it on a shoestring. Surely the idea of building a half a team team from successful Academy players would save a lot, other clubs have done it with young talent, and making a club success isn't just about buying expensive players. My real point is that I seem to detect that some fans would be happier with a little success in a mediochre league like CCC, rather than see us playing against the best teams in the land, with a fear of losing games more often. I've been a fan for over 50 years, and half of that we were in lower leagues. Tough times or not, I preferred seeing is play in the top division ...and sometimes win against top teams. What we lacked then was the infrastructure and potential backing we have nowadays.

On that point we agree entirely. Although it wouldn't surprise me to see some plans for an expensive up-grade to SMS... I'm not fond of Euro football either, but I did enjoy Prem.football - even if we did struggle quite often. I think we have a better infrastructure, playing squad and youth scheme and more progressive management now than the dear " old boy network " who financed our previous promotions. For that reason alone I look forward to the challenge of the Prem.

Yes CBFry, I have noticed that we don't often share the same viewpoint on everything. Maybe it was a little rash to sugggest SO MUCH , so I " reduced " the original sum of money to placate dell days who said it was too much, and you seem to think the same. That sort of money doesn't have to all go on players.. What about Cortese's musings on an enlarged SMS ? Do you think that if we are still near the top at New Year that we won't spend big to ensure promotion ? ..and what if we still get promoted ..without the need to send a small fortune as many other clubs do in those circumstances..will you still have the same opinion ? ....and you are yet another contributor who hasn't responded to the final question .. ARE WE ...( or you ) MORE AFRAID OF SUCCESS... THAN OF FAILURE ?

I don't have the mindset of a family who are worth.. 3 billion anything but I have met one person who does and when they spend money ...sums like this are like our holiday money. The Liebherrs obviously don't have to worry about not getting any breakfast, and there is little else you can do with money of that magnitude ...except to spend some of it on things that make you happy. Ask Abrahamovic ! It seems to me I've read that Marcus had made ample money available to carry out his / Cortese's dream of Prem.Football.

Surely the prospect of not travelling to Doncaster or Millwall is satisfaction enough to want to get promoted -isn't it Colin? If you look at the present Premiership table, it's apparant that many of the teams have a similar rate of success / mediocrity as half of the clubs are covered by less than 5 points ! For me, you can stu** Europe, even Man.utd can't beat Barca, I'd still like some mid table Premiership football, and maybe winning a cup every 10 years. Being a big fish in a small lake (like CCC) isn't a definition of real success.