Nineteen Canteen

Well can't say I was expecting that! I was just warming up as well. I have no idea who should be manager but it seems there will be a few with their heads down if a 'clean break from the past' is Markus's objective. If he does listen to fans and reads what gets said on the Echo forum then it could be a rocky ride. I pray it's not Pearson, Keegan or Strachan you never know we may get Tony Adams

Know I don't know how much cash they have Robbie but I got a fair idea from Mr Oldknow how much they intend to spend and I think in line with those comments you need to reign your neck just a little bit. Wotte is our man, not my words, I didn't give him the contract but willing to support him because he has been recruited by the man who saved this club. Just because Mr Liebherr is worth c£2.5bn he does not have to spend it or listen to excitable and unrealistic individuals like yourself. We are no longer a PLC Robbie, so no shareholder revolt to overthrow the evil dictator. So perhaps the best way to encourage Mr Liebherr is not to question his decisions 1 day in to his reign. We are in private owenership now and he can do pretty much what he likes as he is worth 'billions' and to lose £13m because fans start to upset him would be a mere bagatelle and he would be able to sell to who he likes even the lowest bidder. All aboard the brave new era Robbie and bring your whinging mates with you once they have accepted Mark Wotte as manager.

Big time manager to attract big time players. Correlates exactly with the wishes of our new owner as communicated by his COO. Some funds will be available in keeping with our league status. That's our current status not where some of you think we should be. Attend a few games and prove your commitment to the club and perhaps he'll be encouraged to spend a little of what he has earned next year in keeping with his father's doctorine. In the meantime get behind Wotte your speculation is tedious and insulting to Markus and his team who have bailed out your club. A tad discouraging for them don't you think to see some of the comments from fans allegedly grateful for having their club saved from extinction. I wonder if they think its just the ungracious lunatic fringe at work again. One thing is for sure judging by the last few weeks their cards will be kept close to their chest and they will watch with interest how the fans react to the takeover as the dust settles on the deal. We should pray they don't venture here.

I think I'll hang around whilst the anti-Liebherr group strike up their tunes and start to moan about his choice for manager. We have been told we have a budget available for a League 1 club no point spending for a level we have yet to prove we can achieve collectively - fans and club. Wotte is our man, anyone else will drain the budget for players, so please start to accept where we are - saved and about to embark on a period of consolidation.

Trousers, I think I am beginning to understand why you love a conspiracy theory.

IMO that will be no different than Lowe talking to McMenemy. Wotte for manager our owner has made up his mind.

Not much to disagree with there IMO and perhaps we should ask if Crouch simply found a conscience?

Ummmm, 'Shrugs off talk' - 'refuses to confirm if he did or didn't pay Pinnacle's deposit' - 'wrong time to talk about money'... Hardly translates to - 'Crouch loses a cool million'. Lets wait for the hard evidence instead of simply accepting or misinterpretating what gets said. If he has then it's his personal choice but he got into bed with Wilde in the first place and has not exactly made some great judgement calls along the way IMO. Also there is no comment as to the terms those funds were made available or if indeed he will receive some of it back. With Andrew Oldknow as COO, IMO I would have thought there is about as much chance of Crouch being given a role on the board as he has of selling programmes on match days. I hope the media no longer wheel out Crouch and McMenemy in future if they want a quote about the club. Time for a welcome change.

Really? I bow to your better knowledge but I can't remember them getting to the knockout stages. Celtic and Rangers a two horse race and during that time who had all the money and still do?

Exactly have a go at Wotte and you may as well deliver a kick in the crown jewels to our board and new owner. Decision made, be happy with it, they are and if they weren't we wouldn't have a club. Wotte like our new owners I think deserve a season before they start being negatively questioned. No wonder we are classed in the top 3 clubs with the worse fans for moaning and whinging. Couldn't make it up some people'e reaction. Lowe got 10 years, Liebherr gets 1 day!

I don't share the same opinion as you Wes with regard to Pearsons ability but I accept 'boot boy' was a term left over from the cold war and I shouldn't try and fight fire with fire. With regards to Wotte he did make an undeniable improvement in the team's performances and in one or two important individuals notably, MCG and Gillett. Undoubtedly the players were rocked by administration and rightly or wrongly when their heads are gone not to mention the media frenzy, pressure and fan expectations Wotte job became extremely difficult perhaps worse as he was seen as a appointment of the devil incarnate. Losing Gillet to injury was also a major disappointment because his battling performances in midfield were hugely important in that run of wins. Up to Administration I think Wotte's record was favourable with that of Pearson and arguably with much less playing resources and no money for loans of the like of Richard Wright. In fact with no changes to the squad he turned the team around and delivered an excellent string of wins against teams we had no right at the time to beat and then faltered against the easier teams because IMO of outside issues and Gillett's injury. Wotte has conducted himself with professionalism, loyalty and dignity as did Pearson but undeniably Pearson had the easier ride comparing their time at Saints and no one was marching to have him kicked out after one game. I suppose like all managers including Pearson we don't know how good a manager with potential will be but Wotte has many good attributes and IMO he deserves the chance and afforded the respect he has afforded the club and us fans. I don't expect him to achieve much this season and would take mid table safety given he has essentially 4 weeks left to put a squad together before our first game. Judging by Oldknow's comments I don't think they expect much more and the 2010/11 season will be the one, and by which time we will all know for a fact the capability of Wotte to deliver promotion or not, I think he will.

Based on some perhaps unsurprising negative comments over 3 ex-managers all with question marks over their heads, IMO. Yes I am insane but I am also trying to be realistic in line with the message from our new owners. Wotte spoke to the Swiss weeks ago and the decision was made I would be amazed if their go back on that commitment. BTW if we could take an ex-manager back it would be Dave Jones but then again he like Wotte understands the word 'dignity'.

Very much so as IMO mistakes seem to have been made and that's fair enough given the circumstances but it's a mockery if the reasons for those mistakes are not established and where necessary those involved learn from them and make appropriate amendments.

Duncan, I have lost the thread of this discussion but in any event if you were threatened with the police I am concerned that it actually came to that and actually question if it was even a police matter. Surely any action against you would have been a civil matter conducted through a court of law but of no concern to the police. IMO would the Police only get involved if a crime had been committed? Other than fraud (being a financial transaction) I don't see what crime could have been committed and in turn would a whistleblower be arrested anyway? IMO it all seems very murky and impossible to link the factual pieces together without a large dose of suggestion and conjecture from the vast majority of posters but I guess there are factual pieces from a few others like you in the know. I hope one day soon you can tell the story as it would certainly be easier to digest from one source than unravelling this nightmare as it seems to me that there may be some unfair winners and losers who have walked away from all this and people have a right to know. If you can't comment further then hopefully the media or Fry will in due course publish their autopsy on the whole process.

Strachan never IMO - struggled to win a two horse league and failed miserably in the Champions League. The last thing we need is a loose canon that Strachan has definiely become IMO - a poor man's Scottish version of Brian Clough judging by some of his press conferences and without the talent or the humour.

Keegan would be stale marzipan and Strachan the fruit and nuts. Wotte is staying accept it and I am seriously wondering if some of you have listened or read the interviews especially the one with Andy Oldknow. 'We are a league 1 club and it's pointless spending money as if we are a Premier league club'. A small amount will be available for players and we have a manager with more than the potential of boot boy Pearson. We as fans need to repay the faith and achieve crowds of 20k before the new owner will invest anymore and rightly so. Speculate about new player signings with a degree of realism by all means but stop this speculation over our manager who frankly deserve the same respect he has afforded us over a very difficult time. What was it Nick Hornby famously said about football fans:? 'Their natural state is bitter disappointment whatever the score.' One day in to a new era many thought we might not see and you're already trying to undermine the new owner and his board over their decision making. I dread to think what happens if we don't overhaul our 10 point deficit in a minimum of 5 games. Some of you trolls need to get a sense of perspective and acceptance. Oh and if you must discuss managers lets not discuss a couple of yesterday's men of whom 1 is not really interested anymore and the other chose the easy route and didn't deliver.

I was not talking about what he achieved here and he was IMO allowed to operate within his comfort zone. If he had moved to a bigger club my guess is his effort and responsibility to improve himself in other aspects of the game may have been necessary to make him a truly world class players instead of a great player who should have played more for England. Let's not forget Matt himself has admitted that he would struggle to get a place in the academy these days and it wasn't like he stopped playing in the 80's. I recognise and am thankful for Matt's contribution but still believe he could have done more with his career if he had wanted to and IMO that is just a fair observation.

Thanks for the recommendation. One of football's good guys and he interviewed really well on BBC Breakfast the other morning and there were no shouts of get that opinionated idiot of the sofa as usual. Mind you they had a dentist appointment that morning so left early so I was able to sit and watch it and comfort.

I'm sensing you're not relevant

No because that would be 2 l's. The cake is made by preparing a thin layer of sponge and spreading a filling of your choice usually jam and a fondant cream over the sponge and then 'roll'ing the cake before placing in oven. Hence Swiss Roll, whereas role...

OOh unrest in the camp already - no one saw that coming did they?

Thats more like it - no lament for his mate's bid then just a good old get in there. Dodds for ambassdor.

I'm sensing you're not happy with with our new owner and trying to assess if there was still time for another twist to suit your agenda. No disrespect just a feeling I am getting from you and a few others. One thing is for sure with a sole owner their will be no more fan influenced musical chairs and decision making.

Hardly surprising given his disappointment of MLT and not getting the nod as they were not exactly supportive of Wotte were they? If Benali feels that disappointed (but pleased) maybe the new broom should start sweeping in his direction as nothing but full backing for the new owners should be voiced, otherwise an undercurrent of disunity and disappointment will remain. Anyone including Franny, if your heart is not in it 100% anymore then please move on and that includes those whinging about us loyal ST holders getting a nice little discount for our Wotte like loyalty. Bring it on!

Maybe it wasn't the right head Alpine but run it by the heart then its guaranteed one day to stop beating.