Nineteen Canteen

IMO it was not MLT's initial backing of Pinnacle but his alleged head in the sand attitude when things started to look odd at best. His backing of Fialka and his comments as to why he had no right to know the details of Fialka's financal position was IMO very foolish. Furthermore, if when push came to shove the 10pt deduction was not considered worth losing the deal over why could that conclusion not have been made during exclusivity? No one disputes the fact that we are grateful for MLT supporting Pinnacle it's his dubious decision making and subsequent communication that has tarnished his reputation IMO. I was championing a role for MLT with any subsequent takeover but now more than ever I firmly believe the new board if we get lucky enough to have one should contain only new faces without any prior connection to the club. I am not interested in any contribution from the likes of Crouch, MLT, McMenemy, etc as it just fuels unrealistic romantic notions and what we need more than anything else is a large dose of realism. We cannot influence the past only the future and the frist thing is to learn from our past mistakes. Rule 1 a passion for golf can't be supported alongside running a football club and IMO in any business can contribute to complacency.

LOL - type of comment that can usually be attributed to the 'big game' attendee. Time to turn your baseball cap around the peak is supposed to go at the front.

All of them with the exception of Nelson flawed geniuses is some form or other and in Browne's case difficult to countenance the allegations. Your definition of a hero is somewhat different to the type of individual I would like running this club. No one is beyond reproach and reputations need to be worked on and not lived off.

Sums it up for me. Also disappointed with his interview on South Today with his comment that fans should not direct their anger to those who tried. Smacks of double standards but I still direct my anger towards the missing 5k or so fans who helped bring on administration in the first place. I find it incomprehensible that those involved with the Pinnacle deal went in to this with their eyes wide shut . Perhaps unusually the Echo need to be thanked for their expose and not forgetting Guided Missile. Perhaps in this era of face book there is to much acceptance of face value and once again a lack of due diligence IMO.

LOL - Stanley worships Google it makes him ITK.

My concern too John B, afterall the buying part should be the easy bit. Once you've got the keys to the front door and walk in and see just how much needs to be done then the serious management begins.

If she says please.

I would agree with your assessment had it been based on his performances under JP but DMG managed by Wotte was a totally different player and based on that I am very sorry to see him leave.

Point worth considering, no more Ginger baiting but at least TL and MLT can return to what they seem to do best - charity golf days. They can give Claus a 'toot' as they pass him doing his verge cleansing programme. Name me a famous Swiss golfer, reason enough to ditch Pinnacle.

Jonah, I turned cold reading your first sentence. Thank god for satire!

Posted this on another thread probably more appropriate here as my views seem in better company. For me the money or amount of it has become a side show along with the league discussions. What has to underly any relationship for it to be a success, personal or business, is trust. I simply don't trust Pinnacle and in particular their reporting of how they intend to finance the deal. We have gone from several major backers to one very wealthy allegedly multi millionaire backer and now MLT advises us that Fialka is one of many providing the funding or words to that effect. Had these changes been communicated in advance then fair enough, situations change and we can understand that but Pinnacle have started to give me the impression they are bungling through this and IMO have used the league discussions as a smokescreen or worse actually believed the right to appeal was key to their bid and an appeal they would win. What worries me even more was MLT's recent comment about Fialka's financial status and how Fialka's personal details should not be MLT's concern - again at least words to that effect. We then have Tony Lynam posting long winded messages on this forum that initially were welcome but have simply become repetitive babble without meaningful content and like a donkey I have been trying to eat the dangling carrot but to no avail and as a result have lost interest. I don't have any inside track unlike many on this forum but for the reasons above and many more mentioned elsewhere on this forum I don't have any faith, confidence or trust in Pinnacle and IMO I am hoping the Swiss come up with a better solution. From my position of ignorance to any aspects of the deal from the inside I personally don't think the Swiss will need to try to hard to win the bid provided they don't leave it to late. If Pinnacle conduct takeovers in this manner what are they going to do when they have control of the club?

In a word...shrewd. A shrewd businessman and his money are not easily parted but when they make a commitment we know they are serious and in it because they can see the opportunity and have a plan to realise it. Since administration has anyone in your opinion acted shewdly? Hopefully that is about to change.

Ian, For me the money or amount of it has become a side show along with the league discussions. What has to underly any relationship for it to be a success, personal or business, is trust. I simply don't trust Pinnacle and in particular their reporting of how they intend to finance the deal. We have gone from several major backers to one very wealthy allegedly multi millionaire backer and now MLT advises us that Fialka is one of many providing the funding or words to that effect. Had these changes been communicated in advance then fair enough, situations change and we can understand that but Pinnacle have started to give me the impression they are bungling through this and IMO have used the league discussions as a smokescreen or worse actually believed the right to appeal was key to their bid and an appeal they would win. What worries me even more was MLT's recent comment about Fialka's financial status and how Fialka's personal details should not be MLT's concern - again at least words to that effect. We then have Tony Lynam posting long winded messages on this forum that initially were welcome but have simply become repetitive babble without meaningful content and like a donkey I have been trying to eat the dangling carrot but to no avail and as a result have lost interest. I don't have any inside track unlike many on this forum but for the reasons above and many more mentioned elsewhere on this forum I don't have any faith, confidence or trust in Pinnacle and IMO I am hoping the Swiss come up with a better solution. From my position of ignorance to any aspects of the deal from the inside I personally don't think the Swiss will need to try to hard to win the bid provided they don't leave it to late. If Pinnacle conduct takeovers in this manner what are they going to do when they have control of the club?

I must admit our ignorance to anything east of the English Channel is alarming. Cloggs from Switzerland? Essential climbing equipment no doubt. Lets all have a fondue.

'gone off' and 'less than' surely the most understated phrases yet used to describe the level of faith in Pinnacle. FWIW Ron I agree with you but probably to the power of 100. I hope if Lynam, Fialka or MLT approach Fry anytime soon he dons his best running shoes and in Forrest Gump fashion 'just keep's on running'.

Who cares? Nice time of year and they have an excuse for a pleasant drive across Western Europe. TBH Jonah/Art it adds creedance to their bid that instead of flying over cattle class they took a far more classy approach to arriving refreshed and ready to do business no doubt via some fancy French hotels on route. Just pray no one spots a battered wannabe driven Audi A3 in the car park.

Knickers!

I am not rubbishing the bid but challenging it and sitting in the driving seat does not necessarily assume you are a good driver. I am concerned that Pinnacle by appointing MLT to help them they have pulled off a master stroke by removing the microscope from most of you but as used by Guided Missile and others. All Lynam, Fialko and MLT have to do is prove to us and more importantly the club's employees how they are going to fund the takeover and I am sure they will have 100% support and commitment so for the goodwill alone why not do that?

Remember who Fry represents and if Pinnacle represented the chance to offer Fry's 'clients' a few more pence in the pound it would be obvious who he would select. The question is how they proved funding and answer that with evidence and all this unrest would disappear. If you are on the streets and need the money do you take a £1 in cash or 50p with a promise of more to come?

A bit like having a debate on euthanasia.

GM please let me know when we should start to from an orderly queue or a supportive march maybe.

Even trying to ignore the Echo articles on Fialka, yesterday's paper was particularly damning, having seen his interviews on TV do you still feel confident in Pinnacle? Or is it pure desperation and accepting anything in return for survival. IMO the 10 point issue has become a sideshow to the Lynam / Fialka middle man/more middle man set up. I don't know anything about the Swiss except maybe they have acted quite shrewdly but what I know based on what Pinnacle have said then I would prefer to risk Pinnacle being dumped by Fry. The sad thing is until Fialka was revealed I was fully behind Lynam but IMO the whole set up lost its credibility with the big reveal the man just doesn't convince me he is capable of running the club or knowing people who could.

One mistake and POW the fans removed their support and trusted a new 'investor' whose wealth turned out to be unproven. I would have thought that those fans and Crouch who deserted Lowe would be wary of history repeating itself but now the situation is so grave we have no choice but to accept what I guess we deserve. Sky did it screw it up for less well off clubs like ourselves and I agree with your opinion and as a result relegation became an inevitable occupational hazard, recovery from which required prudence from the board and strong support from the fans. Unfortunately, one without the other wouldn't work and so it proved. There are also many clubs who appear to have plenty of financial resources who can't survive in the Premier League and yet I doubt there would be many on here who would have supported Gibson's actions this season had Saints been in Middlesborough's situation. Every club has a culture and ours is definitely based in deluded theories and impatience.

Time will tell if Fialka proves to be the catalyst to save or be saviour of this club. The question remains will it take 48 hours or 48 weeks but IMO if we go the Pinnacle route the Lowe years (all of them) will seem but a distant memory of happier times. I suppose Fialka has a potential link to retail backing but it's hardly of Mike Ashley proportions is it? Until his wealth or access to wealth is proven in Swiss I trust. Bring on the Swiss and Wotte for Football Chairman its time we started getting professional about all this instead of romantic hope and notions.