sadoldgit

You are quite right but I don't agree that the thread was pointless. I think there seem to be a lot of parallels between RL and NC and am interested to see how it plays out (apart from the double standards that are rife here and are worth exploring). I agree that the management at the moment (inc AP) are all doing a good job, no problem there, but we examined our previous CEO in fine detail because he wasn't liked, does it mean this one gets an easy ride because currently he is liked? I also find it funny that the usual suspects (talking of whom, congrats on the new arrival Geoff, please tell me you have called him Rupert George Alpine?) have a pop at me when I talk of past employees but they can drag these people's names through the mud as often as they like and that is perfectly ok??? Oh, and on that subject, one of your favourite past nemsises Alpine is running the London Marathon this Spring for charitity, not bad for a Scottish drunkard eh? Onwards and upwards!

Down the back of the club sofa?

I agree Duncan. I also agree that it is MLs call how much he spends and when. He doesn't have the same financial constraints as Lowe but he still seems to have a close eye on the purse strings and I can't blame him for that.

Really? So we duck out of a deal for a decent proven centre half and sign someone from Exeter who many here slated? Danns or Puncheon or the Scottish fella, which was cheaper? Which one did we sign?

Indded it was. I just wonder, for all the talk of Marcus's wedge and the desire to get us out of the 3rd Divsion, whether some people are slightly underwhelmed about our team? Whenever you look at truly sucessful teams they hae tight defences, forwards who can hold the ball up and score lots of goals, but the main key is the midfield. Do people think that we can compete with the likes of Leeds and Norwich with our current midfield set up? Puncheon might make a difference but he is not the type of player we need to bring in to run midfield. The new regime are obvioulsy ambitious for the club, but not to the extent that they are going to throw money at it willynilly. I know that Delldays for example already thinks we have spent enough to guarentee promotion this year or next. Personally I think we are still short in certain departments and wonder whether some of these "cheaper" options might just come back to haunt us down the line. It will be interesting to see what happens in the transfer market in the summer.

AS much as I can't condone violence...5 who deserve a good slap are... John Terry (what a best mate he is) Harry Redknapp (his arrogance is astounding but it sounds like he will finally be nailed for his financiali irregularities) Amanda Holden (just something about the talentless trout's simpering mush) Posh Spice (smile FFS you stringy talentless tart) Tom Cruise (mind you you would have to extract his head from his ar*e first)

Lights blue touchpaper.......Something to think about. We have recently put in bids for 3 midfielders and chosen the cheapest one. We were recently after two centre halves and pulled out of the bidding for the expensive one when our offer for the cheaper one was accepted. Obviously cost isn't an indicator of whether they will turn out to be the best buys but do you see where this is leading? If a previous CEO (who shall remain nameless) had done this the Board would be in meltdown about penny pinching - not knowing anything about football - not wanting the best players at the club blah blah blah. But Nicola Coretese does it and not a peep. He Who Must Not Be Named fell out with the Echo and it was all down to him. Nicola does it and the Echo are the ones at fault (even though they did nothing wrong in printing a story that was already in the public domain). I hope these players turn out to be a huge success for SFC and only time will tell if the CEO was right to "penny pinch" (but to be honest I still think we are nowhere near the standard of Leeds or Norwich yet) but I have to say that the shadow of financial prudence that was so hated by a former CEO still looms large over the SFC accounts dept and wonder how long it will be before those who are currently creaming their jeans over the fact that we have cash to spend start to see that we are not actually going for the best in many cases, but for the "affordable." Nothing wrong in that and I have always believed that our club should live within its means (not sure what those means are now but you get my drift). No doubt NC will eventually get the same treatment as You Know Who if we do not get promoted in the next 2 seasons, but it is interesting that although they seem to be cut from the same cloth, one is currently a hero and one a zero. Stands well back and awaits fireworks.

That's true Alps, many people here think you are a moaning old git so not at all original as you say..

About as deep as a puddle. To speak to today's generation you need the vocal range of a chimpanzee. Each to their own of course, but if you want to talk about speaking for a generation you would be better of looking at people like The Beatles, The Who, Bob Dylan etc.

John Motson has much to learn.

But the penny doesn't drop. There are still plenty of people on here who think you can buy promotion immediately. As for gelling, some teams gel quickly, some take longer, some don't at all. Again, it is a question of chemistry and if it is not working it is down to the manager to make changes until it does. No amount of money can do that. It is getting the right balance on the pitch and if it were that easy all teams would cancel each other out each week.

Just as well you weren't around when they were building Rome then eh Alps?

Here you go again, equating spend with success. If it was a given and the price was say £3m, wouldn't the clubs that could afford stump up the money and book their place in the CCC? I notice that for all their exta spending power Man City were beaten by their, in comparison, poor neighbours the other night! No bought success there then. All Pardew can do it to put a squad together and get them playing as well as possible, there are NO easy rides. I notice now that his target is to get as close to the play offs as possible this year, not reach them now.

Everything is relative. What we have spent so far added together wouldn't even buy a reserve player in the Premiership. If we ever do get back there the stakes will be raised enormously.

Whatever happened to the idea that the most important person at the club was the manager???

And it has cost them how much??? How much have Villa spent??? It is not what you spend, it is who you buy and what you do with what you have.

Indeed. How many teams that spend a fortune roll teams over every game? If we were losing games I'd be worried but we are not. I think we also know that we are no Leeds yet either.

Where are Ipswich and how much did they spend? How much did Man City spend and what are the odds of them winning the Prem? You need to move on mate. It is players and teams that win things not bank balances.

You don't get it do you? When will the penny drop? You can't buy results. Simples.

Couldn't agree more. Perhaps someone can dig out his quotes about us when we went through it?

I don't think he had much say in when the bank decided to pull the plug.

I must admit to having a quiet chortle. Jordan gave Lowe heaps when we were struggling finacially. Not so smug now though is he?

Could work in our favour if they have some young players that need developing! Still, lets see what happens.

Although this fixture will generate a lot of interest it probably has done us no favours. Our prime objective has to be promotion and AP is right to try and play it down, although he has no chance of that happening!

If we hadn't started with minus 10 we would be right up there now.