Harry Lewis Gone To Carlisle United

I'm over him already...

 

Yeah I've no problem with. But shows our current standing that a young keeper sees his future potential better served at a struggling league one club. I'm guessing Carlisle have offered a decent pay rise. Would have liked to see us target a similar type replacement as Lewis though, someone with profit potential rather than a journeyman.

 

Spot on Kevin. Our fans need to realise that his is our new way of doing things and it should have been the way ever since we were first down here in 2007.

I'd like some fans to explain why it's OK for the likes of Peterborough to sell players and replace them with cheaper ones, but apparently we're not allowed to do it!!

Commercially, I think Sparks is spot on. It's just that it's the important matter of hiring managers that he fouls up on. LOL!!

 

Carlisle are investing, so think they'll stay up.

At worst, they'll be in with a good shout next season.

They are buying high end League Two players.

 

I admire their owners, being proactive and looking toward the future. Meanwhile, we have the equivalent of Lord Lucan....

 

Yeah, they're also signing players that other clubs have wanted.

Armstrong would have been at Wrexham (money bags) if that had gone through, and Lewis was courted by Barnsley.

Good chance of making a profit on both players going forward. Both mid-20's, good ages.

Very smart signings, and probably aren't breaking the bank in terms of wages, either.

Shrewd business.

 

Thought he was very skittish on Saturday and me and the bloke I sit next door were giggling about the fact that this was a 'twitchy Harry' day. Not certain that helps with settling defenders in front of him.

Good keeper. We're unlikely to get one of as good. But then again we just need one that can do a job in this division.

 

If the go down and they going to need some kind of miracle to stay up. How is this furthering his career? Yes he will be earning more but damaging his career. I just don’t see the attraction, but then the fact that it has happened says more about our club than theirs.

 

They are utter dogshit. Club with limited potential, but, crucially, at least their owners care and have ambitionZ

 

In essence the signing of Lewis (by Hughes not Gent) has been a success, he's moved to a higher division and to a club that has more proactive and ambitious owners. And as a club that has no backing from it's owner, Sparks has to raise every penny possible to keep the accounts in check. Same if Young moves, as a club with no money we have to generate cash.
But Lewis choosing Carlisle does show how important ambitious owners really are to your potential success. like i said yesterday, fortune favours the brave, not ones.who rest on their laurels.

 

A stream of managers and compensation? Negligible revenue growth, inflation aside? A 'product' that's clearly regressing. Long term contracts on players who've hardly featured. A failure to secure capital to invest in growth.

On the Young situation, I think they've fallen lucky in terms of him performing better than most would have expected, but even if we put it down entirely to good judgement, recalling him this early in the window was a mistake unless there was a sale agreed. Surely they realised he'd attract attention and the restriction around how many clubs you can feature for in one season would preclude him from playing for us. They been naive.

 

I'm in two minds with this one.

Either A, he's a superb keeper that's just had a dip in form and the Barnsley bid unsettled him slightly,

Or B, he had a bit of a purple patch last year (but still made big errors like the Carlisle game) and this year he's still making the errors but by not reaching the levels of last year he's started to look decidedly average.

I suppose only time will tell which one it is but either way, unless it was a fee too large to turn down then I wouldn't have even entertained it until the summer.

 

No ambition

 

In essence the signing of Lewis (by Hughes not Gent) has been a success, he's moved to a higher division and to a club that has more proactive and ambitious owners. And as a club that has no backing from it's owner, Sparks has to raise every penny possible to keep the accounts in check. Same if Young moves, as a club with no money we have to generate cash.
But Lewis choosing Carlisle does show how important ambitious owners really are to your potential success. like i said yesterday, fortune favours the brave, not ones.who rest on their laurels.

The proof will be where we end up this season. And the sale of season tickets off the back of it. Any downsales will tell you the fan base has had enough, same numbers or above and the fans are happy.

 

It really does baffle me. Carlisle is a nice part of the world and there is some stunning scenery on the drive up. But as a footballing investment I fail to see what they have to offer. Limited fanbase, limited scope to expand, old ground. Good League 2 squad but poor League 1 squad. A respected manager.

They’ll do very well to stay in L1 let alone get promoted next season or whenever.

Gillingham, similarly, don’t have much more scope to grow, yet even they’ve attracted American investment.

I can only conclude it is the Manningham factor that is scaring off investment.

Manningham was supposed to mean ‘business’. Dunno what it actually means in reality!

yes, I am bitter and jealous…..we are going nowhere under Rupp

 

Let's be honest here, Harry's had a disastrous season this time out for whatever reason. He's cost us some valuable points and if we'd had a proper number 2 would've been almost certainly dropped long before now. He had a good season last term but it could also be said we played a lot deeper and more defensively as a team last season. He was never a command the box type of goalie which is more of a requirement with a back three and a more progressive team structure. I think the move suits all parties and if Doyle has first-hand experience of the new guy and trusts him to do a job then I'm fine with that.
I wish Harry all the best and enjoyed watching him last season but unfortunately this season hasn't been his finest hour.

 

Banter Club, remember we don't accept mediocrity with Sparks at the helm.

 

I've mentioned elsewhere on here so I apologies if it was to you and I'm repeating myself. I work in the world of corporate M&A - not football, just to be clear, and no doubt there are nuances that are unique to the industry. But I've been involved in buyouts and acquisitions in many other industries. Almost exclusively, it requires a lot of networking and brand building, proactively seeking investment to attract buys. The Americans who bought Carlisle didn't just do it randomly, I can guarantee that the previous owner/Directors were actively engaging with funding parties, consultants etc to make it clear that they were up for grabs and 'selling themselves'. Frankly, Rupp needs to piss or get off the pot. Invest properly in growing this club, or sell up. I'm utterly convinced there'd be interested parties who'd buy us at a sensible price.

 

We'd be lucky to be mediocre, what an achievement that would be when we're being held back by the two clowns up top

 

Mixed feelings about this. He was the best keeper in the league last season, but his head seems to have been gone since the Barnsley interest. We've dropped a few points this season because of individual goalkeeper errors. Selling now for a fee might be a good bit of business.

I'd much prefer a keeper that is an average league two standard but solid and consistent, compared to someone who can play higher but struggles with periods of inconsistency and mistakes.