Line in the sand

I am becoming very weary with all the off field Shenanigans and it will be nice to get back to watching football again under a new manager.
I don't give them much hope today against an improving Charlton. Any team at our level would struggle with the length of our injury list. I am though looking for a team with far more spirit than has been shown so far this season, and hopefully results will turn sooner rather than later.

If we can somehow see evidence that Rahic has taken a big step backwards and is leaving footballing matters to Hopkin, then I can certainly draw a line in the sand

 

So Parker thinks our budget is £2m. We also run a development squad.

How many professionals have we got? 35?

That tells us why we are in a relegation battle. We're signing sh1te by paying peanuts.

We've gone from £3-4m spread across 20 very good players to £2m spread across 35 poor one's.

 

Why are we spending so little?

 

Because that is how much is coming in?

 

We should all give hopkin his chance to turn things around but rahic has got a long way to go to turn fans on his side. He has to win back the trust of city fans and that will not be easy. I feel like we need more honesty and less cliches. In the article parker says he reckons the wage bill for promoted sides is around 4 million. He also says he would guess that we currently pay half that. Assuming parker is correct paying the current wage bill we do promotion is not going to happen. Part of the reason we are suffering is because of raised expectation. Our budget clearly isn't competitive enough. Money rules football. I'll give them a little more time to try and get out of league 1 there way but I feel like the only way they'll get out of league 1 is by getting relegated to league 2. If they have the funds to be competitive then that's what we need to do. If not lower the expectations. They only make it harder for themselves. The apology was a start. Hopefully rahic takes a step back and lets hopkin do his job.

 

In the same breath as saying we spend £2m he also said those promoted last season spent around £4m. Now if I remember rightly when discussing wages last year and people were saying we were spending £3-4m they were also saying those that went up were spend £5-6m, if not more. So did every last season get their figures out or has Parker?

 

Fair point. Others will know more about budgets than me.

I'm only going from his article and what I read in the press.

 

Yep I know. I’m just pointing out that last season it was generally accepted that we were a couple of £m behind the top teams which the figures in the article are consistent with just the figures are different.

 

Well regardless of what we have spent we need a realistic assessment of where we are going. If we are going for promotion as soon as possible that is looking like £5/6 million. We are only getting in £2.mill. So that aspiration is unrealistic. Furthermore we have to squeeze every last penny so that we can put every single penny into the first team squad. If we are not going for promotion, what are we doing?? If we have another agenda then let’s be having it. If their plan is to buy up young players in the hope that we might find a gem! Umm ok, I will put the lottery on tonight, that might help. In order to have a development squad it requires investment above and beyond the 1st team squad. We can’t do both on our budget, it really is as simple as that.

 

Either way, it shows 350k on the development squad is ludicrous.

 

If that is in the figure quoted

 

The idea that he's 'back to even' from the mistake of appointing Collins by bringing in Hopkin is wrong. Our shambolic approach to preseason and - in the wider context - misguided approach to recruitment has really set us back. Physically, tactically, mentally and technically we're behind the curve and it will take time to get back to where we need to be.

His words mean nothing. He's lost credibility and trust, and the only way to rebuild it is through action.

The way in which Hopkin is backed in January and next summer is key. That should include the scrapping of the development squad and a focus on quality over quantity.

Bringing in a Chief Operating Officer and Rahic taking a back seat is also important.

 

It certainly is and wants dropping ASAP.

 

Firstly it's a just a guess so got to take that with the usual caveats.

Secondly it's not actually that far away from what Lawn and Rhodes used to allow for the budget so although it's much less than what teams usually need to be successful it's probably around about what we can naturally afford.

 

Line in the sand, interesting.
I'll draw one, get us back to where we were in the play-offs, before he made a complete feck of my club. Then I'll take the prick seriously.
I'm that magmanimous, i'll even forgive the last 18months of utter shite.

 

A nice sentiment @Keefly Bantam - But words are easily spoken ............ It's how you follow them up, that people notice.

 

You tell us it guesswork, then go on to tell us what it is.
Which in fact is your own guesswork, in which I'd hazard an educated guess that you're wide of the mark.

 

I understand that. However the chances of promotion are pretty slim, even if we ploughed every single penny into the first team squad, what I am saying is it a realistic for promotion? So if that is it, fans needs to know and adjust expectations. In order to enhance our chances of promotion we first need owners who know what they are doing, next we need investment in the 1st team squad, that needs outside investment or a increase in season ticket sales and improved sponsorship deals. We then need a really good manager. David Hopkin might be the one, but in any event you would not base your promotion plans on a rookie manager, and a third of the squad young untried players.

 

There has been no lack of support from the fans for the team or Hopkin and I don't think that will change if they are showing fight.

As has been said before by many, it's a long way back for Rahic. His future actions are all I am interested in, not his words.

The only way he is going to win me round is by leaving the manager to manage team affairs, back him as best he can in terms of transfers and focus on getting the right people in key positions like COO and, if he still wants a coach style setup, a DOF.

I can only hope that Rahic now understands what a knife edge we are on. These next five or six months are critical for our club and his project.