Davefevs

Tom Rawcliffe said “hopefully by the end of this week” on 3Ps pod.

41 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Wondered if having a final U21 game next Tuesday might be a factor, or if we play it with youngsters included who already know they are being let go?

Dunno, shop window for those who are going and want to play.

1 hour ago, TV Tom said:

There was a centre half at Leicester about twenty years ago (Elliot ?) used to score a lot of goals, scored all four in a two all draw once !!! 

Matt Elliott, former Torquay player, looked like Uncle Fester!

1 minute ago, Super said:

People will always take the piss if they're allowed. 

Glad you’re so chilled about it.  Not everyone is as flawed.

4 minutes ago, Super said:

I get that but it's laughable that he gets more blame than Lansdown.

Does he?  Not from me.  Right in the thick of it with SL, JL and LJ.  All culpable in their own way.  But don’t forget that Ashton was brought in specifically to help allow SL to step away (to Guernsey), and to provide expertise to JL.  He royally took the piss.

So I think he’s fair game personally.

Just now, Super said:

Blame the people whose money he was gambling with. 

You don’t get paid £500k+ a year to absolve yourself of any responsibility and accountability!

Just now, Capman said:

It’s an interesting point Davefevs. In my experience when organisations do not set clear, concise and transparent objectives they tend not to deliver. I wonder if NASA would ever have got to the moon if the senior staff had spent years saying they wanted to perhaps get somewhere closer to the ‘top end’ of the atmosphere in the hope that if they did that for a while they might get to land somewhere on a rock close by. It might sound flippant but it’s the way I feel about the club. There is a complete lack of focus on delivery. They think if they make vague promises and make endless changes eventually something good will happen. It is the triumph of optimism over reality. 

Couldn’t agree more. 

Fully deserved too.

MK have not dealt with Crawley making the pitch massive with their sweeper keeper wing-back keeper!.

Lets see if Williamson has an answer, because they are on a for a stuffing as it stands.

29 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Kieran Maguire (normally excellent) being very misleading here and quoting 22/23 figures:

 

He got a bit arsey in response to replies too.

34 minutes ago, Southend Blue said:

I didn't start it, nothing to do with me.   I just like to talk about football and there's a name here relevant to both club sides that you can add further input to when the time arises.         It's been mentioned at length but once again to reiterate it seems Mark Ashton isn't quite the devil incarnate some would believe.      Some people don't like him, they hold the name in contempt and can see only evil and while can understand those philosophies it's fair to say he's been part of a new major success with us and an integral part of the resurgence since coming over and over the past 2 years.    I suppose he's been kept on a tighter rein at Portman Road, a whole different collection of people to work with or even to be kept in check.     I read only negative reviews when he came over and was sceptical about what we were letting ourselves in for, but fact remains he's proven a key figure in our ability to make it back or in us becoming a recognised club name once again.

So we're promoted, first time at top level since 2002.    Yes it's taken long enough and we've had to endure some pretty horrendous years and seasons and while the entire time spent away and years of decline can't be easily overlooked or never properly redeemed it's just a relief if not pleasing to know we're going to feature at the highest level once again.     Can we stay there or fall back at the first attempt, it's not so easy to answer but the infrastructure is now in place to really make a go of it but should McKenna leave any time soon and some of our most prized players choose to move on we could just as easily fall back into disrepair.       Back in 2000 we were promoted too albeit by way of the play-offs and then went on to finish 5th in the Premier League (a cup semi-final too for good measure) but can that happen this time around.    Somehow I think not.       All depends how we adjust to being a part of it once again for well over 20 years and keeping hold of the most valuable assets within the club set-up, McKenna included.  

Thing is, you and others are trying to rationalise success at your club (Ipswich) to absolve him of anything bad at Bristol City, and prior to here, at Oxford and Watford.

Like a lot of debates on OTIB, it’s perfectly reasonable to take each in isolation.  He can be the devil incarnate here, and the messiah at Ipswich.

He took advantage here, is the politest way I can put it.  It makes little difference to me that others allowed that, it highlights his character flaw that he did as he did.  It makes no difference whether reined in Ipswich that he’s gone on to do a good / fantastic job for you.

Its about what he did at Bristol City that counts for me and some others.

Your view is fine to hold btw, it’s just not mine.

(congrats on promo too, hugely deserved)

Merits to both sides of the debate.

We can re-open when we hear the next set of ambiguous expectations ahead of next season!

8 hours ago, TammyAB said:

Can we delete this embarrassing 93-page thread now?

1 hour ago, Glen hump said:

Agree with most of that but there’s no way he’d put us into administration.

No way, he’d lose his loans right off the bat.

7 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

That extension by Reading, I'm struggling to see what loophole they've used.. 

Ir wasn't reducing by a day whixh can extend by 3 months.

It wasn't extending the Reporting Period to say end of September which would align with end of June. 

Clubs ans companies got an extra 3 months in the Covid years but that is long gone.

Staff numbers Dave. I assume that wheb the club specific Accounts appear that will shed more light.

I

Ta, guessing it doesn’t exempt Reading for having to submit in normal timelines, so they’ll have to produce an interim set.

This feels a bit like LJ in 19/20.

Promised playoffs if he was allowed money.  Didn’t achieve.  Got sacked.

Don't get me wrong feels harsh, but that can be the nature of the business at some clubs.

In terms of Rosenior I don’t think he concentrated enough on defence.  I loved some of his attacking patterns, but we carved them apart twice this season at times, once with each manager.

Just Reading left who’ve extended.

Have you got the staff numbers for Swansea MrP?

1 hour ago, westred1 said:

Substance behind this.

Illegal substances!

The usual hearsay!

3 minutes ago, Capman said:

I absolutely agree with that, and the cynical part of me wonders if that is deliberate. Allowing ambiguity into targets is a great way to cover failure. If no one knows what you are aiming for how do they know if you have been successful or not? 
I am using the boards own judgement of what they believe they have supplied the manager. They claimed they were supplying a ‘top six squad’ so that is what I believe we should judge the club against. 
Fact is the club were significantly away from that so the board did not supply the squad they claimed they did, or the managers failed to utilise it properly (or some combination of the two). The reason I think that’s important is because without being honest about that I have no idea how we can target 6th place next season. 

“Promotion” seems pretty clear, but even that can be taken apart.  It either means, 1st or 2nd, or 3rd to 6th, but winning the play-off final.  So is 3rd but losing out in semi’s or final, acceptable?

Or do they really mean top-6, ie in with a chance?

We don’t know!

Ditto the term “top end”.

Frustrating!

4 minutes ago, Open End Numb Legs said:

but having new foreign owners just to get into FFP trouble with a PL relegation dogfight is not something I would enjoy

Why foreign owners per se?

13 minutes ago, Capman said:

Just to be clear, the target of getting into the play offs is not a ‘moving target’. It is fixed, it is getting into the top 6. Therefore the number of points off 6th place is also not a ‘moving target’. It is also fixed.

If next season there are 10 dreadful teams in the league who everyone beats twice we could easily end up with more points but again be further away from the play offs. I doubt many would see that as ‘success’. So to argue points gained is not a moving target could also be seen as flawed. It changes with the standard of the league. 
In the end my view is that you have to measure outcomes against your target. The club said it was targeting promotion. Therefore for me the only legitimate matrix is how far we were away from getting that target. That does not make my view right and everyone else wrong, but it is certainly not an invalid view. It is a perfectly reasonable and logical position to take. 

Definitely think this is a valid argument.

Think there are numerous ways to measure “progress” too.

The fact that we are debating it, probably shows what a poor job the hierarchy have done in positing the expectations…and how they measure.

I guess the easiest thing @RedRossis to use the report button, or post something in the thread itself, to ask the mods to merge with an existing thread.

That keeps things neat and tidy too.  Either a thread grows becayse there is something worth discussing or it tails off onto page 2 and beyond.

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

That is true, maybe I'm not giving quite enough credit but it seems like it was the perfect blend at just the right time.

Yeah, don’t get me wrong, it’s a huge achievement with what they went into the season with, but Morsy was in a top 10 team in Boro, when he switched to Town.  Incredible signing really…must’ve got a great contract out of it!

But otherwise, Wolf and Burgess, yeah didn’t see them coping at this level for example.

Fair play.

14 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

I was at a wedding this weekend and an Ipswich season ticket holder was there, I explained our view on Ashton, their response was ‘we love him! He’s done an incredible job and really engages with the fans, havent been this together since Burley days’. As I said we couldn’t wait to appoint the most marmite ex city midfielder of all time as manager, that was the reason Ashton seemingly failed in my view and does anyone here seriously think he would have chosen Johnson?

Rumour was Ashton wanted Appleton!

https://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/rennie-appointment/

This was one thread that didn’t need bumping…and I’ve made it worse!

8 hours ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

I did once see a away attendence table that factored in all the miles fans have to travel and I believe we were quite high up on that.