chinapig

You are correct of course, though Jon did say BT was growing into the role as well. Not a professional way to operate imo.

A point that passes most fans by as it may seem boring and not relevant to what happens on the field. So, we do not have a Board in any meaningful sense. We sacked an award winning CEO because, well, why would a business need a CEO? Anyway Tinnion can fulfil that role, presumably because he has hitherto hidden expertise. There's nothing like following best practice and this is nothing like following best practice.

6 points was what I expected the original penalty to be, for what it's worth, given the size of the breach. If Everton had admitted the breach up front I can't help but think a 6 point deduction could have been agreed with the Premier League.

You'd think so wouldn't you? But he didn't persist with it. Certainly TC benefited from playing with NW under Nigel so you might expect Liam to know that and apply it himself. But he seems to have his preferences regardless of the evidence.

Liam has said more than once "I play with one striker". Whether that suits the strikers he has doesn't seem to come into it. Having fixed ideas you won't deviate from tends not to be good practice in any line of work.

Done. Hope it goes well for you.

Thanks for this. I'm afraid it reinforces the concern in my post above. It's hard to be optimistic for sure.

West Brom, admittedly a somewhat distressed asset but a bigger club than us, have been sold for a reported £60m. Steve is not likely to get the multiples of that he seems to want. Stalemate then.

I posted this article on the WSL thread as it has high praise for our own Naomi Layzell but I was struck by the more general point made by England U23 coach Emma Coates: “I think it would be wrong for me to say: ‘This is the exact player we want’ because then we have quite robotic football. If you want exciting football then it’s about getting that individual to be the best they can be rather than moulding them into something specific.” This reflects a concern I have about Liam ie that he may have a fixed idea of how he wants to play regardless of the players' strengths and will try to mould them into something they can't be. Too early to say perhaps but I do find it worrying. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/25/happy-people-make-elite-athletes-england-build-for-future-success-now

Some high praise for Naomi Layzell in this article from Suzy Wrack: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/25/happy-people-make-elite-athletes-england-build-for-future-success-now

He's also too close to Nigel Pearson so he's persona non grata regardless of his qualities.

Yes but in a very modern, progressive coach sort of way.

You misheard what Jon said. His actual words were "Appointing Liam gives us the best chance of making the bottom 6".

I blame our fitness and conditioning expert Dave Rennie Jon Lansdown.

Once you see a reference to net spend you can pretty much discount the person's argument. It baffles me that people fail to consider the total cost of a player including transfer, signing on and agents' fees plus wages but perhaps it's a bit complicated for them.

Their top end squad must be top-ender than our top end squad.

Thanks. Again I'm shocked! The Premier League must not be allowed to win this fight or it's another nail in the coffin. Let's hope we don't see regulatory capture down the line.

Thanks for this. No representative from the Premier League I see. I'm shocked I tell you, shocked!

I have to wonder whether the owners are interfering in the process. I look forward to them being the richest owners in League 1 though.

An interesting, balanced article @Davefevs based on evidence. There's no future in it Dave.

When Neil joined them he said the constant churn of players had to stop. Evidently nobody listened to him. They make Chelsea look efficient in their recruitment.

From PMQs earlier: Clive Betts (Lab) asks when the government will go ahead to set up an independent regulator for football. Sunak says the independent regulator will put fans at the heart of football. He says plans were in the king’s speech. Discussions on how to do this are underway, he says. Not going to happen before a general election I'm sure.

That is my concern, though I'm not sure Liam has clearly set out his philosophy to us fans. I doubt we'll see until next season.

The problem Liam has is that he's been lumbered with their expectations. I'm afraid he will just have to roll with the punches if he assured them he could deliver what they promised.

For once there was a plan behind our recruitment. The question is does the profile of the players we have signed suit the way Liam wants to play? If his preference is to control possession then I think not. If so what do we do now when it comes to recruitment? I find it difficult to discern what the plan now is.