The greatest trick Les has managed to do...

[loftbalcony]

Spend loads, go up go down, spend nothing doubt go up but hopefully not down.
Still my team through good times and bad.
I'll still have a moan though now and again.
Expectations are lowered, we can deal with that but please will somebody let the FFP cat out the bag!

[Fordy]

With football getting so ridiculous money wise I'm finding it hard to care about it more and more lately. Still love going every other Saturday with my old man regardless of what state the team is in, id still go even if we was bottom of league 2. Couldn't give a fark we don't spend anymore, might see a few home grown gems come through this way as we will have to play them. My hope for this season is stay up and hopefully a few of the youngsters really break through I.e. Eze, Owens, Shodipo, Furlong. Really hopeful on Eze looks a class act to me. I'd like us to bring in a CB and RB but if we haven't got the dough then oh well.

[Ginger Ninja]

With football getting so ridiculous money wise I'm finding it hard to care about it more and more lately. Still love going every other Saturday with my old man regardless of what state the team is in, id still go even if we was bottom of league 2. Couldn't give a fark we don't spend anymore, might see a few home grown gems come through this way as we will have to play them. My hope for this season is stay up and hopefully a few of the youngsters really break through I.e. Eze, Owens, Shodipo, Furlong. Really hopeful on Eze looks a class act to me. I'd like us to bring in a CB and RB but if we haven't got the dough then oh well.

100% agree mate. Exactly how I feel too.

[1973 ranger]

I just want to see a team that can compete on the pitch in the division we are in with a small level of success here and there. The problem is while Tony the Tweet keeps sending out rubbish on social media and an assistant manager spouting rubbish about player recruitment when we as fans should only know about transfers when they are completed. Give me 2010-11 season all day long.

[Hubble]

I thought from the title of this thread the OP was going to say "make us believe he doesn't exist...'

[Awin]

I thought from the title of this thread the OP was going to say "make us believe he doesn't exist...'

It did sound a bit 'usual suspects'... so it's why I used the word do instead of pulled.

Yes I expected pelters but I also wanted to be devils advocate regards Les.

[amusant]

The real issue is the initial obscene spending. Had we managed to spend sensibly from the start we could by now be a solvent premier league side similar to Swansea, Stoke, Watford or even Bournemouth, having a yearly flirt with relegation, but holding our own up there. What we've had to cope with would have tried the patience of fans of any club - truly boom and bust - Les is just picking up the pieces, he's the last person we should blame.

[dogsrrs]

The sacking of Warnock 1st time stopped any progress of that happening hindsight is a wonderful thing !
You don't blame him for the second appointment of the p e teacher then ??

[Bill]

The sacking of Warnock 1st time stopped any progress of that happening hindsight is a wonderful thing !
You don't blame him for the second appointment of the p e teacher then ??

Oh yea kill the belief kill the hope savage the fan base total dishonesty well done
LES great job.

Congratulations suck the heart and soul out of the club

[Awin]

The sacking of Warnock 1st time stopped any progress of that happening hindsight is a wonderful thing !
You don't blame him for the second appointment of the p e teacher then ??

Yes and no...
Yes he was a very green manager...
No as TF at that stage had clearly decided to reign things in after Hughes and Redknapp. We had an FFP judgement due and despite publicly stating they were hoping for promotion they knew they couldn't spend any longer to do it.
The club had decided to try and bring through youth and CR Would seem a top top man to do so.
Fan pressure after hoping for promotion showed and do they moved onto a young manAger with a grieving reputation (relying on him too bringing through youth)

The appointments have proven to either not been good enough or the msnagers weren't given enough time to make the changes the club required.

So my answer is yes and no.

[dogsrrs]

I take from that you don't blame him the for appointing Ramsey for a second time after his 1st three months of ineptitude very generous imo bearing in mind it lead to JFH having half a season then another half season then Ollie's Blunderful half season and now our start to a new season full apprehension also you're happy at letting Warnock go for a second time

[surrey_hoop]

With football getting so ridiculous money wise I'm finding it hard to care about it more and more lately. Still love going every other Saturday with my old man regardless of what state the team is in, id still go even if we was bottom of league 2. Couldn't give a fark we don't spend anymore, might see a few home grown gems come through this way as we will have to play them. My hope for this season is stay up and hopefully a few of the youngsters really break through I.e. Eze, Owens, Shodipo, Furlong. Really hopeful on Eze looks a class act to me. I'd like us to bring in a CB and RB but if we haven't got the dough then oh well.

I agree with the first part of this comment, in that the game is starting to eat itself. This can't carry on, and the entire structure will implode within a decade or so.

I personally can't say that I'm happy we're not spending any more. By your own admission, fans are paying more than ever to watch their team (it's 30 odd quid to watch a lower mid-table Championship team like us) - I don't see why the owners of a club charging those kinds of prices can't reinvest that money back into the playing staff. Where we went wrong was spending over the odds on players we had no right to even look at. We've been burnt in the market over the last 5 years, but that isn't an excuse to shut up shop entirely and make do with what we've got.

As regards the academy, nurturing players good enough for first team football is a very low percentage system, which takes years (and a lot of investment in and of itself) to bear fruit. Even at our level, you're lucky if 1 in 20 is good enough. I wouldn't rule youth players out entirely, but they should be added in occasionally to a squad that has been financed and improved year on year - as it is, I think a lot of them coming into this team right now are expected to make the position their own from the first game, and if they don't they're let go. That's the nature of modern football.

[maidstone_hoop]

I think Les is doing a good job personally.

The team we got is mid table for me but if all focused can push on higher in the league. We've spent absolutely nothing so far in the window on transfer and I personally think we will get 2 or 3 good additions for much better value then if we had brought a few weeks back.

He is stabilising the club financially and bringing through youngsters. I imagine ffp is ha I g a effect on what we are spending right now and I expect next summer we will be much more active again.

FFP is very interesting right now because with clubs like Derby and wolves spending the money they are it's going to be very hard for them to fine us based on the old regulations!!