Crewe Alex v Coventry

[TimeyWimey]

Assuming HS2 did require the land our ground is on. The cash in hand to the club will in effect be nominal, probably less than a Nick Powell, and of which Hassall could only lay claim to 40-50% (forgetting what his shares are?). After which, in this supposed grand plan, he would press the ejector button and...? Sell club for pennies to the first person whilst retaining majority ownership of [new] ground? That's something he could have done regardless. Sell the whole lot for pennies whilst taking the HS2 money with him? Is that even legal? And for a man who seems to have been losing money hand over fist in his businesses (hence million pound loans), HS2 money probably wouldn't be all that much to him.

Honestly, whilst HS2 is convenient plot device, I'm not sure there's a huge plot for the directors to milk it and retire to the sun. There's little doubt Hassall (and co) has fucked the club over these last few years and I'd like to think there is a battle between him and Bowler/Dario to wrestle to club back into good hands. Exactly why the club is in self destruct mode, when just 3-4 years ago we were probably in our healthiest position in half a decade (promotion, steady in L1, huge transfer fees in the bank...) is baffling and the not knowing is what is driving fans away. In a way it'd be better if Hassall was a Karl Oyston so fans could unite but whilst there's no clear consensus what the fuck is going on, most will just abandon the club.

 

[JJ1532]

I agree. I think it's nonsense to suggest any director other than the main one is looking to make a profit from the club. Does Bowler even take a salary from the club?

But you're right, there is no one person to rally behind and protest at. Some want Davis fired. Some want the board out. Some want Hassall out(well, most who are aware of the situation I assume). Some blame the players.

Thing is though, I think the club is more fucked than we realise and not all of it is their fault. Due to the EPPP requirements, we have now have to shell out huge sums on maintaining a Cat 2 academy. If the rumoured costs of running that system are true, that means we now have to make a £1m player sale every 2 years just to break even. That just isn't sustainable. Maybe we could drop down to level 3, but would that impact the kind of quality we could produce?

But the biggest issue is now we have to maintain a full and proper U21 squad, which means handing out deals to more academy players, most of whom will either never make the first team or just aren't players we could polish up and sell for lots of money. That means a healthy portion of the budget goes on having the U21 squad, leaving Davis with very little to spend on finding proven football league performers. I think he should do better with the group he's got and he's wasted loads of money over the past 3 years, but even I admit he is severely limited in what he can do.

The non-league scouting option has basically gone for us now. Look at what happened with Che Adams, Sam Clucas etc. Every single club is now looking for the next Jamie Vardy in the non-leagues. Us signing a top non-league prospect are slim to nil with our finances.

Our scouting network and talent judgement is a joke. Oliver, Molyneux, Audel, Robertson. Which clueless muppet ever thought these players could hack it in L1?

Then we have our fabulous coaches. At the U18 level, I think Collins is one of the best coaches around most likely. But he's coaching the first team with all these stupid fancy "possession football" ideas that he probably picked up from these high level coaching courses he's been on. Does he have any clue about what is needed to battle and scrap and hold your own at this level? No chance. What does he know about tactics, gamesmanship, being in high pressure situations?

As for Davis, I just think his enthusiasm has gone. When he first came in, he was fired up and demanding, expecting more from his players every week. He probably knew he had 3 top prospects in Westy, Murphy and Powell, but he didn't know how good they would become. He might have had an inkling, but he didn't know for sure. But for me, it was his energy and drive that carried us to those excellent first 18 months under his management. But he missed out on the Wolves, Burnley and Barnsley jobs, we had a terrible 13-14 season and he just gave up. He's going through the motions now. It really annoys me that he is a smart guy but can't see that him resigning would still leave him in an excellent position. Even with his struggles at Crewe, I reckon anybody looking for a manager would still have him high up on the list. At the moment, he has a promotion and a JPT win under his belt. He has never been relegated, despite the struggles of the last 2 1/2 years. He could paint that up as some see it at the moment, as a miracle worker keeping a bunch of no hopers up despite the odds. He talks a good game, is affable and open with people. Up until recently, I couldn't question his honesty. He is still young as managers go. I wouldn't be surprised to see a team at this level or higher give him a shot. He already looks better than half the out of work managers who just rotate around the various teams. I find it disappointing that he is still clinging on, either exploiting the fact we can't afford to sack him or exploiting the patience and faith of the board. He's become manipulative and sneaky, making up excuses and reasons why the team are struggling. He never takes any blame. It's sad to see him squirm from week to week, desperately looking for ways to deflect blame. I just don't know what he thinks he is achieving by staying? Does he get enjoyment out of being humiliated every week? Its sad to see the man we once revered turn so quickly into a figure of hate.

In the immediate future, I hope to god we go down. Yeah, there is a massive risk involved, but it's the only way we'll regroup, rebuild and recover. Sure the fan numbers will drop and the budget won't be great, but we'll be able to sign some L2 experince. The academy lads could flourish in much the same Westy, Murphy and Powell did. Hell, even the likes of Tootle, Dugdale and Moore looked decent at that level. L2 would be less of a struggle. There is less chance of you going down with only 2 getting relegated. Maybe it also might convince the board to stump up some cash and get rid of Steve, btu I doubt it.

I'm just done with L1, I don't think I can stomach a late survival come May. Then have the dread of knowing we'll make the same mistakes in the summer and have another season of dreary crap football followed by another relegation threatened season next year. It's soul destroying. If we stay up, so be it. But if we go down, I'll be over it almost instantly. So I'm in a no lose siutation from here on out. We stay up, so be it. We go down, so be it. I'll still go to every game and I'll still be cheering for the players, hoping they can overcome the shite management and get some wins. But I just won't get disappointed if we lose anymore. Not worth it.

 

[The Alex]

Really? Did you think that up on the spot or had you planned it? Top insult either way though

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Had been planning it for a while now, executed perfectly. Thank you very much.

 

[SamScfc]

Could be worse lads

 

[Football Purist]

Could be worse lads

True.You lot really are fucked aren't you? Astonishing.
You're now losing at home to Nantwich!!!

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I'm just waiting for staunch Davisites next season to say we can't compete with the likes of Accrington Stanley.

I think relegation would be a benefit for us (as in we might have a comfortable season for once in our lives) but at the same time you just know if Davis stays we'll be 24th.

 

[TimeyWimey]

I want to see us stay up with a new manager and a more transparent board. Not much, obvs, but otherwise I think we're doomed. I think when we do go down, we won't be seeing League One for a long time. Admittedly I was of a similar opinion just before Davis took over but there's no parallels with that situation, we generally are just dogshite. Dario always maintained before he stepped down that the likes of Powell and, ahem, Clayton were key to our future, I doubt he could put his money on any of the current crop.

Then, if the trend continues. Davis keeps his job, the club keeps bullshitting us, the likes of Garratt, Inman and Colclough get replaced with tripe ("but this squad is better than last years" fucking lol). Then we will struggle in League Two, and it'll become the norm ("not Davis' fault there's no money" oh fuck off) and that's fucking scary.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

SCENES AS ADAM KING IS RECALLED! HALLELUJAH!

 

[Football Purist]

Come on Bowler...say something for fuck's sake!
Write a piece in the Chronicle,why don't ya?

 

[Railwaymen1877]

HS2 won't require the land our stadium is on. The Geography of the area makes it completely unworkable, what with the big drop behind the Railway End to the Freight line tunnels and the Rail House building being in the way. The cheaper more likely options are that they build on the main station hub which wouldn't affect the stadium, or they build in the Basford sidings area south of the town. I'd say that was the most likely and cheapest option that they'll go for. Makes complete sense. There is no disruption to town residents or the main station. There are adequate link roads to the site now with the 2 new link roads to the A500 bypass. There is also loads of space off those link roads to build new houses and infrastructure. We aren't going anywhere.

Are you sure about this JJ? I have heard different and I think many will be surprised and with HS2 money seems no object.

 

[JJ1532]

No, I'm not sure. I'm merely speculating. But for them to come up with a design and plan that doesn't require the stadium land seems borderline unworkable. I would be very surprised if the plans did require the stadium. We'll know either way sometime this year when the official plans are unveiled.

 

[Railwaymen1877]

No, I'm not sure. I'm merely speculating. But for them to come up with a design and plan that doesn't require the stadium land seems borderline unworkable. I would be very surprised if the plans did require the stadium. We'll know either way sometime this year when the official plans are unveiled.

Yes we will know in the next 12 months, was mentioned on Saturday in the pub after the game and it seems the club are well down the line (pardon the pun) about the ground.