Neither would I. Trouble is, I don't trust the board either!

Fans often don't know what's good for them. Two examples. In Summer 1996, with the prospect of Gary Megson remaining as manager, season ticket sales were in - get this - three figures. The board had no choice other than to go cap in hand to Mike Walker, and beg him to return - because the alternative would've represented financial calamity.

But sadly, Walker Mk II - although treated disgracefully in the end by those at the top - wasn't a patch on Walker Mk I; and meanwhile, Megson went on to become exactly the kind of hungry, demanding, successful manager at this level we were crying out for. A poor man's Ron Saunders, if you like.

Adding to this, the club also had no choice other than to turn down the sales of Darren Eadie and Keith O'Neill for a combined ?10m. Such a figure would've wiped out our debt, and left us in surplus - but neither Walker nor the fans would've stomached it, and the board had to show they were truly different to what had gone before. In the end, we sold both players for much less than we could've two or three years earlier, and were still stuck in mid-table anyway - but sometimes, the fans' priority is just not the same as financial or boardroom imperatives.

All of which shows how tough running a football club is - but bearing that in mind, I want a board up for the fight who won't make excuses. If the current lot are tired and have run out of ideas, fine: in that case, they should be doing their utmost to find someone new, so they can retreat gracefully before this ends up getting ugly.

Posted By: thebigfeller, Aug 17, 01:08:58