It shouldn’t be a surprise that League One/3rd division clubs cannot afford to have 25 man squads with two strong options for every position after a year and a half with no revenue coming through.
Why do some fans think we’re different? Just because we have an owner who isn’t skint?
He’s running the club like a self dependent business - as it should be. Personally I wouldn’t want to be in a position where our success was purely dependent on one man’s money. After all, that one man can go and move on at any given time.
That is a conversation I have had with a mate who is a big Chelsea fan. When the time comes and Abramovich pops his clogs or get arrested by Putin what will happen to Chelsea ? But I suppose the same can be said for any of the big clubs. Tbh I wondered what would happen with Leicester after the tragedy that their owner met but fair play his family are still fully committed
At Premier League level I expect those clubs are bankrolled by the astonishing TV deals. Of course, if Roman left Chelsea it would require them to go through a transition but they wouldn’t be crippled. They are set at the top level now.
Same can’t be said in League One. I want to see us be successful off the back of a solid foundation (which Sandgaard has made clear he’ll provide), but ultimately have us break even based upon sensible sales of players (at the right time) and good attendances. That’s how football should be at our level.
Unfortunately, the Sky Sports News/Football Manager/social media influence on many football fans nowadays has shifted expectations to be far less patient.
I suspect Sandgaard has never wanted to splash the cash in a crazy way and that is fine. He saved us and a period of getting your ducks in place seems a sensible approach. We could even see the season start and address where we are short, which has a certain logic. Why replace Morgan when he may step up for example. The fact Adkins was lined up so quickly after Bowyer walked suggests that was the preferred outcome which saved a lot of money in compo. The delay probably cost us a play off place but that is with the benefit of hindsight even though a few got it early on. I thought the squad we had was decent enough, just mis-managed and our end of season performance under Adkins confirmed it. But I think the problem was not addressed due to cost, which is fair enough if true.
In terms of this season, it was unfortunate for Sandgaard to say what he did about blowing the League away. No way should he have done that. I think that is more ill advised than Adkins saying that will be us next year which to me reflected he would be doing everything he can to make that true but he doesn't write the cheques. However, Sandgaard isn't making the spending to make his statement true. Again, I never expected us to spend big, probably because of the delay with Bowyer and our failure to persuade Aneke to stay (others can disagree) and I suspect most people who bought season tickets didn't because of it so we can excuse it. I look at what is apparently in front of me and not what the club sugar coats then feeds me. But we can also be honest and say it was ill judged without being jumped on. Sandgaard gets a pass on that and is massively in credit as well as with his song which might have been better to announce when things are cooking on gas.
So is the season going to be a write off? It looks to me we have a team to compete but we have question marks about whether we have the goals in the side. Outside of Stockley all the players have question marks in this respect and we haven't bought in or produced proven track records of goals. Players can step up, and we need them to, but without the track records we can't be certain that will happen. For me the success of our season will rest on us bringing in a few more proven goals or we see a step up in this area from the likes of DJ, Morgan etc... or hopefully the perfect storm of getting both. Who knows? I certainly don't. I can only hope.
I suspect Sandgaard has never wanted to splash the cash in a crazy way and that is fine. He saved us and a period of getting your ducks in place seems a sensible approach. We could even see the season start and address where we are short, which has a certain logic. Why replace Morgan when he may step up for example. The fact Adkins was lined up so quickly after Bowyer walked suggests that was the preferred outcome which saved a lot of money in compo. The delay probably cost us a play off place but that is with the benefit of hindsight even though a few got it early on. I thought the squad we had was decent enough, just mis-managed and our end of season performance under Adkins confirmed it. But I think the problem was not addressed due to cost, which is fair enough if true.
In terms of this season, it was unfortunate for Sandgaard to say what he did about blowing the League away. No way should he have done that. I think that is more ill advised than Adkins saying that will be us next year which to me reflected he would be doing everything he can to make that true but he doesn't write the cheques. However, Sandgaard isn't making the spending to make his statement true. Again, I never expected us to spend big, probably because of the delay with Bowyer and our failure to persuade Aneke to stay (others can disagree) and I suspect most people who bought season tickets didn't because of it so we can excuse it. I look at what is apparently in front of me and not what the club sugar coats then feeds me. But we can also be honest and say it was an ill judged. Sandgaard gets a pass on that and is massively in credit as well as with his song which might have been better to announce when things are cooking on gas.
So is the season going to be a write off? It looks to me we have a team to compete but we have question marks about whether we have the goals in the side. Outside of Stockley all the players have question marks in this respect and we haven't bought in or produced proven track records of goals. Players can step up, and we need them to, but without the track records we can't be certain that will happen. For me the success of our season will rest on us bringing in a few more proven goals or we see a step up in this area from the likes of DJ, Morgan etc... or hopefully the perfect storm of getting both. Who knows? I certainly don't. I can only hope.
@MuttleyCAFC,good piece...maybe deserves to be on the rumours thread ?
Comments
In terms of this season, it was unfortunate for Sandgaard to say what he did about blowing the League away. No way should he have done that. I think that is more ill advised than Adkins saying that will be us next year which to me reflected he would be doing everything he can to make that true but he doesn't write the cheques. However, Sandgaard isn't making the spending to make his statement true. Again, I never expected us to spend big, probably because of the delay with Bowyer and our failure to persuade Aneke to stay (others can disagree) and I suspect most people who bought season tickets didn't because of it so we can excuse it. I look at what is apparently in front of me and not what the club sugar coats then feeds me. But we can also be honest and say it was ill judged without being jumped on. Sandgaard gets a pass on that and is massively in credit as well as with his song which might have been better to announce when things are cooking on gas.
So is the season going to be a write off? It looks to me we have a team to compete but we have question marks about whether we have the goals in the side. Outside of Stockley all the players have question marks in this respect and we haven't bought in or produced proven track records of goals. Players can step up, and we need them to, but without the track records we can't be certain that will happen. For me the success of our season will rest on us bringing in a few more proven goals or we see a step up in this area from the likes of DJ, Morgan etc... or hopefully the perfect storm of getting both. Who knows? I certainly don't. I can only hope.