JHRover

Let's be honest even if we'd have signed him he'd have spent months sat on the bench with odd 20 minute appearances when losing or played in a position that he isnt used to doing. Peterborough have that knack of developing quality players particularly attackers and selling them on for big money. Apparently what we try to do here but with successful results.

We knew from Chapman's loan spell in League One 2 things: 1) Mowbray had no intention of starting Chapman in games, even at that level never mind in the Championship 2) Chapman was an is made of glass which will always restrict his contribution on the pitch. So it comes as absolutely no surprise to see what has happened. Staggering that Mowbray would hand him a multi year deal if he didn't think he was up to it.

Not brilliant but decent given it is only mid November and they only went on sale last week. Suspect it is more than we will sell in total when we eventually get around to putting them on sale.

Agree, but if there was such a thing as natural level then by any measure we are below it at the moment. Sadly it is a common feature that people both inside and outside the club will embrace the opportunity to put the club and town down, diminish its size, stature, standing, achievements. Our manager is guilty of it. Stoke and Middlesbrough are 'huge clubs' etc. but it extends to a large portion of our fanbase who are quick to tell everyone that we are a small club destined to struggle for evermore.

Natural level based on historical League occupation - top flight Natural level based on trophies- top flight Natural level based on where we were before Jack Walker came along - top end of 2nd tier. Re-writing the record books in an effort to dumb down and reduce expectations is a familiar trait of this regime.

The buying club has to make the player feel really wanted. Make that player a good offer, sell him the club, convince him that you are going places and work from there. As I've said before when you are a professional footballer with a short career especially in Reed's position (hitting mid 20s and not getting a shot at Southampton) then you can't be fussy about what part of the country you live in. It's part of the job. Think he'd turn down a move to Liverpool because his bird didn't fancy living on Merseyside? Not a chance. It would clearly be a bigger task persuading a player to come here than Liverpool but the principle is the same - make a good offer, make the player see you mean business and give him a decision to make. In typical Venky Rovers fashion it seems we did very little for Reed other than tried another loan deal with heavily subsidised wages and sat back hoping nobody else came in with a better offer. That was how we got him in the first place but we didn't get so lucky second time round when Fulham offered what was needed. He was probably naffed off anyway at being left on the bench or played out wide most weeks behind the likes of Smallwood, Evan's and Bennett.

Whereas Sam Gallagher's girlfriend was blown away whilst viewing houses in Audley Range.

Preston sold more than 300 half season tickets. And Rovers?

Rather than spending £12 million on development projects we would have been better off signing Reed for £5 million and stumping up for his wages. An excellent player, coming into his prime, versatile. Showing now at Fulham how good he is. He should have made CM his own and build around him. Use the remaining cash to get a couple of CBs and a CF and we'd have been far better off. Sadly when the priority is about developing players for profits and other such things we see the real gems move on whilst being saddled with non contributors

Here we get down to the nitty gritty of things. At that time Cheston was the most senior and arguably only active director at the club. Assuming you don't count Bob Coar or Ian Silvester as active directors. If this account is true, that Cheston went off on his summer holidays in the middle of a crucial managerial appointment process and whilst he was away individuals unknown parachuted Coyle into position then it sets alarm bells off. Who were these people who were able to strike whilst Cheston's back was turned? Why did Cheston go on holiday before the appointment was concluded? Who are these people who have enough influence with the owners to be able to get in behind directors backs and sway the owners to make a catastrophic decision against or without the advice of their paid directors? I don't think Balaji Rao's mobile number is in the phone book so who was able to get in touch with one of the owners so quickly and effectively when the same owners have been almost impossible to contact by employees at the club even managers at times? What safeguards are in place to prevent another recurrence of this again in future? Is Waggott any different now or do they just wait till he goes on holiday before making decisions behind his back? I'm afraid absolving Cheston of responsibility is only half of the story. As it happens I don't believe he was responsible for Coyle and was likely forced into those statements in the absence of anyone else to do it. I actually sympathise with the bloke who was last man standing and expected to do way more than he should. But there remain very serious questions here of how this mob operate.

I know it doesn't help anything to keep going on about it but that decision wasnt just a poor one made between two candidates. It was possibly one of the most shameful decisions made in recent memory. Warnock was available and eager to work. A unique set of circumstances where all he wanted was a last opportunity to get that 8th promotion. He didn't demand vast amounts of cash or long term contracts like many managers with his record might want. He didn't demand a ready made squad of quality players. It will be a long time before a manager with that pedigree is available and keen on the job here and not cost an arm and a leg. Yet we messed it up for reasons still unknown and Cardiff got promotion the season after. It is claimed Venkys are keen for promotion yet you look at that decision which was straightforward and rather than get promotion we got relegation and wonder.

Neil Warnock anyone?

I thought we played good football for the final 20 minutes or so but predictably couldn't break down a Forest side we had on the ropes. They were delighted to get out with a point because they were poor and fell behind yet still got something. Our old problem of being unable to protect a lead and unable to turn dominance and possession into goals. The remainder of that match, especially the first half, was the usual dull as dishwasher routine. Shed loads.of possession but doing nothing useful with it.

Name 3. I can take Barnsley.

Start preparing for a dog fight next year? Have you seen the table recently? We're in a relegation dog fight now! There seems to be denial setting in which isnt helped by the manager coming out with clap trap about the play-offs and winning 6 in a row. Ain't happening no matter how many times you try to tell people. We're struggling to stay up THIS season. Forget about next season.

We're doing well. Mowbray was preparing us to be able to 'compete' with 'huge clubs' like Stoke and Middlesbrough so we should consider being above them both in November to be a great success.

Seems the Lenihan injury is his latest excuse. This has taken Mowbray completely by surprise despite Lenihan's long history of injuries and a failure to add to the defence. Interestingly no mention of his decision to send Mulgrew out to Wigan. A series of failures and now we suffer the consequences.

The way I think it works is this: Mowbray has to 'sell them' a vision in order to receive funds from India to spend on players. The owners (Mrs Desai and hubby) who have the keys to the safe listen to the pitch and decide if they are going to go with it or not. This is the primary reason Mowbray and before him Bowyer and Kean went out to India to keep her sweet and get direct approval from her. Without doing that she won't bother with it, probably won't even consider requests and no money will find its way into the club for new players. Mowbray's sales pitch to the owners is that he will make them profits on player trading which of course will help reduce their losses, It is obvious from Mowbray's comments this is a big part of what he sells to the owners. He still has points on the board with the Dack one despite quite woeful business elsewhere. The Brereton was an indicator of what it is all about. The nature of that transfer was utterly bonkers from the price, timing and way it came about. To suddenly go out on deadline day with that sort of cash having spent little before that on the squad suggested things weren't as straightforward as they would have us believe. From the word go that deal was described as a project signing, clearly with more than one eye on Brereton's potential development and future value more than his immediate use to the first team. Mowbray let the cat out of the bag with his infamous 'defenders are coming' speech at the end of last season. Our failure to do what he promised either comes down to him having some sort of brain transplant and completely reversing his opinion on the team or because people above him prevented him from getting those defenders. I know what I believe is the answer. I don't believe any professional manager would have spent £15 million on young attackers without spending anything on defenders. It is ludicrous.

We don't spend money on defenders even when it is obvious that we should do. That has been the case for 8 years under 6 different managers. Quite a coincidence that all those managers have decided to avoid spending on the defence. Meanwhile Rhodes, Brereton and Gallagher money appears from somewhere. One constant is the ownership who appear to need to be persuaded to release extra cash for new signings. I don't think it is unreasonable to suspect that there are people advising the owners on what to provide money for and part of that is a belief that strikers are better investments than defenders.

What does his u23s record have to do with managing the senior team in the Championship? Mowbray has brought through some.of our good youth players. Buckley the most recent. Not sure why that should be a requirement for the manager. By all means use the academy but it is all about results and using the players needed to achieve that. I don't know anything about his coaching record but being a manager needs more than a good coaching background.

Hughton's football gets results. That's all I want. Couldn't care less if we win games and his Brighton side did that.

I don't know how you can have that opinion. What is it based on? His record with the u23s is irrelevant.

The purpose of these meetings, directed by the FA, is for fans to be able to directly question owners, representatives and board members as to their running and management of the club. Sending Mowbray is not what these meetings are for.

Holloway is finished in management. His last 2 jobs have been very poor and mediocre spells at QPR and Millwall. Would be a typical Venkys appointment. Available, cheap, desperate for a return, successful a long time ago. We need to be far more imaginative than that. Not keen at all on the Ainsworth suggestion either. Done well at Wycombe but realistically that's an entirely different situation to that here. Low pressure, low expectations, lower league players and he's been left to get on with it for 7 years. As others have said if we are scouring the lower divisions for successful managers we should consider Coleman, Ferguson or Flynn. I think the best we can hope for with these morons is someone like Nigel Adkins. They simply don't have the ability to source an unknown or up and coming manager.