I'm afraid that with Aubameyang it's the Cristiano Ronaldo syndrome of someone trading on past glories and no longer being anywhere near as good as he once was.

I think that the problem was that when the liquidity squeeze arising from the global financial crisis hit there were other businesses in the trust like the airline which needed funds. It's difficult to prioritise funding transfers and wages for players when there were people elsewhere at risk of losing their jobs.

Absolutely.

If none of them were bothering to attend games before he died he made an horrendous mistake in the arrangements he made for after his death. He should have carved out a separate entity to own and run the club rather than merging the club in to his other interests. As the saying goes, never mix business with pleasure.

Why didn't he ask them ?

But the game is littered with coaches and assistants who fail to make the grade as managers - Walker's judgement was poor regarding Kidd.

Brian Kidd only had a track record as an assistant - hanging on to Ferguson;s coat-tails.

I don't think you have come to terms with how the game is played in the modern era. The days of centre forwards loitering on the half way line blowing their lungs out because they have been out on the town the night before are over.

It's his job to chase back into defensive areas if his manager tells him it is.

Gallagher plays because the team's record when he starts is better than when he doesn't.

Sounds to me like you want a miracle worker, not a manager.

What would those "serious words" actually be ?

I can't see any larger club being interested in a Big Time Charlie who at the age of 18 thinks he can challenge the authority of the manager.

I'd like to think it's Buckley's lack of discipline which won't go down well with the players.

In each of the last 4 seasons 2 of the promotion places have gone to parachute payment clubs - from a pool of 5 or 6 clubs - whilst the other 18/19 clubs without parachute payments have only got 1 promotion spot. That indicates the scale of the advantage given by parachute payments. The difference is becoming more pronounced as in the last 2 seasons the parachute payment clubs have taken both the automatic places and it is looking likely that will happen again this season. Additionally the sums received are increasing way beyond the ability of championship clubs to boost their revenue - in 2019 a club in its first season down from the Premier League was getting just under £43m ; this season that is now £55m.

It was intended more as a prediction than as a target. Given that the non-parachute payment clubs will have thin squads injuries will likely play a pretty big part in who actually comes out top.

I'm confident we will be one of the best teams without parachute payments. The Championship is now really 2 divisions, one for the small number of clubs with parachute payments, and one for the others who are attempting to compete at a significant disadvantage. We are the only one of the top 5 clubs in the league who do not have parachute payments and I think those who talk of firing the manager and replacing him with this mysterious unnamed "someone else" are singing loony tunes.

I think your track record in the predictions business is most kindly described as "mixed". Before the Norwich game you were talking about a 5 or 6 goal drubbing.

Yes - and I've also seen the league table.

Why on earth would an owner want to sack a manager who has us in third place, and comfortably the best of the clubs not in receipt of parachute payments ?

3rd place in the table is the reality.

If you are right and we need those 5 players, what sort of budget do you think needs to be made available to the relevant decision makers at the club, and how likely is it that that sort of budget is/will be available ?

What do you suggest ?

If "they are not playing for the manager" how have we got to being 3rd in the table ?

And yet we are 3rd in the table.