I am not following the owners blindly - a large number of my posts provide critical comment on them - but I see no reason to allow their incompetence to drive me away from the club although of course you have the choice to do what you want. Ultimately I believe we are supporters of the club and not customers and I conduct myself accordingly.

I'm prepared to question the club but not to walk away from it

Why do they have to start off "at a decent level" rather than prove themselves lower down the scale ? Alex Ferguson started at East Stirling

I believe in "We'll support you evermore" and don't shop around like a consumer which is not the attitude I associate with true supporters. I am old enough to remember when second level mediocrity was an upgrade on what we were presented with but I didn't desert the club then and won't now. I don't like the present level of performances and believe that there are other managers who could get better results than the present incumbent - but I don't trust the owners to make that appointment and will stick with Mowbray at least until the end of the season

I think the point that is being made is that there is a significant risk of a disastrous new appointment which would make relegation far more likely - perhaps probable - and in the circumstances sticking for the rest of the season with a man who some of us believe won't get the club relegated is the right course of action

I don't think the people like me who feel this way think that we will be competing at the right end of the table - just that we don't think we'll go down either under Tony Mowbray and there is a serious risk of a really disastrous appointment being made if he were fired

That's the problem in a nutshell

But maybe the funds have now been spent and in any case does the manager have the say as to how they are spent ? Additionally what sort of wage are Venkys prepared to commit to a manager and his team ? As I have said before anyone anyone any good will have a choice as to where they work ( I suspect the likes of Hughton and Moyes are waiting on much better jobs than us ) and Venkys standing in the game is very poor - hence Lambert only coming to us with a get-out clause in his contract

Good analysis - we appear to have bought in to a fashionable concept with "possession football" without having the players to execute it. We need to approach games with a higher tempo

With the best will in the world how likely do you think it is that either of those two would find working for Venkys an attractive proposition ?

Been out of work for three years

Why not ? What motive could the club have for dissembling ?

Who is this unnamed manager ? How likely is it that in identifying their eighth managerial appointment in nine years that Venkys would manage to get it so right when they have not managed it before ? How likely is it that this outstanding individual would choose to join us over other clubs ? If we are so bad why do you keep frittering your money away on backing us to win games when you could give the money to a worthwhile charity ?

Please don't tell Mercer

You can get 14/1 with SkyBet

Well currently the shortest price being quoted by bookmakers on us being relegated is 8/1 so clearly they don't see it as that likely. 15 points from 12 games is no great shakes but equally is never going to mean relegation

He didn't two years ago

Well, Venkys have made 7 managerial appointments, 4 complete disasters in Kean,Berg, Appleton and Coyle, and 3 of broadly similar middling results in Bowyer,Lambert and Mowbray. The chance of improvement strikes me as minimal - why should they get it right the 8th time ? I'd rather stick with what we have and hope he can get it better - I don't think we'll go down with Mowbray at the wheel

Whilst I think it is already clear that a challenge for the play-offs is highly unlikely I don't think anyone on here would be happy with a relegation scrap so I don't know why you say what you do. The problem at the club is the owners rather than the manager. Anyone who is a really good manager is going to be in demand from more than one club and I cannot see that manager choosing to work for Venkys rather than more knowledgeable owners. I think I am right in saying that Paul Lambert was warned in advance about Venkys and hence negotiated a get out clause in his contract which he exercised after he couldn't stand it anymore. Unfortunately when it comes to managers I think we are only going to appeal to the needy and the greedy and hence personally I reluctantly would say stick with Mowbray at least until the end of the season - I don't think we will be relegated with him.

What ? The same Byram on the bench for the worst defence in the Premier League ?

Head of football operations sounds very much like past nonsensical appointments like "Global Advisor " and "Sporting Director" in that the owners don't know what they should do but want to be seen doing something

He's now at Aberdeen on loan from a Dutch club

Thanks , I hadn't seen that. I notice that he says we need the 16k to break even "each game" - maybe he is assuming a basic level of funding each year guaranteed from the owners with any excess having to be requested ? Don't know.

Stuart, I think the club needs a lot more than 16,000 seats to break even. According to published accounts the club seems to be operating on a loss before transfers of approx £8m per year. If we assume on average each attendee at a home game brings in approx £20 profit with ticket/food/ programme sales then over 23 home games a season we need to increase gates by 17000 to 18000 - ie we need to be around capacity of 31000 to 32000 with our current average attendance of 14000.

I think you are wrong about season tickets where the pricing rewards loyal supporters and they provide the convenience of only having to make one purchase as well as securing a seat in a particular spot. Is there any club which has abandoned the idea ?