Thames Sports Investment

[Seal]

I still think Dirk's just bitter he wasn't consulted first...

[ZacNaloen]

If Hal was more consistent he'd be ahead of Jobi, in my opinion. A technically better player who has to get his performances to the required level every week. In short, he needs more experience.

[Hoop Blah]

If Hal was more consistent he'd be ahead of Jobi, in my opinion. A technically better player who has to get his performances to the required level every week. In short, he needs more experience.

Are you saying Robson-Kanu is better technically than McAnuff?

[melonhead]

hes not technically better- jobi just plays on the wrong side of the pitch for some mental reason
jobi does a decent job most games, and has very few awful ones
he just doesnt have enough stand out games

[exileinleeds]

I beg to differ - the current business model might not be ideal but it IS working.

Investment in the Academy has meant that we can make a trading loss but cover that by selling young home grown produce.

Indications are that, far from that potentially drying up, it is actually accelerating with several worth millions+ already in the 1st team and (no guarantees of course) many more teenagers of great promise waiting in the wings.

Agree.

When buying a business you always look at not just what they are doing- but the potential to improve on that.

When SJM bought Reading he didn't think throwing money at big names was going to secure the future- but building the stadium has massively increased revenue. From an average of 5k to 16k...and they spend proportionally more...and proven they can sell 24k+ every week- in the right league.
The team we have now has a balance sheet value of several million pounds- many of whom we developed our selves. New owners must see this is a massive advantage- and by continuing/increasing investment in this area the acadamy is one area of the business where there is undoubted potential to increase revenue.
Our acadamy imho is the reason we are where we are, and not where Sheff U are for example. The lads we developed here are superb- and in many cases under-rated simply because they are home-grown. One or two I think have sufferred a bit from having to step up perhaps a bit sooner than BMcD would have liked- hopefully that will no longer be necessary. It would be nice if future Pearces learned from their mistakes on a loan clubs pitch and come back when they know what they are doing...

[Extended-Phenotype]

1. It’s just a strange statement. Of course he drops people when he’s felt it was needed. Why would he drop people when he doesn’t think it’s needed?

2. I agree, dropping players after one or two bad games is crazy. Not really relevant to what I was saying though.

3. My point about Church was that he has been given more opportunity than ALF despite, in my opinion, not playing as well.

4. I don’t think HRK at that time, appeared a worse option than Jobi or Kebe during their run of poor form.

5. Sigh, yes – McD is a better manager than me yada yada yada. But you don’t think manager decisions can be critiqued by fans with any value?

Like I said, it ain't a massive deal - but based on my assessment of Brian, and the fact that, even though improvement could be made our team is relatively steady, I sadly don’t expect Cywka to step into the side any time soon.

1. its a direct response to the point made that hes too scared to drop players. so i think its a pretty fine pont to make
2. you advocate dropping them as "retribution" after a couple of poor games-i dont, nor does brian & see point 4,
3. i agree totaly- McD doesnt. but hes not "scared" to drop him- he has done that plenty of times- he just believes he is better than you think
4.HRK has hardly ever had a decent game where hes played the whole thing rather than as sub, great prospect,really like him
but its natural to trust playes who have proven themselves to you time and again
5.yes, yes he is. and yes they can do what they like. i just give more credence to his feelings on the matter than theirs, or mine

cwfka played on saturday, roberts stepped right in
dont really get your point

1.I wasn’t debating what the stimulus is for McD to drop players and it’s even less necessary to suggest it’s obviously “when he see’s fit”. I’m questioning why that’s not as often as it occasionally seems required.

2. No. I never said a couple of poor games, you did.

3. Fair enough. Though personally I think loyalty plays its part.

4. It was around this time I’d have said HRK was worth a try. He really couldn’t have done any worse than Kebe or Jobi, and his sub appearances suggested he’d likely be an improvement.

5. I believe those looking in from outside often have a clearer picture than those living inside, and never think you can dismiss opinion merely because it comes from someone without the relevant business card.

6. My point is: I don’t expect to see Cywka start and the formation adjust to address our lack of creativity, at the risk of upsetting some friends and taking off the ‘safety belt’ of familiar, defensive 4-4-2.

[melonhead]

1. It’s just a strange statement. Of course he drops people when he’s felt it was needed. Why would he drop people when he doesn’t think it’s needed?

2. I agree, dropping players after one or two bad games is crazy. Not really relevant to what I was saying though.

3. My point about Church was that he has been given more opportunity than ALF despite, in my opinion, not playing as well.

4. I don’t think HRK at that time, appeared a worse option than Jobi or Kebe during their run of poor form.

5. Sigh, yes – McD is a better manager than me yada yada yada. But you don’t think manager decisions can be critiqued by fans with any value?

Like I said, it ain't a massive deal - but based on my assessment of Brian, and the fact that, even though improvement could be made our team is relatively steady, I sadly don’t expect Cywka to step into the side any time soon.

1. its a direct response to the point made that hes too scared to drop players. so i think its a pretty fine pont to make
2. you advocate dropping them as "retribution" after a couple of poor games-i dont, nor does brian & see point 4,
3. i agree totaly- McD doesnt. but hes not "scared" to drop him- he has done that plenty of times- he just believes he is better than you think
4.HRK has hardly ever had a decent game where hes played the whole thing rather than as sub, great prospect,really like him
but its natural to trust playes who have proven themselves to you time and again
5.yes, yes he is. and yes they can do what they like. i just give more credence to his feelings on the matter than theirs, or mine

cwfka played on saturday, roberts stepped right in
dont really get your point

1.I wasn’t debating what the stimulus is for McD to drop players and it’s even less necessary to suggest it’s obviously “when he see’s fit”. I’m questioning why that’s not as often as it occasionally seems required.

2. No. I never said a couple of poor games, you did.

3. Fair enough. Though personally I think loyalty plays its part.

4. It was around this time I’d have said HRK was worth a try. He really couldn’t have done any worse than Kebe or Jobi, and his sub appearances suggested he’d likely be an improvement.

5. I believe those looking in from outside often have a clearer picture than those living inside, and never think you can dismiss opinion merely because it comes from someone without the relevant business card.

6. My point is: I don’t expect to see Cywka start and the formation adjust to address our lack of creativity, at the risk of upsetting some friends and taking the ‘safety belt’ off.

1. to you. so what. brians results over the time hes been here show he knows exactly what it takes
2. a run then, brian obviously thought those performances were better than you did., so what?
3. im sure it does, loyalty is important in man mangement
4.hes had plenty of tries, hell get more, he is still young every time his sunb appearances merit a start he gets one, and under performs,LOL at couldn t do worse than kebe and mcanuff.
team management is about juggling all sorts of factors, and obviously brian believes jobi and kebe offer more, and deserve their starts due to proven and regular delivery. i agree
5. i didnt dismiss it, i justsaid im happy that brian is running things and not the court of HNA?
6. the safety belt is important- all great teams, and all of brians start with a great defence, he then slowly releases the belt until the correct balance is found. if he believes 4-4-2 is more likely to win games than 4-5-1, or two DMs instead of 1 and an AM then i trust that he is doing what he feels is right/required , and yet again fall back to the fact that he knows what he is doing, more than i.

he had no problem playing a very creative attacking midfielder when we had sigurdsson

[ZacNaloen]

If Hal was more consistent he'd be ahead of Jobi, in my opinion. A technically better player who has to get his performances to the required level every week. In short, he needs more experience.

Are you saying Robson-Kanu is better technically than McAnuff?

I think that his technique on the ball is better, but he more often makes the wrong decisions. Jobi is a better dribbler and a harder worker than anyone of our the other wingers in our team though and currently makes more right choices than HRK so he's rightly ahead of him on merit. But he can't see a pass when it's on for toffee.

[Hoop Blah]

So what exactly do you mean by better technically then?

[Extended-Phenotype]

1. to you. so what. brians results over the time hes been here show he knows exactly what it takes
2. a run then, brian obviously thought those performances were better than you did., so what?
3. im sure it does, loyalty is important in man mangement
4.hes had plenty of tries, hell get more, he is still young every time his sunb appearances merit a start he gets one, and under performs,LOL at couldn t do worse than kebe and mcanuff.
team management is about juggling all sorts of factors, and obviously brian believes jobi and kebe offer more, and deserve their starts due to proven and regular delivery. i agree
5. i didnt dismiss it, i justsaid im happy that brian is running things and not the court of HNA?
6. the safety belt is important- all great teams, and all of brians start with a great defence, he then slowly releases the belt until the correct balance is found. if he believes 4-4-2 is more likely to win games than 4-5-1, or two DMs instead of 1 and an AM then i trust that he is doing what he feels is right/required , and yet again fall back to the fact that he knows what he is doing, more than i.

he had no problem playing a very creative attacking midfielder when we had sigurdsson

1. Eh? What do you mean “so what?”

2. See 1.

3. Important in some ways, and quite restrictive in others.

4. Personally, I thought his start came too long after his promising patch, and only got it through an injury.

5. Who said they should be? Pointing out areas of concern doesn’t equate to wrenching the guy out of his job and replacing him with a wet-eyed forum.

6. Sigh. So if it isn’t being done, it can’t be right and it isn’t worth discussing? Orwellian.

Sig, yeah – which was the default formation of the time. Hardly a bold, evolutionary decision.

[melonhead]

1. to you. so what. brians results over the time hes been here show he knows exactly what it takes
2. a run then, brian obviously thought those performances were better than you did., so what?
3. im sure it does, loyalty is important in man mangement
4.hes had plenty of tries, hell get more, he is still young every time his sunb appearances merit a start he gets one, and under performs,LOL at couldn t do worse than kebe and mcanuff.
team management is about juggling all sorts of factors, and obviously brian believes jobi and kebe offer more, and deserve their starts due to proven and regular delivery. i agree
5. i didnt dismiss it, i justsaid im happy that brian is running things and not the court of HNA?
6. the safety belt is important- all great teams, and all of brians start with a great defence, he then slowly releases the belt until the correct balance is found. if he believes 4-4-2 is more likely to win games than 4-5-1, or two DMs instead of 1 and an AM then i trust that he is doing what he feels is right/required , and yet again fall back to the fact that he knows what he is doing, more than i.

he had no problem playing a very creative attacking midfielder when we had sigurdsson

1. Eh? What do you mean “so what?”

2. See 1.

3. Important in some ways, and quite restrictive in others.

4. Personally, I thought his start came too long after his promising patch, and only got it through an injury.
5. Who said they should be? Pointing out areas of concern doesn’t equate to wrenching the guy out of his job and replacing him with a wet-eyed forum.

6. Sigh. So if it isn’t being done, it can’t be right and it isn’t worth discussing? Orwellian.

Sig, yeah – which was the default formation of the time. Hardly a bold, evolutionary decision.

1.

I’m questioning why that’s not as often as it occasionally seems required.

because it only seems required to you, not brian. not sure thats any reason for brian to change it, given his track record, and your lack of one.
2. brian clearly thinks these players bad runs werent as bad, or as long as you did, and think they still bring more than HRK does currently. i agree- so what just refers to why i or he should be giving your opinion more than an passing glance
3. but since hes dropped church loads of times i cant see that hes being overly loyal- his opinion of church is just higher than yours.which brings us back to why i should pay more attention to you than him
4.proven quality players who deliver, will get the nod, until results, or injury gives HRK his chance
when this has happened in the past hes not delivered as much as in his sub performances, which suggests he is not quite ready, or trying too hard- either way, that means he'll go back to the bench until his next opportunity
5.thats my point-they dont concern me. i get that they concern you. thanks
6.not at all. im saying he starts from the back, then slowly shifts till the balance is correct,i think this is correct.
demanding an AM or 451 is totally ignoring our success with the current set up. im happy with brians approach. i get it that you arent. thanks. we are discussing it, im not sure how much further the discussion can go past i disagree with what you are saying, and this is why though.

is was default cos it worked with the players we had. currently it doesnt so much, if cwfka proves himself, brian will shift formation or tactics or emphasis to take advantage.

[floyd__streete]

The whole 'Brian knows better than you' argument - funny how no-one ever says the same thing about the government? - basically renders HNA redundant. Which would be no bad thing anyway as we might finally be rid of the banality of AE.

[FiNeRaIn]

The whole 'Brian knows better than you' argument - funny how no-one ever says the same thing about the government? - basically renders HNA redundant. Which would be no bad thing anyway as we might finally be rid of the banality of AE.

Another top bit of floyd sniping at melon!

[melonhead]

The whole 'Brian knows better than you' argument - funny how no-one ever says the same thing about the government? - basically renders HNA redundant. Which would be no bad thing anyway as we might finally be rid of the banality of AE.

im not saying it to stifle debate- he can debate these points forever if he likes, im just telling him i agree with what brian has done and why he has done it.
when the guy comes back with well i think AB or C, im not sure theres much left for me to say other than, ok, great, but i still agree with brian, and im happy that brian is in charge instead of you.


you seem to have a big problem with AE for someone who doesnt look at it

[melonhead]

The whole 'Brian knows better than you' argument - funny how no-one ever says the same thing about the government? - basically renders HNA redundant. Which would be no bad thing anyway as we might finally be rid of the banality of AE.

Another top bit of floyd sniping at melon!

oh no, im being bullied by the axis of negativity

[Red]

The whole 'Brian knows better than you' argument - funny how no-one ever says the same thing about the government? - basically renders HNA redundant. Which would be no bad thing anyway as we might finally be rid of the banality of AE.

you seem to have a big problem with AE for someone who doesnt look at it

Yeh floyd

[The Rouge]

The whole 'Brian knows better than you' argument - funny how no-one ever says the same thing about the government? - basically renders HNA redundant. Which would be no bad thing anyway as we might finally be rid of the banality of AE.

Another top bit of floyd sniping at melon!

oh no, im being bullied by the axis of negativity

How old were you when that was taken brendy? ^^^^^^^

[melonhead]

thats me, live, right now.on web cam.

[Extended-Phenotype]

[quote="melonhead"][/quote]

It’s all gone a bit Animal Farm. Sadly, not the version only available in Holland.

Four legs good. Two legs bad.
Him manager. You not.
Why do you think that? Answer given. So what?

It’s been a blast, my friend.

[Arch]

thats me, live, right now.on web cam.

Really? who's the kid underneath?